Narrator's POV

"Sometimes, I can't even see you clearly anymore." Mina rested her head on the table sadly. "I still look for you everywhere but you're slowly fading away." She looked up at him from across the table. "Don't leave me just yet, Min-guk," she said, almost begging. "Omma thinks I can live by myself but you know quite well that I just can't."

The man, meanwhile, had his gaze fixed on the front door. "Someone's coming," he muttered, ignoring the woman's pleading. Min-guk rested both his hands flat on the table, preparing to stand up. "No, don't leave." Mina almost held onto his hand, but he was too fast. "Drink your medicine, okay?" he reminded instead and walked away.

He headed to the front door, just in time as there was a soft knock that sounded from outside. Mina stood up, not really caring who was behind the door, but with the intention of following after Min-guk. But he just smiled at her – that same smile she had seen the last time she had the chance to hold him –  and opened the door to leave.

A cold gust of wind blew Mina's hair back, and her eyes looked past the man standing in the middle of the porch. "Good morning," Jaejoong greeted with a smile. "Ha-have you seen someone...a man, in particular, who just happened to walk past you?" she inquired, feeling a lump forming in after Jaejoong shook his head no. Min-guk left her once again.

Jaejoong was confused, but he decided not to ask, thinking how it wasn't such a polite thing to do at the moment. Instead, he remembered the rose he was holding. "Oh, Mina? I– " "Thank you," Mina cut him off, taking the flower from his hand. "I found tha– " "Sorry. I just realized that I haven't even invited you to enter, so come in." The woman once again interrupted him in midsentence.

He was about to tell her that he had found the rose on her doorstep after he arrived, but since she looked like she was in a hurry, Jaejoong just shrugged and decided to tell her later on. "What are you doing here? I was just about to leave," Mina asked curiously before pouring water into two glasses. She handed one to Jaejoong.

"I just wanted for us to go to work together," he replied shyly. Mina was in the middle of popping a pill in and she almost swallowed the pill dryly. She reached out for her own glass of water and drank graciously. "M-mwo?" she asked, almost shocked. Jaejoong looked away and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Mina walked briskly to the kitchen to hide her flustered face. "Okay," she muttered to herself faintly. Then she remembered the rose Jaejoong had given her. Her heart was beating frantically and she was glad he couldn't see her right now. The woman untied the ribbon that attached the card to the flower before reading.

"Good morning~ ^^ for the ninth reason, I will tell you that I'm always here for you. Can you meet me at the bus stop on Saturday at noon?" the card read. Mina covered , afraid she would shriek and screech so loud. She searched for a piece of paper, nearly turning the kitchen upside down in search of one. When there was none, she settled for the back of a grocery receipt.

She uncapped a pen using her teeth. Before the tip of the pen could reach the paper, Mina came to a halt, thinking if she could really fall for it. But then the love-craving, attention-seeking Mina emerged. She nodded to herself, deciding that it felt good to be cared for. "I would like that ^_^” Then she folded the paper neatly and shoved it in her jeans pocket.

As soon as Mina stepped out of the kitchen, Jaejoong stood up. "Should we go?" he asked, smiling at her. She nodded and smiled back at him, thinking it was better this way –  that Jaejoong confesses his innermost feelings through the flowers and the cards that come with it. After exiting, she locked the front door close.

"You know what, I heard they were throwing a party for the whole office next week," Jaejoong said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Really?" Mina exclaimed and secretly fished the note in her pocket, letting it fall to the porch quietly. "Mina," he called for her attention, which was effective since she turned to look at him. As his eyes held hers, his hand crept down to hold hers. "I would really want you to be my date for the party."

Mina took a quick look at their surroundings. When she was sure that she and Jaejoong were the only ones around, she faced him and pointed to herself. "You're asking me?" she asked again, almost dumbfounded. He nodded and bit his lip, stifling a laugh. She ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay," she muttered, keeping her head bowed low.

She almost cursed herself. And she nearly cursed Jaejoong too. Mina wanted to accuse him of not containing a label that says, Warning!  This man may cause squealing, amnesia, spine loss, embarrassing accidents, stomach flips, extreme blushing, and jello legs. If there was, then she might have taken precaution so as to not be feeling all the symptoms at once.

–

Jaejoong had his mouth open as if he was talking and Mina looked around. Donghae gulped. "Could she possibly know that it's me?" he muttered to himself silently from behind the wall where he had been hiding. He watched closely as the two talked as they strolled, and his eyes closed in on their entwined hands.

He waited patiently, anticipating what Mina had written in reply. A drop of sweat trickled down his face, and he quickly wiped it off with the back of his hand. He was slowly getting used to the routine of waking up early, heading immediately to Mina's house to leave the flower, and running off to his usual hiding spot. Then he would wait until she opens her front door and gets it from the porch. And he would go home with a big smile on his face.

When Donghae was sure that there was 0% chance of him getting caught in the act, he ran to the porch and  sat down. Picking up the folded note, the man immediately had his forehead creased in confusion. "So she just wanted to throw this receipt away?" he mumbled sadly, angered over his high expectations.

He lied down flat on his back on the cold porch. "So she likes strawberries, huh?" And he smiled to himself just reading Mina's grocery receipt. He turned the receipt over. And in immense surprise, he pushed himself down on the porch steps. Donghae winced in pain after his fell down three steps. But the frown immediately disappeared after reading Mina's message.

Grinning widely to himself like a madman, Donghae jogged to his parked car and happily entered. "Donghae, this is your chance, okay?" he told his own reflection on the rearview mirror. He rolled all his windows down and turned the music up. Reaching the freeway with light traffic, he sped up, feeling happy for the first time in a long while.

–

"So...are you going to come here?" Donghae asked nervously. He twirled the telephone cord around his finger while waiting for Mina's response. "Just...you know. I'm just making sure," he added, trying not to sound as if he was dying to see her again. From the other line, the woman scratched her head indecisively. "I don't think so."

"I mean, I'm fine. I'm actually on my way home right now," she continued, biting her lip which trembled because of the cold. Noticing this, Jaejoong removed his scarf and wound it around her neck instead. Once again, Mina felt like bursting into a thousand sparks like fireworks. "Oh," was Donghae's only response. "I mean, I was just wondering why you hadn't called me this morning."

Mina let out a small laugh. "I didn't call you this morning because I already feel fine, Donghae," she stated. "Why, do you want me to get all messed up again just so I would keep calling you?" She tensed in her seat on the bench by the bus stop as the headlights of the bus she was waiting for grew clearer. Realizing what she had just blurted out, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that," she quickly retorted.

Donghae, in turn, faked a laugh. "It's okay," he reassured her. "I mean..." He sighed, wondering what the right words to say are. "It's not like you're obliged to call me...or anything." His voice grew fainter with each word. On the bus stop, meanwhile, Jaejoong held his hand out to Mina as the bus stopped right in front of them. "Who is that?" he asked curiously.

Forgetting to cover the receiver with her hand, "My doctor," Mina muttered back. They both climbed up the bus and took a seat next to each other. "I think I should go now," Donghae said all of a sudden. She felt disappointed. She wanted to talk to him more but he seemed busy and in a hurry. "Okay," she bid before hanging up.

She rested her head against the window beside her and watched the streets racing past in front of her eyes. Mina wondered if the man sitting next to her would change his mind and freak out when he learns that she's been seeing a shrink for the past 3 months. It was professional help, of course, but then people only seek for psychologists when something's wrong. And she knew there was clearly something wrong with herself.

Hearing the beep, Donghae nearly slammed the phone back. He slouched back on his chair and spun around a few times to try and clear his head. "I'm just her doctor," he muttered bitterly, getting dizzier and dizzier by the second. "I'm not even her friend." And he stomped his feet down, sending the chair to an abrupt halt.