The room was silent, saved for the sound of his mechanical breathing.

With her hands wrapped around his, Ga Eul looked at what she could see of the sleeping face of the man lying on the bed; part of his face were obscured by the bandages of his wounds.

She never knew how pleasant the sound of breathing could be. Right then, her heart was overwhelmed with the gratitude of him being alive.

It had been over an hour after his surgery but the effects of his anaesthesia had yet to wear off and she had simply just sat there and looked at him for the past hour.

Sometimes, joy was as simple as something plain like this, being able to see the one you love alive.

For not everyone has that privilege.

All of a sudden, his mechanical breathing ceased and she panicked for awhile, only to realize he was stirring from his sleep. She looked on, observing his every move -- the movement of his eyeballs under its' lids, the slight parting of his mouth, the eyelids struggling to open and when they finally did, blinking twice as if to refocus.

He blinked again, his hands tightening slightly on hers, as he turned slowly towards her direction. It was her turn to hold her breath.

"G..Ga Eul?", his voice sounded dry as he struggled even to get her name out.

Ga Eul nodded and passed him a cup of water, with straw, already prepared.

A smile slowly crept on his face, "I must have gone to heaven.." A cough attack came on, due to the dryness of his mouth and instinctively, he drank the water.

"It's a nice place.. I must have missed you too much though, to see two of you, at once.", he continued.

Two of her? What did he mean? Was it the effect of the anaesthesia?

"Yi Jung! ", she called his name, her hands grasping harder onto his, hoping to wake him up from his drowsy state.

Her mind and heart started their races, the tears that she was fighting to hold back threatened to unleash, she blinked them back as she looked back at him with a look of concern.

"I'll get the doctor"

Yijung shook his head gently and held firmly onto her hands.

"Don't go, Ga Eul, don't go.. "

She nodded, the tears already slowly beginning their escape from her eyes, as she sat down on the side of his bed.

He extended his other hand and tried to locate her face. She started to sob as she saw his struggle and took one of her own hand to his other and placed it on her face.

"I'm sorry, Yi Jung, I'm sorry.. I ..." She managed to get her words out, in between sobs, and a hiccup that had suddenly came on, "hic".. "I.." , her woeds partially drowned out by her sobs and hiccups, "never should ..."

He let out a soft chuckle, amused at what he was witnessing.

"How can you laugh, hic, ... at a time like this, Yi Jung?"

"Why not, Ga Eul? "

"Your eyes.. how are you ever going to do your art without proper vision? Isn't pottery your life, Yi Jung?"

"No, Ga Eul, I haven't lose my vision..."

"Yi jung?", she asked, not quite understanding what he meant.

"I can see twice as well now, can't I?"

"Yijung! ", she sounded a little exasperated now.

"As long as I can see you, I'll be all rightt, Ga Eul. Besides, I have you now and that's all I need."

"Yi Jung. .."

"I mean it, Ga Eu, you will be my eyes, won't you? "

"But.. But.."

"I will be okay, Ga Eul... With you by my side, I'll be okay..", and he squeezed her hand lightly to reaffirm her, "I just need you to promise to always be my side and to never run away again, will you?" 

She was silent for awhile, as she contemplated his question.

"Will you?"

She finally nodded, an worried expression still on her face, "Yi Jung, let me get the doctor first..." and she went out of the ward, bumping to Haneul on the way.

Her bag of mixed emotions unleashed as soon as she spotted her --- her tears falling even faster than before.

The guilt and worry that plague her she couldn't shake off as the girls enveloped each other into a tight hug.

"It's okay, Ga Eul, everything's okay now"

"It's my fault. . His injury... his vision...", she stammered in between sobs, struggling to explain.

"It was just an accident that no one expected or can prevent. It's not your fault, my dear. It's no one's fault."

"Why was I so rash? ... So.. Impulsive? ... If I had only talked to him... If I had trusted him enough. .."

Haneul could not offer any words in response to her and could only give Ga eul a comforting pat on her back, which was exactly what her friend needed then --- not words, but comfort and companionship.

End of Chapter 23

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A/N: Hello! Short chapter here but will have a longer one to wrap everything up in the next chapter. I promise a happy ending so please don't kill me for more tragedy. I actually wanted to make this chapter longer but I didn't want the mood to change that much for this one --- Ga Eul's conflict! She had a little conflict in the previous one but I felt she needed somewhere to let everything out and then they can finally move on! Yes, that means no more conflict!! :D 

Love is about forgiveness, not just Yijung forgiving Ga Eul here but Ga Eul has to forgive herself too. Forgiveness just not just apply to others, but to self too. :) 

As usual, hope you all enjoyed reading this! Cheers~~ Comments and subscription are much appreciated as usual,, thank you all for the support ^o^