It's A Long Road Baby; Running Away

Looking for Angels [A Pandine Collaboration]
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Adventures must start with running away from home
- William Bolitho



Two weeks have passed since they were first admitted to the hospital. 

This morning, Yoona with her never ending smile, appeared to be like a kid who had way too much sugar. Jumping up and down on Seohyun's hospital bed, she imitated the Tarzan-like pose before filling her lungs in with air and expelling it all out in a deafening roar of exaltation. 

“Freedom!” she hollered from the top of her lungs.

Taeyeon shot up from her chair, casually walked towards the younger girl and gave her a slap on the shoulder. “Yoona,” she reprimanded, “I know you're excited that you and Seohyun get to leave, but Fany is sleeping. So could you please keep it down?” Taeyeon looked at the girl who laid motionless on her bed, snuggled in a newly washed sheet. Tiffany furrowed her eyes as a frown drooped from her lips. She thought that her best friend was either in a lot of pain or having a terrible nightmare, she hoped that it was the latter.

Yoona stopped jumping before crawling out of the bed. “Sorry unnie, I forgot.”

“That's alright,” Taeyeon responded with a light smile, “just... celebrate quietly.”

The younger girl nodded before giving her an 'okay' sign with her fingers. “Oh, unnie,” Yoona began again, taking a hold of Taeyeon's shoulder, “it's been two weeks, two weeks!”

Puzzled by what she said, Taeyeon arched an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Two weeks have passed and Seohyun still remembers!” Yoona quietly rejoiced. “This is it, I just know it. She's going to remember, she's going to remember everything!”

Taeyeon wanted to remind her that Seohyun had permanent anterograde amnesia, so she doubted that the girl would spontaneously be cured from it. She didn't want to wipe that smile from her though so she kept quiet.

“That's great Yoona” Taeyeon softly replied.

“Isn't it? I knew that all my months of praying paid off” Yoona said before skipping towards their room's washroom. The door was closed and so she knocked three times before calling her fiancee who was cleaning herself up inside.

“Seo!” Yoona whispered, “are you almost done?”

“What?” the voiced asked from behind the door.

“I said: Are you almost done?”

“Sorry, I can't hear you. What did you say?”

“I said:” Yoona wailed, “ARE YOU ALMOST DONE?!?”

“SSSHHHHHHH” Taeyeon scolded with her index finger to her lips.

There was some ruffling coming from beside Taeyeon, and both she and Yoona froze as they jerked their heads to the direction of the sound. Tiffany shifted on her bed before slowly opening her eyes. 

Yoona wouldn't simply be walking out of the hospital today, Taeyeon thought as her expression darkened, she'd be riding out of the hospital; inside a coffin.

The younger girl swallowed the lump in before asking for the thousandth time this week, “I'm sorry unnie, did we wake you?”

Usually Tiffany would flash a smile at her before replying with some sort of sarcastic remark, but not today. She rubbed her eyes, let out a yawn, and glanced at the two girls with empty eyes. It was scary how things could change so fast and without warning; just yesterday Tiffany and Yoona were childishly rapping away as they wore surgical masks on their foreheads – apparently, her best friend said that it made them look 'gansta'. 

“TaeTae, what time is it?” she asked in a deadpan tone.

“It's ten after one” she replied as she headed towards the edge of Tiffany's bed. She shot a piercing glare at Yoona who stood there motionless, before gently tucking the white sheet closer to Tiffany and adjusting her head pillow.

“How do you feel?” Taeyeon asked.

“A bit tired, that's all. I couldn't sleep well last night since Yoona kept telling me scary stories. The flashlight to her face didn't help at all.”

The older girl gingerly laughed, “Why'd you let her anyways?”

“Because she said that it was funny stories. I can't believe I fell for it.” Tiffany voiced before letting out a quiet groan.

“It is funny,” Yoona finally said with a cackle, “you should have seen her face!”

Taeyeon gave her another cold glare. The girl's smile immediately inverted. Spinning at a one-eighty degree angle, she pleaded for Seohyun to let her in to avoid another murderous glare from Taeyeon. The door opened and in a blink of an eye Yoona was nowhere to be seen, the door was once again closed shut.

“Well, try to sleep again.” Taeyeon added as she Tiffany's cheek. “Once you regain your energy we can do something fun; I hear that the elderly patients are playing bingo this evening.”

“Or,” Tiffany proposed, “we can head to Gyeonju. Did you know that Gyeonju is spelled 'F.U.N' in English?”

“We'd have to first pass by the small town called 'Not a chance' before we can reach Gyeonju” Taeyeon wittingly replied with a smirk.

Tiffany let out a sigh before burying her head deeper into her pillow. “TaeTae, I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up though when Yoona and Seohyun are leaving, I want to say goodbye to them.”

“Alright, Fany. Good...afternoon and sleep tight”


 

♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦




Yoona and Seohyun were now done gathering up all their possessions that lay scattered around the room. Taeyeon had just finished helping them place the last of their belongings inside a kerero backpack when the door opened.

“Im Yoona?” Nurse Lim asked. She was dressed in white, tall, and had brunette hair that was placed in a tidy bun. Taeyeon felt quite sorry for her as she was given the burden to not only tend after Seohyun, but Yoona as well.

“Yes?” Yoona asked with a smile.

“We need you to sign some papers for us before you girls can leave. It would only take fifteen or so minutes of your time.”

“Alright,” the doe-eyed girl replied as she made her way to Nurse Lim, “where do I start?”

“You can start by heading to the central desk on the main floor. The forms are with one of our staff members there.”

Yoona nodded before asking Nurse Lim if she could give her a few minutes. The middle-aged woman said yes to her request making Yoona turn around and prance to Taeyeon and Seohyun.

“Well Seohyun, we're finally leaving” Yoona stated with a wide grin as she wrapped her fiancee in a hug.

“Should I wait for you outside then while you fill out the forms?” Seohyun asked when she was finally released from her hold.

“I don't want you to go outside alone though” Yoona replied.

Taeyeon slapped the girl's shoulder, “I'll come with her while you sign the forms”

“Are you sure? Is it okay if you leave Tiffany-unnie here alone?”

“It's just fifteen minutes,” Taeyeon said, making Yoona respond with

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UndefinedCharacter
#1
Chapter 18: Very good description of different forms of love. I so like it! :)
UndefinedCharacter
#2
Chapter 17: Awwww, that was nice. It's a start!
She's gonna have another angel. :)
And the other angels she gained through the journey remains beside her...

This is really a good read.

I purposely read it during this season as a way of reflecting.

It warms my heart.

And it got me a lot of things to think about.

Great story! Thank you dear author, and to you who posted this here. ☺️
UndefinedCharacter
#3
Chapter 15: I'm crying...
UndefinedCharacter
#4
Chapter 14: "Time can't let us change back to who we were before the loss, but rather, allows us to accept the new creature we have become."
I find Taeyeon's situation relatable. I lost someone special to me and I can't really move on. Until now I'm undecided of what to do and how to go on without that person.
I'm glad I decided to read this. Especially this season.
Thanks again for posting it here. :)
UndefinedCharacter
#5
Chapter 14: "Time can't let us change back to who we were before the loss, but rather, allows us to accept the new creature we have become."
I find Taeyeon's situation relatable. I lost someone special to me and I can't really move on. Until now I'm undecided of what to do and how to go on without that person.
I'm glad I decided to read this. Especially this season.
Thanks again for posting it here. :)
UndefinedCharacter
#6
Chapter 13: 'There was nothing more devastating than having nothing to hope for."
It's what makes you go on... :)
Hang in there for a little bit more Tiffany!
UndefinedCharacter
#7
Chapter 11: It was a difficult decision to make...
And it's hard to be rational at that kind of situation. 😔
UndefinedCharacter
#8
Chapter 7: She loves her too... 🥹
UndefinedCharacter
#9
Chapter 6: I'm only on the 5th chapter and my heart is breaking already...
UndefinedCharacter
#10
Chapter 4: Come to think of it, I never thought about that, of how people always talked about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but never about reaching it.

Good question. There's a lot of answers going on in my mind. :)

I am a decade late to reading this. This is a good read to reflect on my own life. 😁

Thanks for sharing their story here. 😉