Aerin’s POV

Please Yoseob.  Please be alright!  I called out to him, even though I knew my message wouldn’t travel to him.  My speed increased, and I arrived at the hospital in a flash.

“Excuse me, what room is Yang Yoseob in?”  Panting from my long run to the hospital, I tried to clearly make out my words to the nurse.

“Hold on please, let me check.”  The nurse flickered her eyes to the computer, and her fingers moved across the keyboard as if they were on slow-mo.  Hurry up lady!  Emergency here!  My fingers tapped annoyingly at the wooden counter and then finally, she looked back at me and told me the room number.

I scurried upstairs to the second floor and checked the room numbers as I went down the hall.  “Room 221.  Room 223.”  I said aloud to myself, and then I saw the BEAST boys crowding around the outside of the upcoming room.  Their eyes all glared up when they saw me.

“Guys!  Is Yoseob okay?!  Where is he?!”  As worry overwhelmed me, I couldn’t calm down my continuous babbling.  I didn’t even notice that I was grabbing onto Doojoon’s jacket sleeves.

“Aerin, Yoseob’s inside.”  Doojoon replied as I released my grasp.  “Don’t worry, he–” I was too anxious to see Yoseob that I barged in the room before Doojoon even finished.

There he was… lying on the hospital bed – unconscious, his body still.  My legs carried me to the side of the bed, and I could see a needle – along with a bag of clear liquid – was attached onto his wrist.  My fists tightened and clenched as I stared at Yoseob’s pale lips and his sick body.  It hurt me too much to see him like this.  I turned my head towards the direction of the door upon hearing it open and close.  Doojoon walked in and stood beside me.

“Lately, Yoseob’s been sick.”  With his eyes and mine on Yoseob, Doojoon quietly explained Yoseob’s condition to me.  He caught a cold not too long ago.”

Not too long ago…the words echoed in my head.  Then a flashback played before my eyes, and I remembered how last Friday night when I ran out in the cold in the middle of the Valentine’s Day Dance, Yoseob gave me his jacket.  For the whole night.  Even when he sent me home, he was jacketless.  Hot tears streamed down my cheeks as I recalled the memory of that night.

“Then this morning, when I went to visit him before rehearsal, his face was pale and white.  His parents weren’t home, so he went into the kitchen to get me something drink.  Not long after I heard a thud, so I ran into the kitchen, and found Yoseob fainted on the floor.  I rushed him to the hospital, and called the guys; then told Hyunseung to notify you.”

I couldn’t believe it.  I was the one who made Yoseob sick.  But how could 1 night of being jacketless, cause him to have a cold so bad that he had to be sent to the hospital?  Before I could question myself further, Doojoon knelt down on the floor beside me, putting comfort hand on my shoulder while staring deeply into my eyes.

“The doctor said that he developed a stomach cold on top of being already sick.  Right now Yoseob has a really high temperature.  If the temperature keeps increasing, it could be dangerous to his health.  I’m sure you would be clearer on the reason if you came to Yoseob’s house with me.”  The corner of his lips pulled up slightly into a warm yet hurtful smile.  “He has to stay in the hospital for a few more days, so I need to get some clothes for him to change into.”

On our way to Yoseob’s house, my mind circled around 2 questions: What reason was Doojoon talking about?  And the reason for what?  Before I knew it, we were standing in front of a beautiful house constructed from silver buff limestone.  The house itself appeared modern, yet it looked ancient – as if it was something pulled out from a fairytale book.

Doojoon stepped right up to the front door, and same as his house – Yoseob’s front door was unlocked.  Is this a BEAST habit?  I dropped my bag down on the bottom of the stairs before we made our way upstairs to Yoseob’s room, but I had just enough time to scan through the inside of his house.  The size of it was approximately the same as Doojoon’s house, but it was definitely decorated to appear more chic, modern, and larger.

“Here’s a bag to put Yoseob’s clothes in.  Why don’t you pick some out from that closet while I get us some drinks?”  Doojoon handed me a navy blue gym bag, and pointed at a closet where I was supposed to retrieve the clothes from, before he headed downstairs.  How could he still be so calm and drink while his best friend is in the hospital?!

My eyes wandered around the room, and I was surprised at how neat it was.  I dragged the gym bag in front of the closet, and began pulling clothes off of hangers to fold before storing them in the bag.  It felt kind of weird to rummage through someone’s closet like that, but I had no choice – it wasn’t like I was a stalker or anything.

“Aerin-ah!”  Doojoon called out to me from downstairs.  “Can you also put Yoseob’s cell phone charger in the bag?  His phone’s running out of batteries, and I’m scared that someone might call.  It’s in one of his desk drawers.”

Gosh, the boy is so demanding!  I rolled my eyes at him silently, and then opened each of the 3 drawers to find the cell phone charger.  It wasn’t in the first drawer – it carried stacks of Yoseob’s music CDs and movie DVDs.  I lightly pulled open the second drawer, but the whole drawer came out, spilling his belongings everywhere.  My goodness, I'm such a klutz.

While picking up the mess, something caught my attention – it was a bag of fruit-flavoured lollipops – the exact ones that I have.  I didn't even know they sell these in Korea, since I've never seen them in supermarkets or convenience stores.  The bag was slit opened just big enough for a lollipop to slide out.  Lying on the ground beside the plastic bag was a pad of sticky notes.  Then I spotted a small purple gift box tied with a silk ribbon that was a lighter shade of purple than the box, and a sticky note was attached on the top.

For Aerin ~

It was the same writing as the note that I had received before.

I peered in the dark desk, and discovered a fruit-flavoured lollipop with a sticky note attached to the clear plastic wrapper.

Glad you’re okay. ^^

My trembling fingers opened the box, and tears couldn’t help but pour down from my eyes.  In my hands was my missing charm bracelet.  The one that I accidentally dropped into the donation box, and ended up as a prize for a contest.  The one that I failed to retrieve from the ice cream parlour.  The one that Yoseob ate 5 tubs of ice cream to get back… for me.