Chapter 43

“Her condition is stable. She just needs some rest for a few days.”

“Thank you Doctor. Mr. Lee, would you care to show the doctor the way out?”

“Yes Madam. This way sir.”

You felt a soft caressing touch on your head before it disappeared and you heard the door close. Slowly, your eyes fluttered open and you noticed that you were back in your own room. Everything was still and silent. The blinds were halfway down and you could tell night has already fallen from the darkness outside. Downstairs you could faintly hear the voices of your mother and the doctor saying their goodbyes. Slowly, you tried to sit up but failed to do so when the throbbing in your head came back.

“Woah there, just...don’t move around just yet. You need to rest.”

You felt someone pulling you back to bed and turned to see Kyungsoo beside you. He had a worried expression as he slowly placed a pillow to prop your head up. Quickly he took a glass of water at the side of the bed and urged you to take a sip from it. You did as you were told and slowly the throbbing disappeared. Kyungsoo sighed and wiped the drop of water that managed to escape from the corner of your lips and sat back down in his seat.

“What happened to me? How did I…” You said, your voice was coarse.

“You fainted in school during lunch.”  He sighed and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.” He mumbled but you couldn’t hear.

You then remembered that Chanyeol was with you during lunch and how he was holding up your late grandmother’s handkerchief and turned to Kyungsoo. “Chanyeol. Where is he? He was with me when-“

Kyungsoo let out another heavy sigh and stood up. You watched him, feeling lost as to what he was doing. He walked towards your bedroom door and locked it before walking to the window. He pushed the window up and looked out.

“You can come up now.” He said in an irritated voice.

You then heard rustling noises from outside and your eyes widened in shock when something tall and huge jumped into your room and landed lightly on his feet. It was Chanyeol, with dried leaves in his hair and a pale looking face. His eyes were all red and puffy as though he had been crying for a while. He looked at you and without missing a beat, sat by your side and placed his hand on your forehead to check your temperature.

“Are you okay? What did the doctor say? Oh God, I was so worried I—“

“I’m fine Chanyeol. Really. And…were you crying?” You said and let out a giggle even though you tried your best to resist it.  Chanyeol pouted but smiled lovingly at you before resting his head against yours. Surprised by the sudden skinship, you let out a yelp and pushed him away from you.

What the heck is he thinking?! Kyungsoo is right in front of us!

Sure enough, Kyungsoo was standing right there watching everything with an unamused look on his face. He rolled his eyes and sat at the other side of your bed while folding his arms over his chest.

“Don’t worry Hae Ra. I sort of figured out everything. And besides, you told me your answer. You just want to be friends. I get it.”

You looked at him apologetically but thankful that he still wanted to remain friends with you. But then again, you weren’t sure of your own feelings towards Chanyeol. At the moment, you’re just accepting whatever Chanyeol has to offer you, but do you really feel the same way?

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door, making everyone in the room jump. Chanyeol was already making his way towards the window for a quick escape. Before he jumped out, he took another glance at you and smiled.

I’ll call you… He mouthed those words before disappearing in the dark outside. Kyungsoo stood up and unlock the bedroom door to let Mr. Lee enter the room. He looked at the both of you suspiciously before going back to his usual poker face and turned to Kyungsoo.

“Madam said you should let Hae Ra rest for the night. Your car is waiting for you downstairs to take you home.” He said politely.

Kyungsoo nodded and turned to look at you. You smiled and nodded for him go. Kyungsoo looked hesitant at first but nodded back at you and left the room. Mr. Lee bowed respectfully before walking up to your side and place a warm wet towel on your forehead. He looked at you worriedly. You sighed and smiled at him reassuringly.

“Oh Mr. Lee, why do you always have that look on your face whenever I’m sick? I’m not a little girl anymore.” You reached out for his hand and urged him to sit on the chair beside your bed.

Mr. Lee relaxed and smiled at you warmly. “Have I ever told you that you were like a daughter to me? I’ve been taking care of you ever since you were born.”

You nodded. “You were Appa’s favorite Mr. Lee. You were always his right hand man. Appa would always ask for your help with work and he trusted you so much. You were his loyal servant, and his best friend. He loved you so much.” You smiled at the memory of how your father and Mr. Lee would always have small arguments about petty things regarding the company.

Mr. Lee chuckled. “And I loved your father too. And that was why I begged you to let me address you as Young Master when he passed away. I didn’t want to forget about him. Back then I should have called you Young Mistress but you too insisted that I called you Young Master. It was so that you wouldn’t forget your father too.”

You realized that Mr. Lee had been serving your family for so long. He was not married, have not been on dates, let alone find someone to love. He was an orphan before your grandparents took him in. Part of you felt guilty about it but he was truly devoted into serving the family, even if it meant sacrificing his personal life.

“Mr. Lee, do you…ever want to have a family? Fall in love?” You asked him.

He looked at you in surprise and chuckled. “Love? Love is good. It changes people for better or for worse. Some can look at it for a chance to change. And the best kind of love is the one that helps you grow up. As for me, I’ve received enough love from your father, as well as you, Young Master. I don’t need anyone else.” He smiled before standing up and straightening his suit.

“Well then, I think that’s enough talk for tonight. We’ll talk again tomorrow Young Master. For now, it’s best for you to rest.” He bowed and quietly left the room, leaving you in silence again.

Thank goodness it was already the weekends and you just stayed at home while your body was still recuperating. Chanyeol rushed over to visit you first thing in the morning while your mother was out at work. Kyungsoo and your best friend Yeseo who heard about the news of your fainting, came over as well to keep you company. As much as you’d like to spend the time alone, you didn’t mind the company. You sat on the bed while the other three were sitting around you; of course Chanyeol was seated the closest to you. He was busy telling you stories about his song composing club. You smiled and looked at the others. Yeseo was of course sticking close to Kyungsoo, hypnotized by every single word that came out from his mouth. You giggled to yourself.

You could no longer remember what you used to think or how you used to feel. When did you grow accustomed to seeing this? What you used to consider background noise was now comforting and normal to you. Just then, Chanyeol’s phone was ringing and you caught a glimpse of an unknown number shown on the screen. You knew the caller was not from Korea due to the country code in front of the number. You then noticed how tense Chanyeol had gotten and the room seemed to have fallen silent.

He answered the call and because of the silence, you could hear the voice of the caller; but it sounded so foreign. You looked at Chanyeol and he had an expressionless face. His eyes seemed so dead, like an empty vessel. You didn’t know why but you suddenly felt afraid. You felt your heart ache seeing him in that state and you didn’t know why.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Chanyeol said and he shut his phone before standing up and grabbing his things. “I have to go. I’m sorry, I’ll come again tonight.” He looked at you and patted your head lovingly. For a second, the old Chanyeol appeared in front of you but he was gone in a second before he rushed out of the room.

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows. “Well, what the hell was that all about…”

You shrugged and couldn’t help but feel bothered by the uneasy feeling in your heart.

Night came and there was still no sight or news of Chanyeol. Kyungsoo offered to stay with you but you urged him to be with Yeseo so he sent her home. You were all alone in your room again, staring at your phone. You were contemplating on whether to send a text message to Chanyeol; asking him whether everything was okay but it seemed so out of your character to do so. You didn’t know why but ever since you’ve met Chanyeol, you’ve been thinking and doing things that you never thought you would. Never have you thought about someone so much.

There was a soft knock on the door and you jumped thinking it was Chanyeol but the one that entered was Mr. Lee, bringing you a glass of warm milk. You sighed and leaned back on your bed and continued to stare at your phone. Mr. Lee placed the warm milk on the small bedside table and looked at you.

“You know Young Master, you could try to at least hide the disappointment on your face when I entered your room.” He joked.

You sighed and smiled apologetically at him. “I’m sorry Mr. Lee, I just thought that you were…”

“Your tall friend with the ridiculously white teeth?” He joked again and you chuckled. 

“Young Master, can I ask you a question?”

You nodded.

“Do you perhaps, love Chanyeol?” he looked at you and examined your expression.

You didn’t know what to reply to him. The fact is, you didn’t even know how you felt towards Chanyeol in the first place. Like? Yeah you like him. But love? That’s a whole new different thing. Mr. Lee noticed how you were still silent and smiled. He knew exactly what was going through your head. Lightly, he flicked your forehead, making you snap out from your thoughts.

“You don’t have to answer me Young Master. I’m scared your head might hurt the more you think about it.”

Hearing him say that, a thought came to you. “Mr. Lee, there’s something I haven’t told you about.” You smiled guiltily, causing his eyebrows to curve upwards with worry. Seeing that he hadn’t said anything yet, you continued to speak.

“Back during the summer vacation, the same thing happened. I sort of out in the middle of the sea while thinking about Appa. And this time, I fainted because I was thinking about him too. And it’s not like I haven’t thought of him before, I do. But it happens only when I look at something that reminds me of…that incident.” You whispered as you felt a small lump forming in your throat.

Mr. Lee stared at you for a few minutes before hesitating to speak. “I don’t know If you remember this Young Master but, a long time ago, after your father passed away you…” he stopped, finding the right words to say but you urged him to continue. He took a deep breath and nodded.

“After your father passed away, you tried to kill yourself.”