“Are you okay?” I ask Shi Won as we walk down the hospital lobby. She’s getting weaker than I thought she’d be. Her liver is in critical condition. It’s slowly deteriorating. We’re in and out of the hospital these days. We’ve been referred to several doctors for countless times.

She gives me a weak nod.

“I’m fine. I can walk farther. I’m sorry, Yoon Jae.”

Her apologies have turned into habit that it doesn’t piss me off anymore. She considers herself a luggage in my back. She’s sorry for everything – Joon Hee’s leaving from our apartment, her rash decisions of our fake marriage, and her parent’s decision of having us married in church.

We got married two years after Joon Hee left me. Since then, it was a tough journey for us to stay together. We knew there was no love, but we made them believe there was. Despite all the aches and heartbreaks, we settled into treating each other as friends. We thought it’s better that way.

I bring her to the nearest bench. She looks like she’s going to faint. She rests her head on my shoulder once we settled on our seats.

“We’re going to Dr. Kang, right?” she asks.

I nod. We’ve been referred to another Dr. Kang again in this hospital. The last one was Dr. Kang Dong Min. We might not say it but I know one thing is going through our minds.

“What if Joon Hee’s here? What if he’s the one we have to go to?”

For a moment, I let my eyes wander around the whole vicinity. This is where Joon Hee had taken his internship. There’s a big possibility that he works here.

“Then I guess we have to deal with him.”

And then Joon Hee comes out from a door with another doctor trailing behind him. Our eyes meet, and I can feel the last ten years between us crunch into dust. It’s like a slow motion in a movie. There’s a burning sensation in my chest that’s too hot for me to resist. All my fears and hopes are rolling into one and hitting me square on the forehead.

“Joon Hee-ah.” says Shi Won weakly.

Joon Hee suddenly walks away from us. I fumble for the sheet of paper inside my pocket where a doctor’s number is written. I dial it and wait for the other line to pick up.

Then Joon Hee stops, looks at his ringing phone then at me. It’s really him. Fate and time conspired to cross our paths again.