39

Illiana

Come Back Home

PREVIOUSLY IN THE STRANGER NEXT DOOR 

One elevator was coming down so we took the other one. 629 was our number.

“Really, this is such a great apartment. Hopefully we have silent neighbours.” Suzy said while opening the door to our new temporary home. Lucas went in behind Suzy, I stayed a little longer in the hall. I was staring at 630, thinking about being in Korea, finally, wondering if might stumble upon Kyuhyun again.

I was so tired of the trip, that I wanted peace and quiet tonight. I anyone of the neighbours would start playing loud music, I was going to be pissed.

“Yoh, Daydreamer. Must’ve been a good one, you coming?” Suzy came up to me to get the luggage, I was smiling and I didn’t even know it. Give me a shoulder tab. “hehe, I wonder how 630 looks like, it’s the biggest place in the whole building. Although that’s what they said.”

--- My stranger next door.

“Illiana, are you feeling alright, you look pale, where are you pointing at?”

“Him,” my finger went to the open elevator, someone was grinning inside, it creeped me out, “GET HIM AWAY FROM ME” I shouted.

Those eyes, grinning at me, they weren’t the same as in my dreams, slightly less dark, not infinite. Good looking guy and all, but he gave me a bad feeling. He looked familiar too, but then again not as familiar as he should be.

“Illiana?” Seojin was holding my arms forcing me to look at him. I couldn’t. “Illiana, please, calm yourself.”

I shook my head wildly. “GET AWAY FROM ME, let me go” I was stribbling, I wanted to run away. But the doctor’s grip on me was firm. I was gasping for air and the tears welling up in my eyes.

“Illiana!?!" I slowly started to become more weak and I was stribbling less.

“He will not get his revenge” I whispered in tears. “He will not get it” I managed to look in Seojin’s eyes. He signalled a couple of doctors and nurses to uphold the young man who was coming up to us. Shim brought me back to my room. Rapidly. Letting me sit on the bed. 

“I’ll call Suzy to stay the night with you? Is that okay?”

I slowly nodded, I was kind of embarrassed now about my outburst.

“Stay here, there is no one here to hurt you ok?”

"Wait" I ran up to him. I just didn't want to be alone right now.

"Illiana?!? What are you doing?"

"Hugging you" I said bluntly.

"Illiana-shi, you're not suppose ..."

"For one minute, please, I just don't want to be alone right now." I thighetened my grip around his waist. He was standing with his clipbaord and hands in the air.

"Illiana-shii, I have wo--"

"Please"

He gave in after a few second and patted my back.

I had no idea who the guy was just then, he just looked like Sam. But Sam couldn’t be free yet, could he? No. I needed to calm down. Not 20 minutes later and Suzy was in the hospital. She must’ve rushed cause her hair was still pinned up and she hadn’t got make up on.

“Oo Li” She came running in and the first thing she did was hugging. “everything is going to be alright” She my back. “I’m going to take you home by the creak of dawn, no matter what Doctor Shim says. You’ll be safe there.”

“mmmmm” I agreed.

“Good morning girls, Just going for my daily check up rounds.” Doctor Shim woke us happily.

I was up first. I didn’t sleep much last night. Suzy woke up on the other side of the bed. She needed to think where she was. “Oo damn, I overslept, I was supposed to sneak you out” she pouted. Seojin gave her a disapproved look.

“What?” she said sheepishly “pfft like I was going to do that.” She fake smiled at him.

He turned his attention to me. “So, are you feeling better?”

“I’m a little better than yesterday” I softly answered. My cheecks flushed a bit, thinking about yesterday's spontanious hug, I gave him.

“Well, than Illiana, I’ll send you home, but I’ve got a few conditions.” I couldn’t repress a smile. “Don’t smile just yet”

My smile faded. “Ok, what are the conditions?” I reluctant.

“First, be healthy and don’t over work yourself” He smiled. “Second, don’t overthink everything otherwise I have to learn miss I-am-saving-you over there how to massage your temples.”

“eeewww I’m not touching her” She said playfully, she didn't mean it off course and she was going to do it either way.

“OOO you will, you are a cuddlier and you know it.” (me)

“Right, that’s because it’s you” She smiled

“You know you love me” This seemed like a conversation we had before I went to Africa.

“Yeah yeah, I know you love me”

“Girls, I’m not done” We both averted our attention back at him. “Great, now that I got your attention back, third, don’t go searching for memories, let them come to you.” The hell with the third one, I’m going to look for my memories.

“Fourth, Suzy-shi, I’m learning you that technique anyway, fifth, no more spontanious hugs ok?"

“Li, you heard it right?, this y doctor is going to learn me how to massage temples, Wait? Did I miss something, you hugged him? You hugged this y doctor?” She smiled playfully.

“Yah, Suz, what about Kibum?” I suddenly asked. Hearing her call out him the "y doctor" gave me an urge to call out the other's name. I don’t know where it came from or who the guy was. Suzy’s smile faded and she looked worried. With open mouth she stared at me, not knowing what to say first.

“L-l-Li, how do you know about Kibum?” She stuttered with some confusing.

“I don’t know, it just seemed the right thing to ask you? Who’s Kibum btw, and why would I know him?” Suzy still under a little of shock looked at Shim. He signalled her to come with him outside.

As they went outside the door didn’t close fully and there was a little split in between.

“How can she remember things like that? Does she remember the others too?” was she mad because of what I asked?

“It will all come back in bits and pieces. This is the first thing she remembers something, I think, when she wasn’t in a coma.”

“She didn’t even meet Kibum yet. Only that one time she saw him at Mid Summer Festival”

“that means you talked about him a lot in the past 6 months.”

“But she remembers other things too, like when she was in a coma, she could recall everything that happened around her except for Ky….”

Suzy shusshed the doctor when she noticed the open door and saw me eavesdropping, she immediately closed the door.

Now I was getting mad at her, I was going to get some answers but my bestie just held me from it. Why do I have to find the answers myself. It’s frustrating not to no.

When they came back in. “Suz, who’s Kibum?” She looked at the doctor who nodded. I know I couldn’t be mad at Suzy for long, she had all the best intensions with me.

“He’s a friend”

“Is he my friend?”

“Not yet, but he is close to me, let’s close this subject and start packing! You are coming home.”

“So we live here?” I asked Suzy looking at the big building in front of me.

“uhu, Li I could use a bit of your help here, it’s not because you were in coma for 4 weeks that you can’t help a poor girl out”

“You’re doing fine on your own.” I teasingly smiled.

“YAH, you brat” She laughed, off course I was going to help her out, it was my stuff anyways.

“The left elevator is here, get in” I placed a foot in the left elevator something stopped me from going further. I was getting short on oxygen. “Li, what’s wrong?”

I backed away from that elevator gripping the clothes above my heart, breathing extremely heavy.

“I..I can’t” I gasped, Suzy gave me a concerned look.

“okay, okay, Li, breathe, get that oxygen flowing and we don’t have to take the left one, the right one is here too” We got into the right elevator, I had no problems there.

Something happened in the left one. I could feel it. 

“Push the button Li.” Suzy said from the back of the elevator, with my stuff blocking her way. I don’t know which one to push.

“Which one?”

“Choose” Was she testing me? Okay fine, I’ll play the game, I pushed six. Normally I would always have gone for number 4. But now I just picked a radom number, 4 didn't feel right.

“Congratulations” She smiled at me. “You chose the right button, you remembered six.”

Not really, I pushed some random button, 6 seemed fine.

We unloaded the elevator. I stood there and I didn’t know where I was. We were standing in front of the door and without me knowing it or realising it, I was gazing at 630. I had this feeling that someone would come out and ramble some stuff and then he would kiss me.

“Yo, daydreamer, you coming?” Her tone in voice changed when she saw what I was looking at. “Why are you looking at 630?” This feels like a deja-vu or something, didn’t we do this already? And on the other side it feels like a dream.

“I-I just got some kind of feeling, that someone would come out of that door and kiss me? God I’m going crazy.”

She merely smiled at me and pulled me inside. “Don’t worry about that for awhile.”

“Sis, you’re home” Lucas came running to me, giving me a hug.

"Hey, Lu"

“Lucas, be careful that you’re not suffocating her. We just got her back, and I want to keep it that way. I’m not calling your mother again.”

“Mom left already?, without saying goodbye?” I looked at Mrs Jung rather disappointed.

“OO, Illiana honey, don’t be sad. It’s hard work out there.”

“Yeah I know” I angrily retorted.

“Don’t be mad, she’s doing the best she can” Lucas untangled himself and making room for some else to hug me. Mrs Jung took the opportunity to smoulder me into an embrace.

“yeah, yeah whatever, we were always second place anyway, why would I still care?.” I whispered and Mrs Jung just hugged me tighter. “euhhh Mrs Jung you can let me go now.”

“Ow, right, I’m sorry, I’m just so glad we have you back.”

“Omma talks about you like you are her daughter and rather than me” Suzy got a little bit jealous..

“Suzy dear, Do I see the little green monster coming out? You know that you are my only little girl, come here, I love you.” Pulling Suzy in an embrace.

“Ommm---mmmaaaa” Suzy resisted. It just made me smile.  “leeee—tttt me goo---“

“But my little Suzy was so jealous when I hugged Illiana, now you got a double portion of hugs.” Mrs Jung smiled mischievously.

“Fine, I surrender, You win, mom, like always.” Mrs Jung laughed while Suzy straightened her clothes.

I went inside the room that Suzy pointed out, apparently my room, this room seemed foreign yet familiar. And that art piece was so not matching the look and feel of the room.

I studied the art piece on the wall. I couldn't remember it being there before, then again I couldn't remember this being my room.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” I shrieked. I held up my hands in front of my mouth. I didn’t know I could scream that loud. But seeying what I saw, you would've screamed to.