Younha (윤하) - It's Okay (괜찮다)

» Clouds shadowed over the tall hospital, creating a dreary atmosphere that mirrored the hearts of patients. Despite the fact that it was close to being 5 am, cars were still buzzing and roaming the streets of Seoul - its blinding lights replacing the gray reflection of clouds.

A light shriek of car tires disturbed the ghostly environment of the hospital. Four young men in casual clothing stepped out of a silver car, in rush. They weren’t running, but their paces were fast. The darkness of that hour made it almost impossible to see the slight grin on their faces. The youngest one tugged the other male in front of him as they stepped into the entrance of the hospital. “I wonder what she will says once she sees us again.” His eyes light up slightly in the childish vibe that was lingering around him.

“Just don’t ask her too much question, Tae Min. She’d just woke up.” The tugged one, Jong Hyun, responded in the serious tone of his. His eyes were searching for the right room with the dim light of the corridor. The contrast of the LED light at the entrance earlier, with the dimness at the corridor where the patients were still asleep, could cleary be compared.

Leading the way as a leader, Onew gave s a small gesture before he reached out his hand to push the door open. In instance, he sensed another human being in the ward instead of that only one patient who was supposed to be there. Walking in calm steps, Onew’s eyebrows were raised simultaneously at the sight which laid before his eyes. I thought he wouldn’t be here.

It wasn’t unacceptable, but it was unfamiliar. The sight was calm indeed. On the white sheet of bed, lies Se Kyung with her peaceful features. Her eyelashes rested softly against her pale skin, which was used to be milky before. At the tips of her fingers, laid Xiu Min; his head fell on the marginal of the bed whilst his body bent to lean over. The vibe around him was strangely cold despite the warm scene that they’ve created.

“What is he doing here?” Key spoke up, breaking the silence of the peaceful scene. He rushed towards the said person before a voice interrupted his steps. Spinning around in annoyance, the sight of three familiar figures appeared at the door frame of the room.

“Don’t disturb them, Key. I don’t think that he means any harm or to claim any prizes from Se Kyung. He came in peace, see?” The man between those two females, Min Ho exclaimed along with Sulli and Tae Yeon, tagging from behind. He threw his index finger slightly towards the sleeping Xiu Min before steps were taken as the three of them moved forward into the room.

Glancing at Xiu Min’s peaceful state from the corner of her eyes, Tae Yeon pulled a chair and leaned down for a sit at the other side of the bed. “I was thinking like that either. This guy helped her. Why would you want to chase him away if he didn’t do any harm towards our Kyungie?” Softly, she spoke up as she rested her gaze at Se Kyung’s porcelain features.

Sighing, Key tore his gaze away from Xiu Min with a defeated reaction. It wasn’t like he didn’t have any respect for the elder, but the fact that people nowadays only saved someone for money, caused him to turned into an over-protective brother/friend for Se Kyung. He didn’t want anyone to use Se Kyung after all of this ended. Especially for a stranger like that male who was fast asleep at the marginal of her bed. The thoughts of his friends, however, made him to think more rationally. Key nodded lightly with a heavy heart. “But that doesn’t means that I put my trust on him.”

A small smile curled up at the corner of Sulli’s lips as she stared at Key’s hard reaction. She knew that he will open up for the new guy soon. “Well, at least you’ve accepted his help without a doubt now.” Her eyes caught a light nod from Key as she joined Min Ho at the creamy coach. Exchanging a knowing glance, Sulli and Min Ho held back a small chuckle from escaping their lips in the memory of the old days when Key hardly accepted Sulli as Min Ho’s girlfriend. Both of them knew that it was nice to have a friend who will always be careful in his every steps, but sometimes, that Key's suspicion could resulted to a heart break. That memory was still vivid, it was still at the back of their mind - the strong bond between Min Ho and Key almost break at the moment Key went overboard as he declared to Sulli that his very own best friend  (who was also her boyfriend) will get excluded from the five boys' group, SHINee, if she still continues to be in a relationship with him. The time was hard for them, but even with tonnes of blackmails from Key, he never really do anything to break them. Perhaps it was just a threat, or a challenge from the mother of the group in order to test their love. It was until that one specific day, when Sulli fell sick but refused to be send to the hospital due to the graduation exams. Her loving parents were currently out of the country and she was left with no one, but Min Ho and the two girls. That vivid scene happened during the night time, when a call that was supposedly be for Min Ho, was accidentally got into Key’s number. The call, however, ended as quickly as the seconds' passed. Because Sulli fell unconscious after that. The morning after, she found herself comfortably rested on her bed in the shade of an elegant pink room. It was her room indeed. But the fact that her eyes caught the sight of a tidy room, which was a mess with books for revisions before, made her alerted and curious about things that happened last night. In the moment she stepped into the seemingly warm kitchen with the wonderful smell of the porridge, a pale pink sticky note could be spotted at a pearly white surface of the refrigerator. And that was – exactly when she realised that it was all fake. Key’s blackmails and discourage in their relationship turned out to be approved secretly.

“Can I see the sunrise?”

A light, small, hoarse voice snapped Sulli out of the trail of her thoughts about the past. Tilting her head up in curiosity, Sulli’s gaze fell at Se Kyung who was sitting and was now wide awake. “Kyungie!! You are awake!”

A small smile crept onto Se Kyung’s pale lips before she pointed towards the mousy coloured curtain. Her hair fell on her shoulder like a smooth silk despite the fact that it looked slightly messy as she turned her head towards the covered window. “Can I see the sunrise, please?” Repeating the words from earlier, Se Kyung stared up at Jong Hyun who was the closest with the brown curtain.

Blinking at Se Kyung who was not surprised to see their sudden presence in her ward, Jong Hyun shifted closer towards the window with a blank face. His fingers brushed against the soft material of the thick curtain before a smooth wheezing sound could be heard from the singing curtain.

It was vague, but the first small rays of the sunlight could be seen; gracing through the Earth. The sky of the lightless dawn was slowly glowing with casting sunbeams, illuminated the busy roads of Seoul. The colours changed as the shimmering gold disc grew more vivid as the seconds ticked by. The radiant of the sky became as clear as a crystal when the sun climbed higher into the soft blue sky, sitting in its majestic place.

Mouth was gaping slightly as Xiu Min’s eyes caught the wonderful sight of the clouds, lighted with magnificently warm light as the sun announced another chapter of a new day. The drowsiness that he felt dispersed into the thin rays of the sunlight as he stared out of the glass pane, enjoying the rare oppoturnity to witness the sunrise. Without knowing, Xiu Min slowly averted his gaze away towards Se Kyung who was sitting in front of him with an admirable reaction. Her eyes were widened in the breath-taking view, but her gaze was as soft as a feather. The golden light touched her pale skin, warming her heart. Xiu Min brought his palm towards his chest. Why did he felt that his frozen heart was warming up too?

“Omo! This is so beautiful. How did you know that the sun is going to rise now, Kyungie?” Tae Yeon asked sweetly along with the euphonious hum of hers, snapping Xiu Min out of his peaceful moment. She smiled when her gaze traveled around the others’ eyes which were still glued at the glorious sight that was flashed before their eyes.

Tearing her gaze away from the glass pane, Se Kyung was about to answer Tae Yeon’s question when she caught Xiu Min, who stared at her with an oddly warm look. Feeling her heartbeat speeding up, Se Kyung averted her gaze from Xiu Min’s brown orbs as she knew that her pale skin began to be coloured in the shades of pink. “I–I've always wished to see the sunrise and the sunset, but didn’t manage to see one because of the University works. So I usually check the sunrise's and the sunset's time on the internet when I got off from the schedules. It actually feel like a fairy tale for me when I finally see it like this.” A light chuckle escaped her lips in the recall of her memories.

A soft smile curled up Tae Min’s lips before he walked closer towards Se Kyung. “It’s okay, noona! This year is your last year for the University, right? Then what if we celebrate your graduation at the beach when it ended? You can also see the sunset there!” He beamed with a wide smile, matched perfectly with the sun.

Se Kyung close her eyes momentarily, taking in the cuteness that the maknae had with a genuine smile. “I would love to, Tae Min! It will be summer when the graduation, so it will be a perfect time for us all to spend time together!” Her head unconsciously turned towards Xiu Min who secretly smiled at the friendly scene of them two. However, Se Kyung only saw that small smile for a second, which then left her to wish of that warm smile to stay longer on his pretty lips for the next time she was able to see it again. “Do you… want to come with us?” The words slipped out from Se Kyung’s sore throat even without having a second thought about welcoming a stranger into the small graduation party at the beach. She didn’t know why, but the smile that she had just seen a second ago, made her eager to see it once again. And perhaps, Xiu Min could smile warmly like that again if she gives him the happiness. But was she willing to give her own happiness in order to see that small, genuine smile on his face once again?

Snapping out from his warm thoughts about Se Kyung, Xiu Min averted his gaze away when the realization of staring and having such thoughts hit him. However, his fluttered gaze landed on Key’s sharp eyes. In instance, the slight warmness in Xiu Min’s brown orbs dispersed into the fresh breeze of the new day as he knew that Key had been observing his acts even from the beginning. The thoughts of having to spend time with Key made him cringed. “No.” Without a single utter of the usual polite words like "no, thanks" or "no, I'm good", Xiu Min refused to join in the graduation party that will be held by the end of the year. Deep inside, he did wished for a small relaxing day from all the stress of his past, but he also knew that his phobia for female will only ruin the graduation party. Although he did craved to see the shine in Se Kyung’s eyes once again, just like the way she saw the sunrise at the crack of the dawn.

Slowly nodded, Se Kyung shifted her gaze downwards in disappointment. She didn’t want to show it, but the fact that the sparkle in her eyes were replaced with a dull shine, made it quite obvious for everyone around her to see that crestfallen face. “Why? It will be so beautiful – like those people who live in the fairy tale. They found their happily ever after in a pretty place, then why don’t you want to follow us? It will be fun, trust me.” Throwing Xiu Min a bland smile, Se Kyung asked as she tilted her head up slightly, looking everywhere except Xiu Min’s dark brown orbs.

Noticing the crestfallen look in Se Kyung’s eyes, Xiu Min felt uncomfortable and guilty – for him to shove away a request from a child like her. Amongst all the girls who he had met before, all of them had a fake innocent vibe around them, but not Se Kyung. He had to admit that Se Kyung was indeed a vulnerable girl. He wouldn’t call her innocent – which would only remind him so much to the past when most of the crowd around him was fake, innocent girls. It was a hard time for him until he met Min Yun who turned to be the wisest girl who he’d ever met. He thought that he liked her because of the differences in her aura, but he was wrong. Instead, Xiu Min felt stuffed with her never-ending problems and felt like covering his ears with headphone whenever Min Yun came to him and seek for comfort. He knew that he was being a jerk, but he also realised that he only liked Min Yun because she had an invisible wave around her that could chase those fake girls away from him. Letting out a sigh, Xiu Min brought his gaze downwards as the memories recalled in his mind.

“If you are annoyed by me, then I suggest that you should put that matter away. Because I wouldn’t hurt you even though I don’t trust you, yet.” The sudden range of sentences brought everyone else in that room out of their thoughts about the present and the past. Key crossed his arms on his chest with a look at Xiu Min as the latter met with his auburn orbs. “Se Kyung seems to enjoy your company. And I don’t want anyone to disappoint my daughter.”

“It’s okay, Key oppa. Maybe Xiu Min-sshi has something else to do.” Shoving away the disappointment which was nesting in her heart, Se Kyung gave Key a hesitantly assurance smile, trying to convince him that she was fine with that although her act was horrible.

Key was about to protest, when Tae Yeon cut him out with the loud voice of hers. “Guys! Can’t you stop arguing over a small thing? Se Kyung had just woke up and she had to face all these cold glares from the two of you! Let’s go downstairs and buy some foods already! I’m starving!” Her eyebrows were furrowed because of the irritation that both males did. Judging from what she saw, she knew that no one was dare to spoke up to Key when he was in a middle of a debate. And that new strange guy – he personally had a cold vibe which stopped people from butted into an intense conversation that he had with Key. Rather than being a spectacular and starve, Tae Yeon was willing to shout and whined for food than to listen to both debates.

A smile crept on the corner of Onew’s lips before he grabbed Tae Yeon’s arm and spun around towards the door, giving a slight gesture for the others to trail from behind. “Me and Tae Yeon are going to buy fried chickens first. If you are not hungry, then please make a mental note that we wouldn’t spare a single chicken for your poor stomach.” He raised his voice lightly on purpose to make them follow him and Tae Yeon instead. He knew that the others weren’t a chicken addict like he was, but at least they knew what he was trying to say. Tae Yeon’s small chuckle symbolised him that the others started to make a move from the intense spot they were standing at. He smiled at the thought of it. At least Key wasn’t too stubborn for this new guy’s case this time.

» A second ticked by after the rest of them have left the room to grab some foods at the modern-like cafeteria downstairs. Se Kyung herself would have the foods being served by a nurse later and the only person who accompanied her now was Xiu Min. She averted her gaze away from the scenery outside, before the words could pop out from her pale lips. “Aren’t you hungry?”

Gazing up, Xiu Min caught the guilt in Se Kyung’s eyes. He could tell that she must be thinking that she was the reason why he hasn’t eat anything yet, thus feeling like she was a burden for him. “No. I will eat when they come back.” Anything could happen to you if I left you alone here. He shook his head off the sudden thoughts slightly. True, he did came here to look after Se Kyung, but was he started to see her as someone who he should protect?

As if Se Kyung had heard the hidden thoughts of Xiu Min, she asked in hesitation, wondering whether if it was the right time or not. “Why did you saved me?” Her voice was slow, croaked lightly, and her gaze was thrown downwards. She played with her fingers as her mind tried to think of every reason for Xiu Min to save her from suffocating, but nothing logical came to her as a result. “How did you knew that I was there?”

Xiu Min was expecting for that question to be asked earlier, ever since she was awake – although he couldn’t help himself but to felt slightly surprised along with a strange feeling which secretly crept into his heart, at the moment the flash of Se Kyung’s eyes stared softly into his soul. “Because, I heard you.” He paused momentarily as he gazed down, and looked up at Se Kyung again who gestured him for a clear answer. “The door creaked – my old bedroom’s door creaked.” If only he could, he would say that he has stalked her last night because of  his apprehensiveness, but to see that he was unsure of the whole thing that have begun to bloom roughly - Xiu Min kept it in and talked less.

“But why?” Se Kyung pursed her lips together as curiosity grew inside of her. Blinking, she continued, “Why did you saved me?” Without her knowing, her voice trembled lightly with the thought of the dream which she had last night. “I could’ve follow my sister instead.” That statement came out almost inaudibly, as if it weren’t meant to be spoken in the first place. Se Kyung tilted her head up, staring at Xiu Min, who seemed to be searching for the right words as a reply.

Not being able to think of an excuse which wouldn’t reveal most of his pasts, Xiu Min sat there with an unreadable expression. His eyes stared off space, his mind was tangled, and his emotions mixed. The urge of letting out a sigh whenever he was unable to give a reply, filled his lungs. “Because you are a human.” The sudden look of surprise which was given by Se Kyung, caused Xiu Min to watch his upcoming words. “You deserve to live. You can’t die like that. At least not by—suffocating.” His Adam apple moved hardly as his eyes glued on Se Kyung and her speechless response. Xiu Min lowered his head down with a depressed gaze towards the pure white blanket. “When you need help, just ask.” He wished to say more than that, he had more to say. He wanted to tell her about how she could always seek for a help whenever she need it, he wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to feel like a burden for them all, he wished to tell her everything that he had kept for so long. But, having a cold heart stopped all of those pure intention of his. Xiu Min squeezed his eyes shut in frustration.

Her pale lips was parting apart to let the comforting words escaped, but a sudden burst of Tae Min’s voice halted her act. Se Kyung tilted her head up as she tore her gaze away from Xiu Min. A half-hearted smile crept on her lips when they served her foods that she wasn’t supposed to eat. Maybe Xiu Min-ssi is more than someone random who appeared with a cold heart.

 byunghannie's note A new character has come out! She's Min Yun, Xiu Min's dead girlfriend.