CHAPTER 23: UNCONSCIOUS

“You cannot give up now, Ahn Hyojin. Not now…” The younger one cried beside her comatose lover. “We still have to build our own café, remember?” Tears were present in her eyes, but her heart remained hopeful and optimistic as she enumerated the plans that they have for their future.

“You were always patient, and you’ve always sacrificed your benefits for mine. Even if I’ve caused you a lot of trouble and hurt, you still never gave up on me.” She added; her hand still clasped tightly with Hyojin’s. “That’s why I’m never giving up on you. I’ll wait, no matter how long it takes.”

Just then, she received a text that immediately made her stand up from her seat and let go of the latter’s hand. She deeply exhaled as she gave one last glance at the most precious person in her life before rushing out of the hospital.

“Justice will be served, I promise you that.”

The quietness of the room, the scent of the hospital, the still dead-to-the-world patient – it all reminded her of that certain memory, and it came down on her crashing like a tidal wave. It was the same reason why she’s not fond of being inside the hospital, and if only it wasn’t her job to follow someone else’s orders, she would have disobeyed her boss already.

Junghwa took another step closer to the bed, and her heart felt heavier as she did.

“You seem to be a really nice person so I wonder…” the young lady just stared at the comatose patient with curious eyes. “I wonder why she wants you dead…“

“Who gave you the permission to go in here?”

“Oh, Ms. Yoon…” she bowed upon seeing the older one looking at her with doubtful eyes. “Ms. Ahn sent me to check –“

“I’m asking who allowed you to go in.” Bomi didn’t bother to listen to the rest of her explanation and demanded for an answer.

“Mr. Park did…” the visitor still smiled innocently as she answered. “Am I…not allowed here?”

Bomi covered her face for a minute, trying to escape from the panic that she felt after she was told that a certain Park Junghwa is currently inside to visit Chorong. Only closely-related people were allowed inside the room, so how come someone whose existence wasn’t even known by her girlfriend managed to get near her? And the fact that she’s a friend of Hani’s was already enough to make her feel alarmed because no matter how hard she tried to dismiss what she was told of, she knew that there’s a tiny bit of possibility of it being real.

“I’m sorry.” The stressed out girlfriend of the patient exhaled deeply. “I know you mean well, but only those people close to Chorong are the only ones allowed in here. She doesn’t even know you so…”

“I understand. I’m sorry for coming in here.” Junghwa apologized as well. “I just asked Mr. Park about her condition since Ms. Ahn asked me to check on her. He must have thought that I’m a friend so he talked to the staff to let me in.”

“That’s weird. I see. Please tell her that Chorong is recovering very well.” Bomi forced a tight-lipped smile. “And also that I really appreciate her concern.” She continued, slowly leading the younger one outside the recovery room.

“Consider it done.” The innocent smile on her face never faded as she curtsied before finally walking away. “I’ll go ahead then.”

As she watched the latter’s figure disappear from afar, certain thoughts flooded her mind. Specifically, those thoughts that her tired brain still managed to generate as she spoke to Junghwa, Hani’s so called friend. Bomi got lost deep in her thoughts about those things that seemed a little but off that she didn’t notice Naeun already standing beside her.

“Who was that?” the also drained celebrity asked.

“Huh?” The latter delayed for a second before continuing. “Oh, that was Park Junghwa.” Bomi tried to sound as casual as she can so as to not raise any suspicion from Naeun.

“I’ve never heard her from Chorong…” Naeun remarked as she furrowed her eyebrows. “Is she a relative?”

“No. She’s Hani’s friend.”

“But I thought…“ The younger one’s voice trailed.

“Uncle thought of her as Chorong’s friend so he let her in.” Bomi walked back inside the room with Naeun following her behind. “Are they resting already?”

“Yeah…” Naeun sat down on the seat next to Bomi’s. “I told them that we’re here to cover them so they can rest as much as they want to since they just got back from the US.”

The older one nodded; her eyes were fixed on her unawake lover as their conversation went on. “Speaking of resting, why did you insist on coming here with me? You should be resting, seriously.”

“Hey, I’m Chorong’s friend too.” Naeun reasoned out. “Besides, you need to rest too. I can stay here and look after her.”

“I’m perfectly –“

“No, you’re not, Bomi. I know that you spent the night here yesterday, and fetched me coming straight from hospital. You can’t see your eye bags, but I can. You need sleep.”

“As if you don’t know me, Naeun-ah…” Bomi argued back. “I’m nocturnal, remember?” an airy laugh escaped from .

The latter shook her head. “I also know that you’re still blaming yourself for everything that has happened.”  

And that was when Bomi wasn’t able to respond anymore. With moist eyes, she took Chorong’s hand in hers, thumb gently caressing the back of the hand. Meanwhile, Naeun moved her chair closer to Bomi, putting her arms around her friend. The latter didn’t react but after a while, she noticed Bomi’s uneven breathing and finally, felt something drop and slowly slither down her arm. Naeun tried comforting her friend through words, only to fail when she opened as if to speak and no words came out. The only thing she could do was pull the older one closer for a tighter hug.

“I’m sorry, I’m just…” Bomi tried to explain, only to be hushed by the younger one.

“It’s not your fault, and Chorong wouldn’t blame you either.” She consoled. “I bet she’d be very happy if you’re the first person she sees when she wakes up.”

The corner of Bomi’s lips went up a little bit at the latter’s statement. For her, it sounded just like what Eunji would tell her if she was here. “You’ve been hanging out with Eunji too much.” She sniffed as she let out a small laugh and wiped her tears away.

“She’s…such a happy virus.” Her bright face dimmed, but the smile was still there. “Especially her smile, it’s so contagious.”

It was now Bomi’s turn to console her friend. Truth to be told, she should be the one comforting the other since compared to her situation with Chorong, none of them knew if Eunji is still alive or not. The police still haven’t found anything relevant, so how come Naeun still manages to get through the day and work? “I’ve never seen you this strong, Naeun-ah. Tell me, what’s keeping you from breaking down? I mean, Eunji is still…”

“Strong…?” Naeun wanted to scoff, but forced a smile instead. “Her promise.” She simply answered.

After a few more convincing, Naeun was finally able to make Bomi go home and take a rest. She wore a reassuring smile when she bid farewell to her manager but the moment the door closed, her façade broke as she wasn’t able to control her true emotions any longer. In contrary to what Bomi had just described her a while ago, she’s actually hanging by a thread and she could lose grip of it anytime. 

She sobbed as she looked at who she considered her only remaining hope.

“Please, wake up…”

---

“Go find her! And don’t you two ing idiots dare show your ugly- faces here without doing so, understood?!”

That was the first thing that Hani heard from behind the door before it opened and two, embarrassed men rushed past her. The room was in a state of mess when she entered it – files scattered on the floor, the whole place reeked of a mixture of smoke from the cigarette and smell of alcohol from the spilled drinks on the table, and the owner himself doesn’t look like a respectable CEO of a huge company.

“You obviously don’t look good.” Hani casually greeted and took a seat on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”

“They only had one simple job.” Ilhoon gritted his teeth. “One simple ing job and they still screw it up!” He exploded.

“Chill, okay?” she scoffed, finding his anger a bit entertaining. “Besides, why are you so worked up? I mean…is there anything a Jung Ilhoon cannot do?”

“I know, okay?” He drank the remaining drink in his glass before refilling it. “My point here is that they blew up a very easy task. I would’ve understood their failure if I asked them to assassinate the president or something. Can you imagine? They just had to lock up –“

“Alright, alright…I get what you mean already.” She then went near the table and took a glass for herself. “You know, we should be celebrating since we’re one step closer to our goals.” Hani raised her glass, offering a toast.

Ilhoon’s smirk that Hani got used too finally reappeared as he nodded in agreement and accepted the toast. “There are still a few things needed to be done, but you’re right! Son Naeun is soon to fall down on her knees and crawl back to me.” He giggled like a lunatic, which made Hani feel a chill creep down her spine. At the same time, it ignited her curiosity about something that she has been itching to ask a long time ago.

“Speaking of your beloved Son Naeun…” Hani took a sip before continuing. “I’m so confused, okay? You keep on claiming her as your girlfriend, and yet she strongly denies you like you’re some kind of disease. So what’s the real deal?”

His smirk turned into a bitter smile. “She broke up with me three years ago.”

“Then you must really love her that much if you’re this eager to win her back.”

“Love…?” Ilhoon questioned before he cracked up. He just kept on laughing while randomly muttering the same word in an interrogative manner. “Love…?” he emphasized more as he laughed.

“What?” Hani’s eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Ilhoon going crazy over something she doesn’t have any idea of. However, the person she was talking to just kept on going non-stop.

After a minute or two, Ilhoon stopped laughing, panting. “Wow, I never thought you had that humor…” He said in between his breaths, wiping away the tears that formed in his eyes.

“I’ve never heard such a good joke in ages.”

---

“So, we still ended up here in the hospital.” Hayoung groaned as she leaned her head on the wall. “Tell me, Soo-ah…What was your cousin even thinking?”

“I don’t know too. But knowing my cousin, she probably has a legit reason for bringing her home first.” Soo-ah defended. “Besides, I’ve always trusted her decisions and most of them turned out to be the right one.”

“Sometimes I don’t really get how she became my best friend. We argue a lot, and her way of thinking is just…so different from mine.” The younger one added.

“The funny thing is that both of you have been complaining about the same thing ever since and yet you two are still stuck with one another.” The latter teased and laughed.

Hayoung wasn’t able to argue back and just smirked. “Whatever.”

Just then, the doctor came out of the operating room, making them rise out of their seats. “The patient is now in the ER. She was stabbed in the stomach, but it seemed like it was attended to before she was brought here.”

“Yes doc.” Soo-ah responded. “It was bleeding too much so we brought her first to our in-house doctor to help stop the bleeding.”

“It was a wise decision.” The doctor complimented. “Even though it wasn’t that serious, she could still have been in danger if she lost a lot of blood.”

The two looked at each other as they both sighed in relief. Hayoung then shifted her attention back at the doctor and asked, “So, is she going to be safe now?”

“The only problem we have right now is the laceration on her head. But don’t worry; the doctors are treating her with utmost care so I can assure you that she’ll be fine.” He guaranteed, before excusing himself and going back inside the room.

Just as after the doctor disappeared, Namjoo arrived along with her uncle. Soo-ah ran towards her father and gave him a hug, while Hayoung went straight towards her best friend to deliver the news. “The doctor said that the operation isn’t done yet, but she’s going to be fine.”

“See, I told you.” Soo-ah teased the younger one with a sneer, referring to the conversation that they had a while ago.

“Anyway…” Hayoung immediately changed the topic as she sent out death glares towards her friend. “What took you and uncle so long?”

Namjoo then gave a quick glance towards her uncle before she answered. “Ah, well…Uncle asked me about what happened and scolded me about it…” her voice trailed off as she scratched the back of her head.

“But dad, the doctor that we’ve talked to said it was good that we brought her first to Doctor Lee. She could have been in a critical condition if we let her wound bleed continuously so that means Namjoo made a right decision.” Soo-ah reasoned out for her cousin.

“I know. But you can’t blame me for worrying since you three still got back home past the curfew.”

“We’re sorry.” The three unanimously said.

“Don’t worry, I understand.” He assured the girls. “It was an emergency, and it was something I couldn’t blame you for.” Mr. Kwon smiled. “Anyway, I need to get back to the resort now. Just give me a call if the operation gets done, okay?”

-

It took another hour and a half before the operation was finally done and upon Mr. Kwon’s request, the patient was transferred in a private recovery room. And since he couldn’t be in the hospital because of work, he already made an advanced request for the patient to be transferred to a private room once she wakes up.

Right now, the person they saved was still being checked by the doctor that’s why just like a while ago, the two were left waiting outside of the room while Namjoo was still away talking to her uncle. They managed to get a glimpse her, now all cleaned up compared to how they first found her all bloody and dirty, and it now sparked their interest towards the mysterious girl.

“We can’t leave without seeing her wake up.” Hayoung sighed. “I miss my bed, I miss my mangas, and I still need to finish her drama before I could watch her new movie…” Her face suddenly brightened up.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Oh Hayoung, but I don’t even think we could leave even after she does.” Soo-ah remarked.

“And why is that? When she wakes up, we could finally get her name and contact her family to come over here. Uncle can handle the rest since he was the one who’s going to shoulder every expenses needed.”

“But what if dad doesn’t even need to do that? Who knows, she might be a daughter from an influential family or something…” Soo-ah argued.

“Just like you?” Hayoung teased, earning herself a slap from her friend. “But come on, Soo-ah…there’s a higher chance that she’s just like me, a daughter of two perfectly ordinary citizens of our dear country.”

“Or what if she’s a gang member, going into fights and was hit by a baseball bat on the head –“

“You seriously need to take a break from reading those fan fictions, Kwon Soo-ah.” The latter interjected with an insult.

“As if it’s any different with the dramas you are watching…” Soo-ah sent her death glares, which Hayoung just laughed at.

“Of course they’re different. My queen is in those dramas, okay? She’s a ‘wall that can’t be climbed over’.”

“Did you just—“

At that moment, the medical staff that was assigned to the patient finally went out of the room. “Excuse me; you can now visit the patient.”

“Ah, thank you, doc.” The two smiled. “How is she?” Soo-ah asked.

“She stable now.” The doctor reported the good news. “We still have to do some tests after she wakes up, but she’s fine now.”

“Uhm, doc…will it take long before she wakes up?” Hayoung followed-up.

The doctor then flipped through his papers before answering. “Well, based on the anesthesia that was used, it wouldn’t take that long…maybe in an hour or two she’ll be awake. And oh, the room that she’s going to be transferred in is already set.” He smiled. “Anyway, I’ll go ahead. You can go take a rest in there while waiting.” The doctor then excused himself.

-

A knock woke them up from their peaceful slumber, and the sleepiness of the three vanished in an instant as they quickly rushed towards the recovery room after hearing the news from the nurse. Just like before, Namjoo stayed outside for a while to call and inform their uncle about the situation while Hayoung and Soo-ah approached the now awake stranger.

“Are you okay?” Soo-ah sincerely asked the patient and waited for an answer, but the latter just stared at her blankly. “It’s a relief that nothing bad happened to you.”

In contrast to her friend, Hayoung started lashing out her frustrations at the clueless one. “You, how can you be so careless? Don’t you know how scared we were when you suddenly appeared in front of our car?!”

Soo-ah then shushed her. “Cut it out, will you?”

Just then, the doctor came in with the nurse following behind and they hurriedly went beside the patient’s bed. “How are you? Do you remember what happened?” He asked clearly and slowly, in consideration of her condition.

“Where…am I…” With limited head movements, her eyes scanned the room as she asked the question.

“You’re in the hospital.” The doctor responded. “Can you tell us your name?”

The unknown patient just stared at them and remained impassive. The silence made him repeat his question. “Your name, can you tell us what is it?”

She looked away. Her face remained expressionless, but her eyes moved as if it was scanning – searching for something. And with that, the doctor threw in one last question.

“Do you remember anything?”

The patient finally looked back at them and slowly shook her head left and right.

----

A/N: I’m back! :D Sorry if it took a while :( I know you all know that this was coming so please do not kill me

Merry Christmas! ^^

I have good news! I finally finished my thesis and passed the defense. Meaning I’m just waiting for the graduation day. :D I’m finally graduating!!! It was the only subject left and now that I’m done with it, I’m now unofficially done with school. That means you could look forward for more updates since I can now solely focus on writing again. ^^

And I know that this is such a…well, sad update for Christmas that’s why I am working on a holiday one-shot. The story happened within the timeline of Umbrella. ^^ I'll probably post it anytime before New Year :D

And oh, if anyone here is wondering why this is the title of this chapter, you can just comment below and I will reply haha

Like always, thank you for patiently waiting, reading, subscribing (hello to my new subs!), commenting, and liking this story. You’re the best! ^^

PS: I would also like to thank those who sent encouraging words while I was doing my thesis. It really meant a lot. ^^ Again, Merry Christmas to you all! ^^