The Love That Remains

I wake up and see the white ceiling. I can smell the aseptic smell of the hospital. I sit up groggily and find Sung Jun beside me in disheveled school uniform. There are dark circles under his eyes and his skin is pale. He looks tired and ready to drop anytime.

What is he doing here?

"You are finally awake." He cups my face and looks into my eyes. "I have been waiting."

"Jun, did you have a bath today?" He smiles tiredly when he hears my question and closes his eyes. He puts his arms around my waist and falls asleep.

"I am not letting you go this time." He murmurs after getting comfortable with my lap.

"Hey, what are you doing? I am the patient here." I yell and try to push him away. His hold is tighter than an iron lock. I lightly slap his cheek. He doesn't respond at all. I put my finger under his nose to check whether he is breathing.

This guy is just sleeping.

"Hey, I need to go to the bathroom...."

He doesn't respond at all. I pinch his cheek. Soft... I will love to ogle him right now, but my need to pee is a grave emergency.

I sigh and press the button to call a nurse. It's barely a minute when a nurse with short hair and blue uniform rushes in.

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"You are awake." She looks at me and then, at Sung Jun. "Did he sleep? Thank God, he didn't sleep for the last four days."

"Can you wake him up?" I can't afford to care about his sleep. I need to pee.

"No, I need to call the doctor." She runs away before I can stop her.

Hold it, Fang Aisa. You can't wet your pants. This idiot is sleeping in your lap.

"Jun!" I slap his cheek again. "Wake up, I need to pee."

He doesn't wake up at all. I can hear the sound of light snoring.

"Are you kidding me? Who told you to not sleep?" I can't even move my waist. What if it leaks out. "Wake up, Jun."

"If you wake up, I will do anything you ask." I am on the verge of crying. I don't want to lose my 'left-over' dignity.

Just then, Sung Jun let me go. I don't think much about it and jump off the bed. But my feet don't cooperate and I fall on the floor, wetting my pants before I stop. Damn!

Just then, a haggard man in a white coat walks into the room. I assume that this man is the doctor who has been treating me.

He glances at me and says, "Miss Fang, you woke up finally."

And he starts bawling like a child.

"Thank God, you are awake."

His face is full of grievances. I am dumbfounded. Are doctors supposed to get this emotional at this level for a random patient? Why he is wailing?

Suddenly, I am no longer on the floor. I get dizzy by sudden momentum and grab his shoulder. I am being carried to the bathroom in a princess style.

"Let me down." I wriggle in his arm. "You lying pretentious fox!" He was just pretending to be asleep earlier, wasn't he?

He doesn't stop despite my protest. He lightly kicks the door of the bathroom and gets in. Then, he put me down on the floor. I notice that his shirt is wet too. Looking at my wet pants, I don't have to guess. I am embarrassed. Both of us smell like urine.

"Don't you need help?" He asks me quietly. I feel like crying. Why is this devil here? He isn't even my family. How come the hospital administration is letting him stay?

"Get out!" Please leave me a bit of privacy.

He nods like a robot. "I will bring you clothes."

"Jun."

He stops and looks back at me. He doesn't look anything like his usual self. There is something in his eyes that I can't recognize. I am a bit worried. Just a bit. This is just humanity. It is just a little bit of worry a human can feel for another human. It's not anything deep.

"Go home and rest...I will be fine." I resist the urge to hug him and say that I am here for him

He sighs softly and pats my head.

"Aisa, you nearly killed me." He plants a kiss on my cheek and leaves without saying another word. It's hard not to feel anything.