Creator || Lee Jaehyun

twenty-five

When Yerin woke up, she was surprised to find Hyunjae by her side. She looked around, immediately assuming that she was in a hospital room. She was even hooked up to an IV. The whole setting made her feel like she was in a kdrama. 

She hadn't written a hospital scene in her book, so it was truly a miracle that there was one. Would she have died if there hadn't been? If she died in her book, would she also die in real life? But... wasn't this real life too?

The thoughts were enough to make her head start aching again, and she pushed them away, instead turning her attention to the beautiful boy by her side. 

Hyunjae had pulled over a chair and was sitting beside her. His head was resting on the bed, one of his hands was holding hers, and he'd fallen asleep. 

She smiled at his sleeping form and hesitated for a second before she reached forward, playing with the fluffy strands of his hair. 

He woke up instantly. 

"Oops! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, her voice a whisper. She wasn't quite sure why she was whispering. Everything was so quiet, it didn't feel right to be speaking at a normal volume. A normal volume would feel too loud. "I didn't mean to wake you up," she told him, laughing a little. 

Hyunjae stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. 

Then he got up and sat on the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. He hugged her tight, as though he needed support. 

"I was really, really worried about you," he whispered into her hair. "Don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?" 

Yerin laughed, hugging him back. "I'm sorry for scaring you. But I feel much better now. Honest." 

"I seem to recall you saying something like that this morning too," he muttered, not letting go of her. "Why'd you make me leave you if you were feeling so unwell?" 

"You have a life outside of me," she said gently, leaning out of the embrace so that she could look at his face. "It wouldn't be fair of me to make you drop everything for me. I've already burdened you enough. I've already messed up your life enough-" 

"You haven't," he interrupted, taking both of her hands in his. He stared at her with such intensity that she struggled to hold his gaze. "Don't say things like that. You haven't messed anything up. You're not a burden. And I don't have a life outside of you. You..." he trailed off, his face blushing. 

She felt herself blush as well and wanted to tell him to continue, but she was suddenly very nervous. 

"You mean a lot to me," Hyunjae finally said. "So don't get hurt, okay?" 

"I'll try my best," she promised. "How are you feeling?" 

He looked at her incredulously. "Are you kidding me? I'm feeling fine. Don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself, okay?" 

"I'm sorry I scared you," she said. 

"Gosh Yerin, if anything, I'm the one who should be sorry," he insisted. "I've been so caught up with how I've been feeling about... you know who... and then the fact that I'm living in the world of the book you created-"

"That must have been a really big shock," she said softly, searching his face. "You seem to have taken it much better than expected though. Are you sure you're alright?" 

Hyunjae mock-glared at her. "Right now, the priority is how you're feeling. My point was that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being so caught up in my own feelings that I wasn't able to be supportive of yours. I'm sure you've been going through a hard time." 

She blinked rapidly, trying to force back her tears. "It's been a bit difficult, yeah," she admitted softly. 

"A bit? The doctor said you passed out because of stress and anxiety." 

Yerin gave him a strained smile. "It's not every day I end up inside one of my books," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. "But I feel much better now. I promise I'm being truthful this time." 

He was still holding her hands, and looked down at them, a small smile coming to his face. "I'm relieved," he whispered. "I'm not ready for you to leave me yet." 

"I'm not ready to leave either," she whispered, the words catching in her throat. 

Hyunjae smiled sadly at her. "But you'll have to go someday, right? Can you tell me... how did you get here in the first place?"

She hesitated for a second, the moment flashing through her mind. How had it happened? It had been so fast, she hadn't even had a second to think. 

"I'd... I'd felt sorry towards you," she told him, speaking slowly as she remembered the events. "I had just finished writing, and I was really happy with my work. But I felt sorry and guilty towards you, who wouldn't get Hyewon and would be... um... sad. So I told you I was sorry," she said, the memory coming back clearly now. 

"I'm sorry, Lee Jaehyun." 

"I said... I said 'I'm sorry, Lee Jaehyun'," she said softly. "And then I reached out to touch my computer screen. That's when I fell through, and I ended up on the University campus..." 

"That's when we met for the first time," he whispered, a small smile gracing his lips. 

"I'm glad I met you, Kim Yerin."