𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 || 𝗡𝗜-𝗞𝗜 ✓

[ 24 ]

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- A PURE SMILE
━━━━┅━━━┅━━━━

The next day had begun. The morning sun that was shining through the crack of his curtains shone right into his eyes, causing him to wake up.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat up straight in his bed. He looked at the clock. It was only 6 o'clock in the morning.

A yawn left his mouth. He had a sleep deprived night last night. Just thinking about yesterday. About the incident. About her.

With a deep sigh, he got up and ran his hand through his hair, which was all messed up. He walked over to his window and opened his curtain.

His attention was immediately drawn to the house across the street. Her house.

She may have only been in the hospital for one good night, but he was extremely worried about her condition.

After Heeseung had been with her, no one was allowed to visit her next. Only the following day again.

Heeseung said she looked pale. Her voice sounded weak and she had large bags under her eyes. She didn't look the same as usual. She was no longer the old Hyejin as everyone knew her.

Everyone had gone home after Heeseung informed them, except for Riki. He walked straight to the reception desk and got himself informed about when visiting hours were in the hospital, so he could visit Hyejin right after school.

And if not, he even had it in for her to skip school.

She was more important than school now.

-

"What kind of flowers represent love?" Riki asked the girl from the flower store located across from the hospital.

He looked at all the different kinds of flowers. There were daisies, sunflowers, lilies, tulips and so many more to choose from.

But he focused on only one thing. The perfect bunch of flowers for Hyejin.

The girl Riki asked that question to didn't even have to think or she already knew the answer. She stepped away from the cash register she stood behind and walked over to the shelf with the roses.

Riki's eyes followed the girl's movements. She picked up a bunch of red roses from the rose shelf and showed them to the young gentleman.

Riki stroked the top of one of the roses with his thumb. "Red roses, huh?"

"Yes," the florist replied while smiling at the roses she was holding, "The red rose represents love. It symbolizes deep emotions and they are usually given as a symbol of love. For example, men often give their wives a bunch of red roses on Valentine's Day."

Riki hummed in response and nodded a few times, "I'll take this one."

The young florist smiled, "Great."

-

Hyejin stared out the hospital window from her bed. A heart rate monitor was attached to her wrist so that doctors could observe her heart rate.

She stared at the door of her hospital room, where a nurse was standing to make sure her heart rate was stable.

"Ma'am, do you happen to know when visiting hour starts again?" Hyejin asked in a soft voice, since she didn't have enough strength to speak louder.

She missed the surroundings around her. She also didn't care now who was going to come and visit her, as long as there was someone to talk to.

Only on visiting hours were people allowed, which meant she had to spend the rest of the day by herself. Then she would read a book, stare out the window, or sleep.

The nurse looked at her watch. "In 5 minutes visiting hour will begin and you will probably receive visits," she replied.

Hyejin sighed in relief. This was what she was waiting for, finally someone by her side instead of those stupid doctors who had to keep reminding her to breathe steadily and gently and take her medicine.

She hated it here. She wanted to go home, but she had to stay here for at least a week anyway. And if her heart continued to do so poorly, it could be months more.

And she might even have to complete a very expensive surgery by then.

It's all not working out right now.

Hyejin looked at the heart rate monitor on her right. She had an extremely low heart rate. 50 heartbeats per minute. Now and then her heart would also skip a beat, which hurt her chest.

And so it went on and on throughout the day.

She felt sick. More sick than yesterday. She had probably also gotten sicker from sitting in the cold wind and rain without a coat yesterday.

A stupid action.

And it was not at all smart with the poor condition of her heart right now.

Suddenly the door to her hospital room creaked open. Hyejin looked up, finally a visitor.

But when she saw who it was, she fell silent.

It was Riki.

Riki gulped before walking up to the nurse and handing her the bunch of roses. "This one is for Hyejin. Please take good care of these roses. They mean something very much to me," Riki commanded.

The nurse nodded, took the roses and put them in a vase filled with water.

Riki walked up to the sick Hyejin, who was lying in her bed. When he reached her bed, he bent down slightly, removed her hair from her face, and placed a kiss on Hyejin's forehead. Then he sat down on the stool next to her bed and grabbed her hand.

He was shocked at how Hyejin was lying there. Heeseung was indeed right. She was pale and looked extremely bad.

But still as beautiful as before.

"Hyejin," Riki began, "I want to apologize for everything. How I acted towards you, what choice of words I used against you. I didn't mean any of it. I was just extremely jealous."

Hyejin listened to him carefully and gulped at his last sentence. "I feel bad too," she said quietly.

Riki chuckled weakly and rubbed Hyejin's pale cheek with his thumb. "You don't have to apologize."

"I do, Riki. I do have to," Hyejin said as she smiled weakly at him, "I shouldn't have ran away from you in the park. Then I wouldn't be lying here now."

Hyejin giggled softly and turned her head towards Riki. They stared into each other's eyes.

"How are you now?" Riki asked as he rubbed his thumb over Hyejin's hand.

She bit her lower lip. "I have some stitching in my chest from time to time and I feel sick. Other than that, I'm okay. Are you ok?"

Riki looked at Hyejin's hand, which he was holding. "I think about you constantly. I don't focus well in classes anymore, because all I do is give my attention to you. I'm worried, Hyejin."

Hyejin interlocked her fingers with his. "Don't worry."

"I will come and see you every day, Hyejin. I'll make you feel comfortable here and I'll make sure I try harder. Anything for you," Riki told her, causing a smile to appear on her face.

A pure smile.

A smile that she haven't given anyone in months.

"I'm sorry I was here for such a short time, but I have an important appointment," Riki spoke, "I'll be here again tomorrow, but then the whole visiting hour. Hang on. You can do it."

Riki stood up from the stool that was next to her bed and gave Hyejin another kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Hyejin."

"I love you more, Nishimura Riki."