Morning Dew | Yang Jungwon

~ 11 ~

Iseul wakes up with drowsy eyes and a raging headache.

The dreaded antiseptic smell floods her senses before she can fully sit up.

Her mother sleeps on a small couch in the far corner of the room and Iseul doesn't bother waking her.

Instead, she wants to stand, but a piercing pain in her chest stops her from moving. She looks down, her eyes meet white bandages and she huffs. Running her fingers over the cloth as if to test how painful it will be.

To her surprise, it's not too bad, not yet. Not with the sedatives and the IV drip connected to her hand.

She looks out the window, at the pink and yellow flowers of the hospital garden and wants nothing more than to open it. But it hurts. And she knows she'll get in trouble if she doesn't do as she's told.

"Hi beautiful," nurse Sim walks in the room, "how're ya feeling?"

"Okay..."

He fixes her IV bag on a movable stand and Iseul's mother awakes from the rustling.

"Baby. When did you wake up? Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine, mom. Just a little tired."

"We're gonna be changing rooms. You're recovering really well, Seulie," nurse Sim smiles.

With her mother's help Iseul sits on a wheelchair. She gathers a few belongings in her arms as she is wheeled away.

A few books, her headphones, and a blanket. She looks back into the room that hosted her for so many days. A single white orchid sat serenely on a flower pot by the window.

She's wheeled through the white and blue walls of the hospital hallways when her mother starts getting a call. With a small "I have to take this" she stays behind as nurse Sim introduces Iseul to her new room—thankfully one far away from the ICU.

Iseul took a look around the place, noticing a bed on the opposite side as what would be hers.

"Ah," the nurse says, "we have someone else in this room too. You'll be getting a roommate, like you always wanted."

Iseul just smiles.

After the nurse leaves, she places a couple of things on a small nightstand. She carefully stands up from the wheelchair with a small hick and approaches the window.

She can smell the flowers and what seems like morning dew coating them in the garden. The cool breeze ruffles her hair as she closes her eyes. Finally she could open a window.

Small people walk outside. Some in colors, some in white gowns. She wishes she could take hers off. The goal was always to leave, but changing rooms means a step in the right direction, at least for Iseul.

"Oh- hello..."

A voice behind her snaps her from her thoughts.

Iseul turns, her eyes following the frame now only a few steps from her.

At her peering eyes, he looked down at the flower pot between his hands, "ah- nurse Sim was bringing it here, but was called over by somebody..."

Holding her orchid, in a white gown and black beanie, stood a breathtaking sight, one she never thought she'd see again.

A storm of butterflies overtakes her stomach as the breeze from the open window grows still. Everything slows for Iseul, again. She doesn't know how, but the feeling of being stuck in time, stuck in this hospital, seems to fade a little.

Her breath hitches in her throat, unsure of what to do in this situation. She dreamt of him so often it felt more real than the world she lived in. But why was he here? When did he come back? How long has it been?

Stuck in the moment, Iseul fails at saying anything. The boy in front of her shuffles on his feet, suddenly afraid that maybe she hasn't looked forward to this moment as much as he has.

"Yoo Iseul, do you remember me?"

After a lonesome five years, they were meeting again.

.
.
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"Yang Jungwon."