2000

9. Don't Let Me Go

"You didn't eat, did you?"

"As you know...?"

"Soon you will have to feed me because all my food is going to you, little one."

I looked for Ryujin to leave my room, but she didn't lock it letting me know she would come back with something, I got up taking the keys out of the lock finally taking the soap that was under my pillow and doing what Chaeryeong had asked me, they went in around five keys.

I got the perfect frame, I was shaking too much for that, and maybe the fear of being caught by Ryujin made me even more nervous, I was sure I wouldn't get all the keys, not at that moment, so I put the soap again under my pillow and the key back in the lock and when I sat down again Ryujin came in with a tray full of things that looked wonderful.

"Eat slowly okay?" I nodded smiling when I saw the variety of delicious things that were there, sometimes I looked at her with a little shame to be eating her food while she just looked, her eyes were shining for the first time.

"Do you want some?" I asked with my mouth half-full making her laugh, once again managing to make me embarrassed.

"No thanks, I brought this for you. I've already had dinner. Is it good?"

"So much!" I shook my head frantically, receiving a caress on my cheek, her finger wiped the corner of my mouth making me lower my head slightly but still she didn't stop looking at me. "Is there a dirt in my face?"

"Because I like to appreciate your beauty."

"You're making me embarrassed" I whispered smiling as I wiped my mouth on my pajama sleeve.

"Sorry to interrupt but have you ever looked in the mirror when you're blushing? It's cute."

I ended up laughing at that little comment making her laugh too, so we went into a crisis of laughter that I hadn't had in a long time, those so good ones that made my belly and my cheeks hurt.

Ryujin made signs for us to be quiet, but that only made me it made me laugh more and so did she until she hugged me trying to stifle my laughter, and for a few seconds I stopped holding her waist while my face was sunk into her chest, I felt good when she did that, I felt comfortable and mostly safe.

"Don't let go, please" I whispered when she tried to walk away, her scent made me close my eyes and lay my head on her shoulder, it seemed like she didn't know what to do from that moment on, but I relaxed.

Completely when I felt caresses in my strands, it seemed that she also started to relax little by little I think realizing that I didn't want to leave there so soon.

"Yeji?"  whispered bringing her hand to my face and lifting it making her eyes connect with mine, she was close, very close to my face, I could feel her breath against me, giving me slight shivers and slight tremors through my body. "Give me the soap"

"H-how... how do you know?"

"Give it to me" I pulled away from her, and even reluctantly I handed it over, my eyes widened when I saw her press the rest of the keys there more skillfully than I did, and it looked much better than I had done before. "What material will you take the keys with?"

"Clay... Chaeryeong said that as time passed it would harden and become good enough"

"We have two weeks, Yeji, you have to get out of here before then" She seemed to think for a few seconds "Easy, let me think."

She was silent for a while, looking around, lowering her head, and seemed to do some math or say something I didn't understand.

Until she startled me when she snapped her fingers looking at me and smiled, looking like she had won an award.

"The ventilation ducts in my room. That's where you and Chaeryeong will escape. By my reckoning, they will lead to the back of the hospital where there is a forest, I need to study that first."

"What is project twenty-two?" I asked when she was silent, every hair on her arm stood up, and she trembled at the same moment "Answer me, please."

"Yeji, it's something that should never have existed, something my father applied to my mother. Because of that, she's not here with me anymore and it's my fault" however that she hadn't answered my question, I stayed quiet, limiting myself to holding her hand just because I wanted to feel more of her, I enjoyed any contact she had with me, even the smallest. "I won't let that happen to you."

"Why don't you help the other patients?"

"I realized this too late, little one, it was monotonous until you arrived. You shouldn't be here, Yeji"

"What did I do wrong?" I whispered to her and she squeezed my hand.

"Nothing, little one. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because your parents are wrong, they don't know what it's like to love or like someone."

"Do you know?" she laughed.

"I'm starting to know now, you're teaching me that."

"Me? Am I doing something wrong again?" I asked feeling guilty once again, I didn't want to do anything wrong, I didn't want Ryujin to hate me and treat me like the other nurses, she was my security "I'm sorry"

"You're not doing anything wrong, and don't apologize. Everything is fine. Keep that soap well, right? Lucky only I saw him, but someone else might have, you and Chaeryeong need to be more careful."

"Should I tell her she's going to help us?"

"No not yet. She doesn't trust me, and I really don't trust her one hundred percent, little one. I'll study the ventilation ducts and tomorrow I'll explain what will do right?" I nodded.

I smiled as she handed me a bar of dark chocolate before leaving and locking the door, I sat looking out the window and eating that candy slowly.

For some reason maybe I was happy, I think she made me cause it, but I still did. She thought about what she was going to say minutes before "I'm starting to know now, you're teaching me this".

However, the small smile on my lips didn't disappear, and I didn't even care, I didn't care because she was the one who caused that smile, and I liked that feeling.

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[ kilig ang ferson ]