Love Me Once Again

Two

I didn't feel refreshed after the weekend rest. In fact, I felt even more exhausted and drained.

The EXO concert was fun, but it wasn't enough to take away the decades of thoughts and memories that occupied me.

After I spoke to the Kim family (the father and younger brother came in a few minutes later to join the mother, and I spoke to them altogether), I left the hospital and went home.

I took a quick shower and skipped lunch because I was too tired to even feel hungry and headed straight for bed.

But I couldn't go to sleep.

I shut my eyes, but my brain was still actively running like a PC processor doing its updating. My brain was busy updating my memories, which I had stored away in archives.

My history with Kim Jong Woon, or Yesung as he was now known to the world, went back twenty years ago and had since been forgotten. Initially, it was the hurt that had kept me away. Later, it was work. Work got so busy that I had no time to think about anything else. Then the hurt and ache slowly subsided, and I was able to look him in the face (on TV, of course). And he became someone of the past; a public figure today, like any of those EXO guys Mandy so adored (her favourite was Sehun). Coincidentally, EXO was the junior of SJ. They belonged to the same company.

By the time I drifted off into lala-land, my alarm clock blared to tell me it was five pm, and I had to get up to get ready to meet Mandy. We agreed to meet up for dinner before the concert.

We had a quick dinner at a burger joint outside the stadium, and by half past six, we were queuing up to enter. There was a strict security check and hence a long queue to get in. We only managed to get seated by seven-fifteen, fifteen minutes before the concert started.

It was already crowded, and more people were streaming in. The stage screen was playing video footage of the band and their music playing in the background.

That's Sehun - Mandy kept telling me as if I had no idea. Even if I had no idea, now I did. I smiled at her excitement and tried to participate in her enthusiasm.

The concert lasted three hours, and at the end of it, I was mentally exhausted while Mandy was still very high with energy. She wasn't the only one. Most of the people while walking out were still in high spirits and somewhat wishing that the band could perform another three more hours.

We went for supper afterwards, and by the time I reached home again, it was close to midnight. But it was finally almost four in the morning before I could sleep.

* * *

I woke up at almost noon on Sunday with a headache.

I went to a cafe for brunch and sat down catching up on news on my phone but the first piece of news that popped up was, 'Super Junior member Yesung awakes and is in stable condition'. I guess he must have awoken overnight. And in good condition too, else I would have received a call. Though I was off duty, they could call me if there was an emergency, especially if it was my patient and in critical care. If not, the doctor on duty would manage it. We try not to disturb off duty doctors.

The two girls at the next table were either Yesung's fans, if not Suju's fans, because they had been talking about the news nonstop since they sat down.

I finished my croissant and hot chocolate and left. Those two were still talking about Yesung, though a different thing now.

I went to the supermarket, which I frequent regularly, since it was a ten minute away from my apartment.

I don't cook at home. I usually eat at the staff canteen. But I do stock up on some milk, eggs, cheese, drinks; convenient food which I could whip up easily on my days off if I was too lazy to go out. Instant ramen was definitely a must.