Mirage

19

The journal.

Sunwoo was curious about its content.

Almost all the time he saw the book with its owner, getting scribbled or sometimes getting reviewed, increasing his desire to inspecting its content as well.

It felt like a crime, it felt like he was invading her privacy by flipping the book page by page whilst the owner was unconscious on the hospital bed.

However, Sunwoo got teary as he skimmed all the words written in it.

It was the list of her wishes. What she wanted to do, where she wanted to go and who she wanted to spend her time with.

Reference to the small date she written on top of the page, Sunwoo assumed that she had started writing this as soon as she had been diagnosed with the illness. And the biggest wish he read in the book was 'getting a boyfriend'. Apparently, she did not lie that she wanted him to be her boyfriend as a part of her wish list. 

A weird feeling suddenly was consuming Sunwoo.

Once a while he glanced over the girl, she looked so peaceful sleeping despite the wire attached into her vein that surely would make her groan in pain once she regain her consciousness later.

However, at one page, Sunwoo suddenly giggled with wet eyes, Haeun's specific wish written had tickled his heart.

Tasting all type of coffees in the world :)

He sensed the tears were threatening to spill from his eyes and there was no way Sunwoo would let it happen. 

He shut his eyes as he rubbed them softly, his emotion was being masked behind the soft smile on his lips.

"You can be this cute too, don't you?"

Though Sunwoo found the wish sounded a little bit dumb but deep down he could tell that every wishes she had written down were important to her.

For she probably won't be able to fulfill them all.

It was then, Sunwoo noticed the furrowed brows on Haeun's face as she was struggling to open her eyes. It did not matter to him if the girl woke up, what mattered was the journal.

She definitely could not know that he had read everything.

As fast as his reflex, Sunwoo hid the journal under his shirt, his heart was about to burst by the nervousness that came enveloping him. Right on time, he put on a stoic expression, crossing his legs as if he was uninterrupted. 

Haeun slowly turning her head towards him after getting adjusted to the light, her gaze was blank upon seeing Sunwoo in his sport outfit.

But then, Kim Haeun weakly cackled, facepalming herself in which Sunwoo questioned if she did hurt her head earlier.

How could she laugh as soon as she woke up?

"I fainted again, didn't I?" was the first question she asked, Sunwoo confusedly nodded as an answer. 

Then only he re-studied the question, "again?"

At that, Haeun slowly got up, sitting straight on the bed before she heaved a sigh. She could not resist herself from looking at the boy beside the bed who had been clouded with too much questions.

"I assume you already know everything", she looked down on her lap, mustering her courage before she spoke up again. "I've been fainting a lot these days, including the days I was absent".

Sunwoo immediately understood which certain days she referred to. That definitely the day he ended up coming to her house, the day he saw her in the worst state he had ever seen.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cloudy between them and it was so awkward for Sunwoo. 

Should he tell her that he find out about her by accident? Or should he say sorry for hurting her with his attitudes and words? Won't that be too weird?

"You like to keep secrets, don't you?" instead, he sassily let that out, pulling his arms against his chest to have them crossed. "What else you've been hiding?"

The corner of Haeun's lips turned upwards, as well as her shoulders. Blood seemed had run along the veins on her face, she no more looked pale which made Sunwoo slightly relieved.

"I sense something here", he squinted his eyes towards her, triggering her to spill. "Were you and Jihoon dating?"

"What?" Haeun placed a palm on her chest, the monitor that was displaying her heartbeat beside the bed suddenly blinking. She must have been so furious. "Now and then, we are just friends."

"Tch, what a good friend that comes all the way to your house with packed foods", Sunwoo reminisced that day again which then a loud gasp was heard filling the room.

He looked at her who now was covering her opened mouth with her palm, her eyes were bigger than the usual.

"Is Kim Sunwoo....jealous?" she challenged, biting her lower lip teasingly.

"No way!" he scoffed in denial, the eye roll that Haeun had been missing to see finally had made its appearance again.

She unknowingly smiled to herself, how she missed to see this sassy side of him. She thought she won't be able to see this again, she thought Sunwoo would never talk to her again.

But, she clearly remembered what had happened before she fainted in the gym. She was still in disbelief to believe that he stand up for her, help her. Above all, he was the first person she saw as soon as she open her eyes.

Why him?

"Sunwoo", she softly called in which the said boy responded with the same tone laced in his voice. Their eyes met with different emotions tinting in each others', Haeun curiously asked, "why do you hate me?"

The question itself caught Sunwoo off guard.

"I'm not hating you", he answered. "I just-"

How he supposed to answer this? It was his nature? His attitude?

"You've woken up".

It was then, the room was getting filled with more demeanors, they totally had saved Sunwoo from the awkward moment he shared with the girl.

There came closer Haeun's parents who were summoned by the teacher who was standing by the door, Sunwoo immediately stood up, slightly bowing to the couple to be polite.

"Thank you for helping her", upon hearing the gratitude expressed from her father, Sunwoo shyly smiled till his cheekbone appeared. 

It was the first time Haeun got to see it and she was sure, that was his genuine smile.

"Anyone would have done the same", he politely assured, once again bowing before he scooted closer to the door to take his leave with the teacher.

The girl was not able to break her stare from looking at him even until his figure had completely disappeared behind the door. The only one thing that had brought her back to the reality was when her mother sat on the bed, caressing her hair.

"He looks nice, just like Eric", the lady said which immediately had brought a shy smile on her face. "Who's him? Your new friend?"

The parents did not expect much from her answer, knowing how she was less socializing with people. Nonetheless her answer this time surely had left them stunned.

"The love of my life".