Heartstrings

60. Deja Vu

Dae's POV (Dae's hospital room)

It was strange when I woke up in a strange bed with needles in my arms. He was wiping my face with a washcloth and his eyes were so gentle but there was a sadness that I knew too well. When our eyes met, he whispered to me.

"Dae?"

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital."

"Why am I here?"

Hearing that I was in car accident, he was willing to give up his life for me. Serene took it really hard and Mike couldn't stop crying when he found out that I was in a coma. Although my life was questionable, hearing that I beat the odds made me grateful to be here in the hospital. I couldn't complain. My situation could have been much worse.

The room was full of flowers with cards and balloons. Piles of get well soon drawings that Ye-Jun drew for me. It must have been hard for him to see me like this. Shedding a few tears, I sat up in the bed.

"Where is Ye-Jun?"

"Serene took him to school after he came to visit you this morning."

"Where's Lee?"

"They left about an hour ago. I wanted to stay here with you."

"What about your tour?"

"It was canceled."

Scratching his nose, I knew he wasn't telling the truth. Something tells me that he was the one that canceled his tour because of me. He refused to look at me because he knew what I was thinking.

Later that afternoon, Tony and I read so many letters from Ri, Dr. Park and Cody sent me several gifts. It was just like him to do something so sweet for someone. I had to admit that Tony's card made me emotional. After reading it to me, I was moved to tears. It was awkward that we were looking at each other in silence. Every time our eyes met, we exchanged a smile. The way I was feeling, I wanted to go back home to my apartment with my son. 

"How long have I been here?"

"Three months but, you-

"Three months?!"

The machine started to beep when I yelled. A nurse came running into the room. Sitting in the hospital for three months was too long. There was so much that I needed to get done. When I tried to get out of bed, a sharp pain ran down my back and the side of stomach felt tight. Before collapsing to the floor, Tony caught me in his arms.

"Dae, you have to be careful. I don't want you to hurt yourself or cause your stitches to pop."

Helping me back in bed the nurse came to check my blood pressure and give me pain medication. He was very nice but he looked familiar.

"You look very familiar to me. Have we met?" I asked.

Nodding his head, he smiled at me. It was strange but I didn't feel uneasy. Watching the two of us, Tony cleared his throat. Obviously, he wanted to make his presence known. Looking back at Tony, he took my temperature and said:

"Dr. Dae, I was a regular at your clinic remember?"

Shaking my head no, I couldn't talk with the thermometer in my mouth. Hearing a small chuckle, he explained that Ginger was his pet cat and would come often. At that moment I remembered who he was. Taking the thermomotor from my mouth, he changes the bags of fluid on the IV pole and said:

"We heard about what happened during the hearing and Mrs. Walsh has been trying to get me to come to her hospital for Ginger."

He informed me that there was a viral video online and several people were leaving Mrs. Walsh because of her racist remarks and the directors made a statement. Although most of the pet owners that came to her hospital were black, she was on administrative leave. It bothered me that my license was terminated on false claims but, she was on leave with pay. Shaking the thought from my mind, Tony sat in a chair beside my pillow. He was always able to make me laugh when I was sad or there was something on my mind. When he told me that I would be going home in a few days, I started to cry.