Dara nervously reached for the door knob and opened the door to Sulli’s room. She saw her lying on the hospital bed, her brother Seung Hyun doting over her. She looks pale and her shoulder is still sore.
“Hello. Seung Hyun said you wanted to talk to me. How are you feeling?” Dara carefully placed a bouquet of flowers on a table while Seung Hyun wrapped his arms around her to give her a hug, thankful that she came.
“Thank you for coming, Dara.” Sulli smiled at her warmly and offered a seat next to her bed. “I want to tell you personally the grave things that I have done. I don’t expect you to forgive me but I want you to know how sorry I am.”
A few minutes later, Dara left and found solace in the hospital’s garden. She is sitting on a wooden garden bench under an oak tree surrounded by dainty looking flowers and shrubs. On the far right of the garden, the pond is full of orange hued fishes that are lazily swimming along.
She just finished talking to Sulli a few minutes ago after Seung Hyun sent her a message asking her to come. She and Sulli both cried their hearts out. She was surprised to learn so much about each other in a short amount of time. They’re still a little awkward with each other but the bitterness is gone. Her heart feels a little lighter knowing that their feud is finally over.
She still feels betrayed by Jiyong but the anger is gone. It’s hard to explain but seeing Jiyong through Sulli’s eyes helped her understand why Jiyong did what he did. It still doesn’t justify his actions but at least the anger and resentment is gone. Sulli made her realize that and she’s thankful for that. The last thing she wants is to be bitter for the rest of her life.
She watches a little girl wearing a hospital gown and a soft sweater gingerly picking some flowers. Behind her, she saw a familiar handsome man walking towards her direction. Dara stood up and approached Seung Hyun.
“Oppa.”
“Thank you for talking to my sister, Dara. It means a lot to her.”
“She helped me more than you could ever know. Finally, we can both move on.” Dara sat down once again on the bench and Seung Hyun followed suit.
“Sulli’s been in love with Jiyong ever since we were young. I didn’t realize that she never stopped liking him after all these years.” Seung Hyun calmly said although his expression is dark. It’s only been a few days since Sulli’s incident but he already looks older.
Dara reached for Seung Hyun’s hand and turned to face him. She was shocked to see him tearing up. He immediately turned his head away, avoiding Dara’s eyes.
“I wasn’t a good brother to her. I should’ve nipped it at the bud, you know. I should’ve stopped her delusions long before it got out of control but I didn’t want to be in her way. I thought that it will pass but I was wrong. It has been a very hard week for her. Funny thing is, even though she already gave up on Jiyong, she seems to be happy and contented. I would never imagine her reacting this way.”
“Oppa, nobody knew that it will come to this. Let’s just be thankful that she’s okay and that she’s doing well.” Dara softly said. Her attention was caught by a butterfly flitting in the garden. It’s gracefully moving up and down along with the soft breeze before finally resting on a pink lily next to them. She carefully leaned forward to try and reach for the butterfly but it flew away.
