Imperfectly Perfect 2

9 : Admission

Nayeon slowly flutters her eyes. She doesn't have any recollection of anything that may have happened from that moment on the balcony where she remembered trying to stand up.

She squinted and blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the room.

"Hey." A sad voice who Nayeon absolutely knows who belongs to calls out to her in a sad tone.

The soccer manager slowly looks to her side. She glances down and faintly smiles at the familiar hand that is holding hers.

Jeongyeon continued to speak with a certain level of kindness. "How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy. Tired. And... unsure if this is a dream or reality." The soccer manager uttered in an evidently lethargic voice.

"You have to rest some more." The council treasurer gently squeezed her hand. "Sleep. Or, tell me if you'd like anything. Food? Water? Feeling anything unusual? One of the nurses came in earlier and said that you can be discharged right after the IV bag connected to you is emptied. I can—"

"Is this really you, Yoo Jeongyeon?" Nayeon gently frees her hand from her girlfriend's hold and reaches out to cup the latter's cheek. "I was so sure I passed out earlier because I don't remember a single thing right after that moment when I tried to stand up on the balcony. So tell me... is this just one of those dreams where I meet the person I'm missing the most?"

Jeongyeon smiles with concern and puts her hand over the weaker one that is currently holding her cheek. "You were rushed to the hospital earlier and I went as soon as I heard it. I'm real. This is real. The person who also turns out to be missing you the most is truthfully right here for you."

The soccer manager's eyes start to water. "So you really did come for me?"

The council treasurer widens her smile but oddly enough, her face still expresses sadness. She moves her arms to playfully and gently ruffle her girlfriend's hair. "I'm here for you. So be a good girl and get some more rest, okay?"

Nayeon tiredly chuckles. She then looked around the room. "Whe— where are Tzuyu and Jihyo? I'm sure they were on the balcony with me before everything went black in my sight."

"They were the ones who brought you to the hospital."

The soccer manager softly nods. She looks over the window of the room with slightly opened curtain blinds. "What time is it now?"

Jeongyeon glances at her wrist watch. "Just around nine in the evening."

Nayeon lets out a sigh. "I really did pass out for hours."

"Yeah. But, thankfully the doctor said that you're fine. You just need a proper rest and—" The council treasurer pursed her lips. "I sound like a broken record right now, don't I? I'm just really worried about you. What in the world were you doing these past few days, huh?"

"So— sorry." The soccer manager looks down like a kid guilty of doing something wrong in the middle of a scolding. "I— I was just—"

"Tsk. tsk, tsk." Jeongyeon glares at her. "I let you live on your own for a while and after two days— just after two days, Im Nayeon, and I already found you lying in a hospital bed?"

"Sorry." Nayeon simply mumbles, keeping her head low. Tears began falling from her eyes. "I'm— I'm really sorry. You know how I love you so much and I just can't lose you. You have been unreachable for days and I was so afraid that—"

"Hey, hey, hey. Wait." The council treasurer quickly moves to wipe her girlfriend's cheeks. Her nagging voice has now turned to something soft and careful. "Don't cry. Why do you always use that card on me, huh? You know that I hate seeing you cry. Come here."

Jeongyeon carefully pulls the soccer manager in an embrace.

"But last time even though I was— I was crying so hard, you—" The soccer manager is now starting to sob irrepressibly. "You didn't care and left me on the driveway. After that, you— you turned your phone off and never contacted me. I was so scared when I thought that I'd really be losing you."

The council treasurer lets out a deep sigh. She gently taps Nayeon's back, comforting and calming the girl's audible sobs. "I'm never turning my phone off again. I was so stupid to do that. I'm sorry. I have to thank your sister later for being such a smart girl to care and drop a message on my house's landline."

"Je— Jeong." Nayeon called out in a cracked voice.

"What? Why?" Jeongyeon immediately breaks the hug, looking instantly worried. "Do you feel anything unusual? Should I call a nurse to come and check you?"

"No. It's not that. I just— I just want to say thank you."

"Don't thank me." The council treasurer mutters under her breath. "I should've taken better care of you. This is my fault. If only I didn't—"

"Hey." Nayeon gently holds her girlfriend's hand. "Don't you dare think in the slightest that you are accountable for what has happened to me. This is my doing. This is all me."

"But—"

The soccer manager put a finger to the council treasurer's lips. "The fact that while I did hurt you and you're here and you're still taking care of me is already making me feel butterflies in my stomach. You don't know how much I appreciate this."

Jeongyeon smiles and cups Nayeon's hand with both of hers. "After you get better, you have all the time in the world to perhaps... be dramatic and repent? Hmm... Thinking about it now, I think I want you to at least recreate that scene in the movies where the one at fault gets rained down while holding a placard that says 'please forgive me'."

The council treasurer chuckles a bit in her humor, trying to uplift the atmosphere. Then, she shifted into something soft and sincere again." But, for now... please take some more rest. You will always be the most precious thing on earth for me so I hate seeing you in a state like this. Come on, now. Close your eyes and sleep again."

"But, will— will you be still here when I wake up?"

The council treasurer raises one of her eyebrows. "You will try to not sleep if I tell you otherwise, right?"

Nayeon flashes another tired smile. "You really know me."

Jeongyeon then softly squeezes her girlfriend's hand and leans to place a sweet kiss on the soccer manager's forehead. "I promise you that I will be right here by your side when you wake up, holding your hand. So, don't worry and for the hundredth time of me stating this... please, get some more rest baby bunny, okay?"

The girl lying on the hospital bed then compiles and slowly closes her eyes once again, falling back into comfortable slumber shortly after.