Her smile

AWAKEN

The first thing I notice was the chemically sharp smell. The type that coats your tongue no matter how hard you swallow. My head throbbed as the faint beeping sound matched it perfectly in sync.

I turned my head, my eyes blurry, like I was in a fever dream. My eyes focused on the figure beside me, meeting hers full of ache and sadness.

Yeji.

Her fingers wrapped around mine, ice cold and trembling slightly. I could feel her faint pulse on her wrist but... it felt slower than before. A wide broken smile appeared, her eyes filling up with the same warmth from before. "You're awake." She croaked out.

I blinked, disoriented, not even sure what was going on.

She was almost curled up on the chair, hair messy, small scratches and bruises on her body. I wanted to ask how did she get them when a flash of memories come back to me in an instant. "I was starting to lose hope..." she said quietly, thumb caressing the back of my hand.

I tried to move, biting back a pained groan. Moving just an inch felt like thorns all over me. My jaw trembled slightly as I spoke. "How long?" My voice cracks pathetically, sounding like a faint whisper.

"A week." She answers. Almost too quick. Like a robot who was programmed to respond to something. I watched as she swallow. Out of nervousness? Who knows. I silence myself for a moment, studying her.

A strange silence filling the room as I take in her appearance. Messy brown hair, small mole on her nose, dark circles under her eyes and those heart shaped lips that were slightly parted. She had some bandages on her arms, some bruises and scratches as well.

The door opened before I could say anything. A team of doctors hurrying in, the sound of their loud footsteps making my groan.

"It seems like you're awake, ms shin." A male's voice spoke to me. I blink, turning my head to look at the girl I loved, smiling sweetly at me.

The team crowds around me, checking the monitors, shining lights in my eyes, asking me questions I couldn't even process in time. I glance at yeji, my eyes meeting hers.

One of them tells me I have a few broken ribs, and that a concussion I had from the accident caused me to go into a coma. I barely processed it. A week of my life, gone.

I glance at yeji, wanting to see her reaction, seeing if she had anything to say. Her eyes met mine, and that same, soft smile appeared. It felt rehearsed, fake.

The examination didn't last long. They spoke in a hushed tone, scribbling something on their clipboards before glancing at me. "Alright, ms shin. We'll be back to check on you at night. Rest up and have a good day." The head doctor said before the team left.

The room filled with silence, I couldn't tell if it was awkward or downright uncomfortable. The steady beeping in the room, the faint hum of the fluorescent light above us, the soft hallow croak from a crow outside the window.

But all I could think of was her smile. It seemed fake, practiced. It didn't feel real, as if it wasn't genuine at all. She felt... empty. Like there wasn't any emotion in her at all.

I glance at her my hand reaching out as my fingers brush against her arm. "You're cold." I murmured, stroking her arm gently. She hummed in acknowledgment. "I've been sitting here for a while. It's quite normal for me to be cold." She joked, that same teasing tone from before that used to get me annoyed.

A smile appears on my face. Maybe I was being paranoid. "Go to sleep. Your body needs to rest well." She said softly. I smiled, I was definitely being paranoid. I closed my eyes, letting the exhaustion overcome my body. It's not like someone can replace my girlfriend. She's still the yeji I love.