Broken String

Chapter 3

Remembering the familiar story, I chuckled and said, “That was me.”

“Was it really?” she asked with her eyes twinkling as she almost jumped out of her bed.

“Yeah, you should be thankful to me.” I teased.

“Well, thank you!” We laughed in harmony.

            I spent another week of visiting Minyeong as she got a lot better. Laughing with her as we both discovered things from the past made my every day complete. Taking care of her exhausted my physicality—I fed her more than three times a day, reminded her to take her medicine, supported her to stand up and go to the bathroom, kept asking how she was feeling, if she was fine or if she felt dizzy, basically I almost replaced her personal nurse and took her responsibility. But even though it drained all my stamina, I was happy enough to be with her all the time.

            By the end of the fourth week, Friday, Minyeong finally got discharged from the hospital. She still had a cast on her left arm, a small bandage around her forehead, and had to be on a wheelchair, but she had gone a lot better. I still visited her every day, but instead of going to the distant, dull hospital room, I took care of her in her own room that was as bright as the atmosphere she brought. For hours, we would talk about our old friends, our old enemies, our old fantasies, our favorite places, favorite things, favorite food, likes, and dislikes. Sometimes I would ask questions and quiz her to help her remember who’s who. Who was my best friend, who was hers, when was somebody’s birthday, who was her mother’s friend, who were her neighbors, her classmates, what was our principal’s name, who was the bully in our school, who were the popular ones, who got in trouble for peeing in the garden, who stole my notebook when I was in kindergarten and I hated for the rest of my life, who was the gay dude who cross-dressed as wonder woman last Halloween, and a lot more random stories that she didn’t even need to remember. The whole day her room would be full of various tales and talks, and I would sit next to her as if I wanted to stop time and stay there forever.

Kim Minyeong:

            Four days after I got discharged, my knees had gone way better, and I could already walk properly without a cast or anything, without Baekhyun’s support, without the wheelchair, without anything. Just my own two feet. We walked to the community park to feel the fresh, morning air (and maybe to try out my newly healed knees). So far, I hadn’t felt the piercing pain yet, so I was doing alright. Walking normally on a tan-concreted sidewalk had always been taken for granted, but today I was thankful I was able to do it without any disturbing pain. Perhaps listening to Baekhyun’s gags helped to get my attention away from my knees. His smiling eyes were flashing brighter than the scorching sun. They strengthened me as if they were my vitamins. His deep chuckle sounded like a mellow orchestra, but his uncontrollable high-noted laugh sounded like an upbeat piccolo and oboe in accord. I had always been excited to walk to the park, for I had always admired the green scenery of the place. But the view of his brilliant smile conflicting with his dark, luminous hair was pure nature itself that I didn’t want us to stop from walking.

            We arrived at the park and sat down on the bench to rest. I didn’t really need to take a short break, but Baekhyun kept insisting that my knees might hurt if I kept on walking. I sat there looking at the children playing and running around the slides. My eyes fell on the kids who jumped off the swings, which now were empty and swinging in the air by themselves. I grabbed Baekhyun’s wrist and stood up.