SARANG 사랑 | EOY After Story ✓

16

WHEN SHE OPENS THE DOOR TO THEIR SMALL DORMITORY BATHROOM, SHE ISN'T SURE WHAT SHE IS EXPECTING. Maybe a hundred different scenarios- every single one of them unpleasant to varying degrees. She has no idea of how bad it could be, or it was anything to be scared of. But she doesn't want to be the weakest person in the room by coming in unprepared.

But nothing could prepare her for what lay in front of her.

Ha-ru kneels there on the floor, looking strangely small and insignificant in his tall frame. A skeleton of bones and choked sobs. He doesn't look up when she enters their small bathroom. Maybe he doesn't even hear her coming in, because he doesn't move from where he hides his face in Eun Dan-oh's hair, sobbing silently.

It takes her a moment to get used to what she was seeing and to pull herself from the shock that numbed every rationale. She takes a small step forward- the click of her boots against the cool tiles reverberating through the stagnant air around them and finally making him raise his head.

The look on his face is heartbreaking. He doesn't seem to be able to form words, looking at her through bleary eyes that resemble those of a man who had everything ripped apart from him.

"Dan-oh," he finally whispers, his gaze trailing back to the unconscious girl he holds so protectively in his arms before he breaks down into sobs again. He doesn't say anything else, and she knows better than to ask anything.

She doesn't even inquire as to what was wrong with her, knowing all too well they were losing precious time every second they were immobile.

Unable to tear her gaze away, she stares at his delirious state for a moment too long before reality hits her. She doesn't think; pulling out her phone and dialing numbers she knows by heart. She has no idea what she talks about; the best she can do is repeat the same words over and over until the line goes dead.

He doesn't appear to have moved when she reappears and she hesitates before walking closer to him.

She places a delicate hand on his shoulder, not sure if he would respond to his name alone.

"Ha-ru."

He flinches at the touch, and she hurriedly retracts her arm. She doesn't allow her voice to waver as she meets his bloodshot eyes with her steady ones. The sight of all the blood so close to her makes her want to throw up, but she swallows, holding her breath. "The car is here. Let's take Dan-oh to the hospital." She tries not to let her voice shake in its course but instead ends up whispering the last part.

Her name seems to restore some of his sense. She stares as the man in front of her slowly pieces himself back bit by bit; trying to hold on to the last shreds of his sanity. He nods, wiping the tears with the back of his palm which is once again tinted crimson.

Lee Do-hwa's approaching footsteps can be heard even before he appears in their room. profound relief floods her chest the moment their eyes meet and she can see the questions burning in his gaze. But one look at the three of them- or more specifically at her roommate lying motionless in his arms is enough for him to swallow and move along.

The car ride to the hospital is filled with heavy silence. She takes the wheel; feeling the need to concentrate on something else besides the situation she found herself in or the uncertainty regarding her friend's health. She is scared- no, terrified- that they might be too late to do anything for her, and things might change forever. She half-listens to Do-hwa's conversation from the passenger seat where he talks with one of the hospital staff while the other part remains attuned to the silent sobs coming from the backseat of the car.