It was near the wee hours when Haneul finally got to sleep after taking her painkillers and some liquid medicines to help her sleep better. Haru quickly showered and changed into a pair of sweatpants and put on her comfiest hoodie. The hospital room can get quite chilly especially at night and she wouldn't want to freeze herself when she sleeps on the big couch later.
This has been a routine for her—almost daily—to accompany Haneul at the hospital. As much as her cousin has pressed on the matter and asked her not to come over every single day, she insisted. That is because, she is all Haneul has now. Hanuel's parents died in a car accident few years back while they were abroad, and she is left alone under the care of Haru's parents. The circumstance has brought them even closer to the point they feel like a family.
"Sleep well, okay?", she rubs the side of Haneul's arm before leaving the room.
Her favourite spot in the hospital is the little garden near the cafeteria at the ground floor. There are a few carers roaming around, taking a breather for the night with a cup of warm drink in their hands. A usual sight for her indeed. There are some she has gotten acquittance with, learning their names due their frequent bumping into each other every other night.
Sitting there alone on the cold marble chair, palms resting flat on the sides, she looks up into the quiet starry night sky.
"There are no stars tonight"
The sky is her only companion whenever she feels alone at night. At home or at the hospital, she always finds herself watching the night sky every time she gets oddly restless and everything feels so distant. Frequently she finds her heart hollow, like there is a constant void that shakes her insides, reminding how alone she is in the world. It is unsettling feeling and it drives her mad.
She has great friends, ones she would do just anything to protect them. They light up her life, adding colours to her dreary world and ensuring she is well taken care of. But why does she feel empty?
"Will my life get better anyway", she groans lowly, shoulders dropping as her eyes stare into the serene view of the empty sky.
Her mind slowly trails to the thought of her parents. She hardly remembers the last time they even talked to her, more even, bat an eye at her. It suddenly feels like her parents does not even remember she exists. Well, it feels like that since forever to be honest. The initial pain, unspeakable hurt and overwhelming grief she first felt have turned into something called numbness.
It is a constant battle with herself. Does she care about her parents not minding about her, or she would rather not care about it at all?
As much as she wants to call herself unfeeling and pretends none of these situations troubled her, sadly, it did, and still does. An often, this thought leads to tears.
The soft sob that escaped her mouth startled her, making her touch her cheek only to realize there are tears. Wiping it with the back of her hand, she stares at her wet hand while more tears trickle down her cheeks, dampening her sullen face.
"I hate myself"
-
Dragging her feet towards the vending machine, in hope that some decent coffee would lighten up her gloomy self. Her mind gas been wandering endlessly till she kept bumping onto the wall and sometimes the nurses too.
"God damn it, come on Haru, get a freaking grip", she stares at the big rectangular machine in front of her, squinting slightly as she reads the names of the drinks. "Coffee, coffee, which coffee should I get tonighttt"
She takes her own sweet time since there is literally nobody else at the corner of the floor where the two vending machines are placed. Through the edge of her peripheral vision, she sees a figure—a tall man dressed in all black with a hoodie-- approaching the other vending machine beside hers. Pulling her focus back on the drinks, she quickly gets back on track on deciding which coffee she wants.
"Shit", the man beside her cursed when he clumsily dropped his phone, and it slides towards her. "Oh shi-shitt shittt!"
Haru quickly picks his phone and turns to the man and when she is about to speak, the guy accidentally dropped his cards and it scattered all over the floor.
"Oh shit", he cursed again. "What on earth"
Haru watches as he quickly gathers his cards while she contemplates if she should give him a hand. But observing the situation, it is better if she stays put and let him collect all his cards himself. There are only a few cards anyway and he managed to get them back in his hand in no time.
"Mister, here is your phone", Haru politely hands him the phone when he finally looks up, revealing the face that has been hidden under the hoodie.
"Thank you ver—eh?", his mouth flung open when their eyes met.
It feels like her breath just left her chest, leaving her with no words to say. Her eyes widened at the sight of the man looking at her, surprised puppy eyes boring into her tired ones. Everything suddenly spins and all she wishes is to drop the phone back onto the marble floor and flee. But, that will be impossible. Well, possible. But, rude.
"Seo Haru?", he says, eyes still big and confused.
"M-Mister Kim", her voice stuck in her throat. "G-Good evening, Mister Kim", she bows politely, remembering her manners.
For a fleeting second, Taehyung actually forgot Seo Haru is more than just his last hook up and she is actually a student he is currently supervising. He mentally slapped himself for spiraling out of focus at times like this.
"Good Evening, Haru", he managed a smile. "You—I mean, what are you doing here?"
Haru's mind went blank for a moment when Taehyung adjusts the hoodie on his head, fixing his hair before he puts it back. She ends up staring at him blankly, earning another confused look from him.
"Seo Haru-ssi?"
"Y-yes? I am sorry, what did you say, Mister Kim?"
Taehyung couldn't help laughing at her cute reaction, shaking his head slightly as he looks down. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh—I—I am looking after a family here"
"I see"
"Oh-here is your phone", she quickly gives it to him.
"Thank you very much", he rubs the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed at his clumsiness.
"Be careful next time, Mister Kim"
Taehyung's eyes flick up at her words, a part of him recalling things he shouldn't. But when he studies her face, a feeling of concern suddenly builds within when he sees the way her face looks puffy, eyes swollen and a little bit red.
Was she crying?
"Mister Kim, why are you here?"
Taehyung quickly looked away, cursing in his head for gawking at her shamelessly. "My brother works here. He is a doctor"
"Oh, I see", she nods softly, playing with the card that was supposed to be used for her coffee.
"You were getting coffee for yourself, right?", he points at the vending machine. "Let me pay for that"
Taehyung swiftly tapped his card on the blinking screen that has been pending for payment and a loud clinking sound follows. The coffee she has chosen earlier has been paid for and ready to be collected at the below compartment of the machine.
"W-Wait—no—why did you—"
"For helping me with my phone"
Without a warning, he crouches down and takes the coffee for her. He turns around only to find her completely in shock, hands mid air at the failed attempt to stop him and her tired eyes, big and round.
"Here", he offers the coffee to her with a warm smile.
Haru loses all sense of thoughts as she looks at the coffee in his hand and then at his face. "Wait, Mister Kim, you didn't need to pay for my coffee. I can—"
"It is okay", he offers the coffee again.
As much as she is reluctant to accept the coffee, a part of her rationally thinks it will be rude to his kind gesture. After all, this man is his new supervisor. Not just her last hook up from the weekend before. It feels weird to be meeting him again and also, talking to him like this when they basically, slept together.
"Come on, it's a genuine gesture", he arched an eyebrow, giving her the warmest smile. "Or you want another coffee, not this one?", his face suddenly twitches.
"N-No", she quickly takes the coffee and sighed. "You really shouldn't, you know"
"Why not", he turns to his vending machine, choosing his chocolate drink before tapping his card on the screen.
Taking this chance to look at him, it suddenly feels exceptionally weird and very much awkward to be in this situation. She has yet to fully grasped the fact that the man standing in front of her right now, the man she hooked up last weekend is now her lecturer's research assistant. If she knew about it, she wouldn't even played along with the flirting that night.
But whatever the universe is trying to teach her, it better be something worthy. It takes every bit of her self-pride to appear calm and composed whenever their eyes met, hoping it will never lead to the remembrance of that night.
"Here", Taehyung suddenly offers his dark blue handkerchief, surprising her for the second time that night.
"Why are you giving me this?", her voice came out slow and timid.
"Your eyes are very puffy"
"Puffy? Oh—OHH, my god?" realizing that she was crying her heart out just 10 minutes ago, she completely forgot how swollen her face would get after a very good cry. And, how red her eyes would turn.
"Wipe that tears. I won't ask more. Don't worry"
~~~~~
NOTE
Hello everyone! Here is another short and quick update! (well, shorted compared to the previous 3 chapters). I heard the cases are rising again this time and the second wave is approaching, I hope everyone is staying safe and wear your mask!
But anyhow, thank you for reading! I hope this chapter is good and enjoyable! Lots of love!