CH 74

Yiyoung woke up to the sound of small clicks. Her vision was blurry, as if blocked by a thin cloth, and the area around her eyes was also hurting. Her body felt heavy, too; it felt like she had been asleep for ages. Yiyoung wondered what time it was .

She blinked a few times, trying to get her vision to clear. But each blink caused her eyelids to stick as if they were glued together. ‘Is the discharge from my eyes blocking my view? Just how long have I been sleeping?’

She had clearly slept for a long time, yet she didn’t feel rested because of that awful nightmare. She had dreamt that a villain was chasing her with a knife, and the shock and fear from getting stabbed so… so naturally had made her call out for her mother. Yiyoung never wanted to dream of something like that again, considering taking herbal medicines in order to regain her energy.

‘The gunk in my eye is so stubborn! Why can’t I get rid of it?’ Unable to tolerate it anymore, Yiyoung tried to remove it with her hand. However, she heard a rustle next to her before a warm gauze gently touched her eyes. She jumped slightly, startled by the touch.

A comforting voice then said, “Stay still.”

‘Huh? This voice…’ Yiyoung recognized the voice, but the touch was simply too tender to belong to him… She simply couldn’t imagine Muyeol ever wiping her eyes.

“It tickles,” she giggled.

“It’s because I’ve never done it before,” the voice said. Its cold inflection was just like how Muyeol talked, but there was no way he would wipe her eyes for her, right?

Yet, she couldn’t help but ask, “Cha Muyeol?”

“Yeah?” he replied.

“Is it really you?”

“Yes.”

“How weird,” she commented.

Muyeol continued to wipe her eyes with careful, precise movements. “What’s weird?”

“That you’re here, and that you’re wiping my eyes, too,” she explained.

It seemed like Yiyoung didn’t fully understand what had happened to her, which was only natural, considering she had been asleep for the past three days. Fortunately, her face had regained its color, her blushing cheeks reminding him of peaches.

“By any chance, did I faint?” Yiyoung asked, “It’s happened to me before… But this time it feels like I slept for a long time instead of simply passing out.”

Muyeol’s hand stilled for a moment, but he quickly grabbed a new towel and continued wiping her face.

Yiyoung felt sluggish, as if her body had been pumped with drugs. ‘What is it? Did I not faint? Come to think of it, why is Muyeol here? Am I still dreaming?’

But since Muyeol was there, she wanted to talk to him all day. “Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“I had a nightmare… about someone stabbing me with a knife.”

“It wasn’t a nightmare,” Muyeol revealed, “You really were stabbed. You had to undergo a surgery, too.”

The revelation snapped Yiyoung out of her daze. Her mind cleared up; images of Dr. Kang bleeding out and collapsing, and the pain from the knife entering her body… They flooded her mind, and with them, came the fear.

Yiyoung clenched her fist, trying to control the terror. She wanted to avoid getting traumatized, because if she did, it would lead to a panic disorder. She took deep breaths, forcing herself to think only about good things.

Muyeol stared at her in worry; he was afraid Yiyoung would fall victim to the trauma. But it also seemed like he didn’t have to worry in the first place. Sure, she might have given into the fear when she was unconscious, but as Muyeol watched her fight to control the fear, he realized just how tough and determined of a person Yiyoung was.

“You’re fine now. The surgery went well, and the culprit’s been arrested, too,” he said, wanting to help her in her fight.

‘So it actually happened… That’s why Muyeol is by my side.’ The incident was long over. It was all in the past, yet Yiyoung found it hard to lift her head and face herself. So she struggled, pushing herself until she finally managed to do so. Relief flooded her, knowing that she had won the most important battle.

‘Thank—” Yiyoung turned toward Muyeol only to pause and blink in surprise. She looked at the surroundings, then back at Muyeol.

‘Who is this bandit-like guy in front of me? He has such a scruffy beard! Is this Cha Muyeol? The real Cha Muyeol?’ she wondered as she stared at him.

She then roared with laughter, amused by the situation they were in. It was just too funny.

“Who are you?” Yiyoung asked, still giggling her heart out.

“You… asked who I am?” Muyeol asked in all seriousness.

Yiyoung laughed harder, putting a hand over her now aching stomach and asked again, “So, who is this that I’m looking at?”

“The doctors didn’t say anything about memory loss…” Muyeol squinted down at her. He was worried something had gone wrong. “Do you not remember what happened? You don’t know who I am?”