Chapter 4: The Danger
"Ga Eul-ah, are you sure you are alright?" Jan Di asks softly, worries are appearing on her face.
"I'm fine Jan Di-ah. I have to be fine. I need to prove myself that I'm strong enough." Ga Eul answers her weakly.
"But, it's been a week. And you've been like this ever since. I can't see you cry again."Jan Di said softly
"I know you've been worried of me. But you don't understand the reason behind his action. He is afraid, that I will get hurt if fate says something different. He did that to protect me. I know he doesn't want me to get hurt in the end. He tries to push me away. But I promised him, and I will prove it to him, that I'm not a quitter."
It's been a week since Yi Jeong and Ga Eul talked in the gazebo. Since that day, Yi Jeong totally changed. He becomes cold towards her. There is no more warm conversation between them. He even barely talks to her. He builds a wall between them. But deep inside his heart, it causes a lot of pain. He forced himself to do that in order to protect her from the deeper pain if he gives her hope to love him more. He really hopes that she will give up. He is afraid to imagine how hard it is can be for her if he lost the battle to his illness.
Ga Eul, being a strong girl, keeps doing her duty to assist him. She tries to act like nothing's wrong between them. She will always give him her best smile, even though he will avoid her gaze. His actions really hurt her, but she keeps her promise, for do anything she can for him.
Today is like the other day at the So mansion. Ga Eul is doing her usual duty. She brings Yi Jeong breakfast and his medicine. For unknown reason, a strange feeling starts to form in her heart. She can feel that something will happen today. But she doesn't know what it is. She left the food on the table and go to the library to tidy it up. After she finish, she checks on him and satisfied that he ate his breakfast and drank his medicine. She picked up the tray and brings it back to the kitchen. She stole a glance to Yi Jeong and found out that he already busy with the reports from Mr. Park, so she left him.
Time goes really fast, now she is preparing lunch for Yi Jeong. She is right in front of the room, when suddenly her heart beats faster. She still doesn't understand why she feels so troubled today. She takes a few seconds to calm herself and entering the room. She sees the sliding door is slightly open, she's about to knock the door when she sees someone lay on the floor.
Quickly she opens the door, and to her shock, Yi Jeong is the one who lay on the floor, unconscious. His face is pale. Tears start to run down her cheeks. Her body is shaking; the tray is falling down to the floor causing a mess. Weakly she approaches him. Her heart is totally broken to see the view in front of her. Slowly she reaches him and propped his head on her lap.
"Mr. So…. Please open your eyes… please… don't leave me like this. Please wake up.." she pleaded while shaking his body, hoping he will awake.
"You can't leave me now. I have so many things to say. I haven't given you my best. I haven't proved anything to you. Please… wake up." She said as her sob getting uncontrollably.
-o0o-
She is very tired. She's been crying for days. Sad, confusion and so many feeling she can't explain overwhelmed her. She need to rest; a very deep slumber will definitely help her. But her mind and heart not allowed her body to do that.
In the middle of her not-so-peaceful sleep, she felt someone caressed her cheek gently. Suddenly she felt a comfortable and secure feeling that she's been familiar with. She smiles in her sleep remembering the sweet moment that she and her beloved young master shared. When realization hit her, she abruptly opens her eyes and meets a pair of eyes that she's been longing to see.
"You're awake…" she whispered in disbelieve. She was read a book at the edge of his bed, when her eyes felt heavy; she closed her eyes for a while. Without she realize, she fell asleep. And now, when she fully wakes up, she looks straight to his eyes.
"You're awake… I… I'll call Jan Di." She said in excitement. Before she can turn around, she felt a firm grip on her wrist. She looks at her hand and drifts her eyes to meet his eyes. He pulls her gently that makes her sit back.
"Did you cry a lot because of me?" he asked softly. She stunned hearing his question.
"Did I make you worry? Did I hurt you that much? I'm sorry."
"No, don't say that." She answers him as he locks his gaze to her.
"I'm sorry that I caused your pain." He said ignoring what she said to him
"Please don't say that. I told you that I'll not give up. I told you I'll do my best." She said holding her tears.
"I believe you do." He assures her. "Where am I?" he asked as he looks to his surroundings.
"You're at the clinic where my best friend worked as a doctor."
"How did I get here? The last thing I remember is, I'm inside my room, finishing my reports and I'm about to call you to bring the reports to Mr. Park, when I felt dizzy and everything goes blank."
"It's a long story. I'll go get Jan Di and Ji Hoo sunbae first to check you up. Oh... and Mr. Park also. He's been worry about you."
-o0o-
"You're very lucky, Mr. So. A little bit late, then we have to prepare for the worst." Dr. Yoon Ji Hoo, Jan Di senior, explaining to Yi Jeong.
"You have excellent immune." Jan Di added his comment
"I indeed feel better. Is there any chance you know what exactly happen to me? We consulted with the best physician team, but they couldn't find anything. What disease I suffered?" he now sitting on his bed with a pillow supporting his back.
"Actually…" Jan Di starts to speak, but she hesitates, so she holds herself, waiting for confirmation from the rest audience.
"You may tell him. He needs to know the truth. And he will know the truth in the end." Mr. Park gives the permission to her. Jan Di nodded in respond, and face Yi Jeong to tell him the fact.
"Actually, you've been poisoned" she spoke softly, afraid of his reaction
"Poisoned?" Yi Jeong asks in disbelieve
"We test your blood, and we found trace of some chemical substance that attack the nerves and weakens your body. These chemical substances contained in the medicine that have been drawn from the market. We also send your medicine to the lab so we can compare the substance with your medicine; it turns out that your medicine contained the chemical. And your medicine is one of the medicines that have been drawn from the market." Dr. Yoon softly explains to him.
As everybody stay silent in the room, he continues his explanation "We manage to remove most of the substances, but still need time to recover completely. Since your immune is excellent, we just need to give you medicine and supplement to speed up the process."
The room is filled with awkward silent. No one dare to talk. Everyone wait for Yi Jeong reaction. Unreadable expression appears on his face. After a few minutes passed, serious and assertive expressions appear on his face. "I will appreciate if I can talk with Mr. Park in private." He said apologetically.
"Sure, we will leave you two. But don't take too long. You still need rest." Dr. Yoon said while leaving the room with Jan Di and Ga Eul.
"Thank you, doctor." Yi Jeong said to him. "Ga Eul-yang.." he calls her just before she left. She comes closer to him and standing beside the bed. He reaches her hand and pulls her gently until her face close enough to him. "I want you to go home, Ga Eul-yang. Get some rest, I'll be fine." He whispered to her. This only make her face red as tomato, and she only manage to nod and left the room dumbfounded.