Chapter Twenty Seven: of The Broken Promise
"Are you leaving?" Jae Kyung asked as he covered her with two blankets.
"No. I promised you I'd stay until you fall asleep."
"Ok…"
Ji Hoo dragged the dresser chair and put it right beside the bed. "Go to sleep. Close your eyes." He ordered.
"I'm not sleepy." In reality she didn't want to fall asleep afraid of dreaming the dreaded dream again. The image of Ji Hoo on the floor, pale and not moving unwillingly flashed in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and quickly willed it to go away.
"What was the dream about?" Ji Hoo hesitantly asked. She opened her eyes and looked at him. She was hesitant; he could see it clearly in her face. "They say talking about what you fear will help you to get over it…" He rationalized his curiosity.
"I…"
"I dreamed of you dead… lying on the floor. So pale and not moving…"
She answered softly; eyes not looking at him. Ji Hoo waited. She smiled a little and burrowed herself into the soft pillow and blanket. "Stupid me… it was just a dream…"
There is no way she would tell him the whole dream. How could she say that she dreamed of him crying and calling for her name? That is just down right narcissistic. Too much even for her! "I'll try to sleep…"
"It was not a dream."
Ji Hoo's spoke calmly but that one sentence made her heart thundered like mad.
"What do you mean?"
Her eyes narrowed from under the blanket at him. Yoon Ji Hoo leaned back on the chair and sighed heavily. He looked up to the ceiling and thought there is no way out now. But it's ok. He'd rather have all his secrets exposed than seeing her so distraught over a dream again.
"It was not a dream… I was there. You really did saw me on the floor."
"But you… you were crying…" her confusion showed clearly. If it was real then which part was real and which was just a dream or a vignette of her imagination? … and what about her other dreams? Were those real too?
"Please stay calm. Don't get panic." Ji Hoo frowned when he saw how emotional she was about to get. "Take a deep breath… come on. In… and out… good." He guided her breathing a few more times and ordered her to relax or he would not continue talking.
They were silent for a few moments, Jae Kyung tried her best to control her anxious heart and the endless questions that were about to burst out of her lips right at that moment and Ji Hoo lost in his own thoughts. This time she waited patiently, knowing if she said the wrong thing it would only shut him up.
"I honestly don't remember much of that night too… Grandpa was having a major heart surgery. Nurse Jang said that I was having quite a panic attack. I was literally hostile and unapproachable that I almost hit Woo Bin and Jandi."
Jae Kyung could not imagine the gentle and quiet man in front of him as hostile; he must have been really shaken. Ji Hoo closed her eyes as if in reminiscence. "I only vaguely remembered running and feeling cold. The next thing I remembered was you."
He opened his eyes and she was mesmerized by the depth of emotion shown in those pools. Somehow her heart went out to him and she reached out to touch his hand. He smiled slightly and squeezed her hand and not letting go. Jae Kyung waited.
"I remembered seeing you sleeping on the hospital bed. I couldn't remember your name at first… my memory was jumbled at best. The last thing I remember was calling out your name…"
'Jae Kyung…'
She remembered clearly how broken he sounded in her dream or memory? Ji Hoo chuckled and patted her hand. "Jandi told me that I had hypothermia for wandering around under the rain in winter with no coat. Woo Bin fussed around me for days, that mother hen."
"So… that was not a dream? But… a memory?"
"Maybe. I was out cold. Jandi and Nurse Jang said that you woke up that night. They found you out of the bed, kneeling on the floor beside me."
"I am lucky." He continued at her silence because she couldn't recall any of that.
"Thank you. If it were not for you waking up, they would not have found me on time and I'd be frozen dead that night." Ji Hoo smiled at her and squeezed her hand again.
"So. You don't need to be afraid of that dream. Now that you know it was real, more of a memory than your imagination and what's important is that I'm well and healthy. You can go to sleep now…"
"But…"
"I promise you we will talk some more. But now you must sleep and rest." Ji Hoo cut her off before she could protest more.
"And Cookies and Cream?"
"… and Cookies and Cream. Only if you're healthy." He put her hand back and went to close the curtain so the bright noon sun was covered.
She followed his every movement from her position. Her mind still in turmoil but slightly better. She did not need to be afraid of that dream anymore because it was a real memory and it has a good ending, not a bad one. He is alive. That is the only thing that matters to her.
And so Ha Jae Kyung closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She heard him settled down on the chair and felt at peace. This has happened before; she knew it by heart.
Ji Hoo went downstairs intended to find a book to read when it got a bit boring just sitting there beside her doing nothing instead he found Woo Bin, Junpyo and Jandi drinking coffee in the living room. "You're back?" He greeted Woo Bin.
"Yo." Woo Bin greeted back.
"Where is Jae Kyung?" Jandi asked as she handed him a cup of coffee; cream with no sugar, just like his usual.
"Upstairs. Sleeping. I promised to stay." He announced flatly like he just said the most generic thing in the world. Woo Bin's quirked his brow and a teasing smile appeared. Ji Hoo merely sipped his coffee and threw him one of the pillows offhandedly.
"What?? I didn't say anything!"
"Your face said it all." Junpyo smirked. Jandi laughed when Woo Bin threw the pillow back at Ji Hoo, who of course elegantly avoided the attack. In the midst of their sudden pillow fight, Ji Hoo's phone rang loudly. Jandi immediately recognized it as the ring tone he used for calls that come from hospital emergency. He picked up and answered a few curt words before clicking it shut.
"You have to leave? Do you need me there?" She too got up and thinking of following him to the hospital but he assured her that they only requested his presence and it was her day so she should take a break not rushing to the hospital.
Ji Hoo walked swiftly into his room to get his car key and jacket. He said a quick good bye to his friends and glanced up to the second floor for a few seconds before walking out of the house, which didn't escape his friends' observations.
As he drove out of the complex, he thought of the promise he couldn't keep to her… she would wake up not seeing him and his chest felt strangely heavy.
