A/N: Chapter Five is finally here!
Onto reviews: Sorry for the long wait, but it has arrived (here)! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And Faith is one of my favorites too-most of the reason why I had to write for it! But thank you (Kpopcrazy1997)!
Onto business: This chapter took a long time, because of a busy schedule mostly. But it's here, so enjoy!
Choi Young was seated on the bed in his quarters, pressing a few fingers against his forehead, which ached considerably. It wasn't that his head hurt—that wasn't it at all. He was simply trying to remember. Well, he did remember, everything as far as he was aware; his dream had left him a little paranoid that he could be missing some memories. It was unlikely; Choi Young wasn't even going to consider it. It was only until after Eun Soo left for a bit that he realized how important his memories really were. During the time she left him, he began to think more about the dream he couldn't seem to forget. It remained inside his mind; the confusion he felt, the desire to remember the impossible, the fear of not being able to recognize the one woman he loved. And because he couldn't recognize her, he was close to giving up his will to live.
Doctor Jang noticed his sudden paranoia. "Is everything alright, General?"
Choi Young remained silent for a couple of seconds before he responded calmly, "Everything is fine." Clearing his throat, Choi Young forced himself up onto his feet, maintaining a blank expression so that he wouldn't give away his current fear. "Where is High Doctor?"
"You shouldn't be up and about." While Doctor Jang approached the General, he studied Choi Young; observing his current condition. "High Doctor? She has gone into the medical quarters to look for a herbal medicine for you." Face to face with Choi Young, Doctor Jang's eyes glanced at the empty bed; hinting that Choi Young should remain in bed. "Rest, General. High Doctor will be with you in a moment."
One thing he didn't like, nor approve of, was receiving commands from a Doctor. Choi Young was very well aware of what he needed to do and his condition. But going back to sleep wouldn't do him any good this time around; the last time he fell into a deep sleep, he forgot about Eun Soo. Besides, his paranoia wouldn't let him fall back asleep; not until he really needed it at least. Instead of following Doctor Jang's command, he ignored him and strolled on past him. But with each confident step, there was an ache in his bones. Choi Young clenched his jaw. Despite the pain and aches in his body, he still put on a false act and made sure he looked completely fine; almost as if the injury didn't exist. Choi Young was only able to make it to the table before it finally got to him. Planting his hand firmly on the table, he dug his nails into the wood and exhaled silently, yet painfully.
"What do you think you're doing?" demanded a voice.
Not bothering to lift his gaze from the floor, Choi Young was easily able to recognize the concerned voice. Eun Soo. Once a few seconds passed, he finally lifted his gaze to the woman who approached him. Her lips curved into a frown as she glanced over from Choi Young to Doctor Jang, who also approached Choi Young from behind. She set down the cup in her hands on the table.
"I advised him to rest," explained Doctor Jang. "Our General is a very stubborn man, despite being wise. Perhaps you could get through to him, High Doctor?"
Choi Young interrupted the discussion before Eun Soo could respond. "Why do I need two doctors to watch over me? Isn't one enough?"
If it weren't obvious enough, Choi Young was trying to hint at the fact that he didn't want to be fussed over. His condition at first worsened, but now, Choi Young knew he was recovering. It was a very slow recovery, but one nonetheless; which meant that he didn't need to be supervised by one doctor, let alone two. The most he would accept was one, single doctor; which would ultimately be Eun Soo, since he preferred to have her at his side, rather than Doctor Jang.
"More than one on duty over someone like me would be wasteful." Those words were supposed to emphasize his point, despite being argumentative. But it appeared that Eun Soo and Doctor Jang got the hint.
Instead of arguing, Doctor Jang gave a firm nod of understanding. "Can you watch over him then, High Doctor?" He exchanged a brief glance with Choi Young, one that told him—without words—that he understood completely.
"Me?" Eun Soo pointed at herself and almost looked startled by the idea.
"Yes," responded Doctor Jang as he turned his gaze over to her now. "You are his Doctor, are you not?"
"That would be okay?" she questioned, peering over at Choi Young.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Jang Bin tilted his head a little bit, not fully understanding her reasons behind her sudden uneasiness. "You are the Royal Doctor. You should be in charge of watching over the General, to prevent his health from declining further."
"..Right." Eun Soo's lips curved into a small smile. Dipping her head to Doctor Jang, she turned her attention to Choi Young, curving her lips into a small, triumphant grin now. "That means you have to listen to me, Choi Young."
"You may be my doctor," mumbled Choi Young as he looked her in the eye. "But that doesn't mean I need to listen to your every command." Nodding at Doctor Jang, he moved passed him. He was about to make his way past Eun Soo, when she suddenly spread her arms out wide and blocked his path. Choi Young didn't even blink. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly on her smaller figure. "What do you think you are doing?"
"Where do you think you're going?" she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Did you listen to Doctor Jang? I'm the Royal Doctor; therefore, you must listen to me!"
"I'm going out to get a breath of fresh air. I've been resting in here longer than necessary." Choi Young's response was simple; there was nothing he needed to explain. "Is there a reason I cannot leave?"
"Well.. you're in no condition to be moving about!" objected Eun Soo. Her smile from earlier disappeared and was replaced with a small, yet serious frown. "You must listen to me in order to get better."
"I won't be getting any better by staying inside." Choi Young began to push past her, though she stood her ground, not budging a single bit.
"Do you treat all your doctors this way?" she snapped. "The least you could do is at least listen to me! R-right, Doctor Jang?" she called out, pushing herself onto her tippy toes while blocking his path. However, Doctor Jang left the two a while ago; even Choi Young realized it when he left Eun Soo in charge.
"Imja." Choi Young's hands rested firmly on her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I will listen to you when it's necessary. But right now, don't you agree that exercise and fresh air will help me recover?"
Eun Soo paused briefly. In all honesty, Choi Young really didn't want to rest anymore. His body had enough rest from the previous few days. Not only that, but his mind was sick and tired of all the sleep—it left him with unpleasant dreams; ones he didn't wish to return to anytime soon. He didn't want to return to his loss of memories, nor did he want to wake up, actually forgetting her. It wasn't possible, Choi Young was aware of that much. But it was terrifying to return to a dream world, where Eun Soo didn't exist in his memories. His sleep used to save him from the hell of a reality, but now it left him with nothing but fears.
What a joke. I've feared less and less, the more I've lost. Yet, here I am, refusing to listen to her because of my fears.
Choi Young was a joke. Being afraid of, not death—not losing his freedom—but of his dreams that told a different story. It was a pitiful state to be in, when every day horrors occurred all around him. The brave and fearless Woodalchi general finally had something to be afraid of.
"All right," agreed Eun Soo at long last, interrupting his thoughts. "I'll let you go outside. You are right.. You should get some exercise and a little fresh air." With reluctance—Choi Young saw it in her actions as her gaze dropped from him and her lips curved into an uncertain frown—she stepped aside, allowing him a path to walk through. His gaze turned away from her as he began to stroll on past her. But after a couple of steps, he found himself having a hard time making it a few steps. The aches in his body returned, causing more and more difficulty. Not only that was an issue, but out of the blue, he began to feel a little light headed. It was almost as if the room itself was spinning—which was clearly impossible. A heavy sigh fell past his lips as he made his way to the nearby wall, near the steps. Once he reached the wall, he leaned against it, closing his eyes momentarily. "Choi Young!" Eun Soo's voice was filled with obvious concern.
"This doesn't make sense," he muttered quietly, though loud enough for her to hear. "Why is it so difficult.."
"Because," responded Eun Soo, "You've rested for a week, without any exercise, and with little nourishment. The only times you ate were when you woke up, and you didn't eat very much to begin with." With Choi Young's eyes still closed, he listened to her approaching footsteps. "You refuse to listen to me.. What did you expect?"
His eyelids forced themselves open. Right in front of him stood Eun Soo, who had placed her hand against his forehead.
"Your fever hasn't died down either.. That is why I brought the medicine." Eun Soo sighed heavily as she took a few steps back. "Do you see what kind of condition you're in?" She spun around and made her way back to the table, where she picked up the small cup from the table, right where she left it earlier. "You keep trying to push yourself, right after you've finally recovered for the most part. But even if you have recovered from the critical injury, there are still things you need to take care of before you run around again."
"Like what, then?" Choi Young responded, watching as she walked right towards him, cup still in hand.
With a tiny smile, she offered the cup filled with a mysterious liquid in it. "Drink this, first. This is your medicine. It will help reduce your fever. And I've already asked Lady Choi to bring you a meal in a little bit, so that will help too."
Choi Young took the cup from her, peering into it before looking back at her. Then without another word, he downed the entire liquid. After swallowing, he cleared his throat, unable to rid his mouth of the bitter taste of the remedy. "It tastes bad," he commented.
Eun Soo took it from him with a smile. "It might taste bitter, but it'll help you." She put the cup back on the table before returning to him, offering her shoulder to him next. He simply blinked, a little confused by her offer.
"What are you doing?"
"You said you wanted some fresh air, right? Well, I'll help you. So come on!" she urged him. Choi Young was reluctant to receive her help, but just for once, he would let her do her job and act as her patient. Carefully, he draped an arm over her shoulder; however, he also made sure not to put all his weight on her tiny body. "There. Ready?" She turned her attention back to him.
"Yeah." It was his only hope that they didn't run into any of the Woodalchi warriors. The last thing he needed was this incident to be spread around.
Admittedly, Choi Young was a bit heavier than anticipated. But it was to be expected, since most of his body was muscle mass—or so Eun Soo imagined. With his arm around her shoulder, she could practically feel his muscles..
Eun Soo, you stop that!
She had to get those wandering thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't even believe she was thinking about those types of things when he wasn't even in top-notch condition!
I shouldn't be thinking about this at all!
She shamed herself for having those thoughts in mind. It was wrong of her, as his Doctor. Well—it was wrong of her in general, actually. It took a couple minutes to reach "their spot" or meet-up place, as Eun Soo considered it. It was where they did a lot of things together; mainly held most of their conversations. It was a very special place, and somehow, she knew that it was where Choi Young wanted to be as well. She helped Choi Young sit down against the scarlet gate, before sitting herself right next to him.
For the first few minutes, it was very quiet between the two. Eun Soo fell silent, hoping Choi Young would start up a conversation. But it appeared that it wasn't very likely of him, since as soon as she glanced over at him, his eyes were closed while his head rested against the bars of the gate.
He's resting..
Another thing to have been expected. Someone who was in his condition needed proper rest. She couldn't even believe herself for thinking she could have an open conversation with him while he was ill! It was like her doctor senses weren't taking over, like they should have been. Truthfully, though, her adventure in Goryeo didn't require a lot of her medical care. There were instances where her medical abilities were needed, but not a lot. She had been out of the zone for so long, she barely realized it.
Instead of starting up a conversation, and rather than leaving him, Eun Soo shifted her position very quietly, so she was facing the resting Choi Young now. She had to keep a very good eye on him, to make sure he was going to be okay. Facial expressions and body language were all key in figuring out if someone was having a hard time. And for several, long minutes, Eun Soo watched Choi Young very carefully, though at some point, her mind wandered off a little bit to certain thoughts. As she kept staring at him, she realized that while he was resting he had a very peaceful expression on his features. It caused her curiosity to rise a little bit, seeing as out of all the times he rested, this was the first time he showed any sign of tranquility. It brought a little ease over Eun Soo, considering how worried she was the entire time. The past few days, she found it harder and harder to keep patient, though she had to be. His condition had only seemed to worsen at the time and it led her to believe less and less in herself.
That was part of the reason why she was uncertain about taking charge of Choi Young earlier. When Doctor Jang had insisted she watch over him, she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't right for the job. It was almost as if she were losing faith in herself and her own abilities as a doctor. Her uncertainty was what began to hold her back. It shouldn't have.
But it did.
Throughout her never ending thoughts, she didn't realize that she was still staring at Choi Young, with an unblinking gaze. Eun Soo had been too lost in her own thoughts to realize it at all.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Those words snapped her out of her thoughts. Startled, Eun Soo blinked several times quickly, at last noticing that she had been staring; creepily, to add onto it. But what surprised her even more was that Choi Young had caught her staring, even when his eyes were still closed. "I'm not staring," she objected seconds after. Even as she said that, she was still staring at him.
"Yes you are."
"How would you know if I was or wasn't? Your eyes are closed!" she retorted, still staring.
One of his eyelids opened, catching her on the spot. Instantly, she averted her gaze from him, knowing that she was caught lying, but also hoping he didn't catch her in time.
"You were staring," he stated firmly, opening his other eye next to focus on her more now. "I know when someone is staring.. Imja just makes it obvious, though."
"Well I'm watching for signs of improvement or trouble!" she responded, agitated by his constant statements. "That's why I'm out here to begin with."
"I don't need a doctor out here with me," Choi Young told her.
A little annoyed now by his stubbornness, she pursed her lips momentarily before she began to get up. "Fine. Since you don't need a 'doctor' out here, I guess I'll be leaving!"
However, before she could get up on her feet, she felt someone grab onto her wrist; preventing her from doing so. Blinking once, she glanced over at Choi Young who had grasped firmly onto her wrist so that she wouldn't leave. "I don't need a doctor with me at the moment. I want imja to be here with me."
She stared blankly at him for a few seconds before she realized what he was getting at. Now, instead of getting up like she planned to do minutes earlier, she remained seated beside Choi Young. "So.. you don't want me to leave?" Her question was murmured quietly.
"No." He moved his hand from her wrist, down to her hand, where he clung tightly onto it. He squeezed it barely, yet gently, so that he wouldn't hurt her. "I want imja to stay with me. I don't want imja to worry about my health, but to spend time with me."
"O-oh.." Eun Soo cleared her throat. At his oddly generous words, her lips began to curve up into a smile. But to hide that from him, so that she wouldn't reveal too much of her delight from those words, she shifted her position from him so that she was no longer facing him. Rather, they were back side-by-side, shoulders brushed against each other and hands—which were out of sight—intertwined with one another. "Why didn't you just say that earlier? Stupid.."
He didn't even respond. Instead, she felt some of his weight against one side of her shoulder. As she glanced over at him, she realized that he was leaning against her, with his head resting on her shoulder. His eyes were once again closed and like before, his facial expression revealed how relaxed he truly was. "Imja isn't very bright. I expected someone to have figured out the meaning behind my words so easily.. Guess I was wrong."
"You're just a jerk." Still, now that he wasn't looking, she was able to smile as big as she wanted to, and reveal as much delight as she felt.
This feeling.. It keeps reappearing every time I'm with him..
It wasn't a feeling she was very familiar with. In all her years of living, not once did she ever experience the feeling in her chest. The fluttering in her stomach, the warmth in her chest; it was all because she was with him.
Because it's you, Choi Young, I think.. I really have found the 'one.'
She, too, closed her eyes moments later to rest in silence with the general. To her, nothing could be more relaxing than this time spent with him.
A/N: Your thoughts? :)