There was a misunderstanding between us that I didn't know how it came about. Even though I wanted to chase after him and beg him to talk this out with me, every sight and sound seemed to have momentarily left me. It left me standing here, stunned. I needed some space to clear my head. I'd make sure to remain close in case he leaves, but since father-in-law is here, it wouldn't be too hard to find him again even if he did.

Was he still in our home in the city?

Coming back to reality, I noticed Jaemin talking to the administration clerks, but they deftly shook their heads. "He's not ready to be discharged," the clerk said, glancing up apologetically from the computer screen. "Dr. Sai still needs to check him over before making that call. It's no small matter that he's woken up after so many years. He'll need to be assessed over several days or weeks."

My head snapped towards her. "No," I said, rapidly shaking my head. "I won't stay another night. As soon as Chanyeol comes out, I'm going home."

"You're acquainted with Director Han, right?" the clerk asked, looking uncomfortable. "Having seen your exchange just now, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from contacting him again. If you do, I'll be forced to contact security."

"Director Han?" I asked, finding myself looking back towards the corridor he disappeared down.

"Yes, he's a successful financial director. Wouldn't you know that already, Mr. Bom?"

"Maybe, if I hadn't been in a coma for seven years," I quipped, watching her shrink back with embarrassment. Chanyeol was still young, which meant he could've only stepped into this role in the past few years. Unless times had drastically changed in these seven years, it wasn't common to see a director under fifty, let alone under thirty.

Chanyeol must have worked incredibly hard. The thought of him having already realized our dream with clear success made me smile. Was it possible to be this proud of somebody you technically no longer knew?

"My apologies," she said, bowing her head. "You're right."

"A-anyway," I said, clenching my fists as I grew overwrought by nerves, "I still won't stay here. I'll talk to Chanyeol and if he still doesn't want to hear me, then I'll find somewhere else to stay."

Jaemin touched my arm, looking at me with concern. "Haneul," she said. "Don't you want to fully recover? Why risk your health and future just for somebody else?"

"He's not just somebody else," I said, gritting my teeth.

Jaemin stilled and looked at me with deliberation. After some moments, she took a breath and nodded, showing that she understood completely without me explicitly having to say it. "I get it," she said with a gentle voice. "Really, I do. But my husband and I can certainly help you if you'll just––"

I shrugged off her hand and stepped back, feeling my body sway. My body still hadn't grown accustomed to holding its own weight, and at the rate I was going, it felt like it'd take a while. Looking at how skinny I was, it seemed like I didn't have much muscle to hold myself together at all. It just didn't seem to show in my face, is all.

"Thank you," I said, firmly, "but I'm fine. I don't want Chanyeol to misunderstand anything."

"What's there to misunderstand?" she asked, growing more irritated. "Huh? Where will you sleep? Your condition could deteriorate overnight. Do you want to die in the street?"

Her words pricked me. I knew she was right; I really did. But admitting so would mean that I had to face this reality. That's the last thing I wanted. All I needed now was for Chanyeol to recognize that I am back, to show that there is still love in his heart for me even if he has moved on, and to win him back if that's the case.

Our fifteen years together couldn't have meant nothing, after all.

She reached for my arm again, but I yanked it away. "I'll figure it out," I said, coldly.

As if walking on a boat, I wobbled all the way towards the revolving doors. The moment I stepped inside, the back of the glass door slammed against my back and propelled me forward. My feet couldn't move fast enough, so I collapsed under my weight and was slowly pushed around by the door. Jaemin and some bystanders yelled and gasped while she came running, while a security guard came running behind her.

The revolving doors stopped when I arrived at the entrance, and Jaemin crouched down and tried to lift me up. Unable to bear my weight, the security guard moved her aside and pulled me to my feet. My body shook, making it even harder to stand and bear my weight. This time, I couldn't shrug her off. I felt humiliated. All I wanted was for Chanyeol to find me here and take me somewhere safe where we could be alone.

Tears pricked my eyes. My weight was supported entirely by the security guard while a nearby nurse rushed to bring a wheelchair. All the energy drained from my body, rendering my useless. Jaemin patted my back for a moment before leading me back towards the reception. The revolving doors began turning again, and moments after, a man came racing inside.

"Mr. Bom?" the man called out, jogging as he slipped his arms through a white coat. He had long wavy golden-brown hair and a dimpled smile, scrambling to pull out gold framed glasses from his coat pocket. He stopped in front of me, panting and wiping sweat from his forehead as he put his glasses on to study me thoroughly. "Mr. Bom, my name is Dr. Sang-chul Sai. My staff informed me that you're awake and that you're trying to leave. I came running as fast as I could."

I looked up at this man, taken aback by how handsome he was. Even though his disheveled hair clung to his red and sweaty face, he looked like something straight out of a television drama. He wiped the sweat on his forehead and crouched down in front of me, observing my face just as closely as I was observing his. "Your color is pale," he said, eyes flitting around my face. "You might've come off your oxygen too quickly for your body to handle. I need you to stay here for monitoring."

"No," I said, pushing him away. "I'm completely fine."

Who knew when Chanyeol would come back out from seeing his father? Truthfully, I wanted to go visit father-in-law, too. But since he had seen my text without contacting me back, it made me wonder if seeing him was a good idea. Maybe the misunderstanding extended to him, too. But what could they possibly misunderstand for seven years?

"Mr. Bom." The doctor's voice was soft and reassuring as he gently placed his palms over the backs of my hands. "I've been your leading physician for the past four and a half years. Even though this is your first time meeting me, I feel like I've known you for an incredibly long time. In fact, most of our long-term staff and residents feel the same. We're all so amazed to see that you've finally woken up, and we all want what's best for you. If you can just give us a little bit more time to work with you now that you're awake, we will see to it that you're fine to leave this place with minimal risk to your health."

His eyes were like a golden retriever as he looked up at me from his crouched position. I noticed that the color of his eyes matched his hair, which seemed to match his entire personality. Something about him made me want to listen. Glancing at the corridor one last time, I willed Chanyeol to appear again.

If he did, I'd ignore this doctor and beg Chanyeol to listen to me first. If he didn't, then I'd listen to this doctor and finish being treated so that I could pursue Chanyeol without further risk to my health. Moments passed that he did not appear. I closed my eyes and faced in front of me again. When I opened them, Dr. Sai was looking up at me with hope and expectance. I tried to nod, but I could barely find the will to move my head. However, he seemed to understand what I couldn't express and sighed in relief.

Standing up, he smiled and squeezed my shoulder with reassurance.

Jaemin opted to push my chair, and after the way I'd just treated her, I decided to just let her. She and her husband had been nothing but good to me, but I pushed her away like that. That wasn't fair on her, so somehow, I had to show my appreciation at the end of all of this. I'd make sure to work hard to make them happy, then repay them whatever way I can.

When we returned to the room, I could see that the family was already packing up to leave. It seemed like the grandparents were preparing to take the children.

"You're back already, Uncle?" Chaesol asked me, clutching my leg from the wheelchair. "Did both of your legs break? Why can't you walk?"

"Chaesol," her grandmother snipped. "Show some tact."

I chuckled and ruffled her hair. "This Uncle's been walking like the famous Captain Jack Sparrow! I need to go back on my ship before I can walk properly again."

Her face lit up with excitement, grinning and bearing her missing baby front teeth. "I hope you'll get back to your ship quickly so you can walk."

As I thought about that ship, Chanyeol came to mind. The sooner I could be back in his arms, the sooner I think I could recover my health back to one hundred percent. The journey without him seemed lonely, and that sapped my courage to continue. But this strange family heading out the door, and this strange doctor looking at me with eyes full of excitement and hope, and all these strange nurses coming in and out to perform tests and regulate my oxygen levels all seemed to feel like they knew me.

And because each of them got me this far, I owed them at least this much.

Jaemin left and returned sometime later with some clothes for her husband and I, with the addition of a new cellphone which they both spent time teaching me how to navigate. Jung-ho set me up an account and charged the phone with some money so that I could make calls and receive texts, and even use the internet. They said that I'd be able to use the apps to get my identity records and would even assist me to get my driver's license once I was deemed safe to drive by Dr. Sai.

The day turned to two, which then turned to three.

Each day, Jaemin would bring her kids along with their grandparents, aunty, and uncle. They'd bring gifts of snacks and flowers for both Jung-ho and I, Chaesol would climb up and cuddle me on the bed, and they'd always include me in their conversations, just as if I was one of their own family members. They supported me and cheered for me when a physiotherapist came to help me work on my muscles and strength and left the room to give me privacy when a neurologist came to discuss my brain.

They appeared to be close with Dr. Sai as well, who did regular rounds of the private ward. The nurses were all fun and playful once they'd adjusted to the fact that I was awake, and not just a sleeping burden on the hospital. This was more pleasant than I'd anticipated, although I had to keep fighting the urge to ask them to take me to a regular ward now that I was awake and getting ready to leave. Truthfully, I felt so comfortable that if I left them now, I would miss them a lot.

Chaesol downloaded lots of games on my phone and would regularly climb up the bed to play them while laying on my stomach. Sometimes, her brother Ari would join her on my lap while they versed each other in racing games. It was amazing to think that technology had advanced this much in just seven years, but it was proof that all of this was real.

On the fourth morning, the kids came running into the room squealing and jumping around. Chaesol's hair was tied into two pigtails that fell to her shoulders, wearing a pink and frilly dress with ballet shoes and fairy wings. Ari wore a nice suit and child loafers, taking me by surprise that they created clothes like that for such small kids. The family came in behind them carrying large bags which I could see wrapped up gifts inside.

"Daddy!" Chaesol squealed, running up to his bed and tackling him into a big hug. "Guess how old I am, daddy. It's my birthday!"

Jung-ho acted surprised, wrapping his arms around her, and pulling her into a deep hug while he plastered kisses all over her head and face. "How old is my big girl turning?"

"This much!" she answered, proudly sticking out four of her fingers.

"Wow, that's a lot," he chuckled, pulling Ari in for a hug as well. "And my birthday boy, too."

The kids rummaged through the endless bags, pulling out presents that were divided between blue and pink wrapping papers. They appeared ecstatic. This was a precious moment for the family that I suddenly felt like I was intruding on just by laying on this bed and being inside this room. I was lucky to be wearing a pair of pajamas which Jaemin purchased for me, but they could also pass as lazy day clothes, consisting of grey sweats and a partially sheer white long-sleeved shirt. Fortunately, my bruising was barely noticeable through the sleeves unless I looked hard.

At some point, Ari and Chaesol both jumped on my bed to show me a lot of their toys. I congratulated them with a big hug before fading back into the shadows. After some time, I realized it would be better to make myself scarce, so I snuck out the door and simply bowed in case somebody did notice me leaving.

It was nice, but it was suffocating being trapped inside with a family I barely knew. I just wanted to be back with the family I know and love, or at least, did in the past. The lights were dimly lit since it was still early hours of the morning, so I tiptoed barefoot through the corridors trying to find my way to the yard. I'd already promised I wouldn't leave without being given the clear, but I needed some fresh air at the very least.

The courtyard was large, with concrete seats and wooden tables, giant gazebos, and outdoor entertainment areas. Flowers were carefully arranged in beautiful flower gardens, being maintained by a landscaper carrying a trolley filled with garden tools around. The birds were singing, and it felt like it could be a beautiful day.

But sitting alone on one of the concrete benches, back facing to me as he stared down at his phone, was the same back I watched storm away from me four days ago. The very stranger I couldn't unlearn to love after seven years of separation, who still felt as dear to me now as the day I left him. Any strength I'd gained in my body these last few days seemed to leave me, as did the air in my lungs that Dr. Sai and the nurses worked so hard to regulate.

Chanyeol was just meters away from me.