From Past To Present, I Still Love You 143 A Newfound Emotion

When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her shaking body.

At first, Yoona was surprised by the sudden embrace, but once she noticed that it was Minhyun, she melted into his arms. She was thankful that she wasn't alone in this place.

Now, she could get an idea to why Ji-ho didn't like being here. It was lonely. Not knowing what will happen and battling the loneliness was really stressful.

She was thankful that he came so quickly.

"Are you okay?"

She tried to stop her tears and pursed her lips. "I-I'm going to be honest. It's... been t-tough."

For Minhyun, his heart was about to stop the moment he found out Ji-ho had fainted. He knew that this was coming, but it all felt too soon. But in Yoona's case, she was there when he fell down and was by his side throughout this episode. He couldn't imagine how hard it must've been for her.

"I heard everything from the doctor on my way here," Minhyun said. "It's not looking good..."

The fact was that Ji-ho may not survive this operation. Everything was against his favour.

Yoona leaned her head against Minhyun's chest. "So, what are we supposed to do..."

"All we can do is wait," he said honestly. Although he wanted to lift the mood by saying that there was a chance. He couldn't give false hope to both Yoona and himself.

Tears ran down her eyes. "I-I should've known not to bring him outside. It's all my fault."

All her emotions riled up in her chest again, surrounding her heart with darkness. Lately, every time Ji-ho got hurt, she was involved in one way or another. She felt responsible.

Minhyun couldn't bear seeing her in this state.

"Yoona. Let me ask you this. Why do you think Ji-ho kept this a secret from you?" He placed his hand on top of hers and gently squeezed it.

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I don't know," she whispered. "I don't understand."

"Then let me ask you this way. Do you think a boy like him would be happy being locked inside of a room, counting down the days till he passed away? Do you think he would want to survive that way? When he didn't want to stay in the hospital to begin with?"

Yoona shook her head. "No."

"Today. Was he happy?"

There was a pause. She could see Ji-ho's joyful face with that teasing smile pop up in her mind. And then she nodded. "Yes."

"How blessed was it that he was able to be happy today? For someone like him, he'd rather live less days happily than more days trapped. And this is a fact that you know well isn't it."

What Minhyun was saying was right. All this time, she was blaming herself for bringing him into this situation to begin with. In her head, she regretted for putting him in a dangerous situation. However, in the bottom of her heart, she knew that Ji-ho wouldn't give anything for the date he had with her today.

He wouldn't want her to feel this way.

"Thank you," she whispered. Minhyun really knew what words to say in her darkest moments.

He let out a smile and patted her head. "You're welcome."

The two waited hand in hand during Ji-ho's surgery. The hours felt like days upon days as they awaited for the doctor's to tell them the boy's condition.

When the doctors finally came, the two stood up immediately. The look on the doctors' faces, rather than being sad or joyful, were fearful, possibly due to Minhyun's presence. The main doctor took a step forward to break the news.

"Ji-ho has survived the surgery."

With just hearing that, Yoona placed her hands over her mouth and jumped up and down. Her eyes glistened with tears, not of sadness, but of happiness. To think that he survived this hurdle. It was a miracle. She had been bracing herself for the worst.

On the other hand, Minhyun had a dark expression on his face. He was happy by the fact that Ji-ho was alive, but he knew the condition that came along with it.

Minhyun already knew that Ji-ho was in pain due to his illness. Adding to the fact that his wounds would not heal, from what he could tell, although alive, Ji-ho would be in extreme pain when he turned conscious. He wasn't a doctor but this was what he could deduct by the facts.

And he was right.

"Although he has survived. There is a chance that he may not be able to wake up. And even if his heart is beating right now, the maximum amount of time he will be alive by will be twenty-four hours. However, there is no way to calculate what exact time he would pass away. Furthermore, even if he wakes up, due to the pain, he may go unconscious again. He will be in extreme agony."

Minhyun clenched his fists. "What about administering the numbing drug."

"Since he currently is in a comatose state, with the drug, it will only increase the chance of him not waking up."

In the end, was the surgery truly successful? Ji-ho was still in pain and ultimately, he could possibly pass at any moment without reaching consciousness.

Yoona could feel her heart breaking.

Minhyun held her hand and squeezed it.

When they arrived in Ji-ho's room, the atmosphere was tense. Ji-ho was in a hospital gown with the ventilator over the bottom half of his face. His face was deathly pale and sunken in.

Minhyun's body was tense, angry at himself for not being able to do anything. Ji-ho was in front of them, in need of help, yet all he could do was wait for him to wake up. He had the money and the latest technology, so was there really nothing to do to elevate a fraction of Ji-ho's pain?

Why was he powerless again? Why did Ji-ho had to suffer to hard?

Death never phased him. He thought of it as a simple event in life. He'd never felt emotionally attached to death nor was he afraid to pull the trigger on someone. Yet, seeing Ji-ho lying in that cold bed was frustrating and deeply affected him. What were these emotions violently stirring in his chest?

He grabbed onto the rails on the side of the bed. His hands were shaking clenching onto the metal.

"Why did I have to meet you?" He said coldly.

Yoona stared at him, surprised by the sudden confession.

He grit his teeth and closed his eyes. "You're an annoying brat. Fucking hell. Before, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you. You were nothing to me."

A single tear fell down his cheek. "But why did you have to be so annoying? I thought that Yoona would be the only person I would care about. So why the fuck do I have to suffer through this emotional pain because of you?"

Yoona had seen Minhyun express many emotions, but not one of them had been sadness. She could feel her tears falling down her face.

Minhyun knew that Ji-ho would not be able to hear his words. There was no point in him saying these things. They were just a waste of breath. Yet, they would not stop flowing out of his mouth. He didn't know how to handle the emotions within himself.

He let go of the rail and punched the wall. "Why?

Another punch.

"Why?"

He faced the wall and lowered his head. "Why does my heart hurt so much?"

Yoona gently walked towards him and gave him a big hug. She could feel his body shuddering under hers.

"Minhyun. It's okay to feel sad," she whispered. "You cared about him more than you realized. Don't pile it up within your heart."

Sad. He was feeling sad over the pain of someone other than Yoona. He looked down in his hands, shocked by the realization, before gulping. And here, he thought that his heart was only surrounded by darkness.

When did his heart start caring about Ji-ho this much?

More tears fell down his face.

"That fucker planned all this didn't he?" Minhyun said. "He knew I would eventually feel this way."

Yoona let out a sad laugh. "Perhaps. Annoying till the end huh?"

"Truly."

---

What they didn't notice was Ji-ho's eyelids slightly fluttering, on the cusp of cracking open.

He was hearing everything.

Chapter end