"Then why shouldn't I be nice to you," he caressed her cheeks.

"I trouble you a lot just because of my hospitalisation, and...I even called you annoying yesterday when you brought me the sandwiches. Aren't you really pissed off?"

"Of course I'm pissed off, but just a little bit. I understand that you're also tired. It was also my fault, things could have been different if I was more considerate. I'm also sorry," he gently stroked her hair, "Don't feel bad about it, and don't cry, OK?"

"I promise...I won't...do that again," she kept crying.

"Don't be so weepy like this, I wanna see my cheerful Eun Chae back! Now give me a big smile, will you?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded her head and forced out a small grin.

"Alright," he wiped away her tears, "You should eat. You don't wanna let the porridge be cold, right?"

"And Yu Jin..." She looked at him, "Don't buy me such a gift next time, I know it's very expensive."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm not gonna run out of money that easy."

******

That evening, Yu Jin dropped by Eun Chae's hospital a bit earlier than normal because he had less work to do. Opening the door, he found her sitting on her bed and writing something down in a journal.

"Hi Eun Chae."

"Oh...hi...why are you here so early?" She reacted with surprise and quickly put down her journal. Her demeanour was very suspicious. Why did she have to put it down right at the moment Yu Jin entered the room?

"My boss let us leave early today. By the way, what are you writing down?"

"Ah...no...it's nothing, just ignore it" she dismissively said and shook her head.

"I have some chicken soup for you," he handed her her food, "Have you tried reading the book yet?"

"Well...only the first few pages. It's pretty good, I think," she smiled at him.

"I'm glad you like it."

While Eun Chae was eating, Yu Jin decided to spend some time reading through his notes about emergency medicine again. Although he was suspended, he still needed to revise to make sure that he would not forget anything when he returned to work. However, he was disrupted by an unanticipated phone call from his mother.

"Hi mom," he greeted, "Has dad thought about the surgery yet?"

"He has, and you know what?" His mother excitedly said, "He agreed, he'll go through the surgery."

"That's great, I can't believe it," he jubilantly leaped out of his chair, clenching his hand into a triumphant fist.

"Thanks Yu Jin, for persuading him! You did a great job."

"It's nothing, then when is he going to have the surgery?"

"We don't know for sure yet, but he'll complete all the checkups tomorrow. The surgery will probably be done in a few more days."

"That's good to hear. I hope everything will be fine."

"Hopefully," his mother said, "How are you doing recently?"

"Huh?"

"How are you doing?"

"Oh...I'm doing...quite well, I guess," he was taken aback by his mother's question. He could never predict that she would ask him anything about his life in Seoul in such a situation.

"Are things very tough for you? I heard that you even had to borrow some money from Mi Jin, right?"

"Well...a bit, but don't worry mom, I can cope with it," he chuckled, "Mom, why didn't you tell me anything about dad's condition?"

"We were worried," his mother said, "We know that you are going through a hard time so we don't want to burden you further...Yu Jin, do you need anything?"

"No I don't," she softly said, "I'm fine, mom."

Listening to what his mother said, some tears started to well up in his eyes. For his whole life, he had never been so emotional. Perhaps it had been too long since he last heard such loving words. It was true that life in the bustling capital had trained him into a more mature and resilient man, and he was no longer the carefree and naive boy he used to be when he still lived with his family. But somehow, when he was in front of his parents, especially his mother, he was surprisingly weak and vulnerable. He missed them a lot. When he had just come to Seoul, he was satisfied and happy with a life without their constant nagging. Yet when things began to become more challenging, he genuinely wished that they were here with him.

"Yu Jin, is everything alright?"

"Yes mom...I...I'm alright, so don't worry."

They talked for a little while and then hung up. Eun Chae was totally shocked when Yu Jin mentioned the surgery so right after the call ended, she nervously inquired Yu Jin about it.

"Hey Yu Jin, what surgery were you talking about?"

"Well...my father needs to undergo a brain surgery which he doesn't want to. It takes us a while to convince him and in the end, he finally agrees to it," he sat down on her bed.

"I see," she nodded her head, "Is it a very dangerous one?"

"Yes, it is," he admitted, "If something goes wrong, he might lose his vision. But it's even more fatal not to have it, so I needed to try very hard to explain everything to him."

"And he changed his mind, right?"

"Yeah, it's a real miracle, you know? I've never thought that he would follow my advice as he hates me for not studying law."

"I don't think he hates you, but he might be a little bit disappointed. It's understandable, right?"

"Yeah, I agree."

"Why didn't you tell me about it? Is it the reason why you've been in such a bad mood?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded his head, "I don't wanna tell you not to bother you with my family matter. You're already having a tough time."

"Don't be like that," she said and gave him a tender hug, "No matter what happens, I'll be here for you."

"Thanks!" He softly said, "And sorry...for not telling you."

Eun Chae held Yu Jin as tight as she could. Her warmth was spreading throughout his body, feeling like a magic spell which dissipated all the stress and the negative feelings which were pressing down on Yu Jin. He wondered why she could have such a healing ability.

*******

Time flied faster than he could and a few days quickly passed. For the past few days, it was fortunate for Yu Jin that everything seemed to go well for him. His father had a successful surgery and was recovering well.

Meanwhile, Eun Chae, on the other hand, behaved in a very strange manner. She seemed less happy and energetic. In addition, she was always writing something in her journal just like a student scrambling through her summer homework in the last week of her holiday.

That day, Yu Jin had a day off from his part-time job at the cafeteria because its owner needed to handle some personal issues. Hence, he could drop by the hospital before sunset for the first time.

"Hi E..." When he entered the room, he saw nobody there. Meanwhile, the balcony door was open. Coming over to check, he found Eun Chae sitting beside her IV bag stand at a corner and crying, not knowing that he had already arrived. "Eun Chae?"

"Huh?" She looked up with her glistening eyes, "W...Why are you here, it's not even 6 yet?"

"I have a day off."

"Oh, I see," she said and wiped away her tears.

"Eun Chae, why are you crying here?"

"It...it's nothing, let's just go inside," she stood up, struggling to bring along her IV bag stand back to the room with her. She was obviously avoiding meeting his gaze.

"I'm not letting you go until you tell me," he said and blocked her way, preventing her from going back to the room, "Eun Chae, I really wanna know what's wrong with you?"

"I said it's nothing, just ignore me!" She said in frustration, "Let me in!"

"No," he softly said and suddenly embraced her tight. "Eun Chae, please! What's the matter? You have been less cheerful and talkative these days. You've been writing things down your notebook too, which you didn't often do. What are you trying to hide from me?" He said with a half nervous and half insistent tone.

"I...I...The doctors told me that my condition is worsening, I'm really panicked right now. Yu Jin, I...I...don't wanna die," she cried out loud and collapsed onto his body.

"You need to be hopeful, understand? You'll live, I'm sure you will," he held her even tighter.

"But...I...I...I'm really scared. You know...recently, I'm actually...writing farewell letters to all the ones I love..."

"You what?"

"I can't tell when I'm gonna leave so...I'd better prepare in advance."

"Repeat after me, OK?"

"Uh-huh," she nuzzled her nose against his chest.

"I'm the strong girl Hong Eun Chae," he said with determination.

"I...I'm the...strong girl...Hong Eun Chae," she tried to stop sobbing.

"I'm brave..." he said and gently stroked her hair.

"I'm brave..."

"...happy..."

"...happy..."

"...and resilient," he gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"...and resilient."

"And I'll survive."

"And I'll survive," her sobs seemed to gradually vanish.

Yu Jin was also afraid of losing her. In Seoul, she was the only emotional support he had, she was his inspiration and motivation. Knowing that her condition was deteriorating could be extremely devastating, and he was also scared. But he could not let her know that he was intimidated. In difficult times like this, he needed to be even stronger so that she could rely on him.

"You feel better now?" He let go of her and affectionately inquired.

"A bit, I guess..."

"From now on, whenever you think about death, remind yourself of those words, OK?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded her head.

"That's my Eun Chae," he pinched her cheeks, "You wanna go inside now?"

"Can I...stay back and watch the sunset?"

"Sure, I'll stay with you."

Both of them were standing side by side on the balcony, with their hands resting on the metal railing. Their eyes were following the golden sun which was setting down the horizon. The sky resembled a stunning painting with various different patches of colours, transitioning from light violet to magenta, neon pink and then peach. All of the colours were harmonically mixed to create a beautiful canvas.

"You know what?" Yu Jin looked at Eun Chae and asked.

"Huh?"

"When I was small, I really hated the sunset. But I think I change my mind now."

"Would there even be anyone who hates sunset? That's strange!"

"Well...Because sunset means that the night is coming, right?"

"Yeah, true!"

"I used to be afraid of the dark, so nighttime was obviously the time which I hated the most then. But it's different now."

"That's true...But...no matter how dark the night is, the sun will eventually rise again, so there's no reason you need to be so fearful."

"Yeah."

"It's just like...our lives, isn't it. I mean...sometimes things can be hard, but we'll still somehow manage to sneak through. Or at least that's what we believe."

"Uh-huh."

"By the way, the sunset...it looks beautiful, do you agree?" She excitedly said and looked at the sky.

"Yeah, it's so beautiful," Yu Jin smiled and looked at her.

"I really wish...I could buy it," she gave him a light-hearted smile.

"Me too."

"But...we're all broke, then how?" She naughtily laughed.

"Why is it that neither of us have any money?" He shook his head and gave her a bitter grin.

"Wait, who cares if we have no money. The sky is free, we can just take it for our own, right?"

"Well...perhaps...if it's how you see it."

"Then, it's ours, right?" She said and looked at him. "The sky is ours," she suddenly yelled out as loud as she could.

"The sky is ours," Yu Jin also followed her when he saw her doing that, and then both of them burst into laughter.

It had been quite a long time that they had not been able to enjoy such memorable moments, and all Yu Jin wanted was just for it to last forever, so that he would be with Eun Chae more, happy and carefree.

"Hey Yu Jin, you remember the time when we went to Yangpyeong for stargazing?"

"Yeah."

"I asked you to allow me to kiss your lips, and I said I'd do it just once, did I?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then, can I...do it...the second time?"

Thank you very much for making it this far! If you enjoy reading my story and are excited to find out what is going to happen next, don't forget to click the star to vote for me as well as recommend my story to your friends. You votes really motivate me a lot^^