"Oppa!" shouted Iseul in a loud voice, calling out for Ji Hoon. Her forehead had been so wet with her cold sweat.
The woman had just woken up from her sleep. The sun had not even fully risen. The dark sky was just beginning to disappear. Iseul sat speechless on her bed, her breath gasping for breath.
She saw Ji Hoon's death. The woman then quickly stood up and ran out of the house, still in her pajamas. Iseul ran to the main street and stopped a taxi that was accidentally passing there. She was still wearing her slippers that she always wore inside the house.
Iseul asks the driver to drive the taxi as quickly as possible to the hospital where Ji Hoon is being treated. After they reached the hospital, she immediately got out of the taxi in a hurry and ran quickly to approach Ji Hoon's room.
When she arrived at the room, she immediately opened the door and entered the quiet room with a few quick steps. She could see that Ji Hoon was still sleeping on his bed with a hose in his hand and the area around his nose.
Iseul heaved a sigh of relief after she was convinced that Ji Hoon's heartbeat was still active. The woman could feel her heartbeat starting to normalize after listening to the man's heartbeat through the sound of a nearby machine. She approached Ji Hoon with a slow step and sat down next to him, who was still unconscious. She pulled the man's right hand gently and held his hand tightly with her two hands. Iseul then kissed the man's hand with such tenderness.
"Oppa... I'm so scared... I thought you had completely left me. " Iseul muttered and talked to the man who was still asleep.
"Kajima oppa (don't go oppa), please... please wake up , get well soon, oppa. I can't imagine if you really left me alone... " Iseul added as she stroked Ji Hoon's hair with all of her heart.
"Nan... saranghaeyo oppa...That's why...Please don't go... cheoltero andwae (never)... Promise me Ji Hoon oppa, Nan nomu saranghamnida... " The woman then reveals her inner feelings. Iseul brought her face closer towards him and kissed the man's lips gently.
"It's a relief for me to see that you are still here. I'm so happy. Irona palliwa eoh (wake up soon)? I have to leave now before anyone sees me here... Then" Iseul said, land a light kiss on the man's cheek before turning around. Iseul walked towards the door and turned around again to confirm Ji Hoon's state, a smile appearing on her face. She was really relieved that she only had nightmares about Ji Hoon; it was all just a dream. Iseul then leaves his room, and when the woman has disappeared, Ji Hoon's fingers begin to move.
After Iseul arrived back at the house, she saw a red sports car parked in front of her house. She asked herself what the owner of that car was doing in the morning like this at her house. Ro Woon, who saw Iseul walking in pajamas and slippers, was confused and got out of his car.
"Where have you gone?"Ro Woon asked curiously about the woman who looked like she had just woken up.
"Em...jogging?"Iseul said without thinking that she was lying.
She doesn't want Ro Woon to know what she did before. For some reason, she doesn't want to tell the guy the truth that she went to see Ji Hoon, and she feels better if Ro Woon doesn't know that.
"Are you wearing those clothes to jog around?"Ro Woon doesn't believe it.
"er... I jog around like this all the time."Iseul nodded steadily and started doing stretching exercises . She stretches her waist to the right and then to the left.
"I came to pick you up. I want to have breakfast with you before work," Ro Woon said.
"At this hour of the morning? I haven't even taken a shower yet." Iseul replied, watching her appearance. Now she realized how messy her current appearance was. She couldn't believe she had left the house like this. And now Ro Woon even sees it.
"It's okay, I'll wait for you," Ro Woon said without revealing any expression.
"But... It took me quite a long time to prepare myself. Let's wait inside," said Iseul, asking Ro Woon to enter her house.
"Anniyo... I'll wait for you here," Ro Woon replied.
"Is it truly okay?" The woman seemed unsure. The weather was quite cold that morning, and the man in front of her was the guest and also the boss. Was it appropriate to let him wait outside? Iseul's mother would surely nag her if she found out that she let her "beloved" man be left frozen outside. But Ro Woon just nodded and smiled.
"Alright then, I'll try to get ready as soon as I can,"said Iseul, entering her house. Ro Woon just looked at the woman's back with a smile on his face.
It was almost half an hour when Iseul finally showed up with a neat shirt and a beautiful smile. She enters Ro Woon's car and finds the man who had been waiting for her for a long time inside the car. It's still 6.30 am and they still have about an hour and a half before they have to go to work at eight. A very long time if it has to be spent just to enjoy some breakfast.
"Do we really need breakfast at this hour?I mean, what are we going to do after we finish our breakfast at the office? " Iseul inquired, perplexedly, to Ro Woon, who was busy driving.
"We're not going to have breakfast right away but go for a walk first," Ro Woon explained.
"What about a walk? Where? " Iseul asked curiously.
"Only to a few places..."Ro Woon showed a handsome smile, but it made Iseul look at him suspiciously. This guy sometimes does unexpected things. But in the end, she decided to wait until they got to their destination.
Finally, they arrived at their destination, a place away from the crowds of the highway. Ro Woon stops his car in front of the bamboo forest. He then gets out of the car and picks up a food basket from the back seat, a basket that people usually carry when they go on picnics. Iseul also got out of the car and followed the man. She looked at Ro Woon with a gagging face.
"What exactly are we doing here?"Iseul asked him confusedly.
"Picnic..."said Ro Woon, raising the food basket and showing it to Iseul.
"Where?" the woman asked again while looking around, but she only found a bamboo forest there.
"Just stick with me..."The man immediately pulled Iseul's hand and held it tightly, then led their steps into the bamboo forest.
"Are we still in Seoul?" asks Iseul again.
"Of course," Ro Woon said, giggling at listening to the designer's question.
Iseul looks around and she finds bamboo trees everywhere. They walk together on the path side by side while Ro Woon's left hand keeps holding on to Iseul's hand and the other hand carries their food basket. Somehow, Iseul doesn't mind or feel awkward about their physical contact at all.
"Isn't the air here wonderful?"The man looks like he is enjoying the atmosphere around him.
"ne, very fresh, feels cold with fog filling the air but looks beautiful with bamboo trees in the background," Iseul said, smiling, and kept looking around as they were walking.
"Do you enjoy it?"Ro Woon asked again.
"Ne..." the woman smiled while idle with excitement.
"I think you'll be happier and more excited after seeing our destination," Ro Woon said with a meaningful smile.
Iseul looked at him with suspicious eyes, but she couldn't hide her excitement and curiosity about the place the man mentioned. She smiled happily and felt excited.
After they walked through the bamboo forest for about 15 minutes, they finally reached the destination that Ro Woon said. Iseul opened her mouth in awe when she saw the place where they were now. In front of her is a vast expanse of plain, filled with a variety of beautiful flowers. In the middle of the plain was a wasteland with a large tree.
"Woaah..."Iseul said with a big smile on her face. She really liked the sight in front of her.
"Wow!! This is incredible!! Waah Ro Woon-ah! This is really amazing!" She ran happily towards the big tree through the flower field with a happy feeling in her heart. When she reached the vacant lot with the big tree, she waved to invite Ro Woon and asked the man to catch up with her immediately. Ro Woon only smiles at her cheerful behavior. He walks towards Iseul and puts his picnic basket on the ground.
"Perfect place for a picnic, right?" asked Ro Woon proudly to Iseul.
"eoh!!"Iseul replied with a happy smile.
"How can you know a place like this here?" asked the woman later.
"Well, I used to visit this place as a child. I'm so glad that this place hasn't changed at all," the handsome man replied, and then sat on the ground, leaning against a tree. Iseul also sat on the ground beside him. She bent her knees and continued to stare at the beautiful flower field in front of her.
"Why did you suddenly bring me here?" asked Iseul, then turned her eyes and looked towards Ro Woon.
"Well, since it's so soothing here, and also since you looked so down yesterday after that car accident, I think you must have been surprised to witness a car accident right in front of your eyes.." Ro Woon explained the reason he brought the woman to this place. He looked towards Iseul while bending his hands and placing those hands behind his head, then leaning against the tree.
Iseul just fell silent after hearing the man's answer. She realized that, in fact, Ro Woon really cares about her. He even deliberately brought her to this place to make her feel better. Although Ro Woon looks like a cold person, he actually pays a lot of attention towards her.
Iseul smiled after she thought about it. She felt so happy to have that man beside her now. She greatly appreciated Ro Woon's great concern for her, and for some reason, she felt touched by all of his kindness.
"What do you bring for our breakfast?" asked Iseul, looking towards the food basket.
"Just some simple food," Ro Woon said, picking up the basket and opening it.
Iseul found a wide variety of food there. She even found some delicious fresh fruit and juice in it.
"Wow... this is a complete breakfast set..."The woman was amazed and looked at Ro Woon with shining eyes.
"Did you prepare it yourself?" Iseul asked curiously.
"Of course, I'm good at cooking,"the man declares proudly again.
"Hihihi... it's so funny..."said the designer, giggling.
"What's so funny?" asks the confused man.
"Anni... it's just that..., isn't it usually the women who will prepare the food while they are on a picnic? This is a normal and common thing for the women out there, but now... I instead met a guy who prepared food for a picnic together. Whether you might actually be... a woman?" asks Iseul, who keeps giggling.
"Yak! What are you saying? Hey, I'm trying to be nice here and you're scoffing at me like that, saying that I'm like a woman. " Ro Woon was upset.
"Anniya? (Aren't you? )" Iseul continued teasing him again.
"Yak", the man is getting more upset.
Iseul tried to smile and stick out her tongue.
"Gomawo (thank you) Ro Woon-ah..." Iseul added, then sincerely smiled at Ro Woon. The man paused for a moment and looked at her beautiful smile. He then smiled with her.
"That's the word you should have said from the beginning," Ro Woon said at the time.
"Ne... nomu gomawo Ro Woon-ah, jinja (really)... for everything. " Iseul said it again. The man looked at the woman beside him in silence. He felt addicted to staring at her beautiful smile. Iseul also looked at Ro Woon's face carefully while still showing a smile on her face. Somehow, she felt so warm in her chest.