Myung Hwan was waiting for his class to start when his phone rang. An unknown number. He picked it up anyway.
"Yeoboseyo?"
"Is this.....Lee Myung Hwan sunbaenim?"
"Ne. Who is this?"
Silence.
"....this is Seo Ki Jun. Kim Ga Eun's friend".
"Oh," he waited. But Ki Jun lapsed into silence again. "Uh, is there something wrong?".
A sigh.
"Ne. There is something wrong, Sunbaenim. It's Ga Eun. She's in a bad condition."
"What? What's going on? What's wrong with her?"
"It's been a week. And I'm sure she doesn't eat anything. Well, almost nothing. She doesn't sleep too. She—cried all the time....And....I'm worried that she will be terribly sick if this keeps up, so I'm calling you to ask your help."
"Sunbaenim, please come here and talk to her. She won't listen to me. Maybe she'll listen to you. She can't keep up being like this."
"Me?" Myung Hwan asked, making sure he was hearing right. "But I thought you two are very close....."
"Yes, we are close. Too close that my threats are not working for her anymore. Just please, if you can, please come here now and talk to her. I don't know what else to do. I won't ask your help if I have any other way."
Myung Hwan frowned.
"Sunbaenim, are you there?"
"Hm? Yeah, yeah, I'm here."
"Will you come?"
"Yes. Where is she right now?"
"At our high school's infirmary. Remember the way? It's near the glass house."
"I know the way. But is she sick right now?"
"She's in a bad state."
"I'll go now."
*******************************
She didn't know how long she lay there. She had stopped crying, but she didn't feel like doing anything. Not to go to class, not to get up, not to even find Ki Jun. It's been a while and all she did was only stare blankly at the white wall.
She felt a dull headache, a mild pain that tugged inside her head. She blinked and sighed. If Appa knew, he'd suggest she drink a warm glass of milk and tell her to sleep the pain away.
If only Appa was here...
"Ga Eun?"
Hearing that, she quickly turned around.
Lee Myung Hwan was standing there, a meter away from the bed she was laying on.
"Doryeonnim!" she exclaimed in shock, sitting up.
"Hey."
"What are you doing here, Doryeonnim? Do you need anything?".
Myung Hwan smiled and shook his head. "You always do that, Ga Eun. Every time you see me, you always ask, "Doryeonnim, do you need anything?" he said, putting his hands in his jacket pocket, "No, Ga Eun, I don't need anything. Do you need anything?"
"Ne?"
He sighed.
"I'm here because Seo Ki Jun called me"
"Oh," she frowned, a tinge of annoyance in her voice, "Why would he do that?"
"He's worried for his best friend. Or is it girlfriend?"
"Ne???"
"Okay. So maybe he's just worried for his best friend. She said you're in a. bad condition. That you barely eat and that you can't sleep."
She didn't know what to say. It was true. But the Lee Myung Hwan didn't need to trouble himself with that.
"I haven't seen you for several days, Ga Eun. And you are indeed losing weight," he observed, as his eyes scanned her face that definitely looked thinner.
Following Kim Ae Mi's request, she was not serving the family and only stayed on the first floor, keeping herself in her own room. He was right, they haven't met for several days.
"So I guess what Ki Jun said is true."
She looked down.
"It is strange to see you not in class at this hour. So you must be feeling terrible..." he wondered, approaching the bed.
"I don't know what to say that could make you feel better.....I wish I could."
She couldn't help it, tears starting to drop again.
"I want to ask you to stop crying. But you have all the right to cry as long as you want," he said softly.
She looked up at him.
"I want to ask you to stop feeling sad, but it's impossible to not feel sad when you lose a father, right? I want to ask you to eat and take care of yourself, but it makes sense not to feel like eating when you're at your worst."
"Seo Ki Jun said you'll listen to me...and I do wish I could help you. Sang Ok Ahjussi is a good man. If I miss him, then how about you, his own daughter?"
She wiped her tears, a sob escaped her throat.
"But there's one thing I know for sure. I know Sang Ok Ahjussi loved you so much, Ga Eun. I know he would be sad seeing you like this. Drowning in your sadness, not taking care of yourself...."
"He told me once, you know, that he felt he's not giving you a life that you deserve. That he's sometimes sad that you have to grow up in our house, serving us. But he also said you grew up really well despite everything. He said he was proud that you grew up to be smart and lovely. Just like your mother was."
She was crying openly by then.
"He would hate to see you like this. We both know it's the truth."
"I—I—"
"Ne?"
"I want him back Doryeonnim....." she said finally, a wish that burdened her heart and she finally voiced out.
"Ga Eun....."
"I want Appa back..." she said once more, before losing herself in another rush of pain and she cried again.
He reached out to touch her cheek, holding it gently.
And then he sat down beside her, scooping her body in his arms, pulled her close, and hugged her.
Ga Eun froze.
"Today, please forget that you're working for my family. Let's pretend I'm your brother and you could share your grief with me."
"Doryeo—"
"Cry, Ga Eun-ah. It's okay."
For several seconds, she wanted to move from his arms. It was completely inappropriate, he shouldn't be bothered by her troubles, that she was being disrespectful, that her father would be mad if he saw this, that she should quickly apologize, dried her tears, and assured him that everything was fine.
But.....
There was also a realization that he was there. He was there. The person he cherished most was in front of her, offering sympathy, and the pain she carried was, at that moment, too heavy to carry by herself. Just this once, she wanted to share it with him.
So she stopped holding her breath and cried into his shoulder, her body was shaking and her voice was strangled.
"Appa..."
Myung Hwan pulled her closer and let her head nestled in the crook of his neck, brushing her back, feeling her trembling in grief as she cried and cried and cried.
And then it turned into sobs until she finally quieted down.
She moved back from his arms and looked at him. Her eyes were swollen and her nose was really red. He patted her shoulder.
"Feel better?"
She nodded.
"If you let go of your feelings, I think it would feel a little better."
"Jeongmal gamsahamnida, Doryeonnim, for—"
"What now?" he asked, purposefully ignoring what she said.
"Eh?"
"You're not in the condition to study, I think. You won't be going back to the class, right?"
"N—ne. No. I guess I won't be able to—learn anything."
"I'll take you home if you want to" he offered.
She gaped and quickly waved her hand, "No! Don't—"
"Stop saying, no, will you? Come, take your bag and wait for me in front of the school. I'll go get my car."
"You can't do that, Doryeonim. Please, I'm—"
"Kim Ga Eun," he cut sternly. "If you say no or apologize one more time, I'm going to be really angry."
She swallowed.
"Go to your class, get your bag, and wait for me."
"Algesseumnida."
He nodded and walked out of the infirmary.
*************************************
Author's Note:
She's in a dark place, and he cared enough to go there and talk to her.