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'What a beautiful dream.'
A thought flashed in Yeo Ri's mind as she woke up. However, she soon forgot what she had dreamt about. No matter how hard she tried to recall it, she could not seem to remember it save for the thought that it had been a pleasant dream.
"Yeo Ri...?" Gun's voice called out. His tone was tired; he had stayed up for a long time, spending his nights sleeplessly, waiting for her to open her eyes.
Yeo Ri slowly moved her gaze towards him.
"...Oppa, where are we?" She asked passively.
Gun beamed, feeling relieved, then reached out to hold her cold hands, but she instinctively pulled away. A sense of discomfort sparked inside her the moment Gun's hand touched hers; it felt as if spiders were crawling at the spot which she had been touched. Yeo Ri hurriedly wiped her hand without thinking. She simply could not stand the feeling of being touched.
Sensing her discomfort, Gun lowered his head sorrowfully. Then, after taking a deep breath, he raised his head and smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry, Yeo Ri-ah."
"..." Yeo Ri looked away without acknowledging his apology. It was not his fault, but hers. Her actions must have hurt him deeply. Yet, she found it difficult to apologise to him.
Gun continued to smile, as if he wanted to show her that everything was fine. "We're at the hospital. It's been three days since you were brought here."
He stood up from his seat and gestured around the room, "Look, Yeo Ri-ah. Isn't this room very nice? Heo Woo Seung-ssi pulled some strings and transferred you to this VIP room. Apparently, the director of this hospital is his younger sister."
"..." Yeo Ri watched him display his fake-excitement with dull eyes. Sighing softly, she mumbled, "That man is doing something unnecessary again."
"Yeo Ri-ah? Did you say something?" Gun paused, looking at his baby sister. He thought he had heard her say something.
"..." Yeo Ri shook her head, then turned away. She stared at the curtained wall quietly.
Gun's smile faltered at her indifference. His heart felt as if it was being pricked; Yeo Ri had never been this quiet. From the moment she woke up until now, the girl had not display even an ounce of her previous cheerfulness. It was like she became a totally different person, and it scared him.
"Yeo Ri-ah, do you want to see the scenery? It's really beautiful." Nevertheless, he still kept trying. He forced himself to put on a brave front and continued to fool himself into thinking that everything will be alright.
Gun did not wait for her reply and directly pulled the curtains to the side, revealing a glass panel that overlooked the view of the hospital's park and parts of the town beyond.
The sky was slightly darkened due to the weather, so it was not too bright for her rather unused eyes.
Yeo Ri continued to stare, as if she was unaware of the beautiful scenery. Her gaze was somewhat glazed and empty; the scenery was clearly not entering her sight.
Gun pushed down the stuffy feeling in his heart and continued to attend to her.
"Do you want something to eat?" He asked.
Yeo Ri shook her head again.
"What about something to drink?" He persisted.
Yeo Ri was about to shake her head, but then paused. Her throat was feeling dry, so perhaps a drink would be nice. Slowly, she nodded.
Gun, receiving her assent, brightened up.
"What do you want? There's water, and juice in the fridge, but if you want something else, Oppa will go buy it for you."
"Water," Yeo Ri simply replied.
"Okay," Gun jumped, gleefully pouring her a cup of warm water, "here."
Yeo Ri accepted the cup with both hands, then took small, continuous sips until she emptied the whole cup. The warm water helped reduce the scratchy feeling in her throat, making her feel more comfortable. Soon enough, her eyelids began to droop.
"Yeo Ri-ah, go to sleep first. Oppa will go and talk to the doctor for a bit, okay?" Gun smiled genuinely at her. He reached out to stroke her head, but gave up on the idea. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.
He flashed another smile at her, then exited the room, leaving her all by herself.