As he slowly gains his conscious, Yu Jin opens his eyes. His blurry sight can only recognize a blur silhouette on his side. "Xiao Ping ?" he weakly murmurs.
"Yu Jin, you're awake!" Mr. Bai excitedly calls him and shakes his shoulder. "Uncle..? Where.. where is Xiao Ping ? She's alright, isn't she ? Where is she .. ?!" Yu Jin's voice immediately becomes worry to know Xiao Ping is nowhere to be found by his eyes. He tries to get up from the bed, but fails. "Calm down.. She's okay. She just left to have a meal. She hadn't left your side for the whole day," Mr. Bai's answer calms Yu Jin down. But soon, Yu Jin finds something's not right. "Uncle.. why.. I can't.. I can't move my legs," Yu Jin says. He pulls the blanket out to uncover his lower part of his body. His legs are there, but as much as he tries, he can't move them, not even a toe. "Uncle.. what's wrong with me ?" he asks. Mr. Bai also becomes panic. "Let me.. let me call the doctor," he says then running out of the room.
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The doctor pokes Yu Jin's left leg with a needle. "Ouch..," Yu Jin reacts in pain. "You can feel it ? That's good," the doctor says, then shifts to Yu Jin''s right leg, doing the same thing. But this time, Yu Jin doesn't react anything. "Can you feel anything ?" the doctor asks, poking the needle again. Yu Jin stares at him blankly while shaking his head. "Okay," the doctor shortly responds then writes something on a note.
"Can you tell me what's wrong with my legs ? Why can't I move them ?" Yu Jin urges him to explain. The doctor gives him a thin smile before starting the explanation,
"There is nothing wrong with your legs. Instead it is your spinal cord, it is the connection between your brain and other parts of your body. You see, you were crushed by a book shelf. It injured your spinal cord, the lumbar section, to be exact. The injury caused you paraplegia, a paralysis that affect lower part of your body. According to ..."
"You mean I'm paralyzed now ? I.. I can't walk ?" Yu Jin cuts the doctor's explanation. The doctor looks at him solemnly then slowly nods.
"According to your reaction just now, it is an incomplete one. Which is a good news.."
"Is it permanent ?" Yu Jin asks again. The doctor sighs. "That.. I really can not tell for sure. Each case has different result, and there are a lot of factors affecting it. But an incomplete SCI has more likely to be recovered than the complete one. We will immediately have another surgery on you to treat the injury as much as we can. After that you will be going through a lot of therapy sections to regain your brain connection and maintain your muscle strength. I also suggest you to have a consultation with psychologist, and attend rehabilitation and support group.."
Yu Jin no longer listens to doctor's explanation as his mind is getting in haze. His heart is sunk the moment he knew he might not be able to walk again.
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"Yu Jin..," Xiao Ping calls Yu Jin softly while approaching the young man. He is still blankly stare nothing in front of him, careless for his surrounding. The doctor just left the room with Mr. Bai to his office to talk about Yu Jin's matter in more detail. "Yu Jin," Xiao Ping calls him again, gently shakes his shoulders with both hands. Slowly, Yu Jin regains his consciousness. He turns his head to Xiao Ping. His smile raises as he sees her.
"You're safe. Thank God you're alright"
"Thank God you're awake."
They both say in synchronous. Xiao Ping hugs him tight and cries in relieved on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We will get it through. We will fight together and win it," Xiao Ping whispers in between her sobs. Yu Jin pushes her away from his shoulder. "No, we won't," he says indifferently.
"What do you mean we won't. Don't give up. We will fight this together.."
"There is no 'we'. You better leave me alone." Yu Jin pushes Xiao Ping further.
"No. I won't leave you !"
"Yes, you will. Just leave me alone."
"I won't! I will stay by your side."
"You don't need anything from me. Nothing I can give you now"
"That doesn't mean that I will leave you! I will be by your side to get through this!"
"No, you won't!"
"Yes, I will! I love you! I don't want to lose you."
"You don't love me!"
"I LOVE YOU !"
"That's impossible!! You didn't love me when I could give you everything. How can you love me now ? I'm useless now. I can't protect you. I can't even walk."
"Yu Jin," Xiao Ping holds Yu Jin's face and brings it in front of her. "I. Love. You."
Yu Jin swipes her hands away. "You are not. It's not love. It's pity."
"I don't pity you. I'm sure you will be able to walk again. And I will help you stand on your feet again, just like you did to me."
"You don't need to repay me. You don't owe me anything. I didn't expect any return. I did it because I love you."
"And I am going to do it because I love you, too." Xiao Ping takes his hand and puts it on her chest. "Believe me. This heart is all yours. Only you. He is no longer here."
Yu Jin is about to take his hand when his sight accidentally sees what hanged on Xiao Ping's neck. A gold necklace with her name as its pendant. It is from him. "You.. when did you change your necklace ?"
"A week ago," Xiao Ping answers him. She lets his hand touching the necklace. Then she puts her hand on top of his hand. Yu Jin shifts his sight to her.
"I love you. You don't know how I prayed to God to give me a chance to confess it to you. How I pleaded to have a chance to be with you, to love you properly. I don't wanna lose you. I don't know how to live without you. I love you, Yu Jin. Please, believe me."
Yu Jin deeply stares at her, as if he wants to find whether there is a lie in her eyes. Xiao Ping closes her eyes as she brings her face closer to his. She then kisses him. At first, he doesn't respond. But when her lips touch his for the second time, Yu Jin doesn't hesitate to kiss her back.