"You've been in a coma for a week now, Sir."
I looked around and assessed my surroundings. I was in a hospital bed. There were machines to both the left and right of me. I had a nasal cannula and my fingers were connected to the machine on my right.
My assistant, Yul Yoon-Jae, was sitting on a chair to the left of me with a book in his hands. I was sitting upright and had a tray of food in front of me. I didn't want to eat anything.
"Sir, you should eat your food." he said as he turned a page in his book.
"I'm good." The food didn't look that good anyways.
"Might I say, Sir, you are quite the lucky man to have been found right after the attack."
I turned to look at him, "Attack?" He stared at me with a confused expression.
"It seems you don't have any memory of that day," He put his book down and looked at me "Yim Kyung-Won, a freshman, found you on the floor with marks around your neck. He recognized you and called the police. Your Father and I rushed to the police office and brought you back home to get you treated. You were asleep for only 10 minutes before you started screaming," He took of his glasses, folded them and put them on the desk beside him.
"Your Father sprinted to your room, and I heard your argument since I was right outside of your door. He walked out a minute later with a grim look on his face and locked your bedroom door. He ordered me to call a doctor right away, saying you'd lost your mind."
He sighed, "I won't question you since you just woke up," He smiled faintly, "So please get better Sir. I'd hate to have a new boss."
.
.
.
I was discharged and went home one week later.
I apologized to Father, who hugged me and said he was glad I was fully healed.
Step Mother had entered my room and made sure I was okay before leaving for another trip. She was always traveling the world as it was one of her passions.
.
.
.
I looked for pictures in my phone, notes we'd written each other, her stuff in my room. They were all gone.
I didn't feel anything. I felt empty. It was like she had died with piece of me still with her. A really big piece.
.
.
.
"Why didn't you protect me like you promised?" Sa-Rang looked at me with resentment.
I was sitting on my knees. Sa-Rang stood tall in front of me, her eyes blazing with anger.
"You promised to be there and protect me!" There was a large hole where her heart should be. Blood was dripping from her eyes and mouth. Her shirt was stained with it too.
"S-Sa-Rang, I'm sorry-" My eyes welled with tears. She was right; I had promised to keep her safe, to protect her. But all I did was watch as she died right in front of me.
"Sang, you lied to me, just like my parent's had, you lied!"
"Sa-Rang, I'm sorry, please-"
"I despise you."
My mind went blank. Of course she hated me. I couldn't save her. She hadn't even made it to her 20's. And it was my fault. Because I was weak.
I woke up with a jolt.
Another nightmare.
I looked out my window and sighed. My alarm clock read 4:31 AM.
I wiped away the tears on my face and got up, only half asleep until I spotted something on the ground.
I recognized it instantly and cursed Eternal. The same hoodie Sa-Rang was wearing was on the floor next to me. The blood stain was gone.
I picked it up and hugged it. Her scent was gone. I looked at the floor to see a note right next to where the hoodie had been.
I picked it up and read it:
'One last thing to remember her by'
It was obvious who this was done by.
.
.
.
I went to school 2 days after I was discharged from the hospital.
I was relatively quiet and avoided conversation.
Hyeon had talked with me a couple of times before going to class again.
I stayed in the garden when I finished class. I sat down where I always did when I would go missing.
I took out my sketchbook and a pencil. I drew the cherry blossom tree that the couple had sat under the last time I was there.
I imagined Sa-Rang coming behind me, passing me 2 cartons of straw berry milk and one Fanta. I imagined how she would laugh at my jokes, how she would smile whenever she found a sketch she liked.
I flipped a page of my sketchbook and took out markers from my bag.
I started sketching her face. I took multiple red markers and started working on her hair. I took a lot of yellows and started on her eyes. I took multiple peaches and started on her skin. I drew her smiling. I started smiling, too. Tears filled my eyes.
I don't want to cry anymore. It's weak. I need to be strong to kill him, I can't be weak.
"That's a really beautiful woman," Hyeon was behind me, looking over my shoulder. She pointed to my art. "Did you know her?"
"Yeah, yea-" My voice cracked. "Yeah, I did."
"Sang-ah, are you okay?"
"I'm okay"
She sat down next to me and stayed silent. Her white hair glowed in the sunlight. This would be the perfect moment to tell her about Elirac.
"Hyeon, I have something to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"I need you to do something for me."