Within minutes, Ji An heard the tranquil breaths of Dong Hoon.

„He was truly exhausted,” she thought.

„Once, he could sit in pubs or with his brothers till dawn, then head to work or sometimes to soccer practice. Now, after the accident and a long hospital stay, he’s lost his stamina.” Ji An pondered this absentmindedly as she tidied her tiny kitchen and prepared her clothes for the next day. „After all, he had brushed with death, and recovering from the injuries he sustained was a monumental effort for his body.” Her thoughts continually circled back to Dong Hoon. „How can he doubt that his scarred face is a problem for me? If it is, it’s only because of his physical pain and his self-consciousness around people because of his appearance. I must dispel these thoughts from his mind as soon as possible.” This last thought served as an aside to the main monologue she was conducting with herself.

She hung up a complete set of clothes for the next day’s work and lay down in bed. On the nightstand lay her phone, live-streaming Dong Hoon’s snores. Ji An was addicted to this. Falling asleep to the sound of his breathing was soothing to her…

In the middle of the night, some distress suddenly woke her. As she came to, she heard that something was amiss with Dong Hoon. He seemed to be struggling, muttering in fright, occasionally crying out. Ji An sprang to her feet, quickly donned the outfit she had prepared the night before, grabbed her purse, and rushed out of the apartment. She managed to hail a taxi and, within ten minutes, arrived at the building where he lived.

Fortunately, she knew the codes to both the building’s lower doors and to his apartment. He had given them to her when he left the hospital, saying, „So you won’t worry too much about me,” when she looked at him, shocked. She didn’t even press the doorbell or knock. With trembling hands, she accurately punched in the numbers and briskly opened the door. She ran straight to the bedroom, forgetting that Gi Hoon might be sleeping in the living room.

Dong Hoon was no longer thrashing on the bed as she had heard over the phone, but he was still restless, sweaty, and tense. Ji An turned on the bedside lamp and paused, wondering what to do. Ultimately, when she was sure there was no grave danger and Dong Hoon was breathing relatively calmly, she didn’t wake him. She sat down on the floor, leaning her back against his bed, and didn’t notice when she fell asleep.

She was awakened by a gentle touch on her shoulder by Dong Hoon, who was shocked to see her as he woke up.

„Ji An! What are you doing here?” he asked, visibly surprised.

„Oh! Ahjussi! How do you feel?” she responded with a question to his question.

„Normal,” his surprise lingered, „Why do you ask? Did something happen?” he began to worry.

„No, no!” she quickly denied, „Just that, I heard you last night thrashing about in bed, shouting and…” she looked at him uncertainly.

„And what? Come on, spit it out, girl!”

„And you were sobbing. I got scared and came over to check on you,” Ji An stood up, stretching her body.

„I don’t remember anything. Jin-jja!” Dong Hoon sat up and pulled Ji An to sit beside him. „Didn’t Gi Hoon hear you come in?”

„Aigo! I completely forgot about him!” Ji An covered her mouth. „How will we explain what I am doing here?”

„We won’t explain,” Dong Hoon smiled lightly at Ji An’s concern. „I’ll wake him up shortly and send him off to work, and you sit here quietly. Let’s play at conspiracy,” he was evidently amused.

Ji An wasn’t having as much fun as Dong Hoon, but decided to follow his lead. Fortunately, she was dressed in clothes suitable for going straight to work, and from here it was much closer, so she wasn’t worried about being late. Her only concern was that Gi Hoon might come in and discover her, which would be extremely embarrassing. She preferred to avoid that.