As I have nothing to give you, I give you my heart (IU Verse Book#1)

Chapter 45

     The waiting room felt cold and airy. Doctors and sick patients moved around the hallways of the hospital, bustling to and fro like any other busy day. Jihyuk sat in the waiting room and watched them quietly from the glass window. He sat on the bench in the waiting room far from the emergency room in which Jieun was undergoing surgery. 

     Her parents and her brother were there. Her mother was weeping beside her father. Her father held on to his wife as he tried to hold back his own tears. Her brother was sitting beside his parents looking sadly at the door of the emergency room. He too was trying to hold back his tears.

     Seri and Hanteo, along with Sangin, were all on the other side of the room from Jieun's family, standing silently. They sometimes would make quiet conversations with one another and would lapse back into silence. Jihyuk was a little bit far away from all of them. He was at a corner by himself, talking to no one, and was just staring blankly at the wall in front of him. His eyes were glassy and his cheeks were stained from his tears, but he didn't bother to wipe them away.

     For what seemed like an eternity later, the door to the emergency room opened. A doctor came out of the room and slid the door shut behind him. Jieun's parents and her brother, who stood the closest to the doctor, all stood up abruptly from their seats and went up to him. Jihyuk stood up from his seat but stayed behind, close enough so that he could still hear what the doctor was saying. Jieun's mother found her voice and asked the doctor about her daughter's condition, in which the doctor took off his mask and gave her a small smile. "The blade went deeper than we expected. But the surgery went well, thankfully. She's going to be out for a while. We'll be moving her from the ER to a proper room." Everyone broke into breaths of relief.

     Jieun's mother shakily reached for the doctor's hands. "Thank you, thank you, so much."

     Everyone else thanked the doctor before he nodded politely and left them to themselves. A moment later, a bunch of nurses came out with Jieun who was laying on a stretcher. They wheeled her into a room, the rest of her visitors following close behind her stretcher. Jihyuk lingered behind but he was close enough to see her pale face and fragile figure. Another stab of pain went through his chest and he had to stop walking as he shut his eyes for a brief second. 

     He stood in the middle of the room, watching after the retreating figures of his colleagues and Jieun's family.

     He dropped to his knees and finally let out a sob. 

 >>>>>>>>>

     Jieun woke up to whispering voices above her. She blinked several times to adjust the heavy lighting before slowly opening her eyes fully. The first thing Jieun saw was the white ceiling above her. Her pupils moved around the room and she finally saw the faces of the voices. Her mother was on her right side and his father was on the other. They were talking to each other in whispers and hadn't noticed that she was awake.

     Seri, who was leaning on the wall near the door, saw that Jieun had stirred.

     "Jieun-nah," She said in shock as she went up to her bed. Her mother and father finally looked down and they both let out a gasp as they saw their daughter awake, who was now trying to sit up. "Jieun-nah, thank god." Her mother immediately helped her up. Her father propped the pillow behind her so that she could sit up comfortably. "How are you feeling?" Her father asked. "I'm okay," She was surprised that her voice came out normal. She had expected it to be hoarse and croaked. She cleared her throat. Her mother immediately stood up and poured her a glass of water.