Who I've Been Searching For | Sungjoy

Chapter 14: Who Are You

It's bright.

That was the first thing Sungjae thought when he opened his eyes.

Where am I?

That was the second thing he thought as he took in his unfamiliar surroundings.

The last thing he remembered was talking on the phone with Joy, teasing her about calling her Sooyoung, before...

Ah, that's right. I was in a car accident.

Sungjae winced as he attempted to raise himself up from the hospital bed. His right arm had been hooked up to an anesthesia machine, while his left hand felt numb.

He frowned. He tried to move it but didn't feel any reaction. Horror slowly crept over him as the thought of having lost a limb began to take over his thoughts.

Sungjae closed his eyes and moved his face in the direction of where he assumed his left arm would be. He may as well find out of soon as possible.

Three, two, one...

He opened his eyes and immediately felt a wave of calm and happiness wash over him.

Sleeping peacefully on his arm was Joy. The sunlight fell on her, splashing her with its rays, accentuating her beauty. She had clumsily wrapped a blanket around herself and had fallen asleep curled up in a chair.

Sungjae slowly slumped back into his bed. It was a good way to wake up.

With his free hand, he began to play with Joy's hair, his fingers deftly weaving his way through her thick locks. Sungjae looked out the window, and as he watched the sunrise, he began to hum.

--

Humming?

Joy woke up to the soft humming of someone in the room. Presumably the same person was playing with her hair. It was probably Yeri.

"Five more minutes Yeri," she mumbled as she entwined her hand with Sungjae's. Perhaps it was her sleep-deprived mind, but she could have sworn that his hands twitched back.

The humming stopped as whoever was doing it emitted a low chuckle. "I don't think I ever wanted you to call me Yeri."

Joy's eyes flashed wide open, her entire being jolted away by the sound of the voice. She heard the voice chuckle again as the person continued to play with her hair.

"Sungjae-ssi?" she cautiously whispered, not daring to believe it.

"Yah Sooyoung, I can't believe you would still use 'ssi' with my name."

Joy rose up slowly and looked at the face that was smiling back at her.

"Ah," Sungjae experimentally flexed his fingers as he regained feeling in it. "There's my left arm. I thought I lost it."

"Sungjae..." Joy's eyes began to water. "You're awake."

"And what a sight to wake up," he joked.

But just seeing Sungjae up and awake caused Joy to burst into tears, making Sungjae fret about as he searched frantically for tissues in the room.

"I thought you'd never wake up," Joy bawled, with tears flowing down her face. "I thought... I thought..."

But she was unable to finish her sentence as her emotions overtook her. Sungjae finally found a box of tissues beside his bed and tore a bunch out from the box. He gently dabbed away at Joy's tears.

"There, there," he consoled her, as he continued to dab away at her tears and offered another batch of tissues to her.

Joy took the tissues from Sungjae's hand and wiped away her tears. "You must think I look ugly now."