Chapter 4: She Refused to Leave
The storm passed — but the sky inside him was far from clear.
When Kim Jonghyun awoke, it wasn't the beeping machines that greeted him. It was the quiet presence of someone who shouldn't have still been there.
Dr. Yoon Chae-won sat slumped beside his bed, her hand still loosely wrapped around his. Her long lashes cast shadows across her pale cheeks, and at the corner of her eye...
A single tear, frozen mid-fall. A pearl of emotion she hadn't let the world see — until now.
He blinked. Once. Twice.
Alive.
But barely.
His chest ached. Not from the illness — but from the realization.
He remembered the capsule. The performance enhancer. His manager had insisted it was harmless, just to "push through."
He'd taken it like candy.
And almost died for it.
His voice came out dry, hollow.
"I'm still here…"
He tried to move. Pain gripped his chest. The monitors picked up his stirrings, but Chae-won didn't wake — not yet.
He turned to her, truly *seeing* her for the first time.
The fierce doctor with fire in her voice… now curled in exhaustion beside him, her white coat wrinkled, her lip trembling in sleep.
Why had she stayed?
As if responding to his thoughts, her eyes opened — slowly.
For a moment, they just looked at each other. Neither spoke.
Then, she jerked upright.
"You idiot," she snapped, her voice hoarse, thick with something dangerously close to relief. "You could've died."
He swallowed. "Sorry."
"What did you take?"
He hesitated. Then: "A pill. My manager—he said it was safe."
Her face darkened. "Next time you feel like gambling with your life, don't do it on *my* table."
She stood, brushing her hands down her coat, trying to gather herself. But he caught her wrist — gentle, hesitant.
"You cried."
She froze.
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"You were hallucinating."
But her hand didn't pull away.
They stayed like that — caught between denial and something far softer.
Then, her pager buzzed. Her eyes flicked to it. Her lips pressed into a thin line.
Urgent. Neurology. Jonghyun's scan report.
She turned to leave, but paused at the door.
"Rest. No more surprises."
He smiled faintly. "Can't promise that."
She disappeared.
Alone again, Jonghyun glanced at the monitor. The rhythm was steady.
But in the quiet, his gaze drifted to the small table near the window.
There — half-tucked under a folder — was the edge of a medical report.
The title caught his eye:
"Advanced Motor Neuron Degradation – Case Review: Kim Jonghyun."
His smile vanished.
And then he saw the next line — handwritten in red ink by Chae-won herself:
"Possible survival window: Less than 120 days. Possible cognitive deterioration: high risk."
His fingers clenched the sheets.
He hadn't been told.
*To be continued…*
---