Don’t Run Away from Me

Amy sighed, unable to tell Felix the truth behind his question.

"I'm sorry, Felix. I'll make sure to think of something to get your name out of this. I am deeply embarrassed and truly sorry". Amy looked at Felix.

Felix straightened his posture and crossed his legs, his hand holding the coffee. "You did nothing wrong, Dr. Amy. I don't mind it; use me as bait if you must; just please, don't let me see you in that position again. I might not be able to stop myself next time." He said, looking at the blank space in front of him.

Amy was stunned by Felix's confession. 'Did he perhaps like?', she thought.

"What I'm trying to say is, I just don't want anyone close to me to suffer," Felix said, reasoning out his sudden admission. "I'm a doctor; I'm used to saving people."

"Thank you, Felix, I mean it," Amy said as she stood up. "I'll go to my office; I have a case study to make. Call me if anything happens."

Felix waived Amy goodbye as he continued to sit down alone. 'I don't mind,' he said to himself, 'I'm gonna be the fake boyfriend you need me to be, Amy.' Felix sighed as he couldn't get the image of Amy crying in the rain off his mind.

Alone in her office, Amy checked her phone. She got 3 missed calls from Alex, 4 missed calls from Jen and a text from Jim:

**I'm sorry. Please don't run away from me.

Amy's mind is blank. She was mad but not at Jim. She was frustrated but not at Jim. She was hurt not because of Jim but because of her deep feelings towards him. Amy remembered what Manager Wang told her: 'Dating a superstar is hard. You're not just dating Jim. You must also consider his career, members, families, and loyal fans.'

But was it indeed no other way? Was bringing Felix into the narrative the only way? How long must she be a ghost lover?

The wet monsoon brought scattered rain and cloudy skies that week. Amy has not heard from Jim since his last message, although the group's international success, sold-out concerts, and standing-ovation performances are all over the news.

Jen had also reported that the tteokboki issue had died down. When people assumed her and Felix's relationship, they had moved on; "It's all because of the unknown." Jen explained to Amy, "People are naturally curious about things they don't know."

Amy did what she does best; being a doctor. Their patient, after the emergency surgery they performed, recovered exceptionally well. Dr. Song and Amy were planning a reconstructive surgery to align her facial features that were damaged due to the client's rare genetic condition.

Amy worked overtime and barely gave her enough time to rest. She didn't want to confront her emotions. As a matter of fact, she was scared to confront her feelings. She feared she would crumble and fall back to depression if she dealt with her unresolved emotions. 'I'll deal with it once I see Jim again- if I ever see him again,' she thought.

"Dr. Amy, may I come in? Jen said after knocking on the door.

"Come in," Amy said while typing progress notes on her work computer.

"Dr. Amy, do you want me to cancel your work trip to Jodhpur, Rajasthan, next week? Jen asked Amy.

"What day is that?" Amy responded, still focused on her computer. "Is that the seminar with Dr. Sourav Kumar?"

"Yes, your flight is on Friday, the seminar is on Saturday, then your flight back is on Sunday," Jen replied.

"Don't cancel." Amy looked up at Jen, "You're coming with me."

"But Dr. Amy, you haven't had a single day off for the last two weeks. "You are overworking. Your body's gonna give up on you soon." Jen exclaimed.

"I'm good, Jen. No need to worry about me, just book our tickets, okay? It's been forever since we hung out with Sourav. Think of this business trip as a mini-vacation. India is such a wonderful country; we had amazing memories there, don't we?" Amy smiled at Jen.

When Amy moved to India from Japan, Jen, Amy, and Sourav worked together.

Sourav Kumar is the most brilliant man Amy has ever met. He is a lead biomedical researcher. Back then, his research was one of the critical sources of Amy's pediatric neurology research; Sourav gave Amy excellent insights and essential constructive criticisms. They worked together for a year until Amy and Jen transferred to Korea. They have been excellent friends ever since. And if Amy is not mistaken, had they not moved, Sourav and Jen might have been an item.

"Don't you miss Sourav? I know I do," Amy teased Jen.

Jen blushed and dismissed Amy's comment. "I will confirm the trip as long as you slow down the following days."

Amy smiled at Jen. They've spent so much time with each other that they developed a special bond; they can read each other's minds.

Amy proceeded to do her daily rounds that afternoon at station four. Station 4 is where pediatric clients, who are either to be discharged or to be transferred to a regular pediatric ward, stay for monitoring.

Amy loves doing her rounds here. She usually stays longer to play with children or talk to the children's parents. Other times, she would remain at the nurse's station and make her discharge or transfer recommendations.

While writing her notes, one of the nurses caught her attention.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," a slender, tall nurse panicked at the nurse's station, "look," She said while putting her phone in the middle for everyone to see.

Amy's heart stiffened.

Nurse Bae played a video of Jim singing 'It's you by Henry' during their latest concert;

//Baby, I'm falling, head over heels

//Looking for ways to let you know just how I feel

//I wish I was holding you by my side//

//I wouldn't change a thing 'cause finally, it's real

//I'm trying to hold back; you ought to know that

//You're the one that's on my mind

//Falling too fast, deeply in love

//Finding the magic in the colors of you

//You're the right time, at the right moment

//You're the sunlight, keeps my heart going oh-whoa

//I know when I'm with you

//I can't keep myself from falling

//Right time at the right moment

//It's you...

//You... it's you

//You... it's you..."

Just when Jim was about to sing the second verse, he stopped singing and covered his eyes. Everyone in the audience gasped at the sight of Jim trying to hide his tears.

With a hoarse voice, Jim, after composing himself a little, continued to sing...

//"Every night in my mind bed, I'm dreaming oh-whoa

//That's in you in my arms, I'm holding oh-whoa

//Girl, all I wants is you."

This time, Jim didn't stop singing as tears fell from his eyes.

When Jim finished his song, the crowd gasped, cried, and cheered as loud as they could. Jim then asked for forgiveness from his fans, 'I'm sorry for stopping in the middle of my performance. I'm sorry, Axis, I will do better next time," Jim said while the fans assured him it was fine.

When the video ended, Amy also realized that tears had fallen from her eyes. Her heart felt like it was being burned alive.

'Jim,' Amy whispered and ran towards her office to grab her phone as soon as possible.