I stay
> Day 27.
Time: 2:07 PM.
The beep of the heart monitor echoed softly in room 412.
Jae-In was there. Like every day.
Sitting on the same hard chair.
His back hunched. Dark circles under his eyes. Hands clasped between his legs.
Ji-Han didn't move.
His face was calm. Too calm.
An oxygen tube ran beneath his nose. Electrodes on his chest. A slow IV drip in his left arm.
And that silence… that damn silence.
Jae-In sighed. Leaned forward. Took a notebook out of his bag.
A small black notebook, its edges worn.
He opened it.
> "Day 1:
You're still breathing.
They say it's a light coma.
I don't believe them."
> "Day 4:
I dreamed you opened your eyes. That you said to me, 'You smoked in my room, asshole?'
I cried when I woke up."
> "Day 15:
I saw your father again. He told me to leave. Said it was 'my fault.'
He's not wrong. But I'm staying."
> "Day 22:
They talked about unplugging the machines if no reaction.
I told them to fuck off."
He raised his eyes to Ji-Han. His lips trembled.
— I don't know if you can hear me, Ji…
But if you're in there, somewhere… come back.
He leaned down. Touched Ji-Han's cold hand.
His fingers were lifeless, but… warmer than before.
— You don't have the right to leave me with all these memories… with this empty room… with this hospital smell.
You promised me a summer together. You promised not to disappear again.
A tear fell on the blanket.
He pressed his forehead to Ji-Han's hand, eyes closed.
— I'll wait for you. Even if it takes a hundred days. A thousand. A lifetime.
I'll wait for you, Ji-Han.
Because…
He inhaled, trembling.
— Because I love you, damn it.
> A quick beep. A wave on the screen.
A finger that moves. Barely.
Jae-In lifted his head, frozen.
— Ji-Han?
Nothing.
But in his chest, he felt… a pulse.
Not just his own.
His and his.