The hallway felt too quiet after everything.
Jay stood there, staring at his hands like they didn't belong to him.
They were still warm.
Still tingling.
As if her touch hadn't let go.
---
Inside the room, voices moved around Yumi—doctors, nurses, questions layered over questions.
But she barely heard them.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the door.
On where he had been.
---
> "I'll be right outside."
---
He said it so easily.
Like it was obvious.
Like he wasn't going anywhere.
---
Her chest tightened.
Not from pain this time.
From something else.
Something softer.
---
"…Jay…"
Her voice was barely a breath again.
But this time—
She wasn't afraid.
---
"Yumi, can you hear me?" the doctor asked gently.
A light flashed briefly in her eyes.
She flinched.
---
"…yes…" she whispered.
Her throat burned with the effort.
---
The nurse leaned in quickly. "That's good—very good. Can you tell us your full name?"
---
Yumi blinked slowly.
The answer should have been easy.
Simple.
Obvious.
---
But for a second—
Her mind drifted.
Not to herself.
---
To him.
---
"…Yumi… Park…" she said finally.
---
The doctor nodded. "Good. Do you know where you are?"
---
"…hospital…"
---
"Do you know what year it is?"
---
Silence.
---
Her eyes shifted slightly.
Uncertain.
Lost.
---
"…I…" her voice faltered.
---
Ten years.
Gone.
Lost somewhere between dreams and silence.
---
The doctor exchanged a glance with the nurse.
"It's okay," he said softly. "We'll take it slowly."
---
But Yumi barely heard him.
Because something else hit her.
Hard.
---
> Ten years.
---
Her mother.
Her brother.
Suha.
---
Tears filled her eyes.
"…did they… wait…?" she whispered.
---
The nurse's expression softened instantly.
"Yes," she said gently. "They never stopped."
---
Yumi's lips trembled.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
---
Outside—
Jay heard everything.
---
He hadn't meant to.
But the door wasn't fully closed.
And her voice—
Even weak—
Still reached him.
---
His chest tightened.
---
Ten years.
---
He leaned his head back against the wall.
Eyes closing.
Trying to process something he couldn't explain.
---
Why did it hurt?
Why did her pain feel like it belonged to him too?
---
A memory flickered again.
Faint.
Incomplete.
---
A girl laughing.
Wind in her hair.
Sunlight.
---
Gone.
---
Jay opened his eyes quickly, breathing uneven.
"…what are you to me…?" he whispered.
---
The door opened.
---
A nurse stepped out, noticing him immediately.
"You're still here?"
---
Jay straightened slightly.
"…is she okay?"
---
The nurse studied him for a moment.
Then nodded.
"She's stable. Weak, but responsive."
A pause.
"…you're important to her, aren't you?"
---
Jay hesitated.
---
He didn't know how to answer that.
---
"…I think she's important to me," he said instead.
---
The nurse gave a small, knowing smile.
---
"You can come back in for a minute," she said. "But not too long."
---
Jay nodded quickly.
"Thank you."
---
---
Inside the room—
Yumi turned her head slightly the moment the door opened.
Even before she saw him—
She felt him.
---
"…you came back…" she whispered.
---
Jay smiled softly as he stepped closer.
"I said I would."
---
This time, he didn't hesitate.
He moved right to her side.
---
Yumi watched him carefully.
Like she was afraid he might disappear if she blinked.
---
"…was it real?" she asked suddenly.
---
Jay paused.
"…what?"
---
"The place," she said weakly. "The door… the garden… you…"
Her eyes searched his.
"…was it just me?"
---
Jay shook his head slowly.
"No."
---
A small breath escaped her.
Almost like relief.
---
"I saw it too," he continued. "I don't understand it… but I was there."
---
Her fingers shifted slightly against the bed.
Wanting.
Reaching.
---
Jay noticed.
And gently placed his hand near hers again.
Not fully holding—
Just close enough.
---
"…I thought I made you up," she whispered.
---
Jay let out a quiet breath.
"…I thought I was losing my mind."
---
For a second—
They both smiled.
Weak.
But real.
---
Then Yumi's expression softened.
More serious.
---
"…why you?" she asked.
---
Jay looked at her.
Really looked.
---
"…I don't know," he admitted.
A pause.
Then, softer—
"…but I don't think it's random."
---
Yumi's eyes shimmered.
---
"…me neither…"
---
Silence settled again.
But this time—
It wasn't empty.
---
It was full of questions.
Of threads pulling tighter.
Of something neither of them could explain—
But both could feel.
---
Jay glanced at her hand again.
Then back at her.
---
"…can I ask you something?" he said.
---
She nodded slightly.
---
"…before the accident," he said carefully,
"…do you remember… seeing me?"
---
Yumi frowned faintly.
Thinking.
Searching.
---
A memory stirred.
Faint.
Blurry.
---
A street.
Music playing somewhere.
A voice—
---
Her eyes widened slightly.
---
"…I don't know…" she whispered.
"…but it feels like I should."
---
Jay exhaled slowly.
---
Same answer.
Same feeling.
---
The same missing piece.
---
And somehow—
That made everything even more real.
---
Because whatever this was—
It didn't start in the hospital.
---
It started long before that.
---
They just had to remember.
It didn't start here.
They both felt it.
In the silence between them, in the way their words kept circling the same emptiness—
Something was missing.
Something important.
---
Jay leaned back slightly in the chair beside her bed, eyes still locked on hers.
"…then we find it," he said quietly.
---
Yumi blinked.
"Find… what?"
---
"…whatever we forgot."
---
Her fingers curled faintly against the sheet.
The idea felt… big.
Heavy.
And strangely right.
---
"…how?" she whispered.
---
Jay hesitated.
For once—
He didn't have an answer.
---
Before he could speak again—
The door burst open.
---
"YUMI!"
---
The voice shattered everything.
---
A woman rushed in—
Hair messy, breath uneven, eyes already overflowing with tears.
---
Yumi froze.
---
Her heart skipped.
---
"…mom…?"
---
The word came out broken.
Unsteady.
But real.
---
Her mother stopped for just a second—
Like she was afraid this was a dream.
---
Then she ran to her.
Grabbing her hand, her face, her shoulders—
Careful, but desperate.
---
"Yumi… Yumi, you're awake…" she cried, her voice collapsing under the weight of ten years.
"I knew it—I knew you'd come back—"
---
Yumi's vision blurred.
Not from pain this time.
From emotion.
---
"…I'm sorry…" she whispered.
---
Her mother shook her head immediately.
"No—no, don't say that—don't you dare say that—"
Her voice broke.
"You came back. That's all that matters."
---
Yumi's chest tightened.
---
For ten years—
This woman had stayed.
Waited.
Cried.
Prayed.
---
And Yumi hadn't been able to say a single word.
---
Tears slipped freely now.
"…I heard you…" she whispered.
---
Her mother froze.
---
"…every day…" Yumi continued weakly.
"…I heard you… calling me…"
---
A sob escaped her mother.
She leaned forward carefully, resting her forehead against Yumi's hand.
---
"Then why didn't you answer…" she cried.
---
Yumi's voice trembled.
"…I couldn't…"
---
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Real.
---
Jay stood quietly in the corner.
Unnoticed.
Unmoving.
---
This moment—
It didn't belong to him.
---
But still—
His chest ached.
---
Because somehow—
He felt it too.
---
After a few minutes, the door opened again.
---
"Yumi!"
---
A younger voice this time.
Breathless.
Shaking.
---
Suha.
---
She rushed in, stopping abruptly when she saw Yumi sitting there—awake.
Alive.
Looking at her.
---
For a second—
She didn't move.
---
Then—
"You idiot…" she whispered.
---
Yumi blinked.
---
Suha's eyes filled with tears.
"You took long enough."
---
And then she ran forward, grabbing Yumi's other hand.
Careful—but tight.
---
Yumi let out a weak laugh.
The first real one.
---
"…I missed you…" she said.
---
Suha sniffed, trying to smile through tears.
"Yeah, well… I complained to you every day, so you better have heard all of it."
---
Yumi smiled faintly.
"…I did…"
---
Across the room—
Jay watched.
---
Something warm settled in his chest.
---
She wasn't alone.
Not then.
Not now.
---
And somehow—
That made him feel…
Relieved.
---
But also—
Strangely—
Like he didn't belong here.
---
He took a small step back.
Then another.
---
Quietly moving toward the door.
---
Yumi's eyes shifted.
Instinct.
---
She saw him.
---
Leaving.
---
Her heart dropped.
---
"…Jay—"
---
His name slipped out before she could stop it.
---
The room went still.
---
Her mother blinked.
"…Jay?"
---
Suha turned.
Confused.
---
Jay froze at the door.
---
Slowly—
He turned back.
---
Their eyes met again.
---
Yumi's hand tightened weakly in the air.
Reaching.
---
"…don't go…" she whispered.
---
Silence.
---
Her mother looked between them.
"…you know him?"
---
Yumi hesitated.
---
How could she explain this?
Dreams?
Astral worlds?
A connection she didn't understand herself?
---
"…he…" her voice faltered.
"…he found me…"
---
Confusion deepened in the room.
---
Jay stepped forward again.
Slow.
Careful.
---
"…I think," he said quietly,
"…we found each other."
---
Suha's eyes widened slightly.
---
Her mother looked unsure.
Concerned.
Protective.
---
But Yumi—
She just looked at him.
---
And nodded.
---
"…don't leave," she repeated softly.
---
Jay exhaled.
---
He didn't fully understand what this was.
What it meant.
Where it would lead.
---
But one thing was clear.
---
He couldn't walk away.
---
"…okay," he said.
---
And this time—
He meant it.
---
Because whatever this connection was—
Whatever they had lost—
---
They were going to find it.
Together.
---
To be continued… 🌙