Heaven's Cloud
Fragments of Memory
The next day, the house was quiet without Seung-kwan, who had left early due to his schedule.
Jiyeon was quietly wandering around the living room alone when she suddenly turned her gaze out the window.
The wide-open city streets, cars speeding by, buildings lined up endlessly.
It was a landscape that seemed so familiar, yet so unfamiliar.
I wanted to find some clue in it—but my memory was still silent.
김지연
"hospital....."
Words that came out of my mouth without thinking.
I could enter countless buildings without any obstacles, but strangely enough, the hospital was something I couldn't help but feel like stepping into.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure out the reason.
Jiyeon slowly entered her room and lay down on the bed. She stared blankly at the ceiling and muttered quietly.
김지연
“...a clue...”
She usually had trouble falling asleep, but strangely, she felt much more at ease in this unfamiliar space.
Under the warm blanket, my eyelids slowly fell—a feeling of deep sleep came over me.
***
김지연
“Eww, what is this...!”
It had already become dark outside the window. Jiyeon jumped up from the bed in surprise and looked around.
I went out to the living room and saw a pair of sneakers tangled in the shoe rack. Seungkwan had already returned.
Jiyeon reflexively put his shoes away, cautiously approached the closed door, and listened.
김지연
“...I wonder if you’re sleeping. You must have had a hard time.”
Jiyeon wants to repay him in some way, but she can't, and she fidgets in front of the door.
I was about to turn around, thinking she seemed to be asleep, when I sensed a presence from inside the door. Heavy footsteps.
The moment she was about to back away in panic—the door opened abruptly and Seung-kwan appeared, seemingly losing his balance and falling.
승관
“...Haa... Water...”
김지연
“Oh! Are you okay?!”
His face looked almost exhausted. Seung-kwan awkwardly tried to avoid Ji-yeon, but ended up leaning against her shoulder and collapsing.
I felt the body temperature rising hotly.
김지연
“...It’s hot...”
Jiyeon barely supported Seungkwan's staggering body and carried him to the bed.
With unfamiliar but urgent hands, she laid him down and covered him with a blanket, then ran to the kitchen and brought back a box of water and first aid kit.
김지연
“Please... please get better...”
His face was pale, and beads of sweat were beading on his forehead.
Jiyeon tried to carefully bring the water to her mouth, but Seungkwan weakly reached out and dropped it.
After hesitating and gently lifting his body up, Seung-kwan barely opened his eyes.
승관
"...sorry..."
Seung-kwan takes a sip of water from the table and gulps it down a few times weakly before apologizing.
김지연
“No... Where does it hurt so much?”
Jiyeon asked with a face that looked like she was about to cry, and Seungkwan snickered and muttered softly.
승관
“I guess I just... overdid it a bit. I was having so much fun... and then work piled up...”
After that, Seung-gwan barely managed to speak, took out some over-the-counter medicine, and lay down with difficulty.
I put my hand on his forehead, but the heat had not yet gone away.
승관
“Jiyeon, don’t worry about me and just rest... You’ll be fine soon...”
As he said that, Seung-kwan pulled the blanket over himself and curled up, his breathing becoming deeper and deeper.
Jiyeon turned on the phone Seungkwan had given her and quickly looked up ‘how to deal with a fever.’
I brought a cold towel and placed it on his forehead, and when he started to sweat, I wiped it off with a dry towel.
I stayed up all night, hoping he wouldn't get too serious, since I couldn't do anything great.
If it seemed like I was pulling the blanket too far, I would put it back up so that it covered me properly.
I thought the fever would go down if I put a cold towel on him, and when he suddenly started sweating, I wiped it away with a dry towel and nursed him with utmost sincerity.
Just as he helped her, just as he didn't turn away from her.
I brought a thermometer and checked his temperature regularly, and I carefully adjusted the blanket whenever he tossed and turned.
As if she would not leave his side, she stayed by his side all night.
She did so with all her heart, as if returning the warmth she had received.
***
Around 7 a.m., sunlight was gently streaming through the windows. Seungkwan slowly opened his eyes.
The dried towel fell from his forehead, and only then did he look back at the bed he was lying on.
승관
“…Jiyeon?”
His voice was still hoarse, but his body was definitely lighter.
He got up from the bed, rolled his shoulders once, and stood up.
As I was heading towards the kitchen after washing up, a delicious smell wafted past my nose.
I cautiously headed to the kitchen—there was Delay. His clumsy knife skills, but his hands were meticulous.
승관
“…What is all this…?”
Jiyeon looked up in surprise and said.
김지연
“Hey, are you okay now?!”
But in a moment of surprise, Jiyeon twisted her hand and the sword slipped from her hand.
He lightly brushed the area near her little finger—the bulbar muscle. A sharp cut cut across the thin, sensitive skin.
김지연
"ah…!!"
승관
"are you okay?!!"
A surprised Seung-kwan approached, and Ji-yeon blinked blankly, clutching her injured hand.
An unfamiliar pain. Along with that pain, an unfamiliar landscape unfolded before her eyes.
A white hospital room. Cold air. The sound of someone sobbing.
김지연
‘…Why, me… in the hospital?’
Fragments of memory suddenly came rushing in like waves.