“Minho-ah...you’re back to your normal self...well...I think so...” Emma says. It is quite unexpected, the sudden change in Minho. She knows something is wrong, but the blissful feeling outweighs her suspicion towards him. As long as she knows Minho will always be with her, it is enough to make her goes blind. She won’t see the wrong anymore; it is always right when it comes to the real Minho.
“You like it? Then, I’ll always be like this...just for you...only for you,” Minho says romantically, and Emma is expecting it from him. She knows the real Minho is always like that, filling her days with romantic words from him. Sometimes, Emma really thinks that Minho could be a good dramatis or a poet.
“How could you change in such a very short time? I just told my brother the problem yesterday. And I did plan to deal with you today...but suddenly you changed!” she says excitedly. That is just something irony; she wants Minho to change to his normal self, and yet, she is the one that is unchanged. The sweet, matured and polite Emma is still not yet back to her normal self.
“The sudden change is only for you, for all I know is I want to always make you happy,” Minho is being romantic again and Emma loves it. She knows that the accident changed her life a lot; she did learnt a lot. She knows that her love towards Minho is unconditional, and she really appreciates him for coming into her life.
“You are always trying to please me, aren’t you?” Emma says, almost laughing, because she finds Minho is throwing the romantic words without ending.
“Not to please you, but to love you,” he says, hopelessly romantic. Again, Emma has to laugh.
“I love you too!” says Emma. The only thing different from Emma is she sometimes act childishly and immature, really different from her real self. She doesn’t realise, of course, but her brother really hopes she will turn normal. A sweet and mature person and the most imperative is the one who being polite, that is the real Emma.
They walk together down the street, holding hand, as though they never want to let it go. They hold each other so tightly, that if someone ever sees, they will think that their blood circulations are already stopped. As though God want to prevent it from happen, out of the blue, Emma’s phone ringing, making both of then release the tight grip.
“Hello?” Emma says without looking at the caller ID.
“Yah! Emma!” Emma quickly recognizes the voice. It is Eunhyuk, a good friend of hers.
“Eunhyuk?” she says happily.
“Yeah...I heard that both you and Minho are already out of the hospital,” he says.
“Yeah...we are,” Emma says with a big smile at her face. Minho looks at her questioningly, since he doesn’t know what is happening on the line. He is thinking; doesn’t Emma notice that he is jealous, the moment he heard Eunhyuk’s name. He knows Eunhyuk is his friend too, thus, why would he contact Emma instead of him?
“I’m sorry...I cannot come the day you’re released,” Eunhyuk says.
“It’s okay...I had a very good time with Minho, it is enough,” says Emma.
“Yeah...hey! Would you like to play soccer this evening? As usual...” says Eunhyuk.
“Oh really? Hey! I think we would like to go for that. Where?” asks Emma.
“Usual place, usual time!”
“Okay! See you there!” Emma says excitedly and she hangs up. She puts her handphone in her handbag.
“What’s up with Eunhyuk?” asks Minho. Emma can smell jealousy surrounding them. It tenses up the condition. Emma chuckles at the sight of unsatisfied face of Minho.
“Hey! Are you jealous I spoke to Eunhyuk?” Emma asks him teasingly. At least, she knows that Minho really loves him.
“Well...to be honest...I am,” says Minho. Brilliant. Taemin is a good robotic engineer. He managed to programme the robot to act like human. All the feelings are natural, love and jealousy, they aren’t made.
“Minho...It is just Eunhyuk...he invites us for soccer this evening,” says Emma excitedly. Minho and she always hang out with Eunhyuk and his gang to play soccer together. Emma is not playing though, she cheers for Minho. She is always a good supporter.
“Really? Wow! We’ll go together then,” says Minho. Programmed by Taemin to know that he fancies soccer, he gives a good respond to that.
“I know, Minho. I know. You always love soccer. We’ll go together this evening,” she says.
“Yah! Minho! Go!” Emma cheers for him. Emma is clearly frowning. She really unsatisfied with Minho’s performance today. He never sucks is soccer, but today he is. She doesn’t understand why, and she needs explanation for this.
Again, when the soccer ball lands near his leg, he kicks, but it is not powerful as it usually is. The most embarrassing is that he aims for his teammate, but the ball goes into different direction, towards other team. Emma shouts helplessly from her seat. She is very angry. Minho never sucks in soccer. Never!
Anyhow, she continues to give her endless support to Minho, hoping a miracle will happen and Minho will score at least one goal. He is not yet doing that for this game. It is such an embarrassment if there is no goal from him, because he never does that.
The moment comes. Minho is perfectly in front of the goal, when the ball is passed to him. Emma is watching, with high hope that Minho will kick a goal. However, it is all ruined. Minho stops the ball in such an imperfect way. Then, he kicks it, also very flawed. The ball moves slowly towards the goal. Of course, the goal keeper is able to stop the ball and at that time, Emma screams frantically. Minho sucks, she thinks.
After a few minutes, the game ends. Emma is dominated by the feeling of embarrassment and she quickly walks away. With no direction, she follows where her legs bring her. But, suddenly somebody catches her hand and she turns only to find the person that she loves so much, who embarrass her.
“What do you want?” Emma asks without looking into her eyes.
“Where are you going? Why do you leave me?” he asks.
“Minho, what happen to you? You never suck at soccer!” she starts to raise her voice. Minho looks at her in disappointment. Emma notices that in his eyes.
“I don’t know. I love soccer. But, I don’t know why...today...I’m suck...” Minho says while looking at Emma, hoping that she will look back. However, there is no sign that she is going to look at him.
“Yeah! You know it right? You’re suck!” says Emma sarcastically.
“Then, what does it have to do with you want to leave me?” asks Minho. He loosens his grip on Emma’s wrist.
“Nothing...it is just so embarrassing. All this while, I always support you at the supporter’s seats. And always, I will be proud of you. But, today...it is just embarrassment. It is humiliating to support the always-strong Minho,” Emma says while looking on the ground.
Minho feels the disappointment stabs his heart. It is so painful when the words come out from her mouth. Minho just keeps quiet. He doesn’t really have anything to say. But, a voice suddenly comes from his back.
“Emma...you shouldn’t do that to him,” Eunhyuk says. Emma looks up, directly towards Eunhyuk as though Minho is invisible or nowhere near them.
“He just met with a terrible accident. He is still recovering. Even for an athlete, it takes time to adapt to the sport,” says Eunhyuk optimistically. It is true; Eunhyuk is also surprised by Minho’s awful performance today. It is as though the Minho is not Minho. However, he takes that positively. Maybe it is because of the terrible accident.
Emma thinks of that. Maybe what Eunhyuk says is true. She keeps be in silence for a few seconds before she looks at Minho. She bows once and then just keeps her track. At least now she can think of her destination. She just wants to go home.
She sits in her room, looks out the window enjoying the view outside. After she reaches home, suddenly it is raining heavily. The weather understands, she thinks. She feels sad, why Minho changes a lot. After one is fixed, another one happens. She knows something is wrong with Minho, but she doesn’t know what. And she doesn’t want to make any speculation.
The view of the Earth wetted by the rain somehow calm her down. Maybe it is because of the mood. It is cold outside. Probably, that it the reason she is cooling down inside. She continues to look at the beauty created by God. She admires it.
Her calmness is disturbed when suddenly there is a knock on the door. She is surprised for a while because of the soft sound come from the knock. She stands up, leaving her comforting chair and walk towards the door. Expecting the maid; probably want to call for tea, she opens the door. But, she finds her brother behind the door.
Onew looks at her with sincere look in his eyes. He is probably just came home from work, still with his shirt and loosened tie, with his coat half-folded and hanged at his right hand. At the same time, the same hand holds his briefcase and his laptop bag pack is placed single-strap on his left shoulder.
Emma is quite surprise to his brother. She never expects that her brother’s first destination after work is her room. That is something unbelievable. Moreover, they just quarrelled yesterday. And, one of the maids told her that he was unwell yesterday. What the hell is he doing at work? Shouldn’t he rest today? Well, at least that answers the question why Onew looks very exhausted, he is sweating in this cold weather. She still holds onto the door knob, while staring at his brother, undecided on what to do.
Onew, on the other hand, looking at her sister who stares at him as though he is an alien. He knows, exactly, her sister’s feeling. Flabbergasted, by his sudden emergence. Well, he can’t help himself. He came home, asked if she is home and a maid told him that she was home a while ago. The maid told her that she was home red-eyed, teary eyes. He feels responsible towards her, although his heart is shouting inside telling him to rest. His head is throbbing, maybe because he forces himself to work with his unhealthy condition. He cannot stand any longer, feeling like fainting, he speaks to her sister.
“Emma, can I come in?” he asks gently, hoping his sister is not too shocked to just ignore him and closes the door. Emma comes back to reality and quickly notices the pallor at Onew’s face.
“Yeah, sure. Why not?” she says, releasing her hand from the door knob to lend a hand to Onew. Onew doesn’t tell to help, but seeing his condition, Emma knows he needs it. She quickly takes the bag pack from the left shoulder while Onew is struggling to stand up himself. She supports him, and leads him to her bed, putting aside his bag pack, briefcase, and his coat. She lays him down on the bed and takes out the tie from his neck.
“A maid told me yesterday, that you’re sick. I’m sorry...” her voice trails off. She looks at Onew who are closing his eyes.
“Why should you say sorry? You’ve done nothing wrong,” Onew says while chuckling feebly. He opens his eyes then to look at his sister. He notices sorrow in her face and that hurts him too much. He loves his sister, really loves her.
“I’m sorry for yesterday. I shouldn’t act so rude. I’m very rude towards you and Taeyon. I know...because of me you fall sick,” Emma says. Onew chuckles again. He painfully pushes himself to sitting position. His head is throbbing even more.
“It is not because of you,” he says while stroking Emma’s head gently. Emma notices that Onew’s hand is very hot. She quickly touches his forehead and a feeling of panic rushes inside her body due to the excessive heat at Onew’s forehead.
“Oh God! You’re really ill. You have high fever here. Why should you go to work knowing yourself is unhealthy?” she says while pushes him to lie on the bed. She adds another pillow under his head, hoping that he will feel comfortable. Then, she notices that Onew is shivering too much. She pulls the cover up to Onew’s shoulder.
“Feeling better?” she asks. Onew nods.
“Tell me, why you still go to work?” she asks again. Onew keeps quiet to that question. He doesn’t want to give Emma the same answer. He always tells her that his work is piling up at the office whenever Emma wants to spend time with him. He doesn’t want to say that again. He sighs, the only thing that he could do.
Emma quickly understands the situation. Her brother is taking care of her feeling. She knows that. She feels guilty.
“Stop worrying about me, will you?” she says. Onew keeps quiet. Emma walks towards her closet and finds a small towel. She quickly walks to her bathroom to wet the towel. She wipes Onew’s face with the wet towel, hoping to reduce the heat.
“Emma...look. I’m okay,” Onew says, struggling to speak while she wipes his face.
“No, you’re not. Stop worrying about me and just worry about yourself, will you?” Emma’s eyes start the stagnant tears. She wipes and wipes, doesn’t realise that she does it roughly. Onew quickly grabs her wrist, to stop her. He is very worry about Emma when he sees sorrow in her face. He knows something is wrong somewhere, he needs to know. Emma stops when Onew grabs her wrist. She stares at him with tears in her eyes.
“Now...tell me what’s wrong. Don’t say you’re okay. I know something is wrong here. I can see it through your face. Tell me,” says Onew. He is still lying on the bed, has the urge to sleep straightaway. The pain in his head won’t tolerate this time, he just need to rest. But, his sister is his priority. He wants to know what cause the sadness.
“I...I...just...nothing,” she says. Guilty is overwhelming her. She knows that Onew is not in his best condition, but she still makes him worry. She doesn’t deserve to be treated kindly by Onew after what she has done to him yesterday.
“Emma...it is not nothing. Tell me why...” Onew holds her hand. She looks at her, who is sitting beside him on the bed. She looks down on the bed, with tears already strolling down her cheeks.
“I...” she shakes her head, while her voice is trailing off, replaced by the sound of her sobs. That makes Onew pushes himself to sit again.
“It’s Minho, isn’t it?” asks Onew. She nods, only nods. She doesn’t want to speak. Emma feels embarrassed to speak about Minho again in front of his brother.
“Why is it now?” he asks her sister gently. His eyes are almost closing, but he controls his feeling to sleep.
“I just miss him, the old him,” she says. Onew pulls he sister and gives a hug. Emma can feel the heat from Onew’s body. He is really ill, really ill indeed. But, she needs comfort, and this is the first time Onew really comforts her, and she wishes they can stay like that forever. That time, she knows that she really misses his brother too. She cries on his shoulder.
“Tell me what happen,” Onew knows something is happening with the fake Minho. Maybe Taemin already fixed the problem, but another problem may rise. And Onew could tell that Emma is suspicious about this. He doesn’t want Emma to know that the real Minho is still struggling to live. He knows the consequences. His sister is not in a very good state of mind, she might do anything.
“He doesn’t know how to play soccer. It humiliated me to be his supporter this evening,” upon hearing that, Onew gives out a small laugh. If his whole body is not aching right now, he would laugh a merry laugh while rolling on the floor. Luckily, his fever holds him from laughing like a maniac. There, Emma once again is showing her immature side. Onew feels like he is treating the old Emma, the small Emma.
“Really?” he asks while smiling weakly, at the same time really hoping that the real Minho will wake up. If he does, all this problem won’t rise. He just needs the real Minho, then the problem is all gone.
“Yes. He is not like himself anymore. I feel like something is wrong with him, as though that is not the real Minho. I wonder maybe he is somebody else,” says Emma. Onew tries to hide his shock. He doesn’t want Emma to know the truth. She will hurt too much then, to know the real Minho is still fighting to live.
“Emma...it takes time. He is still recovering. And Emma...I know you love him not because of soccer. You are just upset. Give him time, will you?” says Onew. Emma nods. Somehow, she managed to hold her sorrow. For the first time, she receives so much care from Onew, and it makes her forget the problem.
“Yeah...I should give him time, right?” she looks at Onew and smiles. Then, she notices cold sweat trickling down her brother’s face.
“Onew...you need to rest,” she says while pushing Onew to lie on the bed and adjusts the pillow for him before continues with her words, “I’ll call Dr. Jonghyun,” she says.
“Emma, I’m okay, really. I just need to rest,” Onew says. He could feel the pain in his head is intolerable, but he doesn’t want his sister to worry too much. She is not in a good condition herself.
“Just rest okay and let me take care of you, will you?” Emma says while putting the wet towel on his forehead. Onew just watches her while she is making a phone call to Jonghyun. From their conversation, Onew know that Jonghyun will come. He is glad that he knows Jonghyun, a very dedicated doctor. The only doctor that Onew finds never knows the meaning of tired. He knows that Minho will one day wake up, because he has faith in Jonghyun. The young doctor is talented.
Emma then calls the maid to let her knows about Jonghyun’s arrival. She also gives the maid Onew’s bag, briefcase and coat to be taken to his room. She informs the maid that Onew is sick and she will take care of him. She informs them that Onew will sleep at her room that night. Then, she calls Taeyon to tell her about that. Taeyon is glad; Onew was very stubborn and stay working just now, and now Emma is calling telling that he will rest tomorrow. Taeyon tells Emma not to worry because she will handle all the work at the office tomorrow.
“Don’t worry, Onew. I’ve taken care of everything. Just rest. I’ve told the maid to cook porridge and soup. You’ll eat after Jonghyun treats you, okay. Then, take your medication and sleep,” Emma says. Onew chuckles.
“Emma...you reminds me of mom,” he says, remembering his late mother. Emma crawls on the bed and sits beside Onew.
“Yeah...I miss mom. I miss mom and dad. And I miss you,” Emma says and that makes Onew feels guilty towards her. He knows he has ignored his sister for a few years already.
“I’m so sorry...” Onew says. Emma looks at him.
“I miss you. Can you sleep here, with me tonight, like the old time?” she asks childishly. Onew is chuckling again.
“Do I have any other choice? Besides, you want to take care of me. Sure...I miss old time too,” Onew says. Emma lies down beside him, enjoying the cold evening with his brother. Together, they wait for the doctor to come.
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