My Girlfriend Is Very Good To Me [EN]: Chapter 4

Ep. 3

I started rehabilitation exercises. Seriously.

Of course, I had been doing them steadily before, but now I was truly dedicating myself to rehab with all my might. So much so that the therapist watching me was worried. I wanted a healthier body more than ever before.

Because of Yeon-hu. Thanks to Yeon-hu.

Because I was in this state, I didn’t want to give him up with nonsense like there might be someone better than me.

I can’t do anything about my face, but I’ll get my legs back. I decided to believe I could get them back.

I want to hold hands again and stroll down the street. I want to go on dates again, even to places we’ve already been.

I want to share even more stories.

I want to enjoy everything that couples do, not just kissing, like other couples. I want to talk about the future together without foolishly hesitating.

After hearing Yeon-hu’s feelings, I gained even more certainty, but conversely, I also became more anxious. Yeon-hu was a good person and a good man. Anyone could see that with just a little deeper acquaintance. I wanted to stand properly in my place again before even one more person realized that.

Because he’s my boyfriend, and no one can touch him.

I want to stand by his side and shout it, not just say it lying in a hospital bed.

Crack

I grit my teeth and mentally whip my legs, which still don’t move properly.

“Ooh-yah… Han Yeon-hu. Are you really okay with her? Look at her eyes. So scary…”

“W-Well… Hee-na. It’s good to work hard, but shouldn’t you ease up a bit…?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do it in moderation! Oppa [older brother or male friend], stay behind for a bit later.”

I didn’t like the sight of my brother talking nonsense next to Yeon-hu, but I was glad that Yeon-hu was getting closer to our family.

Because I’ll be seeing him forever.

Because I’ll never let him go.

—

One year passed.

The rehabilitation exercises definitely had results.

I couldn’t walk as normally as others, but I could cover a certain distance with crutches instead of a wheelchair. They say it’s almost a miracle that I’ve recovered this much.

Fortunately, it wasn’t complete paralysis, and although it was hard for me to feel, I was in a state of incomplete paralysis with faint sensation remaining.

And the time I spent mechanically doing rehab, which I thought was a waste, wasn’t entirely futile, as it kept my body from stiffening up.

When I first came out of the hospital room with crutches, Yeon-hu was as happy as if it were his own accomplishment.

Originally, I was planning to enlist no later than when I turned 22, that is, my junior year of college, but he even postponed that for me.

Actually, I wanted to just tell him to enlist and focus on rehab in the meantime so I could show him a better version of myself when he was discharged, but I didn’t have the confidence to do that so fiercely.

No matter how hard it was, even if I felt like crying.

I was able to muster this much strength because Yeon-hu was watching over me with a smiling face.

Now, the next goal is to put some weight on my emaciated legs.

So that I can be a little less embarrassed when I show them to Yeon-hu.

—

Another month passed.

I spent most of my time focusing on rehab and exercise.

And I was able to see Yeon-hu’s parents as well.

I had greeted them once when we were dating, but it was the first time since the accident.

…I fiddled with the long bangs that I had grown to cover my face, worried that they might be angry with me for wasting so much of Yeon-hu’s time. I asked Yeon-hu hundreds of times if it was okay.

But contrary to my worries.

They greeted me with a smile, just like when I first met them. They worried about me, saying I had gone through a lot.

I should only show them good things.

In the end, I only shed tears and promised to see them next time.

—

My rehabilitation had progressed enough that I could go out with crutches, and I had built up a lot of stamina. Finally, I was able to go on a date with just Yeon-hu, without the wheelchair or the help of my family. Of course, long periods of time were still difficult, but tomorrow was the second anniversary of our relationship. I wanted to start celebrating those anniversaries again, even from now on.

I made plans to meet him outside near the hospital, not in the hospital room like when we used to date. I grabbed my friend, grabbed my mom, grabbed my brother, and spent a long time agonizing over what to wear.

I wanted to show him the most beautiful version of myself in my life.

Even after finishing getting ready, I couldn’t fall asleep for a long time because of the excitement.

I barely fell asleep after counting up to 2,000 sheep.

I woke up in the morning, having slept less than 5 hours, but I finished getting ready with a clearer mind than ever before.

I left the house, hearing my dad’s compliment that my face was brighter than a flower.

I arrived at the meeting place and waited,

For 3 hours.

While constantly leaving missed calls for Yeon-hu.

My brother ran towards me with a pale face.

Yeon-hu, he died.

—

I don’t know how much time has passed.

I didn’t want to know.

I cried.

I threw up everything inside me.

I cried myself to sleep.

No, I fainted.

When I opened my eyes, Yeon-hu flickered in my mind again, and I burst into tears.

I don’t even know if I’m alive anymore. Whenever I came to my senses even for a moment, only bad thoughts filled my head.

Yeon-hu was hit by a car while saving a young child.

I wish he hadn’t saved that random child.

I wish I hadn’t insisted on that day.

I wish I had done rehab on my own and sent Yeon-hu to the military.

Before that, I wish I had just broken up with him, overwhelmed by gratitude and apology.

I wish I hadn’t gotten sick in the first place.

Or, I wish I had just died that day.

He wouldn’t have died while helping me and spending all his good time.

Yeon-hu would have been alive.

Now, we could have lived properly, loving each other again.

God… please…

Please

Save him.

I miss him…

—

I opened my eyes.

My vision was blurry as if I had been crying even while sleeping.

I had no reason or will to live without Yeon-hu.

I think it would be better to just die.

Without organizing my messed-up head, I got up. The moment I looked around without thinking to see if there were any sharp objects nearby, I felt a sense of incongruity.

My field of vision was wide.

It wasn’t the world I had been seeing with only one eye for the past two years. A wide field of vision that I couldn’t even remember when I had last seen, and my room that I hadn’t been able to return to much since the accident, came into view.

Bang!

“Ehehehehe!!! Lee Hee-na-!! Your older brother is out on leave!! Why are you still sleeping… Are you crying?”

What came in with the loud noise was my brother, wearing a military uniform with hair that was no different from a bald head, shorter than any other soldier.

The one who had been discharged before I even became a senior in high school.

—

It was a series of confusion.

A healthy face, legs.

Only after running around the house like a crazy woman.

Only after seeing my parents and brother worrying with serious faces.

Only then could I realize.

That I had returned to being 18 years old. Maybe everything I had experienced so far was a dream.

No, it shouldn’t be a dream.

Calming my trembling hands, I called Yeon-hu’s number that I had remembered.

[The number you have dialed is, a non-existent number – ]

At that guidance, my heart sank for a moment, but then I remembered what Yeon-hu had said. He said he had changed his number once when he entered college and changed his phone. I was able to recall it quickly because I had spent my time in the hospital going over the conversations I had with Yeon-hu.

I thought about going to his house, but he said he had moved houses as well. Of course, I didn’t know the previous address. All I remembered was, the high school.

I clearly remembered the name and location of the all-boys high school, which was a bit far from the all-girls high school I attended.

—

I visited Yeon-hu’s high school on a weekday.

As I did, I slowly recalled each of my conversations with him.

That he didn’t wear glasses until he graduated from high school. That he didn’t study much until his sophomore year, but he never skipped mandatory self-study.

However, the mandatory self-study that the school forced a bit was only until 8 p.m., and staying until 10 p.m. was only for those who wanted to, and Yeon-hu always went back at 8 p.m.

I gathered such fragmentary information and waited, organizing it in my head.

A little away from the school gate where countless students were leaving. Wearing a hat, I endlessly searched for Yeon-hu with my eyes.

I went to the front of the school every evening for several days.

Finally.

I finally found him.

His hair was much shorter compared to when he was in college, and he wasn’t wearing glasses, but.

I could tell at a glance.

That it was Yeon-hu.

The day I found him, tears flowed as soon as I saw him. I wanted to go hug him right away, but I barely suppressed my heart.

Because Yeon-hu wouldn’t know me now.

My heart ached at the fact that Yeon-hu didn’t recognize me, but at the same time, I thought it was an opportunity given by God.

I was able to know him two years earlier than when I first met Yeon-hu. I was able to spend as much time loving him as Yeon-hu had wasted on me.

Calming my heart, I slowly got to know him.

Secretly following him.

The way he goes back.

The house he lives in now.

His voice talking to his friends.

His smiling face, which was no different from when he was in college.

I waited for about ten days like that, for the time when he would be alone on his way home.

Feeling my heart pounding as if it would burst.

I approached him as he walked a little listlessly, as if he was tired.

What words to say.

How to start love again.

How to make him see me a little more beautifully.

I had thought about many things all day, but when I saw Yeon-hu’s face looking back at me, my mind went blank.

I wanted to start as soon as possible.

Our dating, our love.

“Will you date me?”

“Shincheonji [a controversial religious movement], no thanks.”

…I didn’t expect this kind of reaction.

But still, no matter what happens, I’ll never let you go.

I love you, Yeon-hu.

Even now.

And in the future.