"The Moment He Fell"
In her twenties, Suha was an avid fan of a popular boy band. One day, while exploring the streets of a foreign city she was visiting, something happened that would change her life forever. A car sped past, hitting a young man and then quickly fleeing the scene.
Without hesitation, Suha snapped a photo of the car, then rushed to the injured man's side. As she knelt down to help him, her heart skipped a beat when she saw his face—it was him, the very same idol she had admired for so long.
She rushed him to the hospital, where she learned that he had sustained a serious head injury and had lost a large amount of blood. Worse yet, the hospital didn't have any blood from his blood type. But then, a thought struck her—her blood type was a match.
Without thinking twice, she donated her blood to save him. But just when she thought things were looking up, the situation took another unexpected turn. The hospital staff informed her that the surgery couldn't begin until the bills were paid upfront.
Furious, Suha stormed into the nurse's station. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Were you waiting for him to die before asking me for money?" she yelled, her frustration evident.
The staff tried to calm her, but she wasn't having it. Determined, she rushed to the billing office, paid the full amount, and then turned back with a fierce declaration: "If you don't save him and bring him back as he was, I will burn this hospital to the ground."
The nurse reassured her, "Don't worry, we have the best doctors. He's in good hands."
As Suha paced anxiously, she couldn't help but hope that her actions would be enough to save the man who had always been nothing more than a dream to her.
Three hours passed with no word, and Suha could feel the weight of time pressing down on her. She paced back and forth, her mind racing with every worst-case scenario. The door before her seemed like an unbreakable barrier, keeping her from the answers she desperately needed. Her heart pounded as each minute stretched into an eternity. When the nurse finally appeared, Suha's breath hitched. She grabbed the nurse's arm, her voice trembling, "Is he alive?"
The nurse's face was unreadable, but there was a flicker of something—concern, perhaps. "The doctor will tell you everything," she replied calmly.
Suha's mind was spinning. Please, don't let him be... She couldn't finish the thought.
The seconds felt like hours until the doctor finally emerged. Without thinking, Suha rushed toward him, her footsteps hurried and uneven. "Is he alive?" she asked, barely able to keep the panic from her voice.
The doctor's expression was hard to read, but he responded coolly, "Do you want him dead?"
The words hit her like a punch. Suha gasped, her hands shaking. "No, no! I want him alive, please. There will be a disaster if—"
The doctor cut her off, his voice more soothing this time. "Calm down. He's fine. The surgery was a success."
But Suha couldn't calm down. The relief was fleeting, and she still couldn't breathe easy. The doctor then asked, "Are you his girlfriend?"
Suha hesitated, a blush creeping over her face as the words tangled in her throat. "No," she finally managed, her voice small. "I'm not his girlfriend."
"Then, are you his sister? A relative?" the doctor pressed further.
Suha swallowed, her chest tight with emotions she wasn't sure how to name. "No, I'm just... someone who cares about him." She thought to herself, To him, I'm a stranger. He doesn't even know I exist.
The doctor seemed puzzled. she wasn't family, yet she was so tense and worried about him.
Just then, his phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She hesitated, but then noticed his belongings lying nearby. She answered the call, her hands shaking as she lifted the phone to her ear. It was the manager.
At first, the manager seemed confused by the female voice, thinking he'd dialed the wrong number. After confirming the situation, he was taken aback by the urgency in Suha's voice.
"I—I don't understand," the manager stammered. "What happened?"
Trying her best to steady her nerves, Suha explained as quickly as she could, but the words felt jumbled in her anxious state. "The surgery was a success... He's fine now, just needs to wake up from the anesthesia."
The manager's silence lingered. Then, he asked in disbelief, "Is this some kind of joke?" He paused before adding, "Tell him to speak with me when he's alone." Then, without another word, he hung up.
Suha was left staring at the phone, the weight of everything pressing on her shoulders.
Meanwhile, they transferred the idol to a VIP room, likely in an attempt to make him feel more at ease given his celebrity status. As soon as he was settled, Suha felt a strange mix of panic and determination. She carefully picked up his phone, her fingers trembling with fear. Just yesterday, she had stared at his pictures on her phone, dreaming of a life she could never have. Now, she was holding his phone, unlocking it with his fingerprint.
Her hands shook violently as she tried to unlock it, the reality of the situation hitting her harder than before. This isn't real... He's not just a picture on a screen anymore... After several attempts, her fingers finally succeeded. She took a picture of him lying on the bed, so vulnerable, so unlike the confident figure she'd seen on stage.
With shaking hands, she typed a message to the manager, her worry still gnawing at her. "He's fine now. No complications. Just needs to wake up from the anesthesia."
A few seconds later, she received a phone call from the manager. His voice was filled with disbelief as he asked, "Is this true? Did he really have an accident?" He still couldn't believe it.
"Yes, it's true," she replied, confirming the details. "I've already informed the police and provided the photo I took of the car that hit him."
She added urgently, "You need to come as soon as possible."
The manager responded, "I'll book the first flight there. Make sure to take good care of him until I arrive."
She reassured him, "Don't worry, I'll take care of him. Just get here quickly. If he wakes up and doesn't see anyone he recognizes beside him, he'll be anxious—especially being so far from home, his friends, and family. And don't worry, no one knows who he is. Not even the press. I've already given the police my statement."
He paused for a moment, his voice filled with tension and anxiety. 'Do you know who he is and what he does?
She hesitated, almost ready to reveal the truth but stopped herself. She replied, "I don't know exactly who he is. He seems like someone famous, but it doesn't matter to me. Just get here quickly, please."
She refrained from saying more, knowing that mentioning his fame could lead to the dreaded words she feared: "Don't say a word to the press. If you do, we'll take legal action to protect our artist."
The manager then asked, "Are you from South Korea? And what is your name?"
She answered, "My name is Yang Suha. I'm Korean-American, of Korean descent."
"That explains why your accent isn't like ours," he remarked.
He then thanked her sincerely, his tone filled with gratitude. "We, and everyone in the company who cares about him, will be forever grateful for your help."
Suha simply responded, "I did what my conscience told me to do. I couldn't just let someone die in front of my eyes."
After the call ended, she sat on the chair, staring at him as if she still couldn't believe what had just happened. She started speaking to herself, "He's handsome even without makeup, and his face has a childlike innocence." A smile slowly spread across her face as thoughts flooded her mind, but as realization set in, she stopped. She scolded herself, telling herself not to think about it. Just watching him, observing him, was a treasure in itself.
Then, she whispered to herself, urging that she take at least one picture—just of his hands as she held them, without his face in it. She apologized to him, saying, "Consider it a reward for me, because I'm broke now. All the money I saved was for my trip, and I ended up spending it in this hospital."
She smiled softly, adding, "I didn't just spend my money, I also spent my blood on you, handsome. I'm the luckiest person in the world to have my blood shared with you."
She was incredibly happy, even though he had no idea who she was or what she looked like.