"I'll leave the rest to you then, Sam..."
She went back to her tent to check on him and couldn't help smiling. He was fast asleep. Even when before, he kept insisting that she should stay beside him. Instead of helping the other volunteers with the new shipment of medicine that arrived late. Saying that he couldn't sleep, that he needed her to keep him company. Such a wuss... but he's her wuss anyway.
He's so adorable when sleeping, just like back then in Seoul. When they fell asleep together on the hospital bed, in the VIP room Sijin was placed in. Still unable to finish the movie they had wanted to watch together; since they fell asleep in the middle of it. She had woken herself earlier afterwards; after wondering who was it that turned the projector off... since she couldn't remember turning it off. And she had taken a look of the sleeping Sijin at that time, just like now.
It set her mind at ease. Seeing him safely tucked in on the bed, sleeping peacefully.
Moyeon sat on the bed, reaching out to caress Sijin's cheeks. Even when she already confirmed it many times, she still felt she needed to touch him one more time to make sure. Sijin's alive, he's here. He's really here, this was not a dream. The miracle really happened.
Bzzt bzzt...
She unconsciously reached out for her phone to realise that it wasn't hers that was ringing. It was another phone, placed on the rack beside the remains of her offerings. It's the phone Sijin had with him, temporarily given to him so that he could be contactable until he was able to return to Korea. The military really had some pretty good perks. The phone was a similar model as the one Sijin originally had.
She picked up the phone, seeing that the number was not recognised. She wondered if it was the military headquarters calling. She answered the phone.
"Hello?"
It was a voice of an older man, but not the one she recognised. Certainly not Myeongju's father or Colonel Park.
"H-hello?"
She could hear a faint gasp from the other end.
"This... is this... Sijin..."
Her heart skipped a bit. It wasn't a call from the military, yet for this person to be aware of this number... who could...?
"Sijin... Yoo Sijin... he's asleep right now."
A sigh of relief. Whoever on the other line must be someone who knew Sijin.
"Is he... is he well? Is my son all right?"
Father! It's Sijin's father! She never imagined she would be talking to his father in this kind of situation. In fact, in the past year, she never tried to contact him. Because she wasn't sure what she could say to him if they ever met.
"He..." suddenly she felt lumps forming in her throat. "He's... fine. I got him sedated for now... since he refused to rest properly when I told him too. He broke one of his arms, and he had an old gunshot wound on his right shoulder. It looked as if it had healed somehow but I'll be checking it again in the morning to see if there was any other complication. He was pretty beaten up but didn't look like he was badly hurt. He—"
"You're... Kang Moyeon, aren't you?"
She held her breath as the man continued.
"Sijin once told me that he met someone, and Commander Yun had told me a bit about you. It's you... isn't it?"
She never thought she could feel any more nervous than this.
"Y-yes. This is Kang Moyeon." Your son's girlfriend. And I suppose... your future daughter-in-law.
She wondered what would Sijin's father think of her. Would he like her? That aside, she would also need to tell her mother about this too. Perhaps now she would stop worrying about her. And all four of them would have to meet up with each other one day.
Aah... why on earth did she start thinking too far ahead now?
"Dr. Kang..." Ah, she was still on the phone!
Moyeon nodded, as she started to tear up.
"And thank you, for being there for my son..."
She nodded again, tears now freely streaming onto her cheeks. That she barely heard the last few words the older man said to her before hanging up. She put down the phone before wiping her tears away. She glanced down to Sijin.
Yoo Sijin... your father, sounded like a nice and kind old man. Your kindness... and bravery, you got that from your father... isn't it?
She smiled to herself. This is too much, even for a dream. It's definitely real. I'll be sure to do that, Sijin's father.
"One of these days... please stop by and come visit me. With my son, of course."