A faint sound came from the doorway. Like a breath that didn't belong.
Both of us turned.
He stood there.
Kim Taehyun.
His eyes wide, unreadable.
Hair still messy from the storm, clothes clinging to him, soaked from the rain earlier. One hand against the wall,as if he needed it to keep himself standing.
His lips parted like he wanted to say something… but nothing came out.
My breath caught in my throat.
Of course. Of course he would be the one to hear that. The most humiliating moment of my life.
My hands balled into fists under the blanket.
He took one step forward, slowly.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop…" he said, voice rough. "…but I... I was coming to check on you and—"
"Don't." I croaked,eyes on the window.
His words stalled in the air.
I couldn't look at him. I didn't want to see pity in his eyes. Or worse relief. Relief that I finally had an excuse for being me.
"I wasn't lying that night," he said quietly. "When I said I care about you."
I didn't respond.
I couldn't.
The nurse, sensing the weight in the room, stood up.
"I'll give you two a moment." She gave me a soft look before walking out.
Now it was just him.
And me.
And the suffocating silence.
He stepped closer. I flinched.
"Don't come near me," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. "Not now."
"You heard what the nurse said. It's not your fault, it's"
"Still hurts." My voice cracked. "Everything still hurts."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
I finally looked at him really looked. And it shattered something inside me.
Because his eyes… they weren't full of pity.
They were full of guilt.
A storm of it.
Like he was finally realizing that every cold word, every flirtatious glance he tossed at those girls, every moment he left me alone to cry or drink or suffocate in my own head all of it had carved into me deeper than he ever meant.
"I didn't understand before," he whispered, stepping closer. "But now"
"I don't want your understanding," I interrupted, tears sliding down my cheeks without permission.
He froze.
His jaw clenched.
Then he whispered like he couldn't breathe without saying it
"I'm sorry."
I turned my face away. Let the tears fall silently. Let my sore throat burn with the bitterness of everything I never got to say.
I didn't forgive him.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
But in that moment, I let him stand there in the silence he helped create and finally feel it.
♡Author's POV
Outside your hospital room…
Taehyun stood still for a moment, hand gripping the railing in the hallway.
The door had closed behind him, but your words still echoed in his chest.
"I don't want your understanding… I just wanted your support."
His heart was sinking under the weight of it all. Not just guilt but fear. Because he didn't know how to fix this. How to help you.
He turned his face toward the nurse's station, then spoke, voice low and dry.
"Can I speak to her doctor? Privately. Please."
A few minutes later, in a quiet consultation room…
The doctor a woman in her early 40s with calm, perceptive eyes sat across from him. She didn't rush to speak. She simply waited for him to start.
"I…" Taehyun hesitated, hands clenched on his lap. "She doesn't want me near her. I get it. But I need to know what's happening to her. Why she changes so fast. Why she acts like..like she's two different people."
The doctor leaned forward, folding her hands together.
"It's called Cyclothymia. A mild form of bipolar disorder. Though not always easy to detect, especially in young adults, it explains rapid mood shifts from overly elevated to deeply irritable or hopeless but without full manic or depressive episodes."
Taehyun blinked slowly. The words were heavy clinical but real.
"So…" he whispered. "She's…sick?"
"She's not broken," the doctor corrected gently. "Her brain just reacts to stress and emotions differently. Add alcohol, sleep deprivation, traumatic memories… and yes, it can spiral. But it's manageable. With treatment, therapy, and stability."
Taehyun swallowed hard.
He could still see your face when you screamed at him in the car.
When you collapsed in the storm.
The pain in your voice when you said he didn't deserve to hear you speak.
He ran a hand down his face.
"She's never talked about this," he murmured. "She never told me…"
"She might not have known herself. Or maybe she did, and was scared to be seen as fragile."
The doctor gave him a long look. Then added, softly
"Your presence can either stabilize her or worsen it. If you love her…you'll have to learn how to show up in the way she needs. Not the way you think is right."
Taehyun stayed silent, eyes cast down.
Then for the first time in a long time he nodded.
Not as a husband.
Not as someone trying to control or impress.
But as someone who realized…
And now, he was ready to learn.
_//
You stared at him as he stepped inside, your voice icy and sharp.
"Why are you here?" you demanded, eyes blazing despite the soreness.
He paused, expression unreadable.
"To a mentally sick woman," you spat, your voice breaking. "You deserve better than this mess."
He didn't flinch.
Instead, his gaze locked with yours, fierce and unwavering.
"I don't deserve better," he said simply, voice low but firm. "I want you. All of you."
You scoffed, tears prickling despite your best effort to stay tough.
"You say that now, but when I'm breaking down, when I'm not myself, you run away."
His jaw clenched, but he took a step closer.
"No," he said, voice shaking just slightly. "I'm here now. And I'm not leaving. You think your pain scares me? It doesn't. It only makes me want to hold you tighter."
You swallowed the lump in your throat, your anger clashing with a flicker of something dangerous hope.
"You're stubborn," you whispered.
He smiled just a little, that cold yet soft smile you knew too well.
"Because I love you."
The silence between you grew heavy, but for the first time, you didn't push him away.