Early in the morning when Ye Jun woke up, he didn"t found Jun Li Na on the bed. His heart jolted as he frantically ran around the apartment to look for her.
"Jun Li Na?" He called her name several times but there was no response. The lack of response scared him even more.
Thinking of something, Ye Jun ran towards the bathroom. There she laid in the bathtub fully clothed. It was filled with cold water. Her face was expressionless and her eyes were blank as she stared at her body drenched in water.
Ye Jun bit his lip and took slow steps towards her side. He crouched down beside the bathtub and stroked her wet hair. "What are you doing here?" He questioned in a gentle tone.
Jun Li Na didn"t give any reaction. She was still like a listless doll. Ye Jun didn"t push her and patiently waited for her answer. Eventually, she turned her face towards Ye Jun and stared into his eyes.
There was an unmasked worry in those eyes that stared back at her along with an ocean of gentleness that wanted to engulf her. Something s.h.i.+fted in her eyes.
She frowned and asked, "Don"t you feel disgusted?"
"By what?" He smiled back at her.
"By me." She answered directly with an emotionless face. "Even I"m feeling disgusting. It"s dirty. Every single part is dirty. And I hate it." She rubbed her body harshly as she spoke.
Unknowingly her tears trickled down her cheek breaking Ye Jun"s heart. He held her hands to stop her from hurting herself. Then grabbed her head and placed it against his chest saying, "I told you before I"m a very stubborn kind of a person. Disgusted? Never and ever. You were the most beautiful girl to me when I first saw you and today, you look even more gorgeous."
Jun Li Na lifted her eyes in confusion. Ye Jun rubbed her cold cheek saying, "Because you"re brave and I know it. I know this is a setback but soon, you"ll get over this phase."
As hot tears rolled down her face, she asked, "What if I"m not brave enough to get over this?"
Ye Jun palmed her face and wiped her tears with his thumb. Looking into her eyes, he smiled saying, "Then I"ll be right here to carry you all the way over this phase. No matter what, I"ll still be right here. Just for you."
Jun Li Na avoided his gentle gaze. "I told you that a sincere person like you deserve someone better than me. Someone perfect."
Ye Jun extended his hands and carried Jun Li Na out of the cold water. "And today I will say it for the final time, I don"t want a perfect person. I only need you and I only want you."
Jun Li Na"s heart was startled at his words. He placed her down and pa.s.sed a bathrobe to her before turning around to leave. After a moment, she came out in a bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her head.
Ye Jun pa.s.sed her an oversized s.h.i.+rt with trousers which he found from his own clothes. After leaving her, he went to the kitchen to prepare something for breakfast.
While he was immersed in cooking, he didn"t notice Jun Li Na sitting at the dining table and staring at him intently. She was lost in her own thoughts. "How different they both are. One said I"m not perfect for him. And this fool says I"m already enough for him." She sighed propping her face on her palm.
Ye Jun put down Rice Porridge, pancakes with eggs, soybean milk along with deep-fried dough sticks. Jun Li Na was surprised to see breakfast before her. She stared at Ye Jun who in response shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly while pouring soybean milk in her bowl.
Originally, she had no heart to eat anything at all. She felt like swallowing would be difficult. But then she heard Ye Jun"s tender voice as he placed a blanket around her shoulders, "Even if you don"t want to eat, take a few bites. You have got yourself a high fever. You need to take some medicine after this." He had already seen the way she was rubbing her temples and ma.s.saging her neck. Even her face was getting red from the heat along with the s.h.i.+vers.
She picked up a long, brown, deep-fried dough stick and dipped it in soybean bean milk before taking a bite. It tasted better than she had expected. It was really surprising to know that he could cook so well. Ye Jun pa.s.sed a bowl of rice porridge to her and noticed her gaze stuck on his face.
"Do you need something?" He questioned. Jun Li Na shook her head. "Do you want to say something?" He wasn"t convinced by her answer at all.
She hesitated a bit before speaking a low voice, "Where did you learn to cook?"
"Oh, this... Well, I always had a thing for food. So, when I was in summer camp, I decided to take cooking seriously." Ye Jun explained while taking a bite of his pancake.
She went quiet after that. Ye Jun helped her with medicine and tucked her back inside a light blanket. He sat beside her on the bed and placed the cloth dabbed in cold water on her forehead. She kept staring at him in silence.
"Close your eyes and take plenty of rest." Ye Jun said keeping a straight face. When she closed her eyes and her breathing got a bit steady, he spoke again, "I know it"s tough right now. But it"s only hurting so much because your heart is in denial. You still can"t believe that what happened was real. But trust me, even though with time you might hurt more, I"ll still be right here with you."
Jun Li Na felt peaceful as she listened to his caring words. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
She used to think that Ye Jun was like that child who only learned to smile or joke around in his life. But now, she was realizing that he was intentionally living as a child because he wanted to live his life in the best way possible.
But she still didn"t notice that just like a child"s love, Ye Jun"s love for her was also beyond just pure and deep.