A Painful Past

Time skip…

Julian adjusted Ailine’s blanket after Doctor Lisa excused herself.

“My parents send their regards. They said they’re sorry they can’t visit you right away because they still have business in Sydney.”

“Your parents?”

Julian nodded. “They’re always busy. I’m sorry… Even though they already consider you as their own daughter, they still ended up like this.”

Ailine smiled understandingly. “Don’t be like that, Julian. You know how packed their business trips are. My parents aren’t any different. They can’t come either. We’ve been left on our own since we were kids…”

“Luckily we met when we were little. At least we could share the loneliness.”

“That you understand. No matter how busy they are, we can’t hate them. After all, it’s their money that lets us live comfortably without lacking anything.”

“Yeah, but still. Ever since we became adults, we see them even less. Just imagine—how can it be that the last time I saw my parents was four months ago?”

“Same! We’re busy with work too. What can we do with contracts tying us down like this? I even missed a dinner invitation with my parents because it clashed with my filming schedule.”

“Whatever, as long as they still remember us. Ah right, your parents couldn’t visit either, right?”

“I told them my condition isn’t serious, so it’s fine if they don’t visit. I already video-called them.”

“You’re always like that. I know you—you're just trying not to make them worry.”

Ailine smiled, because it was true. “Well, that’s just how I am…”

“Anyway, Ailine, I’m staying over!” Julian declared suddenly.

“What?” Ailine widened her eyes. “Are you serious?! You want to cause rumors, huh?”

“What’s wrong with rumors? Why are you so scared? We’re close anyway. Dating for real wouldn’t be a problem either.”

Dating for real wouldn’t be a problem?

Ailine understood the direction Julian was going.

“Julian, that’s the problem. You already know what my heart feels toward you, right? I don’t need to keep repeating it because it would only hurt your feelings.”

“Yes, yes, yes, I get it. You always see me as your best friend. Your affection for me is affection for an older brother.”

Even though Julian spoke lightly, Ailine knew he wasn’t fine. This had been going on for more than ten years. She also knew the reason Julian followed her footsteps into the entertainment industry was simply to stay in the same world as her.

“I’m sorry…”

“Hey, why should you apologize? Listen, you’re free to feel whatever you feel. If you don’t have romantic feelings for me, of course that’s your right… But my decision to keep loving you—at least until this moment—that’s also my freedom. So I hope you won’t tell me to love someone else while my feelings for you haven’t run out… Okay?”

Ailine didn’t want to argue. She just nodded. She didn’t want their friendship to become awkward.

“So, can I stay the night to take turns taking care of you? Poor Emma’s been here with you since last night.”

Ailine gave in and nodded again.

“Good… By the way, Ailine…”

“Yes?”

“Actually, I already felt it from the beginning. Doctor Young who treated you—he felt familiar. Like I’ve seen him before… Is he that nerd? I mean, Owen Young from Class A when we were in high school? The genius who never budged from first place? Not just in class—schoolwide!”

“Yeah… That’s him…” Honestly, Ailine didn’t want to talk about this with Julian because of that rumor. She didn’t want to remember it, but her mind did anyway.

“Oh my god, so it really is him! Tch, his cold-and-genius aura is still the same. If I remember correctly, Owen Young transferred schools, right? In the second semester of our senior year? What a waste—if he didn’t transfer, our school could’ve listed a student ranked first nationwide. He graduated middle school with the highest score in Country Z! He should’ve been able to repeat that in high school.”

Julian tried recalling what happened back then.

Meanwhile, Ailine’s thoughts drifted to their memories in 12th grade.

Owen’s sudden transfer happened exactly one week after he broke up with her… And that memory was painfully vivid.

“Many people wondered why he suddenly transferred. It couldn’t have been just family reasons, right? Come on, transferring in 12th grade is extremely rare… And when we graduated, his name didn’t appear in the national top scorer list either… So did he not continue school? Hmm, impossible… More likely that he moved abroad…”

Ailine began to wonder. She was just as curious as Julian.

Moved abroad, huh?

No wonder Owen vanished like he was swallowed by the earth. No matter where she searched, she never found him.

Thinking about the past, the beautiful actress remembered how desperately she searched for Owen. She was like a crazy person after being dumped so suddenly, especially when she remembered how deeply she loved him back then.

There were many things Ailine wanted to ask Owen now. What really happened in the past? But… is it even appropriate to ask after more than ten years? And it seemed like Owen had already forgotten everything anyway.

Stupid, right?

Come on, he must’ve moved on by now!

This was truly painful… More than painful. Her chest tightened. Tears kept falling.

“Huh? Ai, why are you crying? Are you hurt somewhere? Tell me where it hurts!” Julian panicked immediately.

Ailine shook her head again. “Just a little stomach pain, but it’s gone now.”

It wasn’t a lie. Her stomach did hurt a little. But that wasn’t the reason she cried.

“I’ll call the doctor, okay? Wait here…” Julian stood up, but Ailine grabbed his hand.

“I’m fine. No need to call the doctor…”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Julian hesitated but chose to respect her wishes. Not long after, Layla and Emma returned from the cafeteria. They agreed to let Julian take the night shift. Negotiating wasn’t easy. They both knew Julian’s relationship with Ailine—but they also knew Julian looked at Ailine differently.

---

Later that night… 11 PM…

“I thought Owen would come for his rounds like this morning and earlier this afternoon, but apparently not. Only Doctor Lisa came…”

Ailine’s condition had improved—much better than last night when she was rushed to the hospital. She had received IV fluids and the right treatment.

Ailine turned to the side of the bed where Julian was already asleep. The handsome man truly stayed the night just to watch over her.

“He must be exhausted, flying all the way here and bringing me souvenirs despite his busy schedule. All for my sake. Sometimes I feel burdened by his kindness. I don’t know the best way to repay him. All I do is hurt him over and over because I can’t return his sincere feelings… I’m sorry, Julian… If only you knew—I’m just like you. Hoping for love from a man who might never truly have loved me… Just like you, holding onto unrequited love like a fool for more than ten years…”

Ailine bit her lower lip bitterly. She knew how foolish she was, but she couldn’t betray her own heart. Her feelings for Owen were too deep and helpless.

It used to be just puppy love—so how did it become this deep?

“Will Owen come tonight? He said I dreamed because of my fever that time… but if it’s true, I hope when I close my eyes, he’ll visit my dreams again… There’s so much I want to ask him…”

Tears fell again as she thought about Owen and the past.

“Owen, why did you leave me when I was loving you the most?”

Ailine cried, but she covered her mouth so she wouldn’t wake Julian.

“I didn’t have any other choice but to leave you back then…”

That voice—so familiar—ran through her ears.

“Eh? O-Owen?”