Star - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Serendipity




“Paging Dr. Chen… Paging Dr. Chen… Please proceed to the operating room now. Paging Dr. Chen…”



Kelsi slumped at the chair of the hospital’s pantry after getting some caffeine fix. She have been in the hospital for 12 hours now… and she badly wanted to go back to her apartment. “Can someone remind me why I decided to take up Medicine? Oh yeah…” she thought. She sipped her coffee, as she looked up at the TV screen.



She saw a familiar face on TV – It was Zuo Yi Quan. It has been a year since she saw him in person at the HyperActive concert in Manila. Since she came to Taipei for the Internship program, she saw a lot of him. “I sometimes wonder what is it with Zuo Yi Quan that makes a lot of girls mesmerized by him…” Kelsi looked back and saw her colleague, Huo Jian Hua entering the pantry. “Good evening, Dr. Huo.” Kelsi said, smiling at him. “Good evening, Dr. Ramirez. I see you’re taking a break from your shift tonight huh?”

“Yeah, been here for 12 hours now…”

“Tsk tsk tsk… you should get some rest, Dr. Ramirez. We don’t want to end up in the hospital because of over fatigue, don’t we?”



Kelsi gave out a faint laugh. “I think you’re right, Dr. Huo…” she said. Dr. Huo smiled back at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. Take a rest then tomorrow’s gonna be a big day.” He said. Kelsi walked up to him and gave him a hug. “I owe you one, Wallace…” she said, then she left the pantry, and headed home.



--



Yi Quan dialed her number again. Her phone rang, then afterwards, he heard her voicemail for the nth time. “Hi! Ah Sa here! I’m quite busy and I can’t answer your call. Please –“



Before he could here the beep, he ended the call. “Where the hell is she…” he thought. It’s been three days since their last fight, and he was trying his best to fix his relationship with his girlfriend of six months (fellow artisit, Ah Sa), but it seems that Ah Sa is not interested in getting back together with him.



“Mr. Zuo…” he heard his assistant call. He looked at him, his face filled with frustration. “Whatever it is, Mei Ru… just don’t bother me with it right now…” he said. Then he sighed. Mei Ru sighed as he left Yi Quan alone. He was just about to give the letters that “Angel” sent these past few months. But it seems that his boss is not interested in any of the letters she sent. He was uninterested in almost anything, except for Ah Sa. He has been that since the day they started dating.



Mei Ru peeked at his boss again. He was dialing her number again and again. “Yi Quan… you should know that it’s all over…” he said silently. He shook his head as he left Yi Quan alone.



--



“He is not interested…” he said to her. Her sad face looked away from him. She doesn’t want him to see the tears in her eyes… not now. She doesn’t want to feel hurt. What can she do? She is just a fan… nothing else. “There’s nothing else that I wouldn’t want in this world but for these letters to reach him…” she said in a low voice. Her voice, cracking as she finally broke down. He reached for her and hugged her tight. “I wish I could do anything for you… but I can’t…” he whispered to her.



Damn Yi Quan for breaking her heart. Damn Yi Quan for letting her hopes high, then suddenly letting her down when he met Ah Sa.



“She’s just breaking his heart and he couldn’t see it…” he told her. “It’s like she took over every part of him…” she whispered. “And it hurts me more than it hurts him…”



Silence filled the place.



“Angel… why him?” he suddenly asked. She looked up at him, not knowing what to answer him.



Why does she love him? Why him, when she deserve someone “real”? He is just a fantasy for her, and it was wrong for her to fall for this man… but her heart does not hear out her logic.



Why him? Why not Jin Xiu Yi, or Wang Ya Se, or Ding Xiao Yu? Why not her colleague? She shook her head. “I don’t know… I don’t know…”



--



Mei Ru stared at the violet envelopes on his table. He wanted to sad for Angel, and at the same time, be mad at Yi Quan. “You wanted to find her…” he thought. “You wanted to meet her… and now I have found her, you took her for granted…”



He stashed the enveloped on the drawer. He will not give up on his boss. If Angel doesn’t want to give up, then he won’t give up either. “Time will come you will ask me for these letters, Yi Quan… when that day comes, I hope it’s not yet too late…”



--



There’s nothing left for him to do but go to Ah Sa’s pad to make it up to him. Yi Quan surprised her. He bought a dozen of white roses, and the most expensive wine. They have to talk. They have to fix this thing going on between them. He loves her so much, and it scares him that she’ll leave him. He tiptoed to her room, and by the door, he heard her moaning. Is she in pain? Did something happened to Ah Sa? Then he heard a man’s voice, calling her name. All she did was moan as the man call her.



He carefully opened the door, and found the woman she love making love to another man. And it’s just not any other man. It was his best friend, Mei Tian Nan. Yi Quan dropped the flower on his hand, and the wine he was holding. This startled Ah Sa and Nan. “Yi… Yi Quan?” Ah stuttered. She was shocked to find her boyfriend in her pad. She immediately covered her naked body with a blanket. He just stood there, glaring at the two lovers. “How could you do this to me?” he asked in a low voice. “Yi Quan… Yi Quan, let me explain…” Mei Tian Nan said to him.



Ke Si walked towards him, but Yi Quan gave him a punch. “You were my best friend, Nan! How could you!” He shouted at him. Then, he stormed out of her pad, heart broken, and in pain.



--



Dear Yi Quan,

How are you? It’s been a long time since I’ve written you a letter… and it’s been a long time since I saw you in person. Yi Quan, I know you are with her now. Are you happy with her? Does she make you smile? I know you love her with all your life, but I’m scaed that she will only cause you pain…

But as long as she loves you and as long as your feelings for her is strong, I will support you… I will be here for you though it’s breaking my heart…


Angel



--



He drank his last cup of wine. He got out of the bar after settling his bill. Then he went straight to his car and drove away. He wanted to get out of this mess, of the pain he is feeling.



Wasn’t he enough? He gave Ah Sa everything that she wanted. Everything. She was her world. His life revolved around her. How could she betray him, and worse, with his best friend? “Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh” he shouted in frustration. He started the engine of his car again. And then he drove as fast as he could. He drove… until he hit an electric post…



--



“Emergency!” Kelsi heard one of the nurse shouted. She saw Jian Hua running up to her. “Kelsi, we need you. Now!” he ordered. She followed him as they reached their patient. “The guy is apparently drunk…” Jian Hua explained. Kelsi shook her head. “There oughta be a law against drunk drivers…” she said. Jian Hua smiled at her. “There is. Apparently , this guy thinks he could… you know… drink and drive. Go save the guy.” He said.



Kelsi walked towards one of the bed in the emergency room. She cut the crowd of people attending to the patient. She was surprised to see who her patient is that night… it was Yi Quan.



--



“Are you all right?”

The voice seemed familiar. He have heard that before but he could not remember where. “Hold on…”

Hold on to what? His life is a mess… but as she spoke, he felt as if wanting to stay alive…

“You’ll be OK…”

He tried to open his eyes, but the physical pain he’s feeling won’t let him see through. He saw everything in white. “Am I in heaven?” he thought. He closed his eyes again, then he felt a warm touch… it was the touch that he seemed to be longing for. “Angel? Is that an Angel?” he thought. Then, he opened his eyes again. And then he saw her – her eyes filled with worry, her eyes wanting to shed tears… and then she turned to her. He found her angelic and beautiful face… then it hit him. The familiarity of her voice… the one he have heard whispering during their Manila concert last year. It was her… his Angel…



--



“How could she break his heart…” she said. She was shedding tears again for the man who never knew her, and never knew she existed. She was shedding tears again for the man, whose heart was broken. She could feel his pain. “How could she!”

“I don’t know why…” he said. “But he loved her so much… so much that he’s died for her…”

“She doesn’t deserve her…”

“And do you?”



She looked up at him. “Neither do I…” she said in a low voice. “I am just an ordinary girl who could only look up to a shining star like him…”

“But you could have your chance with him… why don’t you take the risk? He deserves to be with someone like you…”

“Don’t say that… we could never be together…”



He hugged her again. “You should be happy... the two of you should be happy…” he said. Then she turned to him. “Mei Ru… promise me… promise me we’ll always take care of Yi Quan… promise me…” she said. Mei Ru smiled at her, assuring her that everything will be OK. “I promise Angel… I promise…”



--



“Does it hurt?” the little girl asked. “Yes it does…” she answered. “Loving him just breaks me…”

“But you do love him…”

“Yes, I do…”

The little girl sighed. Maybe what she asked was too much… but she just want her big sister to be happy, and to do the things she could never do in the future. “You can go back home you know… you don’t have to keep your promise…”

“But I have to do this, for myself…”

“He will only hurt you… he hurts you…”

“He had no idea that he’s hurting me… I am the one hurting myself… I could’ve just simply walked away and leave everything behind, but I can’t! I can’t because I love him…”

“Then don’t give up… don’t give up on him… I know one day you will have his heart… I know… I know…”



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