"Mi Jin, listen to me," Yu Jin took a deep breath and gently said, "Just stay calm, don't worry! I'll tryna research and explain everything to him to make sure that he'll go through the surgery, OK?"

"You promise me?" Her sobs started to fade.

"I promise, so don't worry. Just focus on your studying."

"OK, if you need me to talk to him, then tell me."

"Sure, I will."

After the call ended, Yu Jin did not come into the room right away. He just stood on the balcony, looking down at the glistening light of the houses and skyscrapers which were adorning the obsidian sky behind. For no reason, a weird question popped up in his head: Was he looking south? If yes then Busan should be somewhere along the horizon, and so his parents. The physical distance between them was just under one hour of flight. Then why did they all feel so distant, so distant that his mom did not even call him and inform him of such an issue? Was it because they hated him for moving to Seoul? Or was it because they thought that he would not listen anyway so there was no point in telling him? But either way, he was wrong. Ever since he was small, he was never aware how much his parents loved him. All he knew were only those times when they were strict and harsh on him. As a consequence, he became too reserved and never managed to talk to them properly. He had always been accusing them of not understanding him, but it was partially because of him, who could never really sit down and give his parents a proper discussion about his dream career. Every time they talked together, there were only tension and argument due to his hostile manner. If he had chosen to behave in a different way, would things have changed a little bit, or maybe...a lot?

From that moment, taking advantage of the additional time he had due to his suspension, Yu Jin began to do more research on brain aneurysm than he had ever done before, hoping to come up with a few solid points which could change his father's mind. However, he knew for sure that was not going to be a simple task. His father was very determined and once he made a decision, the possibility of some changes occurring should be terribly low. Sometimes, Yu Jin also wondered whether his stubbornness was inherited from his father or not as they were just equally uncompromising.

The next day, Yu Jin came to the hospital in the morning to bring Eun Chae her breakfast as usual. But today was different as he intended to stay there until the early afternoon, partly because he was unoccupied and partly because he wanted to spend some time with Eun Chae.

"Hi Eun Chae," he said and entered the room. He was taken aback to find out that Eun Chae was already awake when he arrived. Normally, she would be sleeping and it would take Yu Jin some miserable time to wake her up. However, it was not the only noticeable thing. She was having an IV bag with a tube hanging from her arm.

"Hello," she tiredly said.

"What happened to you, why are you having an IV bag?"

"I don't know, my doctor only told me that I needed it."

"You are still alright, right?" He sat down on the side of her bed.

"Yeah, I'm OK," she smiled and looked at him.

"You sure that your condition is not getting worse. I'm worried, you know?" He gently tidied her tousled hair and held her hands.

"I'm fine, don't worry. You really like overthinking, don't you?" She grumbled.

"Never mind. By the way, your breakfast," he handed her a box of sandwiches, "It's chicken sandwiches. I bring two for you."

"OK, thanks."

Eun Chae had such a great love for chicken that her stomach could expand to infinite volume whenever she saw something chicken dishes. But today, she could only finish one out of the two sandwiches Yu Jin brought her. She told him that she was feeling unwell so she did not want to eat anything.

"You wanna eat the remaining one? If you don't then I'll have it for lunch later," Eun Chae asked.

"Eun Chae, is everything really alright?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"You're often not like this."

"Maybe I'm just not in the mood today. But don't worry, I'm completely fine," she said while cleaning her mouth.

"Are you lying? Your hospitalisation has just been extended. And now you cannot even finish the meal I bring you," Yu Jin said in a mixture of frustration and anxiety, "Eun Chae, just tell me the truth!"

"Bring your face closer, I'll tell you," she beckoned him. As Yu Jin came closer to her, she suddenly gave him a kiss on his cheek. "The truth is I'm still fine. Meanwhile, you should have a psychiatrist to treat your overthinking."

"Have you just..." Yu Jin startled, being caught off guard by her unexpected action, "Hey, you cannot just kiss me without warning like that!"

"What's wrong with that? I even kissed your lips before, remember?" She pouted and naughtily giggled.

Yu Jin did not retaliate. He just sighed and looked at her with an emotionless face.

During the short stay at the hospital, Yu Jin also made time to do some reading on his father's medical condition while Eun Chae was sleeping. The time passed so fast and the afternoon came before they both could realise.

"Hey Eun Chae, I gotta go now. Take care, OK? If there is anything, then call me," he sat down on her bed.

"Of course I will."

"Hey Eun Chae," he said and suddenly hugged her. This was the first time he really took the initiative to embrace a girl. "Take care of your health. I really need you, you know that? I just...don't want to lose you."

"I know, I'll try to recover quickly. Probably I'll be even more energetic than you by next week so don't even think about losing me, OK? At least for now, it's not gonna happen," she rubbed his back.

As they were hugging each other, Hae Rin abruptly stepped in.

"Hi Eun Chae my little chic..." She halted because of being shocked by what she saw. "What...are...you guys...doing?" She stammered in confusion and stared at the two friends with her suspicious eyes.

"Oh...Hi..." Yu Jin leaped out of the bed and gave her a coy smile.

"Hi Hae Rin, come here," Eun Chae tried to make the atmosphere become less awkward by beckoning her friend closer.

"You two...ermmm...I have to go now so...goodbye," Yu Jin nodded his head and then scurried out of the room, carrying along his embarrassment. "Come on Han Yu Jin, what the hell are you doing?" He mumbled as walking along the corridor and continuously knocked on his forehead, "Why did you even hug her, you little prick?"

Meanwhile, Eun Chae was being interrogated by her best friend.

"Eun Chae, why didn't you tell me that you have a boyfriend?"

"Come on, what are you even thinking, we are just..friends."

"Friends with benefits or what?"

"Of course no!" Eun Chae grumbled and scowled at Hae Rin.

"But you hugged him, right? Isn't that a bit too close for friends?" Hae Rin asked with a visible confusion on her face.

"I think it's OK. You and me, we do it all the time, right?"

"That's because we're all girls, you idiot," Hae Rin growled in frustration, "What have you guys done together? Eating out, I mean...just the two of you?"

"Yeah."

"Holding hands?"

"Yeah."

"Hugging? Obviously yes. Then kissing?"

"Well...actually yes."

"Sleeping together?"

"Yeah," Eun Chae spontaneously responded, "Oh sh*t wait wait wait, that's not what I mean."

"You what? You slept with him, are you insane?" Hae Rin startled and sprang to her feet.

"Just sit down, hear me out first. By sleeping, I really meant sleeping. No other actions were involved, so pull yourself together and sit down here," Eun Chae tried to calm her friend down.

"But still, it sounds like you guys are really dating though."

"We're not, don't misunderstand it! Anyway, why are you even asking me all these questions?"

"Eun Chae, I think you're too naive to see this but...Han Yu Jin is a big red flag. Wait no, he is like...tens of them put together. I just wanna make sure that you don't date the wrong person."

"Come on, don't be like that. I know you don't like him, but he is really nice, trust me."

"Never mind. But if he does anything bad to you, just tell me, Imma go and cut his head off for you."

"OK OK OK, I will, Kitty Kang. By the way, how are you and Han Bin doing?"

"Well...we're still doing good. I mean...we're both on the same campus so we meet a lot. Perhaps that's why we can get along well, cuz we understand each other."

"I see."

"And yeah, why do you have an IV bag today? I remember you didn't have it last time I came, right?"

"The doctor just said that I need it."

"Are you still alright?" Hae Rin nervously asked.

"Sure, I'm alright," Eun Chae grinned.

******

That night, upon arriving home from Eun Chae's hospital, after a long time of consideration, Yu Jin finally made the decision to call his mother to ask about his father's condition.

"Hi mom," he gently said.

"Oh, hi Yu Jin, why are you calling me this late?"

"It's just 11 p.m., it's not that late. Mom, Mi Jin told me...dad is having to go through a brain surgery, right?"

"How...how did you know? I told Mi Jin not to let you know?"

"It's not the important thing right now. How did you and dad find out the aneurysm? Did he often have headaches before that?"

"No, not at all. We were just doing regular medical checkup, and the doctors found it out by looking at your dad's MRI."

"Can I talk to dad?"

"Wait a minute," his mother said and handed the phone to his father.

"Haizz...It's you again?" His father said in frustration.

"Yeah, it's me again, the son that you hate the most," he said and chuckled, "Dad, you need to go through the surgery. It doesn't matter whether you want to do it or not, you need to do that. Do you know how fatal it will be if you leave the aneurysm untreated?"

"I know it's dangerous..." His father sighed in vexation.

"Then why don't you just do it then?"

"The doctor said that I'd probably lose my vision after the surgery. So I don't wanna do it."

"But dad..." He raised his voice, "At least it's better than dying, right?"

"What's the point of living if I can no longer see anything? I'd rather die than live like that."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The desperate yell of his mother could be easily heard from his side.

In the end, all his attempts were completely futile. Nearly an hour of talking could not sway his father's mind.

"Yu Jin, I know that you're doing this for my good. But I know what I'm doing. Just go to sleep, it's midnight already," his father sighed.

"But dad..."

"Hey Yu Jin, just talk later, OK?" His mother suddenly retrieved the phone. "We don't wanna bother you this late, if I need your help, then I'll call you tomorrow," his mom said in despair.

"OK, I'll call again tomorrow. You two should also go to bed now."

Giving up because of his father being too adamant, Yu Jin hung up and exhaustedly tossed himself onto his bed. Never once in his whole life had he been in such a situation: he was burnt out both physically and emotionally.

******

The next morning, as usual, Yu Jin cooked some sandwiches for Eun Chae and went to her hospital with his eyes having dark circles around them.

"Hey Eun Chae, your breakfast is here," he lethargically said, "It's chicken and egg sandwiches again."

"Just put it onto the table, I don't wanna eat."

"What? Are you tired? Don't be like that, sit up and eat, just a bit. You know how bad it is to skip breakfast?" He said and helped her up.

"But I don't want to," she said in irritation.

"Don't be like that," Yu Jin gently said and took out one of the sandwiches from the box. "Just take a few bites! You still need to take medications, right? So you can't leave your stomach empty like that," he thrusted the sandwich in front of her face.

"I said I don't want to," she suddenly shouted at him. To his horror, she flung his hand off, making him drop the sandwich on the floor, "Stop forcing me to eat, you're so annoying."

"What? Annoying?" He sneered and scowled at her. "I'm trying my best to take care of you, and you call that annoying?" He raised his voice.

Thank you very much for making it this far! If you enjoy reading my story and are excited to find out what is going to happen next, don't forget to click the star to vote for me as well as recommend my story to your friends. You votes really motivate me a lot^^