I offered the media a scoop on the condition that the victim's identity stays confidential.

It bit me at the back of my head. I was countering bullying by blowing it up into a bigger case of bullying; only justified because the society had my back.

I pushed away that thought as Minwoo stirred awake, 6 days after the incident. They deserved it after all they've done, unlike the boy before me.

"Did you go all out of the way to visit me again?" His soft voice a little hoarse.

"Do you want a cup of water?" I smiled gently, helping him up.

"Yes, please." He smiled cutely back.

"And don't you worry your pretty little head on my schedule. I'll always have plenty of time for you." Pouring the water from the jar into the cup his mother brought, I helped him hold the cup while he angled it to drink.

A faint blush coloured his otherwise pale cheeks, but I didn't take too much notice of them then.

Minwoo was like a brother I never had. Other than his infinite curiousity on university life, he could actually speak on the same wavelength as I. He was very well-read and the spirit in him was stronger than he looks.

He woke up wincing after the doctors fixed his fracture properly, but managed a smile when he saw his parents and I. "Thank you for visiting, Donghyun-hyung."

He didn't speak a word about what happened. We told of his transfer to a new school, and I could only hope it will work out well. To not let people have the chance to guess, though, I told him that he would have to completely recover from his fracture before he attends school.

"Okay." He nodded simply. 

From then on, I came daily to talk to him. It was a bit out of the way as Minwoo said, but it felt like a very natural decision to make. I knew he was careful not to waste too much of my time there though, always urging me to do my assignments beside him to make most out of my time there, and acting interested in my modules despite being unable to make much sense out of them.

He only had one request every time.

Shifting his body single-handedly to make space on the hospital bed, he patted the now vacant space beside him and gave me a wide grin. I dragged the chair where I left my bag on, then slipping onto the bed before making myself comfortable next to him. Bringing out my file, I took out what I planned to complete for the day and let him pick a favourite pen from my pencil case to use. 

He leaned against me while I started on my assignment, and replied with small talks whenever I talked to him. We both knew I had assignments to do, but I didn’t want to bore him, and he didn’t want to burden me.

“You took a bath pretty early.” I smiled softly, the scent of shampoo radiating from his soft locks.

He pulled away with a slightly alarmed expression. “You can tell…?”

“Yeah, your shampoo smells nice.”

He bit his lower lip as if deciding on something, then nuzzling his head against my neck, leaving a ticklish feeling. “Heh.”

“What are you doing, Minwoo.” I chuckled, and he pulled away after a few more nuzzles.

“Intoxicating you.” The young boy laughed, settling for leaning against me once more.

He hummed lightly, and reached for my left hand, massaging each of the fingers. I didn’t pay attention to him as I started immersing myself in my assignment, only realising when the sun set and his parents came into his ward that our hands were interlocked for three hours, a soundly sleeping Minwoo pressed against my shoulder.

“Thank you.” His father thanked quietly, while I packed my bag with one hand and slowly got off the bed. Lowering his form so he could comfortably sleep, I gently pried his fingers off away from mine, bowing my greetings to the two older adults.

“It’s my pleasure.” I replied in a hushed voice. I smiled lightly at Minwoo’s sleeping figure, promising to come again tomorrow.