Jaein was relieved that the exam was over. She considered herself lucky for not collapsing during the exam. She was tired out of her mind and felt really weak. Her groupmates invited her to the bar for some drinks, but she declined due to her fatigue. Just as she was about to head to her place, a familiar figure approached her.

“Where are your puny groupmates? Are they crying over their failed exams?” Daehan asked her while laughing to himself.

Why can’t he just leave me alone. ing creep, she thought to herself as she ignored him and started walking.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that about your friends. Please talk to me,” he pleaded while following her.

She kept ignoring him until she felt his hand grabbing on her wrist.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, trying to pry her wrist from his grasp.

“I just need you to listen to me! Give me a chance,” he replied, not wanting to let go.

“Can’t you see I’m not interested? I really have to get going!” Jaein exclaimed.

Much to her dismay, there wasn’t really anyone around. Everyone else was already long gone since the exam ended later than usual.

“Just hear me out. I’ll treat you to dinner if you want!”

Jaein’s headache got worse as her vision started to become unstable. Suddenly, memories of Taewoon, her ex, doing the same flashed before her eyes.

“I don’t care! Just let me go Daehan-ah,” she pleaded, her eyes tearing up.

“Please just list-

Before he could finish his sentence, Daehan was thrown to the ground. Jaein turned to the person who had landed a punch on him and saw a familiar pair of doe eyes.

“How many ing times does she has to tell you that she is not interested!?” Kyungsoo yelled while shaking off the pain from his fist.

“Jaein-ah! Are you okay?” Jongdae asked as he and Junmyeon rushed towards her. She held onto Jongdae immediately and squeezed her eyes hut.

 “What the man?!?” Daehan screamed while wiping off the blood from his lips.

“Shut your stupid before I call the actual police,” Junmyeon warned as he pulled Kyungsoo away from Daehan. 

Kyungsoo directed attention to the girl who was holding onto Jongdae for support. She looked paler than ever and her feet were shaking. Jongdae saw Kyungsoo looking their way and eyed him to come.

“I’ll help Junmyeon hyung with that bastard,” he said as he handed Jaein to Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo took her in gently while embracing her in a hug.

“It’s okay now, Jaein-ah. I’m here. I won’t let him hurt you,” he said soothingly, his hands the back of her head.

Jaein started to feel lightheaded and her vision blurred even more.

“I need t-to go the hospital. Please let me go T-Taewoon-ah,” she mumbled before darkness took over her.

♦♦♦

*Beep Beep* *Beep Beep* *Beep Beep*

Jaein slowly opened her eyes as she saw a blurry image of the boys standing in front of the hospital bed. She then closed them again to get rid of the fuzziness in her vision.

“How is she?” Chanyeol asked.

“Stable for now,” Junmyeon said as he took a seat on the couch.

“What happened hyung? Why is she there?” Sehun questioned worriedly.

“This guy from her department harassed her. We were lucky to find them arguing in the middle of the street,” Jongdae explained. “I think she passed out from the shock.” To that, she unconsciously scoffed.

They all turned their attention towards her, confused.

“Did we just hear her… scoff?” Jongin asked as he walked closer to the bed.

Kyungsoo, who was sitting on a chair beside her, also looked confused.

“Yes you did. Now can you all stop starring? It’s creeping me out,” she said, her voice sounded incredibly hoarse. Kyungsoo quickly handed her a cup of water for her to hydrate.

“You’re awake!” Baekhyun exclaimed excitedly.

“Is she?” a voice coming from the door asked.

Everyone’s attention turned to the young doctor who was making his way towards them. They all stood and did a small bow.

“How are you feeling Jaein-ah? Miss me already?” He asked jokingly, patting her head as everyone was once again confused.

“He’s been my personal doctor for 4 years. He treats my anemia,” she spoke up to clear the confusion.

“Anemia? Isn’t that when your body lacks blood or something?” Yixing asked.

“You are correct young man,” Dr. Lee replied. “I guess the course of treatment you underwent during summer didn’t do its job.”

“Summer? Weren’t you vacationing in London during the summer?” Minseok questioned.

“Well, I kind of lied about that,” she hesitantly replied.

“She was receiving treatment from a hospital where I used to work at,” Dr. Lee explained.

“Why didn’t you tell us that? We could’ve visited!” Chanyeol exclaimed, earning a sheepish smile from her.

“Wait, how bad is your anemia that you have to go overseas for treatment?” Kyungsoo asked worriedly.

“Jaein has a pretty rare anemic condition called idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Her body destroys red blood cells more rapidly than it produces them. In her case, her white blood cells are triggered to destroy when her temperature points are exposed to extreme cold weather. It makes the white blood cells see the red blood cells as harmful foreign material so they destroy them. It’s idiopathic because the cause is unknown,” Dr. Lee explained.

“Wait, wait, wait a minute. So you’re saying because of the cold weather, her own body is trying to destroy her blood supply?” Junmyeon asked, baffled by the explanation.

“Yup. That’s why I keep reminding her,” he paused as he looked at Jaein, “to stay indoors more often during winter.”

“So she didn’t faint because of that crazy bastard but because of this?” Jongdae realized.

So she knew she was going to pass out. That’s why she said she needed to go to the hospital. Kyungsoo thought to himself.

“Mhm. And now I will increase the dosage of your iron supplements. You will be released once the blood transfusion is complete and your tests comes out positive. Until then, sit tight!” Dr. Lee cheerfully exclaimed before walking out of the room.  

After a long Q&A session with Jaein, the boys decided to get some food the cafeteria. Jaein told them to go back to their dorm, but they insisted to stay overnight with her. Eventually, extra pillows and mattresses were delivered to her room. Usually, the hospital doesn’t allow a lot of people to stay overnight, but Jaein’s room was a presidential suite so it was big enough to fit all of them. The room wasn’t her choice per say, but it was the insurance. Her parents made sure that she has the best care any hospital can provide.

While the boys were out hunting for food, Kyungsoo decided to stay and keep her company. It was a little awkward since Jaein was still a bit embarrassed from before. Fortunately for her, the phone sitting on the nightstand beside her started to ring. The caller id was: ‘Mom.’ She took a deep sigh and answered it.

“Your dad told me about what happened. Are you alright dear?” her mother asked in a worried tone.

“Yeah. It’s nothing unusual mom,” she replied.

“Nothing unusual? Thank god there were people around to help you. Don’t you feel bad for burdening them? This is the sole reason why I want you to transfer to America or just near us! There are people here that will take care of you,” her mother ranted on the phone.

“There are also people here that can take care of me like my friends,” she said.

“Don’t you know how lonely I am? You’re my only daughter and you need to take care of me. I raised you with my blood, sweat, and tears so that you can live a luxurious life. Is this how you repay me? By talking back and avoiding me?” her mother expressed.

“I know you worked hard to raise me and I’m thankful for that. But all my life I’ve been under your radar. I’ve always obeyed you. Can’t you just let me live my life? I really thought you were worried about me, but I should’ve known better. I should’ve known that from the time I picked up this call that you would talk about yourself and how I should be concerned about you. You’re so self-centered,” Jaein replied bitterly.

“Excuse me? That is not how you talk to your mother! I’ve always thought about what’s best for you-

“What’s best for me? That is complete bull. You controlled me like a puppet! I took up ballet because you hated me playing basketball, I attended medical school because you didn’t want me to become a teacher, and did everything else because you wanted me to. I thought that if I obeyed everything you said, you would for once be proud of me and say it out loud. Instead, you just complain and complain about what I lack as your daughter. You were always too busy and prioritized your work and money over me and my brothers. All the times I needed you, you were never there!” she paused,

“Mom, my toes are covered in bruises that will take years to fade out, my knees are too weak to even jog, and I am mentally exhausted from all the things you expect me to do. Why couldn’t you just wish me to get well soon and hang up?” Jaein exclaimed as she hung up the phone.

She threw the phone beside her and let out a heavy sigh. As she looked to the side, her eyes came in contact with Kyungsoo who had been listening to her conversation this whole time. The awkwardness she felt from before came back. Before she could say anything, she felt a pair of arms engulf her in a warm embrace. It took her a second before she realized what Kyungsoo was doing.

“I know that you probably don’t want to talk about it even if your heart is in so much pain, but just know that I’ll be here for you when you’re ready to open up. I also won’t that -head touch you again,” he whispered, his last line making her chuckle. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he wanted to comfort her.

“I’m sorry you had to listen to that. My mother can really piss me off sometimes,” she replied.

“I really think that you’re going to cry so I’ll allow you to use my shirt to wipe your snot. But don’t cry too much because crying takes up a lot of energy and you’re pretty weak-

Jaein pulled back and smacked his arm.

“You ruined the moment!” she complained.

“Aw, that’s too bad. I really wanted to see you cry,” he playfully teased.  

“Thanks for making me feel better. I really appreciate it,” Jaein said as she smiled at him.

Kyungsoo’s heart skipped a beat as he saw her smile.

“By the way, I have something for you,” he said, opening his back and reaching inside for a box.

“What’s this?” she asked as he gave it to her.

“It’s midnight and I had to give a little something to the birthday girl. I didn’t really know what to get you since you like almost everything but-

“Birthday girl?” she questioned.

“Isn’t today your birthday? September 14^th? You told me last time when-

“Yesterday was the 13^th?!?” she exclaimed.

“Yes. How could you not-

“SURPRISE!!!” the door busted open and came in 8 boys holding a cake, balloons, and wearing party hats.

“CAN ALL OF YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME!?” Kyungsoo yelled in frustration.

“Is there something wrong? Why is Kyungsoo hyung pissy?” Sehun asked.

“Why do you look so surprised? And in a not good way?” Baekhyun asked.

“She forgot her birthday. Her god-damn birthday,” Kyungsoo answered as he stood up and folded his arms across his chest.

“That’s impossible. I mean, how could you not know that today’s your birthday,” Jongin replied.

“I-I don’t know. Maybe it’s because of the stress and work and- I just don’t know…” Jaein mumbled the last bit.

“Well, today’s your birthday and we have cake. So be ready to blow out the candles,” Junmyeon said as she walked closer to her with the candle-lit cake.

While blowing out the candle, Jaein was still surprised that she forgot her own birthday. Nevertheless, she was grateful for their efforts. The boys started passing paper plates around as Kyungsoo cut the cake into even pieces. They spent the next hour or so chatting and laughing. Jaein was happy that her birthday started off well this year.