“Oppa! I’m ready! Where are you?” called Sooyoung.

Seeing that Sungjae wasn't waiting for her at her front door, Sooyoung went back inside her house and called out for Sungjae. When she received no reply, she walked back upstairs and looked in her room.

“Oppa! Why are you still here? Aren’t we leaving?” asked Sooyoung.

Sungjae was still on his knees, looking at the sheets of paper in his hand. Sooyoung saw what he was looking at and rushed into her room.

“Oppa! Why are you looking through my things?” demanded Sooyoung, as she snatched the papers out of Sungjae’s hand.

Sooyoung wanted to use anger to mask her worry and guilt but quailed at the look Sungjae gave her. Sungjae’s eyes burnt into her with anger and pain.

“How long were you planning to hide this from me, Park Sooyoung?” asked Sungjae quietly.

Sooyoung flinched at his tone. She had never heard Sungjae speak in a tone laced with such bitterness, disappointment and worry before. Hearing Sungjae shout at her might have been less painful than whatever she was hearing now.

“I… I…” began Sooyoung.

“Am I someone whom you can’t share such things with, Sooyoung-ah? Were you thinking about shouldering this yourself?” continued Sungjae in the same tone, as his eyes continued to burn into Sooyoung. “Why did I have to find out this way?”

Sooyoung’s lips trembled and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “Mianhe, oppa,” said Sooyoung, as tears leaked from her eyes. “I was just so scared about how you would react. You took on three gangsters when I was in danger and ended up putting your own life at risk because of me. You’ve been so protective of me that I wasn't sure how you would react if you knew about this. Jinjja mianhe, oppa.”

Sooyoung broke down completely and sank to the floor, sobbing hard. Sungjae knelt and took Sooyoung into his arms, where she cried into his shoulder.

“Mianhe, Sooyoung-ah. I’m sorry if the way I behaved has made it hard for you to confide certain things in you. I’m just so scared I’ll lose you sometimes. I’ve come too close to losing you too many times that I’m really so scared that I might really lose you one day. But I’m sure we’ll get through this together,” said Sungjae, as he the back of Sooyoung’s head softly.

Sooyoung continued crying into Sungjae’s shoulder for another five minutes before her crying turned to sobs and eventually quietened. Once Sungjae was sure that Sooyoung was calm enough, he pushed her away from him gently and looked into her eyes.

“Are you ready to tell me what the doctor said, Sooyoung-ah?” asked Sungjae.

Sooyoung waited for a while before she finally nodded.

FLASHBACK

“Annehasaeyo, Park Sooyoung-ssi,” greeted the doctor.

“Annehasaeyo, seonsaeng-nim. Is it okay if my friend accompanies me for this visit?” asked Sooyoung.

“Of course it is,” replied the doctor. “Please have a seat.”

The doctor fished out a file from his drawer and placed it in front of him, before opening it and taking out the results of the scan.

“Here are the results of your scan, Ms. Park,” said the doctor.

The doctor placed the report in front of Sooyoung and looked at her.

“I’m sorry Ms. Park but you’re suffering from advanced hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This means that your heart muscles have enlarged and thickened. Through the echocardiogram, we have also noted that there is extended hardening of the ventricles of your heart. The severe shortness of breath that you experience, coupled with the dizzy spells, are typical symptoms of cardiomyopathy,” explained the doctor.

Sooyoung turned pale and gripped Moonbyul’s hand tightly.

“Is there any way of treatment, seonsaeng-nim? Will I ever recover from this?” asked Sooyoung.

“I will prescribe corticosteroids and a blood thinner for the moment. This helps to prevent inflammation and reduce the swelling of the heart muscle, as well as make your blood easier to pump through your body. However, you must take very good care not to overexert yourself physically. If you experience any extreme form of discomfort in your heart, it is critical that you take the pills I prescribe immediately,” advised the doctor. “In terms of recovery, open heart surgery usually works. But given the extent to which your ventricles have hardened, I think a heart transplant would be your best bet.”

The ground seemed to fall out from under Sooyoung’s feet as she heard those words. Sooyoung gripped Moonbyul’s hand even harder, as tears gathered in her eyes.

“But why am I suffering from this, seonsaeng-nim? I’m young and have no history of heart disease in the family!” asked Sooyoung agitatedly.

“Hypertrophic myopathy does not discriminate in terms of age or gender, Ms. Park. I have seen patients who were even younger than you when they were first diagnosed with this disease,” explained the doctor patiently.

Tears spilled out of Sooyoung’s eyes as she listened to the doctor’s explanation. Seeing that Sooyoung was no longer capable of sensible conversation, Moonbyul asked, “What are the chances that she will be able to receive a suitable heart for transplant, seonsaeng-nim?”

“She will be placed on the waiting list for a heart transplant. Although the list is long, it also depends on the severity of the situation, as well as the compatibility of the donor’s heart with Ms. Park. If she is compatible with the donor’s heart but there is no recipient ahead of Ms. Park who is compatible, then she will be able to receive the donor’s heart,” said the doctor.

“When will she know if there’s a suitable heart for her, seonsaeng-nim?” asked Moonbyul.

“We will run tests on Ms. Park and use results from this test to check for compatibility against available donors. These tests can be done quickly and with minimal pain to the patient,” explained the doctor.

“Will she need to be hospitalised, seonsaeng-nim?” asked Moonbyul.

“Not at this point. As open heart surgery is no longer an option, I don't see the point of hospitalisation. Ms. Park can still function as a normal person at the moment. It’s just that she needs to avoid all forms of vigorous physical activity. I just stress again that she needs to keep the medication I prescribe with her at all times and call for an ambulance if an emergency really arises,” said the doctor.

“How much time does she have left?” asked Moonbyul.

“I cannot say with much certainty. It could be three months, it could be three years. It depends on how fast the ventricles continue to harden and how fast the heart muscles deteriorate. She will need to come back for weekly checkups,” said the doctor.

Moonbyul put an arm around Sooyoung’s shoulders and said, “Kamsahamnida, seonsaeng-nim. Kaja, Sooyoung-ah.”

END OF FLASHBACK

As Sungjae listened to Sooyoung relate what the doctor had said to her in the hospital, Sungjae felt like the air in his lungs turn to ice and someone had er-punched him hard in the abdomen.

“Mianhe, oppa,” said Sooyoung, after she finished. “Jinjja mianhe.”

Looking down into Sooyoung’s eyes, Sungjae could see the worry in her eyes. Even in her condition, the only thing Sooyoung’s eyes conveyed was worry. Despite her frail health, all Sooyoung seemed to care about was how Sungjae was taking it and it gnawed at him on the