“Yah! Eli! Snap out of it!” Kevin yelled at his best friend.

            Eli jumped slightly and stared at Kevin. It took him a second to respond. “U-uh, yeah?”

            “I asked you if you wanted to go see a movie later with Dongho and me. We were going to see that one starring Rain and Lee Joon.”

            Eli ran his hand through his hair. “Kevin, I was going to hang out with—”

            “Again?” Kevin complained. “Eli, you’ve been with Hae Mi way too much. She’s not doing any good to you. I think you’ve been more negative than normal recently. Is she doing anything to do? Bullying? Threats? ual harass—”

            “Shut up!” Eli yelped. Kevin was astonished, but kept his mouth shut. He knew better than to talk back to Eli when he was angry. Eli breathed deeply to calm himself down. He really shouldn’t have gotten mad at Kevin, but he was accusing Hae Mi of doing stuff to him. He didn’t approve of his friend’s suggestions. “I’m sorry for yelling, Kevin, but Hae Mi’s not that kind of girl.”

            “Really?” Kevin asked. It was half-curiosity, half-mocking. “Then kind of girl isshe, Eli?”

            Eli avoided Kevin’s eyes as he blushed. He felt butterflies flutter around in his stomach as he thought about the perfect word to describe her. “… Unique.”

            Kevin just laughed and sat back in his chair. The school was empty since it was after hours, but there were still a few teachers in the library grading papers. They shushed the friends and went back to working on the papers so they could go home to their spouses and children. Kevin leaned back in. “She cuts herself, Eli. She’s a depressed girl that no one wants to mess with. She’ll change you and make you like her. She did the same thing to the last person she got close to. Now look where she is.”

            “Just because Sunny tried her best to be friends with Hae Mi and make her feel better, it doesn’t mean she could do it alone. Still, even if she almost succeeded, it doesn’t mean she could do it. She may not have been determined enough and gave up. But I’m not like Sunny, Kevin. I’ve seen Hae Mi smile and laugh, and we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well.” Eli checked his watch before cursing under his breath. He stood up and rushed to the door. He yelled back at Kevin, not caring what the teachers would have to say, “I’m late, Kevin! Maybe next time at the movies, okay?”

            Kevin sighed loudly. He didn’t know what he’d do with Eli. The guy was an idiot for even trying to befriend Hae Mi, but something in the back of Kevin’s mind told him that it was the right thing to do. It wasn’t like he paid attention to it, though. Kevin wasn’t a bad guy, really. He just hung out with the wrong people sometimes.

            And he dated them.

            “Kevin oppa~”

            Kevin smiled and stood up. He walked towards the library doors. He went outside to meet his new girlfriend, Kim Eunbi.

Hae Mi shivered. She held her jacket close to her body as best as she could. Her arm was numb. Her hand felt broken. Her leg was bruised, and her vision was blurry. She smelled trash nearby. Something rummaged around in the bins by the wall. She hoped it wouldn’t mistake her as trash.

            Hae Mi closed her eyes. She tried to see a warm fireplace in the middle of the woods where she could live in seclusion from the cruel world, but she only saw Eli and the many smiles he’d given her. She didn’t know why he ever tried. Her first friend ever, Sunny, tried as well, but she gave up and went into her own state of depression before moving out of South Korea to America. Hae Mi believed it was her fault Sunny left, so she fell deeper into her sad state. She was on the verge of killing herself when Eli came into the picture. He made such a big impact on her. He was happy and bright and always so positive. It was starting to rub off on Hae Mi from time to time, but then life hit her again and she went back to the way she was.

            Today was no different. She decided that, when she had enough energy, she would go home and find the fastest, easiest way to end her life. She didn’t want to live with the bullies anymore. They didn’t care for her, nor would they try to care. They only cared about making themselves feel better by bringing down Hae Mi.

            Just then, someone strolling along the street passed by the alleyway opening. Hae Mi tried calling out for the person, but nothing came out of . After a few more tries, she decided to hit the ground to see if they person noticed. He did, and it was none other than Eli. Hae Mi mentally slapped herself. She didn’t want Eli to see her in her ugliest state. She just knew it’d make him want to go back on trying to help her and leave her there to die.

            To her surprise, Eli whispered, “Oh my, God… Hae Mi, what happened to you?!” Eli bent down and scooped her up like a bride. A small smile came upon Hae Mi’s face. Eli really did care.

Eli paced outside in the lobby. He stopped every few seconds to pray for Hae Mi’s life. He couldn’t lose her. She still had so much going for her in her life.

            “Mr. Kim?” a doctor called.

            Eli rushed over to him. “Yes, doctor?”

            Doctor Kang smiled weakly, but nodded. “Hae Mi is out of the operation room and is going to be alright, but she’s sleeping right now. She’s had a rough day.”

            Eli sighed and let a few tears fall. Hae Mi was going to be alright. His heart elated as he thought about seeing her again. “I-is it alright if I s-see her?”

            “Of course. But you must let her sleep. She needs her rest.”

            Eli nodded furiously.

            Doctor Kang let him in the room, then shut the door so he could have some alone time with Hae Mi. Eli walked over to the bed. Her left hand and her right leg, up to her knee, were in a cast. Two places on her head were stitched together, and the rest were covered in surgical bandages. Eli had to pull up a chair and sit next to Hae Mi. He couldn’t take the blow to his heart this image had on it.

            Eli took Hae Mi’s hand into both of his. It felt as cold as ice. He brought it to his lips and kissed his gently before blowing hot air on it. It wasn’t a gesture that would wake her up, but Eli didn’t realize Hae Mi could still feel what he was doing. The heart monitor sped up a bit before going back down. Eli smiled weakly at Hae Mi’s sleeping face. “Hi there, Faline. Is it alright if I call you that?”

            No response.

            Eli sighed. “I like it. It seems to fit you. You’re kind and gentle, but strong and independent—just like Faline.” He paused. “I’m going to take you to see every movie you want when you get out of here, Faline. But first, you’ve got to come with me to see ‘Bambi’ to make your new nickname official.” Eli chuckled and Hae Mi’s cheek affectionately with his hand. “Han Hae Mi, what are you doing to me?”

            For the next few hours, Eli just talked on and on about how he was going to do whatever Hae Mi requested whenever she was discharged, and how he would take her wherever she asked.

            Soon, the intercom beeped on and said visiting hours were over. Eli didn’t hear it, though—he was asleep beside Hae Mi, still in the chair, with his head near her side. Before falling asleep, he had intertwined their fingers.

            And they hadn’t moved one little bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I knew this would happen...

I knew I'd turn this into some form of romance. >_> I always do, and I don't know why. One of these days, I'm going to write a story without any couples, and it's going to be GOOD, too. But until then, I'll stick with my fluffiness ^^

I'm sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. I've been busy with other stories that I haven't updated (still haven't because of stupid writer's block >.>), and there's also life at home and school. Oh, and high school enrollment. .___.

Still, I'd like it if you left your comments down in the box below~ ^^ I LOVE YOU ALL~~ <333

(And for those of you who don't know, Faline is the deer Bambi falls in love with in the second Bambi movie ^^)