Two weeks later, Eli walked into the hospital room for the hundredth time with a bouquet of flowers, a giant smile on his face. He went over to the bed. “Hi, Faline.”

            Hae Mi looked up at Eli without a smile and had a stare-down with him. Eli took his spot in the chair and set the flowers on her stomach. They kept looking at each other until Hae Mi cracked a small smile. Eli laughed and patted her head. “Nice try, Faline, but I won’t stop calling you that until I feel like it.”

            Hae Mi pouted, but still enjoyed the feeling of his nickname for her.

            Eli and Hae Mi talked for a while before Eli decided to ask who it was that hurt her two weeks ago. He asked with every visit—which means he asked every day—, but she wouldn’t spill. He hoped she would be able to find the courage to tell him. He was going to get whoever hurt her so terribly.

            “Hae Mi… who attacked you?”

            Hae Mi looked down. She was waiting for this question. She had decided earlier that she would tell Eli the people who did it, but she didn’t want him to know that it was his most trusted friend.

            “Hae Mi…?”

            “It’s Eunbi, Eli.”

            Eli’s lips formed a straight line as he looked down at his folded hands. “I should’ve known.”

            “But…”

            Eli’s head snapped back up. “But what?”

            “… Kevin was there, too.”

            Eli’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He didn’t hear her right, did he? “Kevin? You must’ve been mistaken. Maybe it was someone who looked like him.”

            Hae Mi shook her head. She looked at Eli with tears in her eyes. “Eunbi hurt me, but Kevin told me I was useless and I was getting in the way of your and his friendship. He said… He said he didn’t want to see me around you ever again.”

            Eli shook his head as he stood up and walked over to the wall. He leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest. Did Kevin really say those things to Hae Mi?Eli wondered. He would never say such things. He knows how much I care for Hae Mi. He’s too nice to say such things, too. But then comes Eunbi and her negative influence. What if Eunbi is the one affecting Kevin instead of Hae Mi affecting me? Yes, that must be it.

            Eli suddenly flung his body around and slammed the side of his fist against the hospital door. Hae Mi jumped from the sudden action, but still didn’t bother Eli as he let his anger out. “Why would Kevin hang around Eunbi?! He knows she’s trouble!”

            “Eli, I heard rumors before the accident around school…”

            Eli turned to Hae Mi again. “What kind?”

            “Dating… rumors.”

            That set Eli off. He pulled his phone out and began to shakily dial Kevin’s number when the door to the room opened. Doctor Kang came in. “What happened? Is something wrong?”

            Hae Mi sighed and shook her head. “Eli’s just mad at a friend right now.”

            Doctor Kang looked over at Eli. He was fuming and just staring at his phone with anger in his eyes. He chuckled at Eli before going over to Hae Mi. “From your tests, you’re doing just fine now, Hae Mi. You may leave today. Have Eli come back and get painkillers if you feel any, and I’ll give them to him right away. Okay, Hae Mi?”

            Hae Mi nodded with a bright smile on her face. “Thank you, Doctor Kang. Bye.”

            “Good bye, Hae Mi. Stay safe.” With that, Doctor Kang left the room.

            Hae Mi looked over at Eli. “Eli.”

            Eli was thinking about what he should do to Kevin for not telling him about Eunbi when he heard Hae Mi calling out for him. All the anger disappeared in him as he turned around to find Hae Mi in the happiest state he’d ever seen her in. It made him smile along with her. “What?” he asked.

            “Didn’t you just hear?” Hae Mi giggled. The feeling wasn’t unfamiliar, but she still wasn’t fully fond of it. Ever since Eli came into her life, she was smiling and laughing more, but it didn’t last very long. Still, she remembered the feeling and how much happiness it brought her. “Doctor Kang said I can go home today.”

            Eli forgot all about the Kevin ordeal long enough to go over and hug Hae Mi. “That means you can go home!”

            Eli suddenly pulled back from Hae Mi. He held her face in his hands in a frenzy. “No, you can come to my house. My parents still aren’t back from visiting my sisters in America.”

            Hae Mi smiled gently. “Eli, it’s okay. I’ll tell you if anything happens.”

            “You promise?”

            Hae Mi leaned into Eli’s hands and nodded. She closed her eyes and enjoyed their time together.

Her happiness didn’t last. The moment she saw her house she started to wonder if she made the right decision to come back.

            Eli leaned back in his seat and looked at Hae Mi. A pout automatically appeared on his face. “Hae Mi-yah…”

            Hae Mi looked out her window, completely avoiding Eli’s eyes. She didn’t feel like talking—especially to Eli. “Leave me alone.”

            “Why, Faline?”

            Hae Mi rested her head on the window and let a tear slip.

            Eli reached over and gripped her wrist gently. “Why did you let me bring you back here if you didn’t want to see them?”

            “E-Eli… You think I’m a burden. You don’t care.”

            Eli was genuinely taken aback. Of course he cared! Hae Mi was the most important girl in his life at the moment. In fact, she’s the most important girl to him, ever. Eli decided to let go of Hae Mi. He put both of his hands back on the steering wheel before igniting the engine. Hae Mi jerked her head over to Eli. Eli saw the tears on her cheeks and put the gear shift in reverse. He wasn’t going to let Hae Mi go into her parent’s house alone, especially since she was disabled.

            “Eli, what are you doing?!” Hae Mi screeched as Eli jammed his foot into the gas. The car flew forward. When Eli knew they were far enough away from Hae Mi’s house, he breathed again and slowed the car down. Then he answered Hae Mi’s question with courage: “Your parents aren’t going to ruin your life by beating on you, got it? I’m here to protect you and make sure you stay safe and are loved by everyone around you. You deserve nothing less.”

            Hae Mi swallowed excess saliva in before leaning on the window again. She watched the scenery pass and let Eli’s words replay in her mind.

By the time Eli parked in the driveway, Hae Mi’s door was already wide open. Eli hurried to get out and help her, for Hae Mi was struggling to stand with her crutches. Eli chuckled and positioned the crutches in the right spot. “Silly Faline. You still need help. Here, let me—”

            “No, I don’t want any help. I can do it myself.”

            Eli blinked. “Come on, let me help.”

            “No!”

            Eli jumped back in surprise. Hae Mi had never spoken to him in such a tone, nor had he heard her speak to anyone else like that. It was a complete mystery to him. “Hae Mi-yah, what’s wrong?”

            Hae Mi huffed and glared at Eli. “I don’t know, okay? First off, I liked it better when you called me Hae Mi. Second, I could’ve taken care of myself at home. Third, I don’t feel very good. Is that a good enough answer for you?” Hae Mi started for the house.

            Eli pursed his lips. Something in his chest snapped, and he felt a lump in his throat. Did he hurt Hae Mi? He never meant to, really. He just thought she needed help. Nonetheless, Eli went ahead of her to open the door for her.

            Hae Mi rushed in and sat on the couch. She let her arm and leg rest. She was originally supposed to be in a wheelchair, but she didn’t want to be pushed around by somebody all day, feeling helpless. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway; she still felt helpless.

            Eli knelt down in front of her. He found it hard to talk because of the lump that still dominated his vocal chords. “H-Hae Mi, would you like anything?” he squeaked. He looked between both of Hae Mi’s eyes.

            “Go buy a gun and I’ll be happy.”

            Eli shook his head, disappointed in Hae Mi. She was thinking about suicide again. Still, he walked to the old bedroom that harbored children’s toys. He got the toy he wanted and went to the restroom. After filling it up with water, he went back to Hae Mi and handed her the water gun. “There.”

            Hae Mi held it in her hand. It was black like a real gun, and was the same size. The only difference was that it shot water instead of bullets. She wondered what it’d be like if she were holding a real gun. A shiver went down her spine.

            “Well?” Eli asked. “Go ahead and shoot yourself.”

            Hae Mi shook her head. “N-no… It’s not the real thing.”

            Eli pursed his lips, but grabbed her hand with the gun in it. He aimed it straight at her face. With one swift motion, the trigger was pulled and Hae Mi was drenched in water. All of her anger drained out of her as Eli removed the gun from her hand. He threw it on the floor behind him and pulled her in for a comforting hug, not caring about getting wet. Hae Mi let her guard down and poured her heart out onto his shirt. It felt good to have Eli there.

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A/N: I'm SO sorry for not updating T^T I've been so busy lately, it's not even funny ._.

Well, I'll leave you to your wondering about Eli and Hae Mi and what's going to happen next :3 Comment please~ ^^

P.S. I'm thinking about a couple name for them. HaEli, maybe? :3