Ye Jin wiped at the sweat that had begun to bead on her forehead. The restaurant was full of customers; the usual lunchtime rush was upon them. Mr Kim was cooking as quickly as he could, the other part timer, Jackson, and her serving and cleaning as quickly as they could. “Table four’s order is ready!” Mr Kim called from the kitchen. Ye Jin rushed forward and grabbed the plates. “Here’s the order for table three.” She said, handing him a small slip of paper. He nodded and got to work on the next order.

Her and Jackson narrowly avoided a collision at the kitchen door. “Sorry! Sorry!” he called as he dumped a load of empty plates into the sink to get washed when they had a spare second. She served her customers, forcing a smile onto her face even though she was completely exhausted. She wiped away her sweat again before rushing up to the small counter by the door to take a payment.

Once the lunchtime rush finally quietened down, Mr Kim told Jackson to flip the sign and he made them all something to eat. Ye Jin played with her food, not feeling like eating. “Nuna.” Jackson said with his slightly accented Korean. “Are you ok? You're not eating.” He said noticing her still full plate. “I’m alright. Just a little tired.” She said with a smile. “If you’re not eating, can I have your dumplings?” he asked, a big smile on his face. Mr Kim rapped his knuckles with his chopsticks. Jackson cried out from the sudden attack. “Why?” he whined.

Mr Kim shook his head at him before turning to Ye Jin, leaving Jackson to pout and eat his rice. “You should eat. You’ve been running about here all morning; you need to eat something.” He said, his tone that of a concerned father. She gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m ok, uncle. Here you go, Jackson.” She said as she slid her plate over to Jackson. He gave Mr Kim a wary look, waiting for another attack which never came so he quickly grabbed a dumpling, shoving the full thing into his mouth making Ye Jin and Mr Kim laugh. “What? I’m hungry.” He whined, his mouth still full of food.

Ye Jin shook her head at the younger boy’s actions. “I hate that you can eat so much without getting fat.” She complained as he stuffed another full dumpling into his mouth. “I have good metabolism.” He muttered. She stood up, her head spinning slightly. She grabbed the edge of the table to keep her balance. “Nuna!” Jackson said as he grabbed her arm to steady her. “Are you ok?” Mr Kim asked worriedly.

She shook her head to get rid of the dizziness, giving the both of them a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just got up too quickly. I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” She said as she carefully made her way to the bathroom, her head spinning and her vision blurring. She barely made it a few steps before she collapsed into a heap. Jackson and Mr Kim rushed to her side. Jackson dropped to his knees beside her, almost choking on his food as he shouted her name, shaking her shoulders as he tried to wake her. “I’ll call an ambulance.” Mr Kim said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Nuna! Wake up!” Jackson shouted as he shook her again.

He rested a hand against her forehead, surprised by how hot it was. “She has a fever!” he said worriedly as Mr Kim passed on the relevant information to the emergency services. They tried to cool her down as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. It felt like an eternity before they heard the familiar sound of sirens from outside. Mr Kim rushed forward to open the door for them. The paramedics rushed towards her, checking her vitals and asking for a detailed explanation of what had happened.

“We had closed up after lunch. She said she wasn’t hungry and when she got up to go to the bathroom she got dizzy, next thing we know she's on the ground.” Mr Kim said worriedly as he watched the paramedics lift her onto the stretcher. “How long has she been unconscious? Has she shown any other symptoms?” the paramedic asked as the other wheeled her out to the ambulance, shouting at the crowd of people that had gathered outside to get out of his way.

“She’s been unconscious for about fifteen minutes. She's been working a lot and she's been quite tired lately, but she hasn’t complained about anything else.” Mr Kim said as Jackson ran outside to help the other paramedic get her into the ambulance. “Does she have any family members who can meet us at the hospital?” Mr Kim shook her head, “No, but I’ll take responsibility for her.” he said. The paramedic nodded. “You can ride in the ambulance.” He said as he headed for the door.

Mr Kim quickly checked that everything had been turned off in the kitchen before locking up and heading into the ambulance where a panicked looking Jackson was already sitting. “She’s going to be alright, right?” he asked, one of her limp hands in his as the doors of the ambulance were slammed shut. “She’ll be fine.” Mr Kim said reassuringly as he patted the young man on the knee. He let out a heavy sigh as he looked down at her pale, sweaty face. An oxygen mask had been fitted over her nose and mouth, making her look even more ill.

The ambulance screamed through the busy streets, the sirens blaring as they rushed towards the hospital. When they finally arrived, the paramedics rushed her through the bright, white hallways, rattling off stats and information to the waiting doctor and nurses. One of the nurses stopped Mr Kim and Jackson, telling them that they would have to wait in the waiting room while the doctor completed his tests. Mr Kim could only nod as he watched the double doors swing shut in front of him. Jackson mumbled curses in Chinese beside him. “Why didn’t she saying something if she wasn’t feeling well?” he said, switching back to Korean as he paced back and forth in front of the door.

Mr Kim sighed as he took a seat in the waiting room. “You know how stubborn she is.” He said quietly. Ye Jin was never one to complain. Even when her parents had died and she had been left to raise her sister. Even when she had been forced to give up university to ensure she had enough money to pay the bills, she never complained. She always tried to remain positive. He could remember when she was studying for her exams in high school, she had gotten very ill and never mentioned it to anyone, not even her parents. She had quietly studied every night until after her exams, only then did she ever admit that she was ill. She had ended up being hospitalised for three days.

Almost an hour later, the doctor came and updated them on her condition. “It looks like she’s exhausted herself. Her body has just reached its limit. She’ll need to stay in the hospital for a couple of days until she gathers her strength. We’ve put her on an IV drip, she’ll need to be on it until tomorrow at least. The nurses have just moved her to the general ward on the third floor. She’s still unconscious, but you can go see her now if you'd like.” Mr Kim and Jackson thanked the doctor for his help and went to her room.

They both frowned as they looked at her. In the short time since they had last seen her, she had become more frail looking. They figured that it was because of the many wires and machines that were hooked up to her. They sat beside her, both of them complaining that she should have said something if she wasn’t feeling well. They stayed with her until the nurse told them that it would be best for them to leave and return at normal visiting hours as she needed to rest. They were a little concerned that she still hadn’t woken up, but the nurse assured them that it was nothing to worry about and that she just needed some rest. “Get well soon nuna.” Jackson said as he gently squeezed her hand before they both left the white, sterile room.