The next few days, everything is quiet. Ra Eun no longer comes to look for Won Sik. He's had time to distract himself with work. Won Sik still can't sleep at night. His eyes have bags under them, and he doesn't even eat anymore. Sometimes, he would take a stretch break and look away from his laptop. When he does, Ra Eun pops into his mind especially that night when she stormed out.

“Was I too harsh,” he asks himself. “Should I apologize?”

But he pushes everything away and works again to distract himself.

After work, he locks the store and walks to his car only to see Ra Eun waiting for him.

“Hi,” she greets him with a smile.

“Hello,” he greets back with no expression, but he is surprised to see her.

“I came to say I'm sorry,” she says. “I went overboard the other day.”

“It's okay,” he answers.

He's actually flustered, but he's hiding that fact. No one has ever apologized to him before except for the guys. This is something new for him.

“I'm sorry too,” he continues. “My words were harsh, but they were the truth. I don't have the heart to be dating anyone right now.”

“I understand.”

His phone rings, so he picks it up.

“Mom,” he says into the phone.

“Hello,” his mom asks. “Who's this?”

“Mom, it's me. Won Sik.”

He can hear music and chattering in the background.

“Won Sik,” she laughs hysterically. “Sorry. I dialed the wrong number.”

“Mom.”

She hangs up.

She sounds drunk to him.

Won Sik quickly unlocks his car and hops in.

“Is something wrong,” Ra Eun asks.

“I have to go,” he says. He slams the door shut and drives off.

Won Sik speeds through the night to go to his mother's house. When he arrives, he pounds on the door. She isn't opening, so he grabs the extra key from under the mat and unlocks the door himself. Won Sik forces himself in, but he sees an empty house.

“Mom,” he calls. She obviously isn’t there.

He turns around to walk out of the house, but the door opens. His mom walks in, and he sighs in relief.

“What are you doing here,” his mom asks. She closes the door and takes of her shoes.

“Mom, I was worried. You just cut me off. What were you doing?”

“I was just having fun with friends. You didn't have to come all the way here.” She walks in and quickly heads for the couch.

“I was worried.”

“What for? I can still take care of myself. You just worry about yourself.” She leans on the couch and turns her head away from Won Sik.

“Mom, I don't think it's a good idea for you to keep going out like this.”

“I'm just having fun.”

“It's dangerous out there.”

“I can take care of myself. It's not your job to worry about me.”

“Why not? I'm your son.”

“You're my mistake, and it'll always be that way.”

Those words ring in his mind. That's what he told Ra Eun. As much as he dislikes it, he's just like his mom.

“Mom,” he pauses. He's about to cry, so he's gathering up his courage not to cry. “I,” he pauses to gather more courage. “I'm leaving.”

He rushes out of the house. Tears start streaming down his eyes. He quickly walks to his car and climbs in before he drives into the night. Won Sik is crying, he tries to stop himself, but the more he tries to stop, the more he cries. He doesn't even know how he managed to drive home safely, but he did. When he entered his house, it is already three in the morning. His eyes are puffy and red from crying. Won Sik shuts his front door and immediately heads to his bedroom. He locks the door, and takes off his coat. Won Sik throws the coat on the ground, and lies in bed. He buries his head into his pillow.

“You're worthless,” the voice in his head says. “Just die. Why are you even alive?”

The next day, he does not go to work. He doesn't move an inch from his bed. He doesn't inform anyone about it, so when the guys go to the store and it's still locked, they start to wonder what happened to Won Sik.

The next day, Won Sik is still locked in his room. He hasn't move an inch. His eyes aren't puffy and red anymore, but they are puffy from being tired. He feels like he doesn't have any energy, but the voice in his head is still strong. He's lying in bed, and he suddenly hears a pound coming from the front door.

“Won Sik,” Sung Yeol screams. He pounds on the door. “Won Sik! Are you in there?”

“What if he hurt himself,” Jin Young asks.

Dae Hyun pounds on the door. “Open the door,” he shouts.

“Guys,” Dong Jun starts. “Maybe he has an extra key somewhere around here.”

They look around, and finally, Sung Yeol finds a spare key in the flower pot in the corner. He puts the key into the keyhole and twists the door open. Everyone floods into the place and starts looking for Won Sik.

“Won Sik,” they shout. “Are you here?”

Dae Hyun twists the knob for Won Sik's bedroom, but can't go in since Won Sik locked it.

“Guys I think he's in here,” Dae Hyun says. “Won Sik!” He knocks on the door. “Open the door!”

Everyone floods to the door and starts to pound on it.

Won Sik is still lying in bed. He can hear them, he knows that they're here, but he doesn't have the energy to tell them to go away.

“Won Sik,” Sung Yeol shouts.

“You haven't harmed yourself yet have you,” Dong Jun asks concerned.

Actually he has. He's harmed himself when he started to skip meals. When he couldn't fall asleep at night. He's been harming himself this whole time.

“Guys, he won't open the door,” Dong Jun says.

“Won Sik,” Sung Yeol says calmly. “We know you're in there. We know you're hurt. Why don't you come out, and we can talk this through.”

“Go,” Won Sik says weakly.

They quiet down to listen to him.

“Don't bother to look for me. I'm just a useless person,” Won Sik continues.

“Please,” Jin Young pleads. “We're so worried.”

Won Sik buries his face into the pillow.

“This isn't working,” Dae Hyun says.

“We're going to have to call someone else to come,” Dong Jun adds.

“Thank you for coming,” Sung Yeol says.

“What’s wrong,” Ra Eun asks.

They are all in Won Sik’s living room including Jin Hee. She and Ra Eun were together when Dae Hyun called.

“Won Sik locked himself in his room,” Jin Young replies. “He won’t let himself out, and he won’t let us in.”

“Why? Is something wrong,” Ra Eun asks.

“We don’t know what happened,” Dae Hyun replies. “But he hasn’t come to work for two days already.”

“Two days,” Ra Eun asks. “Two days ago, he quickly drove off somewhere after work. I remember I was talking to him, and then he received a phone call.”

“Do you know who called him,” Sung Yeol asks.

“I think it was his mom.”

“He went to visit his mom then,” Dong Jun says.

Jin Hee is standing next to him.

“Something must’ve happened,” Jin Young suspects.

Won Sik is listening to them, and is reminded of his mother’s words. He covers his ears with the pillows.

“Is there something going on with him and his mom,” Ra Eun asks.

“Since it’s already to this point,” Sung Yeol says. “I’ll tell you.”

Sung Yeol tells Ra Eun everything that has happened to Won Sik.

“That’s just awful,” Ra Eun frowns.

“What else can he do when she’s his mother,” Sung Yeol asks.

“Why don’t you go and talk to him,” Dae Hyun suggests. “Maybe he’ll listen to you.”

“We’re not on very good terms either,” Ra Eun says. “But of course I’ll try.” She walks to his door and twists the knob, but it’s still locked. “Won Sik,” she softly calls for him. “It’s me. Ra Eun. Will you let me in?”

But he isn’t moving an inch.

“Won Sik, we’re all worried for you,” Ra Eun says. “Please come out. Let’s talk. We’ll think of a way to help you.”

Won Sik gathers all his strength to sit up. He slides out of bed and makes his way to the door. Won Sik unlocks it and opens the door  

Everyone is glad to see him, but they’re also sad to see him so pale and frail.

“Please leave,” Won Sik says. He doesn’t even look at them in the eyes. He’s staring at the ground. “I want to be alone.”

“We won’t leave,” Sung Yeol says. “We’re going to stay with you.”

“Why do you want to stay with a person like me,” Won Sik asks. “I’m a mistake. No one likes mistakes.”

“That’s not true,” Ra Eun defends back. “Who says you are a mistake? No one is a mistake.”

“How do you know,” Won Sik asks. He lifts his head and glares at Ra Eun. “Who are you to come here and judge me? What do you know about me to make that assumption?”

“No,” Jin Young defends Ra Eun. “She is right. You’re not a mistake.”

“She may have said you are a mistake, but you’re not,” Dae Hyun says.

Everyone is desperate to make Won Sik feel better about himself.

“You’re the best friend we could ever ask for,” Sung Yeol says.

“Everyone cares so much about you,” Ra Eun says. She slowly approaches him and holds his hand. “For the sake of your friends and yourself, will you please let us help you?”

“Leave,” Won Sik says stern. “Go away!” He yanks his arm out of her grip making her stumble back. “Everyone,” he says quietly. “Please leave.” He looks at his feet.

“Won Sik,” Sung Yeol says sadly.

“Do you know how it feels to have the person you love the most talk down to you,” Won Sik asks. “Do you know the feeling of not being loved by the person you love the most?” His shoulders tremble, and he starts crying. “It hurts so much. You feel like you’re going to die.” Won Sik lifts his head and looks at the guys. “I’ve held on because of you guys, but I can’t hold on any longer. I feel like my insides are eating me alive.” He breathes. “I can’t take this anymore.” His head hangs again. “I want to leave everything behind,” he cries. Won Sik drops to his knees.

Everyone jumps at his action.

Won Sik falls down and lies on the ground.

“Won Sik,” they scream.

Ra Eun runs to his side and shakes him.

“Are you okay,” she asks terrified.

Sung Yeol runs over, and everyone else does.

“Won Sik,” Sung Yeol screams. “Won Sik!” He shakes Won Sik, but Won Sik doesn’t budge. “Call for an ambulance,” Sung Yeol says. “Now!”

Dae Hyun pulls out his phone and calls.

At the hospital, Won Sik is being treated while everyone is waiting for him outside the room. Dong Jun, Jin Hee, and Ra Eun are sitting on the bench. Sung Yeol and Dae Hyun are pacing around the hall. Jin Young is standing beside Dong Jun crying.

“Why are you crying,” Dong Jun asks him. He stands up.

“What if something happens to Won Sik,” Jin Young cries. “I’m scared that he might leave us.”

“He won’t leave us,” Sung Yeol assures Jin Young. “Won Sik is strong. He’ll fight through this.”

The doctor comes out, so everyone rushes to him.

“How is he doctor,” Sung Yeol asks.

“We gave him some medication, and we’re giving him a bag of water. He’s asleep right now, but if you brought him in day later, we could’ve had a problem,” the doctor says.

“So what’s wrong with him,” Dae Hyun asks. “Why did he faint?”

“He was dehydrated. He hasn’t been eating well has he? His nutrients are very low. If he keeps this up, he’ll be leaving really soon.”

Jin Young holds back his tear after hearing that. Dae Hyun hugs him.

“Plus,” the doctor continues. “There is a high chance that he has depression. These symptoms often appear in patients who have depression.”

The guys aren’t surprise, but they do feel bad that they didn’t notice before. They’ve let Won Sik suffer by himself.

“From my knowledge,” Sung Yeol says. “Depression is curable.”

“Correct,” the doctor replies. “Although there is a high chance that his depression will be cured, there is also a slight chance that it won’t be cured.”

“What can we do to help,” Ra Eun asks.

“You must be very careful. One wrong move or word, and it’ll end everything for him. One right move or word, and he’ll be better. He’s on the border line right now.”

“What must we do,” Dae Hyun asks.

“What will help him the most is if he goes to therapy and take the medication that we prescribe to him. Friends and family can help by trying to be understanding of him. I know it's hard since you're not going through what he's going through, but saying things like, 'I'll try to understand you the best that I can even though I don't know how you feel.' And remind him that you'll always be there for him from the beginning to the very end.”

They nod their head.

“Will you be prescribing him medication then,” Ra Eun asks.

“Yes,” the doctor replies.

“And the therapy,” Sung Yeol asks.

“We’ll have him take a survey. From what he says, we’ll give him only the best therapy that match him,” the doctor replies.

“Thank you, doctor,” Dae Hyun says. “May we go see him.”

“Go ahead.”

The doctor leaves, and they enter the room.

Won Sik is lying on the hospital bed. A long skinny tube is hooked on his arm letting the water flow inside him. He still looks so pale and frail.

Jin Young starts to cry again seeing him in the situation.

“I feel awful,” Sung Yeol says. “I didn’t see that he was hurting. I’m an awful friend.”

“No,” Dae Hyun says. “You did nothing wrong.”

“As the oldest, I’m the one who should be taking care of you, yet I’ve let you down two times already. I made him take the blame for me with the plagiarism, and now he’s hurt. I can’t even do anything about it.”

“No,” Dae Hyun keeps telling him. “If you have this attitude, Won Sik will never recover. We have to be strong for him. If we break down, he’s going to break down too, so Jin Young, try to be positive.”

Jin Young wipes his tears away and nods his head.

“We’ll stay with him until he wakes up,” Dae Hyun says.

Everyone agrees.

Night falls and Won Sik still hasn’t wake up yet. Everyone is tired. They’re sitting around with silence eating them.

The door opens, and the doctor walks in.

“Visiting hours is almost over,” the doctor informs them. “Only one person can stay here.”

“Sung Yeol you stay,” Dae Hyun says. “We’ll take turns.”

“Okay,” Sung Yeol replies. “I’ll call if anything happens.”

They leave.

It’s been two days, and Won Sik is still asleep. The guys always come visit Won Sik. They barely open the shop anymore. They want to see Won Sik recover first. Ra Eun and Jin Hee pops in from time to time to visit him, and Ra Eun usually stays longer than Jin Hee does.

That night, Ra Eun volunteers herself to stay with Won Sik. Everyone agrees and heads home. They have been so tired and worried that Ra Eun suggested they go home.

When morning comes, it’ll be the third day since Won Sik has been admitted to the hospital.

The time right now is midnight. Ra Eun is in the bathroom filling a bowl with warm water. When the bowl is filled, she goes set the bowl on the table next to Won Sik’s bed. Then, she goes back to the bathroom and grabs a washcloth from inside the cabinet and comes out to him again. Ra Eun dips the cloth into the bowl of water until it’s soaked. She lifts the cloth up and rings the excess water back into the bowl. Then, Ra Eun folds the cloth into a long rectangle. She turns to face Won Sik and gently grabs his hand. Ra Eun slowly and gently wipes his arm. She does both of them, and also wipes his face. After she is done. She goes to the bathroom to pour the water out and hangs the cloth to dry on the rack before she comes sit on the chair beside the bed. Ra Eun rests her chin on her palm and stares at him sleeping. He’s still so pale, and he’s super skinny.

“I hope you get better soon,” Ra Eun says quietly.

Pretty soon, Ra Eun lies her head on the bed next to his arm and falls asleep.

Won Sik’s eyes slowly. He looks around the room, but everything is blurry, so he blinks his eyes again before he looks around.

“Why am I in the hospital,” he asks himself.

He tries to changes his position.

Ra Eun feels his movement, so she wakes up. She lifts her head, and when she sees that he is awake, she gasps.

“You’re finally up,” she says surprised.

He looks at her with his drowsy eyes.

“I’ll go tell the nurse,” she continues. Ra Eun quickly stands up and walks out of the room. She informs the nurse about Won Sik, and they come rushing in. They check to see if everything is okay with him, and when they confirm that everything is fine, they tell Won Sik and Ra Eun that the doctor will be here soon.

“Thank you,” Ra Eun replies.

The nurses walk out of the room and closes the door.

Ra Eun sits on the chair next to the bed and faces Won Sik.

“How are you feeling,” she asks him.

“Tired,” he replies in his raspy voice.

“I’m sure you are. For now, just rest. You’ve worked hard.”

“What happened,” he asks. “Why am I here?”

“You fainted,” she tells him softly, ”from dehydration, so we rushed you to the hospital.”

“Where is everyone else?”

“At home. Visiting hours are over. Only one of us could stay here with you.”

“How are the guys?”

“They’re very worried about you. Everyone is.” Silence eat them. “You remember what happened right? Before you fainted.”

He nods his head.

Silence eats them again.

Soon, the doctor comes. He checks up on Won Sik and asks him questions like: how are you feeling? Do you remember anything?

Won Sik answers in short words. His voice is still raspy.

“We’ll keep you here until your condition is better,” the doctor says. “We’ll also be prescribing you medication. I also want you to go into therapy, but that’s only if you’re willing to go.”

“Why would I want to go to therapy,” Won Sik asks.

“It’ll make your condition better.”

“I don’t know if I want to go.”

“Why not,” Ra Eun asks. “It’ll make you feel better.”

“It’s understandable that you’re not sure. Most patients have the same answer as you. I’ll give you a couple of days to think about it. When you have an answer, please tell me. For now, we’ll be taking care of you. If you need anything, please inform us.”

Won Sik doesn’t say anything.

The doctor walks out of the room, and Ra Eun walks after him.

“Doctor,” Ra Eun says.

He stops and turns around. “Yes?”

“Will you still be giving him medication,” Ra Eun asks.

“Yes. He’s under our vision, so we must continue giving him medication.”

“Okay. Is it okay for him to eat right now?”

“He just woke up, so I don’t recommend giving him food.”

“But he needs to eat. It’s been days.”

“I understand. I’ll tell the cooks to bring him soup. That’s the only food he can eat right now. Starting tomorrow, he can start eating whole foods.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

Ra Eun heads back to the room and sits on the chair again.

Won Sik is looking at the window which is the opposite of where Ra Eun is.

She wants to speak to him, but she doesn’t know what to say. If she asks him if he’s hungry, he’s just going to say no.

Soon, there is a knock on the door. A lady walks in and hands the soup over to Ra Eun.

“Thank you,” Ra Eun says with a smile.

The lady walks out and closes the door. Ra Eun sets the soup on the table next to Won Sik’s bed, and she sits down. Ra Eun scoops the soup with the spoon and blows it until it warms up.

“Won Sik,” she says softly.

“I’m not hungry,” he says blunt.

“But you have to eat.”

“I don’t want it.”

He never turns his head to face her to know that she has food. He could smell the soup himself.

“At least have one spoonful,” she says.

“Take it away,” he says bluntly.

She puts the spoon back into the dish.

“You know,” she starts. Ra Eun puts her hands on her lap. “Everyone was worried when you fainted, and they’re still worried about you.” Her head hangs. “I'm so thankful that you're awake again, but when you first fainted, I was so scared.” Her voice cracks. “I thought something bad was going to happen to you.” She pauses. “If you don't help yourself, something bad is going to happen to you. Jin Young, that child, he was crying when we brought you to the hospital.” She takes a deep breath and sighs. “I know the road looks long and dangerous right now, but if we take baby steps together, we can pass this road and go to another road.” A tear escapes her eye. “And you already took a baby step. You took one when you were sleeping. You've received the rest that you need. Now, you need energy. Will you eat to receive that energy?”

He turns his head to face her, and when he sees that she is crying, he is taken aback. No one has ever cried because of him before. He has never made anyone cry. It was always the opposite, yet there is Ra Eun. She is silently crying because of him.

This makes him feel something inside of him. Was it guilt?

“Everyone is very worried,” she cries. “They want you to recover.”

He watches her. Her shoulders are trembling. Her head is still hanging, and he could see the her tears falling down to her lap.

“Ra Eun,” he says quietly.

“Yeah,” she squeaks.

“Just one spoon.”

Ra Eun slowly lifts up her head, and stares at him with her teary eyes.

“Ahh,” he says.

Ra Eun wipes her tears and sniffles. She grabs the spoon and scoops the soup with the spoon and blows on it. After she cools it down, she carefully feeds him.

He swallows the soup.

She couldn't help but smile; however she is still upset.

“One more,” he says.

She is taken aback, but she definitely feeds him again.

“One more,” he says.

She feeds him again.

Little by little, she feeds all the soup to him, and her frown gradually becomes a smile.

“Sorry. You can't have anything else. The doctor says you can only drink soup,” Ra Eun says.

“Is there no water,” he asks.

“The cook didn't bring any.” She looks around and sees her water bottle. “Drink my water.” She hands him the pink bottle. “It's the only water we have.”

He accepts it and sips the water through the straw.

“Thank you,” he says.

She puts the bottle back on the table.

“Where is everyone else,” he asks.

“They're all at home. Only one of us could stay with you. Which reminds me, I should text them that you're awake.” She does. “If you're tired, you can go to sleep.”

He shakes his head, and turns his head to the window again.

“Then, I'll be here. You can talk to me if you're bored,” she suggests.

“I don't have anything to talk about.”

It's still dark outside. The time is four. It'll be morning soon.

They sit in silence. Pretty soon, Ra Eun has fallen asleep.

Won Sik turns his head to look at her. Her head is lying on the bed again.

“You're very interesting,” he tells her in his head. “You're the first person to ever cry because of me. You're the first to ever treat me this way.”

In a way, that makes his heart beat increase. Just thinking about when she cried makes him feel a certain way he couldn't explain.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Sorry I didn't update at all this week. I'm still in school, and it was midterm week for me. I had tests and projects to do, but now that I'm on break, I hope I can update more often. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update! Thank you so much for the support even if it's silent support! ^^ Plus, I don't know much about depresion, so if I stated anything wrong, I'm sorry. I tried doing my research, and this IS fiction.