I pressed the button on the lift to go to Woohyun’s floor and sighed deeply. What was I even doing here? I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t have an effect on him. Woohyun was the most stubborn boy I knew – if he didn’t want to talk to Sunggyu, then I knew he definitely didn’t want to listen to me. But what could I do? I didn’t want him to be in pain just because he was being irrational and not thinking straight. I had to try.

“Excuse me,” I bowed to the nurse. “Could you please tell me where room 2873 is? I’m here to visit Woohyun.”
“Ah, 2873? Down the hallway and turn left.” She replied, eyeing me uneasily.
“Thank you,” I bowed.
“There’s no use,” she called after me pityingly. “He won’t listen to anyone.”
I walked back. “I’m just here to try. If not, I’ll be leaving quickly.”
She a tray of tablets toward me. “He is the most stubborn handsome boy I have ever seen. Please try hard, okay? I hate to see him in pain. He’s even refusing any doctors or nurses. Silly boy,” she said, shaking her head.

I bit my lip as I knocked gently on his door. No answer.
I knocked a little harder.
I heard a frustrated groan and something being slammed down on the floor. “Do you not understand what ‘leave me alone’ means? Should I come out there and show you what it means?! LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYONE!” He screamed.
I gulped and bit my lip. I was scared. I had never heard him lose his cool like this before.
“Woohyun,” I said into the door crack. I tried moving the handle, but it didn’t budge – he must’ve locked it. “Woohyun, it’s me.”
I paused and waited for an answer.
“Woohyun, it’s Hana. Please let me in.” I said again, this time a little louder. “I have your medicine.”
There was no reply. I was tempted to turn and just run away rather than face an angry Woohyun but I willed myself to stay.
It seemed like an eternity before I could hear some noise from the room. The doorknob turned and it creaked open.

Woohyun was standing in front me of, leaning heavily on crutches. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from gasping. My knees felt weak. There were purple bruises all over his face, and his lip was taped up and bloody. He had a brace around his neck and he breathed with a certain difficulty. His leg was wrapped up in a bulky cast and I could see he struggled when he walked. He gave me a weary look as I took in his features. Still, all bloodied up, he looked really good.

“See?” I scolded him as I helped him back onto his bed. “Just because you locked the door, you have to get off your bed and be in pain to open the door for me.”
He looked up at me with sad eyes. I sighed.
“Sorry, Woohyun. Does it hurt a lot?”

He lay back down on his bed and turned his head away from me. “Go away, Hana. I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“See you like what?” I asked absent mindedly as I poured him a cup of water and placed the tablets on his bedside table.

He sighed. “What do you want, Hana? Why are you here?”
“I want you to take your medicine! Why are you being like this, Woohyun? Do you want all of us to go crazy?”
He ignored me.
“Please,” I pleaded. “Don’t be so stubborn.”
“Why?” He turned to look at me. “I can’t even walk, or play football for at least a year. My career is ruined. My dream is ruined. What’s the point? I just want to die. Medicine won’t be any help right now. It won’t make me miraculously walk tomorrow.”
This fired me up. Why was he being a little brat?
“Excuse me?” I raised my voice slightly. “Your career is ruined? Your dream is ruined?” I eyed him. “Really? Don’t you think you’re being a little too dramatic? Are you sure you can’t play football for a year? Or is it for the rest of your life?”
He just looked at me again with pitiful eyes. I bit my lip. I may have been a little harsh.
I sighed and sat down. “Woohyun-ah, you have to be strong. Take your medicine and get better quickly so you can play faster. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t impress those college scouts – there are many other different colleges out there. And don’t worry that you can’t play in the final, the boys don’t blame you.”
I paused again. “They want you to get better quickly and not mope around and not getting better. Sunggyu will be a great captain while you’re gone.”
“I – I, well, I can’t – “ He started talking but couldn’t find the right words to say.
“What is it?” I asked him gently.
“Nothing.” He tried to cross his arms again but winced in pain. “I, well, nothing. I just feel so useless right now. Those two guys are fine and here I am, lying in hospital like a vegetable. I’m so weak, Hana.” He sighed.
 “Did you see it? Was it really bad?” He asked timidly.
I nodded and bit my lip. Just thinking about it wanted to make me cry. “It was really bad. I thought you – you almost died. Those players were – “ I imitated a large person.
He cracked half a smile. And I felt my heart flop again.
But I could feel tears stinging at my eyes and I had to blink rapidly to make them go away. No way was I crying here when the situation was already bad.
I could feel that he sensed my tears.
“I’m sorry, Hana – for scaring you and stuff.” He said in a small voice.
I sniffled and smiled a bit. I reached over and swatted his head.
“Sorry for what? Sorry for scaring me? Aish, Nam Woohyun, you’re so silly. You shouldn’t be sorry, no way. It wasn’t your fault at all. And didn’t I say I would hit you if you said sorry to me again?” I formed a fist with my hand menacingly.
He looked at me and pouted. “Don’t hit me! I’m sorry I couldn’t win the match for you. I really wanted to, I did.”
I dropped my fist and smiled. Then we were silent for a bit.

“I know how you can make it up to me,” I said suddenly, an idea coming into my head.
“How?!?” He sat up eagerly on his bed and immediately cringed, clutching his ribs in pain.
I narrowed my eyes. “You deserve it, Nam Woohyun, for not taking your medicine,” I said.
He gaped at me. “Hey! You’re so mean! I thought you were here to make me feel better.” He pouted again.
“You can take this,” I shoved the cup of pills toward him, “to make it up to me. Then we’re even.”
This time he narrowed his eyes at me. “Aw, what? Do I have to?” He whined and nagged like a little kid.
I nodded, not budging.
He took the glass of water I handed him and gulped them all down, making a funny face and glaring at me as he did so. I laughed and put the glass away.
“You better not tell Sunggyu that I let you in the room,” he said finally. “He’ll be angry at me for not listening to him.”
I shook my head. “I won’t,” I said, already making up my mind that I would call him on the bus home. “Plus, it’s only for your own good! I won’t feel better by taking those tablets.”

“Do you want some? I could ask the nurse,” Woohyun replied cheekily, winking.
My eyebrows shot up.“No way! I don’t take drugs!”
“Aish, Hana, I’m just joking, calm down,” he said, smiling.
I felt my face burn red. “I knew that,” I snapped back, swatting his hand away which was trying to pinch my cheeks.
“Owww,” he whined. “Stop hitting me! You’ll make me transfer to intensive care at this rate.”

I narrowed my eyes and pretended to crack my knuckles. “My brother taught me how to box, you know.”
Woohyun looked playful. “It’s on! When I get better, I’ll beat you up!”
“I meant, boxing on the Wii. Not real life boxing. Omo! Would you really hit a girl?!”
“No,” he answered hastily. “I wouldn’t! No way. Stop asking me questions. My head hurts,” he pretended, stretching.
“Owww,” he groaned dramatically.
I yawned. “Whatever, Woohyun.”
But secretly my heart panged. Was he hurting really bad right now?

I ended up staying at the hospital until 9pm that night because I felt bad that Woohyun had no visitors, and I couldn’t leave him alone because he’d be so lonely. I watched him whine and complain about the hospital dinner, and then begging me to go down to the cafeteria to buy him a slice of chocolate cake.  I initially refused, but seeing him pout and make cute eyes at me made me feel bad for saying no. He was crippled, after all.

After dinner, we talked about anything and everything – it was almost like old times again. It didn’t matter if we talked about something serious like Newton and his laws of motion, or something silly like 2NE1’s best song and having a kiddish argument over it..

The tablets he had taken had made him very sleepy, so he had dozed off in the middle of the conversation we were having about if Pepsi or Coke was better. It was funny. I watched Woohyun as he slept peacefully, taking in his features. Who knew, if it wasn’t for the partner project, that there was such a stubborn person inside? A person who cared a lot about things that he really had no control over? He was such a big baby, always giving in to lollies and promises easily. I hoped he would be fine now. I was glad that he listened to me and opened the door for me, but I really wasn’t sure how or why. I didn’t really think much into it, either. All that mattered was he wasn’t in pain or being stubborn and refusing treatment.

“Eh? Is the door open now?” I heard a voice say from behind me. “Did the staff find the ket?”
I was half dozing off, and I jumped up from my seat in shock. In front of me was a woman dressed in a black business suit and holding a brief case. I guessed this was Woohyun’s mother.
I bowed deeply. “Hi ma’am. My name is Kim Hana. I’m a friend of Woohyun’s.”
“Ah, really? That’s nice,” she commented, placing her case down and sitting down in the seat I had just vacated. “Has he been asleep for long? Did that silly boy open the door? Has he taken his medicine?”
“He’s been asleep since about 7, ma’am. I forced him to take his tablets, don’t worry. He’s due for his second dose in about ten minutes, I’ll go get the nurse soon.”
“Did he open the door for you?” She asked curiously, looking at me.
I nodded awkwardly. “Yes ma’am.”
“Really?” She looked back and forth between us. “And you’re just his friend?”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Are you…more than friends? Girlfriend?”
I shook my head and laughed. “No, we’re just friends, really.”
“Huh.” She paused, her teeth. “He wouldn’t even open it for me or Sunggyu.”
“Really?” She nodded.

I mean, Sunggyu I knew about but even his mother? Wow.

There was an awkward silence between us as his mother bustled around his bed, fixing his sheets and making sure the blanket covered him fully.
“Mom?” Woohyun asked groggily, waking up.
“Yes, son, it’s me.” She said lovingly.
“Mommy, it hurts,” he whispered. “My leg hurts so much.”
He rolled over and groaned.
“I know son. It’ll be okay. I’ll go get some medicine, okay? You go back to sleep.”
He nodded like a baby and fell back asleep.
“I’ll go,” I whispered, looking at her. She nodded gratefully and sat back down, soothing her son’s forehead.