"Your wounds are healing nicely and there should be minimal scarring," said Dr. Park.  "Just be sure to keep your leg elevated as much as you can to reduce swelling.  The wrap on your arm can be removed tomorrow, but we'll need to make sure you do stretching exercises daily so the muscles aren't stiff.  Amina, please make sure to bring some muscle relaxer injections tomorrow, just in case."

"Yes sunbaenim," replied Amina.  Youngbae watched as she made a couple of notes Dr. Park had given her for tomorrow's session. He couldn't help but notice how attractive she looked when she was working.  He snapped back to reality when he heard his name called.

"Youngbae... Boram... it was nice seeing you two again," Dr. Park bowed.  "I will see you next week for our follow-up.  In the meantime, please let Amina know if you need anything."  She turned towards Amina.  "Please make sure to give them our contact information before you leave.  I must get going.  I have surgery scheduled for this afternoon."

Youngbae returned the bow.  "Kamsahamnida, I appreciate you coming out of your way to visit me."

Boram walked Dr. Park out towards the door while Amina gathered her equipment and supplies.  She proceeded to write down her cell phone number and Dr. Park's office number, along with directions for when to take the prescribed pain medication.

"So, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then?" asked Youngbae. Why do I have to sound so hopeful? he asked himself.  He'd have to change his tone next time.

"Actually, you'll probably see me later tonight.  I have to re-dress your wound again because there's so much drainage during the first couple of days.  If things go as planned, I should be able to reduce my visits to only once a day."

He nodded.

"Do you have a preference for when I should arrive for the visits?"

Youngbae apologetically replied, "You'll have to check with Boram hyung on my schedule.  To be honest, I don't know where I'm going half the time.  I just show up."

Amina nodded in understanding. "Alright, I'll check with him.  It was nice seeing you today... Youngbae... um, Taeyang?" Amina cringed at her mishap. Her smile and confidence wavered slightly.

"That's alright," he smiled reassuringly at her.  "You can call me Youngbae."

"Youngbae it is then," Amina nodded and smiled shyly in return. "Annyeong." And with that, the cutest, iest, girl he'd ever met walked out of his room. He laid back on his sheets and sighed - a grin covering his face.

Later that evening...

The boys gathered for dinner in Youngbae and Daesung's dormitory, catching up on the day's activities and discussing what they had planned for the upcoming Christmas.  They ordered too much carry-out from their favorite restaurant nearby and their dining table was filed with all sorts of food from bibimbap to japchae. 

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for Jiyong-hyung?" asked Daesung. 

"It's alright. He just texted me that he's going to be at the photo shoot for a few hours longer," replied Youngbae. "He'll eat before he gets back."

"And which photo shoot is this again?" asked Seunghyun.

"Some jewelry or fashion line promotion.  I'm not too sure, but it might be both."

"Well, let's not let the food get cold," replied Seungri as he dung into the first dish, much to the dismay of his elder band mates.

"Hyung, how much rice would you like?  Let me get it for you," asked Daesung.

Seunghyun replied pointedly, "Thank you, but it might taste better if Seungri got it for me."

At the mention of his name, Seungri dropped the food that was halfway to his mouth much to his chagrin.  "Mianhae... I didn't mean to be rude.  It's just that I haven't had anything to eat all day.  That radio show really the energy out of me that I lost my appetite at lunch."

"That bad, eh?" asked Youngbae.  "Did you do what I told you to do?  Stick to the points, steer clear of the gossip?"

"I heard him on the radio," replied Seunghyun.  "He did fine, but there were moments where he would let them get under his skin.  You could tell by the tone of his voice when it got softer... and it cracked once, I believe," he joked.

Seungri bit down a smile.

Daesung replied, "Don't get discouraged, Seungri.  I understand what you're going through right now.  It will get better, day by day. You just need to focus on other things right now."

"That's easy for you to say.  It seems like everyone has something to occupy themselves now that the tour is over, besides me.  I only have one track so far for my solo album, but I'm already asked to promote it so I can stay current." 

"That's not true," replied Youngbae. "I'm in the same boat as well, with my accident and all.  At least you're still doing promos... my solo activities are on hold until I can get physically better."

"Well at least you have a very hot distraction to keep you occupied," Seungri muttered deep in his bowl of rice.

"What was that?" asked Seunghyun. "I swear your table manners are worse today than they were five years ago."

"Admit it hyung," Seungri said towards Youngbae.  "Your nurse is a looker."

"She's not a nurse... she's a physician's assistant," replied Youngbae, dodging the subject. A feeling of protectiveness came over him.  He didn't want to discuss her in front of his band members, even if they had known each other for so long.

"Well, whatever she is, she's hot!" replied Seungri, excitement lighting his eyes for the first time that night.

"Yeah?" chimed in Daesung.

"I don't know," replied Youngbae curtly. "She's not my type."

And with that response, everyone but Youngbae ceased eating. Daesung's mouth hung open in a large "O", unbelieving what he just heard.  Seungri, with his mouth full of kimchi, stopped chewing; his mouth poised in a duck-face manner, his eyes nearly popping out at Youngbae's statement. Seunghyun, on the other hand, had both of his carefully trimmed dark eye-brows raised in disbelief, a slight grin on his face. 

"You have a type now?" asked Seunghyun.  "Are you sure? Based on your magazine interviews, it went from being a Western-type looking woman to now someone that 'just has a great smile'."

"Yah! What's wrong with having a great smile? You can tell a lot from someone's smile," Daesung replied defensively.

"For you - yes, because you've HAD a lot of 'smiles'. But Youngbae, here, wouldn't be able to tell one smile from the next, let alone know what type is his ideal type."

Where was Jiyong when you needed him?  thought Youngbae. Fortunately for him, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get that.... while you mull your answer over," Seunghyun mischievously added, as he stood up from his chair and made his way towards the door.

Having been there only a few hours ago, Amina felt ready for her meeting with Youngbae.  But when the door opened, nothing could have prepared her for the sight of Choi Seunghyun, a.k.a TOP.  He was gorgeous, tall, with piercing steely dark eyes the color of strong malt liquor. His face was long and made up of sharp angles, his cheekbones high.  His hair was coiffed and cropped short, as if he'd just finished portraying an army officer in a movie.  He was dressed in straight-leg, dark denim jeans with a black button down collar shirt with white bow-tie, under a matching bright pink letter sweater cardigan.  His lens-less, black horn-rimmed glasses were more for looks than functional.  He looked too dressed up for a casual night at home. 

"Aa-a-nnyeonghaseyo...," stuttered Amina as she quickly bowed and stated her name.  "I have an appointment with Youngbae."

Seunghyun found trouble with his own words and returned the bow.  Smiling, he looked anywhere but directly into her eyes.  "Sure, come on in."

Amina followed him into the apartment towards the kitchen area where the boys were dining.  "Youngbae-shi! Your appointment has arrived," announced Seunghyun.  He glanced knowingly at Youngbae over the top of Amina's head, his eyebrows dancing in delight.

Daesung and Seungri immediately stood up from their chairs and greeted Amina.  She returned their gestures and glanced at Youngbae, seated in his wheelchair.  He'd changed into a white sleeveless v-neck and black jogging sweats, with one leg rolled halfway up his right calf, exposing the bandages.  A black and white bandana was wrapped around his forehead.  He acknowledged her with a slight tilt of his head and she nodded in return. 

"Please join us for dinner noona," said Seungri.  He began to pull out the chair that was between him and Daesung. 

Daesung side-stepped to give way for Amina.  His incredible physique was shown in all its glory. He had on black skinny jeans and wore a matching black fitted shirt which outlined his abs underneath.   His face was small, his tan dark, and his nose had a slight hook on top.  He black hair was jagged cut and parted towards the side; his eyes were small and his tan skin was smooth.  He smiled expectantly at her.

"Oh, no I shouldn't.  I didn't mean to ruin your dinner.  I was told to be here at this time, but I can wait until you're finished before I start the examination." Amina clutched both of her hands in nervousness from all of the attention and started to back away towards the living area.

"It's alright, we just got started.  I don't mind eating afterwards," replied Youngbae as he attempted to wheel himself towards his room.  But his efforts were mute, since he only had the use of his right arm.  He watched her face for acknowledgement and saw resignation in her eyes.

She felt guilty that he was putting off his dinner for her, so she caved in.  "I might take awhile, so please eat.  I'll join you."

Seungri let out whoop of joy while a smiling Daesung gathered more plates and silverware. 

Amina thanked Seungri for the chair that he had pulled out for her.  She sat between him and Daesung, directly across from Youngbae.  She glanced in Youngbae’s direction and was surprised to see displeasure on his face.  She quickly looked away, confused.

Seunghyun returned to his spot at the head of the table, near Daesung and Youngbae.  Amina saw that he still had a ghost of a smile on his face.  She wished he would share whatever inside joke he was enjoying.  She looked at him cordially.

"Amina," began Seunghyun shyly, "thank you for joining us for dinner.  We rarely have any guests over.  We promise to be on our best behavior tonight, right Seungri?"

"Neh hyung," replied Seungri grumpily. Why are they always picking on me? thought Seungri.  Surely there must be something else to talk about...

A few moments of silence passed while everyone gathered their food and began eating.  Breaking the silence, Seungri chimed in.  "So what were we talking about earlier?"

Amina, too busy with her dinner, missed the death glare Youngbae gave to Seungri.  In return, Seungri gave him a wide-eyed innocent panda look.

"Amina, you'll be taking care of Youngbae for the next couple of weeks correct?" interrupted Daesung.

Youngbae silently thanked Daesung.  He owed him one.

"Yes, I'm assisting Dr. Park with the examinations until the injury can be cared for on its own."

"How long have you been with the hospital?"

"I've been with the hospital for almost six years now.  Dr. Park is also my god-mother, so she was able to pull some strings and assigned me to various duties here and there.  I've been really blessed to work under her guidance."

"Sorry for asking, but... what's your nationality?  You don't look fully Korean."

Amina laughed.  "It's okay.  I get that all the time.  My father is Korean, but my mother is half Thai, half Norwegian." 

"What do they do?"

"Umm... they own their own business.  I... don't get to visit them that much, you know - with my studies and all."  Amina hoped that was enough to appease Daesung's curiosity.

"Here noona, you must try this," interrupted Seungri as he held out a slice of marinated beef with his chopsticks and swung it so close to her face that it almost hit her in the process.  His bold actions shocked and appalled the other band members.  They stopped and stared at Amina, awaiting her reaction.

Amina jumped back a little in surprise.  With all eyes on her, she didn't want to be rude.  With no choice, she opened while Seungri plopped the beef inside. It was a large piece of meat and Amina had trouble chewing and replying her thanks.

Seunghyun exclaimed, "Yah!  What is wrong with you today?"

"It's okay," explained Seungri, "we know each other."

"Huh?" asked Daesung, speaking on behalf of the others.

"Yeah, we met earlier this morning, right?"

Amina felt like laughing.  She could only nod her head in agreement.

Underneath the table, Youngbae gripped his chopsticks so hard that it almost snapped between his fingers.  He forced himself to relax and eat the rest of his meal as fast and silently as he could.  He didn't know why, but it bothered him that Seungri took such liberties with Amina.  He needed to finish his meal so she could be on her way.

But he couldn't resist sitting back and watching her interact with the others.  She appeared relaxed and natural around them, and they appeared to enjoy her company.  Every time she smiled, they smiled. If she inclined her head slightly in one direction, they also subconsciously followed suit.  Had it been on any other day, Youngbae would have found humor in the situation.  But tonight, he just felt irritated.

"Hyung, you haven't said anything at all during dinner," remarked Daesung.

"Oh... um.  I must be tired," Youngbae lied.

"Forgive me; I shouldn't have kept you waiting. If you're ready, I am," replied Amina. She finished her water and slowly rose from her chair.

"She doesn't have to rush, right hyung?" Seungri whined towards Youngbae, which earned him another glare that evening.

Amina saw the exchange this time and blushed.  "It's getting late anyhow, so I need to get started."  She turned towards all of them and thanked them for their hospitality and food. She assisted Youngbae as he awkwardly wheeled himself towards his room.

The others sat in silence while they watched the couple walk away. 

"Do you think someone should be in the room with them?" asked Seungri, to no one in particular.

"Do that, and he'll kill you - bad leg or not," replied Seunghyun. "Not my type..." he muttered to himself.  "Yeah right."

Daesung just smiled.