The nurse had me stripped down as she prepared the shower nozzle. There was nothing to be embarrassed about because we were both girls and she’d probably seen a thousand bodies in her lifetime as a nurse but I blushed anyway. She told me to wash my hair separately because it was so long, mid-way down my back that it was easy to for the shampoo to get into the wound and so I should rinse it down to one side, in front of my shoulder. She told me not to scrub too hard, obviously and lightly dabbed at the wound with a wet towel, suggesting that I could get Myungsoo to do it for me to lighten the mood. I laughed as a result, softly at first but the rattling and rumbling of the laugh tore through my skin.

“What’s so funny about getting your boyfriend to help you out in the shower?” She wondered sheepishly. ”You kids these days do things worse than that don’t you?”

Afterwards, she reminded me to bandage it properly making sure that it was one hundred percent dry and clean. It was also good because in wrapping the laceration up, the bandages needed again to be bound around my torso, inadvertently covering my s. It meant that I didn’t have to wear a bra as a result and even if I did want to wear one, the straps around my shoulder and back would completely get in the way and hurt the wound more.

Asking me to wait in the bathroom area, she handed me the clothes that Myungsoo had brought. I couldn’t help but smile as I saw them; it was a black t-shirt of his with some graphic design. He probably couldn’t find a loose fitting top of mine that weren’t pyjamas so he had to let me borrow one of his own. It smelt like him, clean and fresh and I relished in the scent, feeling it envelope me entirely. He’d also brought one of my maxi skirts because it was long and breezy, clean underwear and a pair of sandals. His attention to detail and consideration made the nurse comment once again on how men like him were hard to find. I could only agree.

Shortly after, the nurse took me out of the room and led me to the waiting area to be signed out. She said her goodbyes and we parted ways. I sat there with my meagre belongings: the clothes I had been brought in and the piece of paper that I was signing out with. I inspected my surroundings, watched the people bustling around the area and those unable to have such freedom. There was a man in the corner hooked up to an IV and stuck in his wheel chair. His eyes were glassy beads and they seemed to look right through me as if my internal being was made of the same sad, transparent material. In contrast to that were the children that ran around the place, knocking into staff who were too busy to reprimand them as their parents fought over something in the corner, arguing in a muted tone to not disturb others too much. I had to peel my attention away from the environment when I saw Myungsoo walking up to me, ice-cream in hand. He had his leather satchel hanging on one shoulder and he was wearing a trench coat again, this time a different style in a dark navy. It had elaborately decorated buttons and the collar was up against his neck, quivering with every thundering step he took to reach me.

“Sorry I’m late, did you wait long?” He looked like he’d been rushing. His hair was flustered and cheeks were slightly flushed.

“I met up with the boys who were sorting the other stuff out for us while I was out and got side-tracked. Then I went up to your room and found it empty, so ran around the building looking for the nurse.” He gave me the dessert with a small spoon and swapped the piece of paper in my hands so that he held it in his. He checked his watch; it was roughly mid-afternoon and turned to the reception table, telling me to stay as he went to sign me out. As he leant against the counter, I noticed the receptionist lean flirtatiously forward to grab his attention but he never once looked in her direction, answering politely and formally as he turned back to me. This happened all the time when were out together that I had gotten used to all of it. The girls that would stare on and wonder what I was doing standing next to him, commenting on how undeserving I was in being his girlfriend. In all honesty, I wasn’t gorgeous. But I never thought myself ugly at all – not because I was narcissistic or anything but that I had been brought up to love myself no matter what and that I couldn’t despise myself enough to find any faults I hated. People often said that I had a kind look, a sweet sort of face – the crinkling of my eyes when I smiled inherited from my dad and the bottom lip fuller than the top from my mum. I guess you couldn’t just categorise me into any label because I was just me, just who I am.

I watched the soft smile grace upon his lips at the attire I was wearing that he’d chosen before he turned around again to administration to finish signing. I sat down back in my seat as I waited, opening my ice-cream and digging the spoon in. It was already soft and slightly melted but the sugary goodness was just what I needed. I had only savoured two spoonfuls before Myungsoo returned, pulling me gently out of my seat and tucked under his arm.

He looked to me, “you ready?”

“Yeah,” I nodded and we walked out of the hospital together. He pressed his cheek against the top of my head as I ate. I offered him some periodically and he’d take the mouthful like the big chomp of an alligator just to please me, the spoon in and I had to laugh as I let go of the spoon stuck in his mouth. We reached the carpark of the hospital and he opened my door, gently helping me into the tight spot before getting into the driver’s seat himself. It was a ten to fifteen minute drive to his place and he had one hand on the steering wheel whilst the other was laced between my fingers. When we arrived, he escorted me with the same chivalrous grace and led me to his apartment block at the top of the housing complex.

It was a perk too that the other members of Infinite also happened to live in the same block, just on different levels. The building was under the care of the National Police Agency anyway and those who resided here would have some connections to the federal protection commission one way or another. It was marbled and tiled, expensive looking with a lobby area and minimalist design. We took the elevator up from the basement car-park area which smelt of gasoline and metal, into the cool fresh aura of high-class living and mild luxury.

“How are you feeling?” Myungsoo looked at me as we entered the rising cubicle, the mirrors on all sides capturing my slight confusion at his question. We had passed 6 levels before I finally answered, watching the buttons light up and fade as I thought of a response.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” I murmured to him, pulling up his intertwined fingers to my inspection and sighing softly.

“If it hurts anywhere, or you want anything, just tell me.” He voice was tinged with supressed pleading and we were cut off by the light ‘ding’ of the elevator bell as the doors opened, revealing the expanse of hallway before his place.

“Kay, I will.” I stepped out onto level 17 and he trailed out behind me. My answer sounded half-hearted but I didn’t mean to be nonchalant. I guess I tried not to think too hard about what I was still doing here, still numb and so paid more attention to his grey, heavy door than my heaving heart. I’d been to his place a couple of times but I rarely ever stayed over – as much as Myungsoo wanted me to. He said living by myself was dangerous and he hated the idea. He even offered for me to stay with him for free but I told him hard and straight that I didn’t just want to leech of someone like that – I wanted to be independent. So when I said that, he offered to charge me rent but I didn’t give in either. Not only did he attempt many times to persuade me to move in with him using the cost as an excuse, he was also just a protective person. He worried superfluously about my safety and at night, told me on various occasions that things didn’t feel right if I wasn’t asleep, safe in his arms.

He fumbled with his keys but instead, drew out a card. It was hooked onto his key chain along with a photo of the two of us he’d put on a while back and swiped the card along the electronic lock of the door. After a second, the light flashed from red to green and heavy contraption popped open and he pulled the hand back in one swift motion, gesturing for me to walk inside. As I did, I removed my sandals and inspected the place. Familiar blue suitcases lined the side of the spacious living room and I’d see that he had my stuff already taken out of my apartment into his.

“When did you bring my stuff over?” I asked, pointing to the luggage as he took of his shoes.

He looked towards them and answered, “Yesterday, when you were still I hospital. I grabbed the stuff that I thought you might need. If you’re still missing stuff, we can go out and buy it.” He shrugged off his coat and threw it casually onto the black leather couch that sat on a patterned mat in front of a large plasma screen.

“Thanks,” I said softly and he only turned and smiled. Myungsoo then walked over to the kitchen area, opened the large silver fridge and poured himself cold tea, asking if I wanted anything as well. I shook my head: I’d be right for the moment.

Grabbing the suitcase, I managed to pull it behind me to where the bedroom was. Down a long hallway with lights that flickered on as it sensed motion, I stationed my stuff in the very corner of the room. Like the rest of the place, it was large and aerated with simple architectural designs. In all of the house, there were 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a study, living and dining area joined with a kitchen. Even though there were two bedrooms, the two of us occupied one while the other was left empty. Everything in Myungsoo’s house was clean and orderly, not a speck of dust on the floor and shelves and not a thing out of place. He didn’t have a table in his bedroom but a large dark grey desk against the wall near enveloping shelves of books.

“Hey, getting settled in…” he paused and then grinned, “again?” He stood at the doorway with the cup in his hands. I guessed since it was Sunday that he was going to do more paperwork in the study as he usually did and make more strategies for operations that only the members new about.  

I laughed, “Don’t get too excited, I’ll only trouble you till my apartment gets fixed. Then I’ll get out of your hair.”

He frowned, a slight pout on his lips. “You’re never a trouble. This time though, you’ll be staying until I say you can go.”

“And when is that?” I inquired, innocent teasing behind my voice.

He shrugged, “Who knows? Just until I say you can go.”

I could tell that he wanted me to stay as long as possible. The best option even was for me to live forever with him until he got sick of just seeing my face everyday. I had a feeling that he’d rather burn down my house himself than let me go back again but I was going to make the decision easier for him.  

The hours after that went by slow. He did his things and I did mine, reading on the couch and borrowing his computer to send emails to Dr. Cheon about my situation as well as the other professors at the university. I got a quick reply that they already knew and that I had been given permission for extensions if need be for my assessment but I answered back that I would be fine.

When it got around 6, I stretched – trying not to make too much fuss along my back which began to sting and burn like hell so to take my mind off the pain, I opted to make dinner. I always cooked for myself at home and I raided Myungsoo’s fridge or anything I could find to scrap up into a nice meal. I ended up making spaghetti Bolognese with salad and I had to walk into Myungsoo’s study to wake him up for food. He’d fallen asleep in the middle of the work and his seraphic features were unbearable to shake off as his eyes fluttered open and shot me a smile, asking what the pleasant smell was.

“I’m glad I have you.” He grinned.

The words in my mouth froze over and I bit the insides of my cheeks reflexively. There’s a point in life where you just can’t keep going on, hurting the ones you love. To stop, you have to break yourself and I think then and there, that’s what I did. 

~

A/N: Hey guys~ This chapters longer to make up for the shortness of the last chapter. It's starting to get interesting from here on in - the next chapter will be rated M so if you're interested, stay tuned! But if you don't like that stuff, then you can skip it and wait for the next chapter. Thank you so much for the readers here who began reading because I pestered for your time. I'm really grateful to you and I hope you enjoy!