Outside the front gates of Sung Kyun Girls High School, Min Woo was tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the final school bell to ring. Wearing his favourite blue baseball cap and a pair of aviators way too large for his face, he attracted suspicious stares from numerous passer-bys who obviously thought he was some form of lecherous creature waiting to prey on innocent school girls. It was alright, he was used to being stared at, although maybe not in this manner.

After what seemed like an eternity, the school bell finally sounded and with that came a wave of chatty school girls swarming out of the front gates. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Min Woo poked his head around in an attempt to catch sight of his feisty little sister. Hye Na, with her bright red hair band and matching bag, was completely oblivious to the presence of her famous older brother as she walked down the slope towards the front gates, pre-occupied with some juicy piece of gossip that her friends were discussing about. When she reached the gates, she bid her friends a reluctant farewell and turned to continue on her way. It was at this moment that she felt a strong hand grab her by the wrist and spin her around.

“What the…” Hye Na started, alarmed by sudden interruption. As she swiveled around, the image of the tall man in a blue baseball cap and large aviators entered her vision, “Oppa? What on earth are you doing here! I thought you promised me you would never show up at school!”  

“There’s something urgent I need to discuss with you, come on, we’ll talk as we walk.” Min Woo placed a protective arm over his little sister’s shoulder and ushered her down the pavement.

“What’s so urgent that it couldn’t wait till I got home?? What if you were recognized by one of my friends from school! I’d be entirely disgraced!” Hye Na folded her arms in a huff, still annoyed by her brother’s sudden appearance.

“Your brother is a famous pop star, not some criminal on death row, what’s so disgraceful about that!” Min Woo smacked her on the head indigantly.

“Alright alright, so what is it? I still have to get to the hospital, I’m going to be late because of you…” Hye Na sulked as she continued striding ahead.

“I’m coming to the hospital with you today.”

“Really?? What’s the occasion? Do you not have some autograph session or dance practice you need to go for? You really shouldn’t be skiving off work you know…”

“It’s my day off ok! Stop being such a nag! Who’s the older sibling here!” Min Woo’s voice was getting significantly louder as his annoyance level increased. Embarrassed by her brother’s loud outburst, Hye Na kicked up her walking pace a notch, desperate to escape the area as quickly as possible.

“Ok ok, I got it… Gosh oppa why is your temper still so explosive! If you can’t get yourself a wife because of that horrid temper of yours I’m sure as hell not going to look after you for the rest of your life!” Hye Na wagged a warning finger at her brother.

 “All you do is curse your brother… do you have any idea how many tens of thousands of girls out there want to be married to me?? The only reason why I’m still single is because I have high standards.”

“Fine fine, wait a minute, you can’t have come all the way here just to pick a fight with me. What’s up?” Hye Na glanced expectantly at her older brother.

“Oh, um…right…” Min Woo shuffled his feet distractedly, trying to find the best way to phrase what he was about to say.

“Stop humming and hawing! What is it!”

“Well… the company is sending us to Singapore in 3 days, to record our new album…”

“Another album? Whoa you are going to be real busy oppa. So what? You always go abroad on business anyway.” Hye Na smiled as they continued winding their way down the street.

“It’s not the same this time. Manager Seo intends for this to be our first international album. The songs in the album are going to be in multiple languages, which means it will probably take a lot more time to record… we’re looking at three or four months at least?”

“That sounds pretty good, if you manage to break into the international market, there’ll be more crazy fangirls chasing after my big brother,” a cheeky smile spread across Hye Na’s face.

“It’s too long a period of time. If there are delays we may even be gone for half a year. I think perhaps you should come with me, I’ll apply for you to complete high school in Singapore, after all you know English so studying there is not going to be a problem.”

“No! I’m only 2 months away from graduation, I’m not changing schools at this point in time!” Hye Na stopped short in her tracks and retorted angrily at her brother’s suggestion.

“But with your condition, how can I leave you alone in Seoul!” Min Woo placed a concerned hand on his sister’s shoulder.

“I’m fine! Look at me! I’ll go to the hospital for my dialysis sessions and I’ll take my pills on time, so just go ok?” Hye Na gave her brother a final exasperated look as they reached the entrance of the local hospital.

“Are you sure you are going to be alright?”

“Enough already! A guy your age shouldn’t be this naggy!” Hye Na glared at Min Woo before turning to speak to the nurse at the hospital counter, “Kang Hye Na, 3pm appointment.”

The nurse smiled awkwardly at the pair, obviously sensing the tension between them, “That’s right, please head over to the second cubicle on the left,” waving her hand to point them in the correct direction.

Hye Na strode fiercely over to the cubicle and sat down in the arm chair, completely ignoring her brother. When she was seated, a nurse entered the cubicle to inject the dialysis needle into her right arm and start the dialysis machine running.

“Does it hurt? Shall I go get you your favourite strawberry candy?” Min Woo smiled weakly as he watched the needle enter his beloved sister’s arm.

“It doesn’t hurt, I’m used to it. Oppa, I’m not a 6 year old anymore...”

Min Woo patted Hye Na patronizingly on the head, “I get it, my little sister’s all grown up, she doesn’t need me anymore.”

“Oppa, pass me the mp3 player that’s in my bag,” Hye Na gestured her free arm towards the bag she had dumped in the corner. When Min Woo had passed her the player, she cheerfully popped the earphones into her ears, “My player’s full of oppa’s music! Don’t forget, I’m your number one fan! Alright, you don’t have to wait here with me, if you want me to entertain you for two hours I think I may just die.”

“Tsk, how is that I have a sister like you! Alright, I’m gone, I’ll pick you up in two hours” Min Woo ruffled Hye Na’s hair a second time before leaving the room. As he made his way down the hospital corridor, he spotted his sister’s principal doctor Dr. Kim making his rounds round the wards.

“Dr. Kim! My sister’s condition… how is it coming along?” Min Woo stopped the doctor abruptly on the corridor, giving the doctor a bit of an alarm. After careful scrutiny, Dr. Kim finally makes out the identify of the person behind the oversized aviators.

“Min Woo? Why on earth are you wearing shades indoors? I almost couldn’t recognise you!” chuckled the doctor.

“Quit making a joke out of me, you know my situation…”

“Right right. About Hye Na’s kidney transplantation, there’s no change in status as of now. Be patient… we’ll definitely find a suitable donor soon, you know these things can’t be rushed. Hye Na is in good condition at the moment, her illness shows no signs of worsening, don’t worry,” Dr. Kim tried to reassure Min Woo. Just then, a nurse hurriedly rushed up to the doctor.

“Dr. Kim! The patient in room 104 is awake! His family members are waiting for you to go over,” the nurse eagerly reported.

“Alright, I have other patients to see, I’ll speak with you again another day. Don’t be too worried ok?” Dr. Kim gave Min Woo a reassuring pat on the back before following the nurse towards room 104.

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In room 104, a well-dressed young lady was anxiously sitting by the bedside of an elderly gentleman who had evidently just awoken from a coma. As Dr. Kim entered the room with the nurse, she immediately rushed towards him.

“Doctor! My grandfather is awake! I think he is coming to his senses, when I spoke to him earlier there was some response,” the girl excitedly led the doctor to her grandfather’s bedside.

“Mr. Seo, can you hear me? If you can, could you please blink your eyes,” the doctor spoke in a gentle but clearly audible voice to the old man in the hospital bed. The man blinked once in response.

“Good good, I am now going to run some simple tests for you, just relax alright?” following that, the doctor gave instructions to the nurse to run the standard blood pressure and blood tests on the patient.

“How is my grandfather doing?” the girl piped up.

“We’ll only know the details once the blood test results are out, but according to what I see now everything looks fine, his pulse and blood pressure are normal. Mr. Seo has a tendency to have high blood pressure, so try to avoid oily foods from now on. I will return for a further discussion when the blood test results are out. In the meantime, try not to agitate the patient in any way, in case he has another heart attack.”

“Alright, thank you very much doctor.” the girl smiled gratefully at the good news and sent the doctor on his way, “You heard that grandpa? No more of your favourite spicy rice cakes! Grandpa you scared me!! I thought I’d never get to see grandpa again!”

“I’m alright sweetheart… where’s your parents and uncle?” the old man smiled weakly as he his granddaughter’s hair.

“I already rang them, they should be here shortly.” The girl smiled sweetly back.

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Down the hospital corridor, a middle-aged couple came bustling down in great haste.

“Dad should be alright, Jae Eun said he was already awake, if he’s awake means he’s alright…” the woman kept muttering agitatedly to herself.

“Don’t worry, Dad has always been strong, he’ll be fine,” the man held her hand and replied in a comforting tone.

Coming down the corridor from the opposite direction, Min Woo caught a brief glimpse of the couple as they opened the door of room 104 and entered the room quickly. For a moment, he had a strange feeling of déjà vu, but could not quite place where he might have seen them before. Shrugging off the odd feeling, he strolled past room 104 and took the lift all the way up to the rooftop. 

As he stood by the railings looking into the distance, memories from 18 years past came flooding back into his mind…

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18 years ago

Min Woo’s mother and father were evidently having a huge fight in the living room and his mother’s cheeks were stained with tears.

“I refuse to sign this! We’ve been married for 8 years, how can you just say you want to leave! What about Hyun Woo??” his mother clutched at the divorce papers and screamed at his father.

“Whether or not you sign the papers isn’t going to make a difference to anything. I don’t love you anymore, what’s the point in hanging on to this relationship? I’ll send you money every month for Hyun Woo’s education and upbringing, don’t worry,” his father replied tersely.

“What?” his mother had laughed a bitter laugh, “How could you do this to us… for Chairman Seo’s daughter? Or for his money? Can’t you be satisfied with our small company? WHY!” Tears continued to stream from her eyes.

“I’m sorry Eun Ri, I didn’t mean to hurt you this way,” his father had bent over and tried to comfort his inconsolable mother. She harshly brushed his hand off her shoulder.

“Go. Don’t you worry, I will take Hyun Woo and leave this place. You can live your new life in peace,” his mother had wiped the tears from her eyes, picked up the pen and signed on the papers, before returning to her room and slamming the door behind her.

All this time, little Hyun Woo (Min Woo) who was then only six years old had been standing hidden behind the shadows of the living room door, his little eyes widened in fear and shock and what he had just witnessed. 

7 months later, in a hospital in California, USA

 “Mum! Mum, what’s wrong with you!” Little Hyun Woo was beyond himself with tears as he watched the nurses wheel his mother towards the hospital’s emergency room.

“Don’t worry darling, I’m alright, you are going to be a big brother soon…” his mother held his little hand and smiled at him warmly, her face pale with pain.

“You’ll have to stay out here little fellow, your mother will be fine, don’t worry,” a middle-aged American-Chinese nurse held on to Hyun Woo and stopped him from following the trolley into the emergency room.  

An hour later, Hyun Woo heard a baby’s cries emerging from the emergency room. His heart skipped a beat. A couple of minutes passed before a doctor emerged from the room.

“The mother’s lost too much blood, she’s not going to make it. Let the boy say goodbye…” the doctor said to the nurse. The nurse nodded and gestured to Hyun Woo to follow her into the room, where his mother lay on the trolley bed with an infant lying in her arms.

“Look Hyun Woo, this is your little sister, isn’t she beautiful?” his mother whispered. Hyun Woo could only nod quietly in agreement as he looked at the gurgling baby.

“Promise Mum that you will take good care of your sister no matter what, ok?”

“Why! Mum can take care of her yourself!”

“Darling, Mum is not going to be able to be by your side anymore… you are all grown up now, you have to take responsibility of looking after your sister…” his mother replied quietly.

“No! You can’t leave me! Daddy already doesn’t want me, Mum can’t dump me too…” little Hyun Woo burst into tears. 

“Sweetheart, Mum would never not want you… be a good boy, grow up into a strong young man and protect your younger sister…” as she struggled to finish what she had to say, Hyun Woo’s mother inhaled her final breath and then closed her eyes for the last time. The doctors rushed into the emergency room and tried to revive her, but to no avail. Hyun Woo was beyond himself with grief, he clung onto his mother’s body and tried to wake her, but she would no longer respond. The Chinese nurse that had spoken to him earlier held him in a comforting embrace, before carrying the crying boy out of the room.

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Back in the present

Min Woo stared into the distance, his face emotionless.

“Mum, if you are out there watching over us, please help me look after Hye Na while I’m away…” he said, to no one in particular.

He glanced at his watch, then turned around and walked away.