Yong Sook stared dreamily at Lina as he sat upright on the hospital cot as she was peeling an orange for him at the moment. Am I dreaming? If I am, I never want to wake up…

            “Here.” Lina handed Yong Sook an unpeeled orange before noticing his intense eyes boring into her own. “You are able to eat with your own hands, correct?”

            “O-Of course,” Yong Sook stuttered before gladly popping one orange slice into his mouth.

            “To be honest,” Lina drawled, “I don’t even know why I’m staying by your side. I mean,” Lina laughed, “we’ve only met for a  little bit. And yet, I’m caring after you like your mom or even your girlfriend. Maybe I should leave. I mean I have work starting in about two hours-“

            “No,” Yong Sook quickly said, in fact a little bit too quickly, “it’s fine, really. I mean…” his voice became a notch lower, “No one’s going to visit me, anyways.”

            “…but, don’t you have your gangsters?”

            Yong Sook was taken aback by Lina’s bluntness. Most girls would take his response as a way to comfort him and somehow manage to get him into…well you know. But Choi Lina, she was different. Yong Sook couldn’t play his Casanova image, rather he must shed it in order to woo Lina. And so, he decided to play the blunt card.

            “Yes, yes I do.” Yong Sook paused. “But no one…no one cares for me.” Yong Sook would be lying if only it weren’t the sad truth.

****

            “I really love you Yong Sook oppa. You won’t ever ditch me, will you?” The curtain of brown hair flowed down her back in the most perfect way ever, as she wrapped her arms around Yong Sook’s neck.

            “Of course not, you will always be in my heart. Number one, forever.” Yong Sook sincerely grinned as he placed his hands on her arms.

            “I love you Yong Sook oppa.”

            “Well, then I love you too, Jiyeon.”

            Is it really that easy to say, “I love you” to someone? It’s become an overrated phrase, that it’s become absolutely meaningless. For Yong Sook, he meant every single heartfelt word. It was too late when he realized everything had already crumbled down around him. It was a lie. Park Jiyeon was just toying with his heart.

****

            “I love you.” Her soft-spoken words rang into Myungsoo’s mind once more. Myungsoo gritted his teeth while closing his eyes shut. He was having a hard time focusing, more the less even resting. He tried to organize his jumble of thoughts, but it was difficult. Very difficult, in fact.

            Why did Lina attract him so much?

            Was he really that desperate?

            The fact that Yong Sook was chasing after Lina…did it also contribute to Myungsoo’s sudden interest for Lina? Everything’s become so complicated after she left.

****

            “So how’s my brother doing?” His bangs dropped into his eyes as he swept them away to meet eyes with his junior who had just entered the room.

            “Doing fairly well, I suppose. He registered under the annual kart race sponsored by Seoul Motors.”

            “And? What were the results?”

            “He placed first out of six.”

            “Impressive,” the young man stared down at the papers in front of him. “Anybody else I should acknowledge?”

            “Well,” the junior gangster shuffled his feet awkwardly, as if hesitating, “Two of them got into an accident.”

            “Who?”

            “Your brother’s sworn enemy. As well as your ex-enemy’s younger brother.”

****

            “So I was wondering…” Yong Sook coyly asked, “When I get out of the hospital, what will you be doing?” It was nine at night, and Lina had just gotten off another exhausting day of work.

            “Working, probably.”

            “Where?” Yong Sook pried for more details.

            “You know, it’s really none of your concern,” Lina retorted, “But to be honest, I am surprised you forgot where I work. I mean, you met me at the casino, and then met up with me again with Myungsoo.”

            Underneath the blankets, Yong Sook’s hands curled into balls. It ticked him off so much that Lina could so casually talk about Myungsoo, as if the two knew each other for a really long time.

            Lina continued after a period of short silence, “And even if I want to get off work, I’m not allowed to. If you want to ask me out to a date, you’ll definitely have to do better than that.”

            “What do you mean?” Yong Sook raised an eyebrow.

            “It’s apparent that you want to ask me out on a date. But,” Lina shook her head, “I hate to break it to you, but I work most of the day. At the casino which we’re all familiar with. I’m signed under a contract and-“ Lina’s eyes widened in shock. “N-Never mind. I think I should go.”

            “Signed under what contract?”

            “Look, I’ll visit you tomorrow again.” Without letting Yong Sook respond, Lina quickly ran out of the room. Yong Sook pursed his lips deep in thought before reaching for his cellular device placed on his bed stand. After pressing the four-digit pass code into the Samsung phone, Yong Sook scrolled through his contact list before finding the person he wanted to talk to.

            A few rings later, the person on the other side of the line picked up. “Hello?”

            “Hyun Woo, I want you to give me background research on Choi Lina, right now.”

            “Choi Lina? Will do. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

            “Good.” 

Happy Chinese New Year! (: I'm surprised I managed to squeeze in this update, but here you guys go. I hope it isn't too confusing. If it is, PM me, comment below, etc. etc. Subscribe, comment, upvote! ♥ 新年快乐!