Gradually, Hei-Ryung's eyes began to droop closed as the fogginess of a mind shrouded by illness overcame her. Though she had felt fine when she went to bed, Hei-Ryung woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe because how congested her nose had become. Unable to lie down properly, she had barely managed to doze off once or twice before finally giving up at the crack of dawn. Since then, she had been working tirelessly to complete the next section of her book so it could be sent to Seulki on schedule, and yet she hadn't been able to make any progress. She couldn't remain seated for too long or she would risk falling asleep- as was the case currently- and she had to constantly change her outfit to try and keep up with her body's unpredictable temperature fluctuations as it battled against whatever virus had entered her system.

     After saving what work she had managed to complete, Hei-Ryung slithered off her desk chair and toward the couch, where she curled up in a ball of misery. Despite how exhausted she felt, it was impossible for her to fall asleep. Still, even if she was tossing around every few minutes, it felt good to lay down and huddle underneath the oversized hoodie she had pulled on as her internal temperature cooled. Shivering and too tired to go find the remote, Hei-Ryung stared dully at the blank television screen and satisfied herself with imagining what might be broadcasting at the moment. She could even picture her own story being turned into a televised drama; the screen populated by the country's greatest talents and the script impeccably written to accommodate such a different medium. The entire country- and whatever foreigners chose to wait with baited breath for their fellow fans to subtitle the latest episode for them- would be moved to tears from the very beginning as tragedy struck the leading lady. Her pain as she sat in that hospital... Hei-Ryung cringed, and immediately the imaginary television screen in her mind was shut off. She didn't want to think about hospitals, and she certainly didn't want to go to one. It was why she hadn't told Seulki that she was sick.

     After all, the last time she had tried taking a few days off writing to recover from a minor cold, Seulki had suggested that Hei-Ryung visit a hospital and try to get some medicine to cure the bug. If her editor found out that Hei-Ryung was afflicted by a more serious infection, that suggestion may turn into forced compliance, and Hei-Ryung would find herself sitting in those white-washed halls again. Shuddering, Hei-Ryung tugged on the collar of her hoodie until her face was buried beneath the warm fabric. Seulki meant well in everything she did, so Hei-Ryung could never be upset with her, but there were some days when she wished it were easier to explain to her editor why she behaved the way she did. It would make life so much easier for the both of them, but Hei-Ryung had long gotten used to living a difficult existence.

     If I come on TV and sing, you might see me. If you hear me, if you see me, you might come find me

     As her sickness gave her more time to fill with meaningless tasks, Hei-Ryung had switched the ringtones for all her contacts. The one announcing her editor's call had turned into a solemn ballad, and as she lay huddled on the couch, it fit the mood Hei-Ryung was in perfectly. Humming along as best she could to the lyrics, Hei-Ryung waited until the small snippet was nearly finished before sitting up and answering her phone.

     "You're going to need to send the manuscript again, Hei-Ryung. I keep refreshing my inbox, but nothing from you has shown up. Something must have gone wrong when you sent the e-mail." Immediately, Seulki jumped into editor mode, and despite how lethargic she felt, Hei-Ryung chuckled weakly. "I know I'm overreacting, but between keeping up with that imbecile's-" Seulki cleared - "Mr. Kim's workload on top of my own, I'm feeling rather swamped today. Would you mind sending the e-mail again?"

     "I haven't sent it in the first place," Hei-Ryung explained, shuffling to her desk. There was still at least twenty more pages to go before she would feel comfortable with sending Seulki her latest work, and even that would be unusually close to the bare minimum for Hei-Ryung. She simply didn't have the energy or inspiration to write, though. Her brain was a muddled, steaming mess that could barely keep up with her body's unconscious movements, let alone the high-level cognition necessary for creating a completely fictitious story.

     "Really? But it's almost noon! You're usually so on top of things... are you feeling alright?" Hei-Ryung sighed as Seulki's voice ceased sounding distracted and zeroed in on the rawness of Hei-Ryung's. "Have you come down with something?"

     There was no sense in lying to Seulki, because the woman had already figured everything out. "Yes." Better to admit things now than deal with the later consequences of trying to deceive her editor.

     "And you're still working?"

     "Of course!"

     On the other end of the line, Seulki let out a long, drawn-out sigh. Hei-Ryung could practically see the gears turning in her head as she evaluated this new kink in her day's plans, but before she could assure Seulki that no action was required on her part, the editor had already adjusted to the task of taking care of Hei-Ryung. "You sound absolutely exhausted, Hei-Ryung. I'll be there in twenty minutes with some food and medicine- you probably haven't had either, yet- so you try resting. If I catch you working when I get there, you're going to wish the sickness had already killed you off." And with that, Seulki hung up the phone and, presumably, was on her way out the door.

     Frowning, Hei-Ryung gently rested her phone on the coffee table. Though Seulki had said twenty minutes, it was most certainly going to be more around thirty, perhaps even forty. That was enough time to get at least a page or two done and then make a mad dash- or at least what could be considered a mad dash if one took into account Hei-Ryung's current condition- for the couch, where she could pretend she had been peacefully resting the entire time.

     Things didn't turn out that way, however. Her small rest had given Hei-Ryung's body a minute amount of energy, which she expended on becoming completely immersed in her writing. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as lines of text rapidly strung themselves across the monitor, and her mind tuned out the clock as it's minute hand slowly circled around and counted down the time until Seulki was meant to arrive. And, just as she promised, after the clock's second hand had rotated twenty times, Seulki unlocked the door to Hei-Ryung's apartment and let herself in.

     "Cha Hei-Ryung, what did I tell you? Honestly, am I the only one who actually wants to rest when I'm ill? First Himchan tries to sneak into his office over the weekend and I have to go and talk the security staff out of turning him in for trespassing, and now you're sitting here exhausting yourself! It's perfectly fine if you turn in the manuscript later, Hei-Ryung! We're already ahead of schedule on this book!" Hanging her head sheepishly, Hei-Ryung allowed Seulki to guide her to the couch and listened dutifully to the woman's scolding. "We won't be if you wear yourself off and have to keep resting, though." Folding her arms over her stomach, Seulki frowned down at Hei-Ryung but couldn't bring herself to get too upset with the girl, considering how absolutely miserable she looked.

     Still, she couldn't leave Hei-Ryung to her own devices. She would never get better if she kept refusing to rest like this. So, without a word, Seulki marched over to Hei-Ryung's computer, saved what the girl had managed to create thus far- which, knowing Hei-Ryung, would immediately be deleted once the girl healed and realized just how horrendous a job her sickened mind had done- and unplugged it. Sitting pensively on the couch, Hei-Ryung watched Seulki attempt to lift the computer, then give up and instead decide to confiscate the monitor; a more feasible and equally useful plan, considering the computer itself was useless when there was nothing to display the information it contained.

     "Take your medicine and get some rest," Seulki commanded as she wrapped the monitor's cord around its base. "I'll be back with this once your feeling better. So don't worry about work, and just focus on getting yourself feeling better. If you don't have your health, then you have nothing."

     Seulki apparently stored the monitor in her office, because the next day Himchan had gotten his hands on it and was standing on Hei-Ryung's doorstep with a broad, albeit tired, grin on his face. Still recovering from his own bout with whatever was going around, he lacked the distinctive energy Hei-Ryung had come to associate with him after hearing plenty of stories about his antics from Seulki, but that didn't prevent him from running his mouth. From the moment he stepped inside her apartment, Himchan was apologizing on behalf of Seulki and explaining that although it was technically illegal to steal, the woman had done it out of the goodness of her heart and so he would really appreciate it if Hei-Ryung didn't call the police. And though she knew that he was only trying to help Seulki, Hei-Ryung couldn't help but feel a little offended that Himchan though she knew so little about the way her editor was. The two had known each other almost as long as Himchan had known Seulki, and Hei-Ryung had easily been the first of the two that Seulki had opened up to.

     She kept shut, though, and only listened politely as Himchan set her monitor back up. "I agree with Seulki that you should be focusing on your health and resting, but I also know how hard it can be to stay away from an unfinished project." After plugging everything into its proper place, Himchan straddled Hei-Ryung's desk chair and rested his chin on the back rest. "Don't exhaust yourself, though. Everyone has their limits, but yours have been seriously diminished because of this illness. Sleep and lazing around is going to be how you spend the majority of your day, but anyone would go crazy if they were never productive, too."

     Hei-Ryung nodded in agreement, though she felt that the illness itself was driving her more crazy than not writing. Still, it would be ungrateful of her to do anything but agree with Himchan after he went through all the trouble of retrieving her monitor from Seulki's clutches.

     After a few more minutes of chatting, Himchan decided it would be best to let Hei-Ryung rest and stood to leave. "Don't tell Seulki that I'm the one who brought that back! I mean, it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure it out, but if neither of us admits to it then she has no proof! The security staff isn't too fond of her at the moment, so there's no way she can see the company's CTV footage, and I doubt she has her own personal security camera installed in her office. We're innocent until she can prove us guilty, and I doubt that will ever happen so long as we both keep quiet about it." Smiling conspiratorially at Hei-Ryung, Himchan pressed one finger to his lip and waited for Hei-Ryung to respond.

     "I won't say a word," she promised, also pressing a finger to her lips.

     "Good, because she'd kill us both if we didn't keep quiet about it. If that woman has a hit list, then the last thing you want is to be on it. Granted, I'm pretty sure my name's written on there a few times and she just hasn't gotten around to actually killing me." Grinning, Himchan let himself out.

     By the third day, Hei-Ryung felt as though she were about to die. Taking Himchan's advice, she had spent the majority of her time resting, but as the day wore on it became less of a choice and more of a necessity. No matter how long she lay around, she felt completely exhausted, but no matter how hard she tried it was impossible to fall asleep for very long. And what little shut eye she did manage to get lacked any sort of restfulness, and usually only led her to wake up feeling more bleary-eyed and lethargic than she had before dozing off.

     Which was why, as she struggled to swallow the pills Seulki had brought the first day, Hei-Ryung wasn't visibly surprised when the door to her apartment suddenly opened. Certainly her heart nearly leaped out of her chest, but her muscles were too worn out to take notice of this and merely continued struggling through the motions of standing. They weren't doing a very good job, though, because despite having her legs spread apart of offer some assisted balance, Hei-Ryung was slowly swaying and felt as though she may topple over at any minute.

     "You look awful." Blinking away the blurry film over he eyes, Hei-Ryung focused her vision on the man who was currently making his way toward her. "Come on, let's get you in bed." As he got closer, Hei-Ryung was able to recognize the man as Youngjae, but that didn't stop her from resisting as he tried to guide her into the bedroom.

     "I'll die!" She protested, but her body wasn't able to put up nearly as much of a fight. Rolling his eyes, Youngjae wrapped an arm around Hei-Ryung's shoulders and easily nudged her along. "If I lay down, I can't breath. If I can't breathe, then I'll be miserable. If I'm miserable, then I will, and may as well, die!" Hei-Ryung exclaimed dramatically, though she had stopped trying to physically prevent Youngjae. It was a futile effort, and what little energy she did have was better spent on , which had a better chance of fending off Youngjae's unexpected attempts at helping than anything else.

     Chuckling, Youngjae sat Hei-Ryung on the edge of her bed and then reached over to stack what pillows she had against the headboard. "I take it you've been pretty miserable these past few days," he stated conversationally, helping Hei-Ryung rest her back comfortably against the fluffy mountain he had created before he went looking for blankets. Any that had previously covered her bed had been moved the past few days to various other parts of the apartment, with the majority of them tossed on the floor after Hei-Ryung gave up on trying to keep up with her fever. Carefully scooping them up, Youngjae picked the lightest and handed it to Hei-Ryung to spread over herself.

     "What are you doing here, anyway?" Wrapping the blanket tightly around herself, Hei-Ryung covered everything but her eyes, which were fixated curiously on Youngjae. Watching him make his way around her bedroom, she silently hoped that she hadn't left any embarrassing pieces of clothing around because she had been too lazy to place them in the proper laundry receptacle. If he had found anything, though, Youngjae was too polite to comment on it, and after a quick sweep of Hei-Ryung's room he had the place looking relatively decent.

     "Seulki mentioned you weren't feeling well, so I thought I'd come and check on you." It was then that Hei-Ryung noticed the plastic bag he was carrying, and when he caught her staring he held it up with a small smile. "I bought some food on my way here. Apparently they're supposed to be good for when you're sick..." Youngjae didn't seem all that confident in the results of his search, considering how oddly diverse it had been, but there had been plenty of links to back up the woman's suggestions- though Youngjae hadn't actually checked to make sure they were legitimate studies- and he already had a basic idea of what was best for someone who was sick. It had been he who did the shopping back home when his mom was having a particularly hard day, after all, and he had made sure to grab a few of the staples he remembered from her grocery list.

     "I bought popsicles, fruit, and some ingredients for soup, but you should probably stick with the fruit for now. The popsicles will melt all over your bed if you eat them now, and... well, you probably don't want raw soup ingredients," chuckling, Youngjae produced an orange from among the contents of his bag and, after peeling it for her, handed the fruit to Hei-Ryung.

     "Thank you," she mumbled, peeling away a wedge and popping it into . "But... when did you start calling Seulki by her first name?" She had wanted to ask him why he was going through so much trouble for her, but thought better of it before the words could leave . Though they were, in a way, business partners, that didn't mean Youngjae didn't care about her on a personal level, too. They had their differences, but Youngjae had been doing his best to overcome them; he wasn't always perfect, but Hei-Ryung needed to give him more credit for the times he did do well. Such as today.

     Smiling slightly to herself, Hei-Ryung snuggled deeper under the blankets and peeled off another wedge of orange to much on while she waited for Youngjae to collect himself. Apparently, he hadn't even realized he had addressed Seulki by her first name.

     "Well, Seulki and I are coworkers, now, and we've even directly worked together on occasion, so I see nothing wrong with referring to her by her given name." He was lying through his teeth. Fighting back the urge to laugh- which would be both impolite and lead to an uncontrollable coughing fit- Hei-Ryung watched Youngjae's face color a she avoided meeting her gaze. "Although, I suppose it may have been out of line for me to call Ms. Lee by her name without first asking for her permission. I apologize if this may have caused you any discomfort, and would like to request that you don't-"

     Hei-Ryung couldn't help it. Grinning, she doubled over in laughter and only stopped when she suddenly started to cough. Turning her head to face away from Youngjae, she covered with her sleeve and waited until she was sure her lungs had given up on escaping the confines of her rib cage before turning back to look at the flustered young man before her. "There's no need to be so formal," she giggled, hesitant to laugh any harder in case it brought on another wave of coughing. "I only pointed it out because Seulki has been particularly... sensitive these past few days, and I wouldn't want her getting after you for it."

     "R-right, well, if you're comfortable, I'm going to make the soup. You don't mind spicy foods, do you?" Slowly backing out of the door, Youngjae barely gave Hei-Ryung time to shake her head before he disappeared. Smiling, Hei-Ryung removed another wedge from her orange and popped it into . She hadn't exactly been expecting Youngjae to come, but now that he was here, she realized that there had been a slightly desire in the back of her mind for him to show up. Or, if not a desire, than at least a sneaking suspicion that he may come.

     After preparing all the ingredients and setting them in a pot to simmer, Youngjae returned to Hei-Ryung's bedroom with a cool, damp washcloth and gave it to her to help cool down her fever. When it warmed up, she didn't have to say anything, as Youngjae seemed to almost magically know when it was time to switch out the cloths. He tracked down the thermometer Hei-Ryung had owned for some time but never bothered putting to use and kept a close eye on her temperature, and every time she tried to leave her bed he would bring her back and insist she keep resting.

     It was strange to have someone looking so closely after her- even when they had been speaking to her, Hei-Ryung's parents had never been this attentive- but she wasn't about to argue with the pampering. Especially when she realized that, despite coming across as your typical incompetent bachelor, Youngjae actually knew how to cook rather well. Which was both a blessing and a curse, because Youngjae insisted she not eat too quickly and wouldn't even let Hei-Ryung think about eating the bowl he had brought in until she had let it cool off. That hadn't stopped her from sneaking a few tastes while he was preparing himself a bowl, though.

     As she sat in bed and impatiently waited for the soup to cool enough for eating, Hei-Ryung decided to occupy her mind by conversing- a true sign of how desperate she was becoming. "Did you ever have plans to become a doctor? Because you're very good at this," she pointed out, leaning forward slightly and resting her chin in her hands.

     "I've had plenty of practice."

     And that was the end of that. Shrinking back into the pillows, Hei-Ryung didn't bother trying to talk about it any further. It was obvious by the tone of his voice that Youngjae wasn't interested in talking about this particular subject, and she wouldn't want to press him any further and risk irritating him. So she sat quietly and, when Youngjae deemed the soup cool enough, ate just as silently.

     "Oh, before I forget," Youngjae mumbled, suddenly breaking the silence after a few uncomfortable minutes. Rising, he left the bedroom for a moment, then returned with a bright green gift bag. Returning to his seat, he passed the bag to Hei-Ryung and watched with feigned indifference as she removed the gobs of tissue paper spilling out of the top to reveal the rest of the bag's contents. "I stopped for coffee at that cafe, and the high school kid-"

     "Jongup?"

     "Yeah- he asked me to bring you this once he found out you weren't feeling well. I'm not sure any of it will be very good for you at the moment, though..." Youngjae's voice trailed off as he stared at what Hei-Ryung was pulling out of her bag. By the time she was finished, she had removed four large thermoses full of, upon investigation, orange juice. "That kid," Youngjae breathed out before bursting into laughter upon seeing the shocked expression on Hei-Ryung's face. "Apparently he remembered that you like orange juice." She nodded mutely before breaking into a broad smile and moving the thermoses to her bedside table.

     "Would you mind thanking him for me? That is, if you're planning on stopping by there again sometime soon."

     "Sure. I'll drop in on my way back to the office." Shrugging his shoulders, Youngjae gathered his and Hei-Ryung's bowls and headed into the kitchen to rinse them off. When he came back in, he handed Hei-Ryung another cloth and then turned to leave.

     "Thank you for coming, Youngjae. I can see you out-" she froze mid-bed exit when Youngjae turned and frowned disapprovingly at her. Sheepishly, she inched back under the covers and sat attentively.

     "Stay in bed and rest. I probably won't be able to come back for a while, but I'll leave the fruit and popsicles here. There's also some extra soup ingredients if you feel well enough to make yourself some." And with that, he quietly closed the door behind him.

     When nobody showed up the day after, Hei-Ryung assumed that visiting time was over and she would be left to her own devices. Five days in and she was still feeling miserable, but at least the peace of a nearly empty apartment managed to lull her into a light sleep.

     Her nap was quickly interrupted by rapid fire knocking on her apartment door, however. Groaning, Hei-Ryung mashed one of the couch's cushions onto her head to try and drown out the noise, but whoever was at her door was determined to have their presence acknowledged. Rolling onto the floor, Hei-Ryung slowly picked herself up and shuffled to the door, where she stood on tip toe to peer through and see who her visitor was.

     "Daehyun!" Immediately after seeing him, Hei-Ryung unlocked and opened the door. Grinning, he extended a black plastic bag that had obviously been used repeatedly and had seen better days.

     "I hadn't seen you leave your apartment in a couple days, so I called Youngjae. He wouldn't answer his phone, though, so I had to go to his hotel room." Hei-Ryung could only imagine how well that visit had gone, especially when she caught sight of a slight bruise on Daehyun's arm that he had tried to hide with the sleeve of his shirt. "I would have stopped by earlier, but Yongguk wanted us to hold a practice today. When I told him you were sick he let me off, though, and even told me to bring you some of this," as he spoke, Daehyun revealed the bag's contents- several containers of instant cup ramen. Raising her eyebrows, Hei-Ryung pulled one out and examined it. Although it looked just like every other brand on the market, she recognized the name as one of the higher-quality- and thus higher-priced- types.

     "Are you sure it's okay? I mean..." How was one supposed to tactfully say that the gift-giver was not nearly as financially well-off than the gift-receiver, and that the gift in question may not fit the giver's budget? "You don't, that's how," she thought, biting down on her bottom lip.

     "Yongguk's a lot more popular than I am, so he makes a lot more money. Besides, the guy stockpiles nothing but ramen. He can part with a few," chuckling, Daehyun waved off Hei-Ryung's concern and then glanced over her shoulder into the apartment. "Mind if I come in? I can cook it up for you while you rest."

     "Oh, r-right." After stepping aside to let Daehyun in, Hei-Ryung closed the door behind him. Grinning, he kicked off his shoes and immediately headed for the kitchen, where he pulled out a pot to boil the water in. Watching him, she realized that he was intending to boil enough for two. That wasn't necessarily a surprise, though. She had expected Daehyun to join her for lunch the moment he showed her the ramen.

     "How is Yongguk doing, by the way?" Sitting down backwards on the couch, she crossed her legs so they would fit comfortably and wrapped one of the many blankets she had spread throughout the living area around her shoulders.

     "He's realizing that Jieun expects a serious relationship, but is otherwise doing fine," Daehyun chuckled, winking mischievously at Hei-Ryung. Giggling, she rested her chin on the sofa's backrest. "How about you? Still feeling like you're going to die?" Blushing slightly as she recalled her dramatics the day before, Hei-Ryung shook her head sheepishly and buried her face in the back of the couch. "That's good," sensing her embarrassment, Daehyun opted to not further. Hei-Ryung was sick, after all, and he didn't want to accidentally increase her fever by making her blush.

     So, in order to steer the conversation in a different direction, he decided to reveal the second gift he had brought. "There's a DVD in the bag, if you want to start playing it. I noticed you were watching reruns the last time I was here, so I thought you might like it." Turning to look in the bag, Hei-Ryung's face lit up when she spotted the familiar actors on the DVD's cover. Glancing up from the careful process of pouring boiling water into the ramen's top, Daehyun noticed and allowed a wave of relief to wash over him. He hadn't been sure what Hei-Ryung would like, but he had wanted to get something that would take her mind off being ill. And, since the first store he visited had copies of Flower Boy Next Door on its shelves, he had decided to go with that- though only after calling Yongguk to ask if Jieun could guess the title of the drama he had seen thirty seconds of. Miraculously, she also happened to be a fan of the show and was immediately able to tell Daehyun that he was, indeed, looking at the correct DVD. Then the phone had been returned to Yongguk, and Daehyun had endured a long-winded scolding about interrupting other people's dates for trivial matters.

     Still, it had been worth it. Clamping down on the tops of the ramen so they would cook properly, Daehyun brought them and disposable chopsticks over to the couch and handed on to Hei-Ryung. Surprisingly, she hadn't already inserted the DVD and settled down for a marathon. "You not interested in watching it right now?" He asked, resting his chopsticks on the lid to keep it from popping up.

     "Are you interested? Because I can wait until we're finished eating..." The impatience in her voice contradicted her statement, so although Daehyun wasn't really the type to get into a romantic drama, he nodded. "Then I'll go put it in." She could barely contain herself as she hurried to the television and popped in the DVD. Smiling to himself, Daehyun sat back and wondered just how many sides of Hei-Ryung he had yet to see. This was certainly a new part to her- he would never imagine her to be the type to get giggly over a drama- and he was certain that there was even more to her. It had just all been buried by the negative things she was forced to live with.

     "Thank you," Hei-Ryung told him when she had gotten the first episode running and sat back down.

     "I live to serve," Daehyun chuckled, peeling back his ramen's lid. After blowing away the initialy burst of steam, he tried to eat as quietly as possible so as not to interrupt the show. Before they had even reached the episodes' end, however, Daehyun felt Hei-Ryung slump over onto his arm. Glancing down at her, he realized that she had fallen asleep. Apparently she was still feeling the exhaustion of being sick for nearly a week. Sighing, he carefully leaned forward and rested his ramen beside her untouched one, then tried his best to adjust his position so she was comfortable. No matter which way he moved she always looked like she would wake up sore, though, so as the next episodes preview played- why hadn't they cut those out for the DVD?- Daehyun gave up and gently maneuvered Hei-Ryung onto his lap. Reaching behind him, he snagged one of the blankets that had been tossed over the couche's backrest and draped it over Hei-Ryung, then reclaimed his ramen and went back to eating.

     When he had finished both his and Hei-Ryung's ramens, Daehyun carefully slipped out from underneath her head. He hated to just leave, but his shift started soon and, despite how popular he was with his boss, he would get in serious trouble if he showed up late- again. Sighing, he made sure Hei-Ryung was completely covered by the blanket before cleaning up, turning off the television, and letting himself out.

     "It's been six days and you still aren't getting any better. This might be more serious than we thought."

     Seulki had come back for another visit after she got off early for the day, and immediately had decided that something other than off-the-shelf medication was needed to help Hei-Ryung. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she watched as Hei-Ryung attempted to avoid making eye contact and sighed. She knew that Hei-Ryung was uncomfortable with hospitals, but it was time the girl grew up and got over her childish fear of shots- or whatever it was that kept her from seeking medical help when it was necessary. If Hei-Ryung were dying of blood loss, Seulki was positive that she would slap a Band-Aid on the gaping wound and stubbornly call it good.

     "I can take you to the hospital. They might have something that will help-"

     "No."

     "Hei-Ryung, I understand you're uncomfortable with hospitals, but we really should have a doctor look at you. Wouldn't it be better to have a moment's discomfort than a much longer period of-"

     "Thank you for your concern, but I am not going and I will not debate the matter with you. I'd much rather be sick than have to set foot in that death-trap." Everything was said calmly as can be, but Seulki could see the panicked look in Hei-Ryung's eyes before the girl her heels and marched around the corner. She may be acting as though she had everything together, but the simple fact that she had gone to lock herself in the apartment's bathroom showed that she was not alright. She was scared, though of what Seulki didn't know.

     "Hei-Ryung... I'll be back tomorrow with some more pills." There was no point in arguing. Hei-Ryung had made up her mind, and nothing Seulki said would change it. This was one matter that the girl simply would not budge on. "Good night."

Author's Note:

Loooong chapter, but still mostly just filler. The next chapter will finally finish up this whole dancing around the issue, though. Maybe. Hopefully. I don't know, but I'll give it a good try! ((Honestly, I've been worried about revealing why Hei-Ryung is the way she is because it's so much easier to blame everything on a mysterious event in her past than the idea I have. Hopefully this story doesn't end up turning very stupid, and all you lovely people can continue to bear with me! Any ideas about what the "big reveal"- look at me being all cheesy XD - may be? I don't know if I've been very subtle about it, but... it would still be interesting to hear your opinions (and if you have guessed it, is it a bad idea? hehe) ))

And I had NO idea what to title this chapter, so I just went for the first thing that popped into my head! Sorry it's so cheesy!