“Yumi, here’s your lunchbox,” You hand her the tightly wrapped box of lunch you had made, kissing the top of her head after you did so.  “Take care on your way.  You sure you don’t want Kyungwoo to take you there?”

“Unnie,” She rolls her eyes and kisses your cheek.  “I’m a big girl now, I can handle things myself,”

“Big girl, pfsh,” Kyungwoo scoffed and kissed your other cheek.  “Noona is big.  You’re still tiny, Yumi,”

“Hey!” Yumi slapped Kyungwoo’s arm in protest and stomped out of the house after sticking her tongue out at Kyungwoo.

You laughed along with Kyungwoo and grinned at him.  “You know, she’s so big already, actually,” Sure she is.  She’s in her second year of junior high and Kyungwoo in his second year of senior high.  “You too, take care,”

“You take care, unnie, and stop it with the concerned frown.  You’re too much like mom,” He chuckled.  “Don’t push yourself! Be back before 6 as usual!”

And as the door closes itself behind him, you’re left in silence, like how you usually are.  You sigh and quietly grunt as you tug at the wheels of your wheelchair, turning around to go into the room you share with the two.  You weren’t a wealthy family to start off.  With the death of your parents and the absence of help from your relatives, all you have is your scholarships, and a job.

You settle on your desk and open your laptop, beginning your work for today.  Yes, you got a job at a magazine company.  The pay is just enough for Yumi’s school fees and yours.  Stubborn Kyungwoo wanted to work by himself for his senior high and save up for university.  That kid found his strength a long time ago, being the only guy left in the family.  He felt that it was hard for you, a girl, to support the family’s needs on your own.  You were okay, although you had to work 3 different jobs from home at the same time, but you have to admit, that having Kyungwoo work on his own had you relieved of 2 jobs. 

You still have school too.  The school, somehow, allowed you to study at home and be rid of your absent checkings that normal students are supposed to have.  You’re in your third year of university.  A year left and you can work full-time, full-pay.  The campus isn’t so far away from home, so the teachers that want to, sometimes pay a visit to your house to teach you the day’s lessons, the ones you’re supposed to get if you were to attend classes like a normal student.  They said that they missed you and your voice, which becomes one of their reasons to pay you a regular visit.  You take the vocal major for school, but you’re not so bad in writing, because, you got that job, didn’t you?

You were in the middle of typing when suddenly, the door bell rang.  You glance at the watch and see that it’s half past 11.  Wow, you’ve been typing for 3 and a half hours.  You shouldn’t push yourself.  You click save and close my laptop, quickly pushing your wheelchair towards the door of your house to answer whoever it is.

“Yes?” You squint at the bright sun and as your eyes adjusted to it, you’re met with the eyes of the person you always want to see.

“Instant ramyun delivery service,”

“Lay!” You grin and let him come in, helping you with your wheelchair.  “Kai too! What are you guys doing here?”

“Thought you needed some ramyun,” Kai grins at you as he closed the door.

Lay is your boyfriend.  Kai is your best friend.  You’ve stuck together since high school began for you, when they were your seniors by a year. 

About Lay, you had wanted to break up with him after the accident, because, you know, having a girlfriend that can’t even walk and have problems with her brain isn’t exactly what you’re looking for these days.  But he had gotten mad at you and called you crazy because of the request.  You cried so much back then.

“What?”

“I, think we should break up, Lay,” You nervously glanced at his eyes, which were staring right at yours, holding your gaze strongly.

“Give me one reason we should.  Because I don’t remember ever getting into a fight with you,” He had looked at me so seriously you flinched slightly away.

You looked away from him and lowered yourhead.  “I can’t walk.  My brain isn’t working properly.  I’ll only be a burden as your girlfriend,” You chuckled, hiding your tears. 

You didn’t want to break up.  But you loved him so much, that breaking up was the only way to keep him close.  You were afraid.  Afraid that he would drift away, that he would disappear like the people you had loved too.  By breaking up, he’ll be free.  From you, at least.  From his paralyzed girlfriend who can’t walk, that had a bad head.

“No,”

“Wha—“

“No.  I don’t want to break up.  Don’t be crazy,” He said simply, taking your shoulders ever so gently and pulling you into his arms.  “I don’t want to.  Don’t ask me to,” He had buried his head into your neck, hugging you tighter than he had ever done.

And since then you stayed together.  You felt bad, being his girlfriend.  Lay is handsome.  He’s tall, he has a nice body, he does a lot of sports, plays instruments and he’s smart.  He has an amazing voice, too.  Who wouldn’t fall for him? Many other, better, healthier girls, prettier ones would suit him better compared to some girl in a wheelchair and a messy hair.  But you’re glad at the same time, that at least someone promises to stay by your side.

“Why don’t you comb your hair?” He sighs, caressing your hair. 

“There was nobody home,” You shrug. 

“There is now, though,” Kai states the obvious as he cooked the ramyun for the three of you.

“I don’t mind,” You stick your tongue out at him and giggle as he shakes his head in amusement.

Lay comes into your room and out after a second, bringing with him Yumi’s hairbrush.  “Stay still,” He stands behind your wheelchair and takes your hair in his hands, gently combing it.

“I still wonder how you know how to do hair, Lay,” You say to him. 

“I’ve had enough experience with your hair, idiot,” He secures your hair with a hair tie, pulling it into a low ponytail and setting it upon one of your shoulders.  “There,” He plants a kiss on top of your head before walking away to return the hairbrush to your room.

“Ramyun’s ready,” Kai announces and Lay pushes you over to the dining table. 

“Why do you guys even come here.  My house is so small it isn’t comfortable enough,” You wince at the boys’ figures bending over their bowl of ramyun.

“I like it,” Lay looks around.  “It’s homey,”

“Yeah, why do you always ask, really.  You should get used to it, because we’ll always pay a visit,” Kai continues, grinning at you.

You smile into your own bowl as you finish it up.  You love these guys.  You’re glad for their very presence, and they’re accompanying you like it’s nothing.  Your conversations are always comfortable.  You never stop laughing and you never actually run out of topics.  But despite the nice time you had, they had to go back to campus at 1.

“I hate leaving you home alone like this, maybe I should come live with you?” Lay smirks at me. 

“Oi, hyung, keep yourself together,” Kai shakes his head as he chuckles by the door.

You slap his arm gently and push him out the door.  “No,”

“Why,”

“Because we’re not married,”

“Then let’s get married after we graduate,”

You laugh at the joke he always says whenever you two have to leave each other’s company.  “I’ll think about it,”

Kai laughs at you and throws a thumb up.  “You’re the best,”

“I know,” You grin.  “Now go, or you’ll be late,”

Silence again.  You sigh and get back to my work, finishing by 3 after a check, and a recheck.  You sent it by email to the company and smiled in relief as a reply came in after 15 minutes;

‘Awesome piece as usual.  We’ll put it up soon and we’ll transfer the pay by 4,’

In silent celebration you dance in your chair and close your laptop again, going around the house for something to do.  The hospital is too expensive for you three to afford, by the way.  Kyungwoo once wanted to use all his money to get you into the hospital but you had yelled at him for doing it.  You mean, okay, you know he was trying to help you, but believe this; his future is way more important than your ability to walk.

Speaking of walking, you’ve been trying to walk on your own recently.  A crutch came in set with the wheelchair when you got discharged after the accident.  You discovered it by the backdoor only about a month ago.  The kids were probably trying to hide it from you so that you wouldn’t try things on my own.

But it gave you hope.  Hope of getting your legs back.  Nobody in particular said that you could never walk again, so, there’s no mistake in hoping for something of the sort, right?

You grab the crutch from behind the cupboard (where you hid it successfully from them) and lock the wheels of your wheelchair to prevent it from slipping from underneath you before you lean forward onto the crutch with your arm.  So far you can do that much.  You can at least get your off of my wheelchair and you’re determined to at least prop yourself up on the crutches for a second today, legs completely on the floor. 

Heavily, you lift your leg with your other hand onto the floor, one by one, and you take the other crutch, silently wishing yourself luck for the try.

Just as you were setting your second foot on the wooden floor;

Crack.

Something went wrong with the crutch on your left arm and you fall to the left, heavily meeting the cupboard’s surface, hitting your head with it.

You shut your eyes as tightly as you can as the massive wave of nausea slams down over you.  You’re not supposed to inflict any kind of damage onto your head.  You’ve done it once, and it wasn’t pleasant as the ‘trouble’ in your brain spread just a bit more further, but you’re not supposed to do more than that.  The pain jams itself into your head, continuously, increasing by the second.  Stupid.  Stupid.  You were setting the bars too high for yourself.  Stupid. 

You drag yourself across the floor, trying to focus on the table in front of your eyes, trying to grab your phone, to ask anybody for help.  you feel the surface of the table and the phone falls onto your shoulder, hitting your shoulder blade and tumbling down to the floor.  Your vision blurs away again and it slowly darkens.  Damn it.  You’re losing consciousness. 

You only have time to tap the first name on your dial list before you pass out, all the thoughts of the worst rushing behind your eyes.