Donghae stared at the ceiling. It has been a week since he injured his knee, and he was at a loss on how to continue with his everyday life. Since primary school, all Donghae lived for was soccer. There was no alternative, no back-up plan; professional soccer was his only dream. 

Now, he was in danger of losing it.

He forced himself off the bed to prepare for today’s lecture. He was fortunate enough that the school will continue to finance his studies, seeing as he won’t be serving as a sports scholar any time soon. Coming from a small fishing town in the outskirts of South Korea, he didn’t want to drop out and return a failure, not when he had made it this far. In order to prove his worth to the school, he had to step up with his academics—a feat easier said than done—and help the team in a different way.

Once he entered the campus, he had half the mind to turn around and return to the dormitories. A few days ago, he could walk comfortably undisturbed, despite being Myongji’s soccer superstar; over the years, the occasional shrieks of the female population has even become bearable. But after the highly anticipated finals match between Myongji University and Hanyang University, he became an overnight, regional sensation—not because of the win, but because a thug from the other team got suspended for intentionally injuring an opposing player, the opposing, unfortunate player being him.

Now, the school was united in pity. Donghae hated the apologetic looks thrown his way; the tactless whispers behind his back, and the way they all openly stared at his crutches and his bandaged knee, only to bow their heads and shuffle past when Donghae got too close. Gritting his teeth, Donghae hobbled to his locker as fast as his legs would allow him. 

He entered the combination (easy as 1-2-3) with an irritated sigh, and was just about to grab his books for the day and head to the lecture hall, when something colorful caught his eye. Behind his text books, propped atop a box where he kept his Panini stickers, was a paper crane. The crane was peppered with tiny soccer balls, and was about the size of his hand.

Donghae looked around, confused. He knew he had the easiest and laziest combination code in the world, but he didn’t realize that his locker was that unsafe. He grabbed the paper crane and was just about to throw it away, when a small, neatly folded piece of paper fell from its wing.

Hi Donghae-sshi,

Have you heard about the legend of the thousand cranes?

It’s said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes will have their heart's desire come true.

Then I wish for you to heal completely and return to the soccer field.

I will continue folding the cranes for you and will avidly await your return.

Fighting!

Donghae had already received numerous get-well-soon letters from his admirers, but it was the first time anyone has sent him an origami—and if the sender was serious, he was about to receive a lot more. Nine hundred and ninety-nine more, to be precise. It was a touching gesture, Donghae thought, but still a bit suspicious, and totally unsafe. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Donghae finally decided to place the origami back inside his locker. He had the rest of the day to decide whether the sender was a sweet, thoughtful fan, or a crazed maniac. In the meantime, he’ll be attending his classes pondering the following:

1. Someone just broke into his locker. Should he report it?
2. There was nothing to reveal the identity of the sender. Is s/he mocking him?
3. His knee was still ed up. So how can one, cute paper crane suddenly make him feel so much better?
 

In the end, Donghae didn’t report the incident. He didn’t even bother changing the code. Surely, a locker stuffed full with paper cranes wouldn’t do him any harm. 

A tiny part of him believed it might even do him a miracle.

A/N: My beta is missing! :c Oh well, if I ever decide to look for one, I'll reupload the chapter. It's been so long but I've decided to write this story after all. 

edit: 2015-01-23 Updated Beta-ed version <3