Min Jeong's POV

"Are you alright?" I asked him when he gone quiet out of a sudden.

He looked half conscious and was cold sweating.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" I asked him.

He shook his head.

"We will be there soon. Hang in, please." I said, squeezing his good arm.

"I am okay. Just~" He muttered.

"Shhh~" I did not want him to waste energy in talking. He must be in a lot of pain. No matter how high tolerance of pain one has, I am very sure this is unbearable. I have no idea how he is still able to remain calm though. If it were me, I would have gone mad.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"To the hospital." I said. What kind of a question is this? Has the pain turn him mad?

"No. Just head to the clinic nearby." He said.

"WHAT!?" I almost slammed on the breaks, but I kept driving.

"Go to a clinic. There's no need for the hospital." He said.

"I will take it as if you lost your mind." I said as I continue to drive in the direction of the hospital.

"Clinic~" He whined.

"Hospital, Yang Seungho. Now, be good and shut up." I said, covering his mouth.

He rolled his eyes and rested his head again against the side.

"Good boy~" I smiled, smoothing his hair.

When we finally arrived at the hospital, he was wobbly and pale. The nurses almost screamed when they saw him. He was the only one who was still calm and smiling like a fool.

"Please wait outside." The nurse told me.

"I will just be outside." I told Seungho.

"No worries." He smiled.

***
I was struggling to keep my eyes open when I heard a familiar voice shouting.

"I SAID, NO SURGERY!" The voice yelled. Seungho.

Before I knew it, he stormed out of the emergency room, his arm still in a bad shape although bandaged.

"Seungho sshi! Seungho sshi!" The doctor shouted as he chased behind him.

"What's wrong?!" I asked.

"He needs surgery for his arm but he is refusing to do it. He can't go out there. If his arm gets infected, we would have to amputate it. I cannot understand how he can still be so functional but this is a real serious injury he got there." The doctor explained.

"I will go talk to him." I said, running after Seungho.

"Hoho! Hoho!" I blocked his way.

"You need surgery for this. You can't just go out there and expect it to heal on it's own." I said.

"I'm not doing it. I cannot afford to do the surgery. Who's going to pay for it? Who's going to look after Aeri? Who's going to work in my place? Are you crazy?" He asked.

"Are you crazy?" I asked him back.

He turned away.

"SEUNGHO!" I grabbed his arm, but release him immediately when I realize I was grabbing his injured arm.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I apologized quickly.

"It doesn't hurt. Let me go." He said coldly.

"Seungho, please! I will pay for your surgery. I will take care of Aeri. I will go to work in your place!" I said.

"Even the carnival?" He asked, letting out a slight smirk.

"Carnival...?" I asked.

"If you can work there, I will go for the surgery." He said.

"Are you threatening me?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. Bloody hell, Yang Seungho.

“I’m fine. I don’t need the surgery.” He said, turning to walk away.

“If something happens to you because of this, what is going to happen to Aeri!? Can you stop being so stubborn!?” I yelled.

“I…” Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed in front of me.

“Seungho!” I yelled as I watched him crumble to the ground.

I cannot help but think that it might just be a good thing he passed out.

***
“Is he okay?” I asked the doctor as he came out of the operating theater.

I took the chance when he passed out to sign the surgery approval. I have already expect him to throw a fit when he wakes up, but it is okay, not like he could undo the surgery anyway.

“He is fine. He needs to rest his arm for awhile. Any rough movement would injure him again.” He said.

“I will see to that.” I said as I thanked the doctor.

“He has multiple injuries on his body too. Do you happen to know why?” He asked.

“He…” I muttered. Of course I knew why.

The doctor looked at me awkwardly, then swiftly changed the subject.

“When I was treating him earlier, I realized that he does not seem to react to pain.” He said.

“Oh, he has a high tolerance of pain. Apparently.” I said.

“More like unable to feel pain.” He said.

“What?” I asked.

“I suspect that Yang Seungho sshi is unable to feel pain.” He said.

“How is that possible? I mean, that’s really cool, isn’t it?” I asked, only to realize how stupid I sounded.

“I mean..” I tried to explain, but had no explanation for my stupidity, except I am stupid.

“Sorry.” I muttered.

“It’s okay. Of course it would be cool to be unable to feel pain, but the thing is, it is very dangerous too, and that is the biggest pain of all. Just like this time, his inability to feel pain caused him to react in such a stubborn manner. If he was able to feel that pain from his broken arm, he would be dying to have the surgery. But because he could not feel it, he does not realize how serious his injury is. He might have died from blood loss or infection.” He explained.

I bit my lower lip.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said.

“No, it’s just…” A loud voice cut me off before I could finish.

“HYUNG!!!! HYUNG!! WHERE IS HYUNG!?” A voice shouted.

I turned to find Kikwang running towards me.

“AHHHHH!!!!” I screamed when he crashed against me.

“Sorry! Min Jeong sshi, are you okay!?” He asked.

“I’m good. I’m good. Calm down.” I said.

“Where’s hyung? What happened?” He asked, looking worried.

“Your hyung is okay.” I said.

“You can go see him.” The doctor said, pointing to the direction to the ward.

“Thank you.” I bowed to him.

“Is he the doctor?” Kikwang asked, long after the doctor has left.

I stared at him in disbelieve. Really, Kikwang? Really?

“What happened?” Kikwang asked me when we were in the ward.

He was sitting next to Seungho, doodling on his cast.

“It’s my fault.” I said.

“You broke his arm?” He asked.

“Do I look that violent?” I asked, glaring at him.

He let out a stupid grin. I told him what happened.

“Hyung always thinks he is Iron Man.” He said.

“Just because he can’t feel pain~” He muttered.

“What did you say?” I asked.

“What? What?” He pretended.

“So it is true that he cannot feel pain? It’s not that he has a high tolerance of pain? He totally cannot feel it?” I asked.

He looked down, looking like a kid whose lie got exposed.

“How is that possible?” I mumbled, looking at Seungho.

“It’s a medical condition with no cure. I know it sounds cool, but it’s very dangerous.” He said.

“Has he got hurt many times?” I asked.

He nodded.

“And he cannot tell how serious his injuries sometimes are because of it.” He said.

“Is that why… the carnival job?” I asked, finally seeing the clear picture.

“Yes.” Kikwang said, his head hanging low.

***
“Why do you lead such a hard life?” I asked the asleep Seungho as I smoothed his hair.

Kikwang had left for work and Seungho was still asleep. I had told him to let the ahjumma and Aeri know.

I kept myself occupied by staring at him sleep. Seungho is actually really handsome. After some time, I got really bored of watching him sleep, therefore I went out to buy some food and get some air.

When I came back, I was surprised to find his eyes opened, staring at the ceiling.

“You’re up!” I said excitedly.

He glared at me angrily.

“What?” I asked.

“How are you feeling?” I asked again.

“Angry.” He said.

“Apart from that.” I said.

“Very angry.” He said.

I laughed and shook my head.

“You think I was kidding when I said I did not want the surgery? You think I was simply throwing a stupid tantrum?” He asked.

“No.” I said.

“But I think you were simply being really stubborn.” I continued.

I could see him bite down hard on his jaws.

“I understand why you did not want the surgery, but your reasons don’t make sense. You will die, Seungho.” I said.

“I know my body!” He raised his voice.

“Just because you cannot feel the pain does not mean it is not there. Just because you cannot feel pain does not mean everything is well!” I raised my voice back.

He stared at me in shock as if I just exposed his secret. Well, technically, maybe I did.

“How did you…” He muttered.

“Even if you don’t love yourself, at least do it for Aeri and Kikwang and everyone else who loves you! Even if you cannot feel the pain, do you know that everyone else who sees your injuries can feel the pain!?” I got angry.

“Go and undo the surgery if you hate it so much!” I threw the sandwich into his face.

“I was just saying…” He muttered.

“Saying? Wow, that’s a lot to say then.” I said. I had no idea why I was so angry, but I just was.

“Do whatever you want. I cannot be bothered. Leave the hospital if you want. Get infected for all I care. You think you’re Iron Man, then so be it. I just hope you don’t become a dead man even before you realized it.” I said, grabbing my bag.

I had completely forgotten about the puppy in my bag until it yelped and stuck its little head out.

“Oh puppy!” I put my bag down, took it out and cradled it in my arms.

“You brought the puppy here?” Seungho asked, his eyes widened.

“Shut up.” I glared at him.

The puppy let out a soft whimper.

“Did I scare you?” I asked.

“I didn’t mean it. It’s his fault.” I pointed at Seungho who was still staring at the puppy.

“Let’s go, cutie.” I said, putting the puppy back into my bag.

“Where are you going?” Seungho asked.

“Away.” I said.

“Are you coming back?” He asked.

“Aren’t you leaving already? What point would it be for me to come back then?” I asked, walking out before hearing his answer.

"But... It's my birthday." I heard him say softly.

He looked at me with his lower lip stuck out. It is his birthday?

***
Happy Birthday, Yang Leader :)