Jongin smiled as he looked at the strawberries he brought. He hoped that Hana would have the appetite for her favorite fruit because lately he knew that the girl almost ate nothing but pills. However, on his way to Hana, he saw Suzy sitting on a bench outside the hospital building. He halted his steps as he looked at the girl and he realized that with her lifeless eyes, she was staring at nothing.

“Hey,” he said as he sat beside her.

Suzy slowly turned towards him and Jongin watched as she forced a smile that never reached her eyes. She mumbled his name, “Jongin.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“So-hyun and Jin goo are watching Hana,” Suzy replied before staring into nothingness once more as she added, “I just went out… to breathe.”

Jongin observed her, and he noticed that Suzy had become paler and thinner too. Her eyes that would turn into crescent slits as she smiled before were now nothing but dull.

“Everything felt suffocating,” Suzy whispered. “And I have no right to complain because right now, the one who is suffering the most is Hana.”

“We have to be strong for her,” Jongin replied.

“I know,” Suzy said with a sad smile. “But I’m not as strong as I appear to be. I want to cry as loud as I can. I want to blame it all on the world. I want someone to listen but I don’t want Hana and Sehun to hear.”

Suzy’s voice broke as she finished her sentence and Jongin stared at the girl whose eyes were now glistening with tears but he knew that she was trying hard to keep them from falling. When he put his hand on hers and gently squeezed it, Suzy finally meets his gaze. Jongin gave her a warm smile as an assurance as he said,

“Well, they’re not here, and I am willing to listen.”

Suzy stared back at him and she could feel warm ball of tears accumulating as she remembered the doctor’s news, “I’m sorry but neither of you are a match to be Hana’s donor.”

She felt that tears were already streaming down her face and not long after, short sobs has left her. Jongin’s heart was breaking as he saw how much Suzy cried and after a battle inside of him, he slowly pulled her into his chest. He felt Suzy clenching on his shirt as she cried louder and Jongin trembled as he gently caressed her hair and his other hand went to her back as he pulled her more. He found himself closing his eyes as his own tears fell. Her familiar scent lingered on his nose and her cries resonated in his ears.

Jongin hugged her carefully, as if embracing a delicate yet precious gem, and he had the urge to protect her but he knew that the job of protecting her was no longer his. However, he could not help but savor the embrace he yearned for so long.

“What is this?” So-hyun innocently said as he lifted the folder on the desk beside Hana’s bed.

“Shhh.” Jin goo hushed her and pointed at the sleeping Hana. She then mouthed a ‘sorry’ before Jin goo whispered,

“Leave it. Dr. Lee must have forgotten it here.”

“They are actually Hana’s records,” So-hyun mumbled as she went through the papers.

“Stop that,” Jin goo widened his eyes at her. “You’re not allowed to go through confidential papers.”

So-hyun then made face before smiling and looking back at the first page. She was about to close it when she saw something odd. Her eyes widened at a realization but then the door opened and Dr. Lee caught her holding his folder.

“I left it here,” Dr. Lee said making So-hyun snap back to reality. She forced out a smile as she returned it and said, “Here.”

“Thank you,” Dr. Lee replied with a smile before closing the door before him, totally oblivious of how So-hyun’s heart thumped loudly with nervousness. When the door was shut, So-hyun almost lost her balance.

Jin goo quickly stood up from his seat and held both of her shoulders as he asked, “Yah. Gwenchana?”

“I…” So hyun whispered. “I saw something I should have not seen.”

“Mr. Oh,” Dr. Lee called him and Sehun met his gaze. Somehow, Dr.Lee’s office has already made an impression, making Sehun anxious every time he was there.

“Do you know that I promised Hana to do the best that I can for her to recover?” Dr. Lee asked and Sehun nodded.

“Well, I can only do my best if you tell me the truth,” he said seriously and Sehun stiffened and gulped at the tone of his voice.

“What do you mean?” Sehun asked nervously.

“You and your wife are not qualified to be Hana’s donor,” Dr. Lee started. “It is actually normal for relatives to be not of a match to the patient. It happens usually.”

Sehun then breathed deeply and he knew where the conversation was going as Dr. Lee added, “But the result said that you are not related to Hana at all.”

He knew that he could not escape the situation as he shook his head and replied, “I am not.”

Dr. Lee also sighed as he said, “I know that this is difficult but you will need to find Hana’s real father.”

“I already found him,” Sehun whispered. “But I don’t want him to know anything about Hana.  I don’t want him to take her away from me.”

“Would you rather have her taken away by death then?” Dr. Lee retorted.

“Of course not!” Sehun almost yelled. “But what you’re asking me is not as easy as you think it is! It is my family at stake!”

“Well, this is an innocent girl’s life at stake here!” Dr. Lee replied in the same manner. “If you really love Hana, and you treat her as your own daughter, you would do everything that you could to keep her alive.”

Sehun let out a frustrated sigh as he buried his face on his hands and ruffled his own hair. Just then, Dr. Lee added, “Who would you want to take Hana? Death or her real father?”

“So-hyun, what’s wrong?” Suzy said.

Yesterday when she and Jin Goo visited Hana, it seemed like she avoided Suzy and now, when So-hyun found her in the room with Jongin, she stormed inside and pulled her out. She dragged her into the hospital’s cafeteria and th