“Oh, Minseok!” his mother cried. “Let me introduce you to my good friend Lee Soah and her daughter, Lee Kyungjin.

Minseok bowed his head and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Mrs. Lee smiled. “Minseok, it’s nice to you again! I remember when you were just a baby.” She turned to look at his mother. “It’s been that long, hasn’t it?”

His mother gave her a sad smile. “It has.”

“Hello!” the girl chirped excitedly. “It’s nice to see someone my age.”

He stared at her for a second before asserting slowly, “I’m older than you.”

The girl blinked at him in surprise. “Oh? How do you know?”

“I just graduated from college. You are on your last year.”

“Wow! You know that much? Did you tell him that, Mrs. Kim? Have you two been gossiping about me?” she asked with a laugh, glancing at her mother and her friend.

His mother shot him a look and smiled at Kyungjin. “I told him you were equivalent of almost graduating from college.”

“Is that so?” she mused. “Well, it would be nice to actually attend instead of studying at home.”

Her mother fussed over her. “Now, Kyungjin. I told you that you need to focus on getting better. Then you can do all the things you want.”

Kyungjin rolled her eyes. “I know, Mom. I’m just saying that it would be nice to go out. Get out more? Experience the fresh air instead of being cooped up in here?”

Her mother sighed. “We’ll see what the doctor says.”

Her daughter gave her mother an amused look. “Okay, but we both know that Dr. Soo is on my side most of the time.”

Her mother simply laughed and gave her daughter a wistful smile.

Minseok watched the girl with slight interest. She was a cheerful person with a friendly personality. That he could infer from just watching her interact with others. But what really interested him was the fact that everything she said was exactly what she thought.

Usually that meant that the person was simple-minded, but he felt like this wasn’t the case. He felt like this girl spoke what was on her mind without any reservations.

The girl suddenly turned to look at him and grinned. “Your son is really handsome, Mrs. Kim! He just might be my type.”

He gave her a slightly amused look as he blinked at her.

“Oh, should I have said that to you?” she asked, trying to understand his expression which she assumed that he was giving her a strange look. She looked directly at him and grinned. “You’re very good-looking. Would you like to go on a date with me?”

He gazed at her, a snort threatening to come out of his mouth. She really did say what she thought.

His mother laughed. “Sorry about Minseok. He hardly talks, but he gets his point across when he wants. And your mother was right. You are really straight-forward with your words.”

Kyungjin shrugged. “I’ve always believed in the fact that you should say what you want to say, especially if you have a short amount of time left.”

“Kyungjin, don’t say that. The doctor says you’re on your way to recovery. We just have to find a donor,” her mother scolded.

Before she could reply, the door swung open and a fairly young man in white doctor’s coat walked in.

“Good morning,” he smiled handsomely. He noticed the two extra people in the room. “Oh, you have guests? Should I come back another time?”

Kyungjin waved her hand in dissent. “It’s okay, Doc. It’s only my results.”

He frowned slightly then nodded. He flipped over the first page on his clipboard. “Well overall, everything checks out to be fine. Your vital signs are stable. There’s no fluctuations. You’re in healthy shape for now.”

Kyungjin smiled. “Well, it sound everything’s good.”

The doctor laughed. “So far.”

Kyungjin’s mother wrung her hands. “Tell me, Doctor. Kyungjin, she’ll live right?”

Kyungjin smiled softly at her mother. “I’ll be fine if I find a donor.”

“But she’ll live, right?” her mother persisted.

The doctor hesitated, glancing at Kyungjing before settling on her mother. “She’ll live,” he said slowly.

Her mother smiled in relief and turned to Kyungjin, taking her hands into hers. “See, you’ll live. Everything we’ll be fine,” she mumbled repetitiously.

Kyungjin smiled wistfully at her mother, soothingly her hands.

Xiumin normally wouldn’t have said anything. And if he did, it would vague enough so the other person would wonder about what he said, wondering if that was the truth.

But this time, he couldn’t help himself. Perhaps it was because of this girl. Somehow who spoke what she thought and didn’t leave any false impressions behind. Perhaps it was because he thought she deserved the truth, that leaving her in the dark would have not done her any good. That someone like her did not deserve such an excuse.

He honestly didn’t know why, but he felt the urge to. Something he thought he would never would have done if he was a normal person. But he wasn’t a normal person, was he?

“He’s lying.”

The room turned silent as everyone looked at Minseok.

“He’s lying,” he repeated again.

The doctor frowned. “Excuse me?”

“You’re lying when you say she’ll live. That finding a donor is hard enough, and having to wait for one means that each year, there’s a higher possibility of her not surviving.”

The doctor widened his eyes in shock. In fact, everyone in the room was looking at him with a stupor.

He continued, unable to stop his rampaging tongue. “And even if she does find one, the surgery for it has a small success rate. You don’t know if she’ll live, but statistically saying, it looks grim for her.”

The whole room was dead silent before racks of sobs came from Kyungjin’s mother. Everyone’s attention refocused onto her. Minseok’s mother rushed toward her, patting her comfortingly. “Shhh. It’s okay,” she murmured softly.

She looked at Kyungjin. “I’ll take her outside.” And then she shot her son a partly exasperated and partly worried look as she left the room with Kyungjin’s mother.

The doctor stared at Minseok with a stunned expression. “I’ll leave as well,” he murmured, not taking his eyes of Minseok, his eyes betraying his shock and fear.

Once he left, he was only Kyungjin and Minseok in the room.

Minseok blinked slowly, knowing fully well the damage he had caused. He looked at the girl, wondering if she was going to cry as well.

Instead, he was surprised to see her glaring at him with a vicious look in her eyes. She grabbed the stuffed bear next to her and threw it harshly at Minseok which missed and landed haphazardly next to him.

“How dare you!” she yelled. “I don’t know how you know that, but you should have not said those words!”

Minseok didn’t say anything in return, only giving her a blank look.

She glared at him. “Get out.”

He blinked at her in surprise. “Excuse me?”

“Are you deaf as well as insensitive? I said get out,” she murmured dangerously.

He stared at her for a second longer before excusing himself out the door.

Outside he saw his mother comforting Kyungjin’s mother sitting on the chairs in the waiting room with his mother patting the other’s back and talking in a quiet soothing voice.

He observed them carefully, weighing his options at hand. He didn’t particularly find it necessary to do anything, but he nevertheless walked towards them, stopping in front of them.

They both looked up at the newcomer.

“I’m sorry,” he stated.

Kyungjin’s mother looked at him with a wry smile, her voice breaking as she said, “It’s alright. I knew that it was the truth, but I never could accept it.” A distressed expression overcame her face as she continued to sob quietly.

And Minseok knew that she still couldn’t accept it, no matter how much the truth was into her face.

Minseok didn’t know what else to do and stared blankly at her. He turned to his mother who was giving him a meaningful glance, but without her saying anything, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“I’ll walk home.”

His mother widened her eyes in surprise. “No, Minseok. It’s fine. I’ll drive you home.”

He shook his head. “I’ll walk.”

She hesitated and nodded doubtfully at him.

And Minseok turned around and was about to exit out of the hospital before his mother shouted, ‘Wait!”

He stopped and turned his head around to see what the problem was.

His mother stared at him with uncertainty and opened , words coming out cautiously. “Minseok,” she said slowly, “It’s not your fault.”

He looked at her with bland interest and replied, “And why would it be?”

His mother faltered at his words and murmured back, “I just wanted you to know that.”

He turned around, facing away from his mother. “I always mean what I say, whether the outcome is good or bad.”

And he left his mother standing in front of the hospital watching his retreating back.

When his mother came home forty minutes later, Minseok was outside in the backyard, watching the wind and listening to the evergreen trees shudder with the breeze.

He was sitting on the patio outside, leaning against the wood column supporting the patio up.

His mother stepped outside, shivered in the cold air, and tentatively sat next to him.

Minseok barely acknowledged her presence besides for the fact that he looked over when he heard the sliding door open.

No words were passed between them as Minseok continued to stare at the forest background while his mother glanced at him every so often.

“She wants to see you again.”

Minseok barely titled in head to the right to look at his mother before turning his attention back at the greenery. “Kyungjin?”

She nodded. “I talked to her again after you left. She said she was sorry that she was so rude to you. She seemed really apologetic.” She paused and looked at Minseok. “What exactly did she do?” she questioned confusedly.

“She yelled at me, threw a stuffed toy at me, and told me to get out,” Minseok listed calmly.

His mother chuckled a little, leaning back on her arms behind her and stretching out her legs in front of her. “Well, whatever happened between you two has nothing to do with me. But she would like to see you in person and apologize.”

Minsoek side-glanced at his mother. “Do you want me to?”

His mother frowned at those words. “I’m telling you what you should do, Minseok. This is up to you. Whether I want you to or not should not affect your decision. If you want to go, go. If you don’t, then don’t.”

He continued to stare in front of him. “But you would prefer that I go.”

His mother sighed. “I just told you that it doesn’t matter what I think.”

“I wasn’t questioning you; I was stating that as a fact,” he replied.

She looked at him in surprise. “You should really stop doing that.”

“Stop what?” he asked in an indifferent tone.

His mother half-smiled, her attention now at what was in front of her. “Making people wonder if you really do know what they’re thinking.”

Minseok turned his head and looked at her in mild interest. And then a smirk barely formed on his face before disappearing all together. “It’s more fun this way,” he replied in the most apathetic voice he could muster. And there was brief pause before he said, “I’ll go.”

His mother watched him with disbelief and laughed.

He knocked once and entered Room 116.

He didn’t even wait for her to call him in.

He simply walked in, stood in front of her bed, and factually said, “You wanted to see me.”

Kyungjin looked at him in astonishment, bewildered with the sudden appearance of the boy in front of her.

She set down the book she was reading and nodded slowly. “Yes, I wanted to apologize to you.”

He nodded as he waited for her to continue.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

He nodded again. “It’s fine.” He took a step toward the door. “Since we’re done here, I’ll be leaving now.”

She flinched back in surprise. “You’re leaving?”

He blinked at her once. “You apologized. I forgave you. What else is needed to be done?”

She hesitated, looking to and fro from him. “Um,” she drawled, “There’s something else.” She paused before blurting out, “And well, I’m not the only one at fault here!”

Minseok, whose hand was on the doorknob and was about to leave, dropped his hand and turned his head slowly to look at her. “You want me to apologize,” he stated.

 “I’m not only one at fault,” she repeated, sulking.

He stared at her and walked in front of her again. “I’m sorry.”

And then he moved towards the door again.

“Wait!”

He stopped mid-step, and turned to look at her pointedly, indicating his thoughts of “What now?”

She hesitated. “Could I ask you for a favor?”

“Depends,” he replied.

twitched as she suppressed a smile Minseok could already see.

“I want me, well you, actually. I want you to come, you know, and grace your bodily presence around here ever so often.” she intoned, waving her hands in a circle and gesturing towards him.

“What a roundabout way to say that you want me to visit you.”

She tsked embarrassedly. “I know. So, can you?”

“I didn’t know it was an option.”

“I’m not forcing you!” she exclaimed. “I would never do that. I just want to know if you’re willing to.”

“You say it like you’re giving me an option, but after we just went through apologizing to each other, it almost seems obligatory for me to come,” he stated mater-of-factually.

She blinked at him. “Do you always overanalyze things? Or are you secretly sensitive?” she mused.

He was about to answer her, but she waved her hand at that. “No, no. You know what? I’m not going to bother with that. You’re the type of person who’ll do things only when people tell you to.”

She pointed her index finger at him, puffed up her chest, and said in an authoritative voice, “Kim Minseok, I command you to come visit me at least once every week.”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

She immediately dropped her show and scoffed. “That’s it? No complaints? No ‘Who the hell do you think you are’? You just agree?”

He shrugged again, not seeing why he wouldn’t.

“Seriously, you are not fun. You’re like an emotionless doll. You’re boring”

He nodded, not bothered by her words. “And aren’t you being a bit too friendly despite the fact that we apologized just mere minutes before?”

“Water under the bridge. If we both meant our apologies, then there’s nothing to be done. We move past it,” she replied casually.

“And if you don’t mind me asking, but why do you want me specifically to visit you?”

She frowned. “I never said I wanted you,” she emphasized. She then smiled sadly, “I just want someone. Plus, I’m lonely. Sure, my mom comes and visits me, but I want someone new. Someone who’s been in the outside world recently.”

He stared impassively at her. “There’s not much to know about the world.”

She gazed at him like he was ridiculous. “Maybe not to you, but it is to me.”

He shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

She clasped her hands in excitement. “Great! When do you want to come? No, wait. Surprise me! Oh, and bring me something from the world outside. Anything!”

Minseok was a little taken aback of the many thoughts the flooded from her mind. Now that he agreed, she thought too many thoughts at the same time that he was difficult to hear any specific one.

But one thing he was sure of was her exuberant excitement that even someone who couldn’t read people true thoughts could see on her face.

A/N: Slow, slow, and even slower. Why do I feel like that’s what I feel like this story is? But it isn’t! Honestly.

I got you this on schedule, but still expect lateness from me.

School why must you drain my energy? But at least writing stories is still fun.

Thanks for reading!