A/N: Due to the length of what I have planned for this fic, it will become multi-chaptered rather than a oneshot.
This does not necessarily mean that it will be long.
Most likely it will become a short fic.
The plot of this is rather complex from what I have been planning so far but I will try to keep it simple.
Enjoy.

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Over the horizon rose the sun, cueing the morning calls of the chickens and the songs of the birds.

Earlier than all the rest was Mi Ran whose eyes fluttered open naturally without the use of an alarm. 

At the break of dawn, she was up and about doing normal things that normal people do, except she wasn't exactly normal. 

The girl with grey eyes, raven black hair that tumbled down past mid-back, and a face lost in the ages, was far from normal. 

There was a knock on her door before it swung open, revealing a young woman no older than 24 wearing a white gown and a clipboard tucked neatly underneath her arm. "Mi Ran-ssi?" she called out, cautiously poking her head into the room. "Have you finished getting ready yet?" 

The girl looked up from her book, keeping it opened up on her lap as she sat crisscrossed on the bed. In a soft voice that rung like tinkling bells and sounded of the angels singing she asked, "May I just finish this one chapter? I have but only a few more lines left." Her voice was delicate and her words danced in the air like ballerinas, almost convincing the older woman. 

"T-The doctor will be mad if you're late again," the woman gulped. 

Reluctantly, she closed her books and dangled her feet from the side of the bed. "Very well then," she complied. She slid off the bed, putting on her slippers. Taking hold of the nurse's arm, the two slowly shuffled their way towards the doctor's office. Though it did take a while due to Mi Ran's physical state, they made it with thirty seconds left to spare from the appointed check-up time. 

Jung Mi Ran, the peculiar girl with the heart that at being a heart and a body that at listening to her brain, was far from normal. 

"Mi Ran-ah, how are you feeling today?" 

The young girl pondered over which word would be suitable to use in that situation, like she always did. "Mi Ran is okay," she settled with in the end. 

The doctor softly smiled at the girl, reminiscing through the memories of who she reminded him of. "Is that so, Mi Ran?" he nodded. "Now, does it hurt anywhere?"

Mi Ran slowly shook her head, as if unsure with what she should answer with. 

"Nowhere at all?" he pressed on.

She blinked, looking down at her twiddling thumbs.

"Dr.Shin I don't think—"

"My heart hurts. Mi Ran's heart hurts," Mi Ran whispered, cutting the nurse off. 

The doctor pursed his lips. "How so?" 

"Mi Ran is...—I'm—" she looked up straight into his eyes, "—lonely."

Nurse Ahn bit her lip, restraining her tears from falling. 

Dr.Shin nodded his head, the eye contact not faltering. "Is it because you want someone to be by your side?" he asked. 

Mi Ran looked back down at her fingers again. She shook her head. "People are constantly surrounding me, but I feel empty." she replied in her small voice. 

"Is that why you read? To fill that void?"

The girl didn't reply.

Dr.Shin and Nurse Ahn made eye contact, nodding at each other. 

Maybe it was time. 

"Would you like to make a new friend, Mi Ran-ah?" 

«»«»«»

"Yah, Shin!" a group of guys yelled, running after the dark-haired university student. 

One of his friends, Eli, slung his arm over his shoulder. "Aye, Shin Dongho, are you ditching or something?" 

Dongho shrugged his arm off of his shoulder, brushing off invisible dust from it. "My uncle called; I have to go to the hospital." 

Kevin clucked his tongue. "Boring." 

The younger male rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I'll drop by the arcade later." 

Shin Dongho, a blunt baby-faced anti-social student who would rather fight and play video games than properly study, though he was naturally smart either way. He wasn't an orphan, though he did feel like it most of the time. His parents were always overseas and he rarely saw them. Had the last time been the first year of high school? They didn't attend his high school graduation ceremony. He didn't live alone, however. For most of his life, he had been raised by his grandma until she passed away. Currently, he was living with his father's brother, Shin Junho. 

Dr.Shin Junho, a widowed man in his mid-30's. How tragic. 

When Dongho arrived at the hospital, most of the staff recognized him and greeted him, though he only returned the greetings with a simple tip of his head. 

He crinkled his nose as he made his way towards his uncle's office. He despised hospitals, but he spent most of his time as a kid in them unfortunately. The familiar sign outside the office caught his eye, quickening his pace towards it. Before opening the door, he knocked on it thrice.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Exactly three short knocks with the knuckles at a 125º angle barely grazing the door.  

"Ah, Dongho-ah, you're here."

The young man respectfully bowed to the elder before taking a seat on the chair placed in front of his uncle's desk. 

"Let's get straight to the point now, shall we?" Dr.Shin started, folding his hands atop his desk. He looked at his nephew straight into his chocolate brown orbs and pressed his lips into a thin firm line. "I have a favor to ask of you." 

Dongho's eyes widened in shock. 

Those familiar words; he'd heard them before, ages ago. Never again did he think he'd have to hear that sentence come out of his uncle's mouth. 

Dongho abruptly stood up, the chair sliding out behind him with a screech against the floor. He bit down on his lip until it bled, his knuckles turning white from his clenched fist. 

"No."

With that, he stomped towards the door. 

Desperately, his uncle jumped out of his chair and yelled out his name. "Please, just this once!"

Dongho's hand gripped the doorknob. His hand was shaking. 

He took a deep breath and willed himself to open the door. "I'll see you at home."

Dongho slammed his uncle's office door shut and leaned against it, sliding down onto the floor. He brought his knees up against his chest and hugged it. Burying his face into his knees, he silently sobbed. 

Six years had already come and gone, but the pain in his heart still remained. 

No.

He wasn't going to go through such emotions ever again. 

Shuffle.

Shuffle.

Shuffle.

"Are you—okay?" a voice as soft and delicate as lava cake interrupted his grieving. 

The university student looked up, flabbergasted, only to be met with the strangest eyes he'd ever encountered in his 20 years of life. "I'm—"

The girl in the white hospital gown with the most intriguing eyes known to humanity and curly black hair held out a two-ply sheet of tissue in front of him, her head slightly tilting to the side and an innocent look plastered on her face. 

Dongho assessed her from head to toe, not failing to notice her rather childish strawberry slippers and the Latin version of Harry Potter that she was tightly hugging against her chest with her free hand. 

She urged him to take the tissue, not uttering a single word.

Reluctantly, he took it from her, making sure not to touch her hand. 

He could have sworn he saw her lips slightly tug upwards into a smile, though that could have just been his imagination. 

She gave him one last look before slowly shuffling away with her strawberry slippers and Harry Potter book. 

Dongho couldn't help but become suddenly captivated by this girl who definitely looked younger than him, though he wasn't sure if it was only by a few years or by a lot. 

Though it seemed a bit weird to him, he followed behind her from a safe distance. For every 10 steps that she took, he took one. Never would he have thought that walking could be such a tedious task. Albeit it taking quite a while, he noticed the girl stop in front of a room in which he inferred was most likely hers. To him, she looked quite tired although the distance had actually not been that far. 

Dongho glanced at the name plate on the wall next to the door. 

Jung Mi Ran - Cardiomyopathy, it read. 

He raised his eyebrow. At her age? 

He hadn't realized that he had been staring at her until she tapped the wall with her finger. His eyes widened in surprise. 

Mi Ran shook her head, as if telling him it was okay. She pointed towards her room. "Would you like to come in?" was what she was trying to convey to him. She pushed the door open and as expected, Dongho followed. 

The room was white, as was every other hospital room, except her plain white walls were decorated with stickers of Disney characters and posters of various novels. There were glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on the ceiling with styrofoam solar system models dangling down next to them. Next to the window was a rocking chair and a large pink bean bag chair. Lining the walls were low-lying bookcases, all overflowing with different types of books. From picture books to Shakespearean plays, she had such a wide variety. 

If you ignored the many machines throughout the hospital room, it looked like any other regular bedroom of a girl. 

He noticed she had already situated herself on her bed, the book opened in her lap. 

Dongho stood there awkwardly out of place. "Why don't you talk much?" he suddenly asked out of the blue. 

Mi Ran's eyes stopped gliding across the pages of her book. "Words are hard to use to express," she simply replied. 

His eyes narrowed. 

"How old are you?"

She held back a smile, her eyes sparkling like twinkling stars in the countryside. "Did you know? Dr.Shin told me that he would buy me a doll for my 17th birthday. I've never had a doll before."

Ah, so she's only 16. How pitiful.

As Dongho kept on staring at her when she returned back to reading, the door to her room opened up. 

It was his uncle. 

"Dongho-ah! Y-You've already met the favor?" Dr.Shin asked in surprise.

No.

No.

No.

In a split second, Dongho had run out of the room. 

Dr.Shin was speechless.

"Doctor," Mi Ran called, "was he your nephew? The one you talk of a lot?"

He nodded, making his way over to the teenager to pat her head. "Do you like him?"

Mi Ran hugged her book. "Does he not like Mi Ran?"

Dr.Shin shook his head in denial. "He's just a shy boy," he reassured her with a fatherly smile. 

"Mi Ran likes him," she announced. 

"Dongho?"

Mi Ran nodded with a shy smile. "Dongho accepted my tissue. Dongho is nice." 

Dr.Shin nibbled on his bottom lip. She was already attached. This wasn't going to go well if his nephew was going to hold onto the past.

«»«»«»

"In you, Lord my God, I put my trust."
-Psalm 25:1