"Hey Dongho, give me two more tokens," AJ ordered, holding one palm out while the other hand was busy violently pressing the controls of the arcade game. 

The younger male rolled his eyes, digging into his pocket to fish out the golden game coins which he dropped onto his palm.

AJ carelessly dropped the tokens into his own pocket and resumed the intense game. "How was the hospital?" he asked the younger male out of pure curiosity. "What did your uncle want?"

Dongho stayed silent, looking down at his feet with a blank expression. He contemplated on as to whether or not he should tell AJ despite the fact that he's a best friend. 

Noticing Dongho's silence, a small smile appeared on AJ's face as he turned his head around to look at the boy. Dongho had always been a mystery even to the six boys who knew him the best and the last thing he wanted to do was to force the boy into an uncomfortable situation. Forgetting about the game, AJ walked over to the younger male and slung an arm around his shoulder. "What's with the long face and pause?" AJ asked with a smirk, playfully poking Dongho's side. "Cat got your tongue?"

Dongho cracked a smile, punching the other male's arm. "You still lost to Hoon," he pointed out, nodding his head at the arcade game. 

AJ's jaw dropped, snapping his head towards the machine. "Dagnabbit, Yeo Hoonmin!" 

Dongho patted his shoulder in comfort before walking away to let him return to his intense gaming. 

This was where he spent most of his name: the arcade. It wasn't just any arcade but an arcade that actually belonged to Eli. None of them knew how he had gotten it but one thing they did know was that the seven of them were the only ones who knew of its existence. It sort of became their hangout, another home. 

Within the arcade, it was literally a second home for them. Each of them had their own bedrooms on the floor atop the actual arcade. The floor was also complete with a living room and kitchen. Rather than going home, the seven mostly spent there time at the arcade. For some it was because they either didn't want to go home or simply because the arcade is located closer to the university rather than their own houses. 

In Dongho's case, it was neither of those two reasons. His uncle was always busy and with it being only the two of them living together, when the presence of the other person is missing it made him feel naseous. Unbeknownst to anyone, Dongho despised being alone. Having had to spend most of his time alone during his childhood, he had grown to prefer staying after school with teachers rather than going home to the empty house. 

No one knew this, and no one had to know. 

Staying at the arcade surrounded by the other six guys was a lot better than returning to the lonely house. The fact that they were well off and the house was a mansion did not make it any better. 

Whenever Dongho was all alone in the house, it was cold. 

It wasn't the type of cold that you could fix by turning on the heater or wearing thicker clothes.

Oh, no. 

It definitely wasn't that type of cold.

Whenever Dongho was left all alone, he could feel the cold loneliness in his heart. 

There had only been one person who could heal his loneliness but he should have known better.

Everyone leaves him in the end.

«»«»«»

A bloodcurdling scream rang through the halls of the hospital as nurses and doctors alike sprinted towards the source of the screaming. Terror was evident in their eyes as the worst thoughts swam through their minds. The scream was familiar and every time they heard it, they dreaded the possibilities that they could be met with. 

Leading the army of doctors and nurses was Dr.Shin with cold sweat running down his forehead. There was nothing he feared more than something happening to the child he saw as his own daughter. 

The door leading to the screaming flew open to reveal a thrashing Mi Ran on the hospital bed, tears streaming down her face. Upon noticing that she was asleep, everyone heaved out a sigh of relief. Everything bad that could have happened, didn't happen. 

Junho stepped into the room as the rest of the staff returned to their stations. He stumbled towards the bed, kneeling down beside it as he held her hand in his. "Child, it'll all be okay, it's okay," he whispered, calming her down by her hair. "I'm here now, I won't leave you."

After some time, Mi Ran's night terror passed and she fell back into a peaceful slumber.

When he was sure she was in a stable condition, Dr.Shin stood up from the floor. He looked as though he had aged ten years from the scare he had gotten earlier due to Mi Ran's screams. 

He couldn't stand it anymore. There was only one way to cure Mi Ran and it involved the same person who had a trauma from healing broken people. 

No matter what it took, Dr.Shin made it his priority to give Mi Ran everything she deserved in life. She meant more than life itself. An angel like her didn't deserve to be born with the fate bestowed upon her. The moment he had been assigned as her doctor was the moment he knew she was going to be the reason why he lived as a doctor. 

He had already failed once before with a previous patient and he swore to himself then that he would never let it happen again. 

With one last glance at Mi Ran, Junho turned around and walked out the door with a determined expression. 

As usual, Dr.Shin had fallen asleep in the on-call duty room. By morning when he had been waken by his colleague due to a visitor, he was completely out of it. He hadn't been expecting anyone and all he wanted was some extra shut eye.  Stumbling out the door while trying to put on his medical lab coat, he headed towards his office. 

The person who had been waiting for him in his office was someone he had never expected to be there willingly. "Dongho? What are you doing here? Did I forget to leave money at home again?" Junho inquired with a surprised look on his face. 

The college student stayed silent, keeping his eyes down. 

Dr.Shin heaved a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn't like he was going to have another chance to talk to his nephew about a sensitive topic between the both of them so why not? "Dongho-yah," he called. 

The boy was unresponsive.

"I know; I don't have the right to apologize, more or less talk about Hyeji. I know that it's all my fault but I just want you to know that I'll forever live in regret. Call me selfish, thoughtless or whatever but this is the only chance I'll ever get to redeem myself. If I can't save this child then I won't be able to live anymore. Mi Ran is my last hope. Please, Dongho," Junho begged with pleading eyes. He was desperate for a second chance. 

Dongho's eyes hardened. "Don't say her name," he seethed.

Junho was despondent, his clenched fist shaking. "One month, just one month! I promise I'll do everything it takes to cure her. I'll do whatever it takes to keep her from ending up like Hyeji."

His nephew stood up and made his way out of the door. "I'll see you at home," was all he said before disappearing from Dr.Shin's sight, causing Junho's shoulders to fall due to his futile pleads. The doctor felt his heart drop to the pits of his stomach after the young man had left the room. 

When Dongho exited the hospital, he jumped back in surprise when he ran into a petite figure that he had not seen in his way. Before the patient could fall, he grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her towards him to steady her by wrapping his arms around her body. He heard an almost inaudible gasp escape from . 

"Are you okay?" he asked, stepping back when he was sure she was okay on her own two feet. It was only then did he look down at her face.

A smile spread across the patient's face. "Dongho," she called in a whisper, almost as if she was too shy to say his name. She repeated a few times to test his name on her tongue. Each time, her grin only grew wider. "Dongho is Mi Ran's friend—friend!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as though she couldn't believe the fact. 

Dongho looked away as he nibbled on his bottom lip. She was too similar to Hyeji for his comfort. The next words that came out of his mouth caught even himself by surprise. "Do you need help getting back to your room?" he offered. 

Mi Ran lowered her head in an attempt to hide her blushing face and the grin that was slowly creeping up onto her face. "Would it not be of a burden to Dongho-ssi?"

He didn't know why but he found himself shaking his head. "It's alright, really," he affirmed, holding out his arm for her to hold onto. He was acting way out of character and it scared him why he was trying to be nice to the girl despite his objections towards his uncle's offer. There was just something about Dr.Shin's main patient that drew him to her. She was, undeniably, a unique young lady with overflowing naïvety. 

Cautiously, Mi Ran grasped onto the college student's arm and scooted next to him, hugging his arm like how she usually did with everyone else. 

"Come on, I heard you had to take medicine in a few minutes," Dongho ushered. 

«»«»«»

A/N:
I'm the worst author ever.

I know, it's been two months!
Please accept my sincere apologies.
I've been in and out of the hospital because of various surgeries.
I've also been busy with entrance exams.
I know this is like,
the worst chapter ever.
Sorry!

I have a friend
whom I recently found out had cancer
and I'm really mad right now.
I hope everyone treasures their lives
and understands just how precious and fragile it really is.
Please, don't do anything stupid.
You don't know how much time you have left.
Make use of it.

"Turn, O Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love."
-Paslm 6:4

((if you haven't noticed, Psalm is my favorite book))