The second Mi Ran stepped out of the room with Nurse Ahn supporting her by the arm, she was immediately greeted with birthday wishes by all of the staff and patients. Her grin grew wider with every greeting, having to stop now and then to commence small conversations. Everyone knew the most loved patient's birthday was today and her ultimate wish was about to be fulfilled. They were as happy for her as she was. 

Dr.Shin was waiting for her in the lobby with his hands behind his back and a fatherly smile on his face. "Happy 17^th birthday, my dear," he greeted. 

She beamed, squealing when he pulled out her present from behind his back. 

It was a stunning BJD doll named Elin featuring hazelnut doe eyes, plump, heart-shaped pursed lips, and rosy cheeks. Elin adorned a white off-the-shoulder, modern Victorian dress with silky black hair, mimicking Mi Ran's innocent appearance. 

Mi Ran immediately reached out for the doll, hugging her tightly against her chest as she her hair. "I love her," she whispered, her lips quivering. 

Dr.Shin tried holding back his obvious happiness because she loved his present. He cupped her face, wiping her cheeks of inevitable tears with his thumbs. "It's not good to cry on your birthday, Mi Ran-ah."

The young girl sniffed. "I-I can't help it," she whimpered.

Her attending physician laughed, patting her head. "I'll take Elin back to your room and get her accustomed to the environment, okay? Run along now, sweetie; you have school to attend." 

Mi Ran gave her doctor a large hug before handing back the gift, waving at Dr.Shin one last time before holding onto Nurse Ahn again to get to her guardian angel. A smile subconsciously lit up on her face upon catching even just a small glimpse of the older male, both hands stuffed in his pockets as he leaned against his car. 

Dongho lifted up his head when he sensed her presence, the corners of his lips curving upwards. He took her bag from the nurse, bowing towards her with gratitude. He turned to Mi Ran, opening up the door to the backseat. "Ready?"

"C-Can we take the bus instead? Like regular students!" she shyly asked with high hopes.

His eyes filled with compassion, understanding how much she wanted to try to be normal just for one day. "I'm sorry," he regretfully answered. 

She shook her head, the smile on her face not faltering the least bit. "It's okay!"

Nurse Ahn busily checked to make sure she was ready to go. "Are you sure you don't want me to come along?" she asked worriedly. 

Mi Ran pursed her lips, lifting her chin up in the air arrogantly. "I'm 17 now! I can take care of myself!"

Nurse Ahn and Dongho couldn't help but laugh. The nurse had no choice but to unwillingly comply with the girl, watching as her for the day assisted her into the car. She stopped Dongho, reminding him of everything that had to be done throughout the day, things he needed to watch out for, and warnings. "Drive safely, please," she whispered. 

Dongho gave her a reassuring smile before sliding into the driver's seat. He started the engine and gave Mi Ran a few last seconds to bid farewell to her nurse, driving away towards his university with an excited child in the backseat of his car.

He was nervous about everything that could go wrong during the day but seeing Mi Ran made him worry less and just enjoy the moment. He noticed her silence after some time into the ride and glanced at the rear-view mirror. "Something wrong?" he questioned worriedly.

She shook her head, hands over . "M-Mi Ran doesn't want to distract you," she muttered.

He cracked a smile at her silliness. "It doesn't matter me; talk as much as you want." 

Her eyes started to glisten as she rambled on about her excitement and worries for the day. "What if—your friends don't like me?" 

"I highly doubt it," he frowned. "Why would you even think that? You're the most likable person there is," he stated matter-of-factly.

Mi Ran twiddled her thumbs with a small pout. "People have always told me that I'm queer." 

Dongho shook his head in disagreement. Though he did think that at first, she was more unique than queer. "Hey hey, let's not jump to conclusions now, okay? When we arrive, we'll see." 

The two sat in silence for the rest of the way, a mixtape that Dongho had burned not too long ago playing in the background. 

The girl felt her breath hitch in when she caught the first glimpse of his campus. Her jaw dropped lower and lower the closer the car got to the university. She was awestruck. She had seen schools in movies and dramas before whenever she decided to drop by the comfort room, but never thought that it'd be as amazing as this. 

She had often heard about the SKY universities though she had no idea that Dongho goes to one, causing her anxiety to grow. Every department's building stood tall and proud, making Mi Ran feel tiny. She was too busy admiring the campus to notice that they had already parked and Dongho had already opened the door for her. 

"Ready?" he asked, holding his hand out towards her. 

Mi Ran pouted, fidgeting in her seat refusing to come out of the car. "Mi Ran is scared," she whimpered. 

"It's not that bad," Dongho coaxed, urging her to take his hand. 

She looked at him doubtfully but slipped her hand into his in the end. He helped her put on her backpack before heading towards his department. As she clung onto him, she became conscious of the looks she was getting from the students. She lowered her head in hopes that they would stop staring. She knew this would happen and she was ready for it, but so many people judging her made her very uncomfortable.

Dongho noticed her body stiffen and wrapped his free arm around her, squeezing her firmly to remind her that he was there. 

Jung Mi Ran, with her pale face, grey eyes, and doll-like facial features, was different, and all of the students at the university could tell that at first glance. Another factor that contributed to the large amount of attention that she was getting was because Shin Dongho had never been seen with a girl before her. He was undeniably popular among the female population but could care less about them. This was the first time that he was seen walking with a girl and it was rather shocking for everyone. 

"Are you okay?" he whispered in concern when he took notice of her heavy breathing.

Mi Ran nodded with her eyes closed in pain. "I can make it, don't worry," she reassured, though it wasn't very convincing. 

Dongho smiled encouragingly. "We're almost there. Just hang in there for a little more!" Despite his calm appearance, Dongho was freaking out on the inside. They had just arrived but it already seemed like she was going to collapse, which obviously meant that things weren't going exactly as planned. 

He silently cursed, blaming himself for letting Mi Ran persuade him to bring her to somewhere so fast-paced. 

Though Mi Ran was on the verge of fainting, her eyes were still bright and twinkling with curiosity. They darted from one place to another, allowing her to absorb in everything happening around her. The busiest place that she had ever been in was the emergency room, but the nurses never let her stay there to watch for long because they didn't want her seeing some of the more gruesome situations. They usually let her in on the slower days, so imagine how exhilerating it must be for her to be in one of the most active places on earth.

She was so consumed in her surroundings that she hadn't noticed them entering a lecture hall. She blinked, scanning her eyes around the room. She couldn't help but smile seeing the early comers doing their own little things in their respective seats. There were students on their phones, laptops; some were reading or doing assignments for other classes. "I've only seen this in movies or read about it in novels," she whispered in awe, afraid of disrupting them. 

Dongho chuckled, ruffling her hair as he lead her to his usual spot towards the back of the room. 

When they sat down, Dongho watched her silently as she marveled over university life, answering the occasional questions that popped up. Maybe things weren't going to turn out that bad after all. 

"Yah, Shin!" a voice yelled from the entrance of the lecture hall, causing the two to snap their heads towards the owner of the loud voice. 

Mi Ran's eyes widened upon realizing that they were Dongho's school friends and started to internally panic when the group of boys started making their way towards where the two were sitting. She subconsciously found herself gripping onto the hem of his shirt as she scooted closer towards him. 

Dongho gave her a reassuring look. "You'll be fine," he mouthed, "they're nice." 

She frowned for a split second but slowly nodded, not wanting to seem reluctant to make new friends. She was just—nervous. Nervous, like when she's about to go into a dangerous surgery. Was that the same kind of nervous? 

When Dongho's friends were right in front of them, the chirpy one greeted her first. 

"Hi! I've heard a lot about you from Dongho. I'm Kevin!" he introduced, sticking out his hand. 

Mi Ran stared at it momentarily, slightly confused before realizing that she had to shake it. She cautiously brought her hand forward and slightly jumped when Kevin took the intiative to wrap his hand around hers, giving her a friendly handshake. 

"I-I'm M-M-Mi Ran," she shyly announced. 

The other boys smiled before stating their names and shaking her hand. She tried her best to match their names to each of the six new faces but she knew it was going to take a while before she could remember it all. She felt really happy though. For the first time, she was making friends outside of the hospital. 

She loosened up a bit more each time one of the boys introduced themselves. She could get used to meeting people in this way. 

There was an ugly voice in the back of her head whispering dark words to her, but she ignored it. Today was her day and she wasn't going to let anything ruin it. She usually paid no attention to it anyways but she knew it was there. It had always been there for as long as she could remember but now was not the time to worry about that. 

She soon found out that only Kevin, Hoon, and AJ shared the class with Dongho. The other boys bid her goodbye before heading to their respective lectures. 

Kevin, Hoon, and AJ tried their best to make Mi Ran feel comfortable but they didn't have to put that much effort into doing so. Though she was rather shy at first, she was someone who was naturally likable and the boys found themselves talking to her freely like they do with each other. 

She was definitely unique. 

Since the class was a minor in mathematics, Dongho worried that Mi Ran wasn't going to understand anything and feel bad for herself.

That turned out to just be an unnecessary concern. 

The professor had called on her to answer a problem because she was a special guest made aware to all of the teachers and staff at the university by Dr.Shin, one of the most respected doctors in the country. If a renowned figure put so much effort into organizing a perfect day for this girl, the professor thought that she must have to be someone just as respectable as Dr.Shin. He had purposely given her a hard problem due to his high expectations. 

Least to say, she surprised everyone with her correct answer. She was initially hesitant even though she had gotten the answer right away but she had been put on the spot in front of hundreds of students. She had never spoken in front of so many people before. 

After Mi Ran gave her answer and the professor nodded in satisfaction, Dongho was completely blown away. When he got over his shock, he proudly smiled and gave the girl a high-five. He was pleased with how quickly she was adjusting and could barely keep up with her.

"Having fun?" he asked to check up on her during the middle of the lesson. 

She eagerly nodded with a bright grin. 

The corners of Dongho's mouth curled up as he ruffled her hair.

"I'm glad."

«»«»«»

A/N:

I know you guys probably hate me
but here's a really long update just for you!

Life has just been really hectic
and if you guys follow my other stories
I personally met Teen Top last month!
It was honestly the best experience ever.

I promised them that I would recover and go into remission soon
so I'm on the road to remission right now!
I started immunotherapy which is honestly
super painful,
but I'll definitely get better!

The next two months is basically hell for students
so I can't promise an update right away
but I'll try my best because I love you guys!

There's a lot of things I want to say but I'll leave it for next time.

#PrayforSouthKorea

"By stretching forth thine hand to heal;
and that signs and wonders may be done
by the name of thy holy child
Jesus."
-Acts 4:30

I believe in miracles
I really do.