I was discharged from the hospital yesterday; Sunggyu drove me home. I watched the scenery fly by, people walking with their friends and family, hand in hand. I looked down at my own legs, and all I could think about were things that I could have been doing. When Sunggyu brought me inside, he kneeled in front of me, looked me in the eyes, and said, “Don’t you ever think about the others. Even with your disability, you are the strongest person I know. Don’t let anything bring you down.” I smiled at him and then burst out crying.

I wrung my hands that were in my lap as I stared at the T.V. in front of me, not paying attention to anything. “Hey,” Sunggyu said, sitting down next to me on the couch. I mumbled something back to him to show him that I was listening. “Your friends are coming over right?” he asked. I bit my lip and unclenched my fist, nodding. Sunggyu let out a small laugh. “Why are you so quiet?”

“Oppa...I have a feeling they’ll overreact, especially Hwayoung.” Sunggyu patted my hands and held them.

“Don’t worry. They’ll have a variety of reactions, but they won’t do anything drastic,” he said. He gave me that smile and nodded his head. “You have nothing to be nervous about.”

Then the doorbell rang.

“Are you coming back to school anytime soon?” Jinah asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure really. Do you think the school is wheelchair friendly?” Everyone let out collective sighs, knowing that it wasn’t.