“THWEET!!!” said the whistle of Kim Hyunjoong, the coach of the tennis team in School of Machiavellian Excellence and Obeisance (SMEXO). “Okay students, listen carefully. Next month will be the Annual Tennis Tournament. Our biggest competitor, Pacific Institute of Learning, has been champions for three years in a row. I can see that all of you are determined to win. Our training exercises are not enough to outwit them. So, I have decided to change tactics. Each of you will focus on their weaknesses and use it as a weapon for the tournament. Mia Kwon –pulls Mia close to him–, because you are bad at drop shot, you’ll have to work on it with… with Oh Sehun who’s bad at backspin, which you’re good at. Well, that’s how things will work for us now. Okay?”

“Okay!” replied the whole team.

“I hate drop shots…” Mia mumbles as she ties her brunette locks.

Sehun smiled, “Well, I hate backspin, too. But I think coach’s plan is good. But remember this Mia, even if I’m your friend, I won’t go easy on you.”

“Challenge accepted, mister Oh Sehun. Don’t forget that I’m the queen of backspin and even coach can’t beat that killer move of mine,” Mia boasted as they prepare the tennis net.

Both of them ambulated to their designated positions. As Mia prepares to serve, Sehun complimented, “You’re so confident whenever we are on the court. But once game’s over, you’re back to meek Mia who avoids human contact. That’s why you still don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Stop distracting me, Sehunnie. That won’t work against me. Besides, men are just nuisances in life,” Mia fired back as she smashes the tennis ball back to Sehun.

He tried Mia’s killer backspin to give the ball back to her as he asked her, “Why do you think so?”

“I base it on my mother’s experience. She fell in love with a man who’s disliked by her family, but she fought for it. Years later, the man she loved was abusing her verbally and economically, the same way with their children. Eomma told me marrying my father was the biggest mistake of her life. That’s why she doesn’t want me to fall in love or I might end up the same way as her.” She returned the ball with an ace back to him and added, “You’re doing backspin wrong.”

He missed the ball, shocked to what Mia shared to him. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t know that…”

“Nah, it’s okay. That’s why we’re here to practice. So we can improve our weaknesses,” she mouthed.

“Mia, let’s make a deal.”

“What deal?”

“If I mastered your style first, we’re gonna watch a movie on Saturday. If you mastered my style first, you win.”

She wiped her sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand and answered, “Sounds like a good deal to me. If I win, you’re gonna go to my house so we can practice more. And you can help me with my Math dilemma.”

“I think I’d rather lose…” he mumbled, looking away from her.

“You what, Sehunnie?”

“Ah, nothing. Let the battle begin!”

Sehun served the ball. Mia responded with a heavy smash. Their bodies dance to the beat of the ball back and forth. That is until Mia tried Sehun’s drop shot and almost slipped. She tried to ignore the pain on her right foot, but the excruciating painful sensation crept up to her arms, making her fall hard on arse.

Sehun darted to her side and quaked, “Are you alright? What’s wrong? You got a sprain or something?”

“M-My… I can’t move my whole body… Ouch… I hate this. We’re just getting started and now I’m injured…”

“Tsk, don’t blame yourself. You’ve been practicing for too long that’s why you got yourself hurt. Let’s go to the clinic to aid your injury,” he explained as he carried her to the clinic.

Sehun opened the door and dictated, “My friend can’t move her body. Treat her right away.”

“Yes, I will. You can now leave her and continue with your practice,” a man in white, checking the medicine cabinet, responded.

Sehun hesitated to leave his friend alone with a nurse, but Mia gave him a reassuring smile. “You text me when something happens, okay Mia?” he ruffled her hair and left.

The man in white turned around and Mia’s eyes witnessed a man with bright chocolate-brown hair, deer-like eyes, rose lips and a succumbing aura. “Miss, what happened to you? What part of your body aches the most?” he queried as he observed her from head to toe.

Mia was left speechless, her eyes fixed on his beautiful features. Does he even exist? How come I’ve never seen a guy like him? This is how the slow-motion effect feels like…

“Umm…miss? Are you alright? You seem to be spacing out. Did a tennis ball hit your forehead? Or perhaps, a common sprain?” the man in white waved his hand on her face. “My name’s Nurse Luhan. You don’t have to be uptight. I don’t bite.” He took off her shoes, her socks and spitted a loud “OUCH!” He looked into her eyes and explained, “You’ve got cramps. Is there any other body part that hurts?”

“I really… I really can’t move much.”

“Looks like you’ve used your muscles too much. You need to rest and stretch a bit to let the blood flow in your legs and arms, and maybe your neck as well. I’ll go to the stock room to get some ointment for you. Just wait, okay?”

So cramps give you that electrifying feeling on your body? I thought it was sprain… Aish, how stupid of me! My legs and arms are sleeping, but thanks to them, I was able to see a Greek god. I thought handsome nurses only appear in J-Doramas. I should visit the clinic more often. Hee hee~

The nurse came back with a bottle of eucalyptus ointment and a black box. He approached Mia and ordered her, “Stretch your legs on the bed.”Mia followed his order. Later on, he opened the bottle, poured a pea size amount on his palm, rubbed the palm with ointment on her foot and gently massaged them. As he massaged her foot, he stated, “Your legs are tensed. You should lessen your practice hours. Or else, your muscles might tear. Worse, your bones might get dislocated. The human body might seem powerful, but it has its limitations. Even if our bones are four times stronger than concrete, they can still get broken. Even if it takes half as long to gain muscle than it does to lose it, they can still get torn. Take care of yourself, I know you’re a great athlete.”

“You know, Nurse Luhan?”

“Oh, I’m the new nurse here. Nurse Kris left because of personal issues. He told me about a tale of the queen of backspin.”

“Nurse Kris is a gossiper… You know me yet I don’t have a clue who are you…”

Luhan flashed a smile and introduced himself, “I am Lu Han, a BS Nursing graduate from Yonsei University. I’ll celebrate my birthday on April 20. I love Rubik’s cube and kung pao chicken. Do you wanna get my number as well? I have my Kakao Talk account.”

Mia blushed to the roots, thinking My gahwd, he’s offering me his phone number. Somebody slap me please.

“Miss Kwon?”

She came back to reality, stammering, “Sure-Sure-Sure… Yeah… Thank you-Thank you…”

He fondly patted her shoulder and announced, “Take a rest first. Call me whenever something happens to you, okay?” He took a piece of paper and gave it to Mia. “Here’s my contact details.”

She stared at the call card like it wasn’t real. Then her eyes landed on the black box. “Nurse Luhan, what’s that black box for?”

He took the box and answered, “Oh, this?” He took off the lid and candies and chocolates of all kinds surprised her. “You can get one. It’ll make you feel a bit better.”

“This has ?”

“No, no. Since when did Korean teenagers get interested in drugs? These have endorphin and serotonin, hormones known to help to relay messages from one part of the brain to another and allow the body to feel calm and relaxed.”

“Oh~ I’ll take  –gets a small bar of chocolate–  this one ~ Thank you Nurse Luhan. I better get going,” she said as she put on her socks and shoes. She stretched a bit and glided back to the tennis court.

“Are you alright now? Is it a sprain?” Sehun questioned Mia as she combs her hair in the locker room.

“I’m fine, Sehunie. It’s just cramps. Nurse Luhan told me to rest and to lessen practice hours. What are you doing in the female locker room?!”

He distanced himself from her and defended, “I was just concerned about you. Do you wanna go home now?”

“What about the movie? You won, remember?” She carried her bags and grabbed Sehun by the wrist. “Let’s go watch Transformers 4! I wanna see Hangeng!”
 

While munching on chocolate-glazed popcorn, Mia spoke, “How long is this movie?”

“Two hours, according to Jongin. He watched it with his girlfriend Kyungsoo.” Sehun observed Mia as she eats popcorn and stares at the movie screen.

“Sehunnie, do you think I should call Nurse Luhan to thank him?”

He was absorbed in admiring Mia’s face that he wasn’t able to hear what she was saying.

“Oy, Oh Sehun! I’m asking you if I should call Nurse Luhan to thank him!” she shouted on his face.

“WHAT? Who the hell is Nurse Luhan?”

“Nurse Luhan is the one who took care of my cramps. He’s the new nurse since Nurse Kris left. I’m surprised he gave me his phone number. Maybe I should call him… But that would be embarrassing. Omo, what should I say to him? My goodness, what am I thinking… Omo, I’m getting shy and he’s not even here. –squeezes her face– Gahd, what am I gonna do?”

Sehun’s world stopped as he heard her voice fille diwth joy and bashfulness. He stoically asked, “You like Nurse Luhan, do you?” He looked into her eyes as he halts his tears.

“Umm…maybe. I guess so. You know, like a crush. He’s so cute and…sweet. He’s my crush at first sight. Isn’t that great? I am now interested in a man…”

Sehun weakly smiled, despaired inside.

“Who would’ve thought cramps would be the gateway to a Greek god like Nurse Luhan? Anyway, let’s watch now. Sehunnie… –tugs  Sehun’s shirt–”

He turned his head to Mia. “Mmm?”

“You’ll support me, right?”

“Mmm.”

“I’m so lucky to have a friend like you!” she exclaimed as she hugged him.