All she could do was stammer. “W-what are you doing h-here?”

“I’m a patient. What else?” Jisu flashed her an eye smile and shrugged like it was no big deal.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Not much.” Again, he shrugged. “I’m all good.”

It was blatantly obvious he was lying. Soo Jin didn’t even need to look at his shifty eyes to be able to tell. Jisu’s skin was a sickly pale colour and his smile didn’t even reach his eyes like it normally did.

Seung Hae, who had been watching this, cut in. “Wait, you know this guy? My moody and broody next door neighbor?” He glanced at his sister in disbelief and almost immediately, his guard went up. Is he some potential heartbreaker?

Soo Jin shook her head at Seung Hae, giving him a warning look. Taking a quick scan at Jisu, Seung Hae considered the situation. This guy’s kind of dorky, and with that hair and pale skin, he’s definitely not a chick magnet. Thinking this over, Seung Hae decided to leave the matter alone and dug right back into his food.

Checking her watch, Soo Jin saw that she only had a few minutes left to report to the head nurse and receive her volunteering duties for the day. Soo Jin turned back to her brother.

“I’ve gotta go. When you’re done, clean up properly okay?”

Seung Hae rolled his eyes. “Yes, mother.”

Soo Jin smiled and bent to kiss his cheek before leaving.

______________________

While carrying on short conversations with patients, replacing flowers with fresh ones, and doing the rest of her duties, Soo Jin’s mind never left Jisu. What kind of sickness does he have? I wonder how I could find out. Is it serious? He seemed fine all those other days. Preoccupied, she didn’t pay attention as she rounded the corner and almost crashed into someone.

“I’m sorry, are you okay? I’m so sorry!” apologizing profusely, Soo Jin didn’t notice who it was until she looked up. It was the elderly man who had been eating with Jisu at the restaurant.

“It’s alright, miss. Just be careful next time.” He offered her a gentle smile and continued on his way.

What a nice man, she thought. Wait. Isn’t he related to Jisu? That means that he’s heading there now! Soo Jin’s eyes widened. Immediately, she changed directions and started to trail him back to her brother and Jisu’s room.

For an elderly man, Jisu’s relative sure kept a fast pace.Within a couple minutes, he was entering Jisu’s room and had crossed to Jisu’s side. The curtain was swiftly pulled and the murmurs of a conversation began, the volume of it fluctuating from loud to soft.

Soo Jin knew it wasn’t right to eavesdrop. In fact, she hated it when Seung Hae had eavesdropped on her during times when she was discussing things on the phone with her friends. But it was just so tempting and she was incredibly curious.

Luckily, Seung Hae’s bed was placed close enough to the curtain that Soo Jin would be able to hear the conversation on the other side. Even more fortunate, Seung Hae had left and the bed was empty. Soo Jin took a seat and craned her neck towards the curtain, listening intently.

“Grandpa, stop trying to control everything about my life!” Jisu’s voice was full of frustration.

Jisu’s grandpa gave an exasperated sigh, but continued in an even, calm tone. “I wouldn’t have to be so controlling if you were more obedient and stopped going out.”

“So what? You want to trap me inside forever?”

“It’s only for your own good. You know that this illness makes it very dangerous for you to be anywhere but home.”

“You don’t understand. You’re not the one with this god damn illness, Grandpa!”

Sternly, Jisu’s grandpa said, “Watch your language.”

“Sorry.” Jisu lowered his voice. “Why did I have to be stuck with coagulopathy?”

“Consider yourself lucky, young man. There are other diseases and illnesses much worse than yours.”

“Whatever,” Jisu huffed.

Soo Jin heard some noise and the next thing she knew, the curtain had been pulled aside and Jisu was standing right in front of her, wide eyed.

“What are you doing?”

“N-nothing,” Soo Jin managed to stammer. “Uh, I’ll see you later.” Soo Jin dashed out of the room, her mind full of even more questions.

What’s coagulopathy? Why isn’t he allowed to go outside? Can I help him? Does it hurt? I really want to know! 

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After months, I finally updated. I'm so sorry for the long wait D:

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