“Why not? You’re always telling me to do good things. This is the perfect opportunity. Mom, let me go to Daejeon.” Bobby followed his mother around the kitchen, begging her to let him volunteer that weekend.

His mother stopped in her tracks and stared at her youngest son suspiciously. “Why are you suddenly wanting to volunteer at a hospital all of a sudden? I don’t mind that you want to be good, don’t get me wrong, but Daejeon is too far. There are plenty of places in Seoul where you can do good things for other people.” Bobby groaned in annoyance and linked his arm through his mother’s. He leaned his head on her shoulder and cutely looked at her with pouty lips.

“Some people I know are going. If their parents are allowing them to go, why can’t you?” He hoped that his mother would break soon and give him permission to go.

His mother sighed in defeat. She was weak when it came to Bobby’s aegyo¹(A/N: Please look refer to the footnote at the bottom of the page), “Fine, you can go. But you have to call me when you get there and when you’re about to leave.” Bobby gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and whooped loudly. He bounced to his room and began packing for Daejeon.

A devious smile crept onto his face as he stuffed his backpack with a few shirts. He imagined the look on Soeul’s face when she was to discover his arrival. He could see Soeul swooning as he helped out at the hospice. That’s right, Park Soeul, you will be mine. You’ll see how much of a good person I can be. You won’t even remember that foreign guy once you see me volunteering. Evil laughter erupted from his mouth.

“Shut up, Jiwon! I’m trying to study!” Bobby quickly shut his mouth and hollered, “Sorry, hyung!”

Bobby went back to laughing as if he were an evil genius, but in quieter manner. He grabbed his lucky snapback and carefully packed it into his backpack. I’ll win your heart over with a dance. That other guy said that they were going to put on a show, right? Let’s see if they can beat me in a dance battle.

Bobby was known for his creative dance moves. He and his friends often put on performances for his schoolmates. They were popular for their looks, but they were even more popular for their ability to sing, rap, and dance. If Bobby was confident about anything, it was dancing and rapping. With those two skills, he was sure that he would be able to catch Soeul’s eyes in a positive way.

Soeul and her friends stared at the unwelcome boy in complete shock. Bobby smiled brightly as his eyes turned into crescents. Wenhan and his friends looked at Bobby curiously.

“What did you just say?” Soeul thought she had heard wrong when Bobby announced that he was also going to the same destination as them.

“I’m going to Daejeon, too. I planned on volunteering at the hospice a while ago.” Bobby ignored the looks he received and whistled a light tune as he waited for the bus.

Wenhan cleared his throat, “Well, the more volunteers the merrier. Anyways, what did you guys prepare for the show?” Soeul broke out of her daze and looked at Wenhan kindly, “It’s a surprise.” She broke out into an amiable smile.

Bobby almost growled when he noticed Soeul being friendly with Wenhan. He wanted to smack Wenhan’s pretty face and then rub it against the rough concrete. But he held himself back and preoccupied himself by looking elsewhere. And that’s when he noticed it. He was the eleventh wheel. Each of the other guys were paired up with a girl.

Suddenly, he felt out of place. Bobby wordlessly inched closer to Soeul and Wenhan, who were conversing happily, without trying to be noticed. But that seemed impossible when he was standing an inch away from Soeul.

She noticed him getting closer and stared up at him oddly. “What are you doing?” She tried to shoo him away, but he didn’t budge. She decided to just ignore him and go back to talking to Wenhan. “Sorry. Jiwon can be really weird sometimes.”

Bobby made a face at the comment. He looked at Wenhan as if he were trying to size him up, but Wenhan ignored him. An idea came to his mind, and he bit his lower lip to contain his smile.

“Soeul, aren’t you going to introduce me to your little friend?” Soeul stopped talking and glared at Bobby. She mouthed at him to keep quiet, but Bobby continued to pester her.

With tightly clenched fists, Soeul faced the street as she stood between Wenhan and Bobby. “Wenhan, this is Jiwon. Jiwon, this is my good friend, Wenhan.” She was going to turn back towards Wenhan to continue her conversation about their plans after graduation when suddenly, Bobby’s arm flew out across her chest.

Everyone became quiet as they stared at Bobby. They blinked a few times as they tried to process what was going on. As they looked at him, a bicyclist pedaled past them.

Soeul slowly looked down at her right , then, at Bobby. Bobby stared at Soeul, just blinking at her. She slowly turned pink all over before she broke the silence. “Get your hand off of my chest! You ert! Why would you just stand there, touching my ?” Soeul pelted Bobby with her small fists as she yelled at him.

Everyone else watched Bobby run away from a furious Soeul. They did nothing to stop Soeul from grabbing ahold of Bobby by his hair and shaking his head like an insane person.

By the time their bus had gotten to the stop they were at, Bobby’s hair was a mess, and he had a bruises forming on his shoulders and arms from trying to shield himself. No one bothered to pay any attention to him as they got on the bus.

Thy each paired up and sat next to one another. Bobby spotted Wenhan and Soeul heading towards the back of the bus and followed them. He was going to sit in between them, but Soeul quickly sat next to Wenhan. So, he had no choice but to sit on the other side of her, sandwiching her between him and Wenhan.

Soeul scowled at Bobby as he sat down. Wenhan looked at Bobby with an unreadable expression. And Bobby just pretended not to notice how he was disturbing them.

“Do you have to sit here, ert? There are seats open in the front of the bus.” Bobby looked at Soeul as if he didn’t understand her. Soeul sighed and scooted closer to Wenhan. Bobby then proceeded to scoot closer to Soeul. She glanced over at him, clearly annoyed. She continued to inch closer to Wenhan, but Bobby also moved closer. Soeul leaned towards Wenhan and so did Bobby.

Soeul warily looked at Wenhan who was leaning towards the window. She quietly apologized.

“Why don’t you sit by the window? You like window seats, don’t you?” Soeul smiled at Wenhan gratefully before moving over to the other seat.

Bobby frowned deeply. He was now sitting next to Wenhan, and Soeul was sitting between Wenhan and the window. He did not like the new seating arrangement.

As the eleven of them rode to Daejeon, Bobby was very close to throwing a temper tantrum. He jealously watched Soeul and Wenhan interact. As he closely observed the way they acted, Bobby began to assume that Wenhan liked Soeul. But his inference wasn’t confirmed until they were halfway to Daejeon.

Along the way, Bobby noticed that Soeul kept yawning. He noticed dark circles under her eyes, and he noted that she looked very tired. He wondered what time she had gone to bed the night before.

Not long after, Soeul had grown quiet. Her head bounced this way and that as she dozed off. Bobby wanted to lean her head against his shoulder to keep it steady, but she was out of his reach. And…Wenhan had already done so. With a gentle hand, Wenhan pushed Soeul’s head onto his shoulder.

Bobby didn’t really mind the gesture, but what did upset him was the way Wenhan brushed away Soeul’s hair and gazed at her sleeping face as if he were in love with her. At that moment, Bobby wanted push Wenhan off of the moving bus and take his place.

He would have done anything to be the one to lend Soeul a shoulder and to be able to admire her pretty looks up close. But he couldn’t. He wasn’t liked by Soeul. He ruined his own chances of being close to her. And he didn’t truly regret it until he saw the way Wenhan looked at Soeul.

“Next stop: Daejeon. Daejeon.” Everyone, except for Soeul, Wenhan and Bobby, perked up with excitement as the bus pulled into Daejeon.

Wenhan carefully woke up Soeul, shaking her ever so gently and calling her name tenderly. Soeul’s eyes fluttered open, and she couldn’t have looked more pretty in Bobby’s eyes. She looked out of the window as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. When she realized that they were already in Daejeon, she became hyper. She admired the passing scenery while two guys admired her.

“Wenhan, look! We’re almost there!” She turned towards Wenhan and grabbed his muscular arm excitedly. Bobby could have sworn he heard his heart cracking a little at the physical interaction. What he would have done to trade places with Wenhan just for that moment.

“Alright, kiddos. This is the last stop.” The bus driver pulled up to the last bus stop, and the eleven of them got off. They looked around and tried to figure out where they were supposed to go.

“It’s this way!” Everyone looked at Soeul who had begun to walk ahead. They quickly caught up with her. Wenhan walked with by her side while Bobby stayed behind everyone else. He regretted following Soeul to Daejeon. He hadn’t expected to feel so jealous. He knew that he would see Wenhan and Soeul interacting, but he didn’t realize how much it would hurt him.

From afar, Bobby watched Soeul chat and laugh with Wenhan. Although he was envious, he couldn’t help but smile when he heard her laugh. He found himself smiling at every little thing she did. The way she gave someone her full and undivided attention when she talked to him or her made him respect her even more. The way she made sure the person she was conversing with knew that she was really listening made his fall in love a little more. And that way she smiled so brightly as if nothing could ruin her day made his heart flutter madly.

As he watched her intently, he didn’t notice anything else, not even the huge branch sticking out above him. He rammed his head into the thick branch and fell backwards, causing everyone’s attention to fall on him.

Soeul stared at him, wide-eyed. She ran up to him and knelt down beside him. “Are you okay? Who did you sell your attention to? How did you not see that branch? Jeez, Jiwon, I swear, sometimes, you’re dumb.” She opened up her backpack and pulled out a Band-Aid and plastered it onto a small scratch above his right eyebrow.

Bobby didn’t even realize that he had been injured. All he could focus on was Soeul and the fact that she was paying attention to him. His heartbeat increased as he felt her soft hands on his forehead. He grew weak in the knees as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

“Come on, Mr. Ignorant. We’re going to be late because of you.” Soeul ran back up to Wenhan and led the way to the hospice.

Bobby stood still for a few seconds as he stored the memory of the time Soeul cared for him. When he was done falling in love with her all over again, he caught up with the rest of the group.

Upon arriving at the hospice, no time was wasted. The group split up into pairs and visited different rooms. Bobby, being the only one without a partner, declared that he would stick with Soeul and Wenhan. However, Wenhan seemed uncomfortable with the arrangement. He didn’t say anything, but Bobby could tell by his expression. Bobby smiled at the way he made Wenhan unhappy.

“Come on, Soeul. Let’s go to the pediatric unit.” Wenhan tugged at Soeul’s sleeve and led her away from Bobby and towards the children’s ward.

Bobby quickly sped up his pace and caught up with the two of them. He stood on the other side of Soeul and listened in on her conversation with Wenhan. He learned a few things that he hadn’t really known about her.

He knew that she wanted to become a doctor, but he had never known what kind. Learning that she wanted to become a pediatric doctor made her seem more venerable. Hearing her get excited about working with children made him melt a little. She would make a great mom.

“Do you have any experience with kids, Jiwon?” Bobby quickly looked away from Soeul and at Wenhan. He felt like he was being judged under Wenhan’s gaze.

Bobby cleared his throat, “Not really, but I like them. And call me Bobby.” He glanced down at Soeul to see if she was listening, but to his dismay, she had been looking around for the playroom.

“Are you interested in working in the medical field as well, Bobby?” Wenhan scanned Bobby’s hip-hop outfit as if it were a clown suit. And Bobby definitely noticed the scrutiny and retorted childishly, “No, but I might become interested. And I don’t see how my future is any of your business.”

Bobby and Wenhan locked eyes and stared each other down silently, both burning inside to beat the other at whatever game they were playing.

“Hey, guys!” The guys broke their staring contest when they heard Soeul cheerfully greeting the children. They watched her hug the little ones with hearts practically pouring out of her eyes. She smiled at them, making the atmosphere warm and comforting.

“Unnie! What are you doing here? Did you move to Daejeon, too?” A pale little girl in a wheelchair perked up at the sight of Soeul.

Soeul approached her with a tender expression, but the way she stared at the little girl made Bobby’s heart constrict. She almost seemed sad to see the little girl.

“No, I’m here to visit you all and put on a little show. I was wondering where you had been transferred to. I was surprised to not see at Seoul National Hospital. You’ve been a good girl since the last time I saw, right?” The little girl smiled brightly and nodded eagerly, “I’ve been listening to the doctors and nurses well, and I’ve been trying my best to be a good daughter to my parents, too.” Soeul patted her head and held her little hand.

She turned towards the door, “You remember Wenhan oppa, don’t you? He came to visit you guys, too. And next to him is my friend Jiwon. They’re going to make sure you guys have lots of fun today, so if they don’t do a good job, tell me. I’ll scold them for you.” The little kids laughed and smiled as Soeul feigned an upset expression.

The way Soeul interacted with the kids, it was beautiful and amazing. Bobby knew why Soeul had been the first girl to ever steal his heart: she was more human than any other girl he knew. She felt emotions more strongly than any other. She cared more. She was selfless when she needed to be, but she made sure she treated herself well, too. She didn’t care about what others thought of her. All that mattered to her was that the people around felt loved.

Why do make me feel so weak, Soeul? The way you smile and the way you look at people. The way you do everything makes me feel weak.

“Hyung, do you want to play with my action figures?” Bobby looked down. He saw a little boy tugging at his pants, smiling up at him. Bobby softened and nodded. The little boy took his hand and dragged him away to his toys.

All the while, Soeul and Wenhan played with a small group of kids. They laughed and chatted, tending to everyone’s needs. From afar, they looked like a family, a family who smiled but their hearts did not. Bobby noticed how different Soeul’s eyes looked from before they reached the hospice.

They were sad, especially when she looked at the little girl in the wheelchair.

aegyo¹: a Korean term; refers to cute displays of affection