Title: Condolences 

Prompt: Sometimes the strongest among us are the ones who smile through silent pain, cry behind closed doors, and fight battles nobody knows about.

“And that concludes the surgery. Good job everyone.” The head surgeon announced happily. Sighing could be heard surrounding the body that was still unconscious on the surgery table, the one that had no idea how gruesome his transplant had been to the eyes of an undergraduate medical student. The skilled assistants took their masks off as they left the room, even the colleagues observing with me took their masks off in an instant. I didn’t dare take my mask off, or move for that matter, because if I did, it wouldn’t be long before everyone was laughing at me for fainting. The surgeon, with his bloody gloves, approached me, who was still standing without movement in the same place. I hoped I could’ve fooled him as being awed or amazed at what I just witnessed, but I was a medical student, not an actress. 

“You doing okay, Eunae?” He asked, quietly as I looked around at the rest of the students already on their way out. I nodded at his question, even forcing my eyes to go into half moons to mock a smile. He merely shrugged his shoulders, disposed of him gloves, and left the room. I was the last one out, but was too eager to take a breath of fresh air from the hallway. One of my good friends called me over, probably asking if I wanted to have a bite to eat before our next observation, but I acted as if I didn’t hear her, continuing to stride towards the exit. 

Now that I was outside of the hospital, I hyperventilated freely. It was silly for someone who wanted to be a delivery room doctor to tense up at the sight of blood. When I applied to volunteer at the hospital to please my parents, I hoped that it would pass the more I studied and observed, but today was proof that it was getting worse. It was enough to make a girl go mad. 

I walked shamefully into the small diner next to the hospital. A cup of coffee and a pitcher of water should be able to calm my nerves. The usual hostess greeted me; they knew me here, knew me because I’d come to grief over my lost future at least once a week. I saw that my usual stool at the bar was taken, so I opted to sit a couple of seats down. My coffee and water was brought to me without me having to ask for it. I looked over casually at the person eating a cheeseburger with fries. I cringed to myself; as much time as I spent here, I knew I would never eat any of the food here, since it was positively overflowing with grease. My eyes scanned up little by little, and I realized that I recognized the face. 

Her name was Kim Nahyun, notorious for being, well, a . She went to my university. She was an art major, or something, but her major didn’t matter, because everyone seemed to leave out any details other than her attitude when they talked about her. And I admit, I shared a class with her once, and would flinch every time her eyes glanced my way. She had the kind of look that warned people not to step any closer. People did, anyway, and would pay the consequences. I’m very observant, and was sure I had memorized her face, but today, it seemed that something was different. 

It was her eyes. They were slightly red, slightly puffed. The original moisture was long gone, but you could still see the temporary mark sadness left, if you tried hard enough. The Good Samaritan in me wanted so badly to ask what was wrong, but the rational person in me didn’t want to add “hurt ego” to the rest of my already nauseous mentality. I couldn’t help it, though. Every few sips of coffee I took, I’d look over to her, quietly stuffing fries into . 

She doesn’t eat like she’s upset. My cautious side offered as an excuse. 

Please, only an idiot would believe that. The side of me eager to help retorted. 

Maybe I was just nosey. Maybe something ignited in me upon seeing the infamous heartless upset. Maybe I just wanted to ask to have some sort of upper hand. 

Whatever the reason, I sighed, and slid over to be closer to her. I took a deep breath, before greeting her. 

“Hey, Nahyun?” I said, cautiously. She looked up, shooting me a confused glance. “I’m Eunae. We were in an introductory bio class together …?” I reminded her, slowly. I saw the spark of recognition flash across her eyes, before she flashed me a polite smile, something I had never seen before. Something I had never imagined, either. She motioned for me to sit down, to which I obliged. 

“Are you okay? You look kind of pale.” She asked, examining me. The color still hadn’t returned to me, I suppose. I was surprised when she spoke. It was much softer than I imagined. 

Did you expect her to bark? I asked myself. 

“I was actually coming to ask you that question.” I smiled sheepishly, not knowing what else to do. 

“Well, I asked you first, so it’s really only f