Don’t get your hopes up too high, because you won’t be able to handle the defeat.

It was the first day of being a trainee at the hospital, and Myungsoo was excited, really. He had always wanted to try his skills out, and being a trainee at his uncle’s hospital seemed like the best way to out his skills into practice. Assigned to understudy Doctor Nam Woohyun, the nicest doctors around was most probably a blessing, Myungsoo thought, compared to understudying the expressionless Doctor Lee Howon. It was his first day, and he didn’t want to screw anything up.

‘ I don’t want Woohyun to give me injections! It’s always so painful! ‘ Myungsoo opened the door to see a thin boy on the bed, with the covers up to his chin, protesting against the nurse.
‘ I promise it won’t be painful this time, alright? ‘ Woohyun cajoled, a hint of impatience in his voice. Sungyeol was always hard to convince, and this was going to affect his schedule since there were still many patients he had to see today.
‘ Then… I want him to help me do the injection! ‘ Sungyeol glanced around, and spotted Myungsoo who was standing awkwardly in the doorway.

‘ Me? ‘ Myungsoo was jolted out of his thoughts. ‘ Me? ‘ He pointed to himself as Sungyeol nodded excitedly. ‘ Woohyun, he can be my doctor from now on! ‘
‘ But.. But I’m just an understudy. ‘
‘ An understudy is also supposed to take care of patients. ‘
Nam Woohyun turned to see Myungsoo as he motioned for him to leave the room for a while.
‘ Sungyeol is a difficult patient to handle. Please be patient with him, and don’t get angry with him, no matter what he does to you, or he himself for that matter. ‘ Woohyun looked at Myungsoo from head to toe; trying to ascertain that he would be able to handle the stubborn boy.
‘ No problem! I will be in charge of taking care of Sungyeol from now on! ‘ Myungsoo was confident that he would be able to take care of Sungyeol, and he wanted to make sure that the frail boy would be restored back to health.

Everyone left the room, only leaving Sungyeol staring blankly at Myungsoo. He seemed like a different person, different from the cheerful Sungyeol who wanted to change doctors earlier.
‘ So, your injection… ‘ Myungsoo walked towards Sungyeol with his biggest grin on his face as he inched away.
‘ The snow today is really heavy. I don’t feel like seeing you at all. I won’t have the injection. You’ll be free from now on, and you don’t need to come everyday. ‘
Sungyeol turned away from Myungsoo, ignoring him while Myungsoo just sat down beside Sungyeol’s bed, facing him. Myungsoo’s passion was deflated immediately;why was Sungyeol so indifferent?

Sungyeol was a patient diagnosed with leukaemia, who already missed the best period for curing his disease and had been in the hospital since he was twelve. He was somewhat an extrovert at first, but he became gradually more and more quiet after the days passed. Even when the nicest doctor Nam Woohyun attended to him, he was still stubborn about rejecting medical treatment. He was adamant on that subject.
Myungsoo didn’t understand why the hospital did not decide to start treating him earlier, but could only leave it at that.
‘ What the heck are you still doing here? Don’t you have other patients to attend to? ‘ Sungyeol turned, expecting Myungsoo to be gone but his hopes were obviously dashed as Myungsoo was still seated on the chair, staring at Sungyeol.
‘ I’ll come everyday. No—every hour of my duty time, Lee Sungyeol. Don’t try to be funny with me, because I want to make you recover. ‘ Myungso stated as Sungyeol just looked at him blankly.
‘ I can’t be cured, idiot. Now get out. ‘ Sungyeol’s tone was firm and final, and Myungsoo didn’t want to fight it. It was after all his first day and he did not want to leave a bad impression on his first patient.
‘ I’ll come back later in the day. ‘

Sungyeol didn’t answer him. With his back facing Myungsoo, he ignored Myungsoo completely as Myungsoo exited the room.
‘ I’m sorry, Doctor. I just don’t want to… get disappointed again. ‘ Sungyeol thought bitterly in his mind as tears cascaded down his pale cheeks.