Yongsun sat at a table alone, waiting for Byuli to finish her shift so they could go to the hospital.

She pulled out her laptop and typed ‘Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome’ into the Naver search engine. The page produced numerous results.

She clicked on a link and squinted at her screen.

She skimmed through the text, “VHL is a rare hereditary condition associated with tumors arising in multiple organs.” She read under her breath.

“There is currently no cure for VHL, although treatment can improve a patient’s diagnosis” she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. The more she read up on Byuli’s illness, the more discouraged she felt.

“No Yongsun. Think positively,” she chanted to herself as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“whatcha doin’?”

She opened her eyes, Byuli sat across from her, smiling.

“Are you done your shift already?” Yongsun asked, putting her glasses back on.

Byuli nodded, “Yup, Manager Yoon said I can leave a little early today”

She slid a cup carefully towards Yongsun, “Can you do me a favor? Let me know what you think of this drink”

Yongsun made a face, she still wasn't used to trying new coffee.

Byuli rolled her eyes, “just try it, it’s not that bitter”

Yongsun put the cup to and cooled it off before taking a sip.

To her surprise, it had the perfect balance of bitter and sweet. Both flavors complimented the other.

Byuli watched her reaction and grinned, “do you like it?”

Yongsun nodded as she took another sip, “this fits my tastes exactly”

Byuli clapped her hands as she wrote down the exact measurements of the ingredients on a napkin.

Yongsun put down the mug, “what is this for?”

Byuli put the napkin in her pocket, “I combined your favorite coffee and mine together. But it was a lot of trial and error.”

She pointed to Yongsun’s laptop, “what are you working on?” she went to check the screen when Yongsun closed it.

“Nothing, just doing the writing prompts,” Yongsun lied.

“oh, are you done?” Byuli asked.

Yongsun nodded. She finished the book a while ago, but never got the chance to give it to Byuli. She rummaged through her bag and put the notebook on the table.

“can I read it?” Byuli asked already taking the book.

“Wait, what about yours? Aren’t you done?” Yongsun complained.

Byuli smiled sheepishly, “not yet, I promise I’ll give it you when I’m finished”

Yongsun pouted, “Fine.”

She looked at her watch, “hey, we should get going or you’ll be late for treatment”

“Can't we skip today? I want to go on a date with you,” she gave her puppy dog eyes.

“Nice try Byuli.” She answered, “come on grab your things and let’s go”

Byuli sulked in her chair, “Jeez, you’re worse than Minhyuk” she mumbled under her breath

Yongsun let out a small laugh and took Byuli’s hand, “I promise we’ll go on a fun date after”

Byuli made a face and stood up, “but I’m always tired after treatment”

Yongsun stood up and tucked in her chair, “then we can go tomorrow silly” she pinched Byuli’s cheek, “We'll do whatever you want to do”

Byuli was thinking about what she wanted to do, as Yongsun pulled her out the door towards the hospital.

X

“Miss Byuli, are you ok to walk back to your room?” the nurse asked as she pushed an empty wheelchair.

Byuli nodded, “I think I’m ok to walk by myself” she surprisingly had more energy.

The nurse smiled, “Alright. I’ll see you next week Miss Byuli”

They both gave a slight nod as Byuli went back to her hospital room where Yongsun was waiting.

She walked down the hall, “what should Yongsun and I do tomorrow? Maybe the water park? I heard it’s going to be hot tomorrow”

She suddenly remembered the first time she saw Yongsun in a bikini. She brought her hand up to her nose, “no that’s dangerous”

She opened the door, “Yongsun-ah, are you ok with just watching a-“

She stopped talking. Yongsun was sleeping in a chair.

Byuli tried to stifle a laugh, “I thought I was supposed to be the one tired after treatment”

Yongsun rolled her head to the side, the sunlight on her face. She furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips but didn't wake up

Byuli moved towards the window, blocking the sunlight from her face. A sudden calmness washed over her as she watched Yongsun sleep. She reached for Yongsun’s hand just as she opened her eyes.

“Byuli? When did you finish treatment?” She looked around, a little disheveled.

“Hey sleepyhead. How is it that I ended up waiting for you instead?” Byuli laughed

Yongsun yawned and stretched in the chair, “sorry. Were you waiting long?”

Byuli moved from the windowsill, “no I just got here” She bent down to pick up her bag, “but if you’re really sorry, there’s a movie I’ve been wanting to watch”

They walked towards the door.

“Sure, what kind of movie is it?” Yongsun adjusted her bag on her shoulder

Byuli smiled, “you’ll see”

X

Byuli ran around her apartment, trying to clean up a little bit. This was the first time Yongsun was coming over, so she was a little nervous.

She carried a pile of textbooks to her room when the room started to spin. She dropped her books and held her head.

A minute later, the headache was gone, alm