It was a couple weeks before seniors graduated, also indicating summer vacation. I had grown extremely close to Yemin, hanging out with her whenever I wasn’t with Byunghun. Sometimes, she tagged along with me when all the guys hung out together. She had grown closer to Changjo like she had always wished.

Changjo and I were sitting in our tables during class when he asked me, “Are you worried?” I looked at him and asked, “Worried about what?” Changjo put on a small smirk and said, “About Byunghun hyung graduating and leaving.” I looked back down at my desk and said, “No. It isn’t going to separate us.” I could hear Changjo chuckle as he said, “Can you guys get married already?” I shot him a playful glare since the guys always joked around about it.

Then Changjo questioned me, “What would you do if one day… Byunghun hyung was just gone.” I looked at him and furrowed my eyebrows, “What do you mean?” Changjo shrugged, “I don’t know. You woke up one day and realized that he was gone. Just… gone.” I just stared at him while I tried to think of an answer but I couldn’t think of an answer. “That won’t happen…” Changjo started to chuckle again and said, “Of course…”

Everyone else was talking since our teacher gave us free time. I looked over at Changjo and asked, “What are you doing today after school?” Changjo stared down at his phone on his lap. “I’m going out.” He started to text someone back as he slightly smiled. “With the guys?” He locked his phone and looked at me. “No, just my other friend.” I raised an eyebrow, “Oh really… who?” Changjo just answered, “I have other friends too you know!”

Right then, his phone started to vibrate and the text notification came up on his phone. I quickly grabbed his phone and looked at the name. Yemin. I gaped and looked over at him. “Are you hanging out with Yemin today?” Changjo tried to grab his phone and I leaned back, opening the text. I just have to be home by 8! I nearly shouted, “You are!” Changjo grabbed his phone and hid it from me. I stared at him, his cheeks obviously getting flushed.

“So what are you guys going to do?” Changjo sighed and said, “She thinks you’re coming with us…” I held in my laughter and said, “Why?” Changjo groaned and said, “I told her that the guys and everyone was hanging out today so I invited her but…” I started to laugh and said, “And then when you guys hangout, are you going to say that everyone bailed?” Changjo bit his lip. “Is that weird?” I nodded. He groaned and threw his head on the table. I asked him, “So… when did you start liking her? What were you planning on doing with her? Why do you like her?” Changjo turned his head to me and glared. “Shut the up.” I giggled and said, “Why don’t Byunghun and I go with you two and then we can just ditch you guys later on.” Changjo pulled his head back up and said, “Hey… that’s a good idea!”  I punched his arm and said, “So now tell me, when did you start liking her? How and why?!”

“I guess I was kind of interested from the first day we all hung out together. I thought her little outbursts of surprise and anger was cute. And the more we hung out together, the more I wanted to talk to her. And we gradually started talking a lot and texting during class. Gah, I don’t know. She probably doesn’t have interest.” I held in my smile and asked, “Why do you think that?” Changjo shrugged. “She seems hard to get? And plus, I’m not a good influence.” I scoffed, “I say you confess as soon as possible.” Changjo shook his head. “Oh hell no. I’m going to get rejected.” I smiled. “No you won’t. Just confess to her. I’m serious. Just trust me!” Changjo just stared at me. “She likes me too, huh?” I shrugged. “You should confess to her and find out if she does or not.” Changjo pushed me and said, “You better not be raising my hopes up.” I just laughed.

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After school, I met up with Byunghun at the school gates. I smiled and waved at him with Yemin next to me but all he did was frown. He walked up to me and pulled my skirt down slightly. “Huh?” I looked at Byunghun while he was glaring at a boy walking out of the gates. Yemin whispered, “That guy must have been checking out your legs or something.” Byunghun always did that. Whenever we would hangout and I would wear kind of revealing clothes, he’d push me back into my room and make me change into something less revealing.

I looked over at Changjo who had on a nervous face expression making me laugh. He just shot me a glare so that I’d shut up. We had planned on eating and then Byunghun’s house. While we were walking to the bus stop, I walked with Byunghun behind Changjo and Yemin.

Byunghun whispered, “Yemin likes him, huh?” I smiled and nodded. “And Changjo likes her…” Byunghun looked down at me and smiled. “Changjo’s such a . He never knows if a girl likes him and he’s too much of a to confess.” Byunghun kicked a rock that hit Changjo’s leg. He turned to look at us and Byunghun said to him, “.” Changjo showed a confused face expression before turning back to his conversation with Yemin.

On the bus, Yemin was about to sit next to me when Byunghun squished his way through and sat down next to me. With no other option, Yemin sat down next to Changjo. During the ride, Yemin texted me. This feels like a double date… stop making Changjo and me a third wheel!!  I showed Byunghun the text and he smiled.

Therefore, Byunghun had Yemin sit next to me at the restaurant so that she’d be comfortable eating. After eating, we were walking out of the restaurant when Yemin noticed something in Changjo’s back pocket. She reached for it and asked, “Changjo, what is that?” His eyes widened and tried to stop her but she managed to pull out the cigarette box. Out of instinct and surprise, Yemin threw it onto the ground. An awkward silence grew over us for a while before Byunghun picked it up and handed it back to Changjo. “Changjo was holding it for me cuhs I had stuff in my pockets.” A small relief came over Yemin’s face as she said, “Oh.”

We started to walk back to the bus stop when I asked Byunghun. “How come you don’t smoke anymore?” Byunghun smiled and said, “I quit when I first started liking you.” I tilted my head and asked, “Why?” Byunghun chuckled and said, “Why would I smoke in front of you when you’re not a smoker? Plus, it’s something good to rid. I just never had the motivation.”  I smiled as he laced his fingers with mine. “I only said those cigs were mine for Changjo. That .” I turned my head back and looked at Changjo and Yemin who were both looking at our hands. I tried to pull away and said, “I think our PDA is going to make it awkward for them.” Byunghun held on tighter and said, “I don’t care. Maybe it’ll influence them.”

When we got to Byunghun’s house, Changjo ran to the restroom and Byunghun went in his room. Yemin and I went toward his living room and she whispered, “You guys better not PDA. It’s so awkward…” I smiled and said, “No promises.” She gave me a small glare and said, “I hate you two…”

I walked into the kitchen to get a cup of water. When I walked back out to the living room, all three already sat down on the couch, leaving me no room. I saw Yemin and Changjo starting to squish together to give me room but I just walked over and sat down on Byunghun’s lap. I could feel Byunghun chuckling as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

Changjo wanted to play games but we only had two controllers. “Why don’t Sungah and I share one and you and Yemin can share one.” I noticed the both of them start to blush. “It’s just sharing a controller, why are the both you blushing?” This made them turn even redder. Byunghun reached down for a controller and threw it to Changjo as he picked out a game.

While we were playing, Byunghun’s hands were over mine as he helped me control the character. Byunghun would occasionally interlock his fingers with mine making me smile. Changjo and Yemin agreed on switching off but Byunghun shouted, “She doesn’t even know how to play, Changjo!” But all Changjo did was guide her as she used the controller. At one point, Byunghun pushed the controller down. We both stared at Changjo and Yemin. They were beginning to share the controller, rather awkwardly, but in a more comfortable manner. Yemin would often giggle and Changjo would smile or laugh with her.

Byunghun and I looked at each other and smiled. Mission accomplished. Byunghun leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. “Glad I didn’t have to go through all that.” I smiled and said, “I’m glad too.” Then we just stared at each other before he reached up again and kissed me on the lips. “Hey, why’d you guys stop—“ As soon as we heard that, Byunghun let go and I quickly turned back around. We lifted the controller and continued to play. “Were you guys seriously kissing?” Changjo asked. I felt myself turning red. “That’s disgusting! I’ve never seen you guys go that far in public.” Changjo shouted. I heard Yemin laugh and say, “The both of you are red now!” Then I heard Byunghun say, “This is going to be you guys soon.”

That shut them up.

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That night, I was lying in bed as Changjo and Yemin blew up my phone with texts. Apparently, Changjo had confessed to her when walking her home and Yemin had accepted. They were both giddy. I can’t fall asleep, I’m so happy!  Yemin kept telling me. I smiled, remembering how I felt when Byunghun confessed to me.

At that moment, Byunghun called me. “So did you hear?” I smiled and said, “Yeah. It reminds me of us.” Byunghun chuckled. “Were you so happy you couldn’t sleep?” I softly laughed and said, “Mhm, that was a really happy time for me.” I could tell Byunghun was smiling as he said, “I’m still happy as I was back then.” That made me smile even more. “If I were to die right now, I’d die with a smile on my face.” After some silence, Byunghun asked, “Will you be there at my graduation ceremony?” I scoffed, “Is that even a question? Of course.” Byunghun chuckled and said, “But you guys have class when the ceremony goes on.” I sighed, “I’ve ditched for you once. I could do it again.” Byunghun laughed and said, “Oh my, you’re such a rebel. Teach me your ways.” I just laughed with him.

“Sungah-yah… I think I’m going to be gone for 3 weeks in the summer.” I slightly pouted and asked, “Why?” Byunghun replied, “I have relatives in LA and my mom wants me to go.” I smiled and said, “LA… wow. That sounds fun!” Byunghun chuckled and said, “Would you be okay without me for three weeks?” I scoffed, “Of course. You should go and have fun with your relatives!”

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The next few weeks passed quickly and I was sitting in the theatre, waiting for our principal to call Byunghun’s name. When he finally did, I saw Byunghun walk up in his suit with his dark brown hair slightly spiked up. When the graduation ceremony was over, I quickly ran up to him and handed him flowers. “Congratulations!” I smiled and he immediately hugged me, lifting me up from the floor. “I can’t believe I graduated.” He held onto my hand. His mom, sister, and sister’s boyfriend walked up to him and handed him flowers. I bowed to them and they all smiled at me. We took a lot of pictures when his family stepped outside to get the car.

I looked up at Byunghun and smiled, fixing his hair. “I look gay with dark hair, huh?” I shook my head, “I think my boyfriend looks hot like this.” Byunghun smiled and said, “Thanks for coming.” I replied, “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” I reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

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When summer vacation started for me, Byunghun was already gone to LA. I spent most of my time with Yemin and/or Changjo. However, after one week, I missed Byunghun…a lot. I would occasionally talk to him via internet since he couldn’t receive phone calls. But there were so many times when I wanted to simply hear his voice.

I was eating dinner with my parents one day when my mom told me, “Hey you know the dentist across the street from my work is looking for volunteers for college credit and stuff.” My dad then said, “Or hospitals are taking in volunteers right now too for the summer. They actually pay you too. Maybe you should keep your time busy and productive and volunteer. Then you’d keep your mind off of Byunghun.” That actually wasn’t such a bad idea.

The next day, I went to the hospital near my dad’s work and asked for an application. I was accepted the moment I turned my application in. “You start tomorrow and we’ll teach you the basics!” I went home with a smile on my face. I was excited to tell Byunghun about my small job. However, I never got a chance too.

The first week of my job was hectic since I was adjusting to all my tasks. Most of the time, I organized folders behind the counter. Only rarely would I ever assist a nurse in helping a patient. Unfortunately, I also witnessed two patients pass away. Although many depressing events occurred in the hospital, my interest towards how everything worked still triggered inside of me every time I learned something new.

It had been two weeks after Byunghun had left for LA and it had been a week since I started working. Because I was so busy and tired, Byunghun finally emailed me and asked, “You haven’t been replying, what are you up to?” I replied and said, “I got a job! It’s been so tiring, sorry!” Byunghun replied and asked, “Oh really? Where? I’ll go visit you when I return.” But I never got to reply to that email as well.

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“Sungah-yah!” I quickly turned around to the nurse. “Can you get me Kim Juyeon’s folder while I help a patient?” I nodded and quickly went over to find the folder. I handed it to the nurse when she returned. Then she asked me, “Can you go upstairs to room 32? There’s two patients in there. I need both of their folders.” I nodded but before I could go, she told me, “Oh wait, one of them is in surgery so make sure you get both folders. It’s urgent.” I nodded again before going towards the staircase.

When I walked inside the room, I saw a young man in his 30s reading a book. He looked up at me and smiled. “I haven’t seen you around, are you new?” I smiled and said, “I’m a volunteer here. I’m just here to pick up the folders.” The man nodded but he continued to stare at me. I retrieved the two folders but before I could leave the room, he asked, “You look so familiar…” My eyes widened as I looked at him. “Me?” He nodded, trying to remember. “Maybe it’s just me.” I just smiled and bowed before walking out of the room.

As I walked back to the staircase, I saw the sign on the ceiling. Cancer patients. I frowned. Such a young man with a horrible disease. I sighed and went back downstairs. The nurse went through the folder and told me, “Sigh, this guy is so abnormal.” I looked at her and asked, “The young guy?” The nurse nodded. “He’s had second stage lung cancer for a whole year now. For the first half year, he refused to take medication and go under surgery so we assumed he’d move on to the third stage within a couple months. He kind of reached there but his cancer cells started disappear about 5to 6 months ago when he started taking medication.” I shrugged and said, “I guess the medication really works.” The nurse shook her head, “It’s supposed to stop the cells from spreading, not make them disappear. I don’t know, but his cancer cells started coming back which is why he’s hospitalized for now. This is just so weird.” That was a weird situation.

The next day at the hospital, I had to organize folders once again. Once I was done, one of the doctors asked me, “Can you go upstairs and clean room 32? One of the patients just got back from surgery and a clean room is necessary right now.” I nodded and quickly went to the storage room. I grabbed all the cleaning supplies and went over to room 32.

There were about 4 nurses around the patient, finishing up everything. I looked over and saw the same young man and remember his story. One of the nurses turned to me and said, “We’re almost done so just start cleaning when we leave.” I nodded and waited for them. While I waited, I started to talk to the young man. “When do you go in for surgery?” He smiled and said, “Next week. I’m just so excited.” I smiled and said, “Everything will be fine. I’m glad the medication’s been working really well.” He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Medication? I’m first stage cancer… I’ve never taken medication.” My eyes widened, “Oh… really?” He nodded, “I found out I had first stage cancer last week and I’m going into surgery to remove all the cells.” I slightly scratched my head and said, “Then that story must’ve been the other patient. Oh gosh, I’m so sorry.”

The nurses began to leave so I stood up straight and said, “I’m sure your surgery is going to be perfect. I wish you the best.” He smiled and said, “Thank you.”

I walked over to the cart and picked up sanitizing spray and towels. Then I walked over to the night stand in between the two beds and started to wipe. I stood up straight and turned towards the patient who had just gone through surgery. I reached for the towel that was hanging on his headstand.

After I grabbed the towel, I saw the face of the patient. The spray and the towel in my hands both dropped to the floor making a loud thud noise. That wasn’t the only thing that dropped. My heart and all the energy in my body dropped. I looked away, refusing to believe it. I grabbed the patient’s folder and opened it.

Surgery completed. Risky second stage cancer. The folder in my hand was shaking as I read Lee Byunghun on the top.

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For the sake of the next chapter, the time frame for this story right now is June 2011!

SO YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY GOING TO HATE ME but.. the story isn't over... remember that ^_^v
I know I said 10 chapters max but... I guess not HAHAHA.

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