“So Hyun, you have a visitor.”

The petite nurse, who was just about to head inside the toilet, stopped in her tracks when she heard her name being called. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw one of her colleague pointing towards the waiting room direction.

“Who is it?” she asked curiously.

The other girl just shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m not sure. But he’s been asking for you since 15 minutes ago. I told him you were finishing soon, so he said he’ll just wait outside there for you.”

So Hyun cast another skeptical look towards the nearly empty waiting area before remembering to thank her for the message. Deciding that the toilet could wait, So Hyun made her way towards the red-coloured seats where the visitors usually hang around after visiting the patients. Her curiosity heightened when she saw a mob of blonde hair, with his head hung down low, sitting at the far corner of the seat.

When she was only about a few steps away from him, he lifted up his head unexpectedly, causing So Hyun to jump back startled.

What was he doing here?

He gave her a small, tired grin; something which she hadn’t seen in quite awhile.

“Hi, So Hyun.”

“Byung Hun...?”

“I haven’t seen you in awhile,” So Hyun said as both of them walked side by side out of the hospital entrance half an hour later. “It was like...you disappeared right after high school.”

Byung Hun scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he gave her a lopsided grin.

“I moved away to stay with my aunt, since there was no one else to take care of me here. I wanted to tell you before I went...but I didn’t get the chance to.”

So Hyun rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“Why have you come back now then? I mean, if you don’t have anyone else here.”

“Oh, I came back to Seoul with my older cousin. He got posted here, for work. So I decided to tag along and just play around with my chances of...seeing you again.”

His last statement made So Hyun blush a deep shade of red as she fumbled with the strap of her sling bag. She used to have a crush on him back when they were high school seniors and So Hyun wasn’t sure if the feelings had really fade away over time.

And now, seeing him again after all these time – the feeling was surreal. She didn’t think they’d have the chance to ever meet up again.

Lee Byung Hun had always been full of surprises, even until now.

“How did you know...that I work here, in the hospital now?” she asked curiously, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic of ‘them.’

Byung Hun shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“I asked around. I still keep in touch with a few of our classmates. They told me where I could find you, so here I am. I didn’t think you’d turn out to really be a nurse, So Hyun.”

So Hyun felt herself shivering with pleasure when he spoke her name. There was definitely something about the way he had said it, something different than the rest.

“I love helping people...I guess. This has been something I’ve always wanted to do.”

He nodded in agreement.

“It suits you, So Hyun. I don’t think anyone else can pull this off like you do.”

She started to open to say something else, maybe even an “I’ve missed you”, but she didn’t get the chance to when she suddenly heard another voice calling out her name from behind.

She whirled around expectantly, with Byung Hun doing the same without her, and saw Byung Hee’s worried expression greeting her in silence. His suspicious eyes shifted over towards her companion’s unfamiliar face and it was evidently clear that he was not pleased about what he was seeing.

She has never been sure of her and Byung Hee’s relationship. She’s always treated him like an older brother she’s never had, someone she could count on for refugee, for protection. But there are times when she felt something more for him, something confusing.

Yet, the two of them has never talked about their feelings openly.

“Oppa...” she called out back to him softly, her head hung down low as she trudged over towards him; as though she had just been caught cheating guiltily behind his back.

Byung Hun remained frozen on his spot, his two arms dropping by his sides awkwardly.

“I tried calling you...” Byung Hee said quietly, his eyes never leaving the other guy. “But you weren’t picking up so I decided to come down here myself.”

So Hyun dug around in her bag for her phone and her heart sank when she saw that the screen had gone blank.

“I’m sorry. The battery must’ve run out while I was still at work. And then I bumped into an old friend and we ended up talking...”

“An old friend...?”

So Hyun gestured towards the figure standing a few feet behind her and forced out a smile.

“Oppa, meet Byung Hun; we were classmates back in high school. He has just returned to Seoul recently, so we had plenty to catch up on.”

Byung Hee returned her smile with a stiff one of his own and just nodded his slightly in acknowledgement at the shorter guy.

“I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned his name before, So Hyunnie.”

So Hyun her bottom lip nervously.

“He left right after we were done with high school and we lost contact. So I didn’t think...it’d be necessary.”

“Oh really? Where are you from?” his question was now directed right at Byung Hun, who now has his two hands shoved down his jeans front pockets and shifted his weight uncomfortably.

“Jeolla-do,” he replied after a moment of hesitant pause. “I just moved back here with an older cousin of mine.”

Byung Hee went silent for a brief moment.

“...I see.”

“Was there anything important that you wanted to see me about?” So Hyun cut in the sudden stillness.

“No...not at all,” Byung Hee flashed an assuring smile at her. “Like I said, I was just getting worried. You know, with all the recent cases; you can never know what is going on out there.”

So Hyun nodded her head in understament.

“I know oppa, I’ll be careful. So uh...if there’s nothing else...?”

He took the hint for him to leave them alone.

“Okay then, I guess you’ll be fine since you’re with your friend. I’ll see you soon. You’re coming to cheer on Jihyun tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be going there with Ga Yoon & Hyun Ah unnie. I’ll see you there.”

Byung Hee shot one last suspicious look at the pair of them before retreating back in his steps.

“Okay, call me when you’ve reached home. And take care of yourself, So Hyunnie.”

Byung Hun managed a small wave at him.

Jihyun remembered to switch off the lights when she was about to leave the practice room that night. The rest of her team-mates had already gone home about an hour earlier but she decided to stay behind alone.

So now, she was the one who has to lock up the doors for the night.

She had thought about asking Seung Ho to come and fetch her but decided against it at the last minute. She knows he’s been busy with other things during the day to tire him even more in the night.

Still, she couldn’t seem to shake off the negative vibe she was feeling that night. It was as if someone was watching her, scrutinizing her every move.

Jihyun had just finished locking up the door when she heard rustling sound coming from the darkness behind her. Her head whipped around instantaneously, her fingers already curled around the pepper spray in her bag.

The only thing that greeted her was eerie emptiness.

Jihyun quickly grabbed her shoe bag that was lying on the floor beside her and started to hurry away from the empty hallway. She took out her cell phone hastily, only to see the battery bar blinking and a second later, the screen went totally blank.

Oh great, she thought to herself.

Just a few more steps and then she would be out of there.

And then, she heard the shuffling sound again.

This time, when she turned around, Jihyun had expected to see no one once again.

Because she certainly wasn’t prepared for the surprise that awaited her in the dark lonely night.

She certainly wasn’t expecting for it to be the last thing she would ever lay eyes on.