Sooyoung woke the next morning and checked her phone immediately, hoping for a text from Sungjae. To her disappointment, her phone showed that she had no new messages.

Maybe I really hurt him too deeply. I guess he needs time to be alone.

She got up and went downstairs for breakfast.

“Good morning, eomma,” greeted Sooyoung.

“Good morning, Sooyoung,” replied her mother. “Come and have breakfast. I made your favourite fried bacon and mushrooms today.”

“Ahhhh thank you eomma! You’re the best!” squealed Sooyoung, as she sat down.

As Sooyoung began eating, Mrs. Park leant over from the opposite side of the table and looked closely at Sooyoung.

“Sooyoung, how are things for you now?” asked Mrs. Park.

“What do you mean, eomma?” asked Sooyoung, as she attacked her bacon hungrily.

“How are things between you and Sungjae?” asked Mrs. Park directly.

“Eomma~~~ why are you talking about Sungjae-oppa?” whined Sooyoung.

“Because I know for a fact that you are using Dohwan to make Sungjae give up on you for some reason,” replied Mrs. Park baldly.

Sooyoung choked on her bacon and had to wash it down with a glass of water.

“Eomma! What are you saying?” protested Sooyoung.

“Don’t lie to me, Sooyoung,” insisted Mrs. Park. “I’ve seen the difference between the way you look at Sungjae versus the way you look at Dohwan. You can try to hide behind your words and actions all you want, my dear girl. But your eyes will never fail to betray you.”

“Eomma…” said Sooyoung.

“That silly boy Sungjae loves you so much, Sooyoung. I’m convinced that you mean the world to him. I knew from the day you two brought all the food back for the farewell party at the orphanage. I even told him that this was totally on him and that I would never step in to help him in any way,” rambled Mrs. Park. “But now, even I can’t stand the way you’re treating him. For some reason, you are trying to turn him away from you.”

“I admit that I’ve been trying to push him away, eomma,” replied Sooyoung guiltily. “But I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few days and last night, I broke up with Dohwan-oppa. He basically said whatever you just said and we parted on amicable terms. I’ve hurt so many people, eomma.”

“So how do you feel towards Sungjae?” asked Mrs. Park.

“I… I thought about it really carefully and I realised I do love him, eomma,” replied Sooyoung. “I tried messaging him last night to ask if we could talk but he hasn’t replied.”

“Serves you right!” scolded Mrs. Park. “If I were him, I wouldn’t want to reply either. After all that boy did for you, this is how you repay him. He’s not a pet, always ready at your disposal, Sooyoung-ah.”

Sooyoung looked down at her plate to hide her guilty expression.

I’m sorry, oppa.

Her handphone rang, bringing her back to her senses. She picked it up eagerly, hoping that it was Sungjae who was calling her but was disappointed to see that it was Changsub. She answered it and held it to her ear but before she could even say a greeting, Changsub’s voice blasted over the earpiece, “Sooyoung! Where are you?”

“I’m at home, oppa,” replied Sooyoung. “Why do you sound so flustered?”

“Sungjae’s been hospitalised and is in critical condition!” shouted Changsub in panic.

Sooyoung’s heart stopped for a moment and her blood ran cold.

“I only just found out too. He’s undergoing an operation at the hospital near school. I’ll meet you there. Hurry!” Changsub rattled off all this before hanging up.

Sooyoung grabbed her wallet and phone before running out of the house and hailing a taxi, ignoring Mrs. Park’s calls of concern behind her.

Please wait for me, oppa. Please don’t punish me in this way.

…

Changsub sat outside the operation theatre with his other five friends. Changsub held the blood-soaked sheet of paper that Sungjae still held in his hand when he had been found. None of them were talking nor did they look at each other. Each of the six boys stared into space within their own little bubble.

The sound of pattering feet was heard from a distance and gradually became louder. Changsub looked up and saw Sooyoung hurtling towards the area where they were waiting.

“Changsub-oppa! How is he?” asked Sooyoung in panic.

“Calm down, Sooyoung,” said Changsub. “Sungjae was sent into the operating theatre a few hours ago. They’re still trying to save him.”

Ilhoon came out of his trance and glared at Sooyoung. “Why do you care?” asked Ilhoon sharply. “He wasn’t good enough for you anyway.”

These words cut straight through Sooyoung and she had to will herself not to cry. She didn’t want to cry. It seemed that, after she became closer to Sungjae, whenever she felt down, she would cry easily. Sungjae was always there to offer her kind words and to be there for her.

“I care, Ilhoon-oppa,” replied Sooyoung. “I care about Sungjae-oppa a lot. More than you can imagine.”

“Is that so?” mocked Ilhoon. “If my understanding is correct, you got together with Dohwan almost right after Sungjae confessed to you. You refused to take any of Sungjae’s calls or reply to any of his messages. It’s fine if you didn't want to be his girlfriend but why did you have to detach yourself completely from his life? All this when you knew deep down that you meant the world to him! You didn’t care whether Sungjae could function or not or how he would feel. You acted completely on your own accord. Now tell me, Park Sooyoung, how is that caring for him? I’m all ears.”

Sooyoung could not bring herself to feel angry at Ilhoon’s words. Every word he said was the stark truth, whether she liked it or not.

“Yah, Ilhoon-ah. That’s enough!” barked Changsub.

“It’s all right, oppa. He’s right,” replied Sooyoung.

“If I were you, Park Sooyoung, I’d leave. I highly doubt the first person Sungjae wants to see when he wakes up is the person who has caused him so much pain and misery. It’ll probably just make his head hurt and cause him to collapse again,” continued Ilhoon.

“I said that’s enough!” said Changsub sharply.

“What is it with Sungjae-oppa’s headaches, oppa?” asked Sooyoung.

“I don’t know for sure, Sooyoung-ah,” replied Changsub. “But Sungjae has been getting these headaches that sometimes practically immobilise