Eunbi was freaking out a little bit. She was sitting on one of the waiting room's uncomfortable chairs, near the automatic doors, with her cell phone tightly clutched between her hands and a document that the unsympathetic reception lady had handed her. It said that she had basically a case of hypoglycemia and that she should eat properly; it also said how much the ambulance, the doctor and the medication cost.

            In other words, it meant her utter despair.

            Eunbi wasn't sure what was worse, though. Was it the fact that she now owed the hospital about eight hundred dollars or was it the fact that Kim Sojung was heading there at the exact moment? She really didn't know. Eunbi took a deep breath and replayed the conversation in her head. She didn't want to lie to Sojung, but she would've done it if she had to—at least that's what she thought.

            When Eunbi picked up the call, she told herself she couldn't tell Sojung where she was and what had happened. But, for some damn reason, she just couldn't do it. Eunbi couldn't force herself to lie and make the situation exponentially better. If she'd had the guts to lie, she would be at her house by that moment. She'd be at her trashy apartment, crying and feeling cold, but at least she wouldn't be at the hospital with the reminder of her growing debts crumpled inside her hands and an incoming Kim Sojung.

            Eunbi sniffled. Her tears had dried minutes before, right after she got off the call with Sojung. The streaks felt fresh, though, and no matter how much her fingers grazed her cheeks, lightly or aggressively, the marks seemed to be permanent. Eunbi didn't know how her face looked—she didn't have the courage to get up and head to the restroom—but she assumed that she looked a mess. It was funny, she thought, how she could never look at herself when she was sobbing, crying, desperate. It was as if it made the feeling worse, like the reasons that got her like that doubled, tripled in intensity.

            Eunbi rubbed the back of her hand on her cheek once again and winced.

            The skin was sensitive, she noted, it was probably very red. Maybe I should go wash my face, she thought, at least before Sojung-eonni gets here.

            She closed her eyes and it felt like there was ash behind her pupils.

            Her eyes watered once again, and her lips twisted in a pout. No, Jung Eunbi, you can't cry again, stop doing that. A trembly breath escaped her lips as she willed the pout away and tried to relax her muscles. What was done, was done. But it's all my fault, Eunbi blinked slowly, if I had done better, I wouldn't be like this. I would never have ended up in this dumb hospital with this… oh God, why is this happening to me.

            A sob broke out of her lips and she leaned forward, upper body almost touching her knees. She must've looked pathetic to the awaiting patients and visitors, she was sure of that.

            When she got out of the doctor's office, she was met with very different faces, but she could see that most of the people were young adults, perhaps some of them students like her. They all seemed to be drowning in their own problems and probably weren't paying any mind to the crying Korean girl in the room.

            Still, Eunbi couldn't help feeling ashamed of herself. She needed to get herself together, she needed to be stronger than that. Her body didn't move, though; if anything, it huddled forward. Eunbi's arms were folded, hands clamped on the sides of her black, thin sweater. This is ridiculous, I'm—

            "Eunbi-yah?"

            Her whole body jerked as a firm hand touched her left shoulder. It was gone as fast as it came when Eunbi snapped her head up to look at who had called her. To say that her heart dropped to her stomach as she looked at Kim Sojung and Jung Yerin just a couple of meters away from her was definitely an understatement.

            Her swollen eyes widened. Sojung had her arm raised midair, a few centimeters away from her, as if she was still unsure about leaving Eunbi's shaky figure and sported a mixture of surprise and concern in her face. Yerin was right behind Sojung, arms hanging uselessly beside her body and, strangely enough, Eunbi felt uncomfortable not seeing the older woman's usual smile.

            I did this, she bitterly thought, I made them look like this.

            "Eo-eonni," she voiced, not particularly calling either of them, and fixed her posture. Eunbi was a hundred percent sure she looked worse than before. So much for at least washing my face, huh. "You guys got here quick."

            Sojung looked conflicted. Eunbi thought for a second that it was quite funny, because, wow, that had to be something rare, right? It’d been just a few days, but she was pretty sure that Sojung wasn't the type to feel unsure of things.

            She tried a smile in hope of making that look go away. Sojung looked the best when she had that satisfied expression on her face. Eunbi wanted to see that one again. But it didn't seem to work as Sojung's brow furrowed.

            "Come here," the older woman reached to her, but didn't touch Eunbi again. It was more of an offer than an attempt, she realized.

            Eunbi looked at the open palm and released her sweater's cheap cloth, weakly settling one hand over Sojung's.

            She forgot it was the hand with the folded document and the paper fell on the ground as soon as she moved. Eunbi stood up to get it, but Yerin beat her to it. A deep rush of fear washed down her spine. "Um, thanks, eonni, can you give it—"

            "What's that?" Sojung cut her and Yerin gave the folded paper a long look before looking at Eunbi.

            "What is it, Eunbi?"

            Yerin’s voice was soft, yet unhappy. Eunbi didn't like it.

            "It's... it's just the hospital bill. And, um, report? On my health, I think."

            Sojung's hand found hers and her attention was drawn away from Yerin who started to uncurl the paper. Eunbi's eyes met Sojung's and there was something dark in them. It wasn't bad, no, it was... it was a little weird, but not bad. It made her feel warm.

            "Eunbi-yah, can you stand up?"

            She nodded and allowed Sojung to pull her up on her feet. Eunbi toppled on the chair's leg, but soon an arm squirmed around her waist, stabilizing her. She looked up, eyes meeting Sojung's chin. The woman wasn't looking at her, but at Yerin. They seemed to be having a silent conversation and it made Eunbi diffident.

            Yerin caught her looking and smiled. "Are you feeling better now, Eunbi?"

            "Um, yeah," her voice was scratchy, and she frowned for a second, "I'm better now, thanks."

            "That's good, then. Do you want us to give you a ride home?" Yerin asked, eyes conveying some soft concern that caught Eunbi a little off guard. She hadn't prepared to see such a look on her face.

            Eunbi pondered for a second. She wanted to tell them that it was ok, that she had given the two women too much trouble already. But Sojung had driven up until there and it was obvious she wasn't going to let Eunbi just walk out of that waiting room. Besides, she didn't know if she had the mental strength to get public transportation at the moment. So, Eunbi nodded.

            "Great! The two of you can head to the car, then."

            "Huh—"

            "Let's go, Eunbi-yah," Sojung's arm left her waist, but Eunbi’s hand was still firmly set inside hers.

            Eunbi frowned, "but Yerin-eonni—"

            "Oh, I need to meet a client now. Impromptu business dinner and all, can you believe it? It's closer to here than it is to your apartment building as, um, as Sojung-eonni told me. So, I'll just get a cab from here! You guys drive safely, alright?" Yerin brightly told her and took a step back.

            "See you later, Yerin-ah," Sojung directed a smile to her friend and turned around, hand gently tugging on Eunbi's. "Come on, Eunbi-yah, let's get you somewhere warm."

            Eunbi tried to look at Yerin, ask for her document back, but she didn't have the time as Sojung guided her outside and pulled her closer when they hit the night's cold air.

            "That's very thin clothing," Sojung commented as she saw—or maybe she felt—Eunbi shiver.

            "I didn't think it was going to be this cold tonight," she truthfully explained. "I'm... I'm going to dress something warmer tomorrow."

            "Do you have warm clothes, Eunbi?"

            Eunbi nodded, "I do, eonni." They reached the car and Sojung opened the passenger door for her. She quietly asked, "is it really ok to leave Yerin-eonni here?"

            Sojung looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry about her, Eunbi-yah. It's really ok. Now, chop-chop."

            Eunbi couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips. It was pretty amusing how Sojung talked to her. The elder's voice had something such as fondness and playfulness and... and care? Eunbi wasn't really sure, but it made Eunbi feel better about everything. It was as if Sojung's tone pushed her uneasy feelings away, as if it was some kind of spell that made Eunbi magically feel okay.

            Eunbi wasn't sure what to do about that fact, though.

            The both of them got inside the car, strapped their seat belts and sighed into the car's heating system. How I wish my apartment had this, Eunbi silently reveled, leaning her head back on the soft headrest.

            She could feel Sojung's eyes on her, but her body was too tired to do something about it. Eunbi heard a content sigh and Sojung's soft voice mumbling a sentence that she didn't quite grasp as sleep caught up with her.

            Who would've thought that a car could be so comfortable?

            Sojung waited a couple of minutes to be sure Eunbi was sleeping before calling Yerin. Eunbi was out cold, for sure, the poor girl exhausted from the terrible day Sojung could only imagine she’d had. Sojung knew that by the looks of it, Eunbi wouldn’t wake up any time soon, but she made sure to speak quietly when the call got through.

            “Eonni?” Yerin’s voice came from the car’s speakers. She was pretty quiet, too. “Are you guys heading to Eunbi’s apartment now?”

            “Yeah. I wanted to get her to eat somewhere first, but she’s knocked out right now,” Yerin chuckled, “so I think I’m just going to get her home.”

            “Huh… Home?”

            It took her a few seconds to process it. “You know I meant her home.”

            “Alright.” Yerin chuckled.

            “Did everything work out well?” Sojung glanced at Eunbi, reassuring herself that the student was sleeping.

            “Yep! The staff here was really grumpy, though. I can’t believe they handle people like this. Anyway,” Yerin sighed, “everything’s paid for just like you asked. I’m glad they didn’t ask many questions, though, seeing as we aren’t even remotely related to Eunbi. It’d be pretty weird to explain it.”

            “There’s nothing to explain,” Sojung huffed, “I paid for it and that’s all they should care about.”

            “Oh, someone’s snappy,” Yerin sang, just earning herself a silent eyeroll from Sojung. “How are you going to tell this to Eunbi, though? Because, I mean, I don’t disagree with you at all, I’m very happy and relieved that you did it, but… I don’t know, I think we should’ve asked Eunbi first.”

            “Let me worry about that, ok? I’ll tell her and make sure that she understands why I did it. Don’t mind it and just get to the hotel in one piece, ok?”

            Her friend’s response came in two seconds later, sounding like she hesitated. “Sure, eonni. You too.”

            The call went dead and Sojung sighed.

            She had thought about Eunbi's reaction, of course, and it wasn't like she felt that the student would accept it quietly—it was the contrary. Yerin was right; they should've asked Eunbi first.

            However, Sojung couldn't, for some dumb reason, take the chance of having the action rejected by Eunbi. Because, yes, the odds were that Eunbi would refuse it, taking it by how she reacted to her tip and to sharing desserts, but she needed it. Sojung didn't know a lot about the situation, but that much was crystal clear.

            She had, indeed, hesitated when they reached the hospital. Sojung wondered if this was the right decision, if she was stepping over all possible boundaries here, but at the moment she set her eyes on Eunbi—the tired, so tired Eunbi—it all just got thrown out of her mind.

            Sojung sighed once more, glancing at the sleeping girl by her side. Eunbi looked slightly better, probably due to the hospital's treatment, but that was temporary if she didn't start taking proper care of herself.

            In all honesty, it was a little hard for Sojung to understand.

            Her family wasn't awfully rich, and she pretty much made her own path, but she had never gone through financial difficulties. Sojung tried to be empathetic with this kind of situation, but it never felt very real to her. Whenever she’d find artists going through trouble and she’d try her best to help them, it had always been a little impersonal.

            Sojung didn't know why this time it hit her so hard. She didn’t comprehend why Eunbi was different.

            Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel.

            It didn't matter why; she had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment than to dwell on such things. Taking a right, her mind started working on convincing arguments to offer Eunbi to why she did what she did without sounding like a, a creep and b, a good samaritan. Sojung knew that she'd come off as either one and she didn't want that to happen.

            Swallowing, her heart started to speed up as she approached Eunbi's neighborhood. Maybe she could just not tell Eunbi. Yeah, because that'll solve everything, she groaned under her breath, no, be a woman, Kim Sojung, you just need to speak. Use your words.

            Ten minutes and a couple of silent curses later, she was parking the car in front of Eunbi's apartment building. The student was still asleep, head facing Sojung and a chubby cheek pressed against the headrest. Looking at that, Sojung found herself physically unable to wake up that little angel. So, she decided to stall for a little while.

            Sojung carefully leaned forward on the wheel.

            The new position gave her a clearer view of the building. It was a slightly deteriorated, brick apartment building with four windows lined up at each floor. Sojung tilted her head, trying to figure out how big the apartments were.

            Well, regardless of the size, it didn't look very comfortable. It made her think about her spotless home back at South Korea, and not only that one, but all the properties she owned across the world. Sojung frowned and leaned back on the seat. Dangerous thoughts started swirling in her head, but she quickly put a stop on them as Eunbi softly moaned beside her.

            Sojung turned to look at the awakening student; a small curl of her lips immediately happening as Eunbi scrunched her nose and confusedly blinked at her surroundings.

            She waited until the girl looked at her to chuckle. "Good morning, Eunbi-yah."

            Eunbi frowned and took a look at her surroundings before yawning. She looks like a bunny, Sojung's mind unnecessarily provided and she reached for a water bottle that was at the backseat, inside her purse.

            "Thirsty?"

            Eunbi hummed and shaked her head.

            "Did," Eunbi yawned again, "did I sleep through the whole way?"

            Sojung nodded, "yes, you didn't even move when Yerin called."

            Eunbi rubbed her eyes and Sojung was having a very hard time not cooing at the student. "Yerin-eonni called? Is everything okay?" Sojung bit her inner cheek. If she was going to tell Eunbi, then the time had come. Eunbi seemed to sense her hesitation as she turned to look at Sojung with droopy eyes. "Eonni?"

            Sojung sighed. "Yeah, everything's okay," she scratched the back of her neck, "but, um, it seems like, uh, she did something before leaving the hospital... to... meet with the client."

            "What did she do?" Eunbi asked with raised eyebrows.

            Sojung could only feel her heart thumping. What was the best thing to say here? Should she lie and say that Yerin on her own accord paid for everything or should she say that she asked Yerin to do it? Oh hell, Sojung scratched her eyebrow.

            "She, um... she paid for your hospital bills."

            Sojung didn't need to be looking at Eunbi to feel the sheer bafflement on her voice.

            "She did what?! Why did she do that?"

            Sojung cleaned . "Because, um," turning to look at Eunbi, she faltered, "I asked her to."

            There was a pause. A pause in which Eunbi stared at her, eyes expressionless for a second, mind working to process, comprehend what Sojung had told her. It took around five seconds for Eunbi to slightly move.

            The student tilted her head to the right and slowly blinked. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant, still weak, but there was underlying tones of shame and frustration. "Eonni... why did you do that?"

            That was a tricky question—more than tricky, Sojung realized, it was somewhat dangerous. Eunbi didn't look mad, but again, Sojung didn't know much about the girl and Eunbi had gone through very hard times; she couldn't just assume what the other was feeling.

            So, she was careful. "I know you're struggling with college and your jobs, Eunbi. I just thought that, since it's really no problem to me, I could help you here."

            Eunbi looked at her for a second, "you just thought? Sojung-eonni, the costs were exorbitant."

            "It wasn't for me, no," Sojung kept her voice leveled, as if she was talking to a skittish bunny. She sustained Eunbi's gaze. "Seriously, Eunbi, it's really nothing—”

            "How can you say that?" Eunbi's brow slowly furrowed. "It's a lot. It's... it's definitely a lot. And, honestly, how am I supposed to repay you now?"

            Sojung fixed her posture; Eunbi's tone was growing in volume. "You don't have to repay me, Eunbi-yah. I didn't do it to have you in debt with me. I did it to help—”

            "Well, you could've asked before, couldn't you?" Eunbi unfastened her seat belt. "Things just don't work that way, Sojung-eonni. I don't know what kind of view you have on, on freaking me, but I don't want free money. I'm working and, yeah, I'm struggling, like you said, but I'm doing my best. To... to not..." the words pooled on Eunbi's throat and Sojung could hear the ocean flooding to Eunbi's eyes. "I don't even know how to freaking—how to ing react to this situation. First, it's that ridiculously huge tip, that yeah, I'm extremely grateful for, and I, I thought that well, if you can spend that amount of money, then fine. And second it was all that, that little stunt at the café, because yeah, Sojung, I noticed it. You’re trying to feed me like I'm this lost kid in need of rescue," Eunbi whipped her head to look at Sojung and the look in the student's eyes pierced through her like a bullet, "is that how you see me? Like a lost kid to be rescued?”

            "What," it came out as a breathy exclamation, shock clear in her voice, "what—no, Eunbi, that's not it at all! I, I just, um, I just wanted to help you, I'm sincere about it and—”

            "We don't even know each other! All I know about you is that you are—a freaking company hero. I know that you have money and that you're Korean, but that's it! Can't you see how absurd is that you paid that stupid bill? ing hell, I—" Eunbi groaned and hid her face on her hands, "this is stupid." Eunbi sniffled and busted the car door open.

            "Eunbi-yah!" Sojung hurried to get out of the car while Eunbi jumped off and made her way towards the building. "Eunbi-yah, come on!" Sojung managed to take three steps before Eunbi swirled and pointed at her, face scrunched up in an angry expression.

            "No! You—you stay right there!" Eunbi huffed, shaking her pointed finger at Sojung. “Don’t move!”

            Sojung sighed, "please, Eunbi, just let me—”

            "You have nothing to explain, Sojung-ssi, or, or whatever you want to say. I..." Eunbi's lips pursed out in a pout and she groaned, "I'm—I’m thankful. Thanks! But that's it! You shouldn't have done it!"

            Sojung raised her palms, "yes, you are right. I, I should've asked you. I'm very sorry that I didn't ask you," she wanted to add that even though that was true, she wasn't sorry that she did it, but Sojung figured that it wouldn't help her case at all. "You're completely right. I acted on impulse."

            Eunbi squinted her eyes and took a step back, "yeah, you did."

            "I won't do it again."

            "You definitely won't!"

            They stared at each other for a second and Sojung's lips curled up, "alright."

            "No! It’s not alright! I'm still mad at you!" Eunbi crossed her arms and her heels.

            Sojung shoulders relaxed, though. For some reason, she knew Eunbi wasn't truly pissed at her. "Eat dinner," she raised her voice and Eunbi answered her with a grunt as she entered the building.

            Sojung stood there for a moment, watching the closed, rusty door in silence. She sighed, walked around the car and closed the passenger door with care. Eunbi's reaction was probably something momentary and she probably... probably wouldn't hold grudges, but it didn't change the fact that she had reacted badly to it.

            Yerin was right, Sojung rolled her eyes, again. But she had learned this lesson at least. No more paying things without consulting Eunbi, I guess, she walked over to the driver's seat and soon enough she was back on the streets, if I had, Eunbi wouldn't have accepted it, though, so... Sojung smiled, it was worthy.

            With a voice command, Yerin was connected and greeting her with a sleepy voice. Sojung frowned, "were you sleeping?"

            Yerin chuckled, "maybe. Are you with Eunbi?"

            "No, I just dropped her off." Her friend gave her a prompting hum. "And I told her that I paid for the hospital bill."

            "And what did she say?"

            Sojung sighed, "she was very angry, but," she bit her lower lip to stop the smile from coming to her lips, "but I think things are okay. Maybe I just won't pull something like this again."

            "Yeah, that'd be wise," Yerin yawned.

            "Are you okay?" Sojung playfully asked and earned herself another chuckle.

            "Yeah, eonni, I am. Turns out that I sleep too. What a shocker, ain’t it. Well, anyway, I'm glad things turned out fine." Yerin joked but sounded honestly tired.

            She didn't press on the subject. "Alright. I'm heading to the hotel, now."

            "Are you going to text Eunbi when you arrive?"

            Sojung rolled her eyes, "maybe."

            "Oh, eonni—”

            She cut the call before Yerin could make any snarky comments. Sojung could deal with the teasing later, preferably after she had texted Eunbi. I hope she is eating, Sojung sighed, and I hope she does answer my texts.

            Sojung really hoped so.