AIRPLANES AND SHOOTING STARS

Minju was 24 when she looked at her 7-year-old nephew looking lost, completely shaken from the accident – from the accident that cost his parents’ life. Her sister’s life. When she got the call, she completely dropped all her work and rushed to the scene.

She could only see the wrecked car on the sad, a big truck tipped over, then a crying boy that an emergency nurse trying to console. Minju quickly walks over to them, telling the police officers that she’s a family member. She quickly went over to hug the boy, saying comforting words – that everything would be alright.

Minju doesn’t need to know, she doesn’t want to face the truth – that Samuel is an orphan. That she lost her sister and her brother-in-law. They said that they were about to go to a vacation – Minju knows that, but then unfortunately, the truck lost its brakes.

And she knows what happened.

Without their parents, it’s only logical that she would have custody of Samuel and she accepted him wholeheartedly. She promised him that she would take care of him, that she may not be as great as his mother – her sister, but she will do her best.

She promised.

He smiled and believed her.

Minju is amazed, that this child still managed to smile despite of everything – but she knows he feels lost. Which is why she promised not to him, but to herself – that she will always be there for him.

It was three months after the accident that Minju discovered that Samuel has fascinations with astronomical bodies – mostly constellations and the moon. With that she bought him a book all about it, his smile – it just lit up the room when he saw her gift for him.

“Thank you Minju-noona!” He smiles and hugs her tightly. Minju crouched down and returned the hug.

“Anything for you.”

It was 5 months after the accident that Minju saw Samuel breaking down. It was one Sunday morning; everything was fine until it was not.

“I miss my parents,” He whispered and then he wailed, Minju quickly runs over to him to console him.

“It’s okay, you can cry all you want. You’ve been keeping it all. I’m here.”

And he did, he cried and cried – until he had trouble breathing. Minju first thought it was just because of all the crying, but when she noticed that he is having a very hard time to catch his breath, she panics. Not asking any questions, she quickly grabbed her keys and carried the small boy inside her car.

She drove as fast as she can, telling the nurses that he couldn’t breathe – she refused to let go of him when they are transferring him to the E.R. but she needed to.

Seconds.

Minutes.

Hours.

3 hours, 43 minutes and 20 seconds.

It was 5 months, 2 days, 3 hours, 43 minutes, and 20 seconds after the accident that she discovered that her nephew has a heart disease.

“Cardiomyopathy.” The doctor, Dr. Kwon said. “He’s still young, he has a chance.”

Minju nodded, trying to process the information.

“Do you know if there’s a history of heart problems in your family?”

Minju thinks, anyone from her family who has one – she couldn’t think of one. And so, she shakes her head and suddenly she remembered her brother-in-law. She quickly calls them, excusing herself from the doctor.

She stops in her tracks – “My wife died with – “

Minju closes her eyes nodding her head, apologizing for making him remembering. He says sorry for not being there, Minju understands – he is too weak to walk already, paralyzed all the way down to his toes due to one fall from the stairs.

She turns around and Dr. Kwon understands that look – it’s genetically passed on. She reassures her with a squeeze on her shoulders.

“We’re going to do our best.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m your friend Minju, you don’t have to thank me.”

 

--

 

“Noona! You’re here!” Samuel greeted her with a smile, and Minju’s heart break. How can the universe be this cruel? To take away his parents from him, and now this?

Instead she opted with a small smile, “And you’re still as energetic as before.”

“I need to, I’m bored.” The boy pouted and noticed something on the older girl’s hand. “What’s that?”

Minju smiles and pulls out what she brought – his books about astronomy and new ones. She showed it to him with her own toothy smile.

“I knew you’d be bored so I brought these.”

Samuel gestures for a hug and Minju complied, hugging him tightly. He whispered to her, “You’re an angel.”

Minju’s tears slipped out but she quickly wipes it off and shakes her head. “No. You are.”

It’s been 6 months after the accident, a month after he was admitted in the hospital that Dr. Kwon gave them a go signal – that he is safe to go. Minju couldn’t describe how happy she is when she heard that, she assured her friend that she would go for the required check-ups, the medicines, and everything needed to remembered.

Samuel looks much more ecstatic, especially when he felt like he is in prison for the whole month – nurses checking on him from time to time, having no idea why he is still there. He tried asking Minju, but the only thing that Minju could offer is that he needs to be safe.

He accepted the answer with a smile.

Minju cannot find it in her heart to break the news to him – that there’s a chance his heart would fail him. That in one second, he could just – no, it would not happen. Not on Minju’s watch.

She promised.

And she plans to fulfill that promise.

After being discharged, Minju gave an indefinite leave to her company – giving the responsibility to her best friend, Chaewon. She thankful that the latter understands her situation, Chaewon saw how Minju handled everything – from the accident, to taking care of Samuel, and now.

Sometimes Chaewon would visit her at home and play with Samuel, the boy grew fond of her and they got along. Minju looks at them with a fond smile, hoping she can capture it in a photo. Just like that, she thought of an idea.

Calling them over as soon as she finished cooking, she voiced out her idea.

“What do you think of having an album?”

Samuel looks up from his plate, a clueless look on his. “Huh?”

“You know, for everything that you want to remember? Special events such as birthdays?” Minju elaborates for the young boy to understand. Chaewon looks at her and smiles at her idea.

“Like a book of memories.” She chimed in, “You know those books that you read about stars, it’s just like that but with you in it.”

Finally understanding what they are saying, Samuel eagerly nods his.

Chaewon volunteers to buy the camera and would bring it the next time she visits.

 

-

 

Just as promised, Minju went to the scheduled check-ups the first one is 2 weeks since the discharged. Here she is now, talking to Dr. Kwon while Samuel is asleep in one room.

“He’s doing good, maybe I could lessen the dosage on his medicines.” Dr. Kwon said, writing on her notebook and Minju nodded.

“Would that not jeopardize his progress?” She asked worriedly.

Dr. Kwon clicks her pen thinking about the question, “Well if he is still getting better the next time he visits which is in another 2 weeks, I’ll lessen it. Would that be okay?”

Minju nodded thankfully at the doctor and the latter just smiled, putting down the stethoscope on the table gently.

“You really care about him, don’t you?”

Minju looks at the older girl in front of her and she knows she’s not asking her as a doctor – rather as a friend. She smiles and nodded, “He’s an angel that deserves to live.”

Eunbi smiled at her, “He said the same thing about you.”

 

-

 

Minju knows that the young boy would be curious about it, how there would be voices of children outside every morning and the afternoon, how he longingly looks at them and underneath it all – the curiosity. So, when one night, when she is about to tuck him in bed – he asked her question.

“Noona, why don’t I go to school?”

And just with one look the innocence of the boy, Minju cannot tell him that – no, it’s too risky for you. You cannot be stressed. Instead she asked, “Do you want to?”

And the little boy nodded with a smile.

As much as Minju wants to keep the boy away from danger, she doesn’t want to ruin his childhood – she is doing this for him to be alive, but how can that happen if he is barely living? With that she smiled at him ruffling his hair.

“Let’s go to your Eunbi-noona tomorrow and ask her about it, alright?”

With that she left, not before placing a kiss on the boy’s forehead and wishing him good night.

 

--

 

“Noona, did you know that stars die?” Samuel wonders out loud, and Minju hums glancing at the boy on the passenger seat.

“Can you tell me more?” She questions to entertain the little kid, which seems to be excited.

“They have this like, fuel or energy. But if they ran out of it, they would eventually die,” Samuel says out loud and he seems to be thinking something, Minju waits for him to talk again, focusing on driving.

“But they become something depending on their mass.” The young boy continues, “I think that’s just like life, don’t you think so noona?”

Minju looks at him and smiles, “How do you say so?”

“When people die, they leave a mark. Sometimes it’s a big mark, or normal, sometimes it’s small.”

Then Samuel stares outside the window, “The stars that died with a huge mass becomes a black hole.”

“Mom and dad. They left a black hole in me.”

Minju gulps, fighting the tears in her eyes. “But that’s alright, noona. Because you’re here now.”

She tries to smile, holding the boy’s arm. “I’m here. And I won’t leave you.”

So, when they went to the hospital, they were welcomed by Dr. Kwon who smiled at them and lead them to her office – Samuel insisted that he wanted to play with the nurses and Minju nodded, telling him not to cause trouble. She trusts him that he wouldn’t, but there’s no hurt in reminding him.

“This is a surprise, is there something wrong?” Dr. Kwon asked her and Minju shakes her head, sitting on the chair in front of the table.

“I just,I wanted to ask something.”

The doctor nodded for her to continue.

“Samuel, he wants to go to school.” Minju carefully says, “I’m just worried that – “

“It would be too risky for him to go to one?” Dr. Kwon finished, and Minju nodded. The former sighed thinking about what to say, and Minju just waits.

“As a doctor, I wouldn’t suggest it. But as a friend,” Dr. Kwon clicked her tongue, “Seeing his progress and all, he is really doing good. Samuel is still young Minju, he still has a great chance. I think it would be better for him to experience it.”

“Are you telling that as a doctor or a friend?” Minju questions.

“Both.” Dr. Kwon answers, “Just do what you’re doing right now, and he’ll be fine. The first moment he experiences pain, you go to us. Okay?”

Minju smiled and hug the older girl in front of her tightly, Samuel would be happy to hear this. With that, she pulled Eunbi out of her room – wanting her to say the good news with the doctor beside her. They went out of the room and asked the nurses – Yujin and Sakura if they saw Samuel.

They are already familiar with them with their month long stay in the hospital, and they happily pointed to the playroom where children always go. Minju thanks them and proceeded to walk over the room with Eunbi tailing behind.

She looks around the room to spot her nephew, when she saw him talking to someone unfamiliar – a doctor, judging from the white coat she’s wearing. Minju walks over the two and calls Samuel, making the latter look at her direction.

The boy immediately ran to her and hugged her, Minju just laughs and looks up to see the woman – who seems to be a few years older than her, smiling at her.

“Noona! I met someone,” Samuel smiles and pulls her to their table, “This is Kang-noona!”

The said woman stood up and bowed at them, “Kang Hyewon at your service.” She smiles.

Minju looks at the woman – she really seems young to be a doctor, but Eunbi is young too and most of the nurses here are around her age.

“Kim Minju. I hope he didn’t cause you trouble.”

Hyewon chuckles and shakes her head, “He’s a good boy.” She compliments, ruffling Samuel’s hair. Then she saw her looking behind her, and Minju remembers Eunbi is with her.

“Oh, right,” Minju exclaims, “This is – “

“Dr. Kwon.” Hyewon finished her sentence, “I know her Ms. Kim, no need for introductions.” She smiles.

“Hyewon,” Eunbi says slowly, “Fancy seeing you here, especially this is not your wing.”

“Unnie, cut me some slack. I did my job properly.” Hyewon pouts which is a very adorable sight if Minju could be honest. But it seems like it does not have the same effect with Eunbi.

“I think Yena would need help by now.”

Hyewon just grumbled like a kid, making Samuel laugh at her. Hyewon then said her farewell at the two, hugging Samuel – Minju is surprised because the two seems really close in a short amount of time. With Samuel promising that he would talk to Hyewon more about stars and moons, and the latter saying she’d be looking forward to it.

She just smiled at Minju and nodded her head, walking out of the room.

“Noona, what are you going to say?”

Minju was snapped out of her trance when she heard Samuel, and she beamed at him. Gesturing at Dr. Kwon. “Dr. Kwon has something very nice to say.” And she nodded for the doctor to tell it.

And just as she expected, Samuel was so happy that he couldn’t wipe off his smile from his face when they got home – even whining that they need to eat ice cream as celebration.

Minju of course accepted.

That puppy eyes are really the death of her.

 

-

 

“Look here and smile!” Minju says pointing the camera at Samuel – who has the first day of his school wearing his uniform. The boy looks enthusiastic, posing for the camera – smiling widely. Chaewon smiles at the two, feeling special to witness this moment.

“I wished Kang-noona is here to see me go to school.” Samuel says to her with a pout, Minju has been hearing the name lately. Since they went back at home that day, Samuel seems became really fond of the doctor.

“Kang-noona?” Chaewon asks out loud making the little boy beam at her.

“She’s a doctor! She also loves stars like me!” Samuel says happily, and Chaewon nodded looking at Minju curiously who just shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, maybe we could ask her the next time we visit the hospital?”

Samuel nodded excited and Minju smiled, “Now come on. You still have school!” She offers her handand Samuel immediately held on it.

 

-

 

Minju doesn’t care if she’s spoiling Samuel too much, the boy deserves all the love in the world – what he wants, he always gets. Which is why she’s driving to the hospital right now to the hospital, hoping to see a certain doctor that her nephew is really fond of.

She’s just hoping that Dr. Kang is not doing her rounds, because Samuel’s classes are about to end.

When she entered the hospital she quickly went to the desk, familiar faces greeted her with a smile.

“Yujin, by any chance do you know where Dr. Kang is?” She asks the nurse.

The said nurse just looked at the older girl beside her – Sakura, who just shrugged her shoulder.

“Do you mean Dr. Kang Seulgi?” Sakura asks her, but Minju shakes her head – so there are two Kangs here.

“No. Dr. Kang Hyewon, Samuel met him the last we visited here.” Minju looks at the two are just looking at her with their mouth agape, as she was about to ask if there is something wrong someone spoke from behind her.

“Someone looking for me?”

Turning around she found the person she’s looking wearing her usual white coat, smiling at her. the said doctor approached and nodded, “I heard my name.”

“Right, Ms. Kim here is looking for you.” YUjin answered pointing at her. She then turned to the doctor who is already looking questioningly.

“Samuel really became fond of you,” She started, “He hopes that you can see him at school.”

Hearing her nephew’s name Minju saw how the doctor’s face immediately lit up and nodded, “When does he start?”

“Oh, today is his first day actually. He’s about to go out, I was hoping you can see him. If you’re not busy that it.”

Hyewon grins at her – for a doctor Minju could say that this one is really playful.

“Lucky for you, I just finished.” She said, removing her white coat revealing her plain attire which consists of white shirt and sweatpants. She then gave her coat to the two nurses, who just accepts it without any questions.

“Are you sure?” Minju asked worriedly, “I don’t want to disturb you, I can just come back – “

“Ms. Kim, we don’t want to waste your trip going here. And I don’t want to miss Samuel’s first day going out of school.” Hyewon says with a determined tone, and Minju just nodded her head.

“If you say so, we can use my car.”

As they are about to walk away Yujin suddenly called them, specifically the doctor she’s with – making them stop.

“Hye – I mean, Dr. Kang, are you sure you’re finished?” She said, staring at the doctor beside her. Minju turned to look at her.

Hyewon just nodded and waved her hand dismissively, “Yeah. Just tell Yena that I went out. I’ll be going here as soon as this is finished.” With that she started walking out, gently pulling Minju out – ignoring the calls of the two nurses.

“They could be really persuasive if they want to.” Hyewon simply said and smile, “Lead me to your car and Samuel please.” She joked as she did a funny curtsy.

 

-

 

The car ride was surprisingly not awkward, with Hyewon filling the silence with all of her stories. The doctor is really talkative, no wonder Samuel became really fond of her. The little boy wants someone to always to listen to him, but she knows how Samuel really craves for the same enthusiasm when it comes to talking.

“Samuel really likes the stars,” Hyewon suddenly said, “He even taught me some constellations.”

Minju just chuckled because it does sound like her nephew, “He said that you also like stars too.”

The doctor hummed and nodded, “Stars are one of the beautiful things in this world.”

“You can say that.” Minju nodded, turning the steering wheel and looks ahead of the road.

“Samuel is really lucky to have you as a mother.”

If Minju is not level-headed as she is right now, she would have hit the brakes when she heard the declaration. She looks at the doctor beside her and just shakes her head, “I think you got it wrong.”

Hyewon turns her head to look at her – and somehow the doctor’s gaze made her blush.

“What did I get wrong?”

“I’m not Samuel’s mom.”

“Oh.”

“I’m his aunt – her mom’s my older sister.” Minju elaborated.

“Oh, what happened – “ Hyewon shakes her head not continuing with her question, and Minju is thankful for that. “Mom or not, he’s lucky to have you.”

She smiles at the statement and pulled over in front of the school, Minju could already see children running around and being hugged by their parents. She looks around for a moment looking for her nephew.

“Oh, there he is!” Hyewon exclaimed pointing at a familiar head, without further ado she went out of the car. Minju could only chuckle because the doctor’s excitement is really obvious. She followed her out and walked over to welcome her nephew, calling his name.

“Samuel!” Minju shouts to gain the little boy’s attention when he looked at their direction, he didn’t hesitate to run over her and hugged her. Minju returned the hug and pulled away, “How was the first day?”

“It’s really fun! I made a new friend; his name is Ren!” Samuel is busy telling his day that he didn’t notice another presence.

“Don’t I get a hug?”

Samuel immediately stopped and looked behind Minju, she could see how Samuel’s face became brighter – if that is even possible, and quickly ran to Hyewon giving her a tight hug.

“I missed you too bud!” Hyewon caught him and raised him up a little making the little boy giggle.

“You’re here!”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss my favorite bud’s first day of school!” Hyewon said as she winks at Minju. Samuel quickly turned around at his aunt and pulled her hand.

“Can we get ice cream?” He asked, “Please, please, please.”

Who could even say no to those eyes and pout? In the end, Minju nodded and drove them over to the nearest ice cream store. The four of them spent time together, with Samuel continuing to tell about his day and Hyewon is listening intently – asking questions if needed, and giving reactions that makes Samuel laugh.

After they finished their ice cream, Minju drove Hyewon back to the hospital – the latter thanked her and kissed Samuel’s forehead before going out. Minju looks at her retreating figure and saw her being slapped by some nurse being followed by Yujin and Sakura.

She chuckles and was about to drove off when Hyewon turned around and pointed at her – she saw the three nurses look at her and she awkwardly waves back while Samuel energetically does so. When she saw the four of them walking inside, that’s when she completely drove away.

“Kang-noona is really cool! She knows so much about stars!” Samuel exclaims, “I hope I can see her again tomorrow!”

“We’ll see if she’s not busy, okay?” Minju smiles at him.

Minju doesn’t know why, but it seems like Hyewon would be sticking around for a long time with them.

 

--

 

After that event, it seems like Hyewon would always be there every time it’s time for Samuel’s class to end – at first, Minju saw her and she just thought the doctor is just being a good friend to her nephew. But when Hyewon always arrives right after she pulls over for almost three days straight now, she realizes that the doctor is really doing this for Samuel.

It’s also been three days since she started eating ice cream just because Samuel wants to spend more time with the doctor – for the record, Minju appreciates that the latter sometimes say ‘no’, but her resolve would always vanish when Samuel pouts.

Minju understands her – she just needs to move more to burn the extra calories. As Samuel and Hyewon spends time together, it is inevitable to also spend time with the doctor and get to know her.

She discovers that Hyewon has been in the hospital for almost all her life saying that her parents are both doctors, and she has been homeschooled. Though she prefers to be on the sideline and just do rounds – but she is always at the Orthopedics wing.

She also learned that Hyewon is pretty close with all of the nurses – which explains how friendly Yujin and Sakura is with her, since Hyewon practically grew up there due to the fact that her parents always bring her to the hospital.

Minju somehow learned, mainly because Samuel keeps asking the doctor, that Hyewon loves the stars because she once saw a shooting star and made a wish when she was young – which surprisingly came true.

“But shooting stars are not real, it’s just a rock that heats up because of how fast it falls.” Samuel pointed out, earning a playful flick on the forehead from the doctor.

“Yes Mr. Astronomer, but it doesn’t hurt to believe in those kinds of things!” Hyewon playfully sticks her tongue out and Minju watches them in amusement.

“But – “

Hyewon raised her finger to shush Samuel and shakes her head, Minju laughs at the two.

“It may be just a falling rock, but don’t you think it’s beautiful despite its fate?” Hyewon asked, and when the little boy didn’t answer she just ruffled his hair affectionately. “Sometimes you need to see life in a different perspective, Samu.”

“Samu?” The little boy asked in wonder. Hyewon nodded and poked his nose.

“Samu. My own little nickname for you. You should be honored.” She joked.

“Can Minju-noona also call me that?!” He asked excitedly, and Hyewon just laughs and looks at the other girl.

“Up to her.” She shrugs, “What do you think, can you call him that?”

Minju smiles at the two and pursed her lips – acting like she’s thinking about it. “Samu does have a nice ring to it.”

“Yes!” Samuel humps his fist into the air in victory, making the two adults laugh at his silliness.

That’s how Samuel became Samu to Minju – her sister’s son, her nephew. The most precious thing in her life at the moment. Somehow, that’s how Minju and Samu became Samu, Hyewon, and Minju. The little boy couldn’t get on with his day without seeing the said doctor.

Minju started to feel guilty when she always sees Hyewon standing in front of Samuel’s school waiting for him, she asked her one time if she really doesn’t have anything to do to be there and the doctor reassured her that she always finishes her job before going there.

It’s amazing, how it was just only a month and Hyewon became an integral part of their dynamic.

“My favorite part is when the bell rings!” Samuel said one weekend, making Chaewon chuckle.

“Why is that? Because you get to sleep?”

“Yes! But that’s also the time where I see Kang-noona! We always eat ice cream together after school!”

Minju just watches from her seat – as much as she wants to deny it, it also became her favorite part of the day.

 

-

 

It’s been few months already since Samuel started going to school – the boy is living the best of his life, and Minju loves the smile she always sees on the young boy’s face. The visits they have to the hospital for their scheduled check-ups all came out positively. Hyewon always spends her time with them during that time – she really became closer to the older girl.

That maybe one day she wasn’t surprised when Hyewon visited her in her house one weekend.

There’s a knock on her door making her stop her conversation with Chaewon, Samuel is busy on the table doing his homework. Minju shrugs and stood up from her seat walking over the door and opening it, only to see a very casual Hyewon.

“Hyewon?”

“Nice to see you, can I come in?” The doctor smiled, Minju looks at her confusedly but step aside letting her enter. As if Samuel has a radar, she heard a chair scraping and a shout coming from the boy.

“Kang-noona!”

“Samu!” Hyewon caught the approaching boy by the waist and carried him. “Missed me?”

Minju just lead her to the living room where Chaewon is waiting – looking at the new person, Minju decided to introduce the two of them to each other.

“Hyewon, this is my best friend Chaewon,” She says as she points to the girl on the couch, “This is Hyewon, you know the Kang-noona.”

“That’s me!” Hyewon exclaimed waving at the girl she then turns to look at the boy still in her arms, “It seems like you’re still not done with your homework, Samu.”

“But you’re here!”

“I’ll be leaving if you don’t finish it then.” Hyewon jokingly threatens, which seems to be effective since Samuel immediately went back to his work making the adults chuckle.

“Hyewon, why are you here?” Mnju asks the older girl as she sits down, sending her a sheepish grin.

“I was just thinking if we could go out since I have a free day, but I didn’t think that you may have a guest.”

“Oh.” Minju blinks, not knowing what to say.

Then they heard a throat being cleared, the both of them looking at the other girl inside the room – Chaewon.

“I don’t have anything to do,” She trailed off, “I can look after Samuel for a while.” With the look that Chaewon gave to her, Minju knows that the girl is basically saying that she cannot say no and go out with the girl.

And now here she is walking with Hyewon to a coffee shop near her house, the latter insisted to just go here since she still promised to Samu that she would spend her time with him. Minju smiles at the thought and feel warm.

There was no time that they feel awkwardness between them, it’s like the conversation flowed naturally – with Hyewon asking about how Samu’s school is, to Minju asking Hyewon her work.

“Busy as ever. You know how hospitals could get.”

“Yeah, it’s a miracle you have a free day.”

Hyewon chuckle lightly, “Miracle,” She echoes, “It’s something we always wish in life, don’t you think?”

Minju looks at the girl in front of her, she could see Hyewon looking wistfully at her coffee as if the topic just hits her. Then she realized that her job is not easy – it was never easy. To shoulder a person’s life. To have a patient deliver to you and be responsible for their life.

“Yeah, it is.”

Hyewon chuckles, “What do you want for a miracle?”

Minju doesn’t need to think. She knows.

“For Samu to live long enough to have a family.”

“Cardiomyopathy, huh?”

Minju nods, then she felt someone holding her hand. Hyewon is smiling her usual smile, as if everything has hope – that she should be hopeful.

“He’s young, he still has a great chance.”

 

--

 

“Just do what you’re doing right now, and he’ll be fine. The first moment he experiences pain, you go to us. Okay?”

 

--

 

Minju dropped everything when she received a call from school. She was in the middle of baking when her phone rang.

“Ms. Kim? Samuel is in the clinic right now; he has trouble breathing and a light fever.”

She drove like a madwoman to the school, not caring if she ran over a red light. She needs to go there as soon as possible.

When she entered the school, she was immediately led to the clinic, where Samuel is seen sitting up while a nurse is holding a paper bag over his mouth to help him breathe. She quickly entered and smiled gratefully at the school nurse.

“Samu hey, look at me.” She softly says, “We’ll get you to the hospital okay?”

Samuel couldn’t speak and instead nodded weakly. With that, Minju gently carried the boy and went to her car driving to the hospital. She called Eunbi on the phone telling her that she’s on her way – briefing her about what happened. Minju tried her best not to panic, but she knows she’s panicking on inside – but it wouldn’t help.

Not when Samuel is in the passenger car, catching his breath.

She promised.

And she’s not one to break promises.

Nurses are already at the front when she arrived being led by Eunbi, Samuel is quickly put on a stretcher and an oxygen mask is quickly put over him. Minju just watched worriedly, and Eunbi nodded at her following the nurses.

 

-

 

“I don’t know, we all thought he’s making progress.”

“Why, what happened?”

Eunbi looks at her, hesitating to answer. Minju cannot take it anymore and just snapped.

“Just tell me! This is not the time to hesitate!”

“He’s getting worse, his heartbeats are getting irregular – no exact pattern. It may look like advanced heart failure, but I’m not sure yet.”

“What can you do?” Minju whispers.

“We will monitor him, raise his dosage. We will do everything, Minju.”

“Please, please.” Minju cries and Eunbi hugs her.

She doesn’t know how, she thought everything would be alright.

 

-

 

Minju is just sitting there on a bench outside the hospital, looking at the night sky. She feels hopeless, Samuel is still sleeping – Yujin said he wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow and it’s best if she goes home. But how can Minju just do that?

Leave her nephew – Samuel is like her son now. How can she just leave him there, knowing that anything could happen?

Hopeless.

It feels like her heart is being ripped out of her.

“Hey.”

She turns to see Hyewon, “Mind if I sit with you?” Minju just shakes her head as answer.

And it was quiet.

The cold wind making her shiver with her really poor choice of clothing. Minju then felt something being wrapped around her shoulders – she turned to look at Hyewon giving her the white coat. The latter just smiled. “I can manage don’t worry.”

Minju muttered a thanks, and pulled the coat closer to her – relishing on its scent and the warmth it gives.

“I could really use a shooting star right now.” She says, breaking the silence. Hyewon chuckled at her and looked at the sky.

“The night sky looks pretty plain tonight.”

It did.

“I could really use a wish right now.” Minju mumbles under her breath.

Only a few stars are seen. Minju could even count it on her fingers. One, three, only seven stars could be seen. Well, seven is a lucky number. Maybe that would do.

“We could always improvise though,” Hyewon said pursing her lips as she squints her eyes as if looking for something. Minju just frowned at the doctor, and the latter smiled as if she found the thing she’s looking for.

“There!”

Minju looks at where the older girl is pointing and all she could see is an airplane that just took off.

“That’s an airplane.” She deadpans, “Samu will be disappointed Dr. Kang.”

She then felt her forehead being flicked, “You dummy, I know that.”

“But we could pretend.”

“What?”

“We can pretend that it’s a shooting star.” Hyewon smiles, “Now close your eyes.”

And Minju did.

“Make a wish.”

Maybe it’s stupid of her – it is very absurd for a real shooting star to grant your wish, much less for an airplane. But still, Minju did. After all –

“Sometimes you need to see life in a different perspective.” Hyewon said, “Everyone needs a little hope to live.”

Minju did not notice that she’s already crying until she felt someone wiping her cheeks. She opens her eyes to see Hyewon looking at her – not with pity but with understanding.

“You can be weak sometimes Minju. It doesn’t mean you are not strong.” And Minju sobbed to Hyewon’s arms.

The doctor just wrapped her arms around her, saying comforting words.

But still Minju feels hopeless.

 

--

 

It was a quiet for both Samuel and Minju, it’s been a week since he has been admitted to the hospital, a week since he hasn’t been to school. Samuel has always been asking when they can go home, but Minju couldn’t answer –