MinWoo took the initiative and stepped out of the room, motioning for the nurse to follow him. Surprisingly, the older man obliged and joined him quickly in the hallway. With a dark expression, MinWoo crossed his arms and regarded him with disdain. He didn't bother mentioning the obvious skinship that the other and his girlfriend had taken to. "He doesn't have enough money. Even with all that I've gathered... It wouldn't be enough. Even if it was," the weary teenage boy looked at the door, "the operation wouldn't help her, would it?"

For once actually feeling pity for the younger boy, MinWoo shook his head silently. The high schooler threw his hands to his head and bent down, "I've worked... Raised money.. Even gotten help from the baseball boys, all for nothing. She's on her last leg? All I can do I'd sit here and watch her die. Does she even consider me her boyfriend anymore? Does she care that we won't live the life we always wanted together?" His voice was thick with anguish.

Swallowing his feelings and his pride, MinWoo tried to comfort his patient's boyfriend- his rival, "HyeSoo still cares deeply for you. That's plain to see. Whether any of the rest of that is true, you'll have to ask her." He swallowed a lump in his throat, "Now that you're done chasing the impossible-" The impossible that I hoped he'd be able to accomplish, MinWoo added bitterly to himself, "-you should spend some time with her. Tell her what has been going on, come clean."

The nurse expected the boy to be horrified at the thought, but instead the boy slowly nodded without a word and then walked away.

----------

Inside the room, HyeSoo and her father sat on her bed, rocking together as they both sobbed. Through his own tears, HyeSoo's father shhed her and  released jumbled apologetic words, "I shouldn't have left you. I should have cared for you through the end. By blood or not, you're my daughter."

"But I thought-" HyeSoo tried to reply, but she couldn't even think properly. Waves of relief and thankfulness swept over her. The emptiness and loneliness that had filled the whole in her heart was being haphazardly patched up in just a matter or minutes. She wasn't alone. MinWoo still thought and cared for her, her father loved her- she ultimately felt as if she could fly.

After the two had calmed down, HyeSoo felt even more tired than even before. She didn't know whether it was because the huge weight that had been resting on her shoulders had been removed or because of her health- perhaps both. Despite being extremely tired, she refused to sleep. She still had a few things to clear up. With a small voice, she whispered to her fath, "You know I'm going to die, right?" Hearing herself speak of it, it felt so surreal. Was this all really happening? For a split second, the fear of death gripped her.

"I know..." Hearing those words from her father ripped any hope that this was all just a dream away. "I couldn't save you. I didn't have enough money... That's why I ran away. I've been such a horrible father... What man can't even protect his own daughter? MinWoo's been better to you than I have- working, searching for me... Almost giving up his dream. I'm such a failure. HyeSoo-ah, I'm so sorry..." HyeSoo's focus on her father's words wavered, her connection with her senses grew fuzzy. But somehow she knew she was happy. In some distant way, knowing that her father had always cared made her happier than she could imagine.

“You’re not a failure, even though you couldn’t save me- you can save others.” She could feel the liveliness in her body begin to slip away, but she stubbornly clung on, insisting that she still had some things she needed to do. MinWoo's heartbroken voice resonated through her mind. "Appa?" She'd intended for her voice to be strong, but instead it sounded forced and weak. "Can you bring MinWoo?"

He looked at her curiously, surprised by her sun strange request. Instead of questioning it, however, instead he nodded, kissed her on her forehead, and gently laid her down on her bed. "I'll be right back, then."