In the bustling lobby of the hospital, a long line followed through the cafe, consisting of professors and patients who were just starting their day.

Eunseo grabbed two Iced Americanos, thanking the girl who made them and going to where Minju was sitting, at a table right in front of the cylinder pillar.

She slid the coffee to her, grasping the brunette's attention. Sitting down, she said, "Call her if you miss her. Why do you look like you're fighting against demons in your head?" She sipped her coffee, sighing in relief.

Minju lazily stirred the coffee. "She's busy," she said. "I already called her."

"Then what's bothering you?" Eunseo couldn't decipher the pinched look of hers.

The younger sighed softly, taking a sip before confessing, "Maybe calling her made me miss her more."

Eunseo snickered. "It has barely been a week. What could make you miss her that much? She was here not long ago." She heard a soft thud and saw Minju lying her head on her arm, sighing deeply.

"I miss her." The brunette stared at the bracelet dangling off her wrist as the ceiling lights reflected off the tiny charms that held Yujin's initials.

Eunseo shook her head slowly. Minju was totally helpless. She could never understand how one could miss another this badly till it shows obliviously.

Not wanting to let the feeling of missing Yujin overwhelm her, the brunette took up longer shifts and has been keeping herself next to a pile of books that one could never finish reading. As much as she cherished the calls she had with Yujin, she knew the younger girl would be tired after a long day of classes even when she insisted that her voice brings her energy.

On the bright side, the scent of Yujin lingers on her side of the room. At least that made her feel as if the younger girl was around.

Just a few more weeks.

Minju suddenly jolted up, startling the older girl. "I'm late," she announced.

"For?"

The girl rose from her seat. "I promised Yejun I'd play ping pong with Taesung."

"Ping pong—don't run!"

"I'll pay you back later!"

—

Yejun had been holding the phone up, camera directing to the match of ping pong between Minju and Taesung. But he wasn't sure if he should call it a match.

"Noona, are you sure you practised?" He spoke behind the phone, watching Minju miss another ball Taesung served to her.

"It's not me. He's just too good." She struggled to get another ball over the net, losing the last point of the match.

A hefty 11-1 was the final score.

Yejun looked at that one point Minju won. "He definitely let you have this point out of courtesy." He shook his head and saw them doing a handshake.

"You aren't too bad," Taesung commented with a chuckle.

Minju turned to Yejun. "I'm not too bad."

"Yeah, you're the worst." The little boy teased, earning a ruffle to his hair. "But I believe practice makes perfect."

Minju redid her hair into a ponytail. "Watch me," she said. "I'll win the next match."

The fatherly smile met Taesung's lips, watching the two bicker. "Come on. I'll treat you two to something."

—

Sitting outside the nursery, Minju helped Yejun with the wrapping of his ice cream. Handing it to him, she says, "For being the cameraman. You'll have to promise me you'll eat your—"

"I will, I will. Stop nagging at me." He latched his lips onto the popsicle.

Minju gave his shoulder a soft nudge, turning to Taesung who was having his share of vanilla ice cream in a cup, eyes directed at the window that showed newborns. She ever wondered how he had this look in his gaze, so endearing that whenever he looked at something, it felt as if he were thankful.

"Do you like babies?" Minju couldn't help but ask.

Taesung nodded slowly, the corner of his lips winding up. "Isn't it cool to have a glimpse of the future? They're our future." He wasn't wrong. "And they're adorable. Almost irresistible." Without hearing it, Minju knew the sight reminded him of his daughter.

Feeling a nudge from Yejun, she heard him ask, "You said you had a girlfriend but I've never seen her. Do you really have one?"

Minju nodded. "She's just not here at the moment. She's in another city."

"Yeah, you don't have one," Yejun concluded. "Unless you have a picture, I'm going to think you're lying your way out of loneliness. Or does she not love you enough to visit you?"

"I'm not lonely." The older girl softly poked his shoulder. "And don't question her love."

"Then show it to me. Show me who's this person you've been bragging about."

"I don't...brag..." A warm flush bloomed on Minju's cheeks.

Taesung's voice added, "You just don't realise it." He chuckled. "I'm curious too."

Yejun started shaking her arm. "Show us."

Minju reached into her white coat and fished out her phone. Scavenging for a photo in an album, she pulled out one she took of Yujin when the girl made her a rose out of snow. She showed it to Yejun, "Do you believe me now?"

He inched closer to the screen, glancing at Minju with narrowed eyes. "This is your girlfriend?" He earned a nod. "Can I swipe to see more?"

The brunette handed her phone to him so he could look at it with Taesung. She heard the little guy gasping softly as he swiped, flutters of compliments escaping his lips but Taesung was silent, almost as if he was immersed in the photos.

"What's her name?" Yejun asked. "I want to meet her. She looks like a nice person. She's so pretty."

Minju's smile almost reached her ears. "Yujin."

"Yujin?" He looked at her, grinning. "Our names are similar." He returned the phone.

Slipping it into her pocket, she heard Taesung say, "She's lovely."

The brunette couldn't help but nod. "She is."

—

Yujin navigated herself through a part of the school building she had never been to before. Looking at her phone, she made sure she was going to the right room, seeing the words Volunteering Society plated on the plague of the wooden door.

Pushing the door handle, she entered the storage of darkness, minimal light entering the interior of the room. Squinting, the light suddenly , causing her to freeze on the spot.

In the corner of the room stood a girl. "Who..."

Yujin stood properly. "I was told I could sign up here. Volunteering," she said. "You know the hospitals and animals...you help them."

The girl chuckled softly. "I'm pretty sure I know what volunteering is," she said. "But I'm not the person in charge. She's coming soon. You can sit down and wait." She gestured at the red couch by the wall.

Yujin sat down and watched her move around the room as if she were preparing for something. She leaned into the couch, pulling out her phone just to hear her ask, "May I ask for your name?"

"Yujin."

The girl nodded. "Are you a senior?"

"Do I look like one?" Yujin snickered and realised she was genuinely curious. "Second year."

"What do you study?"

"Architecture." Yujin tapped on a message from Minju that instantly lit up a smile on her face.

While she replied, the girl asked, "Why do you want to join this club?"

Yujin looked up from her phone briefly. "I heard you guys volunteer at hospitals."

"We do," the girl agreed. "We also go to pet shelters and farms. Agriculture." She earned a smile from Yujin. "But you seem more interested in the hospitals." She goes back shelving some files.

Typing on her phone, Yujin muttered, "My girlfriend works in a hospital. I thought I could experience or at least have a glimpse of what she goes through daily. It's not a lot but curiosity pushes some people far sometimes."

"She's lucky to have you. I don't think anyone would go out of their way to do things like this."

Yujin smiled softly at the girl's words. "It's just a small thing," she replied. "I'm luckier to have her."

The girl returned her smile before continuing to organise the materials in the room. "I'm Leeseo, by the way. If you're joining the club, we'll probably be meeting often."

Yujin nodded slowly, capturing her name.

—

Amid a slow morning, hands busy creasing the corners of origami papers, Yejun saw the way Minju was folding hers. "You're not doing it properly." He reached over, helping her with a complex fold.

Taesung looked at the both of them, smiling, busy with his own. "I think she's doing fine."

"I don't think I'll ever get it right even after she has taught me," Minju admitted, receiving the neatly folded origami from Yejun so she could continue with the next step.

"She folds them too?"

The brunette nodded. "She's really good at it," she said.

Taesung smiled. "Architecture, right?" He heard her hum in response. "Dealing with details must be her forte."

"It is." Minju chuckled. "You're really leaving next week?" She asked.

The man nodded, finishing his paper crane.

"I'll miss you," Yejun pouted, earning a head pat from him.

"Finally," Minju said. "Tell me you'll try meeting her."

Taesung, one who had always avoided hoping and trying, nodded to the girl's words. "I can't guarantee that, but I'll try," he said. "For now, let's get these done. I don't have much time left." His paper cranes will be gifts for those kids who have been around him throughout his time here.

—

A few hours passed after sending Taesung off. Minju walked down the hallway, steps a little lighter than usual knowing a patient she had crossed paths with was finally being discharged from the hospital. Even though he wasn't under her care, she never knew the comforting feeling of a patient getting better and being allowed to head home.

More so, Taesung promised to visit his daughter. If he could. It was a reunion Minju looked forward to.

Take care of her well. Those were his words that stuck with her, showing how big of a heart he had to be keeping that many people in it, even those he had never met.

Entering the staff loft, Minju's phone started buzzing in her pocket, receiving a call from Yujin.

"You there?"

"I am," Minju said, snickering. "What is it?"

"I thought I'd catch you before you disappear for the next few hours." The brunette had scheduled bypass surgery for the next four hours. "Have you eaten?"

Minju hummed, sitting on the swivel chair. "What did you eat?"

"Me?" Yujin tried to recall. "Aglio olio. Yuri came over to cook."

"Yuri? Cook?" Those two words didn't belong together.

"It wasn't bad at all." In came a picture Yujin took of the pasta. "She didn't look like the type to cook."

"The last I remembered was her toaster catching fire," Minju chuckled. "She went to your dorm?"

Yujin hummed. "Hyewon doesn't allow it but she sneaked in again," she whispered. "Said she's willing to pay the entrance fee."

"Entrance fee?"

"Five dollars. It's a thing here. Like a fine," Yujin muttered.

"We'll stick to my place."

"Your place over anything." If only Minju knew how wide of a grin the