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24

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“How is she doing today?”

“Well,” the nurse paused, “she’s pretty drugged up right now. She won’t relax, keeps fighting the help and trying to get out of bed, like she has for the past week. We found her up in the middle of the night last night. We may have to transfer her to keep her under control.”

“She’s definitely a fighter,” Su Ho sighed. “Is she open for visitors?”

“I doubt you’ll get much out of her, but you’re welcome to go in and see her,” the nurse replied and pulled back the curtain for Su Ho before she dismissed herself.

Su Ho thanked the nurse, even though she was already gone, and he let the curtain slide over his back as he slowly approached the bed. Yi Hyun laid there; the most peaceful he had seen her in the past couple of weeks. He quietly pulled up a chair and sat down with an exasperated, but low, sigh. As his eyes scanned her, he noticed that her arm was strapped tightly to her body. It was probably for the better, she was pretty careless with it, and even more so when she was struggling.

With sleepy eyes, Su Ho pressed his face into the mattress. “You should be at practice,” a weak voice barely whispered to him.

“You shouldn’t even be conscious,” he replied.

“You know me, I fight everything,” she retorted. To him, her breathing sounded a bit stressed—like she was struggling to get air.

“You shouldn’t if you’re thinking about ever getting better,” he snapped, lifting his face from the bed. There were black bags circling his eyes, a sure sign of sleep deprivation. His skin seemed a little dirty, lacking the care he normally put into it and his hair was a complete mess. He looked as if he didn’t sleep at all for the past three days. He jolted slightly, feeling her soft touch push through his hair, though her eyes remained closed.

“So you’re a redhead now? You look so matured.” She was always a master at changing the subject, especially if it was something she didn’t want to talk about.

“We made our comeback and recently won number one,” he replied.

“So I heard; congratulations. I knew you could do it, you always did have the passion.”

“Kim Joon Myun?” the nurse called. It was a different nurse from earlier. This one was a lot shorter, more timid and she easily hid behind her glasses. She looked over her clipboard which she held so tightly in her hands, Su Ho was sure she would break it.

“That’s me,” he responded gently, standing away from Yi Hyun’s bed.

“I would like to have a word with you in the hall, if you don’t mind.”

Su Ho’s eyes met Yi Hyun’s for less than a second before he disappeared behind the curtains. Su Ho’s eyes were full of worry, his brain racing at a thousand miles an hour; his hands were shaking at his sides. “Hi, I’m the orthopedic specialist in this hospital, doctor Yoon. As I understand, the only family that Yi Hyun has is your family via adoption, is that true?”

“Well, yes, but what does that have to do with any of this?”

The doctor laughed gently. “I just need to talk to you about her condition, and I need to you talk with your parents about it. The bullet has severely damaged the muscles and cartilage in her shoulder. It is possible to fix it surgically, but the chance of it ever fully healing is slim to none. She’s been through a lot already, as I can see just by looking at her. The doctors here didn’t want to tell you earlier, but there was a chance that she wasn’t going to make it. She’s a fighter, there’s no doubt about that, but the decision is in either you or your parents hands. Keep in mind that there’s a possibility her arm may never be even half way mobile again.”

Well that certainly didn’t ease any of the emotions that Su Ho was feeling. “What do you mean she wasn’t going to make it?”

“By the time she got here, she had already lost a lot of blood, she was very weak and the fact that she was rejecting the drugs, the blood, and even refusing to stay in bed made it really hard on her body. There’s no question, she kept herself alive fighting for it. She refused to let go,” the doctor added.

It was hard for Su Ho to process all of this information. Would she want him to just decide for her, or would she want him to talk to his parents about it? He wasn’t sure he would let her have any say in the matter. She would just choose to get out of there as soon as she could without thinking of the consequences. Part of him wanted her to get the surgery, but the other didn’t want to risk it. And what about Dochi? What would she do in regards to him? It really was too much for him to think about after having not really slept more than twelve hours in the past seven days.

“Give me some time, I’ll have an answer in the next couple of days,” Su Ho replied before receiving a card with a number to call on it. He stuck it into his pocket before he was led back into Yi Hyun’s room to break the news to her, and needless to say, she didn’t take it very well.

She wanted to thrash around in bed and reject every logical idea Su Ho had about the situation, she wanted to yell in his face and tell him that she didn’t need it, and she kind of did. She wanted to just get out of the hospital as soon as she could with no mention of Dochi, but what could she do? She was bound to the bed and it was apparent that she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“I will talk with my parents about it and see what they think. I don’t know what you don’t understand about a possibility of never having mobility in your arm again. I’m going to leave you to think about it because I really think you should take into consideration all of your options and their consequences. I’ll be back the same time tomorrow to see what you think, and hopefully I will have talked with my parents by then.  Seriously think about it, but ultimately it will be me and my parents that make the decision. You know I hate to see you suffer.”

Yi Hyun didn’t have anything to say, but she glared at Su Ho the most intimidating look she could muster. Su Ho didn’t seem at all affected as he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek and bid her farewell before once again he disappeared.