"There is much pain that is quite noiseless; and vibrations that make human agonies are often a mere whisper in the roar of hurrying existence. There are glances of hatred that stab and raise no cry of murder; robberies that leave man or woman for ever beggared of peace and joy, yet kept secret by the sufferer --committed to no sound except that of low moans in the night, seen in no writing except that made on the face by the slow months of suppressed anguish and early morning tears. Many an inherited sorrow that has marred a life has been breathed into no human ear."

George Eliot

With eyes half open, Seungho's eyes squinted as he looked at the man in front of him..

“W-what...are you...doing...here?” Seungho's voice was strained and weak.

“I...” the old man looked down, words struggling to get out from his mouth.

Seungho continued to sob as he wait for the old man's answer.. “I..” the old man was about to answer when...

“AAAAAGH!” Seungho let out an agonizing scream as he clutched both his hands on his temples. Without any warning, Seungho banged his temples more loudly on the bathroom wall.

Eunji and the old man froze at the sight of Seungho in agonizing pain. They stood there frozen until they saw blood flowing from Seungho's temples.

The old man immediately ran over and tried to hold Seungho's head. But Seungho used his wobbly arms to push away the old man as he struggled out of the old man's grasp.

“G-go...away...” Seungho kept on pushing the old man, but the old man kept on insistng. The old man tried to carefully hold down Seungho's arms without hurting him, but Seungho just kept on pushing his hands away from his touch.

“Seungho, please...” the old man tried to cup Seungho's face, but Seungho kept on wiggling out.

“N-nooo...i do't need y-” Seungho's soft voice sudenly trailed off until his head fell limp onto the old man's chest. The old man immediately held Seungho's limp shoulders before his body hit the ground. 

“Seungho...” the old man held Seungho's body close to his, as he let out very soft sobs. 

After a while, the man scooped Seungho's body and carried him bridal style. The old man looked at the young man who's head rested on his chest, face still grimacing in pain, blood continually flowing out of his forehead staining the old man's shirt. The old man can't help but to allow a tear stream out, watching the pitiful sight of the young man in his arms.

“Please call his doctor.” The man said in an authoritative yet graceful tone.

Eunji just noded then sped out of the room to call the doctor.

The man gently lay Seungho's drenched body in bed and pulled up the blanket to cover his drenched body.

His gaze slowly scanned Seungho, from his face to his hand. He carefully slipped his hand onto the young man's hand, and stared at their intertwined hands for a while.

“Be strong, son...Be strong.” Another tear escaped his eye as he lightly squeezed the younger's hand.

Due to his fear of not being able to control his emotions any further, the old man looked away then stepped back as he tried to control his sobs.

He wiped the tears from his cheeks and took a deep breath.

He gave Seungho another look, before he started to walk out of the room, with head bowed down.

When Eunji returned, she was surprised to see Seungho's drenched body on the bed, not realizing that she just passed by the old man as she ran frantically back to Seungho's room.

She immediately approached Seungho and inspected the man's state. When she noticed that Seungho was starting to tremble, she immediately called the nurses and asked them to change his beddings and to bring him a new set of hospital clothes. The nurses immediately complied, and did as instructed.

After carefully changing Seungho's clothes, she sat beside Seungho's bed and watched him sleep.

Seungho's face was grimacing a bit, and his body was all tensed up. He was breathing heavily too, even while hooked on an oxygen supply. He looked as if he's going thru a very streinuous battle that is beyond what the eyes can see.

Eunji's tears fell out unconsciously as she quietly observe Seungho.

The pain must be too much for him to be like this, she thought.

She was too caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the doctor who entered the room.

The doctor tapped Eunji's shoulders, which startled her a bit. “I'm sorry to disturb you, but may I speak with you for a moment?” The doctor spoke a bit softer so as not to disturb the patient.

“Uh..y-yes.” Eunji immediately stood up in response.

The doctor glanced at Seungho before he continued. “We found a better medicine for Seungho's chemotherapy. It's a new drug that can help minimize the tumor faster without causing too much damage to the liver...”

Eunji smiled at the doctor's great news.

“However,” the doctor continued, “...the drug hasn't reached the Korean market yet; it still has to be shipped from the U.S. We already placed an order for the drug, but it would only be availble by the end of next week. Until then, all we can do is to give him low-dose painkillers to help manage his pain.”

Eunji's smile lowered down a bit, but the fact that there is a better drug for Seungho's condition gave her a bit of hope to hold on to.

The doctor, seeing Eunji's disappointment on the delay of treatment, lightly tapped her shoulders and encouraged her: “Don't worry, Seungho's a fighter. He might be cringing in pain now, but I know he'll be able to hold on until the new medicine arrives. I've seen him go through more painful circumstances than this, and he was able to pull through without the help of anyone. And now that he has someone who'll take good care of him, I think he'll do better.”

Eunji just gave him an awkward smile in response. The doctor noticed her awkwardness, so he gave her a playful smile in return.

“I'll be back tomorrow to check on him. Make sure he gets enough rest. Don't hesitate to contact me for any question or assistance, OK?”

Eunji just nodded in response. She bowed and thanked the doctor as he left.

After the doctor left, Eunji settled in a chair beside Seungho's bed, and stared at him as she pondered on the doctor's words. 'And now that he has someone who'll take good care of him, I think he'll do better'.

Will he really get better, even at this state? Eunji thought to herself, seeing Seungho breathing streinuously. Without a warning, her tears started to flow out again.

Suddenly, to Eunji's surprise, Seungho's eyes fluttered...Slowly and weakly, his eyes opened and stared at the ceiling.

Eunji just watched in surprise as Seungho scanned the ceiling. Eventually, Seungho slowly shifted his gaze to his side until his eyes met Eunji's.

Seeing Seungho awake after hours of painful struggle, Eunji's tears gushed out as she let out a big smile to welcome the newly awaken Seungho.

Seungho, seeing the devastated Eunji in front of him, slowly lifted his wobbly hand. With hands still trembling a bit, he cupped Eunji's cheeks as his thumb tried to wipe off the tears from her cheeks.

Eunji gently placed her hands over Seungho's, which was still on her face. Her smile never left even with her heart aching like crazy at the sight in front of her.

“Hey...” She said, her voice trembling a bit.

Seungho blinked before he gave her a pained smile in return.

Eunji gently placed Seungho's hands back to his side, as she gently caressed the man's chest.

“Are you still in pain? Where hurts, hmm?” Eunji brushed Seunho's hair with her hand while she talked.

Seungho just slowly blinked his eyes in response, words too elusive to escape from his mouth. He was probably in too much pain that he could not utter a word.

Eunji just smiled at his response - a smile enough to tell him that he didn't need to explain.

“You scared us back there you know...” Eunji continued to brush Seungho's hair with her hand as her tears continued to gush out. Seungho just stared at her, no response at all.

“You must be very tired, huh...Sleep, if it'll make you feel better. I'll be here when you wake up.”

Seungho just blinked his eyes in response, his lids drooping already.

Eunji patted Seungho's chest to lull him to sleep. In no time, Seungho was back to dreamland.