I know I have been very playful. I just have to put this mask on to protect myself....

Seungho though as he waved goodbye to Eunji who didn't even noticed his gesture.

_______________________

After that encounter, Eunji maintained the employee-boss relationship between her and Seungho. Seungho played along, but was baffled by Eunji's actions towards him.

With everything that happened between us, we should be friends by now! Why does she keep pushing me away from her? He thought, as she watch Eunji busy herself with paperwork.

He let out a deep sigh, then turned back. Oh well, it's better this way. He thought, thinking that they're better off like that. Too bad, she's fun to tease.

Weeks passed and their coldness to each other went on.

_______________________

Seungho started his chemotherapy sessions without telling anyone. He did it on weekends, so as not to miss work.

On one occasion, he was sitting in the waiting room of the Oncology Department when a woman, probably around 50 years old, entered the room. Her head was covered with a bandana, and her skin was pale, her dark circles accentuating her face. She smiled at him, and he bowed to her back, then looked back at the paper he was reading. He felt a heat current rush through his blood vessels as he became overwhelmed with his emotions.

He was reminded of his mom. He misses her so much.

He looked blankly at the newspaper as he went back to memory lane, recalling how his mother struggled through chemo...

She would be very nauseous after each session, which made her vomit a lot. It's always difficult to talk to her due to the state that she's in, but she'll always smile as if giving me an assurance that she's ok. She tried to show me that she's strong and she can endure the pain. But the moment her head rested on my shoulder, I'll feel her heavy heart. I caught her crying alone in her room several times, giving out soft sobs as she tried to control her outburst. I was offended when mom hid her emotions from me, because she knows I want to help her get through her difficult times. I told her several times that I can help her carry the burden she had, but she just smiled back and kissed me in the forehead, always assuring me that she's fine. She didn't know that pushing me away was more painful than carrying the burden with her. But she cannot hide it from me, I'm her son. 

And now, I'm faced with the same situation myself. Now I know why she kept it all to herself.

He let out a deep sigh.

His tears welled up in his eyes upon realizing that the pain and burden was too much for him to bear; so his mom decided to carry all the burden on her own...to protect Seungho.

He felt a sharp pain in his heart upon realizing how much his mom loved him, a tear falling down his right eye.

He was going to go through this alone, and he knows that it'll be difficult. But he had no idea how difficult it would be.

Again, he let out a deep sigh as he emptied his head of thoughts.

_______________________

After each session, he would rest for two hours before heading home.  

But today was different. He decided to stay in the hospital overnight because he was too nauseous after and didn't have the physical strength to go home. An hour after the therapy, he started vomiting...a lot. He felt like he vomited everything he ate for the past week. The nurse his back as he emptied the contents of his stomach into a basin. He felt a burning sensation eating up his esophagus when he started to pass out acid from his stomach. He was grimacing due to the pain from continuous vomiting. On top of that, he was naseous and dizzy due to the chemo infusion. After 30 minutes of excruciating difficulty, his body was dominated by exhaustion. He lay flat on the hospital bed, allowing himself to breathe. He felt a cold breeze brush through his tear-stained cheeks as he looked up to the ceiling.

Seungho, be strong.. he heard someone whisper to his ear.

His tears started to fall down again as he felt the comforting presence of his mother surrounding him. He smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

_______________________

He wasn't able to report to work that Monday mornig due to exhaustion. When he arrived that Monday afternoon, he saw his team members gathered around talking about something, excitement painted on their faces. They were too engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice Seungho walk to his office.

He slowly approached the bunch and heard “Team Building”. He got excited, so he just into the conversation. 

“So where are we heading to?”

”Oh Mr. Yang, we didn't notice you come in... We were just talking about the team building activity that the manager planned, and -”

"Really? When? Where?” Seungho was so excited he didn't let the man finish what he was saying. 

“He haven't told us yet, but he said all of us will definetely have a blast.” He just gave them a big smile, then left.

____________________

He felt the sudden rush of air blowing his face as he stood at the edge of the bridge.

He let out a deep sigh, then jumped. He let out a loud scream that took almost all air out of his lungs...

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!'

His head slightly brushed through the surface of the river then he bounced back to air.. .

“Wooohooo!! Yeah!"

He was now dangling by the bridge, panting from the adrenalin rush from bungee jumping. He was laughing from the excitement that rushed thru him.

I may never get to experience something like this again...Enjoy it while it lasts... 

A tear dropped from the corner of his left eye...then he hugged himself tight while smiling, savoring each second of the adrenalin.

“Hey! You're not suppose to sleep there!” Eunji shouted while watching Seungho dangling by the bridge. She smiled at the sight of him hugging himself. 

It's funny how a simple road trip eases up things. She thought. She and Seungho arrived late at the meeting place, so she had no choice but be Seungho's car buddy. They were silent at first, too timid to talk to each other, listening to some acoustic songs with the windows down. Suddenly a black plastic bag was blewn by a strong wind unto Seungho's face that made Eunji laugh so hard she was running out of breath. Seungho, amused by the girls reaction, laughed his heart as well. With that, they started throwing hilarious stuff at each other. 

“Lets see when your turn comes up” Seungho warned her laughing as well.

_______________________

They laughed and had a great time. Eunji looked Seungho in the eye and, for some odd reason, felt comfortable as he smiled back. She's not feeling awkward anymore, somewhat assured of their friendship. Seungho continued to chat with their team mates as they walked back to the parking lot.

After drowning themselves with food and drinks for dinner, they decided to head back to the city. As usual, they head out with their respective car buddies. Once they said their goodbye, Seungho and Eunji settled down in the car.

“I bet you had a lot of fun.” Seungho gave Eunji a wide smile.

Eunji chuckled, “Yes I did. Actually, I haven't had this much excitement in my life before.”

“For real? Man! You're missing a lot in life! You should tag along in one of my adventures one time.” givng Eunji a pat on the back as he smiled.

“Hahaha! I think I should.” with a smile on her face, Eunji started the car and drove.

They were listening to alternative music as they drove under the beauty of the sunset, both of them humming to the tune of the song. The car windows are open, allowing hem to enjoy the fresh air.

Seungho was looking outside the window when he felt his head throb.

Oh no, not now...

He winced in pain and tilted his head away from Eunji's sight. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as the pain intensified slowly, until it dominated his entire head. He shifted his head and body away from Eunji's view, pretending to nap. After minutes of mind-ripping agony, the pain subsided together with his energy. He drifted into sleep just a few seconds after, as all his energy drained by his struggle.

Right when he was about to reach the deepest part of his sleep, he felt someone shaking his body. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Eunji standing outside the car her hands going through the car window to reach for Seungho.

“Seungho-ah, the car broke down. I was trying to call the others for help but they weren't answering their phones. Would you happen to know anyone who can help us?”

Seungho sat straight, rubbed his eyes, grabbed his phone and scanned through his phonebook, “Let me see...”

Eunji smiled at his gesture, reminded of the time she was scanning through his phonebook I sure hope there's someone other than his women in that phonebook... 

He tried to call a few people, but no one was answering the phone. It's been 15 minutes since he started calling others, when, suddenly, both their signals went off.

“Aish! Just my luck!” Seungho exclaimed as he lost the signal. Eunji looked at her phone and noticed that her signal was off too. They looked into each other with worried look on their faces,

“What do we do now?” Eunji asked.

“Well. We dont have a choice...” Seungho stepped out of the car and stood beside Eunji.