***

The next morning, I stopped by the hospital again to check on my mother. I was wearing something totally uncharacteristic of me. I was wearing a dress. It was a white dress with little red flower prints on the bottom and a big red flower print on the left side of the chest area, just above where the string goes around to tie in the back. The top was held up by two strings tied around my neck. I had gotten this dress from Eun Ae when she came back from America. She said it suited me well, so she bought it for me. But since showing shoulders is a little...unorthodox, I was wearing a short white jacket over my shoulders. The sleeves of the jacket stopped just above my elbows, and I had my clunky bracelet on my wrist. My mother doesn't even know about my scar. I had my little silver infinity pendant around my neck. I had bought it a while back because it reminded me of Infinite. I know, silly, right? I had my white converse knock-offs on and my mismatched socks barely peeked out. They were red and yellow this time.

The elevator dinged, reminding me to get out at the floor I had pushed the button for, and I stepped out. I bowed at the nurse I had almost knocked over the first time I came in and apologized hastily. She smiled and told me not to worry about it, and went back to her work. I found my mother's room easy enough and froze in the doorway. She was sitting up. She was awake. An unexplainable joy spread through me.

“Mom!” I cried, rushing over and hugging her tight. I let go and stepped back, a silly smile on my face as tears of happiness rolled down my face. My mother smiled at me and wiped my tears off my face. I started laughing and sobbing at the same time. “Mom...I'm so glad you're okay. I thought it was just like last time...”

“Shh, honey. It's okay. The doctors said I was just a little overstressed from work and it caused my immune system to weaken even further than it had been. They said I should be fine,” she said comfortingly. I held her hand tightly in my own. She looked me over. “When did you dye your hair?” she asked.

“A few weeks ago. Why? Do you not like it..?” I responded. I was scared that she'd tell me to dye it back. I liked my hair. It made me stand out a little. She smiled again.

“It suits you, Minyoung-ah,” she said, squeezing my hand in reassurance. I was relieved and my shoulders relaxed visibly. “You know, while I was out, I had a dream about that singer from that group you showed me, you know, the singer I liked? I had a dream he was singing to me.” I couldn't help laugh a little.

“It wasn't a dream, mom. I asked him if he would sing to you,” I said, smiling at my mom's face. She blinked at me in shock.

“How did you get him to come here?” she asked. I shrugged.

“I asked and he said yes,” I said. I didn't want to tell her how I was able to ask, because she didn't know that I sing. She didn't know that I posted covers on YouTube. She didn't know I auditioned for the same company as Sunggyu. She always told me to do something concrete with my life, and that the singing business was hard to get in to. If she found out that I still wanted to be a singer, even after she said all of that, she would be really mad at me.

“I also remember a girl singing 서시to me. She had a really nice voice. I wonder who it was?” she mused. I almost started crying again, but for totally different reasons.

“She's just a girl trying to make it in the music industry,” I said, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. My mother smiled warmly.

“I hope she makes it. That kind of voice...I think everyone needs to hear it,” she said. My mom had never heard me sing before that. I couldn't tell her that it was me. She'd probably think I was making it all up. “You know, when that Sunggyu kid sang for me, I remember a conversation that took place. He said that I was pretty. I don't think I've heard that from anyone but you since your father ran out on us...”

“Mom, he's not my father. I don't have a father. He wasn't worthy of being your husband. You will always deserve better than him,” I said strongly. I put a hand on her face. “And you are pretty. Anyone could see that, they are just too scared to tell you.” She looked up at me.

“He said you look like me. You do realize that he implied that you are pretty too, right? I think you should totally go for him,” she said, trying to sound like one of my gossiping friends with that last sentence. I gaped at her.

“Mom! For one thing, he's famous and can do so much better, and for another thing...MOM!” I said, trying to forget she ever said that. My face still heated up, though. I mean, she was right. I didn't realize before what he had implied. “I-I'm sure he just said that to be nice. I mean, I was all tear-stained and I probably looked like a child and MOM!” She was laughing at me.

“You're still so easy to embarrass, even all grown up,” she said. She used to love making me get all flustered when I was younger. I guess she liked to do that because it was so easy. I smiled warmly at my mother.

“You should get some rest. I'm glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor,” I said, hugging my mom one more time.

“Yeah, they told me to get a lot of rest, but I am so bored. Bring me a book next time, okay honey?” she said, hugging me back.

“I will, mom,” I said, pulling away and smiling one last time before heading back out. I had a bit of grocery shopping to do so that I had food to eat for the week. As soon as I stepped out of the hospital, my phone went off. I answered, thinking it was probably Sungjong or L. “Hello?”

“Minnie, where are you?” the voice asked.

“Woohyun? How did you get my number?” I asked, making a face he would laugh at if he could see it over the phone. I didn't remember giving him my phone number.

“I asked Sunggyu for it,” he said and I could practically hear him shrugging. “So where are you?”

“I just left the h-” I stopped before I mentioned that I was at the hospital. Instead I told him what street I was on. “I was just about to go grocery shopping.”

“Ah, how long do you think that will take?” he asked.

“Um, I should be done in about thirty minutes?” I guessed. It was about fifteen minutes to the store close to my house from where I was, and I could go in and grab what I needed in no time flat, and it was a five minute taxi ride back to my apartment.

“Alright, call me when you're on your way to your place,” he said and hung up. I stared at my phone, thoroughly confused. Why did he want me to call him on my way home? I shrugged and flagged a taxi to go to the store. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 

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that should be the last one before you get new stuff. I just need to stop being lazy