She spent her days wondering where he was.

Sunggyu hated memories. He hated the very idea of them. He hated how they were involuntarily placed within him. Sunggyu wondered why he remembered such moments and instances in his life. He hated even more why he remembered the ones which were the emotionally scarring ones.

The memories he hated the most were the ones that took place during his teenage years. He knew that many people hated those years. But Sunggyu hated them more than anybody would know. He hated them even more because those were the days he could never forget.

Everything reminded Sunggyu of those years. But the hospital was the worst reminder out there. The smell invaded his senses and he detested it. Sunggyu hated the smell of the hospital because it smelt so clean when he felt so dirty. People being rushed in with injuries scared him. Sunggyu hated the sight of people sick because it reminded him of the feeling of being sick. He hated the white walls, the nurses who wore smiles all the time and mostly, he hated the false hope of everything.

“Why?” Sunggyu whispered as he stared at his grandmother who lay on the bed, sleeping soundly.

Her face was calm and she didn’t seem sick at all. One could be easily fooled into thinking she was perfectly fine. But when they would see the wires attached to her, they’d begin to think otherwise.

“She just collapsed,” Myungsoo said.

“Where’s the doctor?” Sunggyu asked.

“The nurse outside knows,” Myungsoo said as he looked at the door.

Sunggyu nodded his head. He took one last glance at his grandmother before leaving the room. There was a nurse at a nearby desk, looking through files. Sunggyu asked her about the doctor and she directed him to the doctor’s office. Sunggyu took a deep breath and with shaking hands, he knocked on the door.

○●○●○

Da Eun came out of the bathroom in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She plopped down on the couch and took her phone out. Da Eun reached over to the mini refrigerator and grabbed a small snack before swiping her thumb across the lock screen. She began looking for an interesting video to watch when she remembered Sunggyu.

“Hm,” She said as she tapped the screen, wondering whether she should text him or not.

Da Eun appreciated his help a lot. She always wondered why he even bothered talking to her. She was such a handful and had different emotions every time he met her. He sure was patient, she thought.

“Oh, why not?” Da Eun asked herself as she began typing a message.

After erasing her message multiple times, she finally was happy with what she was about to send.

Thanks for dropping me off. I really appreciate it. I hope you got home safely as well!

“Send,” She said to herself before pressing the send button.

She began watching a video and then watched another one, waiting for Sunggyu’s reply. But there was none. Time passed and Da Eun began to get worried. Had he not gotten home? Or had he lost his phone? What if he got sick?

“Stop thinking such weird stuff, Da Eun,” She said to herself

And while waiting for her friend’s reply, Da Eun fell asleep.

○●○●○

Sunggyu was leaning against one of the balconies in the hospital for patients. It was late at night at that point so no actual patients were there. Sunggyu was more than happy about that. He wanted to be by himself for a bit to collect all his thoughts. Sunggyu was scared and confused. The doctor said that his grandmother was getting sick. She would need to be hospitalized for the time being so they could pinpoint exactly what her condition is.

Sunggyu was worried about so many different things at that point. He was worried about his grandmother’s condition the most, though. But aside from that, he was worried about the hospital bills and Myungsoo’s education. He was worried about whether the jobs he was currently working would be enough to support them. He was worri