I immediately ran off to Kangin upon seeing his situation. I wanted to scold him for not being careful during martial arts practice and I wanted to treat those bruises because he looked in pain. The moment I came near him, he pushed me away. I was stunned and watched as he went straight to the bathroom without even saying anything.

That night I stayed up reading on my bed. Kangin fell asleep right after he took a shower. I kept on checking if he was comfortable because he kept on putting pressure on his bruises. I wanted to go over there and help him but after he pushed me earlier, I got a bit cautious. I managed to drift off after a few more hours. The next day, while Kangin was still sleeping, I decided to read aloud a few of the articles that I needed to study.

“Hey!” Kangin suddenly said, half-awake.

“Yeah?” I asked, hoping he would finally allow me to help.

“Can you please be quiet? I’m trying to rest here.”

“Oh…okay, I’m sorry...’

He turned his back on me and continued to sleep uncomfortably. I felt more heartbroken so I just went outside and carried on with my reading there.

Since that day, I tried to get used to the situation wherein I would go out of the cabin if he’s still sleeping and I need to practice and during night time wherein he would be covered in bruises and I’m not even allowed to get near him. After the third night, I couldn’t bear seeing him in pain anymore so I waited until he was fast asleep and cautiously put some ointment and medicine on his bruises. At first he would wince and stir but after a while he would look relieved and I believe he slept peacefully. Kangin would wake up the next day feeling refreshed and unaware that I’ve been helping him recover fast. It felt good whenever I see him feeling all better… but I still couldn’t get used to the fact that he kept on ignoring me and pushing me away… like I was a stranger and that I never meant anything to him.

One day when he left the cabin, I remembered those days when we were little and he would always get himself into fights against bigger kids. I saw him back then near the school and he tried to hide his wounds from me.

“You got into a fight again!!!?” I scolded him.

“They started it!” he tried to defend.

“I don’t care who started it, Kangin!” I continued to yell at him while gently patting a wet towel on his wounds “I told you not to fight, didn’t I?”

“Teukie I’m sorry…” he looked down. His chubby face looked adorable but I didn’t let that sidetrack me from my sermon.

“You have a short temper and a strong personality. The last thing you need is an enemy.”

“I know…” he said “I just couldn’t stand there and—“

“You should just ignore them,” I pulled out a few band aids from my bag “they would leave you alone if you just ignore them!”

“But they were talking and laughing about that time when you accidentally slipped during lunch time in the middle of the canteen!” he protested.

I was surprised.

“I’m sorry Teukie…” Kangin looked at me straight in the eyes “but they were planning on tripping you next time… I just couldn’t stand there and let them do that to you…”

I smiled and shook my head. That time, as I placed the band aids on his wounds, I placed them with more care because I just found out that he took those for me.

That night, it took quite long for Kangin to go back to the cabin. I got a bit worried and planned on looking for him around the camp. Why isn’t he here yet? I asked myself, I hope he’s alright. Maybe he just went to the clinic and had his bruises checked. The door opened after a few minutes and I felt relieved when I saw Kangin. He entered the door and took a few steps. I noticed that he swayed sideways and his eyes were red. A while later my suspicions were confirmed when I got a whiff of alcohol in the cabin.

“Kangin!” I jumped off the bed and ran towards him “you shouldn’t have brought alcohol here! It’s against camp and university rules! You might get expelled if someone finds out!”

“And who says you can still lecture me about what to do!?” he shouted and then he pushed me away. His push was harder this time because I hit my back hard on the desk behind me. Kangin looked at me when he heard the loud thump of my back against the desk. He then shook his head and went straight to bed.

“What am I doing?” I asked myself as I held back tears, caused by the pain on my back and the deeper pain in my heart “why do I keep on pushing myself back in his life? Maybe I should just do what he did… all of those memories must be better off forgotten.”