The moment you stepped out of the building you face a cold, harsh wind chill. You exhaled and walked down the sidewalk when suddenly your shoulder was jerked back.

“What’s the matter with you?” Jungkook replies obviously hurt.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? What do you mean?! Why did you let me go?” He looks down and exhales, “God, see this why.”

You swallow and look at him, “What?”

“This, this is why I choose not to fall.”

“I just let go of you hand! What do want me to do? I was avoiding an awkward situation!”

“I looked like a freaking child, Haeun! I looked like a fool, you are my girlfriend and I just wanted to hold your hand!” Jungkook shrugged his shoulders.

“It could have Zelo to see me in contact with you like that.” You say defensively.

“Oh, so it was because of him?” He lets out a cold laugh, “You didn’t want to hurt him?”

You shook your head in agreement, “Yeah, maybe because he is my best friend who liked me for God’s sake, Jungkook.” You raised your hands and let them fall to your sides.

“Maybe hurt you didn’t him, Haeun, but you hurt someone else while you were at it.” He turned around as you reached for his hand, “Walk yourself home.”

:::::::

You yawned and rubbed your face. Tossing and turning in your bed for moments, you grab your phone.

7:40 am

You stare at the screen for a couple of moments with tired eyes and then it hits you. School starts in 20 minutes. You jump out of bed scrambling to get to the bathroom. After a world record of brushing of the teeth and washing of the face, you run into the bedroom and throw on your uniform top then blazer. Struggling with the zipper on the back of the skirt, you check the time.

7:46 am

Damn, I thought I was going faster. You thought to yourself. After putting on your socks you grab your books and shove them into your back pack carelessly. You look into the mirror and your bird’s nest had been sticking out every which way. Some strands straight; some curly. A hair tie is grabbed and a rush of footsteps stumbles down the staircase.

“I should really listen to my alarm when it rings. What is this the third time?” You tie your shoelaces and threw on your outer coat, “God, the last time I woke up late was when Jungkook slept on the floor.”

“That’s not something I would like to hear.”

“Holy petunias, Junhong!” You put a hand over your heart and breathed normally, “What are you doing here?”

He put down his mug and walked over to you, “Thought I could leave the flat earlier.”

“Earlier? What do you mean? It’s 7:50,” You checked you watch and it read 6:50. You groaned in annoyance, “I forgot I set my alarm clock an hour earlier so that I can get ready earlier.” You slapped your forehead and yawned.

“So, pabo, since we have an hour to kill what do you want to do?” Zelo put on his jacket and zipped it up.

You thought for a moment and then you smiled, “I think I might have a place we can visit.”

Zelo looked at your expression and smiled, “Whatever it is, go for it.”

:::::::

“What are we doing at a hospital so early in the morning?” Zelo scratches his head and looks at you.

You smile with your eyes, “I have a friend here who wants to meet you.” He shrugs and follows your lead into the heated building, “I promise you, she will be such a brain boggler to you but her voice is so cute.” You link arms with your best friend and take him to room 298.

Twisting the bronze colored doorknob, you peek inside and see an eight year old child sitting up trying to read a Pororo book to herself, “One fine day in the Porong Porong forest, Pororo and his frie- oh, Haeun unnie?” Her big, dark, tired eyes gazed up at the two of you and suddenly she tilted her head. The two of you walked closer to her bed side and smiled, “Haeun Unnie, who is he?”

“This is Choi Junhong, but you can call him Zelo oppa.” You pat his arm and smile.

She looks him up and down, “Is he the other guy you and Jungkook oppa hang out with?” You shake your head and pat her even shorter hair.

“Did you like your Christmas present I gave you?”

She smiled and shook her head, “Uhuh, Jungkook oppa helped me, but we are still trying to figure out half of it. But even though some of the puzzle pieces are missing from the picture, I can already tell its Cinderella’s castle.”

“Wow, so smart!” You praised but she looked at you with weird eyes.

“Unnie, I would be stupid if I didn’t know what the picture would be.”

You awkwardly smile and avoid the situation, “Aigoo, children and their blunt mouths.”

Zelo starts laughing and gives her a pat on the head, “I like you.”

She flinches back at his kind gesture, “Don’t touch me.”

The two of you look at each other and start to laugh.

:::::::

Forty-five minutes of book reading and puzzle solving passed and the two of you decided you needed to head to the school, “Thanks Hana for this morning. Get some sleep okay? And also eat well!” You kiss the top of her head while Zelo gives her a high five. She smiles weakly and lays her head back into the pillow with a hard swallow and closed eyes.

You look at her worriedly but Zelo begins to pull you away because school started in less than 20 minutes. You wave and walk out of the room.

“Junhong-ah,” You say worriedly as you walk down the hallway to the elevator, “I think she doesn’t feel very well.”

He pushes the button and looks at you, “Of course she won’t feel well; she has cancer.”

The elevator door dings then opens and the two of you board, “No, I mean she looked really-“

BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A wave of nurses and doctors ran into the room while your ears recognized the sounds of heart monitors and Blood scanners. Your eyes widened and your jaw dropped; it was coming from room 298. Before your eyes could grasp the situation, the doors of the elevator closed leaving you with just the reflection of yourself and Zelo: Horrified.

::::::

The incident stayed in a box in your mind the whole school day. You had no clue if Jungkook knew or not but whatever happened between the two of you in your wussy little fight, it had to wait. Because Hana, she was bigger than the whole hand holding scenario.

At the beginning of Lunch break you decided to find Jungkook. You had no clue where he was but you kept asking several people, “Jimin oppa!”

He turned around and smiled, “Oh, Haeun? What’s up?”

Breathless from running around you manage to speak, “Jungkook, do you know where he is?”

He pondered for a bit and then blinked, “The last time I saw him he was heading to the second building, why?”

“Ah, I have to see him. I need to tell him something.” You patted his shoulder in thanks and ran out of the north wing.

“What is he doing the second building?” Your eyes widened and ran faster in the winter weather.

Running past the Juniors and Seniors, you head to the staircase, “Jungkook please be here,” Numerous flights of stairs tired out your calves but you didn’t mind, you had no time to rest. You opened the door, “Jungkook,”- There, a silhouette of a boy was all you saw. Did he find out? You bit the inside of your cheek and stepped closer, “Oh, Jungkook.” With a saddened expression you laid a hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t flinch, he didn’t even move.  You stood in front of him and crouched down onto the gravel. His cold hard face showed no emotion but his hands; his fist balled, phone clenched hand.

“She had a seizure,” His bottom lip quivered and his eyebrows furrowed, “Hana, she had a seizure.”

You looked down with your saddened expression. Not knowing how to respond, you stayed quiet, “Will she be alright?”

“God, I wish,” He stood up and walked to the railing of the rooftop. You followed him and observed the world below, “The doctors say she’s in a coma, but there is a chance, Haeun.”

You look at his side profile and bite your lip, “Have hope, Jungkook. There is more of a chance for her to live than to-“

“-Don’t say it,” He looks at you with stern eyes, “Please, don’t say the word,” You shook your head and took a mental note, “Because if the word is spoken, I’m-I’m afraid it’ll hit me: all the things she has missed, all the love she deserves. It’ll all be missed because of me.”

“It won’t be your fault. None of this is your fault.” You watch as he grips the railings as you try to speak, “Do you even listen to yourself, Jungkook?”

Finally he smacks the railing and faces you, “Everything I have done in my seventeen years of life was all for her. Every cent was given to her but it wasn’t enough,” Your heart wrenched for his furious yet miserable expression, “I could’ve worked harder to give her better treatments, I could’ve been the best older brother for her but her she is: living but barely.” You grab his hand motioning for him to calm down but he rejects the offer leaving you useless.

He brings his arms out in a manner showing you the view, “She has lived majority of her life in that cage of a hospital room. Never has she seen the world like this! Her room, a façade of the outside world; I want to destroy it because it mocks her existence; showing her that she has never had the feeling of the real sun without windows to block the rays or the sand in between her painted toes.” Frustrated, hot tears leave trails on his cheeks but he shows no effort to wipe them away. You wipe his exasperated tears and gently embrace him as he slowly starts to deteriorate.

On that rooftop, there were no signs of an argument that occurred the day before, but hearts that yearned for the other half just as much as before.

They needed each other, period.

::::::::

Sadness filled the air.

You know, I should just file this story under angst.

I at being an author, please give me more words of encouragement my lovely ones!!!!

Yours truly,

Barely-finished