Leo sat in the corner of the subway, the vibrations of the train slowly lulling him to sleep. His breathing was heavy as he did his best to stay conscious. He felt the tickle of a sweat bead as it ran down his temple; reaching up, he wiped it away, the contact between the skin causing even more heat to pass.

Letting out a sigh, he felt the movement of the train as it slowed to a stop. It was a couple of minutes before he heard the doors close and the subway kick back up. Opening his eyes, he found the new surroundings filled with double the people that there had been earlier.

Standing right in front of him was a couple. A man held his arm around a woman who was rubbing her stomach, her belly blown taught. She smiled up at the man before grinning back down at her stomach, her long curly hair falling over her shoulders elegantly.

She looked over at TaekWoon, and almost as soon as they made eye contact, Leo stood up, bowed, and motioned towards his seat.

She was slightly surprised at first, but then grinned and bowed back to him before she and her husband moved over to sit down.

He stretched his muscles before reaching up and grasping the ring that hung above his head. As he closed his eyes, he let out a sigh, his mind subconsciously going back the the couple. He was in the midst of wondering what the gender was going to be, what they were going to name it, and what it was going to look like when an arising of voices shook him from his half-asleep state.

He pried his sore eyes open, the pupils stinging as they dilated in the low lighting of the underground trailways.

"Come on, you can't tell me that you have a boyfriend."

"I do, actually."

"Wearing revealing clothes like that? There is no way this guy would let you out and about dressed like that. I think you're lying to me."

Over on the far side of the car, he saw the familiar short woman shift uncomfortably in the seat as she pulled her jacket closer around her.

"If you have a problem with how I dress, then you can get over it." She said, looking the man directly in the eye.

"Whoever said that I have a problem?" The man standing in front of her towered over her as he leaned closer and closer into her. "It's a sight worth seeing."

The woman scoffed and shook her head, and then turned to slide out from beneath him. "Don't be a pig."

Before she could slip away though, he man pressed his knee against the seat of the bench, trapping her between him and the wall.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked. "You won't find many guys like me. With skin like yours, you should be lucky that I'm showing interest in you."

The woman grimaced, obviously hurt by the comment. However, she brushed it off and did her best to get around him. "Interest." She scoffed. "Is that what you call it?"

TaekWoon watched the scene play out before his eyes. It was obvious that the woman hadn't seen him yet, as she made no effort to look his way. After a moment, he looked around; over on the other corner of the car was a vacant spot behind a large group of people that would block her sight of him. He contemplated on slipping over into that corner and leaving the situation be. However, when the voices suddenly got louder, he let out a sigh.

"Don't touch me!" The woman screamed.

The man opened his mouth to say something, but before he could do so, he was shoved out of the way with a force that nearly sent him stumbling to the ground.

Now irritated, the man gathered himself and whipped back around. "Who the hell-" He cut himself off as he was suddenly met with the sharp, yet emotionless expression of a very broad looking man. He hovered over the woman, his hand on the back of her head as he hid her face against his stomach.

The man blinked a couple times, becoming uneasy. After a moment, he held his hands up.

"Hey man, I was only messing with her. I wasn't trying to touch your girlfriend - it was nothing personal."

TaekWoon only continued to stare almost threateningly at the man, who, due to his uneasiness, bowed slightly to him and disappeared into the crowd of people.

Raelyn, however, was confused and almost mortified at the same time. The only way reason why she knew this man was Leo and not some other offender was due to the pattern of his tank top and his exposed arms.

Nonetheless, she had absolutely no idea what to do in this situation and just sat frozen against him. She was saved from having to come up with her own excuse to move away from him when he let out a sigh and pulled away from her. Letting out a breath of relief, she gathered up the courage to look up at him.

"Um... kamsahabnida."

"I only did it as repayment returning my stuff." He replied. "Now we're even, and I know I don't owe anything to you."

Raelyn stared up at him, blinking in confusion before an embarrassed blush fell over her face. She looked away from him.

"You never owed me anything."

Before she could finish her sentence, however, TaekWoon sat down right next to her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand.

"If I don't sit down next to you, that guy will come back." He explained, having noticed her reaction out of the corner of his eye.

"Y-you don't have to, you know...."

"Maybe if you didn't wear such revealing clothing, this wouldn't be a problem."

Raelyn's face flushed immediately, causing her to draw her coat closer around her. "It's not like I can help it, you know. My chest can't exactly be confined behind tight cotton of sweaters."

The subconscious mention of her chest sent another wave of embarrassment running through her body. Doing her best to ignore her burning face, she cleared .

"Besides, it's not like you can say anything, Mister I-Wear-Nothing-But-Tank-Tops-In-The-Winter." She said, doing her best to change the subject.

Leo leaned back in the seat, letting out a sigh as he closed his eyes in an attempt to relax.

Raelyn glanced over at him for a moment before looking back down at her hands. She wanted to say something to him - anything. But, through past experiences, she had come to learn that trying to make conversation wasn't the best idea; this would only get a slammed door, or a coffee bill thrown in her face.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she found that the message was from HongBin.

Noona~ Meet me at our park tomorrow. I have a surprise for you.

Raelyn tilted her head only slightly, smiling hopelessly at the sweet message.

This child…. She thought, shaking her head as she opened the reply box.

Neh.

Just as she hit the send button, her shoulder blade suddenly became very heavy. She pulled away from it before she even looked back to see what it was, but as she did so, Leo’s body suddenly went plunging forward.

“Yah!” She shrieked, reaching out and catching him in her arms. The moment her hands touched his shoulders, she almost dropped him from the heat. She held onto him, however, and pulled him up into sitting position.

“Leo-ssi.” She said, trying to wake him. His eyes were shut tightly, his expression pale and twisted into that of discomfort. She reached up and placed a hand against his head, his sweat-drenched skin on fire. “Leo-ssi!”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound kept going, and it almost sounded like a small alarm. Just barely opening his eyes, Leo was nearly blinded by the suddenly bright lights that surrounded him. Lifting his arms to cover his eyes, he was made even more confused when he felt something small and tube-like rub against his arm. Opening his eyes just barely to try and fight against the bright white lights, Leo’s eyes went to the back of his hand where he found an IV protruding from his skin.

Blinking and trying to get a bearing on what was going on, he looked towards his finger where a little grey clasp thing was holding on. It was obviously attached to the heart monitor that he found was beside him. “What….?” He couldn’t quite grasp what had happened, looking down at himself.

Instead of his tank-top that he had been wearing, Leo found his clothes had been replaced with a hospital gown. A blanket was thrown over the top of him, but it was falling down into his lap since he was in a slightly sat up position. Blinking again to fully get used to the lights, Leo realized he heard quiet talking to his other side.

“Neh… neh… aniyo… neh… yeh, araseo. Kamsahabnida….”

He recognized the voice immediately, his suspicions only being confirmed by the clicking of the high heels on the floor as the figure moved around the curtain and into his sights.

Raelyn took immediate notice of the fact that TaekWoon was now conscious, and felt her body jerk as if to rush to his side. She stopped herself, however, and instead simply bowed to him.

“Anneyonghasaeyo….” He said quietly, her eyes full of concern. “I see that you are awake.”

“Where am I?” He asked, making her raise an eyebrow in puzzlement.

“Um… the hospital, of course.” She explained. “You passed out on the subway, and I had no where else to take you. Your fever was through the roof, so I brought you here.”

Staring at her blankly for a moment, he tried to take a breath. “Who were you on the phone with…?”

“HakYeon…. He was the first person I thought to call for you….”

Even though he should have been grateful, Leo’s expression dropped from blank to almost annoyed. He scrunched his eyebrows slightly, turning his head and looking away from Raelyn. “You didn’t have to do that you know….” He muttered, staring off into the distance. “You shouldn’t have done that…. HakYeon has work today….”

“If I hadn’t, you would have just shoved me out of the room and walked home in your tank top again, which would have only made the issue worse.” She stated. “This way, whether you shove me out of the room or not, I know that you’ll still be getting home in a safe fashion.”

He stared at her for a moment long enough to make her shrink back slightly, but then looked away with a shake of the head. “Now I am in debt to you again.”

This made her regain her step and shake her head. “I already told you that you don’t owe me anything.” She said. “Me bringing back your things, as well as taking you to the hospital… I did it because it was the right thing to do. Not because I wanted something from you in return.”

Scoffing slightly, Leo looked away from Raelyn. “As if you know what the right thing to do is…” He muttered, just barely shaking his head at the thought.

The words slapped Raelyn in the face, causing her to draw back again. She sat there for a moment, but then her anger began to boil.

“Fine. The next time you’re passed out in the subway, you can expect to wake up on those cold floors.”

With that, she whipped around and stormed out of the room, snatching her purse up before turning the corner. The angry clicking of her heels faded off into the sounds of people working out in the hall, leaving the room empty and Leo alone with the beeping monitor once again.

Huffing a little, Leo looked away from the curtain. He turned his attention down to his hands, unwilling to admit his surprise at the way she reacted. Without realizing it though, he had found himself holding onto the one thing of his that had been left on: his bracelet. Looking down at it, he slowly brushed his fingers over the braided twine strands.