I tried very, very hard to be subtle with the kiss. It was her first one, after all; she couldn't be an expert.  But as soon as I pulled away, she tugged my neck down for more, and I attacked as modestly as possible. I didn't care if she messed up and bit me, or if she stopped suddenly to reassess the situation over and over again. She was addicting. I knew her lips would be soft... But how could they be so sweet? She pulled away and I pressed my lips to her forehead. 

"We should...  Calm down," she laughed.  I smelled her hair and looked down at her. 

"Yes, ma'am," I cooed. She pushed me away, a little more gently than usual, and smiled. 

"Um... Dinner's probably ready. We should go... Eat..." She shakily mumbled.  I grabbed her hand and took her back to our reserved room. 

The silence as we ate was perfect.  We'd occasionally steal shy glances of each other and stuff our faces with food when we got caught.  After the feeling of being flustered passed away and we began driving home, the silence remained just long enough to allow myself to recollect my thoughts and approve of my actions.

"Hey, Jongin...  Th-thanks for that.  For everything," she mousily mumbled.  She was playing with her hands again and I snatched one away.

"You have to pay me back, you know."  I couldn't look directly at her because I was changing lanes, but I could tell that had dropped open.

"What?!"  She gulped.

"Tsk, tsk.  You're much more greedy than I thought you were.  I gave you your first kiss, and you can't repay me?"  I snickered.  She didn't let go of my hand; instead, she tightened her grip because of embarassment.  She groaned when she realized I was playing with her and threw her head back against the head rest.

"How could I ever give you something of equal value?"  She teasingly hummed.  

It hit me: she shot back at me everything that I shot at her.  I was being put in the position of all the girls I had taken on dates in the past.  Was I this intimidating?  Surely not...  

"There's not much you can do," I sighed, realizing I needed to respond before admitting defeat to her.  "There's one thing, though, that'll work." 

"And what is that?"

I brought her hand up to my lips and spoke into it.

"Be my girlfriend."  She gently pulled her hand away and stared out the window for a few minutes.  I felt rejected, hurt, lonely and useless.  As I was gripping the steering wheel in unmeasurable nervousness, she ruffled my hair.

"If that's the price I must pay, so be it."  

I couldn't utter sensible words for the rest of the ride back to campus.  She began to doze off with my jacket wrapped around her but managed to smile every time I talked about how happy I was, or how wonderful it was, or how awesome she was.  I walked her to her dorm building's door and she gave me a hug goodbye.  I let her keep my jacket; heck, I practically let her keep me.   

The summer season came to an official end and fall began.  Unfortunately, the heat didn't disappear.  Nonetheless, everyone was happy.  Our daily lunches continued and I let the guys tag along.  When they were around, Eunbi would comfortably lean on my shoulder as I wrapped an arm around her, or she'd feed me and I'd feed her like a pet.  It was childish, really.  

"When it's just us, why don't you let me touch you so easily?"  I asked.  I knew she wasn't putting on a show, which perplexed me to find out what the real answer was.

"Because...  No.  I won't tell you.  It's embarassing," she groaned.  I grabbed her hand, one of the few actions she let me do without the guys around, and tugged on her until she decided to give up.  "If I tell you it has nothing to do with you, will that suffice?"

"No," I pouted.  "You're my girlfriend.  Shouldn't I have everything to do with you, and vice versa?"  I watched her eyes become sad.  I decided I wouldn't bug her about it anymore but she stopped me from walking away and hugged me from the side.

"It's because...  If they're around, I can't get...  Tempted," she mumbled the last part.  I grinned at the thought of her finally admitting some sort of physical attraction to me.  I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't risk it.  She'd let go of me and I'd feel empty.  So, I wrapped an arm around her and we continued walking.

I'd occasionally sneak in to one of her gigantic freshman classes just to be with her.  Sometimes, I had a class of my own that I was skipping.  She scolded me when she found out, but I could tell that she liked it.  We hadn't gone on another weekend date because she was always visiting home.  She didn't tell me why, but I didn't pry.  When she opened up to me, I would open up to her, and then I'd officially be in love.  For the first two months of our relationship, it was nothing but simply enjoying each other's company.  I was perfectly fine with that.  Progress into a deeper relationship began the day that she rallied all of our friends into cooking dinner one night at a Soup Kitchen.  

"Jongin, I have to talk to you," Min Ah, Eunbi's roommate, whispered to me.  I glanced at Eunbi, who was having an onion cutting contest with Kyungsoo while being judged by Hana, before following Min Ah out.

"Eunbi...  She needs help, but she won't admit it," Min Ah said.  

"What?  Why?"  I asked.  Eunbi hadn't hinted to me that anything was wrong.  

"She...  This sounds so pathetic.  We're in college, and it shouldn't be happening, but...  She's being bullied by girls on our dorm floor.  They're jealous."  

I was worried, but I remained calm.  "That's unfortunate...  But Eunbi knows how to tell people off," I said in an attempt to convince myself that she was alright.  Under no circumstances did I want her suffering because she was dating me.  

"You think I don't know that?"  Min Ah hissed uncharacteristically.  "Sorry...  Bullied isn't really the right word...  She's getting pulled into cat fights.  She may be strong mentally, but physically...  She's really weak, Jongin.  They drag her into their dorms and throw her against anything they can find.  They've choked her, rung her arms, punched her all over the place...  But they've left her face clean.  Why?  Because they knew that she'd cover herself up and keep you from finding out; therefore, she'd suffer mentally, too."  My eyes continued to widen as Min Ah kept talking.  "Look at her, Jongin.  She's wearing long sleeves and keeping her hair down.  Why would she do that when it's warm outside?"  I shook my head and stormed in.  Eunbi was cheering because she'd beaten Kyungsoo in their contest.  I grabbed her wrist and she winced a little.

"Doesn't your hair need to be up?"  I tried to casually asked.  "We are cooking, after all."  She looked at me with that same horror filled expression that she'd had the first day I met her.  She blinked a few times and it vanished, then, she pulled her hair up into a low ponytail.  She was walking away from me, though, and I knew why.  But I didn't want to.  

I grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her to me.  With that, I pushed up her shirt sleeve and frowned.  

Bruises.  Scratches.  All the way up to her elbow, from what I could see.  They probably continued up to her shoulder.  I checked the other arm.  The same condition.  I checked the back of her neck.  Bruises in the shape of fingers.  I began to lift her shirt unconsciously to check the rest of her body.  She pulled it down and smiled.

"I...  Fell down a flight of stairs," she lied.  

"Min Ah told me," I cut to the chase.  She froze and looked down.  

"Don't worry about it," she chuckled.  "They're just jealous.  I've just got to remember that I'm the lucky one and that-"

"Shut up," I ordered, my voice dry.  She closed and continued looking down.  I placed my hands around her neck, gently, and pulled her forehead to mine.  "If it happens again...  Please tell me."  She nodded and dug her face into my chest.  

She never told me, though.  I'd check her every day for new bruises or scratches, and I'd often find at least one.  She'd tell me that it was okay, that she and the girls had settled their issues since then, but I didn't believe her.  I exchanged numbers with Min Ah so she could alert me every time Eunbi was hurt.  

"Jongin, quick!  Someone just tried to cut her hair, and she's hysterical," a text from Min Ah read.  I was allowed into the dorm and Min Ah ushered me to their room, where Eunbi was crying.  Girls and guys alike from other rooms came out to watch my heartbroken self go and try to help the girl I loved...  Rather, was on the verge of loving.  

"Eunbi," I mumbled.  She was curled up on her bed and muffling the sound of her cries with her pillow.  I pulled the pillow away and brought her onto my lap. She cried onto my shoulder and hooked her arms around me.  Min Ah was about to leave, but I stopped her.  "No.  You stay here.  You might be able to tell me what she doesn't."  Min Ah understood, closed the door and sat on the floor across from us.  "So they tried to cut her hair?"

Min Ah nodded.  "Eunbi...  This is really something you should tell Jongin," she pleaded.  Eunbi didn't respond and continued to cry.  

"What is it?"  I whispered.  I her hair and tried to soothe her by whispering "It's okay, it's okay," into her ear, but it didn't work.  

"Eunbi...  If you don't tell him, I will," Min Ah scolded, but with kind intentions.  "Tell him why it's important.  All those girls know why, so he should know."  

"But if he knows..." She began.  She climbed off of me and scurriedly went to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.  She continued crying and ran the water to try and stop us from hearing her.  It didn't work.

"Jongin...  Eunbi's mom is dying of cancer," Min Ah spoke.  Tears welled in her eyes, but she firmly continued.  "Eunbi has known all this year that her mom is done for.  She's been growing out her hair so...  So she can make a wig for her, as a parting present.  That's where she's been going all these weekends-- to see her mom.  Of course, hope exists, so she didn't visit too often until recently because her mom assured her she was fine when you two started dating...  But it was a lie," Min Ah started crying.  "She's due any day now."  

I found myself tearing up.  How could Eunbi keep it from me for so long?  Why would she?  She needed comforting, but she denied it.

"Min Ah...  I think Eunbi and I need to be alone now.  Thank you," I choked.  Min Ah nodded and walked out while wiping away her tears.  I walked to the bathroom door and placed my hand on the knob.  "Eunbi, unlock the door."

No response.