She opened her eyelids at the light of day. Everything from the day before was fresh in her mind. She could feel the aftertaste of joy in her veins. It felt like only a dream, it was too good to be true. Yuri stretched a bit and laid on her side. Taecyeon was but a few meters away, snoozing on the hard looking sofa with a blanket over him.

   Nothing would be able to wake him up in this case. He probably slept late last night due to everything he had to work out with the receptionist and the doctors. Sometimes she felt sorry that her brother ended up with a sibling like her. Yuri felt like such a burden sometimes. He would’ve probably had a better life if he didn’t have to worry about her so often.

   Nichkhun also stayed the night. His head leaned on the side of her pillow and his arm wrapped her hand warmly. She observed his prince-like face. She always wondered if it were actually possible to find someone so perfect to this extent. There were almost no flaws in him. It was scary.

   Her fingers his check lightly. Her index crept up at the tip of his nose and felt the soft skin on it. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t find a single imperfection.

   Suddenly, his big brown eyes opened and stared at her with intimidation. Yuri froze for a second and shied away in embarrassment. Her checks became a shade of pink which made Nichkhun smile.

   “What are you doing?”

   “I was just wiping off the sweat off you’re your face. That’s all.”

   “Yuri-ssi, did I ever tell you that you are a bad liar?” she blushed some more and Nichkhun tried to find her gaze. “I was just kidding; there isn’t anything wrong with admiring your boyfriend.”

   Yuri hated his arrogance. “Excuse me… Who said that I was your girlfriend? Did I ever say anything about us dating?”

   “Well, I don’t think that friends regularly kiss in my opinion,” he said pretty loudly.

She leaped to her knees in frustration and covered his mouth.

   “Yah! Don’t talk too loud, Taec oppa might hear you.”

   “Do you want me to kiss you again so he could see it instead?” She pounced on his lap and attacked him playfully. Yuri and Nichkhun mischievously harassed each other all over the place. It was the same thing they’d do as kids. They looked like little ten year old children playing a violent yet good-natured game. Yuri accidentally blurted out a shout when rolling on the bed with Nichkhun on top of her.

   Taecyeon narrowed his eyes with irritation and  uncomfortably wiggled under his blanket.

   “Yah! What’s with all this noise so early in the morning?” Yuri and Nichkhun sat up and returned to their civilized attitudes.

   “I’m sorry oppa, we didn’t mean to wake you.” Khun released Yuri’s shoulder but refused to let go of her hand. He held it gently. This little portion of the scene particularly caught the attention of Taecyeon. He stared at it suspiciously.

   “Did something happen between you two that I don’t know of?” Nichkhun smiled conceitedly.

   “Yup! I’m dating your sister dude!” claimed Nichkhun proudly. Yuri glared at him in exasperation.

   “Wait! Whoa! Can you slow down for a second? Start over. Weren’t you dating Yoona just yesterday?”

   “I don’t know where you got that information but clearly, I’m not. Besides I already belong to Yuri. Right babe?”

   “ Yah!!! Don’t ever call me that again! It’s disgusting.”

   His hand settled comfortably between Yuri’s fingers. Taecyeon sat on the couch in confusion. He was still trying to process the information. Yuri remained half angry at his revelation she clearly ordered him not to make, yet cheerful all at once.

   The atmosphere was broken by the entrance of Yoona. She wore a clean nurse uniform which meant that she was on duty.

   “Yuri-ssi, you’re scheduled for treatment today,” stated the nurse. Her guard turned towards Nichkhun as she remembered to watch her every word.

   “Ye,” answered the patient in a totally calm manner. Yuri jumped to her feet and sat on the wheelchair Yoona had brought. Nichkhun and Taecyeon followed from behind to the room across the hall. A doctor waited for them there whom Yuri quickly recognized. It was the same doctor that cared for her at the emergency room.

   “Annyeong haseyo miss Yuri-ssi. I’m doctor Choi. How are you feeling this morning?”

   “Annyeong haseyo. It’s nice to meet you. I’m feeling fine, I guess.” A technician was standing behind him with a needle all ready for her. Nichkhun and Taecyeon stood behind the door frame, far enough to not hear a word but close enough to see everything that was happening. She pulled her doctor’s white coat to her level and whisper in his ear. “Ajusshi, I don’t know if you remember me, but in any case, don’t tell that guy over there that I have cancer. When speaking to him, act as if I have Hepatitis A.”

   “Which guy? And why wouldn’t I tell him? Isn’t that what I’m here for?” he asked puzzled.

   “That one there,” she said while pointing at Nichkhun. “He doesn’t know about any of this and I don’t want to make it hard on him. Whatever news you have on my health, tell me or my brother directly. 

   “What am I suppose to say about your symptoms and your treatment if he asks?”

   “Just adapt them to Hepatitis A. There are some symptoms that are similar, aren’t there?”

   “I’ll try Miss Yuri-sshi. But I can’t guarantee a 100% success.”

    The technician drew vials of blood from the needle inserted in Yuri’s arm and watched as it drained into the technician’s syringes through the plastic tubing of her Heparin lock.

   Nichkhun elbowed Taecyeon and asked: “Why do they need her blood for a Hepatitis treatment?” Taecyeon twitched nervously and gave a lame excuse.

   “I think that it’s just a blood test. You know… Just in case.” Khun nodded but looked a bit baffled.

   Yoona wrote more information on Yuri’s report and glanced outside the room and saw Nichkhun’s worried expression. “What would he say afterwards? This is just the beginning,” she thought.

   “All done!” said Yoona with a smile. “Now, let’s go to the next room for your bone marrow aspiration.” Yuri knew what those words meant and she didn’t like it. This was one of the most painful treatments there was to leukemia that she had to perform at least every six weeks. Her body was shaking in fear. She still remembered how painful it was. How would she act strong in this case?

   Walking down the hallway, Nichkhun put his hand on Yuri’s shoulder. “You okay?” he asked softly. She put on a strong face and beamed.

   “Of course,” she murmured even if she knew it wasn’t.

   When they got to the area of aspiration, Yuri bit her lip and closed her eyes. Yoona helped her up and tapped her shoulder in encouragement. “You can do it, Yuri-ssi. I’ll try not to hurt you.” She gave one last glance out the door where her brother and Khun stood, peeking through.

   Yuri laid on the side, took a deep breath and kept her eyes closed. The technicians prepared the instruments for the aspiration.

    “Ready?” asked Yoona with the needle almost half a centimeter thick. Yuri nodded hesitantly before exhaling. The nurse spread some substance on the skin and poked the needle into her hip bone. Yuri could feel it slide through her flesh and it hurt terribly. It was too much to bear. She had to cry and it couldn’t be helped. Yuri shouted in pain as the needle twisted and turned, trying to take out the bone marrow. Her hand tightly grasped the sheets of the bed and held on it tightly.

   “Ahhhh!” she cried helplessly. Nichkhun, still standing outside, heard her cries and reacted immediately. Taecyeon held him back.

   “Don’t go. She’ll be fine!”

   “But she’s rolling in pain over there. We can’t just leave her like that.” Nichkhun pushed back and entered the room, leaving Taecyeon helpless. Doctor Choi stopped him from going close to the patient.

   “I’m sorry but you can’t touch her yet.”

   “Why not?” he questioned while biting his lip.

   “It’s not permitted in this case sir. You can’t stop the treatment from proceeding.”

   “But what kind of treatment is this? How is this necessary for Hepatitis A? Isn’t it only a simple flu? What’s with all this torture you’re putting upon her?”

   “We’re only doing this to make sure it hasn’t turned into a type B. We know what we’re doing.” Yuri shouted again from behind and her hand constantly banged the bed in excessive pain. Nichkhun hated seeing these tears on her face and couldn’t help but shove through, but other medical staff pulled him back. His fist folded together in anger. Taecyeon seized his arm strongly and soothed him down.

   “She’ll get out of it fine Khun, just calm down.”

   The needle came out of her back, and Nichkhun cooled off. Yuri looked exhausted. Sweat drained down her forehead and her breathing was abnormally fast. The Prince, for once in his life, felt like a helpless character, standing there without being able to do anything for her.