A few days of rest was sufficient for Yuri to go back to school for herself. Even if Nichkhun didn’t like the idea at first, Taecyeon finally convinced him to let her be. She was a strong person, able to take care of herself.

   After a long enough class in the morning, Yuri rushed to the hospital for her chemotherapy. The room she was in was painted in a tranquil pale blue. There were a variety of cushioned chairs around, which Yuri sat on the nearest to the door. Nearby, a metal IV stand stood, intimidating her. She managed to settle on her seat while Yoona flipped the plastic bag containing her prescribed dose of medication on a hook into the top of the stand. She inserted a needle into the bag and another into Yuri’s Heparin lock device. To finish, the nurse adjusted the flow of the drip with a special clamp along the tubing.

   “Is that okay Yuri-sshi?”

  “Ye.” She nodded with certainty. Yoona smiled and glanced at her watch to keep track of time. Yuri gripped Yoona’s arm with her free hand and looked for her gaze.

   “Gamsahamnida, Yoona-sshi,” she began. “I’m really grateful to you. Honestly.” Yoona was completely puzzled. Besides their nurse/patient relationship, they never had any intimate friendship whatsoever. She couldn’t seem to make out words. “I know that we never really got along back then, but I think I’ve judged you wrongly for the most part.”

   “Yuri-sshi,” she called innocently trying to add something. But Yuri swiftly spoke over her.

   “Yoona-ah. Do you have time today?” A period of silence took over until Yuri spoke again. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I won’t try to show off or make you feel bad in any way. I just want to get to know you more. It would be nice if we were friends instead of enemies… Why don’t we go to the mall during your break? I need to do some shopping for hair supplies anyways.”

   “Hair supplies?”

   “Yup, I’ll be losing my hair soon, wouldn’t I? It would be nice if I adjusted to that unfortunate fact.” Yoona smiled and couldn’t find a reason to decline. It couldn’t be too bad spending the afternoon with Yuri.

   “Why not, I’ll be on break right after I’m finished with you anyways.”

   The two stopped on front of a small shop that sold small accessories. Yuri went by the hair pins and elastics. She picked up a fancy hair clip with a butterfly on it. It was in a pretty shade of green. Yoona stood beside Yuri and watched as she contemplated to piece of glass.

   “That’s nice. Are you getting it?” Yuri frowned.

   “Of course not. What would I clip it on with no hair?” She took a step or two towards the bandanas and the hats. Getting the closest to her, she tried it on. “Do you suppose that this will cover up all my falling hair?”

   “I guess so. Take it.” She took a bundle and made their way to the cash register and paid the amount. “Yuri-sshi,” she began. “when are you going to tell Nichkhun oppa that you’re sick? In a few weeks, it’ll be pretty obvious.”

   Yuri gazed down in despair. “I don’t know.” They exited the store in silence. Yuri shuffled her feet at every step and swung the plastic bag full of hats back and forth. Yoona followed as they sat on the bench.

   “Yoona-ah, I hope that we become great friends. Hopefully, all the bitterness we carried against each other will go away.” She her lips. “Since I was really close to Khun growing up, not many girls liked me or even approached me for that matter. After losing my mothers, that was it. No girl had ever wanted to raise me. I was raised by men which explains my slight aggressively. So having you as a friend would mean absolutely a lot to me. It would give me another reason to live longer.”

   Touched by these words, Yoona almost shed a tear of regret yet gladness.

   “However, if God takes me away for whatever reason, I’m leaving you in charge with the two people I love the most."

   “Yuri-ah, don’t say that. You won’t leave, I assure you.”

   “Thank you for your consolation, but… That won’t for certain be the case. I don’t want to be too unrealistic.” Yoona grabbed her hands forcefully.

   “What will they do if you leave, Yuri-ah? Nichkhun oppa will go crazy if you die without a word. He won’t be able to live properly anymore. And Taecyeon oppa…”

   “Aniyo. That won’t happen. I’m sure that won’t happen,” she tried to convince herself. “Taec oppa is old enough to live without me. It’ll be one less burden on his back. Nichkhun is a Prince who has all the girls in the world. I’m sure he can find better than me. It’s almost certain he will. All in all, it’s probably for the best that I just get out of their lives. No one else would care less if I leave otherwise.”

   “I’ll care," said Yoona in debate. Her way of saying this sounded quite honest. “I gave up Nichkhun for one reason: It was because of you. Now if you just die like that without even trying to fight it, I’ll regret my decision.” Yuri smiled at her with a friendly expression. It was the first time she ever did this to her.

   “Ye…” she smirked. Getting ready to stand up, Yuri felt an extra layer of energy pressing her down. A sudden wave of air drained down every ounce in her body. Something began to squeeze her chest. It hurt like crazy. Her body pushed back on the bench.

   “Is there anything wrong?” asked Yoona.

   “Aniyo. There isn’t.” Forcing herself to stand up was hurtful. Taking a few steps forward, her head twisted and turned into circles. Everything around her became a blur. The last thing she heard was Yoona’s melodic voice shout her name in panic.

   Rushing her through the hallway, Yoona ran beside her co-workers without her uniform. Yuri’s sudden collapse had her worried. Things were not looking good for her at all. They checked her eyes, her pulse, and even her breathing. She was probably resenting fatigue from all the walking around so much and the blood was having trouble pumping. Yoona shied away from all the commotion and pulled out her cell phone to call Taec. When hearing about the news, Taecyeon didn’t even formally put down the phone and rushed towards the door.

   Washing a few dishes in the kitchen and observing him take the phone call, Nichkhun felt concern of his friend’s agitation. He wiped his wet hands on a cloth and jolted in his way.

   “What’s the matter?” he asked trying to read his expression.

   “Yuri-ah lost consciousness; I got to go see her.” Without even asking, Nichkhun followed as well, running almost as fast as Taecyeon. They raced as rapidly as they could.

   Within a few minutes, they met Yoona on front of Yuri’s room. They both caught their breath from excessive running.

   “Oh good you’re here.”

   “What happened? Where’s my sister?” asked Taecyeon while leaning on the side of the chair.

   “We decided to go out. We were hanging out together at the mall and…” Khun’s fist clenched together and fiercely pounded on the chair. It was rare for Nichkhun to blow out in anger like this especially to this extent. He refused to let her finish her sentence and grabbed her arm in rage.

   “Why on earth would you bring Yuri out when she’s high in fever?  You’re a nurse; you’re supposed to know how dangerous it is.”

   “Nichkhun, let go of her. It’s not any what her fault. Don’t blame it on her.” He refused to listen to Taec and simply reacted out of anger. His grip tightened which made Yoona afraid. Never was Nichkhun ever this vicious before. It scared her entirely. Taecyeon pulled him away and tapped his back to sooth him down. He glared at Yoona, looking like he’d tare her apart in a second.

   “Do you hate her that much because of me? Are you trying to kill her or something? Is playing with her health a game to you? If that’s the case, punish me! Not her!” blurted Nichkhun.

   “Aniyo oppa. That’s not it. Don’t misunderstand.”

   “That’s enough!” shouted Taecyeon pulling him backwards with force, away from the terrified nurse. Despite her innocents, she felt utterly guilty. “Nichkhun, calm down.” He loosened his grip and raged away through the next corridor, leaving the two behind.

   Nichkhun spent a few minutes in reflection by himself. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Yuri was resenting trapped in that hospital bed surrounded by doctors. She must’ve been in pain and isolation. This bothered him. Her discomfort was his. Later, his thoughts gravitated around Yoona. Had he been a bit too harsh? Probably. His parents always taught him to be a gentle individual, but what was he becoming? He shouldn’t have acted so violently to someone who’s been caring for Yuri during his absence.

   He decided to return to where he left off, in order to apologize to Yoona and check on Yuri all at once. It was the best thing to do. Leaping up the stairs, he slowly made his way to the end of the first corridor. Sighing in discouragement, he heard familiar voices behind the wall, to the right of the intercepting hallways. It was Yoona and Taecyeon, right where he found them to begin with.

   Their conversation captivated his attention. He decided to eardrop, wanting to know what this odd discussion was going about.

   “So that’s what happened, you see. I didn’t mean to let anything bad happen to her. I promise, that wasn’t my motive.”

   “That’s all right, I believe you. Sorry about the way Nichkhun reacted. He’s not normally like that as you already know.”

   “It’s fine. I understand how he feels. It must be frustrating in his case. It’s hard to come back to a place and find your girlfriend suffering like that.”

   “I’m glad that you don’t feel offended by what he said. It was pretty insensitive by his part.”  

   “Nah! It’s nothing. We better be thankful at this level, now that he’s still clueless on Yuri’s actual health.” Nichkhun’s ears rang at that shocking statement. What were Yuri’s actual health issues? Wasn’t it simply Hepatitis A or possibly a B? This was getting out of hand.

   “Has the doctor received the chromosome analysis test results yet?”

   “No, I don’t believe so. We’ll know what treatment she’ll need soon enough when it comes in.” Nichkhun was digesting all the information. He learnt about this in some of his classes before. Chromosome tests were for DNA. Why did they need this for Hepatitis?

   “How bad is she going so far?”

   “She hasn’t fallen into coma, but her condition is critical. She’ll have to remain in here for the best.” The word ‘coma’ made the prince’s heart melt in pain and desolation. He nearly shrank down to the floor.

   “Aish! I feel sorry for that kid. She’s too young for cancer. It’s too soon for her to die if ever she does.”

Nichkhun froze. “This can’t be possible. Yuri can’t have cancer.”