In Thailand…

   The king’s secretary entered the room with a smile on her face. She held an envelope on a metal tray. The queen took the letter instead, anticipating the news on behalf of their son. She quickly but elegantly opened the tightly sealed envelope. Taking a few minutes to read the note together, Mr. Horvejkul sighed first.

   “I should’ve known that he went to Korea.”

   “Why didn’t we think of that?” added Mrs. Horvejkul. She rubbed her hands together in relief. “So what should we do now?”

   “We’ll fetch him first thing tomorrow morning. The wedding has been put aback for too long. He has to be here as soon as possible.”

   “Well the letter only states that he was in Korea. He can be anywhere for that matter. Where are we supposed to look?”

   “Simple. All we need to do is follow his friends: Yuri and Taecyeon,” he confirmed swiftly. He new his son too well.

 In Korea…

   Nichkhun gently combed Yuri’s hair to perfection with the blue brush. Her silky hair tickled his fingers. She seemed at peace today while Nichkhun tried to keep the same type of expression on his face. However, it was difficult.

   “Am I hurting you?” he asked with care. She nodded.

   He continued to treat her like a piece of fragile glass. Holding a smile on his face, something changed his expression. After a few , a whole bundle of hair got caught between the bristles. He contemplated it, suddenly losing all sense in himself. Not feeling anyone touching her anymore, Yuri turned around to see what he was doing. Watching him hold her fallen hair, anxious and completely overwhelmed, she gently held his hand in encouragement.

   “Be strong!” she blurted out. “If you stay strong, you’ll make me stronger.”

   He believed her words. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed and proceeded. Yoona suddenly entered the room in the middle of their moment. Yuri let go of Nichkhun‘s hand and awkwardly gazed away. The nurse wasn’t wearing her usual uniform. Instead, she wore a pretty skirt and a blue blouse. She was absolutely gorgeous. Yuri felt a bit jealous. Her appearance would never match Yoona’s, especially now that her body wouldn’t allow it.

   “Annyeong! What’s up?” she greeted joyfully. They both did the same. Nichkhun leaned on the edge of the night table while observing the interaction between the two. It was strange seeing them like this. “Oh! Yuri unni, you look absolutely pretty today. What on earth have you been doing to yourself?”

   “Aniyo, don’t lie. You’re the one who looks like a model. I’m just a rag.”

   Yoona frowned in disagreement.

   “If you really think so, why don’t we fix you up then? You know, to make you prettier,” she suggested as she let out her makeup kit on the bed from her bag.

   “But you have to work, don’t you?”

   “It’s my day off today. I have time to waste. Get over here already.” Yoona pulled her patient closer and opened the zipper. Little by little, she applied light foundation, lip-gloss and mascara. Nichkhun watched the transformation, trying to hide his amazement.

  Yuri almost never wore makeup. She always looked plain with her natural beauty. But the products brought something new to her face. It sparked which it suited her well.

   “Doesn’t she look pretty Khun oppa?” Keeping the manly act, he sarcastically rolled his eyes.

   “Not really to be honest. Now we know why you never put makeup on,” he finished jokingly. Yuri gazed away annoyed at his dumb comment. Yoona continued to spread the lip-gloss around her white lip and ignored his opinion as well.

   The creek of the door could be heard from the end of the room. A silhouette began to appear past the doorframe.

   “Minho oppa,” called Yuri. His smile was playful yet friendly.

   “Omo! Who is this beautiful woman? I didn’t even recognize her.” She glared at the visitor from head to toe. Nichkhun looked extremely unpleased. This person’s presence was irritating him like crazy. On top of that, he was up on his girlfriend.

   “How are you doing, Yuri-ah?” he asked while getting closer. But Nichkhun’s irritation gave some sort of warning to stay away. Minho quickly understood and backed up a few steps. “I came to check on you, you know, just in case.”

   The prince felt like throwing a punch at him. Who did he think he was by judging his love and care for Yuri? “I’m the one who knew her since forever,” he thought to himself. “Nuisance!”

   Yoona held up a small mirror after finishing. Yuri saw her transformed face and couldn’t help but grin a bit, but she still found flaw in herself.

   “Well, just about done. How’s this?” asked Yoona with a sigh.

   “Nichkhun oppa is right. No matter what you do, I’ll still be hideous until this is all over.”

   “I think that you’re beautiful no matter what Yuri-ah,” threw Minho proudly. Nichkhun retained himself and ignored the compliment. It didn’t mean anything. He trusted Yuri.

   “Thank you?” she said a bit unsure. Yuri gave a rapid look towards Nichkhun to warn him that this was no flirting opportunity. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. Knowing him for so long, he was the type to get extremely jealous over little things. She noticed that particularly when he went out with Yoona a few years back.

   Everyone was gazing directly at her new face. She blushed and became as red as ever. Feeling a bit overwhelmed and uneasy with everyone staring at her new “look”, she decided to avoid it.

   “May you please excuse me? I need to use the restroom down the hall,” she stated changing the subject entirely. Before heading out the door, Yuri pecked Nichkhun on the left check. She shuffled down the hallway and into the bathroom. Her first reflex was the sink. She rinsed her hands and watched herself on the mirror. All of her ruined features were hidden by the moderately thick foundation and the light lipstick glossing on her lip. Coming from the same angle of reflection, Yuri could see two women in the back. The first elderly lady’s cries were hard and loud. She sobbed wholeheartedly. The other comforted and held her friend up. This scene made Yuri feel bad even if she had no idea who they were.

   “How can she be gone?” the first one cried with tears rolling down her face. “How can nobody want to help my daughter when she really needed a bone marrow transplant? I spent all my money on her and this is really how it ends? Did she have to die just like that?”

   “You couldn’t do anything about it. You tried your best.” The other consoled.

   “Couldn’t she last another month? The child was too young to die.”

   For the first time since discovering her cancer, Yuri felt mentally weak. Her hands trembled in fear and her body became stiff. What if this was to happen? TaecYeon would have wasted all his efforts on her, Yoona would’ve wasted hours of her job on a patient who would end up dying and Nichkhun would’ve wasted his love for someone who wasn’t worth it at all. These thoughts occurred to her for the first time.

   What if this was the case? Yuri was afraid… She made an exit from the girl’s washroom. Nichkhun stood, leaning on the wall right next to the door, waiting for her. His head lifted at her exit. Trapped in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice him there. He gripped her arm as she jolted in astonishment.

   “Yuri-ah!” She sobbed and lifted her eyes to meet his.

   “Oppa. What do I do?”

   “Huh? What do you mean? What’s the matter?”

   “What happens if I really die?”

   “Why would you die? You won’t! Weren’t you the one who told me to be strong? Why are you suddenly like this?” She took a rest on her heavy breathing before resuming.

   “Oppa, I lost hope. I can’t take it anymore. How can I win against something that’s physically eating me up?” He wrapped his arms around her fragile body. His hands rubbed on her back. He had never seen Yuri like this. She was a strong person. Even as kids, she refused to cry even once. The fact that her tears came out like a river worried Nichkhun.

   “Yuri-ah. Don’t cry. I…”

    In that moment, he saw them. They stood on front of him passively: his mom, his dad and... Victoria Song.