They wouldn’t let any of us visit Seungie. He was in intensive care for several days and even after they moved him to a regular ward, Auntie said it would be too much of a strain. I got all his friends together and we sent him this giant get-well card with a million of signatures on it.

After the first week, Auntie let Seungie talk to me on the phone now and then. He was usually foggy with painkillers and I never knew what to say. It was like talking to someone over a bad phone connection.

One thing I didn’t talk about was Junhyung. Not that there was much of anything to say. Since the day he’d more or less asked me out, days had melted into weeks. He was in school sporadically, three days on, two days gone. I could not imagine how he pulled it off or why he hadn’t been suspended already.

When I did see him we would smile at each other in the halls like shy strangers, sometimes exchanging a “Hey, how you doing?” I began to wonder if I’d been hallucinating. Hadn’t he volunteered to help me? Hadn’t he, in fact, called me cute?

The first week, I’d summoned up my nerve after the class and asked him if he’s free that afternoon. Couldn’t that weekend, he’d said, a lot of commitments, work and everything, sorry, really. He’d had that cramped look when people know they’re being jerks but just can’t help themselves.

Normally I would have chewed over the rejection for months, wondering what I’d done wrong. But somehow, with Seungie far off in a hospital being zapped with radiation, it just didn’t seem to matter as much.

On a bright Saturday afternoon, Bae came running to get me. “I’m sure you’ll find this as hard to believe as I do,” he said, “but there’s someone here to see you.”

“Junhyung?” I asked.

Bae nodded.”Are you, like, you know? Dating?” he asked incredulously.

“No. We’re not, like, anything. What did you tell him?”

“That I’d see if you could fit him into your crowded social calendar.”

I considered changing while Junhyung was along the side of the house.

“Hey,” he said “I guess I should have called, but I got my bike fixed. And, well, I wanted to tell someone. And you’re that someone who came to my mind.”

“Chukahae,” I said. “How did you know where I live?”

“Phonebook.” He gave that smirk of his.

I smiled back. Why was he here? Right then? After all that time?

“Can I go for a ride?” Bae asked.

“Omma’ll love that,” I said, “when I have to call her at the clinic and tell her you’re roadkill.”

Junhyung cocked his head slightly and pulled down his shades. [A/N: OMG!!! Imagine Junhyung doing that… I think I might die. ^^]  “I’m a great driver, Yoseob. And I’ve got extra helmet.”

“I’ve seen you drive.” I pointed out.

“That was an act of God,” Junhyung said.

“So? You going or what?” Bae asked.

I looked back at Junhyung. He was watching me, arms crossed, looking pretty sure of himself. A look that, I suddenly realized, could be very annoying in a guy.

“I thought you’re going to help me buy stuffs for my telescope a couple of weeks ago,” I said.

“I’m sorry about that, really. Just an hour,” Junhyung said. “I’d promise I’ll have you back in an hour.”

Bae kicked my shin. “Please, its not like you have a lot of options, Hyung. “ he said.

“Fine, no problem.”

I closed the gate. “If Appa asks, tell him I went to the library with Kikwang and there’s a hundred won for you.”

“Why lie?” Junhyung asked.

“Because they’ll kill me if they knew I rode a motorcycle.” I turned back to Bae. “If Omma asks, tell her the same thing and I’ll give you another.”

“More for Omma?” Junhyung asked.

“Appa’ll believe anything.” Bae explained.

“Oh, and if Seung calls-he was maybe going to this afternoon-tell him the same thing, okay?”

“Why?”

“Just do it, okay?”

“More for Hyung. He’s smarter than Omma.”

“What?!” I demanded.

“Why are you lying to Hyung, anyway? It’s not like you won’t tell him about him.”

I brushed past him. “I don’t have to explain my life to you, Bae. Just do it.”

“How is Seungie?” Junhyung asked.

“He’s having radiation and some follow-up tests. He’ll be back on Tuesday.” I didn’t tell him that the surgery hadn’t been successful. I hadn’t told anybody except my family. It wasn’t my place.