"Myungsoo," I said when I took her hand in mine. "Kim Myungsoo."

 

"So what's your story Kim Myungsoo?" Hye Ri asked curiously. 

 

"My story?"

 

"Yeah, your story," she said. "You know, why you're here at this hospital. You don't seem to be a patient here. What brought you here to the hospital?"

 

"An ambulance brought me here," I replied, trying to take a crack at a joke. She looked to me with a face that read, "Really?" I blushed out of embarrassment. Myungsoo, don't even try.

 

"Well, it's a long story actually," I replied. "I don't know where to start."

 

"Start anywhere but the beginning then," she said. "I can probably piece things together as you talk." I nodded and told her why I was here.

 

"Ok, now you wanna hear my story now, right?" she asked after I finished. I looked at her weirdly.

 

"What?" I said. "Aren't you gonna console me or something?" 

 

"Do you want me to?" she asked. I thought about this. Well, ever since people found out that my sister was in the hospital, I've been receiving nonstop calls and texts. Mostly, "Hope she gets better," or "Don't worry, she'll be alright." 

 

Did I like getting those messages? To be honest, they didn't really help me. People say that she'll get better and that I shouldn't worry, but no one knows for sure. No one has fate by their side, telling them what's to become of people.

 

Sure, it's nice if people care. But sometimes the more they say it's going to be okay, I think more about the opposite. 

 

"No," I replied to Hye Ri. She sighed.

 

"Now I have to tell my story," she said. "How should I tell it this time?"

 

"Why don't you tell it how you've always told it?" I asked. She pointed her finger at me and moved it back and forth.

 

"Uh uh uh," she said as she moved her finger. "That would be boring." I chuckled at her explanation. I nodded okay.

 

"Hurr let's see..." she said. While she thought about what to say, I ordered a sandwich from the hospital cafeteria. 

 

"I love horror movies," Hye Ri stated all of a sudden. I was already in the middle of my sandwich.

 

"Even when I was little I've always loved them. I was never scared when I watched them. Not once. I always thought, "These shouldn't be called horror movies. These should be called comedies."

 

I listened intently to her story as I ate my sandwich. I didn't know where this was going, but when she started telling her story, I felt automatically drawn to her words. 

 

"I knew that they weren't real. That's why I'd laugh every time there was a jump scare or a ghost appearing. Blood really didn't scare me. Not at all. When I was little, I always shouted, "Ketchup!" whenever I saw blood. I laughed.

 

"I was watching a horror movie at home once. It was one of my favorites. One of my favorite scenes were approaching. It was a scene where the ghost girl crawls out of the closet, blood all over her face. By the time blood dripped down the girl's face, I felt a pool of blood surrounding me."

 

"I was doing origami as watched the movie. I didn't notice that I had a paper cut from doing origami. I don't remember what happened after that. All I remember was darkness."

 

"Excessive bleeding. Heh, I thought I was turning into a ghost or something. When I was little, I thought turning into a ghost was cool. When I woke from that darkness, I was covered in all these wires and needles were pumping fluid into me or something."

 

"And next thing I know, all these doctors and specialists came in and started talking to me. I felt like one of those little girls in asylums. After all those talks from those doctors and specialists, I only understood one thing. I might become a ghost after all."

 

By the time Hye Ri was deep into her story, I have already forgotten about my sandwich. The way Hye Ri told her story, I don't know, but she made me want to actually pay attention. 

 

Heh, in other words, she wasn't boring. It was hard to believe she never told her story like this. It seemed as if she always told her story this way.

 

"I have blood cancer," Hye Ri said. And just like that. She broke the news as straight forward as that. I guess someone like her, with her condition, she's gotten pretty used to this. 

 

I didn't console her or anything. I knew she'd hate me for consoling her. Her and I both felt the same about consoling. 

 

"So why are you on the loose in this hospital? Aren't you on strict surveillance or something?" I asked. 

 

"Aha, it's because the people in this hospital are absolute dunderheads," she said. I shot her a confused look. Huh?

 

"I hate being locked up in a room for a long time. The people in this hospital think I'm weak and helpless and can't handle things on my own," she explained. 

 

"But they're wrong. I want them to give me a little more freedom in this hospital. So yeah, hehe I always escape every chance I get. They can't really punish me if I escape. This hospital is pretty used to me being on the loose. Those three nurses earlier were responsible for taking care of me." I nodded as she spoke.

 

"Ahh so you're a trouble maker around here, huh?" I said. She smiled.

 

"Haha, I guess," she said with a chuckle. She had the cutest eyesmile I've ever seen. She looked at me with a weird look on her face.

 

"You sure like to stare a lot," she said. I felt my cheeks heat up at her comment. I should really get myself checked into this hospital. Is there such thing as a staring disorder? I ignored her comment.

 

"So what do you plan on doing now that you're loose?" I asked. I should really be getting back to my sister, but there was something about Hye Ri that made me want to know more about her...