It was late; the clock had read approximately two in the morning. Jiyong had planned to call Jiho earlier to let him know that his friend was in the ER room, but now he was glad that he had not called the student to come. Otherwise, Jiho would've been staying late in the hospital, and he probably wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep. He did make sure to call the manager and say that he was at the hospital and briefly explained the situation to him. He expected the manager to say something like "this is why teenagers are so troubling" or "you're life is surrounded by teenage drama," but the boss didn't. Instead, the manager kept quiet, said that he understood the situation, and told him to not come to work for a while until the girl was in stable condition.

For the next thirty minutes, Jiyong continued to sit down on the same spot, not budging from his seat. He only got up when he saw some patients wanting to sit down, but they never came to sit. Instead, they came to give the worried man some words of comfort, especially since he was dreadfully pale and he couldn't stop shaking. Is was true that Jiyong needed some comfort, but the words didn't get into his head. Instead, his mind was filled with the thought of stepping outside for a bit, taking out a cigarette and smoking a puff or two, then coming back in when his anxiety decreased.

But he couldn't do that. If he had gone outside, then he might miss the doctor calling him in. Or, if Jieun had called her parents, he might miss seeing them and explaining to them what the situation was. He sighed to himself and sunk his head low, his foot constantly tapping against the wide ground.

"May I see Lee Jieun's guardian?" the nurse called out. Jiyong shot up, then looked around.

"I believe her parents are not here," Jiyong said, running up to the nurse.

"Oh, yes. Well, she specifically asked for not to call her parents. Normally, we do, but in her situation, she asked for her guardian to see the doctor instead." The nurse paused and looked at him. "Are you her guardian?"

"Yes. My name is Kwon Jiyong," he said, nodding. Why didn't the girl call her parents? He understood that it might be embarrassing, but this was an emergency situation!

"Perfect, she specifically asked for you to talk to the doctor. Please come with me," she said.

The nurse led him to another room, where he was sure that the doctor was waiting for him. Jiyong's palms began to get sweaty, and he was feeling awful. Would the doctor blame him for the situation? Surely, this was not his fault…was it?

"Right here," she told him, opening the door. "Dr. Lee, Lee Jieun's guardian, Kwon Jiyong, is here."

"Yes, come in," the doctor told them. The nurse gestured Jiyong to enter. When he did, the nurse closed the door behind her and left the two along in privacy. Jiyong looked around, trying to find Jieun. The doctor, who noticed, motioned him to a seat. "Sit, sit. I've already explained everything to Jieun."

Jiyong obeyed. He sat down and wiped his hands against his knees, his lip as he waited to here any dreadful words from the doctor's mouth. 

"Jieun is okay," the doctor stated. "It seems that she hasn't cut herself too deep. We suspect that she had fainted after seeing her own blood." Jiyong's chest felt lighter. "However,  while checking if she had other cuts, the nurse noticed that she has some severe bruises around her body. Do you know anything about this?"

Jiyong gulped. When he had seen Jieun bleeding and unconscious, he had completely forgotten that bringing her to the hospital meant that she could reveal her bruises. What if he was charged for something like this? Oh, the terror!

"Due to certain circumstances, she had asked me not to tell anyone," Jiyong said honestly, trying to evade the topic. He knew that the doctor was highly suspicious of him. Anything that would come out of Jiyong's mouth that related to this topic would make him suspicious.

"Well, we would like to ask her some questions and keep her in the hospital for a few more days. She has asked for an immediate discharge, but we're afraid that she might be abused at home." The doctor peered at him while lowering his glasses. "We also want her to attend some therapy group sessions."

Oh, gosh. Maybe the hospital wasn't such a great idea, Jiyong thought, regretting being in the situation. "Is it possible for me to just talk to her for a bit? I'd like to have this discussion with her. I'm not even someone she lives with. I just know her."

The doctor seemed skeptical, but he allowed him to see Jieun. He walked out of the office and led Jiyong to another room, where Jieun was staying in. When he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised to see Jieun sitting up rather than lying down. She was talking to some children, dressed in the same gown as them. Her face was pale, but not as pale as Jiyong's. She glanced over at the door, and bit her bottom lip in shame.

She had so many things to apologize to him.

"Your guardian would like to see you," the doctor told him. He glanced at the children, who continued to stare at them. "You should all be in bed." The children groaned, but the doctor turned his attention away from them and to Jiyong. "I'd like to remind you that you're past visiting hours, so please try to make this as quick as you can. Please come to my office immediately after you've made your decision with her."

"Understood," Jiyong replied, nodding his head.

The doctor left, and the children scurried to their bed. The older boy heaved a sigh and walked over to Jieun. He took a stool and sat next to Jieun, folding his hands as he patiently tried to think of the next words to say.

"I'm so—"

"I leave you at my house, trusting you that you wouldn't do anything like this, yet you ended up attempting to commit suicide," Jiyong summarized. Jieun continued to look down at her hands. She knew that it wasn't the time to apologize. Not right now, at least. "What were you thinking, Lee Jieun? Do you know how many burdens I have to carry on my shoulder because of this? I hardly know you, and you caused all this problem for me!"

"I was thinking!" Jieun shouted back, raising her voice to keep Jiyong quiet for a bit. She let out a shaky sigh and closed her eyes. "I was thinking about…about my life, and what I've done to it. I just couldn't bear the idea of my life being wasted. I couldn't believe that I might've wasted my life for a boy who doesn't even love me anymore. I did so many things for him, yet we're only falling apart in our relationship. I thought it was better to just end my life. I didn't think you would suffer so much—"

"No, no more 'Chanyeol this' and 'Chanyeol that'. I want a clear, legitimate reason for this. What you're telling me is that you did this for Chanyeol. No. Give me another excuse," Jiyong demanded, crossing his arms.

"It's not an excuse! It's the truth!" Jieun blurted. She turned her head at him with watery eyes. "Do you know how it feels to be unloved? Sometimes I just feel like I'm this puppet that everyone else could just pick up and play with, but when Chanyeol came along, I actually felt human. I felt alive! He treated me something that no one else really gave me: care, attention, and love."

Jiyong couldn't help but pity Jiho in his thoughts. There was a boy who actually had a crush on her, yet Jieun was unable to see that. If Jiho ever knew of this, tragedy would only strike his heart. In the back of his mind, Jiyong made a mental note not to tell the boy about the situation.

"You asked for love," Jiyong slowly started, "and you were given it. You gave back the love, and thought that you never received it back." He hesitated to grab her hands, but did so when a spark of courage burst in his chest. "Jieun, there is always love around you. It might be that you haven't met those people yet, but there always is—"

"No!" Jieun shouted, causing all the little children around her to jump from their beds. "No one can fall in love with me! Don't you see what I've done to myself? I've… I've deteriorated myself into a monster; an obsessive monster who can't receive love anymore."

"You're being too hard on yourself now," Jiyong said gently. "If anything, I've done more harm when it comes to love."

Jieun lifted her head. "What have you done that could be more terrible than my situation?"

The older boy oddly rubbed his ring finger and forced a weak smile. "Let's just say that I might've ran away and deeply scarred a woman's heart."

"Isn't that what I'm doing?" Jieun asked tiredly. "Except aren't I hurting myself?"

"No. No, you and I are different. You… You are still too young." He let out a shaky breath and stood up. He carefully placed his hand over her head, her hair with his large fingers. "Anyway, I'll try to talk to the doctors and ask for an immediate discharge. He'll probably set up some counselors or something."

Jieun nodded, then looked down at her hands in silence. She ran her fingers gently against the scars she made on her wrist. A heavy feeling hung on her chest, dropping her heart to an indescribable ache. She bit her bottom lip, still ashamed of what she was planning to ask him next.

"You won't call Chanyeol, right?" Jieun asked.

Jiyong blinked. It had never occurred to him that he would call Chanyeol. He didn't know the boy's phone number, but he was sure that if he asked Minah, then he could get the bastard's number and he would probably come. 

"No, I won't call," Jiyong said, unsure of what she wanted. He watched her sigh in relief.

"Can you do me another favor?" Jieun asked, noticing that Jiyong was getting ready to leave.

"What?" he asked her.

"Can you keep this a secret from the others, too? I'm sure that if you told Jiho, he would skip his classes and come for me."

"But that guy is stubborn. He'll find out."

"Tell him that I need him to attend my classes and take notes."

"Does he take good notes?" Jiyong asked, finding it a bit funny to imagine Jiho being a studious student.

Jieun broke in a smile. "Jiyong, Jiho is more than just a delinquent. He's a really good friend. When he's serious about something, he'll do it."

"You seem to know him quite well," Jiyong mentioned. 

"Of course. We sit next to each other at school. He usually forgets his book, so we share mine," Jieun explained. "Whenever we share books, he'd give me something to eat in class or pass notes. I think it's a good deal."

The two kept quiet for a long time. The nurse eventually came over, knocking on the wall to tell Jiyong that he would have to leave soon. Jiyong promised the little girl that he would come to visit often, which she declared for him to not. It took a few long minutes, but she eventually convinced him that she was now okay, and that she was going to sleep without having any dirty tricks upon her sleeves.

"Besides, the nurses have to check up on me every hour. They keep checking if I made any additional harm to myself," she whispered in a low voice.

"I think it's reasonable."

"Aren't you on my side? It's annoying."

"Can you blame them? I mean, I tried to leave you alone, but you ended up trying to die in my house."

"I said I was sorry."

"I'm probably never going to forgive you."

"That's okay."

"Is it, really?"

Jieun didn't say a word. The nurse came back, almost glaring at Jiyong and telling him that he had to leave immediately. Bidding the hospitalized girl a soft "bye," he left her side and walked out of the room, hearing some soft snores from other children at different parts of the room. As he walked down the hall, the nurse guided him to the elevator.

"Is she a relative?" the nurse asked curiously.

"Oh, no. She's just a customer at my place."

"And she trusts you instead of calling her parents?"

Jiyong forced a smile. "I suppose so. Should you be the one to judge, though?"

The nurse immediately shut . They wanted for the doors to open, and when Jiyong took a step out of the elevator, he felt the nurse glaring at his back. Ignoring her at the best of his abilities, he left the hospital, his hands in his pocket, gazing at flower buds growing outside of the hospital.

Spring was coming, and he prayed that the blooming season would blossom into a settling peace.

* * *

"Minah!" Silence. "Bang Minah! Get down here right now!"

Minah, who was burrying her face in her pillow, let out a loud groan. She got off her bed and opened the door, making sure that when she swung it, she swung it enough for the door to hit the wall besides it. She stomped down the stares, angrily searching for her mother who had called her.

"What?" Minah asked with a clear attitude. "I did my hair, I'm dressed, and I hate breakfast. What else do you want me to do?"

"I want you to give these fruits to the Woo's household. I forgot to give this to Jiho's mother yesterday," her mother said. She placed a box of strawberries on the counter. Minah stared at them in disgust.

"Well, why do I have to go?"

"You and Jiho are good friends. Besides, your mom has a bad back right now."

"Well, I have a headache."

"Nonsense. You're only a high school student. You have plenty of youth and health in you. Now, go and give this to the Woo family." Minah groaned and grabbed the box. Right when she walked towards the door, he mother stopped her. "Oh, and make sure you thank them for attending our party."

"Don't I always?" Minah replied sarcastically, slamming the door behind her. She walked over to the next house, finding the secret key between the two-layered welcome mat. Without any warning, she unlocked the house and hid the key back into the rug. She took a deep breath, then twisted the door knob as she pushed the door open.

The house looked the same as usual. The walls were beaten and poor, the colors faded into a strange shade of white. She noticed a few new cracks on the wall, and a red smear that looked like blood. When she carefully walked into the neighborhood, she saw at least five bottles of alcohol lying on the table. The husband and wife were sprawled all over the couch, snoring and unconscious. The wife's hair was spectacularly wild and messy, but her peaceful expression made it seem as if it was naturally crazy. The husband's tie was still around his neck, but one of his hand grabbed onto the tip, almost seeming as if he was strangling himself. He snored loudly, his heavy eyes not daring lift up to greet the guest.

"Thank you for attending our party," Minah muttered under her breath, putting down the box of strawberries on the counter. She wasn't very fond of Jiho's parents. They were wild, often drinking for fun and doing other crazy fun. To many adults, they looked at them as if they were just having a blast, but to Minah, they were like drunk children ready to be a pest.

"What in the world are you doing here?"

Speaking of pests. Minah turned around and gave Jiho an odd stare. He returned the stare with a frown, displeased with the fact htat she had barged into the house without permission—again.

"My mom said to drop off some strawberries here. No one was going to open the door, so I figured that I could use the secret key," Minah said, crossing her arms.

"Well you could've at least tried to ring the door bell or knock. I was awake," Jiho said, walking over to the counter to check on the fruit. "Tell your mom that I said thanks."

"Whatever. I'm leaving," she declared. She was just about to step outside until she stopped and turned around. "When are you heading to school?"

"Ten minutes after you go," he replied.

"You'll be late," she quickly pointed out.

"Better than being seen walking around you," he responded coldly, taking a handful of strawberries to wash.

Minah bit her bottom lip. "You… You know, it's not bad walking near me or anything. I'd rather have you walk near me or ahead of me instead of coming to school late because you want to avoid me."

"You're crazy," he blurted, heading towards the sink. "I'd hate to walk around near a bully."

Her eyes narrowed as she curled her fingers into a fist. "Fine! Not like I was worried about you in the first place." There was a quick pause. "You don't even know what she did to me in the first place!"

"I asked her, and she said that she did nothing wrong!" Jiho said, raising his voice.

"You're an idiot!" With that, she slammed the door and left the house, storming away with an aching heart that no one—not even herself—could understand.