𝚆𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝙸𝚗 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 | 𝐇𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐣𝐮𝐧

8

Flashback

"Dad, do we really have to go today? I can go to the doctor's any other day of the week! I was supposed to sleepover at Jugyeong's." I whine as my dad and I walked into the hospital building.

"I'm sorry that you can't have your sleepover, but we need to do this." He says as he holds my hand.

I snatch my hand away, crossing my arms. He pats my head and kneels down in front of me. He grabs my shoulders, making me look at him.

"I understand how tough this is. But look on the brightside! The sooner we figure out what needs to be done, the sooner we can get you all better! And then, you won't ever have to miss another sleepover again!" He says, shaking me lightly.

I smile.

"Doesn't that sound good?" He asks.

I nod my head.

"Well, when you put it like that..." I say.

He smiles, standing up and grabbing my hand again. We make our way over to the secretary's desk.

"Appointment for Jeong Yusoi."

-

"And breathe in." Doctor Lee says.

I take a deep breathe in, holding it.

"And breathe out." He says, moving the drum of the stethoscope on my back.

I let out the deep breath. He smiles and removes the drum. He removes the stethoscope on his ears, writing things on his clipboard. I look at my dad; he winks. I smile and begin to play with the edge of my hospital gown.

Doctor Lee places the stethoscope back into his ears, placing the drum on my heart. My fingernails dig into the edge of the hospital gown. Unbeknownst to me, I was looking at Doctor Lee with hope. Hope that he would say my heart sounded fine and that I was cured miraculously. My breathing shifted from the nerves of whether or not my wish was going to come true.

Doctor Lee removes the stethoscope and drum once more. He frowns as he writes on his clipboard. My face falls. I feel my heart drop. Every ounce of hope that built up within me has just... disappeared. It was now replaced with worry and fear. Doctor Lee turns to my dad.

"We should speak outside." Doctor Lee says.

My dad nods his head. He stands up from his chair.

"Go ahead and get dressed." My dad said to me. I nod my head. He reaches into his pocket and grabs out his wallet. he hands me a bill. "Go ahead and get a drink from the vending machine once you're done, okay?"

I nod my head sadly. He pats my head and smiles sympathetically. Doctor Lee and him step outside as I grab my shirt to put on.

-

"Is there something we can do? She's taking her antibiotics every day, we checked with the pediatrician to see if her meds would get in the way of affecting it. Is there anything more-"

"I don't think there is. If the antibiotics aren't working along with the other treatment plans that we've tried, then I see that there is nothing more we can do but wait."

"Wait? You expect me to wait? For how long, huh?"

"I'm not certain."

I remove my ear from the door and open it. Doctor Lee and my dad look at me. I ignore them, closing the door behind me and walking towards the vending machine. They continue to talk once they think I can't hear them.

-

"Stupid machine." I say, hitting the side of the vending machine with my hand. "Now is not the time!"

I hit it once more and when I stop, I hear soft whimpers coming from across the room. I take my bill, turning to see a boy, most likely my age, sitting with a little girl next to him. She was the one crying, but by the looks of it, the boy wanted to as well. She says something to him, getting up and walking away.

I turn back to him, seeing him wiping his eyes. I look down, focusing back on the machine and placing the bill in the slot; it took it. I press for a flavor and grab the drink once it disposed. I was going to go back to my dad, but I stopped and looked at the boy once more. I sigh, making my way over to him.

I hold the drink in front of his face. He looks up slightly, at the drink, and then at me. I give him a soft smile. He scoffs, pushing the drink away from his face.

"I don't want it." He says coldly.

I roll my eyes and try again, but he pushes my hand away again.

"Just leave me alone, okay?" He yells, clearly frustrated. He looks back down at the floor.

I take his hand and place the drink within it. He looks back up at me, about to say something, but I interrupt him.

"Just accept the nice gesture, okay? Try and focus on that. Eventually, you'll become happy." I say.

He looks at me, stunned by my words. I give him one last soft smile before turning around and leaving.