Haknyeon watched Mikyung from the corner of his eye as they walked back towards campus together.
She was strong, really, really strong. Much stronger than she seemed to realize.
"Your part-time job-"
"It's to pay for my tuition and help out with her medical bills," she interrupted, having known exactly what he was going to ask.
He wanted to ask about her father but was scared too. Certainly, that would be prying too much into her personal life, right? It was none of his business, right?
Mikyung sighed, stopping and turning to face him. "Just ask," she said gently. "I can see all the unasked questions in your eyes, and it's bothering me. Just ask and I'll decide whether I want to answer or not."
"Where's your father?" he blurted out. "Is he alright?"
"He's alive," she confirmed. "He's working," she said sadly. "Always working. He works way too hard..." she said, trailing off, her eyes full of worry. "Way too hard," she said again. "He doesn't even take off when he's sick, he's just always working. It's the only way we can afford things," she said, shrugging one shoulder.
She spoke without a hint of self-pity. Her voice was resigned and accepting, and he knew that she didn't want his pity as well. He knew she wasn't telling him all this so that he could feel sorry for her.
She was telling him this because that's what friends do. They talk to each other. They lean on each other for support.
"You know," he said, walking beside her. "I feel like we've really become friends now."
"Not quite," she said, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. "I still know hardly anything about you."
"Really?" he said, looking at her in surprise. He wasn't one to really hide much about himself, but he did suppose that they never had any deep conversations. Not until now.
"Yeah," she said, laughing at his surprised expression. "Tell me something about you. Just one thing."
"Well... My mom usually runs a farm in the countryside. It's doing really well. But right now she's abroad, doing some business stuff with my aunts and uncles and cousins, I think. She said she'll be back soon though," he said, feeling happy just at the thought of his mother coming back. "I'm probably going to spend my summer on the farm with her."
"That sounds really nice," Mikyung sighed, almost enviously.
"You should come," he suggested playfully.
"Should I?" she murmured, looking at him with thinly veiled amusement.
"Can I ask another question?" he said after a moment.
"You just did, but okay."
"You said you don't have time for a relationship... Is it because..." he trailed off, not even completely sure what he was trying to ask, or why he was so curious, or why that piece of information kept bothering him lately, as they got to know each other more and more.
"I have my studies, and I have work," Mikyung explained when he couldn't find any words. "On top of that, I'm just mentally... exhausted?" she said, her voice kind of questioning. "I don't know. I just worry about the time commitment of a relationship, I guess. If I date someone they'll probably expect me to have time to go on dates often and stuff and... I don't know. I don't know if I can. I need someone who understands my situation, you know?"
"Don't you think you could find someone like that?" he asked softly.
Mikyung shrugged. "Maybe. But honestly, I just haven't been looking."
