Meteor

Eighteen

What Eun Chae did was nothing different from a spear piercing through Yu Jin's heart. He was perplexed, unable to comprehend why she could have such a hysterical outburst. Simultaneously, Eun Chae was also tormented by her own words. She did not even know why she let those words out. However, she knew for sure the emotional damage she caused on Yu Jin was irreversible. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she could do nothing but burrow under her blanket, covering her face to hide all those tiny beads of water gushing out.

"I'm just...really tired...leave me alone...please!" Her voice seemed to gradually fade away, being replaced by the heart-wrenching sounds of her sobs.

"Fine, if you think so, then I'm sorry. I'm not gonna annoy you any longer," Yu Jin angrily said and strode out of the room.

But in the end of the day, Yu Jin was not that type of cold-hearted guy who would leave his friends in the hospital alone. Despite the lingering tension, he still ended up bringing her both her lunch and dinner. It was just that they did not exchange any words. Yu Jin simply placed the food onto a table next to her bed and then left. Meanwhile, Eun Chae also felt awkward and struggled to just even look straight into his eyes.

******

That evening, because of not staying with Eun Chae, Yu Jin returned home earlier than usual so he had some spare time. He wanted to have some rest so he right away flopped onto his cushy bed.

But it was impossible for him to have a real peace of mind as the thoughts about his struggles in all aspects of life kept wandering in his head. Being occupied by all those negative thoughts, he began to question himself about his own decision to come to Seoul. Life in Seoul was tough, way tougher than he used to imagine. Before he came to this city, he had always been optimistic about how well-prepared he thought he was, until the cruel reality hit him. His academics, his work, his relationship, all of them were like a brutal slap to his expectations, crushing out all the self-esteem he once possessed. In addition, having to deal with his family matters also aggravated his situation. Would things have been better if he had chosen to follow his parents and stay in Busan?

But all those thoughts were just temporary and they soon vanished when he took into consideration all the immense efforts he made to get this far. Medicine was a gruelling "sport" and studying it was a painstakingly long, tedious marathon. So if he could not even hurdle little obstacles like these, what could he really do then?

Thinking about being a doctor also lit up an idea about how he could persuade his father to undergo the surgery. He asked his mother to send him the checkup results of his father and consulted his father's doctor about his condition. Armed with all the information required, he finally had the confidence he needed to call his father and change his mind.

"Hi mom, is dad there?" He called his mother and softly said.

"Yes, he's here, you wanna talk to him?" His mother excitedly queried, "Have you just found a way to persuade your dad?"

"Well...I dunno if it works or not, but I'll try."

"OK, sure," his mother said and then beckoned her husband, "Hey, Yu Jin is calling you!"

"Are you gonna convince me again?" His father flatly inquired.

"Yeah, of course," Yu Jin said.