Watch Out

Salt on my Wounds

I looked from Eunwoo to my mom as I slowly answered the phone call and brought the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

A voice that was not expected at all resounded over the phone, and it was not the person whose name was on the caller ID. It was Woojin's voice that rang in my ear as he answered. "We need to talk."

"About?" All eyes in the room were on me, clearly wondering who would be calling me.

"Jeongin. Something's wrong."

"Woojin, he broke up with me. What do you think I would be able to do to help him? Especially with the whole being in a wheelchair thing."

Woojin paused for a second. "You're in a wheelchair? Wait, Jeongin broke up with you?"

"You really didn't know that I'm in a wheelchair and that Jeongin broke up with me? Where have you been?"

"I swear it's not my fault! Jeongin hasn't spoken all day. I tried asking what was wrong, and he just shrugged."

"I don't know what to tell you, Woojin, but I'm sure seeing me would just make him feel worse. Maybe try distracting him? I don't know. He's  the one that broke up with me. I doubt it would make a difference if I showed up. Just make sure he doesn't do anything rash, okay?"

Woojin sighed. "Alright, I'll do what I can. Before I hang up, can I ask why you're in a wheelchair?"

I couldn't help but smile a little at his concern. "My gunshot wound got infected, which ended up causing cancer cells to form. My bone cancer is back. Bye Woojin."

Not wanted to hear his reaction, I hung up before he could answer. "Mom, can you help me upstairs so I can shower and go to bed? I'm really tired."

My mom nodded, her and Eunwoo helping me into my chair. Once I showered and got dressed (with my mom's help) and mom was gone, tears began to fill my eyes. Jeongin had stopped talking because of me. Because he thought I was in love with someone else. Because he blamed himself for the return of my cancer. He blamed everything on himself, but this...this is on me.

I woke up the next morning with tear stains on my face. Luckily my chair was right next to my bed, so I was able to maneuver myself (not very gracefully) into my chair without having to call for help. I wheeled myself into the bathroom, thanking God that the door was left open, and did the best I possibly could to wash my face so no would know that I had cried myself to sleep.

By the time I had finished, my mom was in my room. I smiled as I greeted her. "Good morning, mom. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, clearly noticing the bags under my eyes. "You look like you didn't though."

I bit my lip, trying to think of an excuse. "It's been hard to sleep with my wound and now with the cancer, but I'm fine. I'll adjust."

She sat on my bed, so I wheeled myself closer. She put a hand on my knee when I got close enough. "I know the situation isn't ideal, but I don't want you be home alone while you're in a wheelchair. You understand, right? You know how overprotective I am. I've been thinking about what to do while your father and I are at work because Eunwoo can't babysit you everyday. Your dad finally got Hana into a preschool, so I was thinking...what if you went to an actual high school? They accommodate for students in wheelchairs, and Sulgi will be there to help you out. Really the only other choice would be for you to go to the hospital with me everyday, which will just make you more aware of how sick you are."

I couldn't help but smile a little. Honestly, I'd always wanted to go to actual school and have more friends than just Sulgi. "I can really go to high school? Mom, I have been waiting for you to say that since I stopped going to school the first time I had cancer."