"Don't be so confident like that, I haven't even gone to the interview yet. And my English is not that good so it won't be too surprising if I fail," he wryly laughed.

"You are smart and hard-working, I bet that you're gonna do well. Hang in there!" She gripped both her hands and displayed an expression which was as determined as she could. But Yu Jin would rather say it was amusing than resolute.

"OK, I'll try."

"If you fail, then I'll be very mad. I'll probably beat you up, so remember to put your heart into it," she said and made a face at him.

"It's funny how you think that kind of threatening will scare me," Yu Jin chuckled.

Eun Chae went on to ramble around in the midst of the mesmerisingly picturesque rain of pink and white petals. She stopped at a tree, tiptoed to retrieve a flower and gently put it on her hair. Yu Jin was following her and he took out his phone camera right at the most worth-capturing moment to take a photo of her. She looked extremely joyful in the photo with a huge grin and smiley eyes. "She is gorgeous", Yu Jin thought to himself. As he looked at her happy face, his mouth also unconsciously curved into a small grin. He was absolutely confident to say that she had the most contagious smile in the world. She was so jubilant that for a moment, Yu Jin completely forgot the fact that she was about to be gone in a year. How could a girl who was going to die in about more than one year have such a cheerful and lively smile?

"Hey Yu Jin, how do I look?" She merrily asked him.

"Beautiful!" He gave her a big smile.

"By the way, what shall we eat for lunch today?" She excitedly inquired, "Fried chicken maybe?"

"No, you're on medications, don't eat too much greasy food like that. You already had fried chicken once and tempura once this month, remember?" He firmly reminded her what she needed to do.

"But I love chicken," she pouted and gazed at him with an adorable look that could sway anyone's mind, in the hope to squeeze a yes out of him. But unlucky for her, the boy standing in front of her had been studying medicine more than enough to know that saying "No" was the best he could do for her.

"No is no, if you love fried chicken that much, then go eating out with someone who doesn't care about your health," he sighed heavily and scowled at her.

"OK OK, I won't, what do you wanna eat?"

"Anything that sound healthy should be fine."

"You like Chinese noodles?"

"Sounds good."

They walked to a restaurant nearby to have their lunch.

"Oh my God, I love its smell," she exclaimed just as soon as her noodle bowl was served, without even trying it yet.

Yu Jin hummed noncommittally and ate his food.

"The broth tastes so good, do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty good."

She had been giving so many compliments on the things she experienced today. Yu Jin really wondered whether it was her hunger that made the food seem more delicious, or it was just her habit to react to every positive thing around her.

"Ahhhh, I wish I could have more of it," she happily said while still chewing.

"Then put your bowl over here, I don't think that I will eat all of this anyway."

"Really? Thanks a lot," she merrily chortled.

Yu Jin gave her nearly one-third of the noodles he had, and a lot of beef. It was not because he did not want to eat it, but because he wanted Eun Chae to eat more. He was obviously aware that she would not have many chances left to enjoy all the food she loved.

After being reinvigorated by the food, the two quickly came home to have some rest before being occupied by their schedule. Yu Jin still had to go to work in the afternoon, while Eun Chae needed to finish her work before going to lecture the next day.

******

A few days later came Yu Jin's interview. He was so eager that he set up his alarm at half past five in the morning although his shift was at eight. In fact, he even got up earlier than that.

"What time is it?'' He looked at his phone with his glimmering eyes. "5:12, nice!" He closed his eyes again. He wanted to take his time to sleep just a bit more, but he could not. The thoughts of that important and potentially life-changing interview kept wandering in his head. He started to think about what he would be asked and how well he would perform in the interview. And just as soon as his imaginations about his new life the US popped up in his mind, the alarm rang, disrupting his chain of thoughts.

Showing no sign of sleepiness or tiredness, he briskly scurried to the bathroom to brush his teeth, changed his clothes and then carefully combed his hair. He dressed himself up in his school uniform, which he had always been proud of. His school tee seemed absolutely crisp and white despite having been used for three years, he must have just had it bleached not too long ago to prepare for this. His neatly knotted tie and his navy blue long pants were perfectly matched too.

"Oh damn, I'm so handsome," he looked into the mirror with a smile which apparently expressed his satisfaction.

As he emerged from the bathroom, he also saw Eun Chae coming out from her bedroom.

"Good morning, you look good today," she greeted him with a huge smile.

"Thanks, by the way, why are you awake so early?"

"I wanna cook you a good breakfast before you go for your interview," she smiled and twinkled her eyes.

"Wow, you are so nice today, thanks!" He chortled.

"Are you trying to say that I am not nice on the other days?" She scowled at him and pouted.

"No, of course!"

She made him a huge bowl of soy milk noodle with seaweed. The blended soybean gave the broth a light and creamy taste, which made it just the right combination with the nutty, delightful aroma of the sesame as well as the savoury, umami ramyeon. It was an ideal food to start off his new day. He had never realised how good her cooking was until she made him this dish.

"You love it, right?" She queried, staring at him with her chin on the hands

"Yeah, how do you know that?"

"The way you eat it tells me everything already"

"I didn't expect that you could understand me that much, but OK, cool!"

"By the way, are you nervous?"

"A bit I guess, but I would rather say I am excited than nervous."

"Come on, don't be nervous, you're definitely gonna nail it...I mean...easily slide through it," she chuckled and then pinched his cheek.

"That makes me feel way better, thanks."

Yu Jin went on enjoying the noodles for a while. But then, he realised that Eun Chae had not got her breakfast yet. She was just sitting beside him and giving him an affectionate stare.

"Hey, stop sitting there and looking at me, you should go and make your breakfast too. You're staring at me like I'm your favourite meal, you know?" He cracked up.

"First, you're not my type. Second, I have late lecture today so I'm gonna eat later on. Just focus on eating the noodles I made for you."

Yu Jin nodded his head and finished his delicate breakfast in a blink.

"Goodbye, I'm leaving."

"Good luck! Remember, I'm gonna scold you if you don't do well," she laughed naughtily.

"Yes, Ms. Hong," he playfully drew out the words.

As Yu Jin was on the bus, he did nothing but focus on rereading his notes. At first, all he had in his mind was great excitement and kindling hope. But then, as the bus started wheeling, he also felt a tinge of anxiety which gradually grew as he proceeded closer to the venue.

He entered the building where he would have his interview and looked around. The hushed atmosphere here started to replace some of the anticipation in his mind with a feeling of unease. He was quietly sitting in the hall, feeling the chair burning with nervousness despite the cold air-cons being turned on. He was clasping his hand, closing his eyes to pray for a good result. In fact, Yu Jin was not that type of religious person, but in this case, he felt no harm in believing in some supernatural force which he did not even know about. It actually gave him an ounce of confidence, before a man called his name, guided him the way to his assigned room and the trepidation completely ensnared his head once again.

The interview room was a huge but empty room, with nothing but a laptop, a desk and a chair. The guide left, Yu Jin was now alone. He nervously came to the chair to have a seat. On the screen, there were three officers looking at him. Their demeanour seemed friendly, but that did not really alleviate any of his agitation.

"Hello, it's nice to meet all of you!" He shyly smiled.

"Nice to meet you too, how are you feeling right now?"

"To be honest, I'm a little nervous, but I hope everything will go well," he said with the timid smile still plastered on his face.

"Don't be nervous, we're very nice," one of the interviewers wryly laughed, "OK then to start off, why don't you give us a quick introduction about yourself?"

"Sure, I am Han Yu Jin. I'm from Busan, South Korea and used to study in Busan International High School, one of the most prestigious high schools in my city. Although I grew up in a lawyer family and studied in a school which focused more on humanities, I don't really have any interest in the field. I would say that I love science more, particularly biology, perhaps because I have been reading science books since I was very small. I think that some of my biggest strengths might include traits like diligence, hard-work and logical thinking. They helped me a lot in studying biology. I used to compete in the Korea Bio Olympiad, Anatomy Challenge as well as the International Biomedical Quiz, and won gold medals for all of them. I also got selected to attend the IBO in Switzerland two years ago but my parents did not sign the consent form so I couldn't fly there..."

"Oh, that sounds bad," one of the interviewers interjected him and sighed, "But why?"

"I mean...you know, they would prefer me to learn humanities instead of biology...But I think even without the IBO, I still have sufficient experience to become a doctor in the future. That's the reason why I'm looking for a scholarship to be financially independent from my parents, and Duke University is a perfect idea for me."

"You seem to have a lot of good achievements, that's absolutely exceptional. But we wonder why you have such a huge love for medicine. Why are you so determined about studying med despite your parents' disapproval?"

"I'm a very inquisitive person, and I suppose studying med will help me a lot in deepening my knowledge about biological science, especially human biology which has always been my greatest passion since I was in primary school. In addition, I find the joy in helping others, so I believe that doctor is a job which suits my personality. Seeing the doctors and nurses tirelessly working to take care of their patients, helping them to heal, I realised that being a doctor is, for me, not an option, but a calling. I want to be part of the healthcare workforce, and to offer hope to the patients together with my colleagues," he confidently expressed his thought, with a flame of determination lit up in his eyes.

The interview went way smoother than what he expected. It was not something unfathomable as he had been literally working like a dog for the last month just to get himself ready for this. He had looked up all of the things that were usually asked by the interviewers, so there was not any question which could hamper him too much.

"You have mentioned that your parents didn't approve your decision to apply for med school, right? Perhaps you have heard that studying in med school can be very intensive, especially when you don't do that in your home country. In that situation, encouragement and motivation from your family can be a paramount factor. So I wonder if you have ever thought about a way to change your parents' mind?"

That question was a sudden blow which hit him so hard that we went momentarily speechless. He had never expected that such a question would come out in his interview.

"Hmmm...honestly...I have never really mused on it but, I have tried my best to talk to them, yet could not win them over. Hence, I think the best I can do now is that...is that..." He began to stammer. Cold sweats started to trickle down along his spine, and his overwhelming anxiety could be seen on his face, more visible than ever before.

"Is that...?" The one who gave him the question inquired, while the other two fixed their stern gazes on him, impatiently waiting for an answer.

Thank you very much for making it this far! If you enjoy reading my story and are excited to find out what is going to happen next, don't forget to click the star to vote for me as well as recommend my story to your friends. You votes really motivate me a lot^^