As the elevator started to go up, Joo-Won could feel his heart racing. He looked around the slow-moving elevator. Maybe the slowness of the elevator that resembled a turtle was a sign for him to not go. He didn't even think about his decision twice, which made him wonder if he would regret it or not.

But it was too late now.

As the elevator stopped with a beep sound that made him flinch suddenly and the doors slowly opened, he quickly got out and walked towards room 280 before changing his mind.

When he finally reached the room, he closed his eyes for a second and took a shaky breath. Then, after checking and seeing no one around, he knocked on the door two times and started to wait. When he heard a humming noise that signaled him to come in, he slowly opened the door and walked up to the boy sitting on the hospital bed. Hwan was not looking at him, he was too focused on reading the thick book in his hands.

After thinking about what to say for a few seconds, Joo-Won cleared his throat. "H-hello." He watched in stress as the boy's eyebrows suddenly knitted as he understood he was not a nurse.

Hwan placed his bookmark on the page he was reading and closed the book, finally looking up and seeing Joo-Won. Joo-Won couldn't help but panic a little when he saw his expression. Hwan eyed the other one, who was playing with his hands stressfully, he could see the fear in Joo-Won's eyes even though he was trying his best to hide them.

Hwan sighed and put his book on the little cupboard next to him, thinking if he should call a nurse or not. But then, suddenly, he saw a flash of the first time they met and the horrified expression of the younger ones. Not to lie, Hwan was curious about what his deal was, so he decided not to call a nurse. After that, he turned to the tall stranger and hummed again, this time his tone was making it clear that he was implying he was asking the reason why he was there.

Joo-Won gulped and looked at his face. "I... I came here to apologize... for what happened that day. I feel very guilty... I feel like-"

Joo-Won quickly shut up as Hwan lifted his hand to signal him to stop. "Do you even know why you are apologizing for?"

The cold boy's monotone and deep voice made Joo-Won feel like he needed to take a breath to pull himself together. "I... I..." But nothing else came out, he was baffled by the sudden realization: Hwan had a point. He didn't know either. Neither why he was feeling guilty and wanting to apologize, nor why he was there. His actions without thinking were now making him feel like a dumbass. With a sudden embarrassment, he forgot where he was and smacked his forehead with his palm, which made Hwan flinch a bit. 

Hwan looked at Joo-Won like someone who just saw a UFO. "The fuck?"

Joo-Won widened his eyes when he heard Hwan's voice. He lifted his hand and tightly hold his wrist with the other hand of his. "I... shit..."

Hwan sighed, arms crossed on his chest and a tired and annoyed look on his face, but still waiting patiently for Joo-Won to talk. When he understood he was just going to choke on his own words like this, he huffed. "This is getting boring. Talk, or get out."

Joo-Won blinked a couple of times in surprise at how straightforward he was and tried to pull himself together. "Sorry I just... I am not really good at this so... I only wanted to say sorry, but... I just realized that I don't know why either. I know I did something wrong... or I guess I didn't? You looked really angry that day and I couldn't help but feel guilty." This time, Joo-Won was able to look up and glance at Hwan. "But I don't know why you were mad at me. I mean... What could I do? You were in pain and I was informed that you had a burnt and I just panicked when I saw you in pain-" When he realized he was not breathing while talking, Joo-Won stopped and took a deep breath while Hwan slowly uncrossed his arms. The anger on his face was slowly, really slowly, fading away. "I just couldn't let someone go when they were in a condition like that. I made that mistake once, and I can't do it again. I am sorry if I made you angry about something else but I can't apologize for caring about someone's health."

Hwan blinked a couple of times. He was actually right, it was a basic human reflex. But the thing he was mad about was not that he called the nurses. He was mad at himself for not being able to get away from those people.

Hwan sighed. "It's okay."

Joo-Won widened his eyes a bit. "R-really?"

Hwan nodded and took his book again. "Anything else?" He asked while he was opening the chapter he was again.

"I'm Joo-Won by the way!"

Hwan didn't lift his head nor say anything for a moment. Then, when Joo-Won was about to get out, he mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. "Hwan."

Joo-Won smiled brightly and bowed. "Nice to meet you Hwan! Hope to see you again!"

After Hwan heard the sound of the door closing, he lifted his eyes and looked at where Joo-Won was standing. It was not common for these things to happen, so he was a little, a tiny bit, interested in who he was.

(...)

After throwing out their trash to the bin, the two walked to the waiting room while chatting. It was one of the days when Kyong was only called in the morning, so now he had free time enough to hang out.

When they reached, he dropped himself on the soft and comfortable couch and smiled. Then, he patted his side, signaling Xander to sit beside him as well. Xander sat down and sit cross-legged on the couch.

There was a small amount of silence before Xander started the conversation. "So, Kyong, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Okay, so, I was born in Shenzhen. My grandma is Korean, so nearly every summer, we came here to spend the holiday. I lost my father when I was very little so it has always been me, my little brother, and me." When he realized and repeated what he said in his mind, Kyong scratched his nape in embarrassment. "Okay, that might not be the best way to introduce myself..."

Xander's face dropped. " No, no, it's okay. I'm sorry to hear that..."

"You don't need to. I don't even remember him, I was too young to know him. Maybe 2 years old?" He chuckled to himself. "Okay, let's continue. Hm... I studied medicine in university."

"Yeah I can understand that," said Xander while chuckling, which made Kyong smile too.

"Oh and I just moved here a month ago. I am still settling. Thankfully my Korean is enough to communicate."

"A month ago? Wasn't it hard for you to come here while you haven't fully settled in?"

Kyong shrugged. "A little I guess, but it doesn't matter. Okay enough about me, talk about yourself too!"

Xander's face dropped. He took a shaky breath and looked down. 'Fuck...' he thought to himself when he looked at Kyong's excited and curious face as he stole a glance. "Uh... The name's Xander, you know that already. I am studying Chinese literature."

When Kyong realized how much Xander was struggling to talk, he decided to help him out. "You said you used to live in China right?"

Xander smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Father took me there when I was nearly 10 months old."

Now the excitement on Kyong's face faded away this time. "10 months? But... It's too early. You were just a baby, isn't it dangerous to be away from your mother?"

"It was. I used to get sick all the time and it is still hard for me to be healthy." Xander smiled sadly. "But father didn't really care about that so..."

Kyong looked at him sadly and placed his hand on his leg, hesitating for a second before doing it.

Xander lifted his head and looked at him. He forced a smile and patted the hand on his leg. "Okay enough with this sadness... fuck I ruined it I'm sorry."

"No, you don't need to be sorry." Kyong placed his other hand on top of Xander's hand and held it. "I know we just met but I am glad that you think of me as someone you can open up to. I feel honored, to be honest."

Kyong puffed out his chest with a proud smile, which made Xander laugh. "Hey don't think you are so special, it's not a government secret after all."

Kyong turned to him with a pout. "You should have just let me have some fun~!"

Xander laughed again.

After chatting for nearly an hour more, Xander got up and took his bag from the couch he threw on when they entered the room.

Kyong got up as well and opened his arms as if asking for a hug. A split second of fear sparkled in Xander's eyes before he shook his head no. "I... I am not the hugger type."

"Oh okay sorry." Kyong awkwardly scratched the back of his head with a funny smile. Then he quickly bowed to say goodbye, which Xander did as well.

Xander chuckled and messed with Kyong's hair with a smile. "See you next week. Oh, and call me if you need help with moving!"

Even minutes after Xander got out and went away, Kyong was still looking at the floor, a silly smile on his face while his hand placed the place Xander touched.