Great Friends are Hard to Come By

That afternoon, Jin Goo and In Guk came to visit the Lee trio.

"Yeo Ri?!" In Guk exclaimed upon noticing Yeo Ri in a hospital pyjama. He hovered around her, asking if she was alright. "Where are you hurt?" He anxiously asked.

"I'm fine, In Guk-oppa," she laughed, reassuring him. It was rare to see the happy-go-lucky man act so frantic.

"Stop bothering her," Jin Goo grabbed his friend by the collar, pulling him away from the girl. "So? What happened?" He cocked an eyebrow. He was worried about Yeo Ri but seeing her lively attitude, he figured she was fine.

"Just hypothermia. She played in the snow for too long yesterday," Hyuk explained in her stead with a glower. He was still not happy about the fact that she had gotten sick from her carelessness.

Yeo Ri blushed, shouting, "Oppa!" How could he just announce that out loud? She didn't want other people to think that she was that childish.

"Well, I can understand," In Guk says after calming down. "Who doesn't like snow? It's exciting, isn't it?" He grinned.

Jin Goo rolled his eyes, "A lot of people don't. It's cold and wet."

"But that's the best part!" In Guk cried.

"Are you still a kid, Joo In Guk?" Jin Goo sighed exasperatedly.

"I'm a kid at heart, thank you very much," he mumbled grumpily.

Yeo Ri cracked a smile at their interaction. "Jin Goo-oppa, you shouldn't bully In Guk-oppa so much," Yeo Ri says laughingly.

"Yeah, yeah!" In Guk immediately went to her side, looking at Jin Goo accusingly.

"Brat," Jin Goo clicked his tongue, glowering at In Guk.

"Hey, hey, hey! That's enough." Hyuk kicked In Guk's shin in warning. He didn't like how close he was getting to Yeo Ri.

In Guk hissed in pain from the surprise attack and jumped away, rubbing his shin. He glared at Hyuk, "What was that for?"

Hyuk bared his teeth at In Guk, looking as if he was about to beat him up, "F*ck's sake! Sit still, why don't you?"

"Fine, none of my friends care about me." In Guk sulked as he grabbed a chair to sit on. "Yeo Ri-ah, only you care about me~!" He wailed, waving his arms forwards towards the girl.

"Oppa~" Yeo Ri played along, reaching her arms out towards In Guk who sat at the bottom-left corner of her bed.

Hyuk pushed her arms down. "Hey!" He barked. He glared at In Guk in irritation, then glanced at Jin Goo. "So? Why did you guys come here for?"

"Is it so wrong for friends to visit their friends at the hospital?" Jin Goo teased. "Why else would we come here? We're worried about you, b*stard."

"Why are you acting like this, *sshole?" Hyuk shot back immediately. Jin Goo's words were so corny he cringed. He wasn't used to this kind of treatment from his friends since they were usually rougher and coarser with each other.

Jin Goo similarly blanched, rubbing his arms, "ugh, so disgusting! Can't believe I just said that."

Yeo Ri smiled, finding amusement in their interaction. Hyuk was showing a side to himself that she rarely saw.

Her eyes drifted to Gun who had been keeping quiet since the two men came in. She wondered if Gun was also like that with his friends.

'Wait,' Yeo Ri narrowed her eyes suspiciously, 'does Gun-oppa even have any friends?' She asked herself rhetorically.

It wasn't her fault for thinking of such an insensitive thing. She had never seen Gun with his friends nor does he mention them to her. Unlike Jin Goo and In Guk, Yeo Ri had never met anyone that called themselves her brother's friends.

'Is he being outcasted?' She thought worriedly. From the dramas she had watched in her spare time, kids in rich private schools tended to look down on poor students. Even though he was the top student, he was one of the few students who were on a scholarship at his school. She wondered if Gun was being bullied at school because of that. 'Is that why Gun-oppa doesn't have any friends?'

She glanced at him sympathetically. She understood the feeling of being outcasted by their classmates. It was horrible and demotivating.

"Oppa, fighting!" Yeo Ri cheered quietly for Gun as she held his hand.

"Huh?" Gun looked at her quizzically, wondering why she was suddenly acting that way.

If he had known what she was thinking about, he would probably burst into laughter.