Gaining Experience

Secretary Kwon dropped Yeo Ri off at the entrance. He had wanted to follow her inside, but Yeo Ri forbade him seeing as she did not want to be seen with him—there were quite a few people who knew her at the hospital, and she didn't want them to gossip.

Yeo Ri was familiar with the layout of the hospital so she easily made her way to her friend Ra Hee's room without any referrals.

Yeo Ri stopped in front of the door, schooling her expression into that of cheerfulness and mischievousness.

Peeking through the narrow glass panel on the door, she could see her friend staring intently at her sketchbook, her hand moving continuously as she drew something.

As quietly as possible, she opened the door and slipped into the room.

As luck would have it, Ra Hee was deeply absorbed in her work, so she did not realise Yeo Ri's presence until her shadow towered over the girl.

"Bah!"

Yeo Ri tapped the other girl's shoulder suddenly, scaring her out of her wits.

"Omo—!" Ra Hee exclaimed in surprise. Her head snapped towards Yeo Ri, and once she realised what the girl had done, her face flushed.

"Lee Yeo Ri, you—!" She started hitting Yeo Ri's arm, feeling both flustered and annoyed. "I almost had a heart attack!"

"Why can't you just greet me like a normal person?" She grumbled.

Yeo Ri giggled in response. Instead of answering, she turned her gaze towards the sketchbook Ra Hee was holding.

Noticing her gaze, Ra Hee quickly shielded her work-in-progress. "Don't look!" She shrieked, panicking.

"Oho~" Yeo Ri smiled widely, "I saw it~"

"Wh-what!"

"You must really like that boy, huh~" Yeo Ri teased. She had caught a glimpse of the drawing. Though incomplete, she could make out a male profile, with short hair and broad shoulders. It must've been a sketch of Ra Hee's mysterious boy-friend whom she had yet to meet, she supposed. Ra Hee seemed intent on keeping him a secret from everyone, treating the matter as though he was a treasure only meant for her eyes.

Though curious, no one felt offended by her secrecy. Rather, the fact that she was trying her best to hide him made it fine fodder for them to use to poke fun at the girl. Seeing her squirm from embarrassment had somehow become the recent hobby of the nurses and neighbouring patients.

"Wh-what boy?!" Ra Hee's voice cracked. She coughed awkwardly, pacifying herself, "I-I mean, what are you talking about, Yeo Ri-ah? I was merely doodling randomly."

"Oh, is that so?" Yeo Ri pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing. "That's awfully detailed for a random doodle. You must be really skilled, Ra Hee-ya~"

"..." Ra Hee closed her eyes, turning away from her friend. 'No comment,' her body language seemed to say.

"A-anyways, what are you doing here?" Ra Hee cleared her throat awkwardly as she fumbled to hide the sketchbook.

"Can't I visit my friend if I want to?" Yeo Ri raised her eyebrow, smiling. "But anyways, why were you drawing him? Do you miss him or something? Even though you see each other so often."

Ra Hee glowered at her friend, but did not get angry. Instead, she sighed deeply. "He's getting discharged."

"Oh? When?"

"Tomorrow," Ra Hee sighed again.

"What's the matter, though? It's not like he can't visit you anymore."

Hearing her words, Ra Hee seemed to deflate. "That's the thing. I don't know if he'll come visit."

"What? Why?"

"I never told him where my room is, for one thing. We usually meet at the rooftop. And besides..."

"—Besides?"

"...Besides, he's moving soon," Ra Hee's eyes reddened. The corners of her mouth pulled downwards. Her lips trembled, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "I don't know if I can see him anymore."

"...But you can call each other, or text, or message each other on social media?" Yeo Ri almost rolled her eyes at Ra Hee's dramatic behaviour. "This is the twenty-first century; just ask for his number."

Ra Her scowled at her insensitive friend. "We... we're not that close yet. I see him every few days and all we talk about is stupid stuff. Actually, I don't think we're close enough to be called friends," Ra Hee confessed, biting her lips. "I feel like I'm the only one invested in this. It feels like he'll never come back once he leaves. It's scary."

"..." Yeo Ri closed her mouth, no longer laughing. The atmosphere had turned so serious all of a sudden and she did not know how to comfort the girl. Yeo Ri silently listened to her friend.

"I've been in this hospital almost my whole life, so a lot of people I know here leaves at some point. But... watching others leave is never easy. I actually cried when you got discharged too, you know?" Ra Hee's cheeks reddened. Quickly, she added, "D-don't make fun of me!"

Yeo Ri smiled.

Even though she was constantly riling up Ra Hee, Yeo Ri was somewhat grateful to the girl. Thanks to her, her stay at the hospital had been more bearable. Ra Hee was friendly and often kept her company whenever she could, and the two grew closer in no time. Ra Hee had became one of her close friends since then. That was why, even though Yeo Ri had already been discharged, she continued to visit the hospital.

"Aw, you're so cute, Ra Hee-ya," Yeo Ri cooed, patting the other girl's head.

Ra Hee's blush deepened. "Hey! I'm older than you," she grumbled, slapping her hand away.

"Hehe," Yeo Ri giggled. She rubbed the back of her palm which Ra Hee had just slapped. It didn't hurt, but she still rubbed it out of habit.

"Don't worry too much," Yeo Ri comfortingly said. "I'm sure he'll come back to visit you in the future."

"...Yeah." Ra Hee looked out the window, a glint in her eyes showing that she was hoping for the same thing.

Seeing an opening, Yeo Ri nonchalantly dropped a bomb, "Oh, speaking of which, I'll be filming for a movie tomorrow."

"—What?!"

Yeo Ri shrugged her shoulders calmly. "It's just a small role, though. The protagonist's little sister who only appears in one scene."

"But still, that's great! Congratulations, Yeo Ri-ah! I knew you'd be famous sooner or later." Ra Hee clapped her hands excitedly. Her best friend was going to be a movie star! Her eyes glittered at the thought.

Yeo Ri laughed at her friend's overexcitement. "What are you talking about? It's just a tiny role. I thought it'll be a nice conclusion to my contract."

"What? So you're not going to continue acting? That's a shame..." Ra Hee wilted in disappointment almost immediately.

"You... I haven't even started acting yet, you know? How do you know if my acting is going to be good enough for me to stick around?" Yeo Ri's lips twitched. What was it with the people around her, always carrying such high expectations of her? Although she agreed that she often told believable lies, acting was a completely different matter. Who knew if she could actually do it for real.

Ra Hee made a face. "What? Who cares about acting? Acting can be learned. It's that face! The face is the only thing that matters! It's too much of a pity to not display it on every screen, you know?!" She grasped her fists, looking passionately at her friend.

Yeo Ri smiled helplessly, thinking, why does those words sound so familiar...?

She shook her head, sighing, before continuing, "You were right about me having an ulterior motive to visit you, though. The character I'll be playing is a girl with a terminal illness who had been hospitalised for a long time. I thought I'd look to you for inspiration."

"Ah! No wonder," Ra Hee nodded in understanding. It was true that she really fit the bill for Yeo Ri's inspiration.

"Though, in my case, I'll be completely cured once I get a kidney transplant," Ra Hee sniggered lightheartedly. "Maybe in a few years? The doctor said I have, like, five years left before things get too serious," she shrugged.

Despite her light tone, Yeo Ri knew that the situation was more serious than she had said. Getting a kidney donor was far too hard; Ra Hee had been on the waiting list for almost ten years, yet there was only disappointment after disappointment. It was only a matter of time before her body fails her.

Seeing Yeo Ri's forlorn look, Ra Hee chose to laugh instead. "Don't give me that look; it's so annoying!"

"Don't worry about it, Yeo Ri-ah. Everybody dies sooner or later. It's just that I happen to know when my expiration date is. It's okay; I've already prepared myself," she added.

"..."

Yeo Ri did not know what to say to the girl. Despite her nonchalance, Yeo Ri could see the spark of sadness and unwillingness in Ra Hee's eyes. It made her feel ashamed of the times when she herself had felt like giving up.

After a moment of silence, Yeo Ri found herself saying: "...You're pretty strong. Ra Hee-ya."

Ra Hee laughed again, "What kind of nonsense are you saying, now?"

Afterwards, the two brushed away the topic of death and spent the rest of the day talking about anything and everything.