Hana shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she and the nurse waited for the printer to finish spitting out sheets of paper. Once the machine had quieted down the nurse grabbed the pages and added them to the short stack that her patient was already holding. By now there were practically enough documents in her arms to comprise a short story, albeit a depressing one. The papers weren't the only thing she was leaving with however. A length of tape was wrapped around her wrist, trapping a cotton ball in place on top of the spot that the nurse had drawn blood from. The nurse pointed at a row of numbers on the topmost sheet. "This is the phone number to the physical therapist we refer people to. Doctor Kwun wants you to call them as soon as possible to schedule an appointment. Another thing to remember is that we'll be contacting you on your cell phone when your MRI appointment has been scheduled. Have a good day Miss Song."

The waiting room in the front of the clinic was empty save for a woman working behind the check-in desk. Hana paused at the front doors, mentally bracing herself for the freezing air waiting for her outside. Her sweater was thick enough to keep her torso warm but that didn't prevent the cold air from nipping at her face and hands as she hurried through the parking lot. By the time she made it to her newly acquired car Hana's ears had turned red. She hurriedly unlocked the door and jumped in, not wasting any time to set the heat to max. Hana picked up her phone and dialed a number on it. One ring later and a familiar voice came through. "Hey Hana, done with your appointment?"

"Yeah. Doc gave me a bunch of papers to read and he said I needed to come back for an MRI later. Quick question though, why did you send me to this guy? He's a total tool."

"Oh he's not all that bad once you get to know him. He's never really adjusted to being a civilian again after being in the military for so long but he's gotten better in the last few years. Normally he's fine but he probably thought he had to scare you to make sure you followed his instructions. Anyways I have some good news for you. I managed to find an apartment for you. I've filled out most of the paperwork but you'll have to go through and sign everything before it's official. I'll text you the address and meet you there okay?"

"Sure thing Seo..." said Hana, barely able to muster any enthusiasm as she ended the call. She slumped backwards against her seat and stared at the dull gray fabric covering the roof. Her phone buzzed and the address appeared on its screen. Hana looked at it for a moment before glancing out the window past the parking lot at the cars zooming past on the road nearby. After a bit she leaned forward and started punching the address into the cheap console this piece of junk had. The vehicle shuddered as it floated upwards before heading off to the road and joining the cars already flying down it.

Ten minutes later and her car took turned off the main road heading for one of the many identical apartment buildings in the area. As she drew closer to one of them Hana started counting the number of floors to get an idea of how many people lived there. Twenty floors in total, every one of them marked by rows of shining glass windows and concrete balconies. A white van with a very familiar looking logo painted on its side was idling in the parking lot, a bundled up Seo visible through the windows. Hana stuffed her medical papers underneath her seat before heading over to the van. She rapped her knuckles against the glass and gave a little wave when her mentor looked up. "Heya Seo. Let's get moving, it's cold out here!"

Seo grabbed some papers with a staple in the top left corner before joining Hana in the open air. Both women hurried towards the glass doors of the building, their breathes plainly visible in the air. The foyer of the building was fairly plain. Some potted plants, a wall of mailboxes with letters randomly sticking out of them and four elevator doors on each side of the hallway. Seo hit one the button to call an elevator and a nearby door slid open. The two of them stepped inside and Seo pressed a button indicating what floor they were going to. "So this apartment is on the top floor. That saves money on your heating bill since heat rises and all that. You won't have to worry about noise since no one is above you and you'll have a really good view Hana. Downside is that the mailboxes are all on the first floor. The biggest thing to worry about is your electricity bill. Do you know about pricing levels?"

Hana shook her head. Utilities had never been something she had needed to worry about. Someone else, her parents and later on Seo and the other coaches had always taken care of that. "So there's multiple levels based on how much electricity you use. If you get bumped up a level then it'll cost more per watt than the level below it. I know you're going to use your laptop and phone a lot so try to charge them somewhere else, at a PC Bang or something."

The elevator came to a halt on the top floor and the doors opened. Seo headed out into the hall, Hana just behind her, as she continued her impromptu lecture. "Now you're not actually paying for any of this, the team is footing the bill for everything, but utilities can add up fast so it's good practice to start paying attention to them now."

Seo stopped next to a plain wooden door near the end of the hall. "So these all use electronic keypads instead of regular keys." She peered down the hallway in both directions before turning to Hana. "1269. Go ahead."

Hana pushed each of the digits on the keypad and she heard the door's bolt unlatching permitting them entry into the small apartment. Just inside was a small patch of carpet where their shoes went. To its left was the washing machine with a gas stove set on top of it. A stainless steel sink with a fairly deep bottom was right by a fridge and freezer combo standing almost as tall as Hana. Seo glanced around the unfurnished rooms for a moment before opening the bathroom door. Inside was a tiled floor angled ever so slightly towards a drain in the middle. The toilet sat in a corner and there was a mirror sitting above a small sink as well. Lastly a showerhead connected to a metal hose was attached to a hook on the wall. "Your very own bathroom. No more finding other people's clothes on the floor or having to wait for them to finish and get out."

"Yeah... that's great..." said Hana, glumly looking down at the floor with arms folded.

"What's wrong Hana?" asked Seo, picking up on the younger woman's mood immediately.

"This is all happening so fast..." Hana said as she put her fingernails in her mouth and her jaw started to bite down on them. "And I don't know if I'm ready for this. I moved into the team house when I was sixteen and before that I lived with my parents. I've never been alone before..."

Seo immediately took her mentor into her arms, squeezing her fiercely. "Oh Hana... you're not alone. I promise I'll come visit you whenever I can and this is only temporary. You'll be back with us soon enough."

Hana buried her head into Seo's shoulder, trying to hide her tears. "I'm holding you to that."

"Right. Well you'll need to sign the papers and then we can go get your things. We'll need to make a run to the grocery store so you have stuff to eat. And we need to get you a plunger while we're at it. Whenever you move to a new place make sure you have a plunger even if you don't think you'll ever need it because the moment you do..."

Hana wrinkled her nose and pulled away from the embrace. "Ick. Good job killing the mood too by the way."

Seo grinned, her inner imp showing itself for a moment. "You're welcome Hana. Come on let's go. Anything else you need to take care of?"

"I need to set up an appointment with a physical therapist."

"You should do that right now then. It's gonna be a busy day."

Hana's first impression of the physical therapist's office was an older looking woman dressed in a blazer jacket and pencil skirt sitting behind a curving oaken desk. The next were a number of paintings hanging on the walls, which like the floor, looked to be made out of bamboo and polished until they were practically glowing. There were a pair of doorways on either side of the desk but only one of them actually had a door in it. The receptionist rose from her chair as Hana approached and bowed somewhat before sitting back down. "Hello Miss Song, it's a pleasure to welcome you to our clinic."

Hana stride faltered a tad and she came to a halt, a tad uneasy at being greeted by name. "What? I haven't even introduced myself yet."

"You don't need to. My granddaughter is quite a big fan of yours. I recognize you from the poster she has hanging above her bed. Now since you're a public figure you'll have your own room to yourself while here and we'll be assigning a single staff member to you for today as well as any future visits." The receptionist slid a clipboard onto the desk. "This is our standard liabilities waiver for all of our patients. Please read it before you sign."

Hana skimmed through the document. Blah blah blah, lawyer lingo. Not liable for any health issues getting worse, blah blah blah, successful treatment of health issues not guaranteed. Hana signed her name at the bottom and handed it back. The receptionist gave it a once-over before looking at her computer monitor as she typed something in. She turned in her chair and pointed at the closed door to her left. "Through there and you'll be in the second room on the right Miss Song."

To her surprise the room in question was actually fairly spacious and well equipped. A treadmill stood off to one side, a television fixed to the wall in front of it. There was a set of shelves made out of plastic white pipes holding a fair amount of items. Weighted medicine balls, jump-ropes, a pair of rolled up rubber mats, an inflatable exercise ball, elastic bands, foam rollers and several colored dumbbells of various sizes. The last thing of note was a full sized massage table sitting off in one corner of the room. A cough came from behind her and Hana turned around to see who it was.

A man just a few centimeters shorter than her wearing a pair of loose fitting khaki pants and a dark green tee shirt was standing there with a clipboard in his hands. To her surprise it wasn't a Korean, it was a foreigner and a very obvious one at that. The man's hair braided tightly to the scalp in multiple tight rows that gradually faded from a deep chestnut at their roots to an almost blonde shade at the ends dangling by his shoulders. The irises of his eyes were dark, almost like the coffee she had drink that morning, and his skin looked like mahogany save for a few lines of obsidian ink peeking out from beneath his left sleeve. She was the less surprised of the two however. His eyes opened wide when she finished turning around. " !?" he blurted out.

"That's me." replied Hana with a tiny shrug.

He looked down at his clipboard, back up at her then down at his clipboard again as he started laughing nervously. "So you're... the Queen of Starcraft... and I'm..." Abruptly he hit the clipboard against his forehead, the impact enough to make a dull thumping sound. "Okay I'm being an idiot here. Let me start over. I'm Lucio. Lúcio Correia dos Santos and I'm your physical therapist."

"Lucio... Correia... dos... Santos." Hana slowly rolled the man's name over her tongue, savoring the unfamiliarity of it. "That's a heck of a mouthful. Is it Mister Correia? Mister dos Santos? Or is it the whole thing? Correia dos Santos?"

Lucio started to wave his hands and say 'no' but the clipboard slipped from his grasp and flew through the air only stopping when it banged against the treadmill with a loud thwack. He cringed while ducking before going to go fetch it but then he stepped on the round handle of a jump-rope that had been left lying on the ground. The laws of gravity and momentum being what they are were enough for him to quickly find himself lying on his back, Hana above him and looking down with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, aside from my ego. At the risk of sounding cliché I swear I'm normally not this clumsy." said Lucio with a faintly sardonic grin. Hana held her hand out to him but Lucio waved it off as he rolled over and pushed himself back up with his hands, wobbling for a moment as he got his feet underneath him. "Heck of a first impression isn't it?"

"Could be worse. You could be bleeding or something..." Hana started to point out when the obvious dawned on her. "Wait you're speaking Korean."

Lucio blinked once then waved his dismissively as he tried to downplay it. "Well yeah, we're in Korea after all. Helps to speak the same language as everyone else here."

"Can I ask where you're from or would I be prying?"

"I'm from Brazil. Grew up in Rio de Janeiro." Lucio made his way over to the clipboard and picked it up. "You're not here to talk about me though, let's see here..."

He lifted the first page to take a look at the second. "Possible carpal tunnel syndrome, right hand is the worst of the two and issues with shoulder flexibility. You're trying to avoid surgery on your wrists right?" Hana nodded and Lucio went on. "Okay I'm going to give you some hand exercises you can do at home and I'll order you some wrist splints. I'll have to measure your hands and wrists though so I get the right size. That okay?"

"Go ahead." Lucio lowered the first page back to the clipboard before heading over to that shelf made of pipes. There was a plastic bin on the topmost row and he had to stretch upwards in order to reach it. The act of standing on the tips of his toes was enough to pull his shirt up revealing the elastic band of his underwear and the eyes of several frogs peeped back at her. Lucio pulled the bin off and rummaged through it before pulling out a cloth measuring tape.

Hana held a loose fist out in front of her and he wrapped the tape around her wrist before doodling a number in the margins of the documents he had been toting around. Next he gently spread her fingers apart and circled the tape around the middle of her hand as he measured the width of her palm before repeating himself on her other hand while making sure to write everything down. "All right I'll get that order form in after we're done here. Now I want to see what range of motion you have with your arms."

Lucio took a few steps back to give Hana some room and he folded his arms as he watched her. Hana felt some goosebumps on her arms and she felt her stomach growing a little warmer beneath the intentness of those dark eyes. He was only looking at her to see the problems she had with her shoulders but it still felt like she was putting herself on display somehow. The strange part was that it didn't really bother her for whatever reason.

Hana swung her arms from side to side and all around while keeping them below the plane of her shoulders as she tried to showcase what she was capable of at the moment. It wasn't until she tried to raise her hands above her head that discomfort manifested itself, that dull ache warning her not to go any further or pain would be arriving. "Right here is where it starts to hurt." explained Hana as she held her hands in place long enough for him to see before yielding to the ache.

"Well that looks like a rotator cuff problem to me. I'm not sure why Doctor Kwun didn't see that himself to be honest. I would recommend getting an MRI to make sure there isn't a tear but there's still some stuff we can do today."

Lucio set the clipboard aside and turned to face Hana as he demonstrated the first exercise. "This is a pretty basic exercise. Let's start with your right arm. Press it against your side like this then raise it up about forty-five degrees and hold it for a five count before lowering it back down."

Hana started to lift her arm as instructed but Lucio shook his head moving forward. "My bad, my bad. You need to have your arm thirty degrees in front of you when you do this, I forgot to mention it." He put one hand on her wrist and pulled it forward towards her. "Right there. So let's try seven more reps before doing eight with the other arm."

"This doesn't feel like it's doing anything." pointed out Hana once she had finished.

"Maybe not, but we can always add weight later. For now I just want you to learn the exercises and I want to see how you fare when using your shoulder muscles." explained Lucio. "Next one is going to need a resistance band." He grabbed one off of the shelf and tied one end to the handlebars of the treadmill. "Take this end here. Pin your elbow to your rib cage and keep your wrist straight then just pull your hand towards your stomach."

Hana grimaced as she tried to follow his instructions but the hardest part wasn't moving the band. It was keeping her fingers tight enough to maintain her grip on the band. As soon as she started to pull the rubber started fighting back, seeking to release itself from her grasp and after her fourth attempt it succeeded. Hana glared at the band for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I don't think I can hang onto that. Anything else you can suggest?"

Lucio rubbed at his chin. "Well I don't want to suggest anything too strenuous without knowing if there's a tear or not. Most of the other exercises I can think of would involve a band or be harder than the ones you just did. The only other thing that comes to mind would be a massage but there's a lot of debate whether or not that helps people with shoulder pain or carpal tunnel. Some doctors say it does but others say there aren't any good studies out there. You're the patient though so this one is up to you."

A massage. Hana gave the massage table a long look before returning her attention to the person whose fingers would be touching her flesh in this scenario. "What about you? What do you think?"

"I think it can be an okay supplement to other practices but not as a replacement for them. If I was in your shoes then I would go for a massage before resorting to surgery since it wouldn't cost anything to try."

Hana drummed her fingers on her arm before making up her mind and heading for the massage table. She turned around and pushed herself up with her hands so she could seat herself on it. Lucio walked up to the other side of the bed with what suspiciously looked like red cheeks and started to reach towards her but paused in midair. "Do you want me to start with your shoulders or your hands?"

"Hands I guess. We can save the best part for last." replied Hana, more than a little teasing in her smile. Lucio glanced down at the floor and muttered something that sounded vaguely like 'okay' before he took one of her hands in his.

He may have been clumsy earlier but there was no sign of that oafishness now. Lucio's hands were surprisingly deft as a matter of fact. As his fingers gradually kneaded their way around her fingers and digits she felt something rather unusual in their wake. It wasn't even something really, it was... nothing. Her fingers had been sore for so long that she had forgotten what it was like for them not to ache all the time even when she had been taking painkillers. "So… what brings you all the way to Seoul?" asked Hana as he kept at it.

Lucio's fingers slowed as he looked up from her hand. "What?"

"I'm curious. How does someone from Brazil end up working as a physical therapist in Seoul?"

"It's kinda a long story. The short version is that I wanted to see something other than Brazil. I got accepted to a university so here I am." explained Lucio as he moved on to her other hand.

"But that doesn't really answer the question." Hana complained, unsatisfied with his response. "That doesn't explain why South Korea or how you ended up working as a physical therapist."

Lucio didn't respond to the question, instead choosing to focus on her second hand for a bit longer before setting it down. "Now this is where this gets tricky. That's a nice sweater and all but it's in the way. Are you wearing anything under it? I don't want to make you uncomfortable by showing me your shoulders or... other parts." Lucio turned his head and buried his mouth in an elbow, using the pretense of a cough as a means to hide his face.

Hana giggled at his reaction though she couldn't help but feel a little touched by his attempt to respect her county's taboos. "Aww you're so cute! That shoulder stuff is dumb. They're shoulders." She hopped off the table and bent at the waist as she started trying to squirm her way out of the sweater while keeping her arms from raising above her shoulders. It took Hana a minute but she was able to get it off though not without her blue undershirt getting hiked up her back. Lucio gulped and spun around the second he caught a glimpse of white straps, mentally chastising himself for not turning around sooner. "Okay, I'm ready."

Lucio turned back around to see Hana was lying face down on the massage turn, her hands resting by her waist. He moved up to the table's head and started to put his hands on her shoulder then he saw it. Hana's elbows were tucked close to her sides but there was enough of a gap for him to see how the crooks of her elbows were discolored along with those track marks of hers. "Well?" demanded Hana, impatient for him to get started.

"Right sorry." mumbled Lucio as he got on with what he was doing and moved his hands into position. The fingers of one hand leisurely compressed and released their grip on the outside of her shoulder while the fingertips on his other hand stiffly pressed inwards all around her shoulder blade.

As his hands and fingers continued their work Hana felt her breathing beginning to deepen and she was starting to grow a little drowsy. Hana shook her head to break up the stupor as she rebuked herself mentally. She wasn't at a day spa and Lucio wasn't a masseuse. This might feel really good but it was still therapy. And then it stopped. "You're done already?" groused Hana.

"Already? I've been working on your shoulders for half an hour." explained Lucio. "I'd keep going but we're out of time and I have another patient coming in five minutes. We have another appointment in a week though." He held her sweater out to her which she took after reluctantly sitting up.

Hana got off the table and bent over again as she pulled the sweater back on. Once her head popped out of the fabric she gave Lucio the straightest, most serious look she could muster. "Maybe next time you'll do my thighs too."

Lucio's mouth formed a circle as he tried to process what she had just said but nothing came out except a tiny squeaking sound. Then as Hana was leaving the room with a cheeky grin on her face a single word filled the room.

"WHAT!?"