Chapter 13. Surprise

He checked the sky and thanked heavens for the cloudless firmament above him. The ride would take him a good deal of time to go back but he needed to be there as soon as he could—too excited on proving his theory about the three million dollars.

The place was secluded in a hilly place where the breezy air might have originated. It was a big building enhanced with fresh paints to hide the years that went by. The trees and the plants along the walkway increased the cool hissing of the wind on his skin and he regretted not wearing his coat.

The receptionist told him to wait at the visitor’s lounge since he doesn’t have any appointment with the Director. He stood and inspected the collage on a spacious wall. It told him of the events that transpired through the years as suggested by the different colors of the photos—black and white to sepia to colored.

He noticed one photo of a woman feeding a child while a little girl with almost the same age as Euna tugging behind her. Goosebumps crawled over him when he recognized the woman to be the Chairman’s wife—but so much younger in the pictures than the ones he sees in the office all the time. The little girl, although he could barely see clearly because she was almost facing away from the camera, was no less than little Joohyun with her long hair in pigtails. Another goosebumps crawled on his skin when he noticed the striking resemblance to his own daughter.

Yonghwa walked away from the view.

Just in time, the receptionist walked back in the room and told him that the director of the center was free to see him and he wrapped up his excuses in his mind for being there and decided that he would pose to be someone interested to be a donor. The hospital has a minimalist design but the rooms he managed to peek at looked cozy and child-friendly. Despite being a medical institution, the place was free from the stereotyped medicine smell that he could almost tell fresh flowers blossom around it.

The director’s office was small and simple like the other rooms and the lady who happened to be a doctor looks pleasant with her ready smile, “I reckon you are Mr. Yonghwa Jung from the Seo Group of Companies?”

“Yes, ma’am, but I’m not here to represent the company but myself alone,” he took a seat across her after she gestured for him to do so.

“Let’s not be so formal Yonghwa-ssi, is it okay if I call you that?”

“My pleasure, ma’am.”

“And you too must call me Doctor Yuri instead,” she winked, “It’s my pet name around here.”

The doctor made him feel comfortable in an instant that he was guilty of going there to get information. He started, “I heard that you are a charity institution and it has been my plan to help in any way for a good cause.”

“We are so thankful that there are people like you,” the woman placed her hand on the table, “Right now, a new building is under construction at the back of this old one as part of our expansion. It will be the Rehabilitation Center and other activity rooms for the kids so—“

A light knock distracted Dr. Kwon then a nurse came inside the room, “I’m so sorry to bother, but Doctor, we have problem downstairs…”

“Oh, okay,” she smiled at the young lady then turned to Yonghwa again, “I’m sorry Mr. Jung but can I leave you for a while?”

“It’s okay, Doctor,” he stood and bowed when the doctor left.

Yonghwa knew that he shouldn’t do what was playing on his mind but he could not help himself anymore. He glanced at the door and listened carefully at the outside noise then decided to peek at the documents on the table. He felt silly knowing that he might not find anything that could help him there but he wanted to take all his chances. He slowly leafed through the papers but nothing revealed important; just as he was about to sit again, a yellow folder peeked under the pile.

He slowly tucked the documents on top of the folder then let it slide carefully to avoid any sign of intrusion. A soft murmurs caught him dead as he stood still and took a deep breath when the voices faded. He opened the folder and peeked inside. Another noise caught him off guard that some papers on the table fell on the floor so he ducked thinking that someone was about to enter but realized that it might be his imagination.

He picked up the papers and laid them on the table then continued leafing through inside the folder. His heart pounded with his little act and he could feel his sweat running on his back. Suddenly he saw it, the letters became bolder— photocopies of checks with a very familiar signature. Groaning, he flipped another page and saw purchase requisition forms for some medical equipment he was not familiar of. Putting two and two together, he sighed and confirmed how foolish he was.

Yonghwa slowly laid everything in order and tried hard to remember their original appearance before his invasion. Just as he was about to go back to his seat, the door opened and a bewildered face of Dr. Kwon caught him off guard, “I… the wind blew the papers…” he managed to say motioning for the open windows. He should thank his mother for he just realized how intelligent he is.

“Thank you, I’m sorry you have to witness my mess of genius,” Dr. Kwon shook her head chuckling as she walked towards the end of the room closing the windows, “We’re busy lately so everything is not in order.”

“It’s okay,” he wiped his sweat.

“Where were we? Oh, about the new center,” she continued discussing about their recent project.

Yonghwa felt guilty with what he just did especially how accommodating his host seemed to be. All information matched. He felt stupid then blurted out without even realizing, “Dr. Kwon, I can’t promise to give a huge am