I stretched my back and leaned slowly into the car seat. I could feel the strain around my neck as I tried to massage it myself. Closing my eyes, I was about to take a quick nap when I heard a soft knock on my car window.

Turning to my side, I smiled at the two familiar faces outside my car. I pressed down the button to unwind the window so that I could communicate with them.

"How come you are still here? I thought you left the office 15mins ago?" Harabeoji asked.

"I was thinking of resting for a while before heading to your house. Has everyone left?" I asked the old man who nodded his head. "Thanks for coming down to help me, Harabeoji. Thanks for the hard work also, Uncle Park."

"I should be thanking you for helping me settle this issue. Both of you were of really great asistance to me." Uncle Park bowed his head slightly before giving his signature warm smile. "You're heading to your Harabeoji's place? Then why is this man asking me for a ride?"

Uncle Park turn to his side as he pointed at Harabeoji. I explained that I had offered him a ride but Harabeoji didn't want to take my car.

"I'm scared of getting a heart attack if she speeds up. Furthermore, the seats are too low." Harabeoji explained his decision while Uncle Park just laughed.

"I'm going over to fetch Krystal. She went there to accompany Halmeoni when she found out that Harabeoji is at the office to settle the incident."

"That's so sweet of her. Both of you should settle down quickly. Marriage life is a bliss." Uncle Park gave his opinion.

"We've been telling her so many times already. I need to see her get married before closing my eyes." Harabeoji added his own comments before walking away, towards Uncle Park's car before I could say anything.

I bit my lips and sighed before starting my car engine.

An hour later, I reached the garage of Harabeoji's place and made my way into the house. It was almost 9pm by then and I just realised that I had been at the office for almost 12hrs. The house was quiet when I entered as no one seemed to be at the living room or the dining area. I saw one of the maids walking around and asked if she knew where Halmeoni and Krystal were.

After getting the answer from the maid, I made my way to Halmeoni's room. The maid informed that both of them had went to Halmeoni's room after dinner. But what worried me was how the maid informed me that Halmeoni was not feeling well at the moment. 

When I stood in front of the door, I tried to listen for any sound from inside the room but I couldn't hear anything. Knocking the door gently, I twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door slightly. I smiled at the scene beside me. Both ladies were already sleeping with Halmeoni on the bed while Krystal was lying on the arm chair near the bedroom window.

I made my way slowly towards Krystal and squated down beside her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep as I raised myself up a bit to plant a kiss on her forehead. She moved a little before opening her eyes slowly and smiled when our eyes met.

"You're back. What time is it now?" She asked as she stretched her arms out before sitting up straight. I replied her question and she blinked her eyes before looking at Halmeoni's direction. "Is Halmeoni still asleep?"

I nodded my head while Krystal stood up and made her way towards Halmeoni. She gently touched Halmeoni's forehead before adjusting the blanket that was covering Halmeoni. Krystal gestured to me to follow her out of the room as we made our way down to the living room.

"Is Halmeoni okay? The maid said that she was not feeling well." I asked as I took a seat beside Krystal on the couch.

"When I arrived earlier, Halmeoni was already not feeling well. She said that her stomach had not been so good for the past few days and she has lost her appetite too. I wanted to bring her to the clinic but she insisted that it will recover on itself. We had porridge during dinner but Halmeoni didn't eat much. She seemed to be having a fever earlier on so I gave her some medication before she went to sleep. By the way, where's Harabeoji?" Krystal looked around when she realised that the old man was not there.

"He should be reaching soon. He hitched a ride with Uncle Park because he was too scared to ride in a sports car." I chuckled at my own remarks.

"That's so cute. By the way, how's everything? Is the situation very bad at the moment?" Krystal asked as I told her that everything was under control. "Have you eaten? You've been out from the house since 7am this morning."

"I had a quick lunch with Harabeoji, Uncle Park and Jihyun at the office. We just called for food delivery since we were too busy to go out." I replied as I noticed a frown on Krystal's expression. "Wae?"

"Jihyun?" Krystal seemed to be in deep thoughts. "Ooouuhh.. Kang Jihyun. The airline CEO, right?"

I nodded my head as Krystal continued asking as to why she was there too. "Since she's one of the company's major partners, she needed to attend the meeting too. She's there to access the situation and to assist in any way possible."

"I see. She must have been a big help to you just now." 

I could sense a tint of jealousy in Krystal's tone of voice even though she was trying to act as if she was not affected. I scooted closer to her on the couch and wrapped my hand on her shoulder.

"She's helping the company. Not me. Indirectly, she's helping her company too since it'll affect them one way or another. It's all business." I smiled at Krystal who just pouted and nodded her head. "Why do you look so upset?"

"I wish I could help you in any way too. But there's nothing I can do." Krystal continued to pout while I chuckled.

"You helped me more than I could ever ask for. You took care of Halmeoni when me and Harabeoji were busy with the incident. That is something that I'm really thankful for. I would not have thought of even asking you to come here to spend time with Halmeoni but you did it on your own and I really appreciate what you did. You made me feel proud for having such a thoughtful and caring fiancee." 

I saw her blushing at my words as I gave her a hug before a knock on the door interrupted our moment.

************************

I saw the worried look in Harabeoji's eyes. I've never seen him like that before. Krystal was seated beside him, rubbing his back in a gesture of comfort. It was only a few days ago that I had went to fetch Krystal from my grandparents house. At that time, Halmeoni was already not feeling well as she had a slight fever with some discomfort in her stomach.

Krystal and I had wanted to stay that night but Harabeoji suggested for me to return home to have a better rest. His reason was that if I was there at his house, I would continue to fuss about Halmeoni's condition. He told me that I needed a proper rest after spending almost the whole day at the office, dealing with the fire accident that happened on board the cargo ship.

Just a few hours earlier, when Harabeoji called me to inform that Halmeoni had been admitted to the hospital, I instantly threw everything aside and informed Ms Jeon that I was leaving for the hospital. All my afternoon appointments were cancelled as I informed Krystal about it. Luckily, she didn't have anything much in the afternoon and Jessica had granted her time off to leave the office. So I went to fetch her before both of us proceeded to the hospital.

I almost wanted to nag at Harabeoji for not bringing Halmeoni for a check-up since that night when she was unwell but Krystal stopped me for doing so. She went up to Harabeoji and gave the old man a hug. That was when I noticed the solemn expression on his face.

The still silence was getting on my nerves as I paced up and down the hallway. We were waiting outside the emergency room because from what Harabeoji told me, Halmeoni had slipped into a coma. In the morning, Halmeoni was having a mild fever but no one expected it to escalate so fast in a few hours time. By the time the maid informed Harabeoji about Halmeoni's high fever, she was already too weak to respond to anything. The ambulance arrived soon and they tried to bring down her temperature while on the way to the hospital but she slipped into a coma just before they reached.

"Eunjin...." Krystal called out to me after I was lost in my own thoughts as she gestured to the lights of the emergency room that had went off.

I rushed to the door just in time as Doctor Ahn exited. Krystal helped Harabeoji to stand up as we waited for the doctor's review.

"We managed to bring down her temperature but she's not awake yet. We're still unable to determine if she's in a coma state or resting state because she's responding to us but her body might be too weak to allow her to wake up. We will continue to monitor her for the night and hope that she would be able to gain strength from all that resting. We'll be transferring her to the suite soon so I suggest that the 3 of you, get some food first before visiting her." Doctor Ahn smiled before patting my head as I just nodded.

"I'll go straight to the suite and wait for her." Harabeoji spoke the moment Doctor Ahn was no longer around.

"Didn't you hear what Doctor Ahn said? She asked us to eat first before visiting Halmeoni." I replied with a stern tone of voice.

"I don't need her to tell me what to do."

"So you think that you always know what to do? That you're always right and everyone has to listen to you? Then why didn't you bring Halmeoni to see the doctor when she was not well a few days ago? Why didn't you rush her to the hospital when she's already having her fever?" My tone of voice started to rise as Krystal tried to hush me down. "Stubborn old man. Do whatever you think is right. I can't be bothered with you."

With that, I turned away and made my way to the cafetaria.

Krystal's POV

"Eunjin... Eunjin.." I was a little stunned by her outburst as I tried to stop her from walking away. "What's wrong with her?"

"She must be feeling stress. Why don't you follow her and keep her company? I can make my own way to the suite myself." Harabeoji patted my hand which was holding on to his arm.

"But don't you want to eat something first, Harabeoji?" I tried to change his mind as the old man smiled while shaking his head slowly.

"Do you think I will have any appetite at this moment of time? Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You should try to comfort Eunjin. She needs your presence more than I do." Harabeoji continued to gesture me to go towards the cafetaria.

"Why don't I accompany you to the suite first before going to the cafetaria?" I suggested as Harabeoji finally gave in to me.

The walk to the suite was filled with silence as I kept thinking about Eunjin's sudden outburst. I must have been lost in my own thoughts that I didn't even realised we had reached the suite until Harabeoji had to grab my hand to prevent me from walking further.

"What are you thinking about? Eunjin?" Harabeoji asked as I pushed the door to the suite. 

They had not transferred Halmeoni to the room yet since Doctor Ahn had already informed that they needed to do further checks on her. I didn't reply to Harabeoji's question as I led him to sit at the couch in the room.

"Eunjin is worried about her Halmeoni. I fully understood her outburst earlier. You don't have to worry so much. She would have most probably calm down by the time you go to the cafetaria. Promise me not to scold her, okay." Harabeoji gave me a warm smile as I just nodded my head. "Go on. They should be on the way to transfer Halmeoni here. Let me have some private time with her."

Harabeoji chuckled as he shooed me away teasingly as I asked again if he wanted me to pack some food for him. He told me to get him something light like sandwiches or fruits but kept reminding me not to nag at Eunjin. I left the suite soon after as I made my way to the cafetaria. 

Looking around for her, I almost thought that she had left the cafetaria when I saw a lone figure standing at the open space beside the cafetaria. With her hands entwined and arms leaning against the railings, Eunjin seemed to be focusing on the view from where she was standing. I walked up towards her before turning around to lean my back against the railings.

"Have they transferred Halmeoni to the suite?" Eunjin broke the silence as I shook my head without saying a word. "So Harabeoji's alone there?"

I almost wanted to give a sarcastic reply to her for abandoning her grandfather but I was reminded of the promise that I had made with Harabeoji. Instead of answering her, I kept my silence to show my unhappiness. I noticed Eunjin letting out a sigh before she turned around and did the same pose as what I was doing.

"You must be upset with me for my actions earlier. I'm sorry."

"I don't think it's me that you need to apologise to." I replied, maintaining my tone of voice to sound as neutral as I could.

"Krystal... I... I...." 

There was a deep frown on her expression as I stole a glance at Eunjin. She seemed to be in a conflict as she stared into the sky and kept sighing.

Her actions made me feel a little guilty as I turned my body sideways so that I could face her.

"Wae?" My tone of voice softened as Eunjin turned to face me. I was taken aback when I saw her teary eyes. It was obvious that she was trying to stop her tears from falling. "Omo, omo.. What's wrong?"

I instantly pulled her into a hug as she rested her chin on my shoulder. I didn't hear any sound but I could feel some wetness on my shoulder. Rubbing her back, I waited for her to let out her feelings.

"Halmeoni... Harabeoji... They're the only family I'm left with." Eunjin stuttered with her words as I held her closer. "I mean.. I know I have the girls.. I have you.. Your family and all. But.... it's just not the same."

I tried to put myself in Eunjin's shoes and realised that I couldn't find the right words to console Eunjin at the moment. The words seemed to have stuck in my throat as I tensed up a little and tightened my hug on her. Eunjin pulled herself away as our eyes met before she broke into a small smile.

"Thanks for the hug. You don't have to say anything to console me. Your actions speaks louder than words." Eunjin said before letting out a deep sigh. "Do you want to grab any food before we go and take a look at Halmeoni?"

"How did you know that I was trying to console you?"

Eunjin only chuckled as she took my hand and entwined them with mine. She leaned in close to my ear and whispered her answer.

"Because you love me."

************************

"I'm so sorry for having to call you in at this period of time. By the way, how's your Halmeoni?" Uncle Park asked with a concerned tone of voice.

"She's still under observation. But luckily she had waken up after slipping into a coma yesterday while on the way to the hospital. Harabeoji sent his regards and apologised for not being able to attend today's meeting."

Uncle Park replied that he understood and there was of no need to apologies. He handed me a file as I took a seat across from him. I flipped through the pages while I listened to his explanation about the current situation. A beeping sound disrupted my attention as a message from Jihyun came to inform that she would be reaching in 10mins time.

"Jihyun said that she'll be here in 10mins. " I informed Uncle Park before letting out a heavy sigh. 

"Before the meeting starts, there's something that I want to ask. Do you think Jihyun will agree to invest further on us? I mean... She's been a great help to the company all these while but to what extend will this assistance go?" Uncle Park looked worried. "I heard from your Harabeoji that Jihyun's father tried to matchmake you with her during the initial stages of our partnership with K-line. Am I right?"

I nodded my head to Uncle Park's question before replying to him that I didn't have any thoughts of what was going to happen. Both of us then decided to just make our way to the conference room and wait for Jihyun there.

10mins later, just like what she said, Jihyun walked in to the conference room and greeted everyone that was present there. It didn't take long for the meeting to progress and it dragged for almost two hours before we decided to end it. I saw the apologetic look on Jihyun's expression before she said her goodbye and left the conference room. I told Uncle Park to give me some private time to think as he excused himself to return to his office. The only person who was currently with me at the moment was Ms Jeon.

"How are you feeling?" She asked the moment it was only the two of us.

"Numb." I replied because I seriously was not able to think any further or react to anything at all.

"Honestly, having you back at the office for the past few days reminded me of those times when I was still working under you. It's not the same with working under Uncle Park. It's not that fun working with someone older than you." Ms Jeon chuckled at her own words as I just smiled.

Ever since the fire on board the ship incident, I had went back to the main office to help out Uncle Park with the recovery processes of the matter. Initially, I thought that everything was under control but when the insurance claims from the companies affected were sent to us, I realised that the problem was bigger that I had expected. 

Even though the company had been making good financial progress over the years and had even manage to lift the company's financial status out of the red zone, the current incident would plummet us back down. This time round, it could be worse than before.

"I was not putting up my hope on K-line investing more in us but I don't seem to be able to accept the reason given by Ms Kang for not being able to do so. But then again, I can see that her hands are tied too since the final decision was made by her father." Ms Jeon continued to give her opinion about the whole matter.

I was about to say something when my phone rang and I saw the workshop number appearing on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Eunjin. It's Soo. Just want to check in on you. How's everything?"

"Not really good at the moment. Anyway, how's the preparation for the opening tomorrow?" I asked as Sooyoung replied that everything was going as planned. "Soo, I'm really sorry for troubling you with all these. I should be helping you out at this point with the opening of the cafe and workshop but you're handling all these on your own. I've already burdened you by delaying your honeymoon and know with everything that is going on.... I..."

"Hey, hey, hey... Eunjin. Stop. Don't blame yourself because it's not your fault. Furthermore, I can handle all these and I'm not alone. Yoona, Victoria and the other girls are helping me out too. So don't worry, alright. The shipping company needs you at the moment so concentrate on that. Just don't forget to attend the opening ceremony tomorrow." Sooyoung laughed out loud as I chuckled along. "By the way, how's Halmeoni? Will she and Harabeoji be able to attend tomorrow's event?"

"I'm not sure about that. I haven't really asked Harabeoji about it but if they can't make it, it's fine with me. Halmeoni needs lots of rest and I rather she rest at the hospital that tire herself out. I don't want her to suffer any relapse." 

"Okay. I understand. By the way, the girls are planning to have dinner at Twin Towers later. Drop by if you can do so, okay." Sooyoung informed me as I told her that I would check with Krystal first before getting back to her with the answer. "Alrights then. Take care."

I put the phone on the table and let out another sigh. It's really been a hectic week after the wedding. 

"No wonder you seemed so haggard. I just remembered about the opening ceremony of the workshop and cafe tomorrow. So, I assume that after the opening, your workshop will not be fully in operation since you'll be busy here, right?"

"I manage to employ two part-timers to cover my absence at the workshop. Sooyoung would be around to monitor them so it won't be a problem. The two kids are university students, majoring in engineering and trying to earn some money during their semester break. Both of them had worked part-time before at Sunny's father workshop. Sunny was the one who helped me to get hold of them." I explained to Ms Jeon who nodded her head. "I'll still come down to the workshop to check on things but maybe not on daily basis. Hopefully, Uncle Park can find a way to resolve this issue so that I could just concentrate on the workshop."

"I hope so too. By the way, I think it's time for me to go back to my desk to prepare the minutes for the meeting just now. Send my regards to Halmeoni when you see her and I wish her speedy recovery. I know there's a lot of things going on at the moment but handle one thing at a time and don't stress yourself out. One more thing, don't forget to check with Krystal about the dinner meet-up." Ms Jeon smiled as she arranged all the documents and files on the table.

"Thanks, Unnie. You're the best." I showed a thumbs up to her as Ms Jeon chuckled before she made her way out of the conference room.

Grabbing my phone, I typed a message to Krystal.

Do you want to have dinner with the girls at Twin Towers later? - Eunjin

Sica-unnie just informed me about it 10mins ago. I told her that I need to check with you and was about to ask you when your message came in. I'm fine with anything. By the way, how was the meeting? - Krystal

The meeting didn't go as well as I thought. I will update you about it when I come over to fetch you from work. See you later. - Eunjin

I made my way back to the office where Uncle Park was and continued our discussion to find ways to settle the whole issue.