"Eomma," Hee Young whispered as she cuddled closer to her mother. "I'll be fine, right? I won't die, right?"

"Hee Young," she chuckled, squeezing her arm. "You're fine. You were already cleared by the doctor remember? And I had to make sure you're okay before they released you."

It's been a week since the bomb dropped, and it's as if life was never the same after that. 

Hee Young and Chung Ae were still stunned over their own father meeting them in the most unfortunate way possible, and not only that, but having him to meet their own mother in such a situation. They couldn't even speak for some time when they were in the emergency room that day, thinking about how fast everything was happening, and it was as if all of their plans and scenarios of them meeting the way the want them to suddenly had to be thrown away in a blink of an eye.

In the midst of it though, they didn't escape their mother's wrath. 

The moment they got home from the hospital, she wasted no time to give an extensive, and pretty heated, lecture about going to far places, especially alley ways, without telling her or their own grandmother. The twins were afraid that she would almost blow her head off from the stress she had in telling them about what they've just done.

Now, they faced the quiet aftermath as they laid down in their Eomma's bed, with Eomma in between the two children as they laughed and talked to each other about their day.

"...And are we not grounded anymore?"

"Nope." She sighed. "You two are grounded until next week, remember?"

"Eomma..." Hee Young pouted at her. "We promised we won't do it again."

"I know, but you're still grounded." 

"Eomma," the young boy asked beside Ji Hyun. "What happened to the man?"

"The man?"

"The man you talked to last week? The one after our accident?"

Halmeoni had strict instructions towards the children the moment they were left alone in Hee Young's room that night. They swore to never let their mother know that they know the real identity of their father and how they knew it, and that once she was ready to say anything about him, that's when they listen. 

"I... I talked to him." She sighed. "Don't worry, he covered our expenses and I didn't fight him, if that's what you're wondering." 

"But Eomma," Chung Ae sat up, still in his mother's grasp as she had her arm around him. "You know him, right? You know the man?"

Ji Hyun and Hee Young followed him as they sat up and rested their back on the headboard. The mother pulled her children closer, rubbing their shoulders as she leaned her cheek on top of her son's head.

"Goodness," she laughed. "Of course I do. He's a celebrity, so I do know him." 

The twins were silent, and Ji Hyun felt that something was already off with them. The elephant in the room was too big to ignore, and so, she struck the first word. 

"Do you know him?"

The children looked at each other, before they nodded. "We saw him in a water bottle CF on TV before."

Ji Hyun stared at her children, raising her eyebrows at them. "You know, don't you?"

Chung Ae's eyes widened slightly, and Hee Young pressed her lips together, and that was enough to confirm Ji Hyun's suspicions.

Darn Eomma's intuition, honestly.

She sighed in response. "I'm not mad at you two, so it's alright."

The two looked down on their laps, before Ji Hyun gave each a kiss on their head. "I'm sorry it took so long for you to realize who your appa was."

"It's alright, Eomma." Hee Young murmured. "We know how hard it is for you to talk about him."

"Who talked to you about him, anyways?" She raised her eyebrows at them, but before they could reply, she stared at them sternly.

"It was Halmeoni, wasn't it?" 

Silence. 

"Of course," she murmured. "It had to be."

It was amazing how Ji Hyun could crack the secret without them even trying to speak. But despite this, the twins still felt bad that they kept something from their own mother. 

"But, I get you two." She sighed. "I know why you had to hide it from me."

Hee Young winced slightly from the words, but she continued. "I think I owe you the truth about your father, right?"

The twins nodded slowly, and Ji Hyun started caressing their hair as she spoke. "Your father is a pretty famous actor, and being famous meant that he was busy with being in the public. He meets and works with a lot of people, and he has a couple of people that admire him from all around the world." 

They watched as she looked somewhere far, like she was lost in her own story. "Do you know the restaurant we always go to whenever we go to Busan? The one our relatives owned?"

The twins nodded. "Well, I went there one time for the summer, since I needed a break from medical school, and I needed a bit of money as well."

Ji Hyun smiled at the memory. "We met in that very restaurant. And, it was actually quite funny how we met. You want to know what happened?"

They nodded enthusiastically, and all she could do was chuckle. "Well, your appa ate in the restaurant with one of his friends, since he was there for a small break. Then, he accidentally spilled some of his beer onto the floor, and in return, I slipped on it. Imagine your eomma covered in kimchi and rice with her on the floor."

They watched as their mother smiled to herself, the image still fresh in her memory. She still remembered how she glared at him after that moment, and he was persistent on at least making things better on her part. She realized how cold and stubborn she was when he tried everything to at least accept his apology. Her lips slightly curved up at the thought, thinking about how much of a fool he was, but nonetheless, he was just as charming as ever. Her children chuckle at the story, and that was enough to pull her back to the moment. 

"And then what happened, Eomma?" Hee Young asked.

They watched as she pressed her lips together. "Well, needless to say, your father and I fell in love after some time. And the rest is history."

Their mouths gaped as they tried to digest the story. "So, you met Appa when he wasn't famous yet?"

She let out a breath, "He was already famous that time, but we always had a policy to treat our customers as if they are normal people. Even if it was our president, I would treat him equally as I would with any normal person."

"Woah," Chung Ae spoke. "So, Appa is really famous until now?"

"Yes, he is." She smiled. 

"Eomma..." The son followed. "Are we allowed to meet our appa? Will we ever see him again?"

She patted his head. "Of course you are, and you will see him again, don't worry. We'll make a way. He's your appa. He deserves to see his babies, am I right?"

The twins nodded at her, and just as they were about to get some shut eye for the night, just when Eomma finally turned off the lamp beside her bedstand, Hee Young scooted closer to her mother, nuzzling herself into her embrace.

"Eomma," she whispered. "Do you still love Appa?"

She wasn't sure if she heard her, but if the tear that dropped suddenly on her cheek was the answer to her question, she didn't say anything as she let her slumber take her.

___
 

"Bags?"

"Okay!"

"Uniform?"

"Okay!"

"Finished assignments?"

"Okay!"

"Lunch?"

"Okay!"

"T-money card?"

"Okay!"

"Personal toiletries?"

"Okay!"

"Eomma's kiss?" 

"O—Wait!"

Ji Hyun laughed as her kids scrambled in her car to give her a kiss on the cheek, before she reciprocated as well. They were ten minutes early for school, given at how strict she is when it comes to time, as well as how far the school was from her hospital. But nonetheless, this was one of her favorite parts of her day before she starts her 24-hour shift.  

"Have fun at school! No fighting! Always clean your surroundings! And remember to eat everything in your lunchbox! I don't want any leftovers, alright?"

"Yes ma'am!" The two saluted her, and all she could do was pull them back in a bear hug, knowing very well that she'll spend another day without them. 

"Be good, alright?" She murmured, and they nodded as she patted their shoulders and stepped out of the car. The twins waved enthusiastically at their mother before they ran inside the premises, and Ji Hyun watched until they disappeared out of her sight before she drove off. 

She kept herself occupied with some of the latest songs from a girl group she loved back then, thinking about how far they've come from their debut performance, and she hummed happily to the tune. Just when she was cruising along the highway, she sees his billboard, his bright smile shining over the cars that zoom past him, a gift box in his hand as he promotes a department store. She sighed to herself as she drove past it, and she had to shake her head at how Fate was trying to play tricks on her. It still felt surreal to her how out of a million vehicles and people that had to almost kill her children, it had to be him and his van. The foundation she tried to build to make sure her children won't find out about him had stumbled after that day, and it was as if she couldn't face him anymore. It won't be long until they won't acknowledge each other's existence and live their separate lives, despite being parents for their own children. She thought that maybe she should just let her own mother take her children to their father if they could. Her heart tugged slightly at the thought, but she didn't have any choice. It was the best for the two of them, and for their children.

She kept comforting herself with that thought as she finally made her way inside the hospital, making a beeline for her clinic and settling her things. A knock on her door suddenly interrupted her. 

"Euisa-nim." Hyo Jin, her secretary, came inside the door. "Your pretty early today."

"Just an hour early, had to bring the kids to school." She chuckled, before she turned to her. "Oh, Hyo Jin, how many patients are we handling today?" 

"You have seventeen in your list so far." She replied. "But, Ae Ra-ssi is asking you to come down to the reception area immediately. Director Song said something to her when she walked past her."

"Director Song?" She raised an eyebrow. "What happened now?"

"I don't know either, but she wants you to come down, now." 

With that, she wasted no time as she thanked Hyo Jin for her message, before she grabbed her white coat from the coat rack and walked out of her clinic. The moment she reached the reception area, she raised an eyebrow at her.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Actually, Director Song asked me to relay a message, since one of the doctors couldn't make it today."

"Why can't she tell me herself?"

"She was pretty busy," Ae Ra scratched her neck. "She had a lot of people in her entourage today, and she couldn't even contact her secretary since he was just as busy as her."

She sighed. "And that is?"

"What is?"

"The message, Ae Ra-ssi."

"Oh, we have a new batch of civilian volunteers for the program by the conference room." Ae Ra nudged. "Heard that you'll be the one orienting them and all."

"Why me? What happened to the assigned doctor?"

"Exemplary track record, remarkable backstory, and frankly, and I quote "the nicest, yet strictest doctor in the hospital", as said by Director Song." She raised an eyebrow at her. "Also, Doctor Kang couldn't make it. He had an urgent family emergency, so he had to fly back to Jeju just this morning." 

"God, Director Song is literally just gassing me up at this point." She muttered to herself.

"Also, you did this last year, so it wouldn't really hurt for you to just go in there and say a few words. After all, you are one of the doctors subjected under this program as well, since you suggested the reformatting of the program, remember?"

"Of course." She murmured as she walked away from the reception desk, fixing her ponytail along the way, as well as checking her reflection on the glass case for the hose, making sure that she looks at least presentable for the volunteers. After all, she'll be spending some time in the institution with them for at least two months, so might as well make a good first impression. When she finally fixed her coat and applied a layer of balm on her lips, she briskly walked towards the elevator, waiting until it stops by the eighth floor, before straightening herself up. She struts with confidence as she made her way to the oak double doors, the CONFERENCE ROOM plate shining under the hallway lighting. She gave herself a momentary pep talk with every step she took. 

"You're a strong, confident woman. You're going to prove yourself inside that room that you're not someone to be messed with. You are one of the best doctors in the institution. You should act like it."

She sighed to herself, before plastering a serious look on her face as she turned the handle and made her way inside the room. 

"Good morning," she sternly spoke, and a series of murmured greetings rung inside the room.

"I'm Doctor Nam Ji Hyun, resident cardiologist in the Cardiology department here in Gangnam Fairmount—"

Her introduction stopped the moment her eyes laid on the volunteer seated by the left side of the conference room. He had his arms and legs crossed, his body in the white polo uniform and black pants, like the rest of the volunteers, but his presence alone was different from the rest of them. There was an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at her, the same, piercing eyes she never thought she'd meet after a week. It was like a dream, and she wished that it was, but as she blinked, she knew that he was there. He raised his eyebrows at her as he waited for what else she had to say.

"...Hospital."

It's him.