Chapter 45

It wasn't exactly easy walking into the cafe with only one eye, she thought opening the door slowly then stepping inside. Soon, she felt multiple pairs of eyes staring—more like gawking—at her. She made her way towards the bar not able to see someone on her left carrying a tray. “Oh no...” Annie gasped, turning to see Jongup covered in fluids. The tray was lying flat on the ground along with a few glasses. There was a huge spill. The attention eventually shifted over to them. “I'm so, so sorry, Jongup!” she leaned over frantically to help him pick up the tray and the spilled drinks.

“It's okay, noona. I got it!” he assured her also leaning over to help her only to accidentally elbow her in the face.

“Ow!” she cried out in pain, touching the eye patch lightly.

“Oh no! I'm sorry, noona!” he bowed apologetically as he moved closer to check up on her. Annie was still groaning in pain covering her eye with her hand.

Having witnessed the whole scene unfold, Lucy turned to Zelo. “Go help her,” she ordered the tall young man, having set the new set of drinks on the bar for Jongup to bring to the patrons.

Zelo nodded, then made his way over to Annie. Looking up at his best friend, he motioned for him to head over to the bar. “I'll take it from here, hyung,” he said placing his long arms around Annie's petite frame. “Lucy noona placed the new drinks on the bar.”

“Okay,” Jongup nodded then made his way to the bar.

Slowly, Zelo led Annie in the same direction pulling out a chair for her to settle down at a table. “Thanks, kid,” she said looking up at him.

“You're welcome, noona,” he grinned. “I'll go grab a glass of water for you.” He said walking over to the bar momentarily.

“It's okay, Zelo,” she stopped him. “You really don't have to.”

“It's fine, noona,” he said reassuringly as he turned to leave but Annie stopped him once again. He looked down at her helpless figure.

“But I don't wanna burden you as much as I already am right now,” she reasoned.

“Thanks, Zelo,” Lucy's voice rang out from behind. “I can take it from here. Just go clean up that mess over there,” she ordered pointing to the spill caused by Annie.

“Sure thing, noona,” Zelo nodded obediently then immediately disappeared into the back room to grab the mop and bucket.

Lucy then proceeded to settle across the table paying close attention to her best friend. “What happened to you?” she asked, a hint of amusement evident in her tone.

“It's all Bang's fault!” she exclaimed clenching her fists angrily.

Lucy's eyes widened. “He did that to you?!” she exclaimed loud enough for the whole room to hear. “That bastard!”

“No!” Annie immediately shook her head. “It's not what you think...”

“Then, what do you mean?” Lucy asked suspiciously, leaning closer against the table expectantly.

“What happened to you?” a voice rang out from behind before Annie could answer. The voice belonged to Youngjae.

Annie and Lucy looked up to find Daehyun and Youngjae standing before them gaping over at Annie. Then, Daehyun snorted trying his best to stifle his laughter by covering his mouth with both hands. Annie's jaw clenched, staring flatly at her best friend. She soon shifted her attention over to Youngjae, who was also trying his best to stifle his laughter. “Go ahead and laugh,” she finally managed to say. “You know you want to.”

As if on cue, both guys soon burst into laughter joined by Lucy. “I'm so sorry,” Lucy giggled. “It's just, you look like an adorable pirate right now.” She said reaching over to pinch Annie's cheek, which earned a swipe from the girl in speaking.

She then crossed her arms over her chest staring at her best friends with her only good eye. “Bite me,” she muttered through gritted teeth.

Earlier at the hospital...

“I have to wear an eye patch?!” she cried out. Dr. McDreamy Minho (that's what she decided to call him in her head) had managed to talk her into going back to bed despite her stubborn behavior, she eventually caved, rebuffing Yongguk's attempts to help her.

“Well, you're kind of out of options at this point, Annie,” Minho told her, holding it out to her. “And I don't think it's a good idea to cover it with makeup since the bruise is still relatively fresh.”

She chose to ignore him, glaring daggers at Yongguk. “Annie, I'm really, really sorry,” he apologized profusely.

Annie scoffed. “You damn straight should be sorry!” she barked back. “I mean whose idea was it to go to the batting cages?”

“Mine,” he muttered sheepishly.

“Why?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

He shrugged. “I thought you should try something new for once... It's a nice way for you and Danny to get out and enjoy yourselves... I mean I thought it was the perfect stress reliever--”

Annie scoffed. “Yeah. A stress reliever that's gonna leave a mark on my face!” she cut him off pointing at the giant bandage covering her left eye.

“It's just a black eye, Annie,” he reasoned, scratching the back of his head awkwardly looking away from her. “It's not that bad...”

“He's right, you know, it's not that bad,” Minho added reassuringly. “Like I said before, you took the hit like a champion...” He chuckled at his own attempt at a joke. Yongguk looked over at him and frowned.

She scoffed once again, cutting him off. “That's because I was wearing a helmet, Doctor,” she said, then turned to him expectantly, allowing him to continue.

He continued. “Anyways, I'd give it about a week or so, tops. It won't be long, the discoloration will go away eventually. You'll be fine. So please, allow me to examine it a moment. I'll give you some antibiotics and you'll be good to go.” He smiled. Annie chose to ignore the doctor's attractiveness since she was beyond livid at this point.

Sighing, Annie slumped back against the hospital bed, allowing the handsome doctor to do his check-up. Putting on his gloves, he slowly began to tear away at the giant bandage covering her left eye. As soon as it was removed, she felt as if her eye could breathe again. He gently felt around the affected area around her eye which caused her to wince in pain. “I'm really, really sorry,” Yongguk uttered staring back at her.

Annie ignored him. “You said a week, right Doctor? How long will the pain last?” she asked turning to the handsome doctor.

“I'd say a few days,” he said taking out a pad and paper then scribbling something down. “Bring this to the pharmacy and the techs will provide you with the meds to treat the pain,” he said tearing off the sheet then handed it over to Yongguk. “Now, I can already tell that Annie is going to be a stubborn one,” he grinned over at her in amusement which of course earned a dark stare from the girl in speaking. “So I'm entrusting this to you,” he said finally.

“Thanks,” he said, taking it from him.

“You're good to go,” he told her. “Just fill out the discharge papers on the way out.”

“Will do,” said Yongguk, giving the handsome doctor a mock-salute. “Thanks, Dr. Choi.” He turned to help Annie.

She slapped his hand away catching him by surprise. “I can get up myself, thank you very much,” she said, pushing herself off the bed.

Yongguk looked over at Minho and shook his head. The doctor gave him a knowing nod and an amused smile. Minho soon walked over to Daniel, sitting down at a little table coloring. He then reached into his pocket, presenting an orange lollipop for the four year old. “Here you go, Danny,” he said grinning down at the boy.

Daniel's eyes widened in amazement upon seeing it. Before he took it, he looked over at Yongguk and Annie, as if silently asking for their permission. “Go ahead,” Annie said allowing her permission. Reluctantly, he accepted the lollipop from Minho. “What do you say, Danny?” she asked.

“Thank you,” he replied sheepishly.

Minho chuckled then ruffled the little boy's hair playfully. “You're welcome, kiddo,” he said as he watched Daniel run over to Annie and Yongguk, before they turned to leave. Just then, he remembered something as he stood up and made his way out of the room in time to catch up to them before they were really gone. “One moment!” he called out.

Annie turned around, followed by Yongguk. “What is it, Doctor?” asked Yongguk, narrowing his eyes curiously.

Walking over to them, he reached into coat pocket then presented an object to Annie. “You forgot something,” he said, looking over at her.

Her eyes widened. He wasn't kidding, she thought, eying the eye patch like it was something contagious. Reluctantly, she took it from him then began to examine it. “Thank you,” she said sheepishly.

“You should put it on,” he advised her.

After much consideration, she eventually placed it over her left eye. Yongguk and Minho stood still, gaping at her. “Well?” she asked, looking at them expectantly. Yongguk and Minho both found themselves grinning slightly. Annie seemed to notice right away. “Go ahead and laugh. Get it out of your system now before I change my mind,” she huffed crossing her arms over her chest, looking away from them.

“Nanny, you look like a pirate,” Daniel spoke up, giggling, prompting everyone to shift their attention over to him.

She relaxed a bit. She was willing to make an exception for Daniel because he was a kid. And she couldn't help but grin slightly at his adorable little laugh. She heard a snort coming from one of the older guys. She looked up to see Yongguk and Minho stifling their laughter. They immediately stopped when she shot them a death glare. “If it makes you feel any better, you make a cute pirate,” Minho said with a wink.

“Don't pamper me, Doctor,” she sneered. “And shouldn't you be off caring for your other patients instead of standing here with us, complimenting on how adorable I look with an eye patch at the moment?”

He froze and cleared his throat. Reaching into his pocket and taking out his pager, he said, “Right.” He looked over at them and grinned. “I should get going. See you guys!” He slightly waved his hand before walking off.

Yongguk cleared his throat moments after. “He makes a point,” he spoke up finally. Annie turned to face him. “You do make a cute pirate,” he grinned shyly.

Annie returned with her own disgusted look. “Shut up,” she muttered before walking off, making her way to the elevator down the hall.

Yongguk looked down at Daniel. “Come on, little man,” he said, taking the boy's hand then proceeded to follow her.

The next morning, as she was making her way into the apartment building, Annie was surprised to find Himchan already in the elevator waiting for it to close. He was also taken by surprise upon seeing her. “Annie,” he managed to say. He soon shifted his attention over to her face, more like her noticeable eye patch and it was already obvious. She knew what was coming next.

“Don't ask,” she said, immediately cutting him off before he could interrogate her.

He stood back and shrugged. “Wasn't gonna,” he said after clearing his own throat.

Before the doors could come to a close, a hand reached inside to prevent it from doing so. And soon, Yongguk stepped inside, clearly taken aback upon seeing Annie and his best friend sharing the same elevator. “Good morning,” he greeted them warmly.

“Hey. What's up, Bang,” Himchan nodded along with his own greeting.

“Annie, you can't still be mad at me,” Yongguk shifted his attention over to her when she did not greet him.

In turn, she retreated into her own little corner, making sure to keep her distance from him. She turned away to ignore him. “What happened now?” Himchan asked, furrowing his brows glancing from Yongguk to Annie.

Yongguk turned to his best friend and sighed. “We went to the batting cages...” he began.

“Ah, gotcha...” Himchan nodded, immediately catching on right away. “Did you at least wear a helmet?” he asked Annie.

“Of course I did!” she exclaimed, outraged. “What, do you think I'm stupid?”

Himchan raised his hands in defeat, shaking his head slowly. “I didn't say that—I--”

“Do you know how dangerous those balls were?!” she cried out. “Look at what happened to me!” she pointed to the eye patch. “I'm literally traumatized at this point! Never again, am I going near a batting cage! All thanks to you, Bang!” she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Yongguk.

“M-me?!” he bellowed, pointing to himself.

“Yes! You just had to pick the hard balls,” she shook her head, then held up an index finger. “Not to mention, he picked the machine with the fastest speed probably knowing I can't hit if my life depended on it.”

“You were doing fine when I was teaching you!” he argued back. “If I remembered correctly, you got a few hits in.” He thought for a moment.

Annie scoffed. “Yeah, that is until I got hit in the face!” she retorted back.

“Well, would it make you feel any better if I got hit in the face?” he asked as if it was the right solution.

Her lips soon formed into a mischievous grin. “Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea,” she mused then proceeded to give him a menacing stare. He gulped and froze in return.

Himchan cleared his throat loudly, intervening before it could get ugly. “Okay, I think that's enough for today,” he announced. As if on cue, the elevator made a stop on their floor. “Well, we're here. Come on, Annie,” he s his hand around her wrist then proceeded to lead her out before she could respond. “You owe me, Bang!” he called back over his shoulder to his best friend.

“Thanks, Himchan!” Yongguk called out to him before the elevator doors decided to close.

Miranda found herself staring at Annie, a mix of shock and amusement evident in her beautiful features. Annie, on the other hand, tried her best to appear unaffected. The eye patch did happen to draw unwanted attention and she had to start getting used to it. “May I ask what happened?” her employer asked after an abrupt silence.

Annie was a bit taken aback, looking back up at Daniel's mother. Then, remembering not to mention taking Daniel out to the batting cages or any arcade in general, Annie decided to come up with a white lie. One little lie won't hurt. Daniel did promise not to say anything. But he was a little kid, was he trustworthy? Clearing , she spoke up. “Um, well, you see...” she began, trailing off. Miranda raised an eyebrow, looking up at Annie. “I was grabbing breakfast at my old job and making my way out, someone opened the door and I happened to accidentally collide with the door on the way out.” She chuckled nervously.

Miranda slightly choked on her tea. Coughing, she placed her hand over her chest keeping her breathing steady. “I see,” she said finally. “That must have been painful.”

“It sure was,” Annie nodded, blinking innocently with her good eye.

“The eye patch is a little convenient,” she commented.

“It's still too fresh for me to just cover it up with makeup,” Annie told her. “The doctor said it was a good idea to wear the eye patch until the swelling minimizes a little. It won't be long until I can stop wearing this.” She pointed to the eye patch.

“Hm,” she hummed, nodding slowly furrowing her brows. It was as if she was deep in thought, Annie wondered what was on her mind but decided to keep quiet at the moment. She could hear faint piano noises and Himchan's voice talking to Daniel in the background. Soon, Miranda's lips soon formed into a grin, which of course, took Annie a bit by surprise. “I have an excellent idea!” she beamed, staring straight at Annie with a warm smile. Annie froze and gulped in anticipation, expecting the worst.

A/N: Hello again! Here's another update! I swear this chapter was a lot funnier in my head... A part of me is a little unsatisfied with it >.< I hope you like it! Anyways, I'll try to update again soon but I can't make any promises since I actually start school this week and that means I have a lot on my plate... With work and school. Don't mind the minor errors lol. Minho hasn't disappeared completely yet. >.< The next chapter I imagine to be more hilarious but I can't make any promises because I tend to write as I go lol. I feel kind of bad for injuring Annie lol. It's very cruel of me I know. >.< Okay, I'll stop talking now. Enjoy! ^^