The harsh white lights in the windowless corridor, with white painted walls resembled a prison or a mental asylum. And she felt like she was in one. She bit her lip to keep herself from behaving like a mad woman. Her eyes were frantic as her mind screamed in utter panic. She clutched her phone and tried to control the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She felt terribly guilty and helpless. She patted her chest over where her heart was racing in a mad rush, often missing a beat or two, as a cold wave slid down her back. It was a futile gesture to calm herself down. She was hundreds of miles away from Seoul, in China. Her first trip outside of Seoul since the day Kim Tan had never returned from his. And that is why, irrationally perhaps, she had requested to fly commercial instead of the customary chartered flight, even though it was a relatively short flight of a little over three hours. She had felt that she was playing safe. She had at first tried to beg off politely. But then Mr. Yoon, in his ever calm but firm way, had pointed out that there was no point in skirting the edges of responsibility since she had ‘stayed’.

She had come back home, bearing the hand written note from Choi Young Do. And perhaps because she had been given the choice, clear and free, by her conscience, the company and even the ‘cutthroat’, that she had chosen to stay and see if she could make it. She had reasoned that if she failed, she could and probably would have to, leave anyway. The bookshop would keep for perhaps a future of self-imposed exile, if she failed to steward the behemoth called the Jeguk Group. She had waited and waited and waited but thankfully, Kim Won had rallied in his true spirit and had beat the odds. She had got a taste of the life that she was possibly looking at, when she got dressed, sent Sunny to school, made sure that Madame Han was looked after, went to work and maintained perfect composure, in the midst of it all, waiting for that one phone call. And they say that the British have the monopoly over maintaining a stiff upper lip! And that courage is what she had mustered as she had leaned over her sleeping child to kiss him goodbye before catching a red-eye to Guangzhou, telling herself over and over that it was just a matter of one day.

But in the middle of a meeting with the factory management, she had received a phone call from Sunny’s school. She had mumbled an apology and had rushed outside, into the corridor to take the call. The principal of the elite preschool was most apologetic but she had immediately picked up the note of trouble in her voice.

“There was a little incident. The children were playing in the corridor, since it was snowing outside and Sunny tripped and fell. Nobody pushed him. Rest assured, we are always watchful of any misbehavior. Well, he has…received some injury.”

Cha Eun Sang could barely voice her dread, “What exactly has happened?” She wanted to strangle the dillydallying woman.

“Well, it is an injury to his head. He has a cut on the left side of his head, a little above the hairline……”

She had almost shrieked, “Is he bleeding? Have you called a doctor? What the hell is happening? I want to talk to Sunny right now!”

Ever ingratiating, especially towards her wealthy patrons, the woman had stumbled on her words as she had tried to contain the situation, “He is with the school nurse. There is also a teacher present in the infirmary and we have sent for the empaneled school doctor. He should be here any minute. It is just that we wanted to have a guardian or family member to be present when he is being treated. Sunny seems to be…….in…a daze….I mean….in shock. If you could kindly come down immediately….”

Feeling anxious and helpless, Cha Eun Sang had interrupted her, “But I am not there! I am not in Seoul!”

Taken aback for a second, the principal had tried to mollify Cha Eun Sang, “That’s not a problem. Of course such a situation can arise. Any other family member will do just as well…..a grandparent, an uncle or an aunt…..we just want to make sure that there is a responsible person available to take charge of Sunny after the doctor has treated him. Also, the presence of a familiar face will do much good for an injured child. Much more than a nanny or a chauffeur’s presence. Of course, if there is no other recourse, we will keep him here, under the supervision of the school nurse. One way or the other, he will be in safe hands.”

Cha Eun Sang kept shaking her head as she looked about, trying to keep herself from yelling that Sunny’s family was in shambles, that he lived in a ghostly mansion, inhabited by living ghosts and dead souls. His only champion was his mother, who was nowhere near him, when he needed her the most. She suppressed her frustration that rent her heart and merely pleaded, “Please, please, take care him. I will….try to see if I can send somebody. In case I cannot, please take care of him for me. I will be home by tonight. Just do your best. He is all that I have got. If I could, I would be there this very minute. Please reassure him that I will be with him as soon as possible.”

The principal heard a mother’s plea in her words, not the anger of a wealthy patron, “Of course, we will…..I will. I promise you, he will be looked after. The doctor is very capable. He has years of experience. And most of us here are mothers ourselves. He will be attended to most carefully. I will update you of his condition. Please be patient. I must go now. I will call you later.”

Cha Eun Sang had stood in the corridor, running all options through her mind but there weren’t many to begin with. She could ask her mother but she doubted that a mute woman, dressed in grease covered clothes, would be deemed a worthy family member by the snooty school management. And she didn’t know the posh downtown area of the town that well, where the preschool was situated. But there was somebody in that area who could get to the school in a jiffy. And he was a familiar face to Sunny even if not a family member. He was a friend of the family, a friend to Sunny and Cha Eun Sang’s only hope. That is, if he was around or in the country. She dialed the phone number which was on her speed dial list.

She spoke first, “Where are you?”

There was a moment of deliberate silence, followed by a derisive chuckle, “One of these days, Cha Eun Sang, I am going to sit you down and teach you some telephone etiquette.”

She couldn’t care less for his barb. She spoke in a rush, pouring out her anguish, in a series of telegraphic sentences, “Please Choi Young Do, I need help. Sunny fell down and cut his head at the school. He is bleeding. I am in China. Mr. Yoon is with me. They called a doctor but they are asking for a family member to be present. Are you in town? Can you get to the school? I can’t think of anybody else. Please.”

By the time she had finished her sentence, Choi Young Do was already on his feet. He had been enjoying his midmorning coffee break when she had called. Even though he was not sure what he was going to do or what exactly she was expecting of him, he grasped only two factors that got his attention. Sunny was hurt and his mother was far away from him. He knew what that felt like as a boy. He did not want Sunny feel alone or abandoned, just because his mother was away. He wouldn’t wish that upon a teenager, let alone a child. He had to help. He walked out to his assistant’s desk, grabbed a scratch pad and scribbled instructions for him, “Emergency. Going out. Reschedule.” The poor man was left dumbfounded as Choi Young Do did not spare him even a glance as he hurriedly walked towards the elevators, still on the phone.

“Alright, I am leaving now. Where is the school? And would they allow me in? Who do I speak to?” He was trying to get the most important bits of information quickly before Cha Eun Sang lost her composure. But rambling and unsure, she wasn’t very helpful with directions, which prompted him to take control, “Cha Eun Sang! Stop! Stop!” She did stop speaking, which gave him an idea as to how shaken she was feeling. He softened his voice, “Send me the address and the principal’s name. I will find it. I will take care of it. It will all be fine. I am sure it’s a minor issue. I will call you as soon as everything is under control. OK?”

There was silence on the other end but he could imagine her nodding in hope, not risking a word, lest she should betray her tears. He never ceased to be amazed as to how and when he had developed a second sight, when it came to Cha Eun Sang. He hung up and called David to bring the car up to the front. Only when he stepped outside the weather controlled foyer, did he realize that he had forgotten his coat in his office and the weather was not too kind to his expensive but not so warm suit. But he ignored the stabs of cold wind and gritted his teeth, unmindfully rubbing his palms together to gain some warmth. If David noticed, then he didn’t get a chance to say anything as Choi Young Do the text message containing the school’s address under his nose, before scrambling into the passenger seat next to him and urging him to hurry. David sneaked glances at his visibly worried but not necessarily angry boss but held his tongue. He got there within 7 minutes, instead of the usual 10, showing off his superb driving skills and composure.

Choi Young Do jumped out of the car as soon as David brought it to a halt and approached a lady standing behind the street level glass door that was covered with graphic pictures of little children. He already had his name card out in his hand and put his game face on. He was ready to steamroll any resistance he was likely to face just because he was not a family member or an ‘authorized person’. But it was unnecessary. The lady, the principal as she quickly introduced herself, took his impressive name card and his explanation as a concerned family friend at face value but he guessed that his man-about-town looks and his super luxury vehicle helped his cause a lot more. She quickly turned and led the way as she briefly narrated the ‘incident’, making sure that he understood how the school was absolutely not guilty of any negligence in the matter and it was merely a small accident.

He only half listened and asked about the doctor. He was relieved that the doctor was already in attendance and that he was cleaning the wound before preparing to suture. They both turned into the small room, which seemed already overfilled with too many people, all milling about the center of the room, around a steel gurney. The principal announced in her high pitched voice, “Look Sunny, you have a visitor!” The curtain of people surrounding the gurney gave way to reveal a little figure sitting on the cold metal bed, looking small and fragile, surrounded by discarded clumps of blood soaked cotton and sporting a blood spattered uniform. The left side of his face looked hastily cleaned but still bore the telltale sign of streaks of blood that had ran down that side. Sunny was silent and still as Choi Young Do quickly took in the plight of the little boy from where he stood near the door. But as soon as Choi Young Do smiled in, what he considered, a reassuring way, Sunny’s little body trembled and heaved. It was like a dam had burst. A few soft sobs soon became heart wrenching wails as tears charted multiple paths across his little cheeks. The people around offered perfunctory words of consolation, more out of habit than anything else. But the piercing wails got to Choi Young Do in an unexpected way.

He knew those tears, he knew that pain. He had felt the same way. It was all a long time ago but his mind seemed to wake up to those memories anew as he listened to Sunny cry his heart out. It was more than the physical pain. It was the shock that was wearing off. He was beginning to feel……..all of it. The hurt and the fact that he was among strangers, not with the one person who could truly make him feel safe, was enough to break a grown up’s heart, let alone a child’s. Choi Young Do quickly strode over to Sunny and bent over him in an awkward hug, given the huge disparity in their height and build and the fact that he didn’t want to hurt him in the process. Sunny started crying even harder, somehow angrier and began to fuss in his loose embrace, pushing against him with his little arms. Choi Young Do could hear people in the room tut-tutting in disapproval as he seemed to make the child more distraught. What they couldn’t hear were his words, which he whispered close to Sunny’s ears, in the gentlest, softest way possible. From a veteran to a novice…..at missing one’s mom, when it counts the most.

“I know it hurts. I am really sorry you got hurt. She couldn’t come because she is working very hard for you. She sent me to look after you till she can get back to you. She is hurting too. She told me that she hoped her boy would be brave for her. She sends all her love and she said she will be here as soon as possible. I promise, she would be here soon. Sunny, please, won’t you be brave for her? She loves you so much. She would hate to see you cry so.”

His voice held a note of desperate plea that must have reached Sunny for the loud cries diminished a little and the little arms didn’t struggle within the confines of his embrace. Only then did Choi Young Do remove his arms from about him and straightened up. He caught the sight of a white lab coat, hovering at his elbow and turned to see the doctor looking at him none too pleased. He was in his forties, impressively bespectacled and had that air of a doctor, who often felt that the parents overreact and get in his way, when actually only a doctor can bring comfort to a child with his skill and not their hugs and kisses. Choi Young Do returned the stare, with which he hoped to drive home his message, “You screw this up and I swear, I will hunt you down and kill you.”

Apparently the message was received loud and clear as the doctor cleared his throat and dropped his gaze, before mumbling in a dismissive way, “It’s a very small cut….a shallow flesh wound. A thorough cleaning, a few stiches, a course of antibiotic, taking it slow for 7-10 days and he will be as good as new. Children are hardier than we give them credit for.”

Choi Youn