It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon when the sun was at the top, urging people to stay under the outline, saving them from a direct contact with the burning lights. But that was not the case for one certain man clad in office attire who walked in such hurry to the direction of a hospital. Sweats run down his cheeks, hair slightly damp, and practically out of breath. He could care less about how he looked at the moment and how unusually hot the air was. All he could think about was how he had to reach the hospital as quickly as possible.

Once he entered the building, he immediately headed to the receptionist to ask for a name. He got a number and a direction in return, which he didn’t waste any time to follow. He almost cursed at how far away the room was but once his eyes spotted a woman with a little girl sit on the stool at the end of the hall, he felt like half of the weight on his back was lifted. He paced toward them. As soon as they saw him, both of them got on their feet and met him halfway.

“Oh God, Jinki.” The woman held her tone as she held him.

“How’s he?”

“Jinki, I’m so sorry it was my mistake –“

“Ssh… how is he?” he repeated.

“He’s in there.” The lady pointed to a surgery room. “They’re performing a surgery on him. He got a serious bleeding in his head. I don’t really know what’s happening, the doctor did explain to me but I was too distracted to get what he said.” When the woman started crying, Jinki pulled her for a hug.

“The doctors say that they will fix Jongki’s head and he will be fine. They promise me.” The little girl tugged on Jinki’s trousers as she said so. Jinki looked down and gave her a small smile as if thanked her for her small encouragement.

“I wanted to wait for you but the man who hit him owns this hospital and he wants him to undergo the surgery as soon as possible to reduce the risk so I signed the paper. He is a nice person. He’s going to take responsibility and cover all of the medical treatment. He even donated his blood because the blood stock is running low. It’s like; God himself makes it easy for Jongki.”

“Where is he now?” Jinki took a look around to find the man but he couldn’t find anyone other than them occupied the hall.

“He’s monitoring the surgery. All we can do right now is to wait for them.”

*****

Jinki wouldn’t lie, saying he was all calm while waiting for his son’s surgery. He might look composed but deep inside, his patience is wearing thin. He, at any moment, could burst into anger and broke into the room to ask why they took so long to save his son. Just when frustration was about to get the best on him, the door opened up and Jinki saw three men walking out of the room. When Jinki was about to ask them if the surgery went well, his eyes landed on the familiar face he never expected to meet again.

Uhm.. hi?

long time no see.

p.s. happy birthday to my one and only, Choi Minho.