Chae Won walked in the garden with her phone in her hand, trembling. She dialed a private number and waited anxiously for the line to be connected. She should’ve realized it before shouldn’t she? She should’ve known something is wrong with her. It had been like what? More than a month since the bomb incident, with her spending 3 weeks in the hospital, but why didn’t she realized it?

     “Yoboseyo. Doctor Jung here”. She gave a sigh of relief when the line was connected. She was never that glad to hear a doctor’s voice before. “Doctor Jung, I’m Moon Chae Won. I heard you’re a specialist in hearing? Am I right?” she asked politely, her other hand pulling stands of hair nervously.

     “Yes I am. What gives me the honor to speak to you Miss Moon?”

     “Ahjussi, ppali!” she whispered to the driver. “Neh, Miss Moon” the old man climbed in the car and turned the ignition key. “Where do you want to go?” he turned around and looked at her in the passenger’s seat. “Here’s the address. Please, don’t tell anyone I’m going there. Including Joong Ki” she tried to smile at him.

      Shocked was painted on the old face as he read the address scribbled on the piece of paper. “Wae Miss Moon? Is there anything wrong with you? You seemed fine all this while. Ever since you came back, you seemed fine” panic and grief was stricken over the face. She looked at her hands before replying “Of course I’m fine. I just want to go for a few more checkups to ensure it. Just don’t tell anyone okay? With Joong Ki’s official appearance and all, I don’t want to burden them”

     He gazed lovingly at the girl that grew from a cute toddler to a stunning young woman in front of his own eyes. “Okay Miss Moon. I’m guessing Master Joong Ki is still asleep?” he asked and she replied with a nod. The car slowly left the mansion’s compound, into the coldness of the winter.

     She blinked back the silent tears of worries and looked back at the doctor. “So it can only be corrected through surgery?” she asked again. “I’m afraid so Miss Moon. Your eardrum on the left ear was damaged according to the test. You can still hear but as you said before, symptoms like you can’t predict the direction of sound are caused by the defects of your eardrums. You might feel some pain from time to time and sometimes some sort of sounds will be too loud or too soft for you. You’re lucky because some unfortunate people needed to replace their ossicles. Your injuries are considered to be mild. When did you realize there might be something wrong with your hearings?”

     “Someone called me in my house yesterday. But I couldn’t tell where the sound was from, I spent minutes trying to find that person. I did felt like stinging sensations from time to time but I thought it was just some effect from the bomb or something” she mumbled.

     “We can schedule a surgery for you. You can just fill in this form. You don’t have to worry Miss Moon; this is the best specialist hospital in the whole Korea. My doctors are all qualified and experienced. We’ll get you sorted out in no time” he replied with a proud and haughty tone.

     “I agree with the surgery. I will undergo it 6 days from now. After the Song Industries Anniversary party” she said with full confidence after thinking for a while. The doctor smirked “That’s just not how the way things work Miss Moon. Have you ever heard of protocol? You have to sign the form, go through a series of other tests, and wait patiently in line for your turn. We have a lot of other patients”

     “But this matter can’t be help. I have so many things to do. My company generates millions…”her voice trailed down when she realized she was safe to be considered jobless since the past 21 hours. She ‘played truant’ with Joong Ki and didn’t entered office yesterday. But she can’t go around with her problematic hearing in a longer period. Jae Hee was always observing, and who knows what might happen next.

     “Look, I need that surgery. As soon as possible. How long will it take to recover?” she glanced up at the doctor. “Two weeks and before that you still need to use the hearing aid. I’m very sorry Miss Moon. I understand your concern but rules are rules. I can’t do anything” he looked apologetically at her and continued “You can take this leaflet; it’s some simple briefing about the surgery, the risk and cost. Take your time and contact us after you make your decision”.

Chae Won sighed and took the leaflet. She went through the first few pages and stood up. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to contact you if I need help” she walked out, straight to the car park.

     Her driver quickly drove away from the private hospital when he saw her grimed face. Usually the moving car would calm her down. She started to fiddle with her phone, pressing the screen furiously. Her heart was tortured. What would she do at that time? She need to get back her father’s trust, not to spend more time being disable and then reside in the hospital.

     A couple of moments after that, she looked up from her phone screen, hope flashing in