The nurses assisted Jong Kook to the bed in the emergency room, telling the doctor to come over quickly. Ji Hyo watched as the doctor and nurses surrounded him, attaching an oxygen mask on his face. A nurse appeared on Ji Hyo’s side and started asking questions about him.

“Do you know if the patient is allergic to any medicine?” the nursed asked.

Ji Hyo shook her head and brought the hand to her lips, silently praying for Jong Kook. “Uhm, no- I, I don’t know. He just said he’s allergic to nuts.”

The nurse told her to calm down, saying that it’ll all be better soon because the doctor is working on him.

“Doctor Seo said that he’ll need to keep him overnight. It’s to treat his rashes and we need to monitor his throat since it’s the most affected.”

Ji Hyo nodded at the nurse senselessly, only wanting to see Jong Kook after the doctor and nurses treated him.

She put an arm around herself as she approached the nurse’s station to ask for more information regarding Jong Kook.

~

Ji Hyo called Jae Suk to update the office about Jong Kook’s condition. Jae Suk that they’ll stop over once they get out of the office. Ji Hyo asked if Min Hee could inform his family, and Min Hee agreed, immediately calling them. When the line got disconnected, Ji Hyo took one more look at Jong Kook and touched his face with the back of her hand. She sighed to herself, silently thankful for Jong Kook not being in danger any further.

A few hours passed by and Ji Hyo just watched Jong Kook sleep. But in about the third hour, Ji Hyo dozed off on Jong Kook’s shoulder. Jong Kook must have felt a change of weight on his shoulder and that caused him to wake up. He opened his still-puffy eyes and found Ji Hyo, peacefully sleeping next to him. He smiled, tucking stray hairs away from her face. He observed her for a while, thinking, Man, she’s really beautiful.

A part of him was surprised at his own thoughts. Is he falling in love with her? Or has he already fallen in love with her?

Jong Kook was about to touch her cheek with the back of his hand, but her phone on the side table suddenly rang. He closed his eyes quickly and brought down his hand back on his side. He felt her slowly lift her head from his shoulder, and he just wanted to tell her to go back to sleep and not answer the phone. She rubbed her eye and grabbed her phone, checking the caller ID. She accepted the call. “Hello?” she groggily greeted. “I just woke up. I’m at the hospital, bubby. No, I’m not the one who's sick.”

“You always make me worry, you know that?”

“It’s because you love me, right?” Ji Hyo teased.

“What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll say no too.” She turned her head to Jong Kook when she heard him moving. She lowered her voice and said, “Wait, let me just go out. My boss is asleep and I don’t want to wake him up yet. He needs to rest.”

Jong Kook watched Ji Hyo as she got out of the door. It’s that ‘bubby’ guy again, he thought to himself. He doesn’t know why he always feels agitated every time he hears that term of endearment. Is he Ji Hyo’s boyfriend? Wait, does she have a boyfriend? He hasn’t asked her about it, really. Hang on, did I fall in love with a woman who already has someone else? “Fallen in love”? I’ve fallen in love with her? He sighed to himself. “Ugh, my head hurts.” He smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand, and groaned. He felt like a lovesick teenager who just got rejected by his crush.

Ji Hyo found Jong Kook sitting up on the bed, a pensive look on his swollen face. “Oh, you’re awake,” she smiled at him. She moved closer to his bedside, then proceded to checking his face, touching it gently, and his moved on to his neck and arms. She stopped her inspection and looked at him in the eye. “Are you okay now?”

“Who’s-”

“Wait, let me get you some water first,” Ji Hyo said, bolting out the door. She returned with a cup of water in her hand and a nurse in tow. The nurse checked on him, said that he’ll be fine, it’s just his voice will remain rough for a day or two and it’ll be harder for him to talk because of the swelling in his throat. Jong Kook nodded at the nurse, then turned to look at Ji Hyo, who was listening intently to the nurse’s every word.

“Is there any medicine that you can give him that’ll make the itching on his throat better?”

The nurse explained to Ji Hyo that that was the reason why they decided to keep Jong Kook overnight. That they would be giving him doses of medicine to make the swelling heal. The nurse excused herself and Ji Hyo turned to Jong Kook.

“I didn’t know you were allergic to nuts,” Ji Hyo said, handing him another cup of water.

He took it from her and sipped. “There are a lot of things that you don’t know about me yet.” He said seriously.

“What?” Her eyebrows furrowed. “Why is your tone like-”

“Who’s bubby?” He finally asked, not knowing where the courage came from.

“W- why do you want to know? Wait, how did you even know about him?” She backed away from him, her eyes questioning him.

He frowned, but Ji Hyo found it... frighteningly adorable— with his puffy face and barely-there voice. Jong Kook glanced at her once again before uttering, “Yaaaish!” He then turned his body from her and lay back down on the bed.

Ji Hyo couldn’t help but smirk at what he’s doing. He’s acting like a big baby, and it’s amusing from where she’s standing. “Come on, you’re acting like a brat!”

Jong Kook still wouldn’t look at her, so she continued, “Bubby is... well, he’s someone very special to me.”

His head whipped back to study her. “‘Special’?” he inquired.

She nodded at him.

“Is he your boyfriend?” he asked further.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Why do you want to know?”

“It’s just-” Jong Kook was cut off by a stream of people entering the room. The office people entered the door one by one, Kwang Soo being the last, holding a fruit basket (with only two pieces of apple and a hand of bananas).

“Mr. Kim, are you okay?” Jae Suk asked, moving closer to the bedside.

Jong Kook smiled at them, well, as much as he could muster with his face being swollen and all. He accepted the basket from Kwang Soo, which Ji Hyo took from him and set it on the table.

“Thank you guys for visiting. You all shouldn’t have, I’m fine.” His voice is still rough, and Suk Jin told him to not speak that much anymore.

“You sound even scarier right now, Mr. Kim,” Joong Ki commented.

The employees were cracking jokes here and there, making Jong Kook smile. Ji Hyo moved to the other side of the room where the sofa was, and sat down, watching everyone. Jae Suk saw her, and sat down next to her.

“The doctor told me that he’ll be fine,” Ji Hyo started, looking down at her hands.

Jae Suk studied her face. “If he’s going to be fine, then why is your face like that?”

She pouted. “What do you mean?”

“I can tell that there’s something bothering you.”

She glanced at the laughing group again, which are now laughing at Kwang Soo who was trying to put the whole apple in his mouth. “I don’t think I should say it here.”

“Do you want to get coffee?” Jae Suk offered.

She nodded. They excused themselves and said that they were getting coffee. The officemates caught Jong Kook staring at Ji Hyo’s retreating back, and when he looked down and sighed.

~

“He’s being weird to me, Jae Suk,” she said, sipping the hot coffee from the coffeeshop at the hospital lobby.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just... just a few weeks ago, he accompanied me while I took my pictures for the magazine, and now, he’s acting as if I did something wrong. Or... I’m not even sure what I did or whatever, but he’s just...” She sighed. “I don’t know why he’s being like that.”

Jae Suk laughed. “You two sound like you’re having a lovers’ quarrel.”

Her eyed widened, puching the older man next to her lightly. “We aren’t lovers!”

“Yet,” he said and sipped his coffee. “Hey, stop doing that. You’ll have wrinkles on your big forehead.” He flicked her on the forehead.

“My forehead isn’t big. Plus, Jong Kook doesn’t look at me that way.” She rubbed her forehead, which has a red spot on it, all thanks for Jae Suk.

“Do you look at him ‘that’ way?” He asked her, not really expecting a clear answer.

She contemplated his question for a moment. “Uh, sometimes, I- I think I do?”

“You ‘think’?”

~

“I know!” Jong Kook laughed as Soo Hyun told him for a hundredth time that his face looks “different.”

They heard the handle click, and they all looked at the door. Ha Dong Hoon entered the room and nodded at everyone. Shock was apparent on everyone else’s faces, except for Jong Kook’s, who was smiling at his best friend fondly.

Everyone bowed at him, and Jong Kook asked them if they could have a moment. Of course, everyone listened and excused themselves.

Dong Hoon smiled at his best friend, then went ahead to give him a hug. They patted each other’s backs, knowing that what’s happened before, it’s all forgiven and gone.

“So, who knew some tiny pistachio nut would threaten this jerk’s life?” Dong Hoon teased.

Jong Kook playfully hit him on the arm. “It takes more than a nut to kill me.”

“Oh, yeah. By a beautiful lady who’ll feed it to you.”

The two laughed, feeling contented that they’re back in each other’s lives. “How did you even know I’m here?”

“Min Hee gave me a call,” Dong Hoon said. “She said Ji- Ji Ho-”

“Her name’s Ji Hyo,” Jong Kook corrected.

“Well, Ji Hyo said to call your family, and Min Hee said she thought I ought to know, too.”

He smiled. “She’s good, isn’t she?”

Dong Hoon nodded. “Your best secretary yet!”

~

Ji Hyo and Jae Suk were walking back to Jong Kook’s room when they saw the office people leaving. “Wait, what’s going on?” Jae Suk asked.

“Mr. Ha Dong Hoon came,” Joong Ki said.

“Really?” Ji Hyo said, smiling.

Suk Jin nodded. “Those two will always be stuck at the hip.”

Ji Hyo was about to tell how happy she is for the best friends to be back in each other’s sides, when she remembered about her bag. “Oh no, I left my belongings in the room.”

“Do you want me to get it for you, Ji Hyo?” Min Hee offered.

She shook her head and looked at the her watch. “It’s getting late, guys. You should all head home. I’ll just wait for them.”

“Are you sure?” Joong Ki asked.

“Yep. Take care!”

She waved at them and sat on one of the chairs outside Jong Kook’s hospital room. She rested her head on her hand and closed her eyes.

~

“Wait, so who’s Ji Hyo?”

“She’s our new photographer in the office. Ga In quit, remember?”

“Ah,” Dong Hoon said, acknowledging his answer. “Are you sure that’s all?”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s not your... girlfriend?”

“No- no! She’s... she’s a friend outside the office, and she’s also in our art department.” Jong Kook countered.

“Hmm, whatever you say,” Dong Hoon said. “I’m hungry, Jong Kook. I haven’t eaten dinner.”

“Really? Why didn’t you eat? You know you won’t digest it well when-”

“Jong Kook, please don’t lecture me. I’m an adult!”

“You’re a child stuck in a short man’s body!” He called after Dong Hoon, who was walking out the door. Dong Hoon stuck his tongue out at him, making Jong Kook laugh.

~

Ji Hyo looked up when he saw a man leaving Jong Kook’s room. She stood up and bowed at him, and introduced herself. “Hello. I’m Ji Hyo.”

The man nodded and smiled at her. “Ha Dong Hoon.” They shook hands.

“Nice meeting you, finally, sir.”

“You, too. Anyway, I have to go for a while. I just need to find some food.”
“Of course,” Ji Hyo said.

“I’ll see you in a few.” Dong Hoon smiled.

~

Ji Hyo entered the room quietly— some awkwardness still lingering in the air after Jong Kook’s bratty incident earlier that night. She quietly moved to the couch where her bag is at, feeling Jong Kook’s eyes watching her every move.

“Ji Hyo?” he finally spoke up.

“Hmm?” She tried to sound nonchalant.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to act rashly like that.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled at him. “And you asked about bubby, right?”

Jong Kook looked around to room, and he nodded, embarrassed.

“He’s my dearest friend. My best friend and family in one, really. During the time when I felt like some kid who was purposely abandoned by her family without anyone looking for me, he... he was there. He picked me up from my slump and said, ‘Come on, you fool. Get up and let’s live life together like it’s meant to be lived.’”

She looked at Jong Kook, who was intently listening to her, and continued, “He’s always had my back, whether it be over petty fights with the neighborhood kids or with issues regarding my fam- relatives.”

“He’s your best friend?” Jong Kook asked.

“He’s my family,” Ji Hyo answered.

“Oh,” Jong Kook said, realization coming over him. “Ohhhh.”

She smiled at him and fiddled with her bag, not knowing how else to continue the conversation.

“Ji Hyo?”

“Yeah?”

He cleared his throat. “I- I don’t think this is the right place to say this, with my face looking like this and all,” he started. “And, I know we’ve only known each other for about a month, and that we have a long way to go if we want to know more about each other...” Ji Hyo’s heart started beating faster with every word he says.

Jong Kook reached for one of her hands and enclosed it in his. “I’m not sure if it’s the situation right now that’s making me say this, but...” He looked at her eyes.

“I like you, Ji Hyo. And I would like to court you-” Before he could finish his sentence, the door presented a nurse, saying that it’s time for Jong Kook to take his medicines before he goes to sleep. Ji Hyo stepped back and sent a smile to Jong Kook, who looked somewhat irritated at the nurse’s interruption.

The nurse finally exited the room after Jong Kook drank his medicine.

“Where were we?” He asked Ji Hyo. “Oh, uhm, I just... I would like to court you, if you would give me your permission to do so.”

She bit her bottom lip, a smile slowly making its way on her face. She nodded at him.

“Thank you,” he said, now smiling at her, too. “Can I hug you?”

She smirked at him before leaning in for a hug. She rubbed his back and he whispered, “Thank you.”

Sup, guys? I think this is the fastest update I've done. Haha. Wow, I'm quite excited for the pictures that'll come out from the fan meet! Anyway, I'm not that sure about this chapter. Whether it seems too rushed that Jong Kook already "loves" Ji Hyo? But I dunno, maybe "love at first sight" really does exist. Or maybe he's already fallen for her subtle charms (that she's not aware of)? Thanks for reading! :)