Part. 8

Ryeowook sat down on the bed, blinking. Two floors down him, someone was ringing the bell. Beside him, Nathan turned, opened his eyes, and saw Ryeowook bewildered. The boy was restless all night, Ryeowook recalled the cause of the anxiety, and he immediately replaced Nathan's diaper, taking him to bed with him.

He searched for a small clock on the table, looking at the numbers listed there.

Eight past thirty minutes.

Very bad. Ryeowook usually woke up at six o'clock. Today he felt weird and wished he could continue sleeping.

The doorbell rang again, very loud.

"You fall asleep, good boy." Ryeowook told Nathan, sitting upright and rushing to change his pajama. "We fell asleep together."

Nathan chuckled. Crawling to the edge of the bed like a child who was not concerned with the law of gravity.

Ryeowook held him before he fell to the side –his pod was wet.

Anyone down there could wait.

But where was Saeun?

He seemed to wake up, Ryeowook held Nathan tighter, turned to Nathan’s room to pick up a new diaper from the box and walked to the elevator. When they reached the first floor, Ryeowook hurried to the front door.

A courier standing on the porch. "We're delivering the hospital bed that has been booked before," he said as Ryeowook peered through the door.

"I'll show you where to put it." Ryeowook said, balancing Nathan on his hip, now moist because his diaper was leaking.

The man nodded.

The thought of robbery and murder came to Ryeowook. He secretly crafted watching popular thrill-themed TV dramas like Voice (P.S. That's Yesung drama :D), so he peeked behind the man, making sure there was a delivery truck there. A cold-blooded killer had many tricks.

There was a truck, and it said, 'Incheon Hospital Supply' in large letters. Despite the dreary reality, he smiled, wondering did the doctor who treated Sungmin in the hospital also come. Apparently not.

Ryeowook raised the hook on the door. "Follow me," he said like a businessman.

He walked to the back of the house, where Sungmin wanted to spend the rest of his last days with a view of the park. The courier left, leaving a note on the table where Sungmin and Kyuhyun had lunch a few days ago.

The white Lily flower Kyuhyun gave to Sungmin was still there, like a small guard keeping the silence, slightly wet but still lifting its head bravely.

Ryeowook swallowed, replaced Nathan's diaper on the lazy chair on the other side of the porch and carried him back into the kitchen, putting the dirty diaper into the trash.

Saeun was there, dressed in her usual bathrobe. "I don’t know what's wrong with me today," she complained. "I usually wake up at five o’clock, but last night I slept like a dead woman." She gasped with her own words.

Ryeowook did not say anything. Instead he scanned the room, found one of Nathan's playbags and put it in there, then gave him a toy. He washed his hands in the sink, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Saeun was making coffee.

"I'd better call the hospital," Saeun said. "Making sure an ambulance will take Sungmin back home."

The courier came back with a colleague, both of them making a whack as they pushed the rented hospital bed across the priceless wooden floor.

Nathan stood in his playing box, watching with wide-eyed and curious eyes.

"There's a madman out there." Said one of the courier as he passed.

Ryeowook scowled, "What?"

"A young man. He said he came here to fire his agent. He acted like he's a top-level actor who is on par with Gong Yoo."

"I think," said the second man, "he's drunk."

"Damn!" Ryeowook murmured.

"I'll call Yunho." Said Saeun who had grabbed the phone.

"He is not dangerous," Ryeowook said, stopping Saeun's desire to contact police officers. "Please take care of Nathan. I'll take care of that crazy man."

No doubt Kim Kibum stood on the front porch, dressed dramatically in black trousers and a black high-necked sweater. His brown hair was completely chaotic, his stomach getting bigger since Ryeowook had last seen him and his nose was even redder, his veins visible from the pulse of his hand looked more purple than usual.

"I came to fire you as my agent." He threatened.

"Please come in before the neighbors see you." Ryeowook murmured.

Kibum's red eyes widened. "You're fired!"

"YES!" Ryeowook said, grabbing his arm and dragging him off the porch. "I understand, Kibum. I'm devastated. Issued. Dismissed. Baked. Fired. It's been a thing of the past. Do you wanna  add more?"

Kibum was astonished. Then he gathered himself of his drunken self and said as if he was important. "No."

"Please tell me you did not drive yourself here in this condition."

"My condition?"

"You're obviously drunk, Kibum. Uncon- "

"Please don’t teach me vocabulary, if you don’t mind." Kibum said disgustingly, his chest swelled with anger. "I've won the Pulitzer Award, you know."

"Then be proper." Ryeowook whispered. "A bit classy."

Kibum stopped talking, not an unusual occurrence. "At least I came to this town with a private Jet and there were bodyguards waiting for me." He told Ryeowook. "In keeping with my lifestyle. Classy. "

Ryeowook sighed with relief. At least Kibum did not threaten people’s safety on the street.

The couriers reappeared, giving Kibum a look. It seemed that Saeun had finished signing the file for the bed.

"Follow me," Ryeowook told Kibum. He guided him to the kitchen.

Saeun looked at Kibum.

"You've never seen a Pulitzer Prize-winning young man before?" Kibum snapped.

"Take care of your attitude," Ryeowook told him, "or I’ll tear your mouth."

"Who is this crazy person?" Saeun asked curiously.

Ryeowook poured the freshly made coffee, put it on the table, and asked Kibum to sit down. Thank God, he obeyed.

"Kim Kibum," Ryeowook said, answering Saeun’s question and introducing them, "This is Kim Saeun."

"Kim Kibum, the great writer who’s always fascinating," Kibum said.

"Whatever." Saeun replied with a snort.

Kibum paused, but luckily the phone rang. Saeun was forced to answer it, giving Ryeowook a few minutes before he had to explain. Seemingly Sungmin had not told Saeun if Ryeowook had a successful publishing agency in Seoul.

Meanwhile, Kibum sipped his coffee like a fool, but strived to keep his manners.

Ryeowook imagined various ways in his head to get rid of Kibum. A flamethrower, maybe. Or bombs, especially nuclear bombs.

"Okay then," Saeun said into the phone. "We will wait for your appearance, Kyuhyun."

Ryeowook's body became stiff when he heard Kyuhyun’s name. Of course Kyuhyun would come. There were letters he had to sign, and besides, Ryeowook needed another annoying person who was always orbiting his life path like a dead satellite.

"He will bring Sungmin by a plane from the hospital." Saeun told Ryeowook.

Ryeowook was instantly disappointed. Kyuhyun's annoying nature, he had to remember, did not address to Sungmin. For a moment, a grim cloud appeared over Ryeowook's normally stoic soul.

"Someone was transported by plane?" Kibum asked, raising one his eyebrow. Kibum was very fond of drama and he might be thinking of making new scene of what was happening here for the long and tedious novel he had always written.

"Yes." Ryeowook said. "You see Kibum, there are people in this world who have bigger problems than books that are not on the bestseller list.”

"You're my agent. You should be more sympathetic."

"I'm not your agent. You've fired me at least THREE times."

"I'm devastated by the decrease of this enthusiast," Kibum said.

"Well, face it all," Ryeowook replied, taking breakfast cereal into a bowl for Nathan and adding milk into it. Kibum had a faithful and sane wife who loved him. He was rich. He owned a grand house in Seoul, and that was just his main house. "Go home and write again."

Just then, a fat man wearing an uniform and a driver's hat peered out of the dining room door. He was Shindong –Ryeowook's special private driver assigned to serve and all writers who had signed business contracts with him. Do not forget, that middle-aged man who had also dismantled where he was to Luna, his secretary.

"Excuse me," the man said, taking off his hat. "I did not mean to disturb –"

"Come in and have some coffee," Ryeowook said, leaning over Nathan's play box and feeding the cereal to his open mouth. Nathan reminded him of the fat little bird waiting for the worm from its mother's beak.

Shindong nodded graciously, almost shyly at Saeun.

Saeun straightened her hair and her bathrobe.

Ryeowook smiled silently. A really rare entertainment lately.

"Shindong," Kibum told the driver, who must have accompanied him on a private jet and waiting to drive his car at the airport. "They don’t respect me here."

Shindong took off his hat, nodded gratefully at Saeun who had coffee ready for him, then sat down on a chair. "They look friendly enough to me," he said.

Once again Ryeowook smiled at Saeun's timidity. That woman even fixed her hair.

"That's because you're just a driver while I'm a famous writer," Kibum said.

"Kibum," Ryeowook interrupted, "be quiet."

Shindong chuckled. "I like it here," he said, but Ryeowook realized that his gaze was on Saeun when he said that, not to Kibum. "Maybe I'll stay longer."

Ryeowook dared to swear the surrounding air creaking.

Saeun asked for permission and went to her own room.

Kibum finished his coffee.

Nathan finished his cereal.

Saeun returned, wearing a dress with flower motifs, and her hair tied neatly. Ryeowook smelt the perfume she used.

Shindong watched the house keeper in awe, full of appreciation. "Have you ever been to Busan?" He asked.

"I'll stay there with my sister." Saeun replied blushing.

Ryeowook shook his head. He had not just seen Saeun wink, had he?

Shindong smiled with satisfaction and pulled out a business card. "Well," he said, "I happen to live in Busan. Delivered Mr. Kibum and several other selected clients for years. If you need a driver, just call me."

Saeun immediately took the card, walked past the table, and slipped it under a cookie jar.

"What is this?" Kibum asked.

"Just an approaching trick." Shindong smiled.

Saeun replenished Shindong's coffee cup, and Ryeowook –once again– could swear that the middle-aged woman's face was flushed and she looked down in embarrassment.

"There's still something good going on in this world," Ryeowook whispered to Nathan.

Nathan stood on his toes in his box. "Kiss." He said, pursed his lips.

And Ryeowook held back his tears as he kissed the baby.

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