Part 27

DESTINY

"I still can't believe you ask Hyungwon to open your Pandora Box for you," Kihyun said to Changkyun as he takes a sip of his iced lemonade. Eyes focusing on Sang Wook who is playing with Jinwoo and Jinhee in the play area. "That's bold"

"Drinking an iced drink in winter is bolder" Changkyun replied sarcastically. "Did Hyunwoo know you are taking his son from the kindergarten to this kids cafe?" 

"Of course" Kihyun replied. "I got discharged like a month ago. Dr Kim said it's ok for me to return to work but Hyunwoo said it's much better if I rest longer, which I said yes to another 2 weeks medical leave. Hoseok didn't even let me know what's happening in the firm. So, I kidnapped my own son to have my own fun. Luckily, you are here. It comes to my realization that I don't have that much energy yet" 

"Just be patient, it's only a few days left" Hyungwon suddenly shows up out of nowhere. 

"What are you doing here?" Changkyun frowned at his friend. 

"Firstly, my working hours ended already like an hour ago. Secondly, I come because Hyunwoo and Jooheon told me to watch over you guys. They need to stay for a meeting" Hyungwon take a seat next to Changkyun.

"Really? They trusted you to be on watch?" Changkyun is mentally judging the decision made.

 "Meeting? You are not involved?" Kihyun asked.

"I may be the physically weakest in our group but I'm mentally stronger than any of you guys. I can be trusted to be on watch" Hyungwon casually take a drink of Changkyun double espresso. "...and nope because my department only contributed a little to the sudden increase in surgery rate" he explains. 

"You are drinking coffee again?" Kihyun sounds like he is ready to nag.

"Before you start, let me remind you this. I'm not the only one with a problematic heart history here" Hyungwon said. 

"I was shot," Changkyun said. "Plus, my heart damage is just a minor issue compare to my liver damage"

"And I was drugged" Kihyun added. 

"You are caffeine overdose," both Kihyun and Changkyun said simultaneously. 

Hyungwon is impressed at their synchronization.  

"Didn't you promise Minhyuk to stop drinking coffee?" Changkyun stares at the psychiatrist in disbelief.

"What Minhyuk don't know, won't hurt him" Hyungwon sees Jinwoo. He waves at the boy and the boy waves back. "How long are you gonna babysit them this time?"

"Depends on how their parents business meeting went" Changkyun answered. "Don't you think Sang Wook is ready to have a sibling?" Changkyun asked as he watches the toddler is playing with a girl who seems younger than him. 

"Hyunwoo don't even let me return to work yet. Brave of you to think he's going to let me carry a baby" Kihyun sound upset.

"Progressing" Hyungwon commented. 

"What?" both Kihyun and Changkyun is confused. 

"You spend 8 years of your life in a wrong relationship. That's why you are very careful with Hyunwoo. Especially, there's a child in the picture. You choose to play it safe because you can't afford of losing both of them. After what happened recently, I can see you are being a little....loose?. Are you ready to open your heart again?" Hyungwon said to Kihyun and receives a nod from Changkyun. Apparently, the Neuro notices the changes too. 

Kihyun suddenly look lost in his thought. 

"Are you ok?" Changkyun asks worriedly. 

"Well, since the three of us have been so close to being dead...I have something to say about it" Kihyun suddenly blurts out. 

"What about it?" Hyungwon asked casually. 

"When I was on the verge of dying, I saw the day I got married. I watch my wedding vow few times on a loop. It makes me realize that I never actually fulfil any of it. When I wake up, I saw Hyunwoo is wearing my wedding ring on his pinky finger. Next, to his wedding ring on his ring finger. His ring looks a little worn out while mine still looking new because I never wear it on my finger. I wear it as a necklace. I have this thought that maybe God, let me return because He wants to give me a chance to fulfil my vow"

"That's deep" Changkyun commented. 

"I know. What do you see?" Kihyun replied. 

"Lee Jooheon, of course. Nothing much though. Just our memories together" Changkyun smiles a little. 

"You two broke up that time" Kihyun commented.

'They what?" Hyungwon is surprised because he never heard of this.

"I was in danger and a walking time bomb, anytime I can cause hurt to anyone. So, I sent him an email to break up. I told him not to wait for me, I told him to move on. He simply replied, 'true love has a habit of coming back. He let me go without a fight with an expectation of me coming back. I actually come back, even though I almost come back as a dead body in the beginning" Changkyun simply explains. "What about you?"

Hyungwon takes time to think. "I see a dog" he suddenly blurts out. "It's not even my dog. It was a dog in my old neighbourhood. Then, I walk around and sees a girl. A happy cheerful girl. A very cute little one"

"Patient of yours?" Changkyun makes a guess.

Hyungwon didn't answer. 

"My daughter?" Kihyun asked. 

Hyungwon just shrugged. 

"You got to see her?. That's not fair" Kihyun whines.

"I want to see her too" Changkyun pouts. 

"By the way, I don't see you wearing a necklace. Where's your wedding ring?" Hyungwon tries to change the topic. 

"Hyunwoo hasn't returned it back to me. Until last week, I was wearing a portable heart monitor. So, he keeps it for me" Kihyun answered.

Jinhee suddenly comes crying. Kihyun instantly stands up and give the girl a hug. "What's wrong Harriet-ah?"

"Hurts," Jinhee said as she pointed to her waist. 

"Let me see" Kihyun make Jinhee sit on his lap. 

Hyungwon lifted up the girl clothes and there is a new bruise on the side where she got her kidney removed. He turns to his left side but Changkyun is already gone. "That was fast," he said, scanning for Changkyun in the play area.

"Is it better?" Kihyun asked as he rubs the bruising area gently. Jinhee nodded but still sobbing.

Changkyun entered the play area and saw Jinwoo is about to get hit by a boy who looks like he is around Jinhee age. "Henry" Changkyun call for the boy and Jinwoo immediately run to him. The other boy disappears to another section of the play zone. "What are you doing?" he asked gently. Jinwoo looks reluctant to answer his question. Then, he heard Sang Wook voice. He searches for the toddler and saw him talking to a woman. The woman is looking intimidated and Sang Wook looks defensive. "Come with me" he holds Jinwoo hand and walks to Sang Wook. 

"No, auntie. I was there. Your son hit Harriet with a baseball bat toy" Sang Wook said to the woman. "He hit her because she told him to wait" 

"Excuse me" Changkyun tries to get the woman's attention. Jinwoo immediately hides behind him when the woman looks at them. 

"You are their father?" the woman asks snobbishly.

"He is my uncle" Sang Wook answered innocently. 

"Don't you ever teach them respect?" the woman is now attacking Changkyun. "How dare a kindergarten kid of yours teaching me?" 

"Respect is something you earn, Ma'am," Hyungwon said as he walks to them. "I don't know you, but I know my nephew very well. He was never rude to an adult unless he has to" 

"Of course, you will defend your family" the woman is looking at Hyungwon with prejudice. 

"I know you will be saying that. By the way, I'm Dr. Chae Hyungwon. A psychiatrist" Hyungwon give the woman his card. "That's your son?" he asked, pointing at the boy who was almost got into a fight with Jinwoo earlier. 

"Yes," the woman takes the card. 

"I have something to talk to you," Hyungwon said. 

The woman suddenly looks nervous. 

Changkyun lifted up Sang Wook and wrap his hand around Jinwoo shoulder. He brings the children back to the table to let the duo have a private conversation.

"What happened?" Kihyun asked no one in specific. Jinhee is already falling asleep from crying too much in his arms. 

"The boy hit Harriet when she told him to wait because there is another kid who wanted to play with the car before him. He got mad and hit Harriet with a baseball toy. Sang Wook scolded him and he told his mother we are bugging him. She then scolded Sang Wook" Jinwoo explains as he takes a seat next to Kihyun watching over his sleeping little sister. 

"So, that's why she said you are rude?" Changkyun sit down with Sang Wook in his lap. 

"She's mad because she won't believe me. But, Mama always said the truth will always be the truth no matter people's belief in it or not. There is a witness too" Sang Wook replied.

"Did you just said, witness?" Kihyun is caught off guard. 

Changkyun is just impressed at how much Sang Wook speaking and vocabulary improves.

"Mama told me to always speak the truth without fear or favour. So, I did. She needed to know the truth" Sang Wook replied.

"I remember that" Kihyun pat his son's head. "It's just next time if you ever face this kind of situation again, let the adult handle it. Ok?" he gently reprimands his son. 

"Ok, mama" Sang Wook nodded cutely. "They are leaving," he said when he sees the woman and her son walks out of the cafe. 

Hyungwon returns to the table, naturally making Jinwoo sit on his lap. 

"She didn't scold you too, right?" Jinwoo sound worried. Besides his Dada, Im Changkyun, Chae Hyungwon is his most favourite person. The psychiatrist is always gentle to him and he feels safe with him around. 

"No. She didn't" Hyungwon kiss the boy's cheeks. 

"Mama, I want to go colouring," Sang Wook said. 

"I will go with you" Jinwoo offer to accompany Sang Wook. 

"Just be careful. If anything, call us" Kihyun said to the boys. Not sure if they are listening to him though. They are already running before he finishes talking. 

Changkyun takes Jinhee from Kihyun and lay her down on the bench next to their table, using their thick jacket to be her mattress. 

"Holding a girl is a lot different from holding a boy," Kihyun said as he watches Changkyun make sure the girl is comfortable. "Do you think she needs to go to the hospital?" 

"I don't think so. Will ask Jooheon to check on her later" Changkyun answered. "What you talk about with the woman?" he asked Hyungwon.

"Just some heart to heart talk. She looks snobbish and all but that's a cover-up. She was treated wrong at home, acting all strong in public is her way to redeem herself confidently. I just hope she got the courage to stand up against her abusive husband. That boy needs a better environment to grow up" Hyungwon explained.

"To think of it, I save a lot of useless men as that" Kihyun sighed. "I mean most of my client is innocent but they aren't saints. There is always a reason why they are framed or suspected of conducting crimes"

"At least you save their life based on facts and evidence, I save lives based on circumstances. There are a few times when I have a real conversation with the patient's family and I regretted trying my best" Changkyun sighed.

"We can't really choose, aren't we? If there is a life to help, we help that life regardless. God gives us the gift of living, it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well" Hyungwon simply said.

The other two surprise at how deep Hyungwon has suddenly become. But, he is right because life is 10% of what happened to you and 90% of how you react to it. 

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hazhatt #1
Chapter 98: male population is increasing thanks to hyunwoo and kihyun
yellowtulip123 #2
Chapter 98: aaaaa kinda sad when the baby was not a girl, but the last sentence really make it up haha. finally dasom is back. thank youuu for the update
Sunflower_Heart
#3
Chapter 98: Yeay!!? The baby is here!!!
hazhatt #4
Chapter 97: Thank you for the updates XD
Sunflower_Heart
#5
Chapter 97: I'm so happy while reading this chapter. Thank you so much for your update
Neny_haneul
#6
Chapter 96: thank you for the update!! another baby is coming yeayy 😁
yellowtulip123 #7
Chapter 96: omg omgg there's an update and is the baby girl's coming??? thank youuu so much for the update. really need to re-read again so i remember the feel haha anyway thank youu so much for coming backk
Grabila #8
Chapter 96: Can't believe it that there is an update in 2023! Welp yaye I missed it and very happy you're back
Sunflower_Heart
#9
Chapter 96: Yeay you're back with new update.

Yeay too for the new baby
Yha-mhine #10
So touching.. ❤