It was the longest four hours in Heechul's life. The little light above the door of the surgical room was slowly blinding Heechul's eyes. It was almost midnight and everyone was exhausted, trying to catch some sleep crumpled on the long chairs of the hospital. Yet, Heechul couldn't even shut his eyes, afraid that the moment he dazed off, Jungsoo would look for him. Silly? Indeed. 

How could a man whose consciousness was never presence since a while ago suddenly want to meet him?

Heechul heaved, filling his lungs with oxygen as his chest was suffocated. He softly Haeun's hair to make sure that his little angel was having a nice dream. A bitter smile slowly appeared the moment he eyed his surroundings. To end up being in the hospital was far from the expectations he had when Donghae told him that Jungsoo had prepared all the beautiful plans for him. His mind daringly imagined if the plan ran the way Jungsoo wanted, they would be cuddling on the bed, warming each other's body with their burning love.

It sounded too perfect and once again, Heechul knew that perfection frightened him.

His little daydream was cut off when he heard someone marching towards him. He raised his head only to have the timed bomb explode right in front of him. The horror chased him down in the place he couldn't shield his body. Yet, he was somewhat determined that nothing could hurt him more than what the past hours did to him.

Mrs. Park walked, her pace getting slower and slower the closer she got to the bunch of people in front of the room. She saw him. Heechul immediately stood up, holding Haeun securely in his arms as the little girl was still exploring the dreamland, unaware of what was about to come—the pain Heechul didn't want Haeun to ever experience. Heechul inhaled deeply and was ready for whatever the woman in front of him would throw when it turned out that Mrs. Park's coming was too loud that someone woke up.

Hyukjae jolted up the moment he saw who was nearing. He jumped from his seat and stood bravely in front of Heechul and Haeun, covering two people his brother wordlessly asked him to protect.

"Mom, I... I told you to come here tomorrow, didn't I?"

Mrs. Park didn't answer, her swollen eyes glued to Heechul's form. The moment Heechul looked up and returned the gaze, his heart broke. A single tear dropped on her cheek as she was still intently looking at him. Deep inside, Heechul badly wanted to kneel and ask for her forgiveness for causing all this problem to her son but the demon inside his heart told him otherwise, that it was never his fault.

"Mother."

Hyukjae warned as he hid Heechul's body even bolder to stop his mother from boring her gaze to the already destroyed man.

"I want to see my son."

She finally spoke up surprising all people with her hoarse voice, meaning that she had also been crying. The whisper was like a lightning blazing in Heechul's ears. Even the sore he felt in his eyes didn't stop them from constantly shedding tears.

"Jungsoo-hyung is in the room. The doctors are conducting surgery immediately before..."

"Before it's too late? And he-"

"Mom!"

Heechul's clutch on his daughter's form tightening as every word coming from Mrs. Park was like a poison numbing his senses slowly until he lost balance and fell. They came like a speeding truck hit him the other day, less painful but leaving a deeper scar.

On Hyukjae's half-yell, Donghae, Sungmin, and even Mrs. Kim were awaken from their sleep. After slowly grasping the situation, Donghae and Sungmin immediately stood beside Heechul because nothing was going to be better with the unexpected confrontation. Heechul was already in his worst state and they couldn't let him drowned even more. 

However, Mrs. Kim stayed motionless on her seat as she observed what was happening and why her son was being guarded from the woman in front of them. Until it suddenly hit her, the strong resemblance screamed that the woman around her age was Jungsoo's mother. Seeing how hostile Jungsoo's mother's gaze towards her son reminded her of how she looked at Heechul when her husband passed away back then. It was the same hurtful stare she had but if she assumed correctly, something was being covered behind that unpleasantness—a strong denial. 

She hoped Jungsoo's mother didn't do the same mistake she did.

"Kim Heechul."

The way Mrs. Park called his name coldly sent shivers running down his spine. Yet, Heechul stubbornly stood still although he was so close to apologizing. Sungmin and Donghae were also ready to hold Heechul, comforting the poor man. Mrs. Park took a reluctant step closer. Tears were already b her wrinkly eyes and for Hyukjae, it was too painful to watch.

"Hyuk. Let me talk to h-him."

"Mom."

"L-let her, Hyuk."

Heechul whispered. The barricade of his friends was slowly opening, exposing his fragility to the person who surely would cause him to feel even more useless. Heechul bowed slowly, securing sleeping Haeun on his arms as he brought her bending down to bow to her supposedly grandmother.

However, before Heechul even straightened his body, Mrs. Park suddenly dropped to her knees and sobbed harder. Heechul was stunned and so was everyone. She kneeled in front of him as she uttered indecent words Heechul couldn't comprehend. That, until she suddenly looked up and said clearly, straight to his heart.

"I never hated nor blamed you. I was disappointed in myself for failing to understand my son. T-this... This is somehow m-my fault that Jungsoo became like this. If only I..."

All of the scenes before his eyes were fleeting. It was as if Heechul was still dreaming. Even after Hyukjae and his mother helped Mrs. Park stood up, he wa