The fragrant scent of flowers welcomed Jongin when he regained consciousness. His eyes slowly fluttered open, asking himself if he’s already in the afterlife. The room’s too bright and too white. He shut his eyes. No, he’s not in the afterlife. He’s still not dead. The pain on his left abdomen was evidence to that.

The room’s too quiet. His eyes landed on the needle stuck on his arm. Great. Drugs. He wondered if the guys from the office decided to bury him in flowers because there sure were a lot in the room. They came in different colors and sizes.

“Hyung.”

He looked at Jaehyun who was just entered in time to see him squirming on his bed. He was carrying a basket of fruits.

“Oppa.”

It was Jinri this time. She looked like she just came from school. A sigh of relief left her lips as she ran towards him. She threw her arms around him and carefully hugged him, trying not to touch any of his injuries. When she pulled away, Jongin saw the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

“I’m alive so don’t cry,” he stated with groggy voice.

Jinri sniffed, holding back the tears. “Do you know how surprised I was when your office called me? I thought you were going to leave us. Don’t do that again.”

“Sorry.” He was still feeling weak. He could feel the pain creeping throughout his body. He wondered if the hospital’s going to give him more drugs to feel numb.

“Look at you,” she sighed. Her eyes scanned him from head to toe. His head was wrapped with bandage. His left arm was in a cast and his left abdomen was stitched up. He looked like a semi version of Humpty Dumpty. “You look like .”

Jongin’s lips formed a smile. His sister has the tendency to use those kinds of words and be feisty when she wants to. He’s just glad that she’s still in there. Jongin’s gaze went to Jaehyun who was organizing some stuff on the table.

“Aren’t you busy?”

Jaehyun looked back at him. “Not too busy to visit. The guys sent me as their representative. Johnny was here yesterday.”

His brows furrowed. “How many days was I out?”

“Two days,” Jinri replied. “The doctor said that you’ll eventually come around yesterday and so we waited but you did not wake up. I thought you’re going to be a vegetable the rest of your life. I should probably call Minjung unnie. She was here with me yesterday.”

“She was here? How is she?”

“She’s okay. She had some scratches and bruises but she’s fine.” Jinri pulled her phone from her pocket and walked towards the door. She closed the door behind her. Jongin sighed in relief. He couldn’t remember a thing after he felt head against the floor.

“What happened to the guy?” Jongin asked, looking at Jaehyun.

“He’s behind bars now. Sir Kim was on his way to the office to get back something when he saw the man in the office. He called security right away.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “We were so surprised when we heard about what happened. I saw the boss’s office the next morning and it was trashed. Your blood was all over the floor. I heard you were in a critical condition during surgery. They were not expecting you to get out of the surgery room alive.”

“Well, I guess you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Jongin gave the younger guy a lopsided smile to relieve the lingering fear.

“I guess you’re right.”

The door came open and Jinri stepped in. “Unnie said she’s too busy to come but she said she’s relieved that you’re awake now.”

There was a bitter taste at the back of Jongin’s tongue when he heard that. He was actually hoping that Minjung would be there. Was he hoping too much? He forced a small smile to his face.

“That can’t be helped, right? She’s the boss in the first place.”

Jaehyun looked at his phone when it vibrated. “Well, that’s my cue to go. We have a team meeting. I just dropped by to see how everything’s going on. It’s good to see you back. Hyung, I’ll go ahead.” He turned to Jinri. “See you around.”

Jinri casually nodded. “Take care.”

“See you around? Take care?” Jongin asked when Jaehyun was already out of the room. Jinri turned to him and he noticed that her brother was giving her a suspicious look. “Have you two become close within 2 days?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “He was just being nice. Why are you reading between the lines? Besides, I have a boyfriend.”

That took all the words out of Jongin’s mouth. “You have a boyfriend?” His voice got louder than usual.

“What’s so surprising about that?” she asked nonchalantly while folding some towels. “I’m already graduating from college. I’m not a kid anymore. It’s just normal that I’m dating someone.”

“I- Yeah, I know that but you should’ve told me sooner.”

“That’s why I’m telling you now.”

Jongin kept quiet after that. He knows it’s not his place to meddle since Jinri’s already an adult and she can make her own decision. At least he now knows that she’s dating someone.

“What’s his name?”

“Choi Inho.”

“How old is he?”

“A year older than me.”

“Where-”

“Oppa.”

“Okay. I get it.”

Jinri pulled a chair and sat on it beside Jongin’s bed. “I did not tell the parents about this. I thought that you might not like them to get worried.”

Jongin nodded. “Good job.”

She started rubbing her hands together. “She must be scared.”

“Who?”

“Minjung unnie.”

He narrowed his eyes, not really getting what his sister was talking about.

“I said before that she was here yesterday, right?” She paused and he nodded in reply. “I left the room for a moment to get some food and when I came back, I saw her crying. I did not approach her because I thought she needed some time alone to get over the shock. I heard her apologizing for what happened.”

“Why would she apologize? It’s not like she wanted what happened.”

“She sounded lifeless a while ago. And she apologized to me for what happened to you. You don’t think she’s trying to avoid us because of what happened, right?”

Jongin pursed his lips into a thin line. “She’s not that kind of person. Besides, you said she was here yesterday. She’s just busy. It’s not like she’s obligated to visit me anyway.”

Right?

“Are you going to drink on your own again?” Madame Park asked while putting down a plate of snack.

Minjung’s already emptied a bottle of soju and she looked like she’s still up for another. She looked up at the older woman and gave her a smile that did not reach her eyes. Madame Park kne