"Yeah, Min. I'm already— I'll call you later."

Heechul was like a headless chicken, tossing his head left and right, stumbling on people, trying to find the exact room Sungmin told him—the room where his husband was lying weak without him. As soon as he processed the news from Sungmin that Jungsoo was rushed to the hospital after fainting in the hallway, his mind was in disarray. He did not even ask for permission from Shindong; he was too frantic. Even the way to the hospital felt painfully long like it was taking years for him to get to where his husband was waiting for him. 

He was panting, clutching his chest, as he reread all the signs that seemed to be playing with him as he still could not find the room. He was almost hopeless but the moment he caught the said room sign on the few alleys on his right, he forced his tired legs to run to the room. 

And there he saw Mrs. Park and Nara, waiting in front of the emergency unit, looking all distraught. Now that he was there, he lost his strength and confidence. He was not sure whether they would still accept him when he showed up, very likely, as the cause of whatever knocked Jungsoo down. But the price of being detested could not be compared to his urge to be with his husband. All the jealousy and the pain he had been bearing from seeing the worst nightmare a few days ago steadily faded the closer he got into the room. 

He was pathetic; for Jungsoo, he had been always pathetically in love. 

"Heechul-ah, son. Where— Jungsoo is being taken care of now. Are you— I mean—" 

Mrs. Park was taken by surprise when Heechul suddenly pulled her into a hug, a very desperate hug. She could feel his body tremble as he sobbed harder without saying anything. It was just him and his tears. And those silent words were too clear for her that something must have happened to his son and son-in-law. And she swore if it had got something to do with Nara—

"It's your fault that Jungsoo-oppa became like this! You can't call yourself his husband if you—" 

"Can you please shut your mouth?"

—she would not hesitate to stick her nose to their catastrophe. 

Heechul glanced at Nara and noticed that she seemed to be slightly taken aback by Mrs. Park's harsh reply. He, too, was as surprised. He never knew the storm was slowly getting worse and he was trapped, forced to enjoy thunder after thunder. Nara sighed in disbelief as she bored her gaze at him. But he was too cooped up by his worries that he barely heard the arguments going on between the two women. 

He just wanted to see Jungsoo. 

It was when the doctor and the nurses came out of the room when they all stopped, and he also let go of his in-law's hug, hurriedly approaching the medics. But the look on the doctor's face did not look too good, if not worse. 

"Mr. Park is still being examined now. However," 

That however was what killed him. That however was what he hoped did not continue. 

"We notice that Mr. Park keeps mumbling 'sorry' and 'come back' as if he," the doctor looked at the crowd in front of her and continued, "He seems to want to meet someone. One of you, perhaps?" 

Heechul's heart sank when Nara suddenly forced her way to the front and asked the doctor to take her to Jungsoo. And he could only stare at them, too afraid to admit that perhaps, Jungsoo did want to meet his ex-wife, that he actually was not ever needed here in the first place. But he was pathetic; that was why he still stubbornly came although now he got his heart smashed knowing that Jungsoo had found his lost piece. He swallowed the hard lump on his throat as he slowly stepped back and let Nara claim her spot.

When the back of his knee hit the chair, it was the same time he realized that he was too brave to ever dream that he was—

"Heechul? The patient wants to meet Heechul."

—the lost piece. 

Mrs. Park breathed in relief when another nurse suddenly stormed out of the room, announcing to everyone that the one her son needed was Heechul. And as Heechul wordlessly followed the medics, she glanced at the woman, rooted in her place, motionless, and smirked. 

"You see, Nara," she sang, eyes glancing at the closed door and down to her shiny heels, avoiding looking at her ex daughter in law, "You shouldn't have come back in the first place. The heartbreak Jungsoo and my grandsons have for years may want to seek revenge. And if you dare to hurt them again," she took a seat in the hallway and stared at Nara's still frozen body. 

"You may consider leaving them alone before you regret to ever come back."

«────── « ⋅♥⋅ » ──────»

"Are you sure it's okay for us to leave? Do I need to ask Kyuhyun to accompany you?" 

Heechul beamed at Mrs. Park and shook his head, "It's okay, Mother. You may go home now. Hyuk and Hae must be waiting. I'm gonna wait until Prof. Park wakes up."

Mrs. Park smiled sadly and nodded. She was so glad that, albeit whatever deeds Nara had made, Heechul was still keeping his place as Jungsoo's husband. She sighed and was about to wear her coat when Heechul suddenly spoke again. 

"Ah, that—" 

"Yeah, anything you want me to bring tomorrow?" 

Heechul glanced at Jungsoo and back to his mother-in-law. One thing, indeed, had been concerning him beside Jungs