CHAPTER 2

 

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Haneul was the first person to hear Seoul wake up.

 

Although the moon was still glistening and the sun nowhere to be seen for another hour or two, the early noises of the city began to errupt. You could hear from the tenth floor of her apartment complex the garbage collectors going down the road, building to building, and even the slow melody of birds beginning to chirp. From ten floors off the ground, you could also probably hear Haneul's morning rush.

 

She was a lousy cleaner. Copius amounts of dish soap was smothered on her gloves that she could barely grip the dishes, and the grubby plates clanked against each other as she scrubbed vigorously at the food stains. It was her mistake for letting her apartment get to this state of untidiness for the past two days, and even more embarrassing she had welcomed Jaehyun- no, Haru's brother's best friend- no... his boss- that does not sound right either... her patient's son of all people into the pig sty. 

 

A groan was heard from living area across the kitchen island.

 

Haneul's place was quite small, though decently sized for the area she lived in and the standard of a typical flat in Seoul, with the Hangang River Park only being a few streets away. Rent was ridiculously priced compared to the other places she checked out three years ago before her move, but living here was only a fifteen minute bus ride to work. She was lucky it was a rather newly developed building with updated modern anemities and aesthetic. It was even better that the apartment felt the slightest bit bigger with its open floorplan and ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the neighbouring skycrapers.

 

Another groan errupted to compete with the noise Haneul was making, followed by a grunt as the culprit shuffled around the sofa in hopes to find comfort. With another clank of a plate came the finale of the girl kicking herself up.

 

"Who the ," Haru mumbled, eyes straining as the phone light hit her face, "wakes up at 4.00am? The whole of ing Korea is asleep right now so stop making all that noise!"

 

"Me, I do," Haneul replied, wiping her damp hands with a cloth, "I want to jog before I go to work." She walked towards the couch and began putting all the laundry she had carelessly tossed and hid from her guest last night into the woven basket.

 

"Oh my gosh, Haneul, you're so bothered. How are you even going to work after last night?" Haru asked, as if it was unheard of to do.

 

Unlike Haneul who had worked since she was in her teens, Haru had never worked a proper job in her life. It was the perks of being a socialite from a wealthy family. Haru could never understand why anyone would have a crazy night out and work their full-time job the next day with no complaint.

 

The busy female sighed. "Haru, it's because I don't get drunk after a sip like you. In fact, I think you get more drunk now than you did when we first started going out. And you know, you really owe me one after last night because I'm not even joking, I'm so serious right now, I've never been more serious, you made getting home so complicated last night." Haneul sniffed a clean grey shirt and loose pants, throwing it at the sloth whose morning reflexes were poor. "Put that on after you shower. You stink of alcohol."

 

"Thank you, my beautiful-amazing-gorgeous-smart-brilliant friend," Haru said with a pout and formed a heart shape with her hands at her friend who was far from impressed. Her tone became firmer, "I mean it. I'm so grateful you didn't abandon me like Lee Taeyong that little . What would I ever do without you, my Haneul?" Haneul cringed at the girl's endearments but Haru voided it with a kissy face. "Oh by the way, I remember Jaehyun drove us home," Haru scratched her head, "which was way more random than us going to that dinner. I literally haven't spoke to him in what months? Years? Decades? Millenia? It was awkward enough for me talking to him at dinner so I can't imagine how awkward it was for you in the car while I was knocked out."

 

Haneul bit down on her lip.

 

That name again.

 

She stopped sorting out her laundry and with hestitance in her voice she confessed, "Haru, I saw the son again."

 

"When?" Haru questioned with her head tilting. Concern struck her sweet voice, "Don't tell me he stalked you home or something." To Haru's relief, Haneul shook her head but the girl was still reluctant to continue, so she lightened the mood. "Well, you know, three times does mean it's fate so who is this man? Where did you see him again? I know you said you have to be all professional and confidential but c'mon, two out of the three times you've met is outside of work, so are you allowed to tell me his name now?"

 

"His name..." Haneul muttered with a pause, unable to fathom that Haru personally knew the man who lost her earphone. The businessman who was Somin's son, and of all people, the man who had scared her, trapping her by the wrist. She saw how Haru eagerly waited for the mystery name and gulped her worries down. Haru truly had a talent for being convincing because she was reasonable, it did not seem logical to hide his identity from her, and so Haneul found her words again. "Jeong Jaehyun. His name is Jeong Jaehyun."

 

"He sounds so familiar..." Haru pondered till horror came over her face. She deeply gasped, "WHAT? Is this like a coincidence or? No way you mean President Jeong Jaehyun of Jeong Corporations, leading residential and commercial building developers - or whatever it is - in not just South Korea but also Thailand and Japan, SNU graduate and that is Seoul National Univeristy," she emphasised on the name in English, "studied - somewhere in the timeline - in America, and a millionaire or probably a billionaire at this point; Jeong Jaehyun. The guy who my brother works for and has been besties with since high school, and did I mention he went to SNU? You mean the same guy who sat opposite of us looking like little gremlins chewing on wings and he even drove us home?"

 

Haneul timidly smiled at the girl who was in disbelief.

 

"No, not a coincidence," she said as she dropped next to Haru on the sofa. "I was so shocked as well but I didn't know if I should tell you then and there, and before I knew it, it was too late to tell you because you were so drunk."

  "Seoul National University!" Haru exclaimed as she pushed Haneul's shoulder. "You're telling me that Aunty Somin is your patient with the businessman of a son being Jeong Jaehyun who lost your earphone. Haneul, you should just invoice the earphone 'cause he's worth billions!"   It was like Haru was going through cardiac arrest after hearing his mere name. The way she described him did not make him out to be a normal person like Haneul, but someone of high status with outstanding achievements which was not disappointing from all the things she listed.   Though, when was anyone "normal" from Haru's circle. Haneul did not know too much but enough to know that the socialite had a father who was very successful in the business scene and a brother who was not far off from his footsteps. Clearly, after the long description of Jeong Corporation as his employer. Her family earned enough that Haru did not need to lift a finger and could continue to live a lavish lifestyle by simply having a social media presence and helping organise a charity gala every few months. Her only worries and troubles were her superstitious beliefs.   Haneul was not aware that type of lifetsyle existed until she moved to Seoul years ago from her small hometown. She came to Seoul fresh out of high school with her intensive high school studies offering her acceptance into Yonsei Univeristy for nursing. One of the SKY univerisities. As prestigious as it can get in South Korea.   Though she came from a middle-class family, it is only now she could live comfortably and independently as an adult after graduation. Now that she can afford to live in a nice apartment by the Hangang River Park and continue to live there without worrying too much about her finances. She can also support her retired father back at home who spent his life savings giving her an opportunity to attend the best afterschool academy in town.   So Haneul was smart enough to know Haru's world was much different from hers.   "Haneul, what is this?" Haru gasped as she clutched Haneul's arm and inspected her pinkish stained wrist. "Why is there like a red bracelet here? It looks like the mark of the devil? Did you hurt yourself?"   "It might as well be from the devil," she cringed. "Jeong Jaehyun held onto it like a maniac after I tried to tell him something his mother wanted to relay to him. It's my battle scar! And seriously, I don't get his problem with his mom. Do you know?" Haneul rubbed against her joint as she recalled that encounter, and Haru's face was either flushed pink from the alcohol or her blood was boiling.   "That son of a !" She shouted, furiously. "Who is he to touch you like that? This stuff is bad energy, Haneul. Especially from him! I'm telling you, you need to see the shaman as soon as possible and heal this energy- It's okay, I'll take you later, but no. I have no idea about Jaehyun's personal affairs besides one thing. I know he's my brother's best friend but he is not exactly a saint..."   She bit down at her tongue and gave Haneul with a distasteful expression. "I know that he sleeps around with women since university, and in that not actually sleeping type of way," Haru bitterly said. "He was a playboy back in the day so that's why he's bad energy, Haneul. He probably has a rocky relationship with Aunty Somin because yeah he's smart and keeping the family business at the top, but who would have wanted a - excuse my French - of a son like that. I heard he 'quit'," she did quotation fingers, "that lifestyle after he came back from America, which is probably why Aunty's inviting him back with warming arms, but that was complete bull because I overheard Dahee who's one of the gala organisers telling her friends that she got knocked up by him. And this is underground info I'm sharing with you by the way, so don't tell a soul any of this because this stuff isn't known to anyone outside of Jaehyun's small circle."   "Who am I going to tell? I know absolutely no one," Haneul reassured her friend. "And now I also know I should never go to your brother's celebrations with you again."   She swallowed down all the information she had just recieved. Was it all true? She couldn't picture someone as educated and successful as him could engage in those kind of scandalous activities. Especially not a man as busy as him. Haneul barely has the time to clean her apartment so she could not imagine how packed his schedule would be that he could easily avoid time with his hospitalised mother. It would be a lie if Haneul said she was not the slightest bit curious to know the truth because it was human nature to be curious. Or was it that she just wanted to know more for whatever reason she could not make out.
"Anyway, I'm gonna go for a jog now," Haneul said, shaking away her thoughts. "Do you wanna come?"   "No, thank you. I want to sleep more before you kick me out," Haru yawned as she slouched back into the sofa. "And I promise you I'll make up for last night."   It was easy to forget about her earphone and Jaehyun when Haneul sat on the bench, staring at the calmness of the river this early in the morning. It was easy to forget everything. The water was almost still, with the sun slowly revealing itself and Haneul could feel the lingering uneasiness she was carrying slowly erode.   She could never get enough of how beautiful the scenery was.   She checked her watch for the time and hastily stood up as it was almost time to start getting ready for work soon. With her haste she felt the exhaustion hit her.   Another long jog back.    

Private hospital food was not as bad as Somin made it out to be with Haneul devouring her tray, but she almost forgot Somin was accustomed to a more exquisite palette than hers.

 

As far as employee cafeteria food goes, it was as good as it could get. A metal tray piled with staple side dishes, with today's menu being beansprout and tofu soup served with rice, pickled radish, and a few other aromatic vegetable dishes all generously placed on the designated spot of the tray.

 

"Are you working tomorrow, Sister Haneul? It's donation day." A bright nurse, Yeri, chirped from across the table. "I heard a rumor from the higher ups that someone's donating 1 billion won for building a hospital in the country side."

 

"That much?" Haneul gasped, beansprouts dangling off her chopsticks. "So there are people in this world with that kind of money. But yeah, I'm working and are you?"

 

The young nurse nodded. "It's really nice of them, though, don't you think? That kind of money would keep that hospital functioning forever, and you know how hard it is to get proper health care in that part of the country side," Yeri said, shaking her head. "It'll be great for the town. I'm actually thinking of seeing if I can get placement there when it's finished. I can't stand the noisiness of Seoul so it's time to retire out of this city and enjoy the peace of the country side."

 

Haneul smiled at Yeri's vision. Peace in the country side didn't sound like a bad idea. There would also be a new beautiful route to jog at.

 

"Take me with you! But the downside is that it'd take ages to be built so we're stuck in this city for a few more years," Haneul playfully bursted Yeri's bubble.

 

Yeri pondered, subconsiously clicking her chopsticks together as she tried to recall something stuck in the back of her brain. "Actually, I think they already started devlopment and expecting to finish it in like," she picked up a pickled white radish and held onto it as she thought a little harder, "a year or two." The radish finally entered .

 

"That's actually not that far away from now."

 

Yeri waved her chopstick around, covering as she vigoursly chewed before she could speak up again. "Don't take my word for ir right now, it's all just rumoured and alleged," she said, swallowing down her food. "We won't know till tomorrow when the donations are announced."

 

The term "donation day" was what the nurses referred to it as, although, they never knew the origins of the term. In other words, where businesses small or large and any individual, no matter the status, poor or rich but mostly rich, contributes a generally large sum of money to support the hospital's several charitable foundations. These foundations consisted of building independent hospitals in rural areas of South Korea to third world countries, funding research for cancer and any condition humans are susceptible to, giving young and unfortunate children better healthcare and every charitable field that falls under medicine.

 

It was a whole savior scheme the hospital's influence in high society had used to its advantage, with a lot of patient's being the 1%, and the 1% would always provide if it meant media would portray them graciously.

 

The top benefactors, those who generously contibuted millions to billions of won, were presented with an appreciation award at the ceremony and celebrated them for their goodwill. Those donating smaller amounts would be displayed through the projector at the end to give thanks, and it was a long list that the words were small and hardly readable.

 

Reporters and photographers would be there to capture this righteous moment with the top benefactors mostly consisted of South Korea's most influencial figures in business, politics, entertainment, and those of nepotism. On the ceremonial stage they would capture the benefactor shaking hands with the hospital's CEO, a roster of the hospital's finest doctors, a select few