ChapterThree

Siwon made his way out of the elevator, still wondering at the events he witnessed. Soon after Seung-heon had stepped out, Soo-Kyung had gotten off at the floor below. This time, she remembered to say goodbye, and Siwon felt his spirits lift as he recalled her smile.

He was still convinced that there was something going on between Seung-heon and Soo-Kyung, and he didn’t know why that notion bothered him so much. She isn’t even my type, he inwardly scoffed. His father was the chairman of a real estate empire, and Siwon had grown up in the company of rich and beautiful women; women who were infinitely better looking than the medical social worker he had just come to know, and women who willing threw themselves at his feet, unlike the cool, professional treatment said social worker always gave him.

For the umpteenth time that day, Siwon once again found himself pondering his reaction to Soo-Kyung. He barely knew the woman, had barely exchanged more than polite greetings with her, yet the urge to comfort her when he realized she had been crying had been so overwhelming.

Was that just his protective instincts? He had been raised to see tears as a weakness, and taught that as a man, his role was to offer comfort when a woman wept. That was probably it, he concluded. Just an automatic response to what he had been taught. Nothing more. It was a man’s job to make sure a woman never cried, and he was simply attempting to put that childhood lesson into practice.

Nothing more.

Caught up in his thoughts, Siwon stepped into the hospital lobby, and a shrill voice reached him. “Won!”

There was only one person in the world who could get away with calling him that, and a grin covered his face as he turned to greet her.

“Noona!”

Park In-Young glided to a stop before the younger man she considered her brother. “Won,” she breathed again, enveloping him into a tight hug. She felt the tension in his shoulders dissipate under her hands, and she hugged him closer.

In-Young knew just how much this little brother of hers – the youngest of their trio – was affected by Chang-Euk’s illness, although he barely showed it. Those who didn’t know Siwon simply concluded that he while he was concerned about his uncle’s health, it did not weigh heavily on his mind. But to her, who had known Siwon since he was young, Siwon gave meaning to the phrase “still waters run deep”.

He would never show it on the outside, but In-Young knew he was just as worried – if not more – as she was about her father. She knew Chang-Euk had been a replacement father figure for her cousin, and Siwon had grown up emulating Chang-Euk more than his own father, which had always been a source of contention between the two men.

Releasing her cousin from her embrace, In-Young studied his face. There was weariness written all over, and she wondered when he last had a good sleep.  

She took his hand. “Come,” she commandeered, her tone brooking no argument.

For a moment, Siwon looked like he might protest, but then changed his mind and allowed her to take the lead. “Where are we going?”

In-Young slanted a glance at him over her shoulder. “We’re going to feed you,” she announced.

Siwon tugged at her hand, the first sign of resistance. “I’m not hungry.”

“But I am!” she replied breezily. Truth was, she wasn’t really hungry either – her usually voracious appetite had disappeared when her father had his heart attack, but she knew the only way to ensure that Siwon ate something was to cloak the action as hers.

In-Young led him into the hospital cafeteria, which was largely devoid of people as lunch had been long over, and it was not yet time for dinner. She sat him down at the nearest table, and propped her head on her hands as she studied him again.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Siwon smiled at her, a little hesitantly and cautious of what she might reply.

He was fond of In-Young; his cousin was a breath of fresh air compared to other girls he knew. She was never afraid to speak her mind, consequences be damned. Her curt tongue had gotten her into a lot of trouble during their younger days, but now that she was older (and hopefully more mature), she had learned some tact. He was still somewhat afraid of her bluntness, since he was family and she never minced her words with him or Jung-su.

In-Young said nothing in response, but continued staring at him.

Siwon shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. In-Young knew him inside out; if anyone could read him like a book despite his neutral facial expressions, it was In-Young. Even Jung-su didn’t possess the same uncanny ability as his sister.

Finally she spoke. “You look like noodles today.”

“What?” Sometimes In-Young said the weirdest and most random things that never made any sense.

Without answering him, his cousin jumped out of her seat and made her way to the only noodle stall in the cafeteria. Siwon watched as she ordered two bowls of ramyeon, noticing that she told the stallholder to add less chili into one of the bowls, which presumably was his.

He scrutinized the menu, wondering if In-Young had ordered the kimchi or the seafood version for herself. Suddenly, a vision of Soo-Kyung’s face intruded into his thoughts, and he remembered her tear-stained face. Had she eaten?

Lunch hour had just been starting when he first bumped into her in the elevator and she had been called into an emergency. She probably didn’t have time to eat, everyone knew hospital staff had meals at irregular hours – such was the nature of their jobs.   

He was so engrossed in his thoughts of Soo-Kyung that he didn’t notice someone had slipped into the seat in front of him.

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As she waited for her order to be cooked, In-Young looked at where Siwon was seated. His brows had furrowed, indicating he was in deep thought.

Something was bothering him, and to In-Young’s eagle eyes, it was not just her father’s condition that plagued Siwon. There was something else.

It was there, in his eyes, in the way little frown lines had appeared on his forehead. In-Young prided herself on her talent in reading people. She knew it annoyed Jung-su and Siwon to no end when she could seemingly read their minds and know what they were thinking, and she always laughed it off as a woman’s sixth sense.

But in times like these, she gave silent thanks for this aptitude; it allowed her to discern when something was troubling her brothers and they – being stoic men – did not want to share their burdens. By opening pointing out that she knew there was a problem, they were usually forced to divulge whatever quandaries they had.

It was a useful tool, more for intimating her younger brothers than anything else. Setting her chin determinedly as she balanced two bowls of ramyeon, In-Young slid into her seat.

Gently settling the bowls on the table, she noticed Siwon’s eyes were still unfocused and he didn’t seem to notice her. It was only when she noisily clanked her chopsticks together that Siwon realized she was back.

Wordlessly, she handed a pair of chopsticks to him. “Eat.”

Siwon did as he was told. The spicy aroma of his seafood ramyeon had stirred his appetite, and he felt a slight growling of his stomach, reminding him that it had been a while since he last had a good meal.

Between his job and worrying about his uncle, he hadn’t had much time in the past two weeks to enjoy his food. It had been a chore that he knew he needed to do, so he usually had his secretary pick up some takeout during mealtimes and he would diligently stuff a few spoonfuls into his mouth while perusing documents.

The takeaway box was usually still half full when the cleaning lady came to clear out his office in the evening.

In-Young was slurping her noodles with gusto, clearly enjoying it. She never bothered with propriety in front of him and Jung-su. She wasn’t talking to him, nor was she even looking at him, but Siwon knew she was dying to say something.

Sighing inwardly, he knew he should just get her questioning over and done with.

Setting his chopsticks down, he told her: “Just ask what you want to ask.”

In-Young paused, her eyes widening in surprise and her chopsticks suspended in mid-air. She had been about to bring more noodles to when his question stunned her. Siwon had never openly invited her interrogations; he had always waited for her to start asking him first.

Clearing , In-Young mimicked his actions and set her chopsticks down. “What makes you think I had a question?”

Siwon grinned at her – that smile of his making her mirror his expression. In-Young had always loved his smiles. It made him seem less serious. “I can sense a question coming from you even from a mile away,” he told her.

In-Young coughed, trying to cover up her laughter. Siwon knew her as well as she knew him.

“So… what’s new?” she asked innocently. If she asked him outright to tell her what was bothering him, In-Young knew Siwon had a tendency to clam up.

“Nothing?” Siwon frowned at her. He’d expected her to throw him a difficult question, not something as mundane as that.

“Really? Then what had you frowning at the ramyeon menu just now?”

Now she really caught him off guard. What was he going to tell her? 

“Just thinking about… things,” Siwon replied. The excuse sounded lame, even to him.

In-Young obviously didn’t buy it. “What sort of ‘things’?”

“Just… things.” Siwon mumbled. He made the mistake of looking directly at In-Young, and now he was caught in her unflinching gaze. She wasn’t going to let this go until he told her exactly what she wanted to hear.

His cousin let out an exaggerated sigh. “When will you learn that vague answers like that will not suffice?”

Siwon smiled, a genuine one this time. “Probably never,” he replied impishly.

In-Young didn’t respond to that. She just waited for the banter to pass. Sometimes, to get information out of Siwon, one needed to have the patience of a saint.

The cousins sat in silence for a while, neither wanting to make the first move. Finally Siwon took a deep breath.

“I’m just worried about him.”

In-Young raised her eyebrows. “Appa? You know he’s a tough cookie.”

Siwon chuckled at her description, and then sobered. “But he’s getting old.”

“People get old, Won. Especially our parents.”

“He’s barely 60! It’s not his time yet!”

Ah… There it was. In-Young now understood. Siwon’s deep-seated worries were rooted in his fear that Chang-Euk would pass away before his time.

“Is there ever a specific time for things like that?” In-Young asked softly.

Siwon glared at her. “How can you be so calm talking about things like these? Aren’t you afraid too? Worried?”

“Of course I’m worried. He’s my father. But I know his health hasn’t been good for a while now. And the way he keeps working…”In-Young trailed off.

Once again, the cousins sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. In-Young resented the implication that she wasn’t worried about her father - she was. She just preferred to hide her fears behind a happy-go-lucky façade. Even more importantly, she didn’t want to visit her father when he was recuperating without a smile on her face – he would pick up on her worries and she didn’t want to burden him further.

“I’m sorry,” came Siwon’s soft entreaty. “I didn’t mean to accuse you of not caring.”

In-Young reached across the table and clasped his hand in hers. “It’s alright, dongsaeng,” she reassured. “We’re all worried and frightened. And we care too much about each other to allow ourselves to show those emotions.”

Siwon blinked. In-Young always had a way to analyze their behavior.

“But is there anything else bothering you?”Once again, In-Young never failed to catch him by surprise.

Siwon fought the urge to look down. “What makes you think that there’s something else?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I know you so well?” In-Young teased.

“Do you think this hospital is adequate enough for him?” Siwon suddenly asked.

“What?”

“I mean… do you think Uncle is receiving the best care here?”

In-Young bit her lip. “Why not? This is one of the best hospitals in the city – if not the country. Geum hoejangnim is in charge of the board. He’ll make sure appa gets the best possible care. Did you meet someone who acted otherwise?”

Under her curious gaze, Siwon quickly shook his head. “No, of course not. Everyone has been very professional.”

In-Young released the hand she had been holding, and sat back in her chair. She knew Siwon wasn’t telling her whole truth. She decided to prod further. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Ohhhh-kay.” In-Young drew out the word, knowing it irritated Siwon when she did that.

Siwon knew he was caught. She didn’t believe him.

“I just…” he struggled to find the words. How was he to talk about Soo-Kyung without giving away too much information? “I mean… did you know the hospital has put a social worker on Uncle’s medical team?”

In-Young frowned. She heard about that from Jung-su, but she had never met the woman. Jung-su had explained that she was merely there to ensure the family had emotional support.

“It’s a bit incredulous, isn’t it?” Siwon continued, seeing that In-Young wasn’t going to say anything. “I mean, how can Geum hoejangnim put a social worker on his team? Surely he knows we don’t need help paying the bills.”

“I don’t think that was his intention,” In-Young began, only to be cut off by Siwon again.

“And she’s so young! I wonder if she’s even qualified or if she even knows what she’s doing!”

In-Young raised her eyebrows again. This was the first time she had heard Siwon getting so impassionate about someone else who wasn’t family. When he was unhappy with a staff member, he usually called them to his office and berated them behind closed doors. It wasn’t like him to be openly complaining about someone else.

Before she could say anything else, Siwon abruptly stood up. “Anyway, I need to get back to the office.”

In-Young tilted her head back to meet his gaze. She’d always insisted that Jung-su and Siwon be seated whenever she spoke to them – their heights intimidated her (not that she would ever reveal that to either of them) and she always felt at a disadvantage if they were not at eye-level.

“I’ll see you at dinner?” she asked.

Siwon inwardly shuddered. After inadvertently leaking out that Soo-Kyung had been bothering him – though not in the way he knew In-Young would suspect – he wasn’t very keen to spend more time in his cousin’s presence. God only knew what other information she could coax out of him if given more time and opportunity.

He shook his head. “I’ll be working late,” he told her, bidding her goodbye with a slight bow and a careless wave.

In-Young stared at his retreating back. His sudden departure bewildered her. Was he running from her? In-Young knew the only time Siwon ever stopped their conversations halfway was when he was unwilling to answer more of her questions, afraid of what he might reveal.

So either this social worker really stepped on Siwon’s toes, or…In-Young allowed herself a small smile then. She was definitely looking forward to meeting this social worker in person.

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