“Aish, Doo-hwan…you’ve really done it this time!”

Heo Doo-hwan gave his best friend a crooked grin and the latter only shook his head for the umpteenth time tonight. “Your head’s going to fall off if you keep doing that” he commented before letting out a wheezing cough. Jung Hyung-shik handed Doo-hwan a cup of warm water and adjusted the pillow behind his back. “You don’t have to do all this. We have nurses for that” Doo-hwan chided him, but he was grateful to lie back in a better position. He handed Hyung-shik the water back and his eyes wandered off to the machines beeping beside him. He glanced down at the many wires poking his hands and chest and let out a sigh.

“I guess you were right” Doo-hwan said and Hyung-shik rolled his eyes at him as he took a seat on the chair beside the bed. “You’re schedule for another surgery and I don’t want you complain or whine about it” his friend scolded him.

“I don’t whine!” Doo-hwan chided. Hyung-shik settled back in his seat and recalled last year’s debacle they had about the surgery. Doo-hwan kept insisting that it was too early to have it and Hyung-shik argued back saying he was just being a wuss about it.

Yunho on the other hand, was watching the two elder men squabbling like kids, dismissing the fact that one of them was suffering from a minor heart complications earlier this evening and that his grandfather’s best friend had just woken up from a nap and not from a three-hour complicated surgery.

“So how long will he be staying here this time?” a tired voice spoke up and Yunho averted his attention to the couple huddled at the reception counter, checking the paperwork that was handed to them.

The middle-aged man, whom Yunho assumed was the husband, had been wearing a distressed look the whole night and Yunho’s heart went out to him, understanding what he was going through. He could feel the weight of responsibility sitting on the man’s shoulder as he ran a hand across his face, his brows furrowed in distraught. The woman, probably the wife, standing beside him mirrored his expression and only Yunho could tell she was holding back her troubled emotions. Yunho had spotted her crying softly to herself when he had come looking for his grandfather. She was hiding away from the family, standing behind a wall and sobbing quietly and when she came back to join them, she was all composed and calm.

“I can get this settle. Why don’t you and the girls go see him? It’s been a long night” the father was saying.

“Ani, we should do this together” the woman said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

The man let out a heavy distressed sigh but he nodded his head. “Shall we tell the girls to head home first then? Chorong still have classes tomorrow right?” he asked.

The wife nodded. “I’ll go tell them that” she assured him before leaving his side. The woman shuffled slowly to where two girls sat beside each other, their backs rigid and stiff. Yunho’s eyes kept looking at the young lady in the purple dress for he had definitely seen someone wearing a similar outfit tonight, but it could not be her, can it? The one he saw at the Cornerstone had her hair all styled up in a classy sophisticated bun and the one in front of him has hers in loose waves tumbling down her back. He was willing the person to stand up so he could get a full view of her face and she actually did, much to his relief. The young lady took the time to slowly put on her cream colored coat and Yunho thought he saw her shivering a bit.

“Get home quickly and keep yourselves warm araso?” the elder woman was saying just as Yunho’s phone rang. He actually jumped in his seat as he realized that he’s been too focused on staring at the purple-dress lady. He fumbled for his phone in his coat’s pocket and answered it.

“Our grandfather’s doing alright there?” Hyo-joo’s asked from the other line.

“Uh..yeah. He’s in the room now with his friend. The surgery was a success” Yunho replied. Hyo-joo breathed a sigh of relief. “Ah, that’s good. Gosh, that old man nearly turns the house upside down the moment he got the phone call”.

“Well, it is his best friend, so I can understand what was going on in his mind” Yunho said. Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted the cream colored coat leaving the waiting and heading towards the lift lobby.

“Ah..crap!” Yunho muttered under his breath. There goes his chance of figuring out who she is!

“Mwoh?” Hyo-joo blurted out. “What did you say?!”

“I..I wasn’t talking to you!” Yunho told her as he slumped in his seat.

“So you weren’t paying attention to what I was saying? How dare you!” Hyo-joo said with a theatrical flair. Yunho rolled his eyes. “Nuna, there’s only room for one drama queen in our house, and it certainly isn’t yours to take. I’ll be home with harabeoji soon. Don’t wait up”.

Yunho hung up quickly and slipped his phone back in his coat, his eyes still lingering at the seat where the mysterious purple-dress lady was seated. What a bummer. If his nosey sister hadn’t called, then he would have known who the person was.

“Yunho-ah” Hyung-shik suddenly called out. Yunho stood up when he saw his grandfather motioned for him to come into the ward. He walked slowly and hesitantly stood at the doorway, giving his grandfather’s best friend a polite bow.

“Did your grandfather tell you I eat people for a living? Don’t stand there. Come in!” Heo Doo-hwan jokingly said. He gave Yunho a weak smile as Yunho stepped into the room and stood behind his grandfather.

“He’s got your eyes Hyung-shik ah” Doo-hwan commented, his own eyes boring into Yunho’s. “And also that masculine jaw” he added.

Hyung-shik chuckled to himself. “Well, he’s one lucky grandson isn’t he? Good looks really runs in the family”. Yunho felt his face getting warm as he stood there, not sure of what to say.

“I’m so sorry you had to abandon your date tonight just to accompany your bratty grandfather here in the hospital. I did told him not to come you know. I have my family to take care of me” Doo-hwan told Yunho.

“Oh….ah,ani. I wasn’t on a date. It was just dinner with Hyo-joo. My sister. We normally have dinner together once in a while. Just to catch up on things. She’s very busy with work” Yunho immediately wished he could just numb his mouth. Why was he blabbering so much?

Doo-hwan raised his eyebrows. “Oh. I see. Well, you’re so sharply dressed I thought you were…” his eyes swept up and down Yunho’s dark blazer, dark shirt and dress pants appreciatively. “You have good sense of style by the way. It’s rare to see young men putting this look altogether. Is that how you charm the ladies? That’s how your grandfather used to do it back in the days”

Yunho felt his face warmed up again and he gave a sheepish grin. Hyung-shik only laughed along with his best friend. “Yah! Stop teasing my grandson would you?” he chided.

Doo-hwan shrugged. “Well, he is easy to be tease at. Just like you. So tell me, are you interested in my granddaughter?” he suddenly questioned Yunho.

“Me?!” Hyung-shik asked, his eyes wide with surprise and Doo-hwan snickered. “Pabo! Not you”.

Yunho’s eyes darted from his grandfather and to Doo-hwan. Was he supposed to answer that question? Wait, was it that obvious that was he was staring after her just now? Were this two watching him all the while?

“You know I can start the ball rolling” Doo-hwan was saying, waggling his thick grey eyebrows at Yunho. “I saw the way you were looking at her. She’s a beauty isn’t she? She really does take after her late mother”.

Yunho gulped nervously and gripped the edge of the back rest his grandfather was sitting on. Hyung-shik could only shake his head and reprimand his friend for teasing his grandson again. “Yunho ah, why don’t you take a seat outside? I’ll be right out in a moment” Hyung-shik told him and Yunho felt a wave of relief as he hastily left the room, almost banging onto a nurse with a medicine tray, and he could hear Doo-hwan cracking up, or more like wheezing up at Yunho’s comical exit.

Yunho shook his head to himself as he settled back to where he was seated before. “Bunch of jokers” he thought, amused that his grandfather and his friend teamed up just to embarrass him. Doo-hwan could probably be high on morphine since he was probably not aware of what he was talking about and Hyung-shik was just playing along.

But one thing’s for sure, Yunho is definitely interested to get to know who the granddaughter is.