Luckily, the drive back was rather quick, much to Hyemi’s relief. She helped Matilda make her way up the building, through the elevator, until she decided to hold her in her arms, ignoring the discomfort it brought, since the little girl barely had any energy left.

Once they were in front of the door, the child gave the entrance code to Hyemi before they stepped in, the door softly closing behind them. She placed the girl back on her two feet and helped her take her shoes off as well as her coat, following her own, and asked her to lead her to her bedroom.

Settled on her bed, Hyemi checked her temperature with her palm against the girl’s forehead and gasped at how high it has gotten since they left her office.

“Sweetie… I think its best if I take you to see a doctor. It looks pretty serious.”

She didn’t give time to the little one to answer. She swiftly lifted her up in her arms, holding her by her back and her knees caps and walked back to the front door. She helped her put back her jacket and her shoes before walking out and locking the door behind them. They were making their way downstairs when Hyemi started to dial Changsun’s number to tell him about what was going on; it had rang a couple of times before hearing the voicemail. She hung up with a sigh, rushing in her steps to make it outside of the building.

Coughs were coming out of the girl’s throat. They seemed to be stronger than earlier and fear started to ring in between the woman’s ears. One glance at Matilda and she let out a low curse at her sight; even from the grasp on her hand, she could feel her sudden weakness. Once they stepped foot outside, Hyemi lifted the girl back in her arms and called out for a cab by the sidewalk.

Luckily, it had stopped right in front of her; she rushed her steps and told the driver to drive to the nearest hospital. He had noticed the worried tone in her voice and as well as the paleness of the girl she was with. He quickly stepped on the gas as he drove to the requested destination.

In the meantime, Hyemi tried to dial Changsun’s number once again hoping that this time he will pick up, but to her luck, she was still sent to voicemail.

‘He better not be putting his stupid work above this.’

At least two hours have passed until Hyemi spotted the doctor calling Matilda’s name to find her guardian. She got up from her seat and rushed towards the man, rushing in with her questioning.

“Is she going to be okay? It’s not serious, is it?”

“She will be fine. You did right by bringing her right away.”

“O-of course. What caused the fever?”

“An infection. It’s pretty common for children around her age and its easily treatable, so she’ll be back on her feet in no time.” Relief washed over her, feeling the weight on her shoulder suddenly disappear. “Can I go see her?”

“Sure, come with me.”

She followed the doctor to Matilda’s room and as she stood by the entrance, a small smile appeared on her face as she saw the little girl lying on the bed. She thanked the doctor once more before he let her be, leaving Hyemi to walk inside, catching Matilda’s attention, a beam appearing on her face despite her still feverish state.

“How are you feeling sweetie?”

“Tired.”

“You should sleep then.”

“But I don’t want too~ Can’t you read me a story?” Hyemi chuckled at the childish pout on the girl’s face, and playfully ruffled her brown hair making the young one giggle. “You’re lucky you carry that book with you.”

“That’s how much I love it!”

Hyemi took a seat by Matilda’s side on the bed, the book in her grasp before placing it on the girl’s lap, embracing her with her arms around her, Matilda’s back leaned against the side of Hyemi’s chest, just right in the crook of her arm. She opened the book to the bookmarked page, and started reading to the little girl who rested her head against the older one, intently listening to the tale.

A few minutes have passed until they were interrupted by a knock on the door, stopping the lively reading session. Turning their heads towards the entrance of the room, Hyemi frowned at the sight of an unfamiliar man while Matilda was reacting differently, happily greeting the newcomer.

Sharp features are what caught her attention; an aura that boosted charisma and authority from the look in his eyes to the clean suit he was wearing, dismissing the tie that was supposed to go around his neck for the two buttons to be left open. A smile appeared on his face as Matilda called him out, breaking Hyemi’s gaze on the man.

“Doojoon!”

“Hi there, how are you feeling?”

“Better, thanks to Hyemi!”

From the little girl, his gaze felt onto the woman in question, looking at her curiously. He stepped further inside, quickly stretching out his hand as he politely greeted her. “I’m Doojoon. Yoon Doojoon. I’m Matilda’s, hmm, step-father.”

“O-oh! So I guess it’s the hospital that called you? I tried calling Changsun-shi but he isn’t answering. Oh, I’m Hyemi. Park Hyemi.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” From his smile at Hyemi, he looked back at Matilda, playfully ruffling her hair as he spoke up. “You mother called me after the hospital told her about you. She canceled her meeting so she can take the next flight and come back sooner.”

“She didn’t have too, Hyemi is taking care of me.”

Doojoon chuckled, trying to by pass the awkwardness in his tone with the little girl gazing up at him, her head still leaning against Hyemi’s chest. As for the other woman, she noticed the discomfort on his part and was about to say something when they were interrupted once again by Changsun appearing on sight.

The moment she laid eyes on him, she could feel her blood boiling in her veins. She clenched her jaw and got out from the bed, grabbing onto her purse and walking his way. Before he even had time to step foot inside, she grabbed onto his arm and dragged him out, leaving the two others to watch them go, surprised and curious.

Changsun was startled as well, trying to match her furious steps as he stuttered his call to her.

“Y-yah! H-Hye-mi! What’s g-goin on?!”

She stopped abruptly in her walk and let go of her tight grasp on his arm before using that energy to push him by his chest.

“You want to know what’s going on? I’m going to in tell you what’s going on! Damn it! Your daughter is sick! And being the good father that you are, you let her go to school instead of taking care of her?! You could’ve had her checked earlier preventing the freaking ER of the hospital! Why the hell weren’t you answering your stupid phone?! Huh?! I called you more than five times already! Where the hell were you?!”

Finishing up, her chest was heaving up and down from the lack of breaths to her lungs, her eyes staring angrily at the scared man in front of her. Gulping down, his mouth open and closed, trying to come up with something to say only ending up with Hyemi quickly losing her patience.

“At least your ex-wife had the decency to call her husband while she was out of the country! You are not even that far away and can’t even make it! You don’t even deserve to be a father. Why do you have to prioritize work above anything else, above your own daughter, I’ll never know.”

She didn’t give him the time to reply as she turned her back on him and stomped her way out, leaving him standing in the hallway, watching her go, his heart immensely breaking over her words with the stinging sensation running its course through his veins.

He fisted his hands tightly against his palms, trying to suppress the tears that wanted to come out.

He let out a shaky breath, placed his hands inside his pockets and turned around to walk back to Matilda’s room. From the window, he could see that she was engaged in an animated conversation with her step-father, talking about the tales in the book she was holding.

The more he watched, the more Hyemi’s spiteful words were echoing inside his mind, the more he could see that she was right.

“He’s doing a better job than I am…”

And that’s when he woke up.

The sight of the two together made him realize what he was doing wrong, and it left a thud inside his heart. He didn’t have anything against Doojoon – they were good friends after all – but he didn’t want his daughter to get to close to him. As selfish as he was, he didn’t want to have that feeling that she was slipping away from him and turning to the ‘other’ man – because in Changsun’s mind that’s what he was – as a father figure when the man himself should be it. He wanted her to want him as the only father she would want.

He was about to walk away when he locked eyes with his daughter, her face immediately lighting up at her view. She happily waved at him, making Doojoon turn to look at who she was calling. Changsun walked in, greeting the other man as he made his way to Matilda, kissing the top of her head and apologizing for being late.

“I’ll leave you two be.” Getting up from his seat by the edge of the bed, Doojoon walked out of the room, leaving the two others be. Changsun took a seat next to Matilda, getting himself into the same position as Hyemi, letting her head rest on his chest as he was softly her hair. “How are you feeling sweetheart?”

“Better. Where’s Hyemi?”

“S-she left.”

“Did you two have a fight?”

“Why would you think so?”

“Because I could hear her yell at you…” From having his chin on the top of her head, he tilted his head to the side to look at her. She had her sad gaze on the book cover that was on her lap, mindlessly tracing the patterns of the title. A sigh came out of his mouth as he placed another peck by her temple. “I’m sorry Hilda.”

“It’s okay daddy. I understand…”

“It’s not okay though… Things are going to change from now on. I promise.”

With his arm wrapped around her figure, he brought her closer to him and kissed her forehead once more. She smiled and hugged him back as tightly, softly thanking him.

“I’m going to make some calls and when I come back, I want you to tell me more about those stories, okay?”

“Mhmm.”

He walked out, doing the task at hand as he rearranged his schedule to create some free time so he would be able to properly hang out with his daughter. Once he was done, he walked back inside and smiled when he saw the little girl fast asleep. Walking over to her, he gently took the book away and placed it on the table by her side, and tucked her in comfortably. He turned off the lights and made it to the couch facing the bed, making himself at ease before eventually falling asleep.