"It's been a long time… Young Saeng ah, do you have a girlfriend already?"

"De? Yes…"

Taken aback by the very first question thrown at him, Young Saeng's face broke into a smile together with his grandfather.

He had expected to be questioned about how he was living and doing at work, but quickly realized that
the older man had probably been keeping tabs on how he was doing since he turned up at the hospital.

"How is she like? What does she do?"

"Harabeoji, you're not going to matchmake me with some business partner's daughter, right?"

"I know better what not to do. Besides, your parents found each other, didn't they?
Your girlfriend must be a really kind lady to be able to put up with my stubborn grandson"

"Her name's Hae Yeon. She works as a doctor. We've been together for about half a year"

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly as the pair chatted like old times, updating each other on their lives.

Young Saeng returned to his room when Harabeoji excused himself to take an important work call, and found
that everything had remained as it was since the day he left.

However, he soon spotted a wooden box which was left by the side of his desk.

He opened the box to find some items that he thought were gone for good, and struggled to keep his tears
in as he went through the stuff.

His parents' wedding bands, his mother's favorite scarf and perfume, the first medal which he gifted to his 
father after winning a race, the customized pen he always wrote with, were among the items kept within.

He used to spend hours sitting in his parents' room on some days, sometimes lying on their bed, just reminiscing
the times they spent together and imagining their presence.

Until the day he returned to find their room being cleared away and refurbished while he was away on a business trip.

Harabeoji didn't approve of what he thought to be an unhealthy way of holding on to the past, but to Young Saeng
it was a sanctuary for him to hide in after days of hard work.

That was the final trigger that led to him leaving home, and his position in the family's company he had been working
at since graduation. It was then that he decided to work towards becoming a detective and one day reopen the case
to his dad's death, since his grandfather wouldn't provide any assistance.

"Young Saeng ah…"

"Harabeoji… I'm sorry, and thank you for keeping these"

"It was a tough decision to make, but it was for your own good. Do you understand that?"

"Yes"

"Are you still going continue being a detective and pursue the case? You won't want to give
your lady any more heart aches than she can take"

"…"

"My boy, if it gets too hard, come back to Harabeoji any time"

"De, komawoyo"

"Bring Hae Yeon along with you for a meal some time. I'd like to get to know my future granddaughter-in-law"

---

"D-don't leave me alone!"

Woken up by Young Saeng's sobs in the middle of the night, Hae Yeon held on to his hands and looked at him worriedly.
She placed her palm over his forehead and was relieved that he wasn't running a fever.

He had been a little out of sorts since the day before, and she wondered if something had happened as
it was the first time that she had seen him this distressed.

"Oppa?"

"Appa… Omma… don't go…"

She reached out to wipe the tears that were flowing from his eyes, but soon found herself crying along with him.
Young Saeng awoke from his dream and pulled her into a hug without saying a thing.

"Saengie ah, I'll always be here for you"

Hae Yeon woke up the next morning and found Young Saeng preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Still feeling worried over his sudden emotional outburst, she went up to her boyfriend and hugged him from the back.

"Good Morning Hae Baby. What's the matter?"

"I should be asking you that Oppa… did something happen?"

"It's nothing. Breakfast is ready, let's go"

Young Saeng patted her on the head and brought the plates to the dining table.
Getting the hint that he wasn't going to talk about it, Hae Yeon proceeded to the table and tucked into the food silently.

"Remember we're meeting the guys for dinner tonight"

"Ok"

"Do you want me to pick you up at the hospital and head over together?"

"It's alright, I can get there with Hyun Joong oppa"

"You haven't eaten much. Are you upset?"

Young Saeng asked and held on to her wrist as she stood up to clear her plate.

"There's a lot of work to clear so I'm heading to the office early"

"You're not being yourself"

"Oppa…"

"Wae?"

"You don't have to keep everything to yourself. Can't you depend on me a little more?"

"It's nothing to worry about"

"That's precisely why I'm worried! You act as though nothing is wrong yet I see you struggling in your sleep"

"…"

"I'm going to get ready for work"

---

"She must have left her phone in silent mode..."

Young Saeng sighed and tried to convince himself as his call to Hae Yeon went unanswered again.

She hadn't been responding to his texts and calls since their fight in the morning, and he had been wanting to apologize to her.

He could vaguely remember what happened last night, how he woke up feeling distressed and found her fussing over him.
Her tired and puffy eyes didn't go unnoticed by him, yet he couldn't bring himself to tell her about what happened.
He just wasn't used to letting people see the weak side of him.

"How's the planning of your trip coming along?"

"Almost done"

"That will also mean the end of your long break soon"

"It's not too bad. I'm getting a little restless staying at home all day"

Young Saeng continued chatting with the rest of the guys while waiting for Hae Yeon and Hyun Joong to arrive.

When Hyun Joong finally arrived, he was surprised to find that he was alone.

"Hyun Joong ah, didn't the both of you come together?"

"Hae Yeon's not here yet? She wasn't around any more when I finished my rounds, so I thought she left to come first"

"…"

"She's not coming, I just received a text. Hyung, did you guys have a fight?"

Kyu Jong grinned as saw Young Saeng's dejected look when he made the announcement.

"Yah Kim Kyu Jong… is that something you should be happy about?"

"So she finally had enough of the stubborn otter… You're really something to be able to make my baby cousin this upset"

"Order your food"

Young Saeng a menu at Kyu Jong sulkily before taking out his phone again to make a call.

"She turned off her phone… Kyu Jong ah, what should I do?"

"I don't know. It's between the both of you"

"She's your cousin"

"She's your woman. You should know better how to appease her"

"…"

It was the first time that they had gotten into a real fight, and in his mind he began thinking about
how he could make up with her. 

Despite feeling worried, Young Saeng resigned to finishing his dinner with the guys before heading home
while they headed for a second round of drinks.

His fear was confirmed when he found his apartment empty, and he immediately headed down to her unit.

"Hae Yeon ah… open the door. I know you're at home"

The lights in her apartment were on, but despite his continuous ringing of the doorbell, she refused to respond to him.

"Hae Baby, I'm sorry about this morning. Can you please open the door?"

................................................................................................................................................................................

ok they had their first fight as a couple because of the stubborn otter :P
i was almost screaming when i saw Kyu & Hyung Jun post photos of themselves, though it was just 4 of them.
then i cried tears of happiness when i realised Young Saeng created his ig account T____T he'll be back soon!
though it'll mean Jung Min won't be around for a while now >.< i miss them soooooo much~~