“Dae Hyun accidentally hurt himself and his hand is bleeding. I’m in the hospital now. Can you quickly come back to take a look? I’m worried he will have another infection. His face is as white as paper. He doesn’t look good. Another doctor was inside the ER with him and…”

Silent.

Lee Min Ho paused as his brows furrowed together when he didn’t get any reply from the other side of the phone. “Shin Hye? Shin Hye? Are you there?”

Dut… dut… dut… dut… dut… dut…

“Shin Hye?” He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen. The line has already been disconnected from the other side. An uncomfortable feeling quickly surged into him as he continued looking at his phone mindlessly. What happened? She was the one who called him, but why did she hang up the phone. Is her phone run out of battery or… did she end the call purposely? Is she… angry?

Without thinking anymore, he dialled her number and pressed the phone back against his ear to call her back.  

“The number you have dialled is currently busy. Please try again later.”

Busy? Who is she calling so late at night?

After trying for another time and her phone was still busy, Min Ho heaved a deep sigh and gave up. He put his phone back into his pocket and walked back to the waiting area outside the emergency room. He sighed again, helpless this time the moment he saw Choi Soo Young sitting there, looking extremely worried.

Soo Young’s gaze was daggered at the emergency room without realizing that Min Ho has come back and took a seat beside her. She hugged herself tightly; tears filled her eyes with guilt etched across her face. To be here in the hospital again, sitting outside the emergency room late at night again, it was all her fault. She is not a responsible mother. Everything she promised Kyung Ho before he passed away, she failed to do it.

“Don’t worry. Dae Hyun will be fine.” Min Ho comforts her, breaking the deafening silence.

“I’m sorry.” She spoke after a while.

Min Ho averted his gaze from the emergency room and turned to look at her. A long, breathy sigh escaped his lips, looking at her sad expression. His lips parted slightly, but pressed it together again when he couldn’t find any word to say.

“I shouldn’t leave him alone at home.” Soo Young said again. “Luckily you were there. If not…” She sobbed, unable to complete her sentence.

Heaving another sigh, Min Ho stretched his arm out and gave her back a comfort . “It was not entirely your fault. I was careless too. I shouldn’t have let him go inside the kitchen. He hurt himself because he wanted to cut some fruits for me.”

Soo Young shook her head. “He…”

Before Soo Young could continue with what she wanted to say, they saw the doctor came out from the emergency room and was heading towards them. They quickly stood up and rushed to the doctor.

“How’s my son?” Soo Young asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry. The cut on his hand is not too deep and it’s just a minor injury. We have stopped the blood and cleaned the wound. He should be okay.” The doctor said.

“But he passed out at home after he cut himself.” Min Ho cut in. “He has con heart disease since he was born. He would easily get an infection with this kind of injury.”

The doctor nodded with a smile. “I saw his medical report. He is Doctor Park’s and Doctor Jang’s patient. They are both off duty at this hour. But don’t worry. He might faint due to panic when he saw the blood. We have examined the him and make sure he is okay. When Doctor Park and Doctor Jang came back tomorrow, they will do another check-up for him. Let the patient rest and stay here tonight for further monitoring. The nurse will assist you for his admission.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Soo Young nodded politely, feeling relieved now.

Min Ho told Soo Young to wait there as he followed the nurse to the office to do the admission procedure. After he was done and came out from the admission office, he didn’t go straight to the ward to find Soo Young and Dae Hyun. He stood at the side of the hallway and took his phone out to call Shin Hye again. He doesn’t feel at ease for not finding out what is wrong with her. His forehead smoothened out when he heard the phone is connecting. Its finally ringing and available now.

But… no one pick up. She didn’t pick up the phone.

After a few more tries and she still not answering, he took the phone away from his ear and pressed his lips into a thin line. This is strange. Shin Hye will not turn off her phone or ignore any call because she knows the hospital will contact her anytime if there are any emergency cases. He was too worried about Dae Hyun just now and didn’t pay attention to what she say when she called him. Come to think about it now, her voice seems anxious. He should have listened to what she said before cutting her off. The more he thinks about it, the more he felt uneasy. He wanted to call the house phone, but he worried that it would wake Yeo Jin up and frightened her.

Just when he wanted to call Shin Hye again, a voice suddenly echoed into his ear and startled him.

“Lee Min Ho?”

Min Ho looked up from his phone and saw Yuri walking to him. She was in her nurse uniform and looked like she was on duty.

Yuri’s eyes widened, looking at him in surprise. “What are you doing here so late at night? Shin Hye is not on night shift today.” She said as she stopped in front of him.

Min Ho cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable with her question. “I… I’m not here because of Shin Hye.”

“Then because of who?” Yuri asked, but before he could answer, as if something hit her head hard, her eyes grew even bigger now. And slowly, her face turned dark and her eyes glared murderously at him. “Ah… you are not here for your ‘wife’.” She purposely emphasized the word ‘wife’ in a sarcastic tone. “Let me guess. You must be here because of another woman. Must be your dearest first love.” She scoffed.

“It’s not like what you think.” Min Ho quickly explained. “Dae Hyun was…” He paused, suddenly realized that something is not right. Who she thinks she is? He doesn’t need to explain anything to her. “This is none of your business.” He continued coldly.

Yuri rolled her eyes and sneered scornfully. “You think I’m interested to know? Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you dare to hurt my best friend, I’ll not let you go.” She said angrily before shooting him another glare and walked away. But before she could walk far, his voice was heard behind her.

“Did Shin Hye call you?”

A confused expression spread across Yuri’s face upon hearing what Min Ho asked her. It’s almost 3.30am now. What makes him think that Shin Hye would call her at this hour? Did anything happen to them? If this jerk dares to bully her best friend again, she is not going to let him go this time.

After a moment, she smirked. “None of your business.” She replied acidly without turning around as she continued to walk away, leaving Min Ho standing there like an idiot.

---------------------------------------------------------

“The blood test result is out.”

Shin Hye averted her worried gaze from Yeo Jin to the doctor, who was standing beside the bed in the emergency room. She gently stood up, worried that she will wake Yeo Jin up. She was in a deep sleep after the doctor gave her a jab to stop the abdominal pain and vomiting just now. Her tiny little face has suddenly become so pale and it pained Shin Hye’s heart looking at her like this.

“Is it serious?” She asked, trying hard to stay calm.

The doctor smiled and shook his head softly. “Don’t worry. Nothing too serious.” He said as he passed the blood test result to Shin Hye. “There is a mild swelling and inflammation on her small and large intestine that caused the fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. As you know, children’s immune system are weaker compared to adults.”

Shin Hye heaved a deep sigh as she looked up at the doctor and forced a light smile. “I understand. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Inflammatory diarrhoea in children is quite common. Sometimes… it’s just out of our control.” The doctor tried to comfort her. “But nothing to worry about. We will give her antibiotic and monitor her closely. She will still have some abdominal pain when the pain killer wear off in the next few hours, but it should get better after we started the antibiotic.” 

“Thank you, Doctor Jin.” Shin Hye let out a smile, showing her appreciation.

“Don’t mention it.” Doctor Jin smiled as he took a look at Yeo Jin at the same time. “I’ll get the nurse to assist you for the admission.” He said again, looking back at her. “Do you need to get a day off tomorrow? It’s already 4.30am now and you have a morning shift. I can help you to inform the chief and arrange someone to fill in your place.”

“Thank you so much.” Shin Hye nodded. “I think I’ll need to get a day off to take care of her. But I don’t have any urgent cases or surgery tomorrow. I hope it’s not too troublesome for the department.”

“It’s okay.” Doctor Jin gave her arm a comforting squeeze. “We are working in the same department. We should work together to help each other.”

“Thank you.” Shin Hye thanks him again.

“You are welcome.” Doctor Jin smiled. But just before he leaves, he remembered something and looked back at Shin Hye. “Oh yeah, Doctor Park. One of your patients was here earlier. He has con heart disease and was here because of a minor cut injury. But luckily there is no infection. His parents were very worried though. I think his name is… Jung Dae Hyun.”

Jung Dae Hyun.

“Dae Hyun accidentally hurt himself and his hand is bleeding. I’m in the hospital now. Can you quickly come back to take a look? I’m worried he will have another infection.”

Shin Hye inhaled a deep breath, forcing another smile on her face. “I’ll follow-up his case once I’m back to work.”

Doctor Jin nodded.

Kim Rae Won stood up from the chair at the waiting area the moment he saw Shin Hye came out from the emergency room. He quickly walked to her and asked in a worried voice. “Is Yeo Jin okay?”

Shin Hye looked at him and nodded. “She has an intestine inflammation. The doctor has given her a jab and she is now sleeping. Not too serious… but still need to stay in the hospital for further monitoring.”

“Thank god.” Rae Won let out a sigh of relief. He was so worried when he received a call from Shin Hye telling him that Yeo Jin was not well.

“She will be sent to the ward after I complete the admission papers for her.” Shin Hye continued.    

“Okay. Let’s go to the front desk and…” Rae Won’s sentence was cut off when he heard the sound of the ringing phone in Shin Hye’s bag. It wasn’t the first time ringing since he picked her up from her apartment. It has been ringing for few times already. He looked up at her and asked in a cautious tone. “Your phone is ringing again. Don’t you want to answer?”

There was a brief silence before Shin Hye averted her gaze. “I don’t want to talk to him now.” She doesn’t need to see her phone to check who is calling. She knows it’s him.

Rae Won pursed his lips and tried to choose his words carefully. “I think… he is just busy with work. If he knows Yeo Jin is sick, he will definitely be here. Do you want me to call him and ask him to come to the hospital? I think he should…”

“No need.” Shin Hye cut him off. Although her voice is still as gentle as ever, but it sounded firm and not arguable. “He is in the hospital.”

“What?” Rae Won’s brow raised in confusion. “He is in the hospital?”

“Yes.” Shin Hye chuckled sadly. “But… he is not here for Yeo Jin. He is here… for another child.”

Choi Soo Young is the only person Rae Won could think off. Damn it. Min Ho left Shin Hye and Yeo Jin again because of this woman.

Shin Hye looked at Rae Won and slowly let out a weak smile. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m used to it already.” She knows how close Rae Won and Min Ho were, and she doesn’t want them to have any conflict because of her. “Samcheon, sorry for disturbing you for the whole night. It’s very late now and you should go back to take some rest. Thank you for coming.”

“Don’t say that, silly.” Rae Won reached out, hesitated at first but then slowly her hair like what he used to do when she was still a kid. “I’m your samcheon. You can rely on me whenever you want.” Taking his hand away from her, he hid his hand into his pocket, balling into a fist inside.

She is my niece, he keeps reminding himself.

“Let’s get the papers done and go to see Yeo Jin in the ward.” He said again.

Shin Hye nodded and walked to the admission office together with him.

-----------------------------------------------------

“Shin Hye?” Yeo Jin couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Shin Hye walking out from the admission office with a guy beside her.

“Yuri.” Shin Hye looked up and walked to her best friend when she saw her.

Yuri took a quick glance at Rae Won before looking back at Shin Hye. “What are you doing here in the hospital at this hour?”

“Yeo Jin.” Shin Hye replied in a deep sigh.

“What happened to Yeo Jin?” Yuri asked worriedly.

“She was vomiting and have abdominal pain at home. I was worried and quickly send her here. The result has just come out. It’s intestine inflammation. She has transferred to the normal ward now and will stay here for further monitoring.”

Yuri sighed. She can see how worried Shin Hye was although Yeo Jin’s condition wasn’t too serious. She gave her arm a soft squeeze and smiled at her. “Don’t worry too much. She will be fine.” She comforted her before taking another glance at Rae Won again.

“He is my samcheon, Kim Rae Won.” Shin Hye introduced them. “And this is my best friend, Yuri.”

“Nice meeting you, Yuri-sshi.” Rae Won nodded at her politely.

Yuri smiled at him too. “Hi.”

“Yuri…” Shin Hye spoke again after they greeted each other. “I’ll need to go up now to stay with Yeo Jin. She will be scared if she can’t see me when she wakes up later. I’ll see you after you finish work, okay?”

“Ah, Shin Hye…” Yuri called after her as she glanced awkwardly at Rae Won. “Can I… talk to you for a second?”

Rae Won understood right away that Yuri wanted to talk to Shin Hye without him around. “Don’t worry about Yeo Jin. I’ll go up to the ward first and keep her accompanied.”

“Thank you.” Shin Hye smiled at him.

After Rae Won was out of sight, she turned back to Yuri. Looking at her expression, Shin Hye could already guess what she wanted to ask or tell her.

“Did you… come here alone?” Yuri asked, her voice wary.

“I came here with samcheon.” Shin Hye answered directly. “He wasn’t here with me.” The ‘he’ was referring to Min Ho. “You saw him, didn’t you?”

Yuri bit her lip, doesn’t know what to say. She can now finally understand why Min Ho was asking about Shin Hye when she saw him just now. “He… he was here few hours ago. He was here with… Choi Soo Young. I think… they were here because of her son.”

“I know.” Shin Hye nodded. “Dae Hyun was injured and they sent him to this hospital.”

Anger slowly surging though Yuri as she asked again. “Did that jerk leave Yeo Jin and you and run to that woman again?  Is he even a human? How can he leave his sick daughter and…”

“He didn’t know that Yeo Jin is sick.” Shin Hye cut her off. “I didn’t tell him.”

“Park Shin Hye.” Yuri raised her voice slightly. “How can you still siding with him after what happened tonight? Stop finding excuses for him. You should be angry and…”

“I’m very tired.” Shin Hye cut her sentence off once again. And this time, what she said, and her tone… it successfully shut Yuri up.

“I’m not finding any excuses for him or… trying to convince myself that everything is fine.” She paused and inhaled a sharp breath. “I’m just… very tired, Yuri. I’m very tired of trying… tired of forcing myself to get used to all of this.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Yuri moved closer to her and wrapped her hand around Shin Hye, giving her a comforting hug.

Resting her head on Yuri’s shoulder, Shin Hye closed her eyes and letting a tear slowly rolled down her face. She doesn’t want to blame anybody. She was the one who naively thought they could really start all over again. She was wrong. It’s not possible. A successful relationship has to be built on true love. No matter how hard he tried, how hard she tried, it will not work… because… he doesn’t love her. Giving up… is the only way to end the pain.

----------------------------------------------------------

“Eomma… please don’t cry. Dae Hyun is fine.” Dae Hyun laid down on the hospital bed as his eyes looked up at Soo Young with guilty gaze. “I’m very sorry. Dae Hyun should listen to eomma and take good care of myself. I’ll be more careful next time. Please don’t be angry with Dae Hyun.”

Soo Young wiped her tears away as she pulled the blanket up to cover Dae Hyun’s shoulders. “Eomma is not angry with Dae Hyun. Eomma is just… worried. It was my fault. Eomma should be the one who say sorry to Dae Hyun.”

Dae Hyun shook his head vigorously. “It’s not eomma’s fault. It’s Dae Hyun’s fault. Eomma please don’t be sad.”

Min Ho, who was standing at the side looking at them, heaved a deep sigh. He slowly walked towards the bed and looked at Dae Hyun with a smile. “Dae Hyun-ah. Your eomma will be okay as long as you are fine. So, if you don’t want your eomma to be worried about you, you have to be healthy. It’s very late now. You have to sleep and get a lot of rest.” He paused and gently brushed Dae Hyun’s strand hair away from his forehead. “Sleep, okay?”

Dae Hyun nodded her head again and closed his eyes obediently.

Soo Young bit her lips as tears started to escape her eyes again. “I’m sorry to bring you trouble again.”

“Let’s talk outside.” Min Ho said, pointing at the door. After the whole fuss tonight, Dae Hyun must be very tired and need a lot of rest. He doesn’t want to disturb his sleep.

They went out, Min Ho closed the door before turning around to look at Soo Young, who was still crying. Letting out another long sigh, he stepped closer to her and gently pulled her into his arms, his hand her back soothingly. “Don’t cry. Everything will be fine.”

“Min Ho, I’m very scared.” Soo Young wrapped her arms around Min Ho’s waist, hugging him tightly. “Will anything happen to Dae Hyun? I can’t lose him.”

“You will not lose him.” Min Ho continued to console her. “I’m here. I will not let anything happen to Dae Hyun.”

Soo Young tightened her arms around him as she pressed herself closer, feeling his warmth surrounding her. “Do you really mean what you say?” She asked after a short silence. “Will you really… stay with us forever?”

The hand that was her back stopped instantly as Min Ho froze in place, taken aback by the questions she asked.

~~~~~

After Yuri left and went back to work, Shin Hye calmed herself down and went up to the children’s ward at the 7th floor. When she walked out from the elevator and was heading towards Yeo Jin’s room, a woman’s voice that came from the quiet hallway halted her steps. The moment she saw the two familiar figures hugging together outside the patient’s room, Shin Hye quickly turned around and hide herself behind a wall near to where they were standing.

“Do you really mean what you say?”

It was Soo Young’s voice. Shin Hye bit her lip hard, trying to soften and steady her breathing.

“Will you really… stay with us forever?” Soo Young asked again.

The hand that was her back stopped instantly as Min Ho froze in place, taken aback by the questions she asked. The hallway was very quiet at this hour, the nurses were all at the front desk and he didn’t realized that there was another person, the most unexpected person, who was now standing not too far away from them, listening to every word they were saying.

“I…” Talking suddenly become difficult as he couldn’t bring the words out from his throat. “I… I… of course I mean what I said. I promised Kyung Ho…”

“Few days ago…” Before Min Ho could complete his sentence, Soo Young spoke again and cut him off. “… I have a chat with Dae Hyun. He told me… he is going to start elementary school soon. He… he wish to start his first day of elementary school with eomma and… appa.”

Min Ho’s eyes grew wide; his heart rate was racing tremendously fast. He wanted to pull away from her but her arms were wrapping tightly around him, as if not wanting to let him go anymore.

“I know I’m very selfish.” Soo Young continued when she felt his body stiffened, standing rigid still. “I know in order to make Dae Hyun’s wish come true, I will have to hurt someone. I know it’s not right, but… I really want to do something for my son. Dae Hyun… he always wanted a father. I want to give him a healthy home.” She paused and pulled back slightly to look at him. “Do you still remember what you asked me after Kyung Ho passed away?”

What did he asked her? Min Ho keep asking himself, keep trying to recall what he asked her before. It has been a long time and… and he doesn’t seem to remember anymore. He just remembered he promised Kyung Ho that he will take care of them for him. At that time, Dae Hyun was only a 2-year-old baby and he told Soo Young not to worry. He will stay with them, take care of them. He will treat Dae Hyun like his own son, treat Soo Young like… like…

Min Ho widened his eyes further and the memory of what he asked her slowly comes back to his mind. That day… that day they were both at the hospital in US. Two years ago, they bought Dae Hyun to US for his heart surgery. Soo Young was very worried when Dae Hyun had an infection after the surgery and almost couldn’t make it. She was crying so hard and keep blaming herself for not being a good mother. She said if anything happen to Dae Hyun, she would not continue to live either. She was very sad for not able to give Dae Hyun a father, a home.  

At that time, Min Ho was very worried about her and wanted to do something to help her, to comfort her. He remembered hugging her in the hospital, just like now and told her…

“Soo Young, I will not let anything happen to both of you. I’ll always stay by your side and take care of you. You know how I feel about you all this while. As long as you are willing to give me a chance, we can still give Dae Hyun a father and a home.”

“You said… as long as I’m willing to give you a chance, you will give us a home. You will stay by our side and take care of us.” Soo Young continued to look at him as more tears rolled down her face. “I know… I’m very selfish and being very unfair to Shin Hye. But… because of Dae Hyun… I want to be selfish for once.” She bit her bottom lip, looking at him with an expectant gaze. “If… if I say yes now… are you still willing to… to give me a chance?”

Shin Hye let out a breath she didn’t realized she was holding the entire time as she slowly turned to the direction where they were standing and peeked at them behind the wall. Her eyes were red, b with tears. Her heart was pounding, shedding blood. He wanted to give them a home, give Dae Hyun a father. Then what about her? What about Yeo Jin? Her hands uncontrollably clenched in tight fists, feeling as nervous as Soo Young, waiting for Min Ho’s answer.    

Min Ho’s lips slightly parted, their eyes remained locked at each other, while he tried to think of something to say. “I… I…” He stuttered, feeling nervous for the first time.

Choi Soo Young… The woman, who has captured his eyes, captured his heart for as long as he could remember. She was his first love, the love that he has been desired all this while. He loves her without any condition, without any regret. Even after she rejected him, broke his heart and married his best friend, his love for her was still remained unchanged.

And now… after seven years… she is standing right in his embrace, looking at him and is asking him for a chance… a chance to be with her. Shouldn’t he be happy? Shouldn’t he feel like he has just won the whole world?

No… he doesn’t feel that way, not anymore. If this happens seven years earlier… he will definitely say yes without any doubt. But… but now… at this very moment… in his mind, in his heart… he could only think of one woman. Not Choi Soo Young… but another woman that he has neglected for the past seven years. He wasn’t sure it was out of responsibility or… because of love, but he doesn’t want to do anything to hurt her anymore.

“Min Ho…” Soo Young looked into his eyes, searching for an answer. “Will you…”

Min Ho didn’t let her to finish her question and quickly pulled her back into his arms, wrapping around her trembling body. Closing his eyes at the same time, he buried his nose into her hair, inhaled the familiar scent that he no longer desire anymore.

“Soo Young… I love you…”

For that moment, when the three words echoed into Shin Hye’s ear, she could clearly hear the shattering sounds of her heart. ‘I love you’… the three long awaited words that she always dream to hear from him, was now finally heard. But… pathetically, it was not for her. If there is anything that she could still hold on for this relationship, it’s now all vanished after she heard his confession to Soo Young.

There is nothing left for you to hold on anymore, Park Shin Hye. There is nothing more for you to keep going anymore, Pa