A couple of weeks flew by without Hyesung noticing as lunch with Minwoo and Jun-Jin had become a tradition. Taking his weight every morning at 5, the doctors were seeing a definite improvement with the loss of fluid in his leg, which made it all the more comfortable for him to move about. Dongwan noted his more upbeat demeanor coming into his sessions and felt proud at the change, as it was the best thing for his condition. As they wrapped up their hour long work-out, he stood proudly beside his patient watching him finish up on the treadmill.

“Uwaah, look at you go.” he cheered clapping as the timer ticked down to the last 30 seconds..

The tips of his long hair were dampened by sweat, his eyes closed while his slender arms gripped the handles of the machine while running, his mouth hung open, gasping. Exhausted, he let out a sigh of relief as the timer alarm went off and his therapist turned the tiny mechanism off. Carefully stepping down he sat down and threw his head back.

“Aigoo, aren't you manly now?” joked Dongwan. He was too tired to curse and retaliate He just laughed dryly and rolled his eyes.

“So....” he asked breathlessly. “This is good enough?”

“Well,” began Dongwan pulling up a short wheeled stool and sitting beside him. “all we had to train you for was basic mobility. However, in order to send you home your endurance needs to be adequate because you have a lot of steps and steep hills in your area. You are at the point that you can walk without the crutches with very little pain and your swelling has gone down. I think after two more weeks of therapy, maybe a bit more depending on some other things, and more work on your upper arm strength; you'll be good to go.”

“Really?” he asked gleefully waiting for confirmation.

“Yes.” replied the kind fit man. “You did good today. Our session is over and seeing as it's almost five o'clock the gym is about to close.”

“Ah ye.” Hyesung nodded, smiling while getting up to leave. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“No thanks needed.” Dongwan waved. “You did all the hard work. Thank yourself.”

Hyesung blushed.

“Hey, you told me you were experienced in Taekwondo.” inquired the muscular therapist.

“Yea?” he replied, surprised that Dongwan remembered him telling him such a trivial thing when he first started his treatment.

“Maybe after you leave here you could start training again.” suggested the man with determination. “That will be something to look forward to. Right?”

Ah. thought Hyesung happily. I'm going to miss this guy once I'm gone. I'll have to invite him and Andy out sometime once I'm settled.

“Ye.” he smiled.

Dongwan gave him a friendly pat on the back and wished him well. After exchanging farewells he left the room and headed down the hallway. Feeling light, not limping, and with only a small twinge of pain from taking a step felt good overall. When was the last time he felt such relief? To ever think that doing this much of therapy to get better would be so impossible for him was foolish, and he finally admitted it. He'd all but forgotten why he felt so powerless in the first place. Reaching his room, slowly opening the door, his smile faded as his eyes met with an unwelcome guest. In that moment, he immediately remembered why.

Sitting at the table, staring back with the same brown eyes, a grouchy looking middle-aged man wearing a dark gray trench coat stared him down. He coughed, covering his mouth with a tissue and raised his weak looking hand to call him over. He moved away from the door letting it fly loosely behind him. He quietly crossed the room, sat down and looked up at him.

“Father.” Hyesung said meekly, trembling as the words left his mouth.

“So, you're walking.” he said in a grungy voice.

“What do you care?” he asked scornfully. “I've been in here for months and now you show up? What could you possibly want from me? What about Mom?”

“She's dead!” he shouted banging his fist on the table and standing up. He point a shaking finger at him. “You killed her!”

His words echoed repeatedly in his head. Aggressively. Strikingly. Painfully. His heart stopped as they sank in and an unbearable rage erupted inside of him.

“What?” he coughed angrily. “What did you just say to me?”

“She suffered worried sick over you.” barked the older man “It was too much for her heart to bare when you didn't come home for a while. Now she's gone. Are you done rebelling, with that homoual nonsense? Take responsibility and come home quickly.”

“Whose fault...do you think that is?” Hyesung struggled to ask despite his petrified heart. “How...how dare you?”

His father ignored him and grabbed his coat. Hyesung also stood, and as he started to leave he grabbed his arm. His father gasped looking back at him offended by his aggression.

“Those lights were blinding..” Hyesung began while shaking, tears streaming down his face as he spoke. “The only face I could see when I thought I'd die was hers. Mom knew. She knew about me all along and loved me anyway. I put up with your abuse because of her.”

Without realizing it his grip tightened and the old man shut his eyes while cringing in pain.

“That night I told you because I was breaking.” he confessed tearfully. “I told you so that she wouldn't see my suffering face while enduring the secret. I thought that after it was out in the open maybe I could dedicate myself completely to make you proud, to make her proud. Now she's gone and you have the nerve to say that to me!”

The door that never closed all the way swung open and Minwoo walked in happily with a container of food he brought as a surprise for Hyesung's dinner. The smile faded when he felt the tension in the room. He didn't know much about Hyesung's personal life to a certain extent so the man in his grasp was unfamiliar. As angry or irritated as Hyesung would get, he's never done anything like that. He wasn't disrespectful or aggressive, but the look on his face was one of a man on the edge.

“You disrespectful little punk!” yelled his father. “I'm doing you a favor. I didn't disown you because she begged me. If it wasn't for her-”

“You'd just continue to hate me quietly for no reason.” Hyesung interrupted. He turned his head and looked at the clueless man observing the scene. Minwoo gulped.

“Ah, uhm, I'm sorry. The door was open.” he explained to him. “I'll come back_”

He was interrupted by a wicked laughter escaping the older man's mouth.

“So this is what you've been doing all this time. This guy your play thing? You've been mocking me this whole time you ungrateful ?!”

Minwoo's face changed and he silently sat the food down on the table.

“Hyesung-ssi, let him go.” he said apathetically.

“What?” he questioned surprised. Minwoo put his hand on his.

“People like him...you shouldn't dirty your hands touching.”

The older man stared baffled at the stranger and Hyesung let go. He gathered himself and shuffled over to the door in a hurry.

“Never return to my house! You are no son of mine! You're nothing to me!”

“I won't.” Hyesung promised. “The part of me that loved you as a son died when she did!”

With that, he said nothing else and hurried away slamming the door shut behind him.