Chapter 2. An Expected Return

Seo-U PharmacyYeon-U Group, Company

South Korea15:55

Choi Ha Joon. The name was written in gold ink on a black acrylic board, making it look shiny and fancy. The man's "CEO" job title was written right below it.

"What about some things that the hospital in Incheon ordered? Did they say anything after everything got there?" Ha Joon asked as he looked at some papers on his desk.

"Not much, sir. Everything is fine, and they have tried all of the machines and found that all of the item work perfectly. I heard yesterday that the Heirol clinic, which is owned by the hospital's subsidiary, will also order the same machines for their medical equipment." The man in his fifties tried to explain.

Hearing what the older man named Han Qin Jeon had to say, Ha Joon, who had already finished reading all the files he had received, was eager to sign all of them. It was because all of the agreements had been met. He would make enough money in this business when his company's regular customers came back and ordered regularly, as well as for the treatment services they offered as a package when buying medical equipment from their company. But Choi Ha Joon thought there were still some products that he needed to double-check to ensure that the quality of what they were going to send was in line with the process and was an excellent item to send to the customers.

"Preparing all the items, they could be taken from our company. I'll check them over a bit. Also, include the eight-month machine maintenance bonus. Since they are already kind to us, let's give them more access and ease. Ha Joon explained as he grabbed the pen on the side of his laptop, which was open to show several open windows with files stacked together on one monitor screen. He quickly signed the file before letting old man Qin Jeon out of his room.

After Qin Jeon left him alone, Ha Joon tried to get back to some work that had been put off because of the talk and the file Qin Jeon wanted him to sign. Ha Joon's time could have been better, though. But just as he was looking at his laptop screen, the phone on his desk rang, causing Ha Joon to answer it.

"Choi Ha Joon is here." He said hello to the person who called.

[ "You might have forgotten, but you have a dinner tonight. I heard your brother just returned from Canada, so maybe you should go to see them." ] The man on the other end of the line said something, which surprised Ha Joon a little but didn't bother him.

"Why should I give that any thought? Please let them come back if they wants to. It has nothing to do with me."

[ "So you don't want to go see Kim Seo Jae?" ]

"Seo Jae?" Ha Joon said the name uncomfortably, with his hands tightly clenched as if trying to get rid of his anger.

[ "Yes, I heard that Yeon Jin is back with Seo Jae this time, and they probably won't stay in Korea for too long. Are you sure you don't want to see them?" ] Again, the man said.

"How did Yeon Jin end up with that jerk again?"

[ "I'm not sure. You could ask him directly about that," ] He said it again and then put the phone down.

Ignoring Ha Joon's apparent surprise, which could be seen on his face. But that doubt didn't last very long. After the other person hung up, Ha Joon, still angry, slammed the receiver. He was still holding onto the table, making a loud noise, until the receiver bounced off and fell to the floor.

"Kim Seo Jae, how dare you to come back to Korea ...."

***

XX University HospitalJung-gu, IncheonKorea Selatan20:55

Slowly, Jae opened his eyes and saw that he was in a large room with all the windows. He could see a beautiful view of the city's lights twinkling in the distance. Even though it was a usual scene, it made him feel nostalgic and happy. Jae looked around the room and saw he was the only one there. He had a needle in his left hand, and two IV bags hung above his head.

He never thought that a long flight of more than eighteen hours would land him back in the hospital. Seo Jae sighed and shut his eyes again, reaching for something cold on the back of his head with one hand. It was a bag of half-melted ice.

Jae thought back to what happened at the airport before he lost consciousness. When Yeon Jin found him in a toilet stall, he couldn't remember anything and ended up in this place.

His temperature had gone down a little, and nausea and dizziness he had earlier had gone away, so Jae took out the ice bag and put it on the nightstand. But just as Jae put the ice bag on the nightstand, the door to the room opened, and Yeon Jin came in with a plastic bag in his hand.

Yeon Jin ran over to Jae, who was trying to sit up, and asked, "Jae, are you awake?"

Yeon Jin quickly raised the head of the bed to the most comfortable position for Jae. He also moved the pillows so that they could support Jae's back so he could sit easily.

"I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble ...." Jae said this as he looked at his fiancé, Yeon Jin, the guy with glasses.

When Yeon Jin heard that Jae was sorry, he just smiled. Again, he gently touched the top of Jae's head with his hand. "There's nothing else like that." He answered. "I bought pudding, would you like some?" Yeon Jin smiled and held up the package she was holding.

"The doctor said you had a panic attack and should stay here until at least tomorrow morning. Are you okay?" Yeon Jin hoped Jae wouldn't be upset that they had to go to the hospital on their way back from Canada.

"Can I have bibimbap tomorrow?" Jae asked while smiling at Yeon Jin.

"Of course. After you leave the hospital, you can eat anything you want."

***

Choi family residence

Seoul, South Korea

21:30

"Where is he?!" asked Ha Joon as he took off his suit and gave it to the servant who opened the door when he got to the big, fancy house.

"Mr Yeon Jin is still not at home. He called earlier to say he would stay out and not go home immediately. The helper answered with a sad face, and Ha Joon looked scared.

The servant tried to hide his fear and nervousness by clenching his hands behind the folds of the suit he was holding.

"What?!" The way the waitress explained it made Ha Joon angry. "How could he return to Korea without going home first and instead go to a hotel like that. It's sickening ...." Ha Joon grumbled and bit hard on his bottom lip.

It was clear that the 33-year-old man was angry. Meanwhile, the servant kept her head down and dared not say anything else.

After a few times of grumbling and spitting in anger. Ha Joon went straight up to the second floor, where his room was, but when he got to the top of the stairs, he saw an older woman leading a small child in knee-length white pyjamas and a pastel blue stuffed rabbit holding a carrot. When she saw Ha Joon, she seemed to stop what she was doing and look at him.

"I didn't think you'd be back so quickly." The grandma said this as she looked at Ha Joon, who overlooked the three-year-old being led by the grandma.

The little girl's hair was straight and about shoulder length. She had gorgeous round eyes tanned like her skin and surrounded by very straight eyelashes. The little girl's lips were tightly clenched, and her bangs covered her temples and eyebrows, which didn't look too thick. The little girl's round cheeks were also pink, and her tightly clenched lips trembled. The little girl's tiny feet were bare.

They looked at each other for a short time. But in the next second, as if he were pulled back by reality, Ha Joon could take his eyes off the boy and look at the older woman, standing slightly bent over and trying to match her granny.

"Why don't you go to sleep, Grandma? Can you tell me what time it is?" Ha Joon asked, and the stress in his voice didn't go away. Even the man's good looks couldn't hide the angry look on his face.

As if she was scared, the three-year-old girl hid behind her grandmother's body, hugging her toy rabbit tightly and squeezing her grandmother's wrinkled hands very hard.

"Speak more quietly, you little nuts. Ha Neul is afraid." The grandmother tried to warn her great-granddaughter about how her attitude had changed.

"That child doesn't matter to me. Go to your room and sleep for a while. I know you've been in good shape for the past few months, but you're not getting any younger, so stop sleeping like this." Ha Joon said, looking at the young girl named Ha Neul with an icy gaze, making Ha Neul even more frightened and downcast.

"Why don't you ever like your biological daughter? Will you be nice to Ha Neul?" the grandma asked in shock.

"Who is my daughter? Huh, I never got married and I never had kids anymore."

"Don't make fun of me, Choi Ha Joon!" snapped the grandmother. Her eyebrows were knit together, and her face showed the woman, around 70, was angry. Choi Ha Joon, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much.

"If she were my daughter, I would know who she was born to, but I don't even know who her mother is, so don't expect me to love her anymore. She's nothing to me." Ha Joon's cold answer made Ha Neul's beautiful eyes glaze over, but he didn't cry.

"Go inside and get some rest. I don't want you to get sick because of that child." Ha Joon said something before he left, walking down a hall and into a room where he was no longer seen.