Chapter 53
“Ah, right. I’m on duty this week. Ji-woong, let’s eat together another time. Today won’t work. Well then, I’ll be going.”
After Se-young disappeared, Ji-woong rolled up his sleeves and approached Yeon-woo.
“Ryu Yeon-woo, you don’t seem like it, but do you have a problem with me?”
Normally, he would even call her by her name without hesitation.
Seeing him try to look serious was just cute.
“If Se-young thinks she can handle her food expenses, let her try. You never know how much she’ll eat when she sets her mind to it.”
“I’ve seen her at the cafeteria, but it’s not quite like that.”
“If Se-young loosens her belt, she can easily finish a double portion of jajangmyeon on her own, plus tangsuyuk and yangjangpi.”
“Who eats that much? Maybe a goddess of the earth, but not a regular person.”
“…She still hasn’t come to her senses.”
“Fine, do whatever you want. It’s not like I’m stopping you.”
“By the way, does Se-young have a boyfriend? I asked earlier, and she said she doesn’t.”
“Then she probably doesn’t.”
“Right? Hehehe. Uhihihi.”
“…”
Yeon-woo didn’t know how to manage her expression, so she decided to avoid Ji-woong, who was laughing like a maniac.
“Uh…”
Why was her older brother in the ER? Did he come to say hi before leaving work?
“Yeon-woo.”
Lee-kwon approached Yeon-woo.
His gaze toward Ji-woong, who was hanging around in front of her, was sharp.
He assumed every man was interested in his sister.
“Are you leaving work now?”
Ji-woong greeted him politely, and Lee-kwon nodded briefly before shifting his gaze to Yeon-woo.
“You’re on duty tonight, right?”
“Yeah. Go ahead and leave. Se-young already left too.”
“Should I stay?”
“If you were going to, you could’ve taken over my duty, right?”
Yeon-woo said this seriously, and Lee-kwon slumped his shoulders, looking pitiful.
“Good work.”
“Got it. See you tomorrow.”
He lingered at the ER, as if he couldn’t bring himself to leave, before finally exiting.
Yeon-woo stretched and got started on the remaining tasks.
If she organized the pending orders and checked on the ICU, time would pass quickly.
She poured herself a cup of coffee in the tearoom.
The calm, quiet night shift had begun.
She silently prayed that tonight’s patients would be manageable.
Sa-jun glared at Lee-kwon’s back as he walked ahead while opening the old front gate to his house.
Lee-kwon’s vigilance had become increasingly obsessive.
Earlier, when leaving work, Lee-kwon had shoved him to go into the ER, and he came out looking sullen.
Sa-jun had intended to go into the ER lounge to see Yeon-woo’s face one more time, but Lee-kwon pushed him outside, so he had no choice but to come out.
He rested one hand on his waist, wondering how long this would continue.
“Why, stopping at the gate?”
Lee-kwon looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Go in.”
Sa-jun crossed the yard and climbed the main wooden porch.
Lee-kwon hurried behind him, circling and observing him closely.
“Move.”
“You’re… actually…”
“Actually what?”
“You’re going back to the hospital, aren’t you?”
“….”
Sa-jun raised an eyebrow sharply.
“See! You can’t even lie about it!”
What should he do with this guy?
Lee-kwon was fidgeting, afraid that Sa-jun might go see Yeon-woo again. It was a ridiculous sight.
Though he wanted to go, he needed to visit his parents’ house today.
“I have to go to my parents’ house now.”
“You didn’t know I was sitting on your head, did you?”
“Really? I’m dancing on top of your head.”
“You jerk. Just go.”
Sa-jun smirked and patted Lee-kwon’s shoulder, who was sulking.
“Have dinner with Se-young. I’ll eat at my parents’ house. Maybe I won’t even come back.”
“You’re going to stay out overnight?”
Lee-kwon leaped up in protest.
Did Yeon-woo know about this side of him?
“Stop imitating a nagging wife. It’s disgusting.”
“You crazy bastard! You think I don’t know what you’re thinking! You’re going to see our princess right now!”
“I do want to, like you said, but my grandfather’s birthday is soon. I have to go pay my respects.”
“Really?”
Lee-kwon looked at Sa-jun skeptically.
“Yeah. First, I’ll take a shower.”
“Why shower?”
He was making a fuss again.
“Why do you have to meddle in everything?”
Two men having this conversation in an old, cramped house made Sa-jun feel strangely self-conscious.
He went into his room, grabbed a change of clothes, and came back out. He had to cross the wooden porch to reach the bathroom.
Lee-kwon seemed ready to follow him all the way, so Sa-jun threw off his top in front of him. Lee-kwon’s face gradually contorted.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Sa-jun’s bare upper body; his expression suggested otherwise.
“…Beom Sa-jun.”
“You’re calling me seriously? Impressed all of a sudden?”
“No, what are those scars?”
“Scars? What do you mean?”
Sa-jun reacted nonchalantly and continued toward the bathroom.
Lee-kwon grabbed him before he could get away.
“Does our princess know about this?”
“Look at your legs, you’d cry.”
“Let me see. How bad are the scars?”
Before Sa-jun could stop him, Lee-kwon grabbed his waist and pulled down his pants.
“Has this guy lost it?”
The intensity in his eyes while examining the scars sent shivers down Sa-jun’s spine.
He tried to push him away with his foot, but Sa-jun’s head turned to the side.
Se-young had entered through the front gate and was staring at them in shock.
“W-what are you doing?”
Sigh.
Sa-jun pushed the flustered Lee-kwon away with his foot and headed to the bathroom, while Lee-kwon collapsed backward onto the porch, stammering as he faced Se-young.
It was the worst situation for shy Lee-kwon.
Song Seong-hee, co-founder of Cheon-geum Airlines, didn’t know how long it had been since she last visited her hometown.
She had entrusted everything to her son and hadn’t heard much, so she decided to go see a suitable match for her granddaughter herself.
Since both her son and granddaughter worked at the same hospital, she was curious, and with her friend Beom Un-bong’s birthday coming up, she had another reason to visit.
Stepping on her hometown soil was always a pleasure for Seong-hee, whether in the past or now.
Though old and near the end of her life, her heart fluttered like an 18-year-old girl.
“Chairman, we’ve arrived.”
Her driver and secretary, Lee, stopped the car.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Seong-hee arrived at Un-bong’s house and stood before the tall gate, pressing the doorbell.
Moments later, the door opened, and Yang, Un-bong’s new daughter-in-law, came out running barefoot to greet her.
“Welcome, Chairman.”
Yang, a former nurse, was familiar with Seong-hee.
She had devoted herself to caring for her late husband’s children without having her own, showing great dedication.
She had a good personality and simple appearance, leaving nothing to criticize.
She would be a satisfactory mother-in-law to Yeon-woo.
“Yang, how have you been?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“But why isn’t your father-in-law showing up?”
“He’s coming now. Hehe.”
Seong-hee saw the elderly man running across the yard.
He looked like he might fall.
He had thrown dignity aside to run so recklessly, just like when he was young.
Seong-hee frowned at her friend as he ran, hair flying in the wind.
“Good dye is available, you know.”
Clicking her tongue, she watched Un-bong wipe sweat from his bald head and laugh.
“Welcome. It’s been a long time.”
“Seeing you run like this, it seems you still have many years left.”
“Indeed, indeed. Thank you for coming all this way.”
“No trouble at all.”
Seong-hee enjoyed the clean air of Cheongbong, so different from the smoggy air of Seoul.
“How long will you be staying?”
Yang asked from behind.
“I plan to stay a few days. I want to see my grandson and granddaughter as well.”
Seong-hee admired the well-maintained old house.
Though years had passed, it retained its original appearance.
She followed Yang, who was guiding her to the room she would stay in.
