Uncle and I

Chapter 08 —

The members hung around for about another hour before finally starting to pack up when Sejin went to wash up for bed.

“I still want to play with Sejin… hmph.”
Roy pouted in disappointment.

“Sejin and Hajin must be tired too. You guys should head out and rest. You can come back tomorrow,” said Cheolhwan, trying to calm them down.

“Fine. Then we’ll come early tomorrow!”
“How about eight in the morning?” Roy and Hwan immediately began agreeing with each other like close friends, already planning their next visit.

Jumin shook his head at their excitement.
“Eight o’clock? Don’t be ridiculous. Sejin’s still a patient. You’ll just tire the kid out if you come that early.”

“Come on, hyung! We didn’t bother him. Sejin had fun playing with us!”
“Yeah! It must be so boring being stuck in the hospital!”

The two protested noisily until Cheolhwan stepped in to settle things.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough. Pack your stuff and say goodbye. You can decide your visit time back at the dorm.”

Reluctantly, the members grabbed their jackets, hats, and masks to cover their faces.
After the incident earlier that day, there was a high chance that some reporters were still hiding around, ready to snap photos.

Knock, knock.

Cheolhwan tapped on the bathroom door.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Hajin, the guys are leaving now.”

Hajin came out, gently drying Sejin’s damp face with a towel.
“Already? Thanks for coming today. Sejin really ate well and had fun because of you guys.”

Jumin smiled. “We should go so you two can rest. We’ll visit again tomorrow. If you need anything, just call.”

“Oh, right! The clothes and stuff you asked for—I packed them earlier. They’re by the sofa,” Jaeyoung added.

“Ah, thanks. I totally forgot about that,” Hajin said.

Sejin, who had just finished washing up and was full from dinner, felt his eyelids grow heavier. He barely managed to wave goodbye to the members.

“Aww, look at that little wave. So cute.”
“Sejin’s falling asleep already.”
“Yeah, time for us to go then.”

“Hajin, we’ll head out. Put Sejin to bed.”
“Sejin, sleep well, okay? I’ll bring you a present tomorrow.”

Seeing Sejin’s eyes closing, the members quickly finished their goodbyes and left.

Once the door shut, Cheolhwan turned to Minsu.
“Minsu, I’ll stay a bit longer. Can you drive the guys back to the dorm?”
“Yes, manager. I’ll take them. Hajin-hyung, I’ll go now too. Have a good rest.”
“Thanks, drive safe.”

When everyone left, silence filled the once noisy hospital room.

“Hyung, wait a minute. I’ll just put Sejin to bed.”
“Sure. Take your time. I’ll have some coffee.”

Cheolhwan poured himself a cup from the small coffee machine and sat down on the sofa.

Hajin led Sejin to bed and tucked him in. Smiling at his half-asleep nephew, he carefully applied lotion to his face, removed the rubber band from his hair, and brushed it gently.

Sejin didn’t wake, only sinking deeper into sleep. Hajin tucked the blanket up to his chin, turned on the humidifier, and dimmed the bedside light before stepping out quietly.

He sat down across from Cheolhwan.
“You’ve had a long day too. You should go home and rest.”
“I’ll stay a little longer. I have a few things to tell you.”
“Like what?”

“About the security. Three bodyguards will take shifts—each working twelve hours. The next one will arrive around nine. The one coming now will stay till nine in the morning.”
“That’s good to hear. I feel better knowing someone’s watching over us.”
“Yeah. The company hired a very reliable agency.”
“I should call the CEO to thank him. I haven’t talked to him in ages.”
“He’ll appreciate that. He actually wanted to visit, but didn’t want to bother you while things were hectic.”
“Still, I feel bad. He’s helped so much, but I haven’t even thanked him properly.”
“It’s okay. Everyone knows how hard this has been for you.”

Cheolhwan took a sip of coffee before continuing.
“Oh, right—about the intruder. The detective said the guy was wearing a janitor’s uniform?”
“Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that.”
“They found out he bribed a real janitor to borrow their clothes and ID badge. That’s how he got through the VIP ward entrance.”
“Ah, that explains it. I was wondering how he got in—since staff have to scan their IDs to open the door. So, what happened to that janitor?”
“The hospital outsources its cleaning crew. Apparently, the intruder contacted one of them. The hospital’s handling that now. The janitor will also be questioned by the police.”
“Good. I just hope this never happens again.”

Cheolhwan nodded reassuringly.
“We can’t stop every crazy person in the world, but with bodyguards on-site and the company pressuring the hospital, security will be much tighter. Other VIP patients complained too, so the hospital’s scrambling to fix things.”
“Yeah? I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, apparently a lot of them are celebrities or wealthy people who hate bad press. Some even threatened to transfer to another hospital. So, the hospital director came personally to apologize. Didn’t he visit you?”
“The nurse mentioned he would, but Sejin fell asleep crying, so I asked him to come later.”
“Then he’ll probably stop by again soon.”
“Honestly, I don’t need an apology—just better security.”
“Exactly. After this mess, if they don’t improve things, we’ll move Sejin somewhere else.”
“True.”

As they talked, there was another knock on the door.
Cheolhwan went to open it.

“Good evening. I’m Lee Pil-sung, the security officer assigned from tonight.”

A sturdy man in his early thirties entered with a polite bow.
“Welcome. I’m Kim Cheolhwan, B1’s manager, and this is member Seo Hajin.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Seo Hajin.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be guarding tonight until morning. Please rest easy.”
“Thank you. You’ve heard about the incident, right?”
“Yes, our agency briefed us. I also read the reports.”
“Good. We were already planning on hiring security, but today’s events made it urgent. Especially with a child here, we’re very worried.”
“Understandable. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure everything’s secure. We’ll check every visitor’s ID carefully.”
“Thank you. I’ll be leaving soon, so only Hajin and Sejin will be here. Here’s my card—call if anything happens.”
“Thank you. Here’s mine as well. I’ll start my post outside now.”

After the guard left, Cheolhwan stood up.
“I’ll head out too. Get some rest, okay? You’ve had a rough day.”
“You too, hyung. Thanks for everything today.”
“Alright, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Take care.”

When Cheolhwan left, the room finally grew quiet again.

Hajin sat blankly on the sofa, feeling the heavy silence. With everyone gone, the big room suddenly felt too empty.

Ever since his sister and brother-in-law died, being alone sometimes pulled him into waves of loneliness and grief. They had raised him like parents when he was young. Losing them both so suddenly still felt unreal.

Even though Cheolhwan and the others told him to get counseling, Hajin couldn’t.
Back then, Sejin was still unconscious in the hospital—his sister’s last living trace. He couldn’t fall apart. He had to stay strong for the child.

He’d been terrified that if he let go, he’d lose Sejin too.

So when Sejin finally woke up, talking and smiling at him, Hajin sometimes pinched his own cheek—afraid it might all be a dream.

Noona, hyung… I’m sorry. I promised to protect Sejin, but something like this happened today. Maybe it’s my fault for becoming a celebrity. What if Sejin got caught up in this because of me? He seems okay now, but… he doesn’t remember you. It breaks my heart that he’s forgotten his parents. I just don’t know if regaining those memories later would help or hurt him more. Am I doing the right thing? Please, give me strength.

Hajin buried his face in his hands.

Then, Sejin’s bright little smile flashed in his mind.
No, I can’t keep thinking like this. Pull yourself together, Seo Hajin. If you fall apart, Sejin will worry. I need to stay strong—for him. I can do this!

He shook his head hard, trying to push away the loneliness. Then he picked up some clothes from the bag Jaeyoung had brought and went to wash up.

After showering, Hajin returned to the bedroom and lay down beside Sejin.

What a long day it had been.
It could have ended in tragedy, but thanks to everyone’s help, Sejin was safe.

There would still be investigations and more things to deal with—but as long as Sejin stayed healthy and happy, Hajin thought, that was enough.

With those thoughts of gratitude and relief, Hajin finally drifted off to sleep beside Sejin.

That night, despite the exhaustion and everything that had happened, both uncle and nephew slept deeply—without a single dream.