Once Love Begins - Chapter 12. Part 2

Chapter 12. Part 2

* * * *

Lying in the hospital bed with the sheet covering her face, she opened her eyes and focused on the door. She could hear him speaking to someone, the urgency in his voice indicated trouble. As she listened, she realized it was her father-in-law.

Her shoulders tensed as his voice grew louder. She sighed, knowing this rumor would only worsen their already strained relationship. Absentmindedly, she twisted her fingers around the bedsheet.

The day before, she had been rushed to the hospital after collapsing at her in-laws’ home. Despite the tests showing only neurogenic stomach cramps, both he and her mother-in-law seemed unconvinced. They shook their heads, even though she felt fine.

The door opened creakily, and he entered the room.

She glances at his troubled expression, but quickly looks away, pretending nothing is wrong. Though he now knows she’s okay, he refuses to leave the hospital room to return to work.

She’s in a VIP room. He opens a door to enter a living room, where he conducts video meetings or reviews documents on his tablet.

When she asks if she can go home, he remains silent, creating an awkward atmosphere. She fidgets with her cell phone to fill the awkward silence.

Today is Jaeho’s enlistment day, but she is busy with tests and can’t talk to him.

Jae-ho sends her a text message reminding her to drink less and behave.

‘He’s such a nag, always pestering me,’ she thinks.

“I’ll call Hana,” she declared, dialing her number. As expected, their telepathic connection proved effective.

“Hello?” Hana answered.

“Let us come in, please,” Hana said.

“Where are you? Are you at the hospital?” Yeon-woo inquired.

“Yes, but they won’t let us in,” Hana replied.

“Okay, just wait a minute,” Yeon-woo responded.

In the meantime, he was standing there, blocking the entrance to the VIP room.

“Why?” she questioned.

“Oh, your friends mentioned they were outside?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” she simply replied.

“They’re outside,” she added.

He placed his feet on the floor, adjusting the IV lines.

“I’ll let them go in,” she said.

“Okay, I’m taking a break; I’m going outside,” he said.

He leaves the room, leaving her staring after him with her mouth open. Moments later, she hears her name called.

“Yeon-woo!” the voice calls, and the door swings open as one of them rushes in, their faces filled with concern, warming her heart.

“Senior Joo Chan?” she responds, surprised.

“I was worried when I heard you fell, so I came with her,” he explains.

Unable to resist, she looks at him. He’s the same person who got drunk and carried her home, a topic they discussed in the car yesterday.

A feeling of nervousness creeps over her as she notices him standing in the doorway, arms crossed, glaring at her.

She wishes he would leave, but he does not seem to want to.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” 

Joo-chan stood protectively beside Hana, shielding him with her body, providing a sense of comfort.

“What’s causing these sudden stomach cramps? Is it stress-related or because of the rumors?” Hana inquired.

“It’s nothing like that,” she said, wavering off the suggestion, but Hana seemed convinced it was due to the rumors.

“What about Jae-ho? How’s Jae-ho?” Hana’s expression suddenly grew somber.

“What’s wrong?” she pressed.

Hana smiled awkwardly and avoided eye contact. “I guess things went okay, I suppose. Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. Did he make it to the training center?”

“You should eat properly. This hospital doesn’t provide good meals,” Hana comments, Yeon-woo stares at Hana, who keeps diverting the conversation.

She rolls her eyes. She assumes Hana is avoiding the topic of Jaeho. She decides to let the topic drop. She asks her about it later when they’re alone.

While talking to Hana and Joo-chan, Kang Jae approaches them and stands between them with a drink in his hand.

“Please have some of this,” he offers.

“I’ll take it!” she responds eagerly.

Hana accepts the drink and begins saying things like, “You must be very surprised” and “You must be upset,” which she finds pointless. Suddenly, her stomach churns uncomfortably.

He remains blunt and cold. However, almost effortlessly, a smile forms at the corners of his mouth. She is taken aback, unsure whether to thank him for putting on a facade in front of everyone or to be annoyed at him for doing something unnecessary.

“I appreciate you coming, but it’s almost dinner time,” he says. She glances at him and sees the look of the world’s sweetest husband on his face. It’s absurd.

“Oh, we didn’t make it in time,” Hana replies.

“I’ll invite you over next time,” he promises, causing her eyes to widen in surprise at the invitation.

“Don’t get sick. I’ll call you,” she responds gratefully.

“Alright. Thanks for visiting,” she adds.

Joo Chan reaches out and pats her head, catching her off guard, and causing her face to stiffen in surprise.

“Watermelon misses you,” he informs her.

“Really? Oh, I miss her too,” she replies.

“So, get better soon,” he encourages.

“Yeah,” she acknowledges with a nod.

She imagined a watermelon with shiny golden fur and a tail wagging so vigorously that it could break. This lovable pet always greeted her with excitement.

The thought brought a slight relaxation to the corners of her mouth. However, she felt his eyes on her, and her expression tightened as she met his gaze.

“Yeon-woo, please don’t be sick,” he pleaded, embracing her tightly.

She nodded in understanding, recognizing his way of expressing concern. They exchanged well wishes before departing.

He turned abruptly as the door closed behind them.

She swallowed nervously in the now quiet room. His obvious unhappiness puzzled her. After a moment of silence, he turned and left without saying another word.

‘What’s his problem?’ she mutters, frustration evident as she hastily pulls her disheveled hair into a tight bun.

Kang Jae enters the room, carrying a plate.

“Eat,” he commands, raising the bedside table, placing the plate down, and sitting on the bed. His eyes flutter with concern.

“Fine, I’ll eat,” she responds, feeling uneasy as he holds the spoon as if he intends to feed her.

“I’ll eat it myself, please,” she adds, extending her hand as he holds the spoon tightly.

The tension in the air becomes unbearable. It drives her to the brink of madness.

“Do you want that?” he asks, his voice tinged with irritation.

“I want to go home,” she demands.

“Please eat; the food is getting cold,” he insists. He knows that nurses are readily available for monitoring, so he doesn’t need to be there. Despite being nothing but an inconvenience, he stubbornly remains in place, and she wishes he would leave.

He watched her silently, waiting to see if she would start eating before he left. She couldn’t resist and reluctantly picked up a spoon to eat the tasteless porridge.

While eating, she couldn’t help but think about the tasteless hospital food. As she took another spoonful, she noticed him quietly standing up, indicating his intention to leave.

She briefly considered saying goodbye to him as he prepared to leave, but decided to focus on finishing her porridge instead.

She bit her lip, recalling his earlier mention of having children. But then…

She thought he was leaving, but instead, he grabbed his bag and went into the bathroom before she could ask him what he was doing. She laughed, amused at his sudden disappearance.

The sound of water running from the shower caught her attention, prompting her to wonder if he was indeed taking a shower. Her appetite vanished suddenly. She set down the spoon.

He emerged from the bathroom, drying his wet hair with a towel. She wanted to ask why he chose to shower there but refrained from engaging in conversation.

“Why didn’t you finish it all? Eat the rest,” he instructed, the scent of body wash lingering in the air. Should she tell him that the rice no longer tastes good? She hesitated, considering his possible reaction.

“Make sure you finish it all,” he said. His nagging voice was even more insistent than Shin Jaeho’s.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” she replied, signaling an end to the conversation.

“Eat the rest, or I’ll feed you,” he insists. She reluctantly swallows the porridge she doesn’t want.

After she finishes eating, he takes her plate and leaves the room, indicating that he didn’t leave after all. Instead, he lies on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The sound of pages flipping in a book disturbs the silence.

Calling out to him, she asks, “Aren’t you going home?”

“I’ll sleep here,” he responds casually.

“Can I be discharged tomorrow?” she queries, feeling embarrassed by the situation of being alone with him in the hospital room.

Curling up with a blanket, she repeats, “Can I be discharged tomorrow?”

She turns over slowly, feeling uneasy at the lack of response from him and unsettled by the stillness of her surroundings.

“…….”

As he lay on the cot, their eyes met. She was captivated by the deep blue of his gaze, causing her breath to hitch in her throat.

“Stop talking,” he ordered in a deep, gravelly voice that tugged at her heartstrings.

Instead of responding, she simply pulled the sheet up to her head. The hospital room felt uncomfortably warm as if the temperature had been turned up too high, making her feel as if she might suffocate from the heat. 

* * *

The following day…

“I’ll take the chauffeur’s car,” he suggests, pleading silently.

“Go to work,” she responds curtly.

She was left speechless. He grabs the bag from her hand and walks ahead, causing her to quicken her steps to catch up with him.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks.

“What?” he replies tersely.

“You’re busy; you don’t come home; you don’t go to work, you don’t go to the office. Why?” she presses.

“I’m busy,” he offers as an explanation.

“Then why don’t you…” she begins, but her sentence trails off. Yet again, she’s met with the irritating sound of stomping feet. She stops abruptly, and she widens her eyes in frustration.

“Kang-Jae,” a woman named Hee-young calls out as she walks down the hall toward him. Her stomach, which had been feeling fine, started churning again.

“What brings you here?” he asks.

“I need you to sign something urgently,” Hee-young replies.

“I’ll call him,” he responds.

“Pick up the phone.” 

“Ms. Yeonwoo, are you feeling okay?” Hee-young questions, noticing Yeon-woo’s discomfort.

Yeonwoo bites her lip and watches as Hee-young lightly punches her forearm.

Feeling uncomfortable, she steps back and distances herself from them.

“Look at this. Don’t you think there’s something wrong here?” Hee-young insists.

Kang-Jae glances at Hee-young’s red-high-covered shoes without showing any reaction.

‘They were much higher than last time. How could she wear them without spraining? ’ Yeon-woo wondered silently.

“This is wrong. Correct it and send it back. I’ll check it right away,” Kang-Jae instructs Hee-young.

“Come on, let’s get to work,” Hee-young urges, causing Kang-Jae to pause.

“Go,” he responds tersely.

Unimpressed, Yeonwoo interjects, “Looks like you have an emergency. I’ll take the driver’s car,” She snatches the bag out of Kang-jae’s hand.

Though she wants to soothe him with a smile, her mouth refuses to cooperate.

His eyes narrow as he notices the woman walking next to him. Clutching her bag tightly, Yeon-woo watches as he suddenly stops and says something sweet to Hee-young before walking towards her.

The hem of his black coat ruffles as he approaches.