Chapter 18: Meeting Joon-ho in the Hospital

While the Rolls-Royce was zooming across the road, no one inside was speaking. Many times, Kim Tae-hyun wanted to speak, wanted to dissuade Soo-jin from going, but after looking at her anxious face, he stopped himself—stopped himself from saying anything. And like that, no one in the car spoke.

As time passed, sooner than expected, the car arrived at its destination. Getting out and seeing the big sign of Asan Medical Center, Soo-jin rushed inside, not knowing that Kim Tae-hyun never intended to follow her in.

Inside the VIP room at Asan Medical Center, Joon-ho was able to move slightly as the medicine was applied every day. But still, whenever he moved, pain would gush out. At least the pain was bearable now, unlike the first day when his face distorted in agony and looking at him the nurse hurriedly left the room.

As he was bored, lying down and thinking, "How many days will I be stuck here? I want to see Soo-jin," her face crossed his mind. Then the door opened. Looking at the door, he saw the person he was thinking about—it was Soo-jin.

Seeing her there, he was first in shock and then happy. Overjoyed at seeing her, a big smile formed on his face. Not knowing if he was hallucinating or not, he closed and opened his eyes multiple times. Every time he closed his eyes, he was afraid she might disappear, and before opening them again, he prayed to see her still standing there because there was no way Soo-jin would have found him here. But unexpectedly, she did.

Soo-jin, seeing Joon-ho in this bandaged state, was heartbroken, and tears streamed down her face. Seeing him like that, she rushed inside and hugged him, crying. She was emotional—after all, girls are emotional creatures.

Joon-ho, after seeing her cry while hugging him, froze, not knowing what to do next. Awkwardly, he started to console her.

"It's fine. I'm alright. No need to cry; it's not a big deal. You look horrible when you cry."

As he blurted out whatever came to his mind to stop her from crying, Soo-jin, after hearing the last sentence, that she looked horrible while crying, stopped crying. With tears still on her face and an angry look, she smacked Joon-ho's forehead, saying in an angry voice:

"What did you say just now?"

Hearing her question and realizing his mistake, he quickly changed his response without hesitation, looking into her eyes with a serious expression, as if nothing was truer than what he was about to say.

"You looked beautiful even when you cry. No one can match your beauty in the whole wide world."

Seeing her reddening face, Joon-ho sighed in relief because he didn't want another smack. And he wasn't lying when he said it—she really did look beautiful, even when crying.

Clearing her throat, she said, "So, how did you get hurt so badly? And don't tell me you fell down again."

Hearing her, Joon-ho sighed, saying, "Sigh... Well, you see, I got beaten up by thugs who were asking for money."

"Joon-ho, you should have given them some money and gotten out of there quietly. Why do you have to fight to save a little bit of money? Life is more important than mere paper."

Hearing her, Joon-ho was screaming in his mind, "I did give them money, but they were still going to beat me up anyway." Thinking like that, he spoke.

"By the way, how did you find me here?"

Soo-jin smiled and said with a proud look, 

"I was worried because you weren't coming to the club for two days, and even today, you didn't show up. After waiting for a while, I went to the staff room. You see, you know my class from that day when Professor Lee brought you to my class, but I didn't know your class or your homeroom professor, so I needed to go to the staff room.

There, I met Professor Lee and asked for your homeroom professor or your class whereabouts. Professor Lee himself showed me your class, saying your homeroom professor was in his class right now. After arriving there, Professor Park told me that you weren't coming to class either, so I asked for your home address.

As I arrived at the Hanam-dong gates, I was unable to go inside. But coincidentally, the car coming out of the gates belonged to the new admission student, Kim Tae-hyun. He looked really different after class, you know? He told me you work as a gardener in his manor and that you were injured. He was the one who offered to bring me here. And like that, I found you. Ha ha ha," panting, she said, "that was so long!"

Hearing Soo-jin, when she mentioned the new student, Kim Tae-hyun, Joon-ho was in shock—especially when he heard that Kim Tae-hyun offered to bring her here because he himself had told Joon-ho to stay away from Soo-jin.

Soo-jin looking around, realizing that Kim Tae-hyun was not there with her, walked near the door and looked out, but she did not find Kim Tae-hyun anywhere. Sighing, she said to Joon-ho while walking back and sitting near the bed, "I think Kim Tae-hyun left. I didn't even get to thank him properly. By the way, do you work at Kim Tae-hyun's place?"

Joon-ho sighed because this question was eventually going to be asked after he heard that Kim Tae-hyun said he worked as a gardener. Sighing, he spoke:

"Yeah, I do work at Kim Tae-hyun's manor as a gardener."

"So what about your parents? Do they also work in his manor and live there?"

Joon-ho's face stiffened when he heard the word "parents," thinking, "Should I lie or tell the truth?" Deciding, he went with a half-lie and a half-truth.

"My mother died while giving birth to me, and my father works out of the country. So, he gave me to Kim Tae-hyun's father, as they are good buddies, to take care of me. And as a hobby, I work as a gardener at his house."

"Oh, I see."