By Zephyria 
Seo Yi-kyung realized the meaning of those words only a moment later. As Han Seung-jae left, he caught a glimpse of Secretary Park speaking to someone. He was told to ensure that no one entered except for the attending physician.
Though the words came from Secretary Park, there was no longer any need to ask or verify where that order had originated.
For a while, Seo Yi-kyung lay still, listening to the receding footsteps. He fiddled with the pocket watch wrapped in his palm before lifting it close to his eyes. The pocket watch shimmered at the edges under the morning sunlight.
It was scratched, bearing the marks of time, but that did not seem to diminish its value. If anything, it made it more eye-catching. When Seo Yi-kyung pressed the button, the cover opened, revealing the watch face.
Suddenly, Seo Yi-kyung stared at the fourth finger of his right hand. A wedding ring was placed there instead of on his injured left hand. He was certain that when he left that house, he had left behind the ring on his finger and the bracelet on his wrist…
It was because he felt they no longer belonged to him. But when had they returned to his hand? No matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn’t figure out when Han Seung-jae had put the ring on. Nor was it possible for him to have removed it with his cast-bound left hand.
Seo Yi-kyung opened his mouth and breathed slowly. He finally began to calm the shock he felt upon waking to find Han Seung-jae as the first person he saw.
When he realized the man was sitting there, a sense of relief and anxiety swept over him simultaneously. It was difficult to determine which emotion was stronger. However, had he not been lying down, he might have recoiled in panic.
Han Seung-jae had told him to try and run if he could, but Seo Yi-kyung found it difficult even to lift his upper body. Han Seung-jae surely knew that.
Seo Yi-kyung closed the cover of the pocket watch and slowly stroked his bandaged chest. Even the rise and fall of his chest as he exhaled caused pain. Seo Yi-kyung’s brow furrowed slightly. The more he felt it, the more the moment he faced Seo Dong-hu played back in his mind.
When he had come down the stairs and seen him, he doubted his eyes, but he quickly reminded himself several times that this was Jin Seon-yu’s house. He had tried to get Seo Dong-hu out of the house by any means, but the more Seo Yi-kyung tried to pull him out, the more Seo Dong-hu refused, mentioning Han Seung-jae. Eventually, Seo Yi-kyung asked Butler Do to bring the sword Seo Dong-hu was looking for, but he hadn’t expected Seo Dong-hu to swing that sword at a person.
Seo Dong-hu had been that agitated when they faced each other.
Seo Yi-kyung had stepped back as if to avoid the sword Seo Dong-hu swung, but he couldn’t avoid the blade grazing him. He collapsed to the floor, and it seemed Butler Do had stepped forward to block him…
All of that had happened in a split second.
‘Is this what it feels like to come back from the brink of death?’
Lost in thought, Seo Yi-kyung suddenly moved his head. He looked at the window where the curtains were tied to the sides, then turned his head the other way. However, a screen was drawn, hiding the entrance.
Looking around, Seo Yi-kyung pressed the call button. Before long, the door opened and the attending physician entered. He looked visibly breathless, as if he had rushed in fearing something had happened.
“Is there anywhere you are uncomfortable?”
“Was there anyone who came with me?”
At Seo Yi-kyung’s question, the physician blinked.
“Didn’t Butler Do come with you?”
As he spoke, Seo Yi-kyung’s heart beat a little faster. The pain expanded in proportion. When Seo Dong-hu swung the sword, Butler Do had rushed in recklessly. Because things were so chaotic, he didn’t remember exactly, but he was worried that something might have happened to Butler Do.
“Ah, Butler Do? He is receiving treatment elsewhere.”
“Was he badly hurt? Is his condition critical?”
“No, it is not.”
The physician hurriedly waved both hands to calm the distressed Seo Yi-kyung. He looked as if he were about to push himself up from the bed at any moment. It was actually Seo Yi-kyung who had survived a brush with death. Had the blade shifted just slightly, it would have been perilous.
“He is downstairs. He injured his hand.”
“His hand?”
“Yes.”
The physician did not explicitly explain that Butler Do’s finger had been severed and that he had undergone a reattachment surgery.
Seo Yi-kyung’s complexion was already poor. He was in a frail state and was carrying a child. There was no need to add bad news and increase his mental burden. Above all, the fact that Han Seung-jae had ordered that only the physician be allowed in this room was essentially saying that the physician would be held responsible for everything that happened inside.
“Breakfast will be ready and brought in soon.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and the physician stepped away.
“It seems it’s here. I’ll go and get it.”
The physician, who had approached the door leisurely, was startled. Standing at the door was Jin Seok-young, eyes wide, with men holding both of his arms. The physician asked, looking at the black object in Jin Seok-young’s hand. A long object was wrapped tightly in black cloth.
“What is that in your hand?”
No matter how one looked at it, it didn’t seem like a gift brought for a hospital visit. Jin Seok-young spoke to the physician, who was looking at him with concern.
“I heard Director Han was here, so I came.”
“Ah, Director Han left a short while ago.”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t just a short while ago. However, the physician answered thus while looking at the rugged Jin Seok-young. Then, Jin Seon-yu, who seemed to have been holding him from behind, peeked his head out. Wearing sunglasses, Jin Seon-yu spoke.
“Hyung, what are you doing fighting all the way here! Um, is Yi-kyung awake?”
Lying in bed, Seo Yi-kyung turned his head. Just as he was about to open his mouth upon hearing Jin Seon-yu’s familiar voice—
“No. Please go back. You cannot enter the room.”
Along with the physician’s firm voice, the sound of the door closing followed. He returned to the bedside and looked at Seo Yi-kyung, their eyes meeting.
Seo Yi-kyung parted his dry lips.
“Please bring Seon-yu in.”
The physician looked troubled. However, under Seo Yi-kyung’s steadfast gaze, he hesitated and then stepped away. He opened the door and looked at the two people standing a short distance away.
The physician had no choice but to let only Jin Seon-yu into the room.
“Yi-kyung.”
Still wearing his sunglasses, Jin Seon-yu approached Seo Yi-kyung’s bedside. With the head of the bed raised and the top of the patient’s gown draped over his shoulders, Jin Seon-yu could instinctively tell that Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes were swollen from crying. A corner of his heart stung.
Jin Seon-yu looked down at the chest bandages revealed through the gap in the patient’s gown, which hadn’t been fully buttoned. His voice trembled slightly.
“I’m sorry. Because of me. I was right there, and yet something like this happened.”
Jin Seon-yu’s voice grew smaller as if he were choking up. He, too, had been so shocked and disoriented. While he hesitated, not knowing what to do, such a horrific event had occurred.
“It didn’t happen because of you.”
The apology was something Seo Yi-kyung should have said. He hadn’t considered that Seo Dong-hu would find his way there. No, he had been too complacent. He should have been more careful. Perhaps he had forgotten because Seo Dong-hu couldn’t visit while he was at Han Seung-jae’s house.
“The wound isn’t a big deal.”
“What do you mean not a big deal? Your blood…”
There had been so much. Jin Seon-yu couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. He had blindly followed Jin Seok-young, who had gone to work as soon as morning came without a wink of sleep all night. Because of that, he had come empty-handed.
“I came in such a rush that I couldn’t buy anything. I’ll go and buy something now. Tell me everything you need.”
“They said breakfast is coming soon anyway.”
With that, Seo Yi-kyung looked at the physician, who was standing blankly. As if snapping out of it, the physician turned around, went out, and returned with a tray holding a bowl. As he held it out to Seo Yi-kyung, the latter asked.
“Why is there only one?”
Thinking, ‘Of course, because the patient is Seo Yi-kyung,’ the physician was momentarily speechless. Seo Yi-kyung spoke.
“Give that to Seon-yu.”
The physician’s hand, gripping the tray, froze. Moreover, what was in this bowl was a thin rice gruel, even thinner than porridge.
“I’m fine. I can eat at home.”
“No. No, it’s not. I only brought one for now.”
The physician hurriedly turned around. And as he heard Seo Yi-kyung telling Jin Seon-yu to sit in the chair behind him, he broke into a cold sweat. He truly realized once again that becoming a hospital director was no easy task.
* * *
Myungjun Financial Group, Director’s Office.
“I am told he had breakfast a short while ago.”
Secretary Park reported the words relayed by the physician to Han Seung-jae in a calm tone. He added the physician’s troubled words—that he had no choice because the request to bring him in was so adamant, and that he asked Secretary Park to please explain this well to Director Han. But the words coming from Secretary Park’s mouth were brief.
“It seems he ate with Mr. Jin Seon-yu.”
Han Seung-jae’s hand, flipping through approval documents, did not stop.
“Also, Head of Department Jin Seok-young is outside right now. What should be done? He says he wants to return the sword in person.”
Han Seung-jae closed the approval documents he had finished signing. Secretary Park, taking them, opened the door to the Director’s Office and stepped out.
“He says you may come in.”
Jin Seok-young, who thought he would be standing there all day, hesitated for a moment even at the invitation. He entered, carrying the object wrapped in black cloth. Then, he placed it directly in front of Han Seung-jae, who was sitting in the seat of honor on the sofa.