PEN Vol 4 Ch. 4

“Mr. Cheon.”

As Cheon Sejoo opened the door and entered the room, Kim Hyunkyung addressed him with a pale face. She looked exhausted from the chemotherapy she had undergone until yesterday, with a pain relief injection attached to her spine. Her swollen body and pallid complexion made Cheon Sejoo feel even more distressed. 

I feel this way, so how must Sejin feel? 

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Cheon Sejoo greeted Kim Hyunkyung with a faint smile and looked at Sejin standing by the window.

Kwon Sejin was wiping the windowsill with a cloth. Even though he cleaned it every day, there wouldn’t be a speck of dust, yet he was pointlessly wasting time to create an excuse to stay by Kim Hyunkyung’s side.

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Though Sejin’s back was turned, Sejoo somehow felt he knew the expression on his face. Despite his large build, Sejin seemed small, almost like a child. 

Will there ever be a day when Sejin looks bigger than me? 

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Cheon Sejoo mused as he called out to him.

“Sejin.”

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“…Yeah.”

Sejin responded softly, maintaining his position facing the window. Cheon Sejoo approached him, took out his wallet, and pulled out a card. He placed it in Sejin’s hand and said,

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“Go buy some coffee. I’m exhausted.”

“You could’ve bought some on your way in…”

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Sejin pouted, his eyes fixed on Cheon Sejoo. Noticing the redness around Sejin’s eyes, Sejoo chuckled casually and ruffled his hair. Kwon Sejin meekly accepted the gesture.

“Coffee tastes better when someone else buys it.”

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“Don’t act like an old man.”

“Hurry up.”

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When Cheon Sejoo messed up Sejin’s hair once again and urged him on, Sejin stared at him with a sullen face before turning around. Sejin was about to ask his mother if she wanted anything to drink but stopped, realizing she couldn’t eat or drink anything due to her fasting restrictions. He left the room without another word. As soon as the door closed, Kim Hyunkyung sighed.

“Who does he take after, being so stubborn? Who else? Me….”

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After quickly answering her own question, she ran a hand through her thinning hair and leaned back against the bed. Seemingly bothered by the pain relief injection in her spine, she shifted her body a few times before settling on her side and looking at Cheon Sejoo, who was standing by the window. She spoke in a weary voice.

“Mr. Cheon. Please make Sejin go back to school. I can still move around on my own, so he doesn’t need to be here.”

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“I was planning on doing that. Even with Sejin’s help, things like showering would still be difficult to do.”

“That’s right. Ugh, he’s no help at all, just a nuisance. I think I’m getting sicker because of him.”

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At Kim Hyunkyung’s playful complaint, Cheon Sejoo quietly smiled. He sat down on a chair by the window. Kim Hyunkyung blinked her tired eyes and continued in a hushed tone.

“Sejin seems to really like you. He usually dislikes most men.”

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“Me?”

Cheon Sejoo raised an eyebrow and laughed as if he couldn’t believe her words. 

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Kim Hyunkyung adjusted her position and asked, “Didn’t you know?” Then she explained what Sejin had been doing during the two days Cheon Sejoo couldn’t visit.

“He likes you a lot. He made me eat with him using the patient meal ticket as his guardian, and in the middle of the meal, he kept interrupting to say things like, ‘Cheon Sejoo likes this too,’ and started explaining what side dishes you prefer. It was so ridiculous. Like, what was I supposed to do? Last night, he called you but couldn’t reach you, so he asked me if I find it annoying when I get phone calls during work. Honestly, it was absurd, like when did he ever care about such things….”

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Why would he explain my favorite side dishes to his mother? 

Cheon Sejoo also found the situation amusing and laughed along as he listened to Kim Hyunkyung.

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“Anyway, Mr. Cheon, if anything happens to me…”

“Don’t say that. The doctors treating you here are the best in the country. Making such assumptions and having such thoughts are not good for your treatment. Don’t think negatively.”

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When Kim Hyunkyung’s voice suddenly became serious, Cheon Sejoo interrupted her words. He didn’t want to hear that from her, nor did he want to think about Sejin’s potentially unhappy future. Hyunkyung simply chuckled and waved her hand dismissively.

“Oh, come on, I know. I’m already thinking about getting discharged and sending Sejin to the military. I’m just letting you know, just in case.”

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However, Kim Hyunkyung was Kim Hyunkyung; the mother of the stubborn Kwon Sejin. As if determined to say what she wanted to say, regardless of what he said, Kim Hyunkyung confided in him.

“All my other insurance policies were canceled because of that jerk, Kwon Yongbeom, but I have a new life insurance policy. I got it through someone I know shortly after going to Ehwagak. It’s only about 30,000 won¹ a month, so the payout is only 100 million won², but that should be enough for Sejin to get a place of his own… Please take care of it.”

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“Nothing will happen to you, so there’s no need to worry about that money.”

“The insurance company is Seo Il, and the beneficiary is designated as Sejin. But just in case that bastard Kwon Yongbeom somehow hears about it and tries to steal it… please make sure Sejin receives it. And if Yongbeom really shows up, feel free to give him a good beating for me…”

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Hearing it over and over again, it was absurd. Cheon Sejoo chuckled at Kim Hyunkyung subtly slipping in her own wishes. He then nodded, as if giving in.

“All right. If I ever happen to run into him, I’ll make sure he regrets he was ever born.”

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At those words, Kim Hyunkyung also burst into laughter. And just then, creak… The hospital room door burst open, revealing Sejin. Sejin, whose face had become much more sullen than when she left, glared at Cheon Sejoo and her mother in turn.

“What’s so funny?”

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“We’re talking about how annoying you are.”

“…”

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Sejin asked grumpily, and Cheon Sejoo answered, the smile still lingering on his face. Sejin’s face instantly clouded over with displeasure, his cheeks puffing out. He stretched his lips into a pout, glared at Cheon Sejoo, then scoffed and approached him, handing him a cup of coffee. Sejin then pulled out another paper cup from a carrier bag and placed it on the bedside table next to Kim Hyunkyung’s bed.

“It’s some kind of… Roo-ee-bo-ree tea? Or something like that. You can drink it after it cools down, tomorrow when your fasting is over.”

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“It’s Rooibos.”

“Same difference!”

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Sejin’s cheeks flushed as he yelled at Cheon Sejoo’s correction. Kim Hyunkyung looked at her son with an expression that said, Who does he take after, being so silly?, then sighed, realizing once again that he was the spitting image of her.

Sejin sat down next to Cheon Sejoo, lips still in a pout. He snuggled close and pulled out his own drink. It was a shake in a plastic cup twice the size of Cheon Sejoo’s, filled with various toppings and sauces all mixed together.

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It looked incredibly high in calories, but Sejin had been downing two of these in a row lately and still licking his lips for more. Cheon Sejoo slowly sipped his coffee, wondering if Sejin would grow any taller than he already was, gauging his height.

Their short tea time ended, and as night fell, the lights in the ward began to dim. Since Cheon Sejoo had been working late at his workshop, dinnertime had long since passed. Since patients tended to sleep early and wake up early, it was time for them to go home.

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“Let’s go.”

“I’m sleeping here.”

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Sejin’s response to his suggestion of going home was fast as lightning as if he’d been waiting for those words. Kim Hyunkyung exchanged a look with Cheon Sejoo, as if to say, Look at him. 

Up until now, they had let Sejin do as he pleased, but Cheon Sejoo now believed it was time to bring him back to his normal routine, and Kim Hyunkyung agreed. Knowing Sejin would bristle and resist if they brought up hiring a caregiver directly, Cheon Sejoo decided he needed to get Sejin out of the hospital first. Looking at Sejin, he spoke,

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“Come with me. I can’t sleep without you.”

“…”

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Sejin stared at Cheon Sejoo with wide eyes at the unexpected words. Sensing a faint blush creep onto Sejin’s sullen face, Sejoo continued.

“Thinking about your mock exam scores makes me want to lock you up at home and force you study, but since I can’t do that, I can’t sleep. Go home with me tonight and at least pack your workbooks.”

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“…”

Sejin closed his mouth in frustration at the following words. He gripped his cup so tightly that the shake overflowed and dribbled down the straw. Licking it off, he glared at Cheon Sejoo. Cheon Sejoo urged him on.

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“Hurry up and get up. Kim Hyunkyung doesn’t have anything scheduled tomorrow anyway, so you can leave for a little while, right?”

“That’s right. Go on, go. You’re a nuisance, honestly.”

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Kim Hyunkyung chimed in, echoing Cheon Sejoo’s words. Sejin looked back and forth between the two of them, working in perfect harmony, then sighed and stood up. He knew his mother disliked him just idling away his time in the hospital room, so, as she suggested, he planned to at least bring his workbooks and pretend to study.

Sejin went to the bathroom, gathered the pile of laundry he had accumulated, and packed his belongings. Before leaving the room with Cheon Sejoo, he turned to Kim Hyunkyung and repeated his instructions several times.

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“Mom, call me immediately if anything happens.”

“Mr. Cheon, drive safely.”

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“Yes, take a rest.”

“I said, call me!”

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“Alright, alright.”

Leaving Kim Hyunkyung waving her hand dismissively, Sejin closed the hospital room door. His steps were heavy. However, conscious of Cheon Sejoo beside him, he forced himself to walk. Because Sejin had been spending his days running home to do chores and then returning to the hospital, walking side-by-side with Cheon Sejoo like this felt slightly awkward.

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