TIME AFTER TIME ; jjk

1

"He's here?" I just said that...

"As a matter of fact," I said with a grin.

"Well, next time, then?" she asked me, her voice hopeful. So I would be going to promise a breakfast with her?

I chose to nod, not thinking straight. "Sure."

How would that go? I was afraid that when I ate with her, I would always hear the audio recording she sent me every time I'd look down at my food. That would be a horrendous time.

I almost laughed in relief when she vanished within my sight.

It was still only just past six; most patients would probably be still asleep, if not being forced to wake up to conduct medical examinations. I had another hour available before I'd start my duty. I took the elevator to the second floor alone, my hands buried into the pocket of my scrubs.

After I got out, I quickly headed for the cafeteria with my stomach grumbling. I needed to energize, or else I'd pass out. Various noises reverberated here and there. Beeps, voices, and sounds of restless footsteps rang my ears, a sense of urgency drifting in the air. It was a common scenery. Even a commotion was normal. Though there were times that every area in Severance Hospital was eerily quiet, most of them surfacing during midnight.

The moment I reached the cafeteria, I noticed it was almost full. I saw familiar residents and physicians from different departments and waved my hand at them. I glanced around, searching where my Dad could be. As soon as I spotted him staring back at me, I excitedly made my way over to him.

"How's my old man?" I said as I sat on the chair across from my father.

"Still good and old," he drily answered.

I let out a chuckle. "That's great. Where's Mom?"

"She can't go out. Your sister left Minhyung at home. Your mom and I have to babysit today."

"You and mom could have tagged the baby along."

"No way. That little boy loves to throw tantrums in public."

"Hospitals can handle that kind of kids..." I said.

He sighed and asked me to get food already. I left him for awhile and ordered pancakes and coffee for Dad.

When I came back, I hadn't expected him to ask, "Are you perhaps hiding a girlfriend here?"

"Why are you thinking that?" I grimaced. Out of all questions, it had to be that one. He was so weird.

"Why not?"

"I'm not dating anyone."

"You should now. You're stable. You're no longer in school. It's okay to date."

"It doesn't always have to work that way," I remarked in my usual playful tone of the voice, a lopsided grin playing in my lips as I directed my gaze at my father. As opposed to my reaction, there was a tiny crease on the space between his eyebrows, evidently disappointed of the response I had to his opinion.

Dad was a serious, formidable man in his late fifties who disliked hearing spur-of-the-moment quips especially when the situation didn't permit it, but being his son had its perks. I wasn't a witty kind of person, I believed, but sometimes I thought I was funny enough to elicit a single chuckle from my dear father.