With one fist covering his pursed lips, he remained firm inside the vehicle.
SeokJin has already heard her frantic screams come from a mile away. He watched her drunkard state struggle to fight against the police dragging her out from the aforementioned club. He observes all these events happening from a few meters away.
There were a few pairs of eyes staring at the commotion. A few paparazzi stood by to snap pictures that would grant worthy of a headline, as well as arbitrary citizens going on about their day stopped for a moment to share words of gossip.
Sunmi is a well-known figure as a model. She even took deals with his grandmother, which upgraded her from the lower echelon to the elite. This would cause a dent in her career for the time being, but SeokJin felt she deserved the punishment for neglecting Henry.
A distant pair of footsteps reaches his ears and the car door swings open. Breathless pants reach his ears, yet he doesn't stray his gaze from the side mirror.
"I'm sorry for taking long. The queue was unexpected—" she explains, only to drawl out into silence.
MinYoung glances up at SeokJin's stern gaze – the way his crescent eyes were hooded and thick brows drawn over in mere silence made her heart almost stop. He had never been this quiet, aside from the occasional contemplating.
After settling the plastic bag on the middle seat, which was only a few snacks and beverages for the two, brought from the nearby supermarket, she waits for a moment before placing her palm on his fist; therefore, easing the irregular fidgeting of his knees.
"SeokJin?" she asks.
He slowly turns away from the mirror, finally acknowledging her presence and of her warm hands in his large ones.
"I'm sorry. I was lost in thought," he mutters, before pressing a light kiss on her palm in apology.
Her chest flutters at the affectionate gesture and she rubs her thumb on his hands.
"What were you thinking about?"
SeokJin wraps his fingers around hers and switches the gear to drive. Once again, her chest flutters, as if they have performed somersaults around and about her ribs. She hopes he did not feel the erratic heartbeat pounding travel through her limbs and in contact with his palms.
"Just about my cousin," he said.
He makes a smooth turn to the main intersection with one arm and firmly grips on the steering wheel.
"Is everything okay with him? Or her?"
The vehicle revs lightly under the slightest press of the pedal. She is still not used to sitting in a sports car as a passenger and neither did it occur to her to be a driver.
"Him, actually. We're paying him a visit to the hospital,"
"Oh no, what happened?"
He turns to the next avenue, which led them out of the crowded city and into the next city. The bridge connecting the island gave her a vast view of the clear blue sea, filled with fishermen in their boats and millionaires in their yachts mingling around the river.
"You'll see,"
"But, I didn't bring anything, not even a get-well-soon gift," she mumbles.
"You don't have to,"
By the time they reached the hospital, SeokJin made sure that both of them were wearing shades. She understood instantly, seeing as how a small crowd has formed at the front entrance.
Were they perhaps waiting for their arrival? Were these people so starved and deprived of juicy news that they were waiting in front of a hospital?
"Don't worry. They're not here for us," he remarks, after noticing her worried expression.
SeokJin slowly revs the car and parks quite far from the main entrance.
MinYoung first noticed someone of a familiar height stationed at the rear entrance. There were no paparazzi's standing by, as it was only for emergencies. Security was also tight on the rear end, which will make it easy for them to pass through.
She follows him behind after locking the vehicle. His strides were long and fast, yet he kept a steady pace with MinYoung's. He has his arm wrapped around her shoulder and he was wearing a simple black and white outfit that would not attract a lot of attention.
They were almost at the entrance and the figure that was on standby approached them.
"Young master," someone said, acknowledging SeokJin's presence.
She finally recognizes him from the mansion. He was mostly seen with SeokJin at times, and if not, sometimes with Luna.
"Are all the paths clear?" SeokJin inquires.
N returns a brief nod and hovers his hand above MinYoung's head, as if she had two guardian angels protecting her journey.
They pass through the corridors with doctors and nurses hurrying to one patient's room after another. It was a long day ahead for them and they have to deal with the commotion of the paparazzi.
Some of the doctors acknowledged SeokJin's presence, as his late father was in charge of building this hospital from scratch.
She briefly saw the small mob of photographers huddled around like lost ants.
Finally reaching the lift and onto the third level, they were escorted to Henry's ward. A bodyguard in army attire, personally propelled by SeokJin, salutes at the young master, yet stands idly by the door. He has been instructed to keep a strict watch – not letting anyone in except for the trusted doctors and nurses.
The man himself has been sedated into a deep slumber.
"Oh no," MinYoung sighs, her palms covering her mouth.
SeokJin rubs his palm up and down her back.
A nurse is checking on his vital organs, jotting down the necessary notes and updates. The heart machine monitor beeps consistently and SeokJin relieves an exhale. N walks around the couple and surveys the silence at hand.
His eyes are everywhere, even at the corners of the corridor.
His steps are brisk and light.
There are multiple thin tubes and cords connected to his body. He was in a critical state yesterday and one can only hope that he recovers soon.
MinYoung's lips slightly turn down in pity.
She wonders what he's gone through to end up like this. She pulls the makeshift hoodie away from her head.
His right leg and whole head are wrapped heavily in gauze and white cloth, which was elevated and supported with a metal string on the ceiling. You could not see his face from this distance, albeit it was a few steps away.
She finally musters up the courage to ask SeokJin, "What happened?"
Before he could answer her question, the silence made it clear that he heard snapping sounds. SeokJin instinctively wraps his arms around her again, bringing her against him.
"Jin?" she asks in a muffled voice.
N and SeokJin's ears perked up at a clumsy shuffle, a quiet hiss and something tumbled on the ground. The former was the first one to sprint toward the culprit before they could get away.
"Eek!"
N snatches the frantic guy by the hoodie and drags him with full force back to the nearest wall, almost knocking him over directly on his head. He is holding a DSLR and a tape recorder. There are already a few nurses and trainees dawdling around, afraid of the brewing commotion.
The young man is lucky enough to not have his camera destroyed in one piece.
The butler kneels on his knees, a hard gaze trained on the cowering stalker. MinYoung tries to peer at the fuss, only for SeokJin to hide her with his body.
"You do realize that what you're doing, is against the law, an invasion of one's privacy?" he starts.
SeokJin resists exhaling loudly and slowly drags his wife to a different corner. Situations like these are bound to happen anytime and anywhere. These people don't know when to give up, even if they've crossed the line.
She saw, for a moment, the interrogation happening between N and the recoiling reporter before the wall conceals her sight.
He ambles in long and fast strides, which was hard for her to catch up already.
She retracts her arm away from him, inducing the young lad to twist around with an arched brow.
"What are you doing?" he asks.
"What will he do to him?"
SeokJin heaves a light sigh, his chest is heavy with having to answer her question.
"Nothing much. He'll just ask simple questions,"
Her brows are drawn in scrutiny. She slowly looks behind and hears nothing but growing mumbles. She'd expected a fight to occur, or even raised voices that'd cause an expected commotion in the hospital.
"Does this happen often?" she probes, after confirming her assumptions.
SeokJin gently pulls her by the arm, leading her to sit in the waiting room. She sits on the chair next to him and notices how empty this level is of visitors. Aside from the flowery portraits hung on the plain white walls, the rest of the open spaces reek of antiseptic and loneliness.
Loneliness is an unavoidable obstacle, especially when you're staying in the hospital. You wake up to the same surrounding every day and perform the same routine in order to recover quickly. Sometimes, if you're lucky enough, relatives and families can come to visit and you could even eat your favorite food.
What's even more depressing was the expected deaths of young and old lives. The essence of death lingers around all these corners and wards.
"Unfortunately, yes. I prayed for at least a day to visit a sick patient peacefully, but I think I'd have to pray harder than that," he laments.
He wipes his palm over his disheveled hair. She felt the vibration from his hard exhale, which induced the lass to rub her thumb on his palm.
"I'm sorry," she mumbles.
"It's alright. It's not your fault that these reporters are causing me daily headaches,"
MinYoung observes the busy corridor filled with running nurses and doctors. They are so occupied with aiding one sick patient after the other, that sometimes they forget about themselves. There were cases of doctors fainting for overworking, yet still continuing with their work passionately. She quietly salutes them for their selfless hard work and sighs.
Becoming a doctor was one of her dreams as a child, but after seeing blood leak out profusely from an online video, she changed her mind. Her body could not handle the maroon liquid and the human organs, although she had her very own inside.
She swallows the lump in her throat and draws her thoughts away by following every passing figure.
SeokJin waited for a moment and stood up from the chair. Once he's heard silence from N and the stalker, he decides it's a good time to move away.
"MinYoung, come with me," he remarks.
She acquiesces and follows him from behind.
The reporter and N were no longer by Henry's ward.
The pair approached an empty chamber that seemed to be abandoned or unfinished work. It was supposedly a doctor's room situated on the far right corner of the corridor, yet no one has stepped there in ages. The curtains were drawn in, exposing the bare medical beds deprived of clean sheets.
A single desk with a malfunctioned monitor sits by the corner and a recessed light casts down on the dusty wooden desk. The only source of natural light is concealed by a thin layer of opaque curtains.
"This ward looks ... sad," she states.
MinYoung glances around the dimly lit chamber and stands near the casting light. SeokJin runs his finger through the desk and rubs the thin layer of dust. The dust surrounding the chamber isn't harmful enough to attack their lungs.
Outside of this abandoned ward exists a busier side of the hospital.
"Before establishing his own business, my father would frequent here to meet with his brother. It was his only choice for surviving day-to-day life, especially during my father's encounter with my mother. He'd find whatever work he could get to be able to eat," he explains.
MinYoung sits on the edge of the bed, ignoring what layers of dust and dirt sit on the sheets.
"So, this was your uncle's office?"
"Shortly before he died, yes,"
Her mouth gapes slightly open before shooting another question. The earlier events of the stalker reporter are gone from her mind.
"Why was your father struggling? I thought your grandmother was well-off?"
SeokJin merely chuckles at her questions. He walks around the desk and sits next to her. The bed shifts under his weight and she almost inclines on him.
"In this world of the elite, if you want to live with them, you need to work hard for it, way more than a college student would, or as what you'd claim to work smarter than harder. You'd have to sacrifice your mentality and comfort zone in order to achieve such unbelievable accomplishments, just to simply impress the higher-ups,"
That is a concept that each and every individual being has to learn and grasp. Hierarchies are, unfortunately, a battle to compete against each other nations and even within one's own circle.
"And because of my father's stubbornness to marry my mother, a scholarship student, instead of adhering to my grandmother's arrangement, his allowances were unfortunately cut short,"
MinYoung crosses her arms together and releases a light exhale.
The idea of a gathering with his grandmother was abolished by that mere fact alone. She could probably do well without meeting her, albeit it is mandatory in their culture to greet the elders.
"Even if that was her own flesh and blood?" she inquires.
SeokJin slowly nods his head.
"When one is at the topmost throne filled with arrogance, they care for nothing but one's own wealth and status. That is a fact that will never be changed. It is difficult to change a hard-headed person's mind, let alone humble them,"
A muffled shout from the corridor sounds through the empty ward, yet no one made a move to barge in. It is off-limits for a particular reason and MinYoung was beginning to connect the dots together.
She studies the bare interior again.
"This ward, if it used to belong to your uncle ... why has it been left abandoned as it is?"
SeokJin follows her gaze at the bed in front of them. There were five in total and occupying both sides.
"Initially, I wanted to change it into another suite, but thought of a children's ward. You don't see much of them anywhere here, even if we have treatments to aid sick children,"
"Then why not go through with it? I think that'll be a good idea," MinYoung remarks.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I've been putting this project off for quite some time,"
MinYoung sighs and pats SeokJin's palm resting on his knees.
"You just need to be confident and go through with it. Besides, the ones that are responsible for the outcome is the designer,"
Her statement induced his lips to tug upwards.
"You are indefinitely not wrong about that,"
She stands up from the bed and wipes her pants. If she stayed here any longer, the dust would start acting up on her nostrils.
"About that reporter—" she starts.
SeokJin drags her in, her back almost colliding against his chest. She lets out a small yelp and he instantly wraps both arms around her waist. Her heart starts pounding erratically, and her eyes widened at the abruptness, as the medical bed creaks under their weight.
This was so sudden she couldn't register what was happening. He embraces her in a tight hold, but not firm enough that would deprive her lungs of air.
"Jin! What are you doing?" she hisses under her breath, afraid that someone might find them in an awkward position.
He rests his chin on her right shoulder and waits until her wheezes become steady. MinYoung eases in his embrace and leans her weight on him.
"Don't bring up anything about reporters, for I am sick of them, even if that is their job. Their words are sharp enough to cut through a person's flesh, yet they do not hold any remorse for their actions,"
They spent another moment there in silence, as if the paparazzi's lining up the front entrance and the interrogation between N and the stalker reporter didn't exist. It went over her head, seeing as to how he is uncomfortable about the situation.
SeokJin retracts one arm and parts her hair onto the left shoulder. A cold gust of wind and warm air fans on her nape, inducing the lass to shiver. The air conditioner isn't working in the office, yet the weather outside pierced through the unattended windows.
"Jin ..." she mutters.
He presses his lips on her skin, lightly at first then roughly. The strange sensation sent shivers coursing through her limbs and down her spine. The ends of her hair stood up.
"Jin, what if someone ... barged in?" she wheezes.
He lightly nipped her skin in between both sets of teeth and lips, inducing the former to groan quietly. The two shift against each other, creating more body heat in between and a single drop of sweat trickles down her back.
SeokJin withdraws a bit and glances at the red marks on her neck.
"This office is off-limits. No one will freely walk here," he whispers.
He flips her around; their bodies gently drop on the dusty bed sheets. She catches a glimpse of scrutiny on him. The dim light and absence of natural light made it difficult to discern the expression on his face.
How long has it been since they first met in her office?
She glances up at him, of how their faces were just inches apart. Her heart strikes fitfully again and she could hear the pounds knock harshly in her flushed red ears.
"Why was I not informed of anything prior to this, SeokJin?"
She had assumed marrying into a family like his would be easy as pie. She hadn't met any of his other relatives yet, aside from the recovering Henry, yet SeokJin's words held a burden heavier than stone.
He shifts his palms above her shoulders.
SeokJin gave in to the silence, his mind mellowing first, his thoughts arranged in the brief moment before answering, "I wanted to protect your family from my grandmother's wrath,"
She attempts to shift from the limited space, but he remains stoic.
"And why ... is that?" she asks, her gaze fixed in between his eyes.
SeokJin leans in and presses his lips on her cheek, which was almost so daringly close to the corners of her lips. She almost shrinks at the familiar touch and manages to hold onto what sanity she has left.
She could almost taste his saliva.
"Because of our father's connections with each other, she was ready to target your family next without a second thought,"
MinYoung's breath hitched a little.
With an old woman who could wield so much monetary power by abusing the system, what else could she do to destroy an innocent family that meant no harm to her in the first place?
"In uniting our families together, that reduced the probabilities of it happening, right?" she questions.
He hums in return.
His eyes were beginning to be filled with exhaustion. SeokJin hasn't been sleeping well, as far as she could tell. As much as he progressed consistently, this work was beginning to take a toll on his morale mentality.
"Do you have an idea where this will go next?"
He slowly shakes his head, alongside a small voice that screams a silent cry.
She stretches her arms and wraps them around his shoulders, pulling him for another embrace, He inclines and buries his head on her nape, whilst blatantly ignoring the dust trickling up his nostrils. His arms slither around her body and for a moment, they were at peace.
Their heartbeats pounded irregularly until they merge as one soulful rhythm.
SeokJin lifts his head up and MinYoung notices tears brimming in his eyes.
"Jin?" she calls out.
He inclines his head and presses his lips on her other cheek, leaving a damp mark on the corner of her lips. SeokJin couldn't hold the tempting desires any longer and finally give in to his feelings.
He stuck out his tongue in between her mouth and pressed their lips together. She closes her eyes, as he gently starts sucking on her tongue. She pulls her legs in to relieve the butterflies swarming and jabbing in her stomach before wrapping her legs around his thigh.
"Ngh—" she groans.
She runs her fingers through his ruffled hair. Their hushed whimpers and groans fill the quiet air.
And little by little, MinYoung glimpsed into the world of the elite.
. . .
a/n: 24.01.23 - soz that got a little bit too heated