Sweet Darkness

Chapter 2 Never Say Goodbye

The corridors to the private suites of the hospital remained vastly empty apart from the occasional nurses and doctors popping in to check on their patients.

Outside room 2521, Jang Han Seo was pacing slowly. At times, his eyes would wander to the doors, other times, he would stop pacing.

For the umpteenth time, Jang Han Seo stopped pacing, letting out a heavy sigh as he leaned himself lightly against the wall.

Propped up by the wall now, Jang Han Seo was every bit of the nervous man he was on the outside as he was on the inside. Subconsciously, the man began flicking the lighter in his hands, the very lighter which Vincenzo had tossed against the walls just an hour ago.

There was no doubt that most of Vincenzo's targets would associate the sounds coming from his lighter to death itself. But now, Han Seo finally understood why his Hyung enjoyed playing with the lighter so much. 

The dings and snaps were surprisingly...calming. Already, Han Seo could feel his breathing even out as the waves of panic in his heart subsided.

Chancing a glance upon the small window frame etched into the wooden sliding doors, Han Seo was quick to note that his Hyung was still in the same position.

It felt wrong to intrude on his Hyung's privacy, but Han Seo was growing increasingly worried for them by the second.

"Ms. Hong. Wake up soon, jebal. I've never seen him this scared. I'm scared too." Han Seo whispered into the still air as if Hong Cha Young was perfectly capable of hearing his plea through the doors.

Inside the private suite, the ever-ruthless consigliere was reduced to the little boy he was when he was first adopted. Back then, in that chapel, the boy had been sobbing, hunched into himself as he waited for his eomeoni to come back to him as she promised.

Now, the grown-up boy was in a similar position; head bent, hands clasped together tightly, as he looked pleadingly at the only other woman who has ever come close to touching his heart.

On the surface, the only difference was the lack of tears in his eyes. Yet, on the inside, he was crying just like that little boy he once was.

Has it only been an hour? Why did it feel like an eternity?

The seconds were slowly ticking by as though the heavens were playing them at a 0.25 playback speed. Time was painfully slow when that someone you care for – or dare say, love – was fighting for her life.

On the bed, Hong Cha Young laid unmoving, simply resting after her long surgery. Her very visage as she laid there under the warm fluorescent lights shining down on her was radiant as always. Except...she was pale.

Sure, she had regained some colour post-surgery, but to Vincenzo who has always seen her so full of life with those pink-tinted lips of hers, she was unwell. It worried him tremendously more than he cared to admit.

Or perhaps he was simply afraid that bowing down to his worries would make all these seem more real.

Looking down at his knees, Vincenzo's eyes widened when he noticed the little drop of water gently seeping into the cloth of his pants. More followed soon after and it was with a start that the man realised that those were his tears.

Bit by bit, hot tears fell from his eyes, invasive and angry to the consigliere. The man who has never once shed tears even in the face of a fatal injury was no longer invincible when he was up against heartache.

It was proof that even though he was ruthless, the consigliere wasn't heartless. His heart might have been hardened, but it was not dead. He was still vulnerable to the matters of the heart.