My Lifeline - Jaywon Shortstories

The Grandson Pt2

Three days had passed since Jungwon last saw Mrs Park.

Ever since he had left the hospital, there had been only one thing on his mind: the grandson.

He knew very few about him, except that he was a bit older, that he lived abroad and that he loved his grandmother. Mrs Park had said herself that ever since she had been hospitalized, her grandson had tried to come back to Korea to see her. Unfortunately it had taken some time because of his studies.

However, he was here now.

And Jungwon would be meeting him along with his grandmother in an hour, at the hospital's cafeteria.

His thoughts were running wild, especially since he didn't know what to expect from the grandson.
Would he be upset that Jungwon had been acting like a grandson to Mrs Park?

Because officially, Jungwon went to the hospital to read newspaper to the elderly, but deep down, the young man knew that Mrs Park and him had developed a grandmother and grandson type of relationship. That was undeniable.

This is why Jungwon felt bad.

He had hesitated to call several times to cancel. He just had to say he wasn't feeling well, which wasn't even a lie. Just a phone call and he would be free. However, he knew how much this lunch meant to Mrs Park. Disappointing her was the last thing he wanted to do.

A sigh left his mouth as he got ready.

Normally, he would have picked up pretty flowers for her, but he decided against at the last minute. He didn't want to seem too much in front of the grandson. He was probably upset about Jungwon, there was no need to make things worse.

~

Hospital cafeterias are usually not the best place to eat, but Jungwon did think this one wasn't so bad. The staff seemed friendly and he even recognized one of the nurses from the elderly floor having coffee near the window. A few seconds later, he spotted the familiar shape of Mrs Park.
She was sitting a few tables away, but she instantly met Jungwon's gaze and smiled.

"There he is!" she said.

Jungwon watched the person sitting in front of her standing up. He was tall. The grandson spun around and finally saw who his grandmother kept talking about.

Jungwon felt his breath getting caught in his throat. For a second, he started panicking, unsure he would be able to breathe again. Nevertheless, it was too late to think about that, because the grandson was walking towards him quickly.

"Hi!" he greeted. "I'm Jay."

Jungwon had already started bowing but Jay sticked his hand in front of Jungwon, who just frowned.

"Oh sorry, I always forget to bow" he mumbled, taking his hand back and bowing as well.
"It's okay" replied Jungwon with a polite smile. "I'm Jungwon, hi."

Jay smiled and the both of them awkwardly walked back to the table.
Now, usually Jungwon would hug Mrs Park, but he wasn't sure he should in front of Jay. He felt it would be uncomfortable.
However, that point of view wasn't shared by said Mrs Park, who instantly opened her arms and invited him for a hug.

"You came!" she said, holding him tight.
"Of course" replied Jungwon.
"This is my grandson, Jay!" she said, the brightest smile on her face.

During the next hour, the three of them got their lunches and chatted a lot, especially about Jay's life in the US. Mrs Park was very curious about every detail of his life, just like any loving grandmother would be.
Jay on the other hand, showed interest for Jungwon. He tried asking questions to him, but his grandmother was so excited about having him there with her that she got caught up in the moment.

Before they knew it, it was time for her to go back to her room to rest.
Jay pushed her wheelchair as Jungwon escorted them. Once installed, Jay kissed her forehead and promised to be back later that day. Jungwon hugged her goodbye and the two of them left the room in silence.

Silence?
No.. Awkward Silence, yes!

Jungwon was extremely not at ease. He didn't know what he could do to make things better. Some part of him wanted to apologize, explained that it wasn't his intention to "replace" Jay as her grandson. Another part wanted to comment on how happy she seemed during lunch.

And maybe some part of him wanted to just take a picture of him and send it to his best friend because MAMA THAT BOY WAS HOT AS HELL.

Sorry, Jungwon's brain derailed for a bit.

He wasn't wrong though. Jay was insanely attractive. One look was enough to know that he knew about fashion and that every item of his outfit had been picked out carefully to create a rock yet chic look. Jungwon had also noticed how sharp his jawline was, which really did contradict the softness of his eyes whenever he looked at his grandmother. Jay had his hair slightly up, with only a little bit of forehead showing, which drove Jungwon insane.

To be honest, Jungwon wasn't often insane. As a matter of fact, saying he would be single forever was a running gag amongst his friends. Until now it didn't matter to Jungwon. However, now that he had seen Jay, he would hate to end up single.

...

How can I be dreaming about this guy?
I... I totally acted as a grandson to his grandmother...

"Thank you"

Jungwon frowned.

"What?" he asked, unsure.

They had reached the elevator and Jay had clicked on the little arrow.

"I was thanking you" repeated Jay.
"Oh, that's nothing.. I like reading newspaper" mumbled Jungwon, uncomfortable.

Before Jay could speak, a "pling" resonated between them, letting them know the elevator was ready to take them to the ground floor.

"Not just the reading" continued Jay as they entered the small space. "You've been there for her."

Jungwon felt the pain in Jay's words. He couldn't explain why, but it made his heart get heavy.
The numbers changed rapidly in the little screen and soon, the boys had arrived. They got out and walked through the reception. They probably needed fresh air.

Since Jungwon hadn't replied this whole time, Jay started speaking again.

"It's true.. she spoke of you so fondly" he said. "You brought her so much joy."

Jungwon felt so bad.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered.

They had stopped in front a bench, not far from the hospital's main entrance.

"I didn't mean to replace you" added Jungwon, looking down.

Jay chuckled.

"I know you didn't" said Jay. "But I'm so glad you did."

What?

~ Part 3 next time ~

But before, let me just give you a little feedback on yesterday's 100k chapter!
First of all, 🥹🥹🥹🥹 this is my face reading your comments
Second, I've been thinking about a type of Q&A in which we could get to know each other a little better (for those you want to of course!!)
It could be like : who's your bias and bias wrecker combo, so that we can see if we find people with the same biases, or which is your favorite I-Land performance, some things like that
I really don't know if I explained that well enough but yeah, would that be okay with you?

Edit: I've changed the order of the chapters so that the story isn't interrupted by the two special chapters for the 100k reads ✨
Love you💜🫰