Wither & Bloom

II - Hazard

In the spacious and comfortable lounge of Yulhan Medical Center, Suzy and her father sat at one of the couches as they observed Sujin standing from a distance, curiously looking at the surroundings. His tiny figure situated in a place wherein he has no idea that every single thing he sees is indirectly his.

While the two adults were sitting and drinking coffee, a few Yulhan staff would walk across the space every now and then but would politely take a pause in front of the father-and-daughter executives for a bow and greeting.

As the time was ticking for this momentary encounter, Dr. Bae Seok-kyu broke the comfortable silence. "I heard Joohyuk went back to your home last week."

Suzy was a little stunned for the sudden involvement of her ex-husband in the conversation. 

"Appa, 'went back' seems a little misleading," she countered her father.

The elder chuckled at her defensiveness. "Oh maja. 'Came over' seems more appropriate." He retorted.

"Ne. He did." His daughter shortly replied with a nod, the state of discomfort for talking about her past lover unhidden in her response.

Seok-kyu sensed it, but he would rather probe more about the current situation. After all, he needs to know how they are doing lately without a family man. "Is Sujin not asking why his father wouldn't come home everyday?" he typically asked.

Such questions were something Suzy had already anticipated, yet she seemed to be running out of answers even so.

She let out a subtle sigh as she admitted, "He would. But I can still manage to make some excuses."

Their conversation was halted when the adorable young man fled back towards them.

"Wae? Is there something wrong?" Suzy asked the four-year-old boy as she cupped his cheeks.

Her son shook his head as he murmured"Eopseo" in response, then held onto her shoulders for support and guided himself to sit on her lap.

"My baby is suddenly clingy." She playfully spoke as she held him tighter and cherished the feeling of her precious one so close to her.

Bae Seok-kyu smiled at the sight of his daughter and grandson. Suzy has definitely grown and became a good mother herself. With the delightful vision, he gently called Sujin's name.

"Harabeoji," his grandson quickly responded with a smile.

"Would you like to come to harabeoji and halmeoni's house this weekend?" Seok-kyu asked, met with the little boy's eager nod as he excitedly yelled,"Ne!"

As Suzy relished in watching the fun yet heartfelt exchange between the two, Sujin turned to face her and asked — an innocent question that lingered in the air.

"Can appa come with us eomma?" he told with the glimmer in his eyes accompanied by hope and curiosity. The spark in his gaze mirrored Joohyuk's almost perfectly, reminding Suzy of an image that she could only try hard to bury deep within the abyss of her mind.

She honestly didn't know what to say, not that it was unanswerable, she couldn't just say something that would let her son down. Thankfully, just as Suzy was struggling for words, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was like an escape route from the stillness of the moment. "Sujin-ah, eomma will just take this call," she said urgently to excuse herself.

Suzy picked up the call from Dr. Kim Go Eun, her close friend and senior since graduate school. The sound of the voice on the other end of the line brought a sense of relief amidst all the turmoil inside Suzy's mind.