A Tangled Web

Chapter 7

JinHee jumped out of her car and ran through the doors of the hospital , she had been surprised when she got the call from JongSuk's stepfather that there had been an accident and JongSuk and Chef DongMin's secretary were being taken to the hospital. She wondered why the hospital called JongSuk's stepfather , but then remembered he had the name saved as Ahjussi so it was the first name that popped up, she realised that Ahjussi had called her because as far as he knew she was the closest thing JongSuk had to any kind of family,though obviously that wasn't true ,but he didn't know that he was JongSuk's stepfather nor it was his wife who had abandoned him . 

 JinHee hurried up to the nurses station and was about to ask where JongSuk was when she heard someone call her name, she turned around to see HaJoon and SeoJin running over. HaJoon looked worried, but SeoJin JinHee couldn't read the expression on her face, it was almost guilt, but also relief like she was glad the accident happened JinHee shuddered , was she even a mother. 

"Where is he ? Where's my student and secretary!" Chef DongMin rushed up to the Nurses station.

"A-abeoji, h-how do you know my JongSuk."SeoJin stuttered the blood draining out of her face when she saw her ex father in law she hadn't seen him in twenty years, how did he even know JongSuk anyway, how did they even meet?

Chef DongMin walked up to SeoJin and slapped her hard across the face."What did you do to my grandson! I searched for him for sixteen years!" He shouted, "I should have never let my son marry you!" 

SeoJin glared at him, then turned to HaJoon he was staring at her, he shook his head,"You -you abandoned your kid"

SeoJin reached for him pleading,"Yabo, please my husband had just died I couldn't raise a kid on my own." She tried to justify her actions 

"What about after we were married, I would have gladly raised him as my son, he and Hani get along together too, you deprived your child of a family." HaJoon shook his head in disgust, he stepped away from his wife.

SeoJin turned to her ex father in law and said "Fine, I abandoned my kid, but you also abandoned your son, you disowned him because he wanted to marry me . How am I any different than you?"

DongMin stared at her in disbelief "What?" He couldn't believe the audacity of this woman, he was about to say something when he felt his chest tighten,he clutched his chest and staggered back, JinHee and HaJoon rushed over catching him, HaJoon led him over to the row of chairs against the wall, JinHee sat down next to him 

"Halbeoji, you should be careful,don't upset yourself, you said you spent sixteen years searching for your grandson, now you've found him." JinHee said she reached for his hand.

DongMin turned to the young woman "Did you know my grandson, what was he like?"

"I was only at the orphanage for four years before I was adopted and moved to Japan with my adoptive parents, but we kept in touch, your grandson was kind ,loyal and smart, he always managed to be the top of the class. " JinHee said, she looked up at HaJoon and said, "The first night you invited him to your house, he didn't  leave because he was sick, he left because he couldn't do it, he couldn't be in the same room as the mother who abandoned him and seemed to still resent him." 

"But he came back." HaJoon said confused.

"He came back because Hani seemed to want him to come, he didn't want to disappoint her, that's why I offered to come with him." JinHee explained. She turned to SeoJin, "He missed you,you know at the orphanage he believed you would come to get him, he wrote me letters saying he hoped you were okay and how come you weren't coming for him. Do you know how old he was when he stopped hoping his mother would come for him?" JinHee asked, she didn't wait for an answer but continued "Fifteen, he was fifteen he emailed me and said that he thought you had to be dead because there's no other reason you would have abandoned him like that, but you weren't dead were you, Ahjumma."

The doctor came out, DongMin went to stand up , JinHee helped him to his feet, 

"Doctor,my grandson how is he."He asked.

"It's looking grave, he needs a blood transfusion " the Doctor said. 

"I'll do it."DongMin offered, "I'll do whatever it takes to save my grandson."

"We need from another family member, is there any other family here." The doctor asked, there was silence then HaJoon said "My wife, she's his mother " he pushed her forward 

A nurse appeared, "You two can follow me." She said, they followed her down the corridor.

JinHee couldn't believe that SeoJin was going to stay silent her child was dying and she couldn't even donate blood.

Line break

Secretary Kim signed his discharge papers aside from a broken arm and slight concussion which the doctor said was fine,he had been lucky, the truck had crashed into the back of the car. He hurried to the emergency room and was surprised to see two people already there, the girl he vaguely recognised he had seen JongSuk with her around campus they seemed to be dating, the man was unfamiliar he looked old enough to be JongSuk's father, but Secretary Kim's research had revealed him to be an orphan abandoned by his mother and his father was dead further research had revealed his father to be DongMin's son, he had actually planned to tell him at the conference,that JongSuk was his grandson  He wondered where DongMin was he had called him awhile ago,he thought of calling than realised he couldn't use his phone, the girl looked up as he approached, "Do you mind if I sit here." He asked gesturing to the empty seat next to her, the girl nodded, she introduced herself as Go JinHee she knew DongMin's grandson because they were in the same orphanage , and now they were dating after being reunited after years apart. 

Line break(two weeks later)

DongMin was going to do whatever it took to save his grandson, he couldn't believe that he had been under his nose this entire time. He had missed so much of his life growing up and he blamed his daughter in law for the time lost. The doctors weren't hopeful that his grandson would even survive his injuries were too extensive and severe, but DongMin wasn't going to give up, he told the doctors to try anything money was no object, finally one doctor suggested that the doctors in America where the technology was more advanced could provide more help. DongMin told Secretary Kim to make all the necessary arrangements so they could leave as soon as the doctors thought it safe enough to move his grandson.

JinHee closed her suitcase looking around her room , JongSuk's grandfather had invited her to go to America with them, because as he said "When my grandson wakes up, he's going to need someone familiar to be with him, he doesn't know yet I'm his grandfather." JinHee had readily agreed .

SeoJin couldn't believe that she had been kicked out, her husband had barely been able to speak to her the past week, they had even started sleeping in separate bedrooms, finally HaJoon just asked her to leave.

"Stay at a hotel until we can sort things out, it's not just that you abandoned your own child, but you never even told me you had a child and you lied for sixteen years "HaJoon said he sounded disappointed. SeoJin had packed her suitcase and left the mansion. Now she sat at the desk at the hotel. 

You should have died. 

To be continued in the sequel.