Chapter 197
Yoo-hyun ran like crazy as soon as he got off the bus.
He arrived at Saebit Hospital, located in the downtown area of his hometown.
He went straight to the ward that his father had told him.
The surgery was already over.
As he opened the door with a bang, he saw a four-bed room.
His mother was in the corner by the window.
The other beds were all empty.
“Mom.”
“Oh, you’re here?”
His mother tried to get up in her patient gown as Yoo-hyun approached.
Yoo-hyun stopped her and sat down, holding her hand.
His mother’s hand looked unusually small.
“Mom, just lie down.”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“Why did you push yourself? You should have gone to the hospital sooner.”
“I didn’t know.”
Yoo-hyun resented his mother for not taking care of herself.
At the same time, he felt relieved.
It was really fortunate.
Then he noticed the people around him.
As Yoo-hyun got up, catching his breath, his father said.
“Yoo-hyun, don’t worry. Mom is fine.”
“Yes, dad. Thank you.”
“Thank this lady here.”
His father gestured to the donut lady.
Yoo-hyun greeted her sincerely.
“Auntie, thank you so much.”
As Yoo-hyun bowed, the donut lady waved her hand.
“What are you thanking me for? I didn’t do anything. Everyone helped.”
Behind her, there were some ladies he had seen at the market.
They were all grateful.
Yoo-hyun bowed again.
“Thank you very much.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Really. We just made a phone call.”
They were all people who had closed their shops to come.
He couldn’t help but appreciate their hearts.
A few moments later, the nurse who was checking the IV in his mother’s arm summed up the situation.
“You don’t have to worry. The surgery went well, and she’ll recover in three days.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But you have a lot of visitors. Your patient must be popular.”
The nurse joked, and his mother squinted her eyes in embarrassment.
“I know. Thank you all.”
“Thank you? Get well soon.”
“Right. We’re all from the same neighborhood.”
The market ladies answered warmly, and his mother said apologetically.
“You must be busy. You can go now.”
“It’s not a busy time anyway. We’ll stay a little longer and go.”
The donut lady took over.
Rattle.
The door opened, and a man’s voice was heard.
“Kim Yeonhee, patient. Where are you?”
“Here.”
Yoo-hyun stood up and raised his hand.
The man handed him a huge fruit basket.
“Delivery for you.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s from Hansung Electronics Product Planning Team. We wish you a speedy recovery.”
“…”
As Yoo-hyun received the fruit basket, the delivery man said loudly.
Yoo-hyun looked at the basket in a daze.
It was a really huge basket.
-Wishing a speedy recovery to Han Yoo-hyun’s mother. From Hansung Electronics Product Planning Team.
There was a large lettering on a pink ribbon.
The delivery man left with a cheerful mood, as if he had completed his mission.
Then, the nurse said incredulously.
“That’s the biggest fruit basket I’ve ever seen.”
“I know…”
Yoo-hyun was also dumbfounded.
His mother’s friends were amazed and talked.
“Hansung is different.”
“Yeonhee, you’re lucky.”
“But why did they send fruit when your stomach hurts?”
“It’s just a gesture, don’t question it.”
His mother checked the message on the fruit basket and looked very grateful.
She asked Yoo-hyun.
“Are they the ones you told me about?”
“Yes, mom.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Yes. Thank you so much.”
His father also looked proud and patted Yoo-hyun on the back.
“The company people are very kind.”
“Yes, dad…”
On the other hand, Yoo-hyun felt conflicted.
It wasn’t because he felt awkward receiving their care.
He regretted raising his voice at the end.
They just asked to take care of him.
He barely calmed his mind and smiled, opening the fruit basket.
There were all kinds of fruits.
“Have some of these.”
“Oh, can I?”
The donut lady asked, and his mother said with a smile.
“Of course. I can’t eat them even if I want to.”
“Shall I taste one?”
“We don’t have these in our store.”
“I know. These are all imported, right?”
The market ladies picked up the fruits with bright faces.
There were a lot of fruits that were hard to eat.
Leaving them behind, Yoo-hyun quietly went out of the ward.
He called Kim Hyun-min, the team leader, right away.
“Team leader, this is Yoo-hyun.”
-Why are you calling me? Don’t worry about it and take care of your mother.
“Thank you.”
-What are you thanking me for? That’s it. Hang up.
It wasn’t even a phone call.
The call ended in 10 seconds.
Beep. Beep.
Soon, messages came in.
-You have minus leave, so rest until your mother recovers.
-I’m glad, really. Take good care of your mother. Don’t worry about the company.
After Kim Hyun-min, the team leader, Choi Min-hee, the deputy manager, also sent a text.
-Yoo-hyun, you don’t have to come to the office. I’ll cover everything for you.
-We’ll have a team dinner when you come, so don’t worry. Take good care of your mother.
-I have to visit your mother, but I’m sorry I can’t go right now. I’ll send you my heart.
Park Seung-woo, the assistant manager, Kim Young-gil, the manager, and Lee Chanho were the same.
They all sent messages as soon as they finished talking to Kim Hyun-min, the team leader.
They were so worried that they couldn’t even send messages.
He was truly grateful for their hearts.
Yoo-hyun looked at the messages for a long time.
The ladies had left, and the ward was quiet.
Then, the ward door opened quietly.
This time, it was Kim Hyun-soo who came in.
Yoo-hyun, who was talking with his mother, was surprised and asked.
“Hyun-soo, how did you know…?”
“Sorry. I’m late, right? I heard about it a while ago, but I just moved.”
“Sorry for what? Hey, you have to run your car center in broad daylight.”
“I can close it for a while.”
He said casually and greeted his mother.
“Mom, this is Hyun-soo.”
“Yes, Hyun-soo, long time no see.”
“Are you okay?”
“Of course. It’s really nothing. Thank you.”
“Thank you for what? I had to come.”
Kim Hyun-soo treated Yoo-hyun’s mother as if she was his own.
They looked very warm as they chatted.
His father, who met Yoo-hyun’s eyes, nodded with a smile.
Rattle.
A little later, the door opened again.
This time, it was Kang Jun-ki and Ha Jun-seok.
The two guys who were in totally different places came in at the perfect timing.
Yoo-hyun was surprised and greeted them before they ran over to his mother and asked how she was.
“Mom.”
“Are you okay?”
Kang Jun-ki grabbed his mother’s hand, and Ha Jun-seok stuck close to her and made a fuss.
His mother smiled and said.
“Jun-ki and Jun-seok, right? Long time no see.”
“Yes. I came too late. Ugh. I’m sorry.”
Kang Jun-ki bowed his head deeply, and his mother waved her hand.
“No, no. Are you healthy?”
“Yes, of course. I’m very strong.”
Kang Jun-ki flexed his arm and answered.
Ha Jun-seok, who was next to him, followed suit and took off his jumper, pretending to show off his physique.
“Me too. As long as you’re healthy, mom.”
“…”
Yoo-hyun spat out a laugh.
At the same time, he felt grateful.
One of them came from Seoul, and the other from Ulsan.
They had closed their work and came right away.
He was thankful, but his mother had to rest.
Yoo-hyun pulled the two guys away for now.
“Hey, mom needs to rest.”
“Oops. I got carried away by the joy of seeing you.”
“No. Thank you so much.”
His mother smiled at Kang Jun-ki’s words.
His father, who was next to her, said.
“Yoo-hyun, mom is fine now, so spend some time with your friends.”
“No, I’ll stay here.”
“No. I finished my work early today, so I’ll be here. Go and have some food.”
His mother agreed with his father’s words.
“Yoo-hyun, you don’t have to come. Spend some time with your friends. You came from far away.”
“Then I’ll go out for a while and come back.”
“Okay. Have a good time.”
He couldn’t refuse all the time, so Yoo-hyun said goodbye and left.
When he closed the ward door, he saw his father sitting in Yoo-hyun’s seat.
The two people who were sitting close and chatting looked nice.
Yoo-hyun, who came out to the hallway, thanked his friends again.
“Thank you for coming when you’re busy.”
“Thank you for what? I came because I had some free time.”
Ha Jun-seok answered Kang Jun-ki’s words.
“Me too. I have to take a vacation at times like this. But how’s Hyun-soo’s car center?”
He worried about Kim Hyun-soo.
“What do you mean? I can close it for a day, what’s the big deal.”
Kim Hyun-soo answered at that moment.
Beep.
His phone rang.
He hung up a few times, but the bell rang again, so Kim Hyun-soo answered the phone.
“Yes, yes. I’m sorry. I’m not open today.”
It was obviously a call about the car center.
Kim Hyun-soo apologized to the caller and came over with a hidden expression.
Kang Jun-ki asked him.
“Hyun-soo, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Hey, is there a problem with the car center? Go and check it out.”
Kim Hyun-soo hesitated for a moment at Yoo-hyun’s words, but eventually asked for their understanding.
“Sorry, but then I’ll have to leave today. See you next time.”
Then Kang Jun-ki came up with a suitable solution.
“Where are you going alone? We can go to the car center.”
“Why?”
“Why? We can have fun there.”
Kim Hyun-soo was dumbfounded, but Yoo-hyun led the mood.
“Yeah. The lounge there is nice. How about we have some frozen food there for a change?”
“Sounds good. Hyun-soo, do you have a microwave in the lounge?”
“Well, I do, but…”
Kim Hyun-soo trailed off as Kang Jun-ki agreed.
While he was hesitating, Ha Jun-seok settled the situation as if it was already decided.
“Don’t worry. Yoo-hyun’s mother is sick, so we won’t drink. We’ll clean up after ourselves.”
He also suggested an additional option.
“I’ll help you with some work. We’re friends, right?”
“That won’t help.”
“It will. There’s nothing you can’t do.”
With their encouragement, the next destination was Kim Hyun-soo’s car center.
The sun hadn’t set yet.
It was rare to close the car center early on weekdays.
That meant Kim Hyun-soo had pushed himself to see Yoo-hyun’s mother.
Was that why?
There were a lot of cars waiting in front of the closed car center.
“Hey, there he is. Young boss, fix this puncture for me.”
“Me too. I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
“Me too.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll open the door soon.”
Kim Hyun-soo was surprised to see the cars lined up.
He hurriedly ran into the car center and opened the door.