10 minutes later...

I enter the emergency with y/n in my arms to make it easier for her, and I go towards the nurses to ask for some help, so one of them listen to what is happening and then tells me to wait, so I get to the seats and sit down with y/n. She does not move away as expected, she remains on my lap and rests her head on my chest, sweating and breathing hard as the pain seems agonizing. This is not good, and I am seriously sick worried at this point.

I hold her near since she obviously needs someone there to bring her some comfort, and I gaze down at her, I lift my hand up to her face and comb her hair back to put it properly. "Everything's going to be fine, okay? Don't be anxious about anything."

"It just...hurts...and I'm scared to not wake up..." she barely speaks out loud, her voice sounding feeble. "Why wouldn't you wake up, y/n? Hm? Nothing like that will happen."

She does not say anything more, so I keep quiet but see a doctor approach us. "Hello, you can follow us. We'll bring her on a bed."

I stand up to do as told, and he leads me to one of the hospital beds with the nurse I talked to a few minutes ago. "You're a doctor, is that right?" he questions me, and I nod. "That is amazing for her. I'm doctor Sung, I'll take care of her."

I do not say anything but lay y/n on the bed that we stopped at, he closes the curtains to be left alone, and he takes his tablet. "Let's start right away, can you tell us your name? Your age?" he addresses her when she's not in a great state to do it, so I take care of doing it. "Y/n. She's twenty, she has been in pain for a few days as she told me, and she located it on the right side of her stomach, but it began at her belly button. What worries me the most is that she told me the pain went away a little, so I would like you to do the necessary work to check if she has a ruptured appendix."

He listens carefully to what I say and writes at the same time, making me hope he will do a perfect job. "Okay, the symptoms seem pretty clear to me, but I'm going to touch it and see how it feels," he puts her tablet aside and steps closer to give her his attention, and I watch what he does.

"I'm going to check up on the spot that hurts, okay? So tell me if you cannot stand it, or where it's the worst," he looks at her and lifts her clothing up, so she nods to him, and I remain near.

Once he lays his hands on her stomach, she shuts her eyes, and all I ask for is to see this come to an end to get rid of what she is going through. "There," she reacts to his touch. "It hurts way too much there, don't, please..."

"All right, I won't," he leaves her alone, to my greatest relief. "I do suspect appendicitis or ruptured appendix, but we need to do exams to be sure," he puts her clothing back properly, and he takes a peek at his nurse, before looking at y/n. "You are going to be transferred to a room where you'll stay, and a doctor will come to ask you a few more questions and do the exams, okay? There's no need to worry about anything, they won't touch it."

"Okay," she understands, and he gives her a kind smile, before retreating. "I'll see you later," he directs his eyes towards me, his lips turn up with respect, and I return it as much as I can, even though I can feel some ache in my chest.

He leaves us, and the nurses move the bed to bring y/n to a room, but she immediately reacts by shooting her eyes up towards me. "You're staying, right?"

"Yes, I am. Stay calm," I put her mind at rest and follow the bed since I am allowed to do so.

•••

5:20 pm.

'YOUR P.O.V'

I open my eyes, feeling weak and extremely tired. The only thing that greets me is the hospital room at first, but then, once I turn my head to the left, I catch sight of the man who's been taking care of me more than any other one did.

He keeps his eyes on his phone as he must not have heard or seen me, so I do not look away, without even realizing. I stare at his big eyes, noticing some tiredness through his features, his expression, and soft crinkles.

His head suddenly raises up, my heart leaping out of my chest at the eye contact I did not expect. A smile grows on his face, and he puts his phone aside to come closer. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he gives me all his attention. "Not good...but better than before."

"Not good? Why?" he crosses his arms over the bed, placing them right next to my hips. "I can still feel some pain. Is it normal?"

"Yes, it is. Don't worry about that," he reassures me, and I trust his words. "Haven't you left since you brought me here?" I find a question to ask, and he shakes his head. "I haven't. I want to stay with you and make sure you're fine."

I smile unwittingly but glance at my bedside table, I try not to move too much and reach out for the bottle of water. "Don't," he grabs it for me and removes the cap, he leans closer and presses on one button to incline my bed and put me in a better position. "Here you are," he hands me the bottle, and I thank him before drinking.

"Do you want to contact your parents to tell them about this?" he mentions them, and I awkwardly answer with a 'no', making him stare at me with concern. "Isn't there anyone you would like to contact?" the lilt of his voice changes as he seems surprised by it. "There's not. I'd rather deal with it on my own," I grab the cap of the bottle to close it, and his eyes remain fixed on me.

"Well, that's your choice, so I understand," he does not ask me the reason for me to feel that way. "Just...if you ever want to talk about it with— I mean," he interrupts himself, getting us to make eye contact as some hesitation seems to have taken over him. "I do not want you to feel like I'm forcing you or anything, but I just want to always remind you that I'm here if you want or need to talk."

"Thank you, Mister Jeon," I show my gratitude, feeling touched by his care, even if this is probably professional. He softly gives me a smile, always maintaining eye contact with me.

"Has the doctor told you about the recovery?" he asks me. "No. Do I have to stay here?"

"Probably a few days, not more, but don't be worried, I'll come and visit you every time I can," he already plans to do. He must feel some pity for me, I don't know why. "You don't have to. You have your job, it's already tough enough. How are you going to do with Hyejoon though..?"

"Oh, about that. I'll ask my parents to take care of him while you're here. Don't worry about anything but you," he almost puts me first, despite how important his baby is. I thought his first preoccupation would be Hyejoon, but he still cares about me, even if I'm not there to do my work.

"Once you'll be back, you'll rest as much as possible, and I'll put Hyejoon's bed downstairs so that you don't have to climb up the stairs. Okay?" his mature but tender voice kindly escapes him to soothe me, and I nod. "Okay..." I try to keep to myself the first thought that came to my mind when I felt like losing myself, not wanting to sound stupid. I nibble on my inner lip now that the silence is filling the room.

"I thought you would fire me..." it runs out and wins against my brain. "Why would you think that?" he frowns at me. "You're way too important for us. I'd never do this, and Hajoon would hate me if I would," he says, with a grin. "I don't know, I just thought."

"Then you thought wrong. I'll never fire you, y/n," he claims, and I believe. I hope as well. "You're not just a housekeeper for us. Hm?" one of his fingers skims over mine that I kept against my side, and an unwanted feeling inside my chest grows even bigger. "Do not think that you're just there to work and that we don't care about you. I do, I care about you a lot."

"I believe you," I give him my point of view. "I feel good with you. You really treat me well, and I always feel better when..." I hold back the words that were on my mind. "When I'm at your house, and that you're there."

His bright smile widens in an even more charming way, but he glances down at my hand and caresses it, fluttering my heart and causing some butterflies with his touch. "I don't know if I should say that, but I do feel better since you're there. Whenever I'm on my way home, I keep on thinking and wondering how you're going to greet me, if you're going to be there with your adorable 'Welcome back, Mister Jeon. How was your day?' he mimics me with a cute voice that I don't have. "And I do have to admit that I'm always eager to be home because of the delicious food you cook. You have no idea how what you do can be comforting and relaxing after a long day at work."

"Really? I don't annoy you?" I take this opportunity to know how he feels about this, and he nods. "You'll never annoy you by doubt that. You probably do not realize, but I feel so happy when I'm back home, that I see you, hear you, and smell the food you cooked for us. Your small attentions that are more than meaningful to me...everything you do makes my day better. I'm not even lying or emphasizing at all. Like..." his words take me aback and astonish me, making me feel weak and sensitive. "I often come back from work in a bad mood, but once I open the door of the house, see and hear you ask me questions to know how it went, I truly forget all the pressure and stress of the day, and you just relax me..." he smiles but sets his eyes on me. "I...It sounds weird, I know, but I just... That's how I feel..."

"I didn't know I was able to make you feel better...I'm kinda happy to hear all that," I tell the truth but see how relieved it makes him. "I feel like that when you come back home, so...I'm glad to know I'm not the only one...because I always feel safe and good when you're home. I don't know how to explain."

"I don't know if it's the tiredness, but, ugh..." he chuckles and leans back, seeming like he did not expect to speak that way. "I'm emotional right now. That's not good."

"Not good? Why?" I grin, but he crosses his legs, his feet pointing towards me. "I always speak a lot when I am. You're making me emotional," he passes his fingers over his bottom lip. "I did not intend to do so, it's not my fault."

He quietly laughs at my response. "It's my fault then, I blame it on my heart."

"Your heart is weak for women and girls, isn't it?" I recall what he said to me at the beginning, and he gazes at me, but in a way too intimidating manner,  touching his lips and smiling at me. "That's right. Especially women like you. I might look tough and strong, but if one day, you come up to me in the middle of the night and interrupt my sleep to tell me something as simple as 'Mister Jeon, I don't feel good', I can guarantee you that I will not be able to go back to sleep without making sure everything is all right. I'll stay awake the whole night if needed. No matter how much I would want to go back to sleep, I wouldn't be able to tell you 'It's fine, go back to sleep.', like, never."

"Even if you're really tired and haven't slept?" I raise my eyebrows, feeling special, but at the same time, knowing he's le that with every girl or woman. "Even if I slept for ten minutes and that you come and wake me up. Let alone if you're crying, my heart is going to shake, and I'm going to have to instinctively take you in my arms," he giggles as if he was shy about it. "Just like it happened when I came back home after the call when I saw you crying in pain, it was over for me, my heart was already on the floor. Just remembering the way you were feeling and crying in my arms, ugh...I can't," he shakes his head and reveals the side of him that he must feel the most vulnerable about.

"That's cute though, a lot of women would want a man like you. Your wife is really lucky," I state the truth, knowing for sure that I'm right but maybe too bold. That could have been kept inside my head. His expression does not exude the same emotions anymore as if mentioning his wife was a mistake. "I wish..." he moves his head up and down in a slow manner after his sentence left in a low voice, and I regret instantly. "I...I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable...I shouldn't have—"

"No, you didn't," he hurries to not let a misunderstanding cause any tension, and he comes closer again, crossing his arms but getting the back of his veiny and warm hand in contact with mine again. "I'll never feel uncomfortable with you. I just...We're not on good terms lately. Nothing bad."

"Okay," I do not annoy him with this topic but still point something out. Something that is important to me. "You will probably not want to do it, but you can talk to me as well. I'm younger, and you're way more mature than me, you have more experience in life, but I'd love to be here to listen to you and let you get some things off your chest if you need."

"Thank you," he does not refuse my offer. "You'll be the first person I go to if I need to talk. Trust me. Age doesn't matter in this situation, you're more mature than many people of my age that I know, so I'd feel way more comfortable, heard, and understood with you."

"I'm glad to hear it," I speak in a quieter voice unwittingly, but the contact between our skin does not stop messing with my mind. "I wish I could go back to your house now and cook for you. No one is going to be there to cook a great meal for dinner, which bothers me," I intentionally move my hand to see how he reacts and put my index finger on the side of his big palm to pretend that I'm just pointing at him.

For a few seconds full of nervousness, he does not do anything other than stare at me and gazes in both of my eyes, then he does not joke anymore, he slides his fingers between my thumb and index one, and he holds my hand. "Don't worry about this. We're fine. I'm sad that I won't eat your delicious food, but I know that you're resting, and that's the only thing that matters to me."

"Hajoon likes to cook with me though, he could do it for you," my heart gives me a hard time to breathe and act like I'm fine when his virile hand full of tattoos and veins is holding mine so gently. "This boy only does something because he's with you. If you're not home, he'll stay in his bedroom all the time," he smiles at me, this moment making me wonder what is on his mind while he's touching me. This might be a simple touch to reassure me and keep my mind away, but for my brain, this means more than that, and I hate myself for the way I'm letting a mere physical contact affect me.

After his last answer, some quietness keeps us silent, but not with awkwardness. This is pleasant. His soft skin never leaves mine for unknown reasons, and he looks down at our hands, he brushes his fingers past the tip of mine, and he goes back and forth, slowly. This is so intimate that I cannot tell my brain to stop considering this touch as more than care. "It's going to be hard to leave you all alone here."

I listen to his soothing voice but hear many questions invade my head. Has seeing me cry caused something to him? He's been emotional since we started to talk, and I do not know if this is because he saw me in pain, held me in his arms, or saw me cry for the first time, but I love this.

"Do you have to leave soon?" I ask to know, with fear that he might have to go home in a few minutes, and he raises his eyes up to look at his phone that he left on the bed. "The visits stop at six, so yes, I do," he does not even conceal his grief, he combs his long hair back, and his fingers pass between mine to intertwine our hands. "I'm going to hold your hand until I have to leave, I'm not letting go," he shows some softness and gazes at me.

I stare into his eyes with some unexplainable courage, and I tilt my head to the side to rest it on my pillow. "Has the doctor told you something about the surgery that worried you?" I cannot hide my incomprehension, and once his eyes drop their look on my lips, I understand something is wrong. "He talked to me once the surgery was done because I asked some questions. I first wanted to know if you were okay, then how severe it was," he looks down at our hands again. "And he told me that if you had waited just a few minutes or, with luck, hours more to react, they would not have been able to do anything to save you because it was not just appendicitis, your appendix ruptured, which is the worst case. This condition is life-threatening. So...when he told me that...I might have felt very affected by it, and right now, I can't stop thinking about it."

"It's life-threatening?" my lips part. I did not anticipate this, neither think about it. "Yes. A lot of people believe that it is just appendicitis and that there's no rush, but they do not realize how dangerous this can be if you disregard the seriousness of it and then the consequences it can have if you do not get treated rapidly but let it drag on."

"I didn't know about that...I'm lucky you were there..." I cannot even realize yet that I was close to not opening my eyes again because of something I thought to be small. "That's one of the reasons why I want you to tell me when you're in pain. Whether this is physically or mentally, I always want you to tell me about it."

I nod, perceiving how serious it is for him.