Hazardous Concentration Chapter 3

Prompted by a gesture to hurry, Eunhoo stepped inside. The sound of music thumped loudly. Although he frequented the neighborhood, it was his first time inside, so he craned his neck looking around, when a waiter with a face as pale as a sheet brushed past them. Eunhoo glanced at him, but the man walking ahead shouted once more.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, yes!”

He turned his head and followed the man. He headed toward the stairs. Following him all the way up, he could see two guards standing watch there as well.

When the waiter approached and whispered something, the guard, who had been listening quietly, glanced at Eunhoo and stepped aside.

“In here.”

Perhaps because the lighting was fundamentally dim, it was easy for a first-timer to get lost. Afraid of losing them, Eunhoo followed the waiter diligently.

The waiter led Eunhoo to the innermost room on the second floor. It was a black double door. Opening that door, the waiter bowed halfway and said.

“The person you were looking for has arrived.”

No sound came from inside. The waiter straightened up and said to Eunhoo as if admonishing him.

“Serve him well.”

“Pardon?”

Afterward, he shoved Eunhoo, who was asking back in bewilderment, blindly into the room. Only then did Eunhoo realize the nature of the situation and shouted.

“Hey! I think there’s been a misunderstanding, I am…”

Before he could finish his sentence, thud! The door closed. Taken aback, Eunhoo quickly grabbed the doorknob and turned it, but it wouldn’t open. It seemed to have been locked from the outside.

“Hey. Open the door. You’ve mistaken me for someone else. I came here because of the designated driver service…”

“What is it.”

His motion of pounding on the door ceased in an instant.

“Who told you to blabber so loudly.”

A sluggish voice was heard from inside. Only then did Eunhoo recall the fact that there was someone else inside besides him. It was because the room was so vast and the lighting so dim that the inside couldn’t be seen at a glance.

Eunhoo answered hurriedly.

“Ah, I’m a designated driver.”

“Fuck, my head hurts. What did you say?”

Eunhoo hesitated, suddenly noticing how excessively quiet the interior was. Although there was only one door between them, he couldn’t even hear the faint music that had been playing before. Just as he was shrinking back and stammering at the profanity-laced remark, he heard the click of a lighter wheel turning inside.

“Look, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m a designated driver…”

“I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you, so don’t mumble from far away—come closer and say it.”

He hesitated.

Eunhoo felt reluctant, but he did need the man’s help to get out of here. He slowly approached the vicinity. He could smell a pungent odor at the tip of his nose, as if he were smoking. Glancing to the side, he saw empty liquor bottles and half-eaten side dishes scattered all over the table.

Passing them, Eunhoo finally approached a spot where he could see the man’s face in detail.

“I’m a designated driver. You’re heading to Seowon-dong, right? But I didn’t receive the detailed address, so…”

Eunhoo stopped mid-sentence.

Strange. A sense of vague déjà vu scratched across a corner of his brain at a silhouette that seemed familiar. Eunhoo, who had slowly lifted his gaze upward, had his eyes go wide.

“Designated driver? What a concept.”

Letting out a faint, scoffing laugh, the man waved his hand.

“Stop spewing nonsense, and if you came to sell what’s between your legs, be active about it. I’m willing to play along today. Or else, run away properly.”

What is this?

Eunhoo was stunned for a moment before he muttered.

“Liar.”

It’s him. Yeo Taejun.

Their reunion after several years had happened by chance in a place he never expected. Yeo Taejun stared at Eunhoo, who was wide-eyed with shock, with a frown on his face.

∞ ∞ ∞

As expected of one of the top five tertiary hospitals, it was swarming with people from Monday morning. However, the 13th floor, where the private rooms were, was relatively quiet.

“Thank you for taking care of everything all this time.”

Eunhoo bowed politely.

“And this… it’s nothing special, but I felt it was wrong to come empty-handed when I came to express my gratitude.”

As he held out a black plastic bag, Nurse Park put on a troubled expression.

“Oh, why go through the trouble of…”

“Ah, is it a bother for you to accept it?”

The bag was packed with red cherries. At the voice laced with apology, Nurse Park, finding it difficult to refuse, accepted the bag containing the fruit.

“No. This much is fine. Thank you, I’ll enjoy them.”

A faint smile hung on Eunhoo’s face. Nurse Park almost unconsciously smiled with satisfaction. It’s a bit much to say to a grown young man, but he is truly pretty every time I see him. Just a few years ago, he was so pretty it made one wonder if he wasn’t a girl, and now he was brimming with the aura of a young man. Still, while his refined and pretty features remained prominent, he was no longer at the point of being mistaken for a girl. It’s amazing every time I see him. Somehow, he doesn’t resemble either of his parents. The mother is quite refined, but she wasn’t a striking beauty, so it was amazing that she gave birth to such a son.

“I’m relieved. Thank you for your care regarding my mother in many ways.”

To Eunhoo, who bowed his head gently, Nurse Park waved both hands in the air.

“Don’t mention it. That’s my job. If anything… I’m sorry I couldn’t provide even more care.”

“No. You did enough. I know you even came down to check on her on purpose when she was moved down to the six-person ward.”

“That’s only because she was a patient I was in charge of until a few years ago…”

Before working in the VIP ward, Nurse Park had been in the private room ward.

“And how many meals have we received from you.”

The days when Park Mi-ok was admitted to a private room were days when the medical staff feasted. Perhaps because her family was in the food industry, every dish they sent was delicious. At first, they had refused, saying they couldn’t do that, but patient Park Mi-ok had told them to eat since she had already sent it, and she wouldn’t do it next time. That had repeated for nearly ten years.

“Are you moving hospitals entirely?”

“…That’s how it turned out. I saw the doctor today.”

Eunhoo smiled weakly.

“I pray that your mother recovers as soon as possible. I’ll enjoy the cherries.”

At Nurse Park’s words, Eunhoo smiled quietly and turned away. Somehow, he looked so exhausted and lonely that it made her heart ache even more.

“Such a pity.”

Working as a nurse for over ten years, the thing she felt was that, just like one’s life, no one knows how a person’s own life will turn out.

“They say wealth doesn’t last three generations, but to fall so completely…”

Nurse Park clicked her tongue mid-sentence.

“It’s already heartbreaking enough, and now he’s even injured.”

She hadn’t noticed it well when she saw him up close, but now she could see that he was limping slightly. She was watching Eunhoo’s retreating back with a complicated look in her eyes.

“Nurse Park!”

At the sudden voice, Nurse Park jumped in surprise.

“You scared me. Nurse Na?”

“Hehe. What are you doing here?”

A resident who had recently returned to the hospital after finishing his military medical officer service was looking at her and wearing a meaningful smile.

“I was just going inside. Why are you out here, Nurse Na?”

“Me? I was just going in after eating… By the way, who was that just now?”

Of all people, why did he have to be caught by Nurse Na, who had a loose tongue and loved to meddle in everything?

“Who do you think? It’s nothing.”

“Ayy, it doesn’t look like nothing. I caught a glimpse, but he was quite handsome. A boyfriend, Nurse Park?”

Nurse Park jumped as if she had heard something horrific.

“What kind of imagination are you having? He’s younger than my youngest brother, what do you mean boyfriend. It’s absolutely not.”

“I thought he was a younger boyfriend. That’s why I thought, ‘As expected, our Nurse Park is a person of ability.’”

“He was the guardian of a patient I was in charge of. It was just a brief farewell since it’s the last time.”

Nurse Park said, letting out a deep sigh. At that, the other’s face was filled with disappointment.

“I was excited, thinking there might be something heart-fluttering since the atmosphere was so serious.”

Nurse Park burst into a dry laugh, as if the notion were absurd.