Chapter 4
Woo Bin sat in his car outside the coffee house across the street from the hospital. He was parked near the back alley of the store, waiting for Jan Di and Yi Jung to arrive. They were supposed to discuss possible locations for Yi Jung's grand proposal.
He glanced at his watch. It was a quarter to nine in the evening. It was dark now, the only lights coming from the lamp posts that were scattered sparingly around.
He noticed a small figure come out of the back door of the store, lugging two big garbage bags full of stuff. It took him a few seconds to recognize the short haircut and white and black uniform.
Hey, it's that server who always blushes around me, he thought, amused.
She passed by two men standing by another door a few feet from where she appeared. He watched her disappear even further down the dark alleyway.
He saw one of the men nudge the other guy and both of them followed her as they too, disappeared down the alley.
Woo Bin's senses came alive.
Oh no, you don't. He thought, furious. He thought of the tiny and fragile girl in the hands of the two men as he ran down the alley. When I get my hands on you two...he imagined all sorts of pain he had in store for them.
He turned the corner and didn't notice that the ground there was a couple of steps lower than where he was. He tripped, causing his entire weight to crash down on one leg, and fell face first on to the ground. His mind blanked out for a split second as pain racked his entire body. He looked up and saw her standing there, eyeing him curiously.
The two men were beside her, each of them holding a garbage bag that they hurled across to the big black dumpster behind them. She thanked them both and then ran to him.
"Are you okay?" She asked, wide eyed with concern.
Woo Bin wanted to curse out loud. He tried to move his left leg but felt excruciating pain whenever he moved it. He grimaced and nodded.
She tried to help him sit up but he was too heavy. He pulled himself up, wincing with each move, and then tried to assess his situation.
He might have a broken leg, he guessed.
What an idiot, he scolded himself. Way to make an entrance.
She sat there beside him, biting her lower lip. She had the biggest round eyes he had ever seen.
His phone rang. It was Yi Jung.
"Where the heck are you?"
"Umm..." he turned away from her, embarrassed. "I had a little...accident."
Yi Jung scoffed. "Your car's out here. I don't see a dent."
He sighed. "I'm at the back. Just come here." He hung up.
Hye Jin sat there, still as a statue. Her eyes darted nervously around. After a few minutes, she turned to face him. "Can I help you in anyway?"
He heard footsteps and saw Jan Di and Yi Jung appear.
"What happened?" Yi Jung asked, genuine concern in his voice. "Did you get hurt beating up some guys?"
Woo Bin wanted to hide in a hole somewhere. The girl's eyes widened and then she lowered her gaze.
Jan Di walked towards him and examined his leg. He flinched every time she touched it.
"We better get you to the hospital," she said after a while.
"Well, the good news is, it's right across the street!" Yi Jung declared, and if Woo Bin wasn't in so much pain he would have smacked him.
"Help me get him up." Jan Di called to Yi Jung. "Otherwise, we'll have to call an ambulance."
Jan Di and Yi Jung tried to lift him up. He was heavy, and they managed to take 5 steps before they had to pause and take a breath.
"Let's just grab a wheelchair from the hospital and wheel him back," Yi Jung suggested.
Woo Bin glared at him, but Jan Di actually considered his idea.
"I can help too," a small voice suggested from behind them.
Jan Di noticed Woo Bin look slightly abashed. She nodded at the girl and she walked towards them, sheepishly. She saw Woo Bin start to protest, but then he bit his lips and heaved a sigh.
The three of them helped Woo Bin wobble to the hospital. Jan Di noted that he was probably forcing himself to walk despite the pain, as he felt much lighter now than when she and Yi Jung were trying to carry him. She doubted that Hye Jin was carrying most of his weight.
She looked at the girl's name tag. "Hey, Hye Jin," she greeted, smiling. "I'm Geum Jan Di. Thank you for your help."
Hye Jin gave a quick nod. They got to the hospital and Jan Di ran to get Woo Bin into a stretcher.
"Tell me you broke your leg doing something cool," Yi Jung whispered to Woo Bin, as they wheeled him to the x-ray room.
...
Woo Bin sat on top of the hospital bed, his leg in a cast. Yi Jung had gone out to get him some food to eat. Hospital food was not cutting it for him. Jan Di came to check on him occasionally, and had told him he just had a small fracture on his crus (which, in simple terms, just meant his lower leg). In around 6-8 weeks, his leg should be healed completely.
He heard a soft knock on his door.
"Come in," he called, as he laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.
He heard the sound of small footsteps and then silence.
He opened his eyes and saw Hye Jin standing there with a basket of oranges. She shifted uncomfortably as she stood.
"Hey," he called out, though he was still too embarrassed to engage her in a lengthy conversation.
"How are you feeling?" She handed him the basket of fruit.
"Stupid."
She arched an eyebrow.
"I'm feeling stupid," he clarified, fearing she might misunderstand his reply. "I thought those guys were going to attack you so I ran...to rescue you." He didn't know why he was telling her this. "Instead you ended up rescuing me."
"Oh." Her eyes went wide and then she looked at her feet. "Thank you."
"For what?" He eyed her curiously.
"For trying to rescue me."
He laughed. "I did a terrible job at that." He inclined his head to the side as he looked at her. "I'm Song Woo Bin, by the way."
"I know," she replied, unable to meet his gaze. She played with the hem of her shirt.
It was his turn to arch an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Do you remember," she began, but then Yi Jung appeared, holding two bags of Japanese takeout. Ga Eul walked in right behind him.
"Your savior is here!" Yi Jung announced, as he laid the bags on the hospital bed. He noticed Hye Jin standing there and uttered a quick "hey" in greeting. Hye Jin turned red and dashed out the door before Ga Eul could greet her.
"Who was that?" she asked, puzzled.
"That, my dear, is what crippled our fearsome protector here." Yi Jung started laying out the food on the table beside his bed.
"Yi Jung," Woo Bin pressed his lips into a thin line. "One day, someone's going to smack you. And I would very much like that person to be me."
Yi Jung smirked. "Luckily, today's not that day."
...
Jan Di almost ran into Hye Jin on her way to Woo Bin's room.
"Hey!" she called out, and Hye Jin stopped in her tracks just long enough to quickly dip her head.
"Wait!" Jan Di hurried after the small girl, who for being so tiny, could walk very fast.
Hye Jin went to a complete stop, but shifted uncomfortably.
"Did you just come to see Woo Bin sunbae?" Jan Di smiled, trying to put the girl at ease.
She nodded.
"How is he doing?"
"Good. His friends are there with him right now." She bit her lower lip.
Jan Di didn't want to scare her away. She bent down so she could be eye level with Hye Jin. "Did you want to go for a coffee?"
Then she scolded herself inside. She works at a coffee house, you idiot!
"I mean," she corrected herself, "a quick walk?"
Surprisingly, the girl nodded. They both walked in silence around the hospital until they came to an empty bench that faced the highway. She motioned for the girl to sit down and sat down beside her.
"So," she began, as she clasped her hands in front of her, "what school do you go to?"
Hye Jin lowered her head. "I just graduated."
"High school?"
"University."
"Oh. Cool! What did you take?"
"Engineering."
Jan Di pondered for a moment. So Hye Jin couldn't be that much younger than her. I mean, she herself hadn't even graduated yet! But then again, she was in medical school and graduation felt like light years away.
She was surprised when Hye Jin spoke again.
"I know what you're thinking," the girl went on, "If I graduated, why am I still working at the coffee house?"
Jan Di shook her head. "No, that's really none of my business."
"It's just temporary," Hye Jin continued, as if Jan Di never spoke. "I sent my resumes out and I've been on a few interviews but nothing solid so far." A wistful look appeared on her face. "I also want to travel. So I decided to work for now to save up." She shrugged. "It's better than sitting at home doing nothing, you know?"
"Yes," Jan Di nodded. "That's a good plan." She cocked her head to the side. "How do you know Woo Bin sunbae?"
Hye Jin looked away. "Last year, when I was in University, there was this really mean girl that kept picking on me." She looked down at her hands. "She kept calling me names, you know, because I'm so small. Sometimes I even thought about quitting school. One day, she humiliated me in front of the entire campus – I was sobbing hysterically while she..." She made a face of disgust. "She was laughing at me. Then all of a sudden Woo Bin sunbae shows up – turns out he was dating her and had come to pick her up. He walked in on her picking on me and he was so furious that he told her off. In front of everyone." She grinned. "And then he broke up with her, right then and there." She looked at the ground, her eyes dreamy. "It was the coolest thing I have ever seen."
She fell silent for a few seconds. "He probably doesn't remember me at all. But I will never forget him."
Jan Di remembered the time when she was in high school – when Woo Bin just stood by while Jun Pyo and the other students picked on her. But now he was out defending others. She felt pleased that Woo Bin and the others had changed and became better people. She glanced at Hye Jin, and the girl still had that dreamy look in her eyes.
It was the longest the girl had ever spoken, and she was glad she took the time to get to know her.
I think someone's got a crush on Woo Bin, she thought, happily. This should be interesting.