# Chapter 107
“But how long does he have to be hospitalized? Do they even hospitalize people for stretched ligaments?”
“Aunt said the attending physician came by this morning, and they decided he should stay a few more days.”
“Hey, can I take pictures of the hospital room later? And the visitor’s lounge and caregiver’s bedroom too.”
“Why?”
“I think it’ll be useful as reference material when I write novels.”
Mo Eunje, who had been answering Gye Minho’s questions, turned to look at Tae Igyeol. He’d mentioned signing a contract for using the VIP room, but Eunje had arrived after the admission procedures were completed, so he didn’t know if there were any clauses about taking photographs.
“Go ahead. As long as it’s just for personal use. Don’t post them anywhere.”
“Okay. I’ll only use them for myself and for descriptive purposes when writing novels later.”
Gye Minho grinned smugly after getting permission from Tae Igyeol. Come to think of it, he’d seen VIP hospital rooms thanks to Tae Igyeol’s family on several occasions: when Song Yeonhwa collapsed from overwork, when Tae Iden had a minor collision accident on his way to a drama filming set, and now this incident. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the chance to even come near such rooms.
Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola, who meticulously managed their health in daily life, had never needed hospitalization until now. Mo Eunje himself had visited hospitals for minor ailments like colds, but had never been hospitalized, not even for something as common as appendicitis. Instead, he had visited injured friends a few times during his school days, only to get scolded for being too noisy.
“By the way, your dad in person is seriously no joke. His charisma is off the charts.”
Ban Hajun suddenly exclaimed as if he’d just remembered something. Tae Hyunseok and Ban Hajun had met when Tae Igyeol was hospitalized, while Mo Eunje was on his way by train. According to Ban Hajun, there had been complications with the hospital room, so they were waiting on an emergency room bed, but as soon as Tae Hyunseok arrived, the previously stagnant VIP room admission process proceeded quickly and smoothly.
“Hey, you can tell his dad is no joke just from the photos online.”
“No, you can’t compare it to photos. I’ve never seen such a handsome middle-aged man in person before. If I were an actor at his company, I’d be 100% intimidated by the CEO’s face.”
“Don’t worry, Hajun. You’d have nothing to be intimidated about.”
“Gye Minho, since you already know that, could you please shut up?”
Mo Eunje had seen Tae Hyunseok’s face so much since childhood that he had no special impression of his appearance. He only thought that Hyunseok had strong mixed-race features, and couldn’t understand Ban Hajun and Gye Minho’s admiration. After all, he saw Tae Igyeol’s devastatingly handsome face every day, so how handsome could an older man’s face really be? If anything, he felt more handsome looking in the mirror than when looking at Tae Hyunseok.
“Oh right, who has a marker?”
After demolishing two chickens and two pizzas and cleaning up the table neatly, Mo Eunje looked around at his friends as if he’d just remembered something. Gye Minho smiled excitedly as he rummaged through his things and pulled out a marker.
“Don’t even think about it.”
Tae Igyeol frowned deeply, but Mo Eunje, who had taken the marker, removed the cap and made a pitiful expression.
“But I want to…”
“I said don’t.”
“Eunje wants to write ‘wishing you a speedy recovery’ on Igyeol’s arm. Let him do it, okay? Okay?”
“Hey.”
“Eun-jeh wanth to write on I-gyeol hyung-ah’s arm…”
“Haa…”
Tae Igyeol must have really been in pain. Though Mo Eunje had only just started with the aegyo, Igyeol quickly gave up, sighing and offering his arm. As expected, the cute act of putting his chin in his hands, fluttering his eyelashes prettily, and talking with a childish lisp worked every time.
“Every time I see this, even though it’s nothing new, I like Mo Eunje less and less. Ugh, it’s disgusting.”
“Igyeol has a better stomach for this than I expected.”
Ban Hajun shuddered and made an ugly face, while Gye Minho shook his head with an equally unimpressed expression.
“Don’t you guys want to write something too?”
“Of course we do. Our Eunje’s aegyo is the best in the universe.”
When Mo Eunje arrogantly waved the marker and showed off, Ban Hajun quickly changed his attitude and took the marker first. Just as he was about to write something on the bandage wrapped around the cast, Tae Igyeol swatted his arm away with a displeased expression.
“What’s that about? I’m writing first.”
“Why are you trying to write there? That’s the most visible spot.”
Seemingly oblivious to Ban Hajun’s incredulous expression, Tae Igyeol held up his arm and offered a less visible area. Given his personality, even allowing them to write was a big improvement. Knowing this, Ban Hajun didn’t argue and quietly started writing.
“DO NOT TOUCH! If you touch it wrong, you’re f***ed”
The three of them, excluding Tae Igyeol, burst into laughter. Mo Eunje gave Gye Minho the chance to write next. If he wrote first, Igyeol would likely withdraw his arm immediately afterward, and then Gye Minho, who had said he wanted to try this, would miss his opportunity. That was his reasoning. The spot Gye Minho was allocated was, like Ban Hajun’s, not very visible.
“Igyeol, get better soon so we can eat meat^^ Fighting!”
Seeing what Gye Minho wrote, Tae Igyeol frowned as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Hey, what about the Shift+66?”
Ban Hajun laughed so hard he nearly choked as he slapped Gye Minho’s back. Even though they each wrote just one line, their personalities and individuality were clearly on display. The hospital room was filled with energy and laughter. With the four of them together, it felt no different from before Tae Igyeol had opened his heart, and Mo Eunje was very comfortable and happy.
When Gye Minho handed the marker to Mo Eunje with a satisfied expression, Tae Igyeol swiftly extended his arm. As everyone had expected, it was in a position that was highly visible whether you wanted to see it or not.
“Don’t be in pain.”
This was the only thing Mo Eunje wanted to say to Tae Igyeol. He wished Tae Igyeol wouldn’t be in pain, wouldn’t get hurt, and would always stay healthy as he had been until now. But instead of writing his sincere thoughts, Mo Eunje remembered how Song Yeonhwa had threatened Tae Igyeol before going home earlier, and decided to join in with his friends.
“Nursing fee calculation: 20,000 won per hour”
Tae Igyeol cast a weary glance at the three of them as they cackled with satisfaction, then picked up the nurse call receiver.
“Please change my bandages.”
At his deep, firm statement, the laughter that had been spreading through the visitor’s lounge abruptly stopped, leaving a silence as if cold water had been thrown on them.
&&
Two days later, after having lunch and helping Tae Igyeol brush his teeth, Mo Eunje came out to find several missed calls on his phone. All of them were from Tae Iden.
“Is there anything else you want me to buy besides the iced Americano with an extra shot?”
“A dessert for you.”
“And?”
“Nothing else. Just hurry up and get back.”
Tae Igyeol sat on the lounge sofa and picked up the remote control. Mo Eunje grabbed his phone and wallet and headed out the door. Thanks to receiving spending money from Tae Hyunseok yesterday, his wallet was thick and his mood was buoyant. He took the private elevator out and called Tae Iden, who had left the missed call notifications.
“Hyung!”
“Yeah. Why did you call so many times?”
“I knew if I called my brother, he’d just tell me not to come, so I called you instead.”
“Are you coming to visit?”
“Of course! When I heard from Mom that hyung was hospitalized, my heart nearly shriveled up. I only have one night scene today, so I should be done before 8 PM even if it runs late.”
Tae Iden had been having hectic days filming Kim Heera’s drama, which had started production ten days ago. From what Mo Eunje had briefly heard from Tae Hyunseok, since it was a pre-produced drama, there were days when they had the whole day off, and days when the schedule was so tight that Iden would just catch a quick nap before heading out again.
“Uncle said you’re extremely busy, so don’t push yourself to come. Use that time to catch up on sleep instead.”
“I’m fine, I’ve been napping in the car during standby time. Right now we’re filming outdoors, and I’m on standby while they set up the camera and lighting. I want to see my brother’s face too. I’m so worried about him that I can’t even concentrate on filming.”
“Alright. I’ll register you as a visitor with the 19th floor security team, so don’t get photographed unnecessarily and come straight up using the private elevator. It’s the same floor where you were hospitalized before.”
“Yeah. I heard from Mom. Doesn’t my brother want anything to eat? What’s good for recovery? Should I bring some eel?”
Mo Eunje briefly recalled which food item Tae Igyeol had circled on today’s menu last evening.
“Tonight’s dinner menu already includes grilled eel.”
“Come on, no matter how good the food is there, it’s still hospital food. I know because I’ve eaten it. Yesterday Dad sent a food truck to our set, and there was grilled eel that caused a commotion. It was really delicious.”
Hearing about the food truck reminded Mo Eunje that he’d been so focused on Tae Igyeol that he hadn’t sent a coffee truck to celebrate Tae Iden’s drama starting production. He usually found sending lunch boxes a bit burdensome, so instead he split the cost with Tae Igyeol to send a coffee truck. Of course, Tae Igyeol would complain about why they were bothering to send such things, but he did it anyway.
“Hyung, what do you think? Is eel a go?”
“Iden, come with empty hands. Don’t buy unnecessary things and get scolded by Igyeol.”
“But I really want to get something for hyung…”
“The food here is good, and Uncle gave me spending money, so I’m taking good care of everything we need to eat. Just come and show your face.”
“Hmm… I’ll think about it. You have to keep it a secret from my brother that I’m coming later. Got it? Hyung, I need to get ready now. See you later.”
“Alright. Good luck with filming.”
Mo Eunje chuckled as he looked at the disconnected call and entered the café. That guy really couldn’t help himself when it came to his brother. He had been wondering why Tae Iden was staying quiet when Tae Igyeol was hospitalized. If he hadn’t been working on a project, Tae Iden would have been at the hospital with him the whole time, despite receiving disapproving looks from Tae Igyeol.
No, it was actually fortunate that Tae Iden was filming. If he had been there, Mo Eunje would not only have had to take care of the patient Tae Igyeol, but also cater to Tae Iden’s requests for snack deliveries, since his face was well-known and he couldn’t go out easily. He would have ended up as a slave to the Tae brothers. Breathing a sigh of relief, Mo Eunje bought an iced Americano for Tae Igyeol and loads of desserts for himself, then returned to the hospital room.
