chapter 38

So, to summarize: When Shin Tae-oh mentioned the hospital during the phone call, he seemed to assume that Se-hyeon had come because he was unwell.

Lee Jin-ho, the Chief Secretary, was called and asked to drive to the hospital. If it was really urgent, Shin Tae-oh could have driven himself. Nevertheless, Lee Jin-ho probably wondered why there was such a rush and what was going on.

After driving to the hospital, they discovered that Se-hyeon was there. Lee Jin-ho overheard something that indicated there was something between Shin Tae-oh and Se-hyeon. This incident might have confirmed what he had somewhat suspected before.

"Anyway, I don't understand why it turned out like this."

Se-hyeon took a sip of his coffee and glanced sideways. Using the excuse of buying coffee, he came out of the hospital room with Lee Jin-ho. They found a place to sit and have a brief conversation, so Shin Tae-oh's coffee remained untouched, yet to meet its owner.

I should give him the coffee before it gets cold. That way, Shin Tae-oh can have warm coffee...

"Sigh."

"Why the sudden sigh?"

"I just felt my determination is deep in my bones."

It's fine if it cools down a bit. It wasn't even working hours, and Se-hyeon couldn't understand why he was worrying about

the coffee when Shin Tae-oh had come on his own accord. But when he looked at the coffee, his whole body felt restless.

"But is it okay to stay like this?"

Just then, Lee Jin-ho threw a timely question.

"Should I bring the coffee after all?"

Se-hyeon stood up with the coffee in hand. Seeing that, Lee Jin-ho nodded as if he had just realized the presence of the coffee.

"Oh, right. I should give him the coffee too. I was just asking if it's okay to leave Se-hyeon and the CEO alone."

Lee Jin-ho said it casually, but as soon as Se-hyeon heard it, his body stiffened.

"The CEO is not the type to stay quiet."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

Se-hyeon reproached Lee Jin-ho and hurriedly rushed to the hospital room. Left alone, Lee Jin-ho sat there blankly, muttering to himself.

"Is it my fault?"

The sound of the hospital room door opening drowned out the soft voice.

"CEO."

Se-hyeon hurriedly entered and called out to Shin Tae-oh.

"Se-hyeon, this isn't a single room. What if you shout so loudly?"

Shin Tae-oh, who was with his parents, casually turned his head and spoke in a low voice.

"It's not the CEO, it's Shin Tae-oh."

From that moment, Se-hyeon felt that something was off.

What is that little rascal up to now...

"It seems like we should move to another room because of Se-hyeon. We shouldn't

inconvenience others like this."

"Is that so?"

"I heard that a single room just became available. Shall we move there?"

Shin Tae-oh smoothly took se-hyeon mother's hand and stood up. As they did, a hospital staff member entered through the door that Se-hyeon had left open.

"But a single room might be a bit..."

Reluctantly, his mother took Shin Tae-oh's hand and stood up, but she didn't move readily.

"Don't worry, we'll cover the cost as an employee benefit at the company."

"But Se-hyeon isn't even sick..."

"That's why many people want to apply to our company. Our employee benefits are so good. Oh, but don't expect too much. It's not a full coverage, just a deduction of 300,000 won per day."

With quite a detailed number mentioned, his mother was already swaying halfway through.

Meanwhile, Se-hyeon couldn't say anything as he saw that everything was already prepared for the move.

As the hospital staff moved his father's bed, Lee Jin-ho entered and helped his mother with the luggage.

In the meantime, Shin Tae-oh approached Se-hyeon and looked at the two cups of coffee in his hands. Then he took the one that seemed to be his and drank it.

"They cover the expenses for employees' families too?"

He couldn't bring himself to ask in front of his mother. Shin Tae-oh nodded in response.

"Se-hyeon, you were lucky."

I'm not sure if it was really luck...

"Thank you."

Se-hyeon bowed his head in gratitude. The single room was beyond what he could handle. That's why he was expressing his gratitude to Shin Tae-oh.

"That's why I like you, Ahn Se-hyeon."

Today, Shin Tae-oh didn't even call him Secretary Ahn. It was either Se-hyeon or

Ahn Se-hyeon. He didn't know why, but it wasn't important, so he postponed it for later.

In the meantime, Shin Tae-oh left the room with the coffee. Se-hyeon, who wanted to ask what conversation took place while he was absent, sighed.

He had felt like he could see through Shin Tae-oh's thoughts all this time, but today he couldn't.

Well, how can one truly know what's inside a person?

Se-hyeon turned his body with a somewhat drained expression, but then he belatedly looked down at his own hand.

But since Shin Tae-oh took one of the cups with him, the one I'm holding must be the wrong one...

"he took the wrong one."

Of all things, shin Tae-oh took the one he was drinking.

***

Se-hyeon, who entered the hospital room last, froze as he saw the unusually spacious interior.

He hadn't toured all the rooms in this hospital, but he knew that single rooms aren't typically this big he couldn't have been the only one thinking that.

His mother looked around, her head tilting in confusion. With a cautious expression that seemed to ask if it was okay to ask such a question, she spoke.

"Is this really a single room...? Is this the right one?"

"Oh, if you're worried that someone else might come..."

"No, it's not that. It's just too spacious."

"Ah..."

Shin Tae-oh finally understood now. he looked around as if he had finally understood and nodded his head.

"Yeah, it's spacious."

Is that all he's going to admit?

Unaware of Se-hyeon's gaze filled with confusion, Shin Tae-oh tightly held se-hyeon's mother's hand.

"Se-hyeon can rest comfortably here too. Mother, you can sit over there."

Shin Tae-oh skillfully offset his mother's hesitation by mentioning his name appropriately. He's really good with words.

"Just call it a special room."

Upon hearing Lee Jin-ho's muttering, Se-hyeon realized once again that it wasn't a single room.

"Single rooms are expensive too..."

He looked around the special room. He couldn't even guess how much it would cost per day. And that made him feel at a loss about how to repay Shin Tae-oh.

"Don't worry, Se-hyeon."

Lee Jin-ho took a step closer and lowered his voice.

"My parents did get the same when they were hospitalized."

"Really...?"

"Yeah. They had a minor car accident, but they got all the necessary tests done while they were hospitalized."

Lee Jin-ho looked at Shin Tae-oh with a gaze that was more akin to discomfort than gratitude.

"If they hadn't taken care of all that, they wouldn't have been discharged even sooner."

So that's the reason for his dissatisfaction. In any case, it was a burden, but Se-hyeon felt slightly relieved by Lee Jin-ho's words.

"Sit here. Would you like something to drink?"

His mother also expressed her gratitude to Shin Tae-oh, wanting to take care of him in any possible way.

"I have coffee, but I would appreciate it if you give me anything.

"Should I cut some fruits for you?"

"I'll eat them gladly."

"Do you have any favourite fruits?"

"I like all kinds of fruits."

Shin Tae-oh accepted whatever se-hyeon's mother said with a positive attitude, and the conversation flowed harmoniously. They seemed to have become quite friendly in no time, but on the other

hand, considering Shin Tae-oh's friendliness, it wasn't too strange either.

"But when are you planning to go?"

Se-hyeon asked Lee Jin-ho while looking at Shin Tae-oh.

"Well..."

Lee Jin-ho also seemed to be unsure about that and casually shrugged before heading towards where Shin Tae-oh was. He sat down in the empty seat, as if they were going to eat fruit together.

"Se-hyeon, come and join us."

Shin Tae-oh looked at Lee Jin-ho and waved his hand towards Se-hyeon.

"Yeah, come on over."

"I'm okay here."

Se-hyeon tilted his head as he had already eaten an apple and strawberries. Instead, he went towards where his father was.

Seeing his father lying on the hospital bed, being left alone, his face lit up with joy.

His father reached out his hand towards Se-hyeon.

"Show it to me."

Knowing what he meant, Se-hyeon took out his phone from his pocket and held it up.

"Nothing has changed."

"I need to see it with my own eyes. Maybe I'll be number one."

"No."

Se-hyeon said to his father, even as he entered the contacts stored on his phone.

It's really nothing special. It was just that becoming Ahn Se-hyeon in the novel made him reevaluate his surroundings and set

priorities.

His parents were the top priority. Even when he was lost and confused about becoming Ahn Se-hyeon, his parents were always by his side, waiting for him. And when he fell asleep, they would come to his bedside and gently stroke his face.

Despite always living in poverty, I made a promise to myself to take care of my parents, who have never once shown weakness to me. Since I acknowledged them as my own people, I assigned them numbers one by one. After that, I assigned numbers to the people I met in society in the order I encountered them.

"You're still number two. I told you I didn't change it..."

Se-hyeon's words faded away as he felt someone standing next to him.

Why did I forget about this strong presence?

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Boss, it's nothing important you can go to your seat..."

"Just wait a moment, Secretary Ahn."

It's times like this when he ordered his Secretary Ahn. Se-hyeon bit his lip at Shin Tae-oh's instructions to approach him publicly. He had already grasped the meaning behind the numbers to some extent...

"He assigned the numbers in his contact in the order of people's priority in his life." Instead of him, his father replied.

No matter how much he moved you to a different hospital room, how could you easily... reveal your son's secret?

"I thought that might be the case but i still wanted to check."

Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyeon's phone and licked his lips. With a gaze that seemed like he would pounce on his prey in an instant.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have assigned any numbers. Se-hyeon sighed and spoke.

"You're the third, Boss."

So just leave my phone alone.