Park Residence…
As usual, after the driver sent Shin Hye and Hyun Jun home from the school, she will have lunch with Hyun Jun, make sure he finished taking his shower and get ready for his private class before she took Min Ho’s car and drove to her house. But when Shin Hye arrived and stopped the car in the car porch, she was surprised to see Min Ho’s driver standing there.
“Eo… ahjussi, what are you doing here?” Shin Hye asked.
The driver bowed at her before he spoke. “Agasshi…” He smiled. “You will know why when you go inside the house.”
Shin Hye’s brows creased in confusion. What does he mean? And without wasting anymore time, she quickly enter the house and once she stepped inside, she was welcome by the maid with a wide smile too.
“Agasshi… samo-nim is waiting for you in her room.” The maid said.
“Ahjuhma, what happened with the driver outside? He was…”
“You will know when you see your mother later.” The maid cut her off with another smile.
There are more questions floating in Shin Hye’s mind now. Why are they looking so secretive?
She quickly walked up the stairs to her mother’s room and the moment she stepped inside, all the questions were now explained. Her eyes were widened so big that she was afraid her eyeballs would pop out.
There was an unfamiliar huge machine sitting beside her mother’s bed with a doctor and a nurse checking on her. When she turned to the corner, her breath immediately got stuck in her throat seeing Min Ho standing there and was now looking at her.
“O-Oppa… what are you doing here?” She stuttered.
Min Ho smiled as he walked over to her and his hand naturally wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer to him. “What do you think?”
Shin Hye parted her lips but no word could form in her throat. Although she is not an expert but after so many years of accompanying her mother for the dialysis treatment, she is very sure the huge machine that was sitting in her mother’s room now is a kidney dialysis machine.
“Shin Hye-ah…”
Shin Hye quickly pulled away from Min Ho when she heard her mother calling her. She sat on the bed, holding her hand. “Eomma, how are you feeling?”
Han Ae Jung let out a weak smile. “I’m fine.”
“But how come you look so pale?” Shin Hye asked worriedly.
“Eomeoni has just done with the dialysis a while ago.” Min Ho cut in as he stepped forward. “This is Doctor Jang, the most famous nephrologist in Korea. He will take over eomeoni’s case from now onwards. He has spoken to her previous doctor and discussed her condition. He will take care of your mother.” He paused as he turned to the nurse who was standing beside Doctor Jang.
“This is Miss Kim, a very experienced nurse who take care of a lot of kidney patients from the past. From now onwards, she will be eomeoni’s full time personal care assistant. She will be responsible to take care of your mother and in charge for her dialysis. Since we have the machine here at home, eomeoni doesn’t need to go all the way to the hospital every three days a week. She can rest better at home.”
He walked to Shin Hye and looked at her. “You too don’t need to rush everyday and can just take care of her at home. I’m sure doing the therapy at home will be more comfortable.”
“Min Ho-ah…” Han Ae Jung let out an embarrass smile. “I really don’t know what to say. You spent so much money for the machine and… getting another doctor for me. And the personal care assistant is really not necessary. Ahjuhma can take care of me.”
“Eomeoni, please don’t think that way. If money can get you a better treatment, it’s not a problem at all. I know ahjuhma can take care of you but Miss Kim is a professional nurse. She would do a better job to take care of you. It can also lighten ahjuhma’s job.” Min Ho said with a warm smile.
“But…”
“Eomma…” Shin Hye cut her off. “You should rest after the dialysis. Let’s talk about all this when you feel better.” She paused and inhaled a deep breath. “Since the machine already bought and… Miss Kim already here, we just follow oppa’s arrangement, eo?”
Han Ae Jung glanced at Min Ho before looking back at her daughter. She nodded softly.
“Mrs Lee, please don’t worry. Let us take care of Mrs Park. She will be alright.” Doctor Jang said, smiling kindly at Shin Hye.
Shin Hye stood up of the bed and nodded at the doctor politely. “Thank you, Doctor Jang.” She said before turning to Min Ho.
“Have you taken your lunch yet?” She asked softly.
Min Ho nodded. “I had a sandwich earlier.”
“Are you still hungry? I can ask ahjuhma to cook something for you.” Shin Hye said.
He shook his head. “It’s okay. I need to rush back to the office before 4pm. I have another 30 minutes.”
Shin Hye take a look at her mother before she spoke again. “Let’s talk outside.” She doesn’t want to let her mother to hear her conversation with him.
Min Ho nodded. He then turned to Han Ae Jung and bowed politely. “Please rest well, eomeoni. I’ll come to see you when I’m free.”
Han Ae Jung nodded with a weak smile. “Bring Hyun Jun along next time. I miss him.”
“Sure.” Min Ho said before looking at the doctor and the nurse. “Take care of her. Give me a call directly if you need anything.”
“Yes, sajang-nim.” Doctor Jang and Miss Kim nodded.
Shin Hye heaved a deep sigh the moment they left her mother’s room and they were now standing at the car porch. Biting her bottom lip softly, she looked up at Min Ho.
“So… this is the ‘except my heart, I can give you anything’ means?” She asked with a displease expression. No wonder she could never take that ‘gold digger’ name away from her. His ‘anything’ means money. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t avoid from using his money.
Min Ho pressed his lips into a thin line. “That’s nothing.”
Shin Hye inhaled a sharp breath. “That’s not nothing. That’s a lot of money. The machine, the medical fees, the personal care assistant…” She paused and looked at him. “I hope all of those cost less than five billion won.”
An exasperated sigh escaped Min Ho’s throat. He took a step forward and held her hand tightly in his. “It has nothing to do with ‘except my heart, I can give you anything’. I have planned to prepare all this for your mother since we first got married. It got delayed because I was busy with a lot of work.” He paused and gave her hand a soft squeeze. “Don’t you think this arrangement will be so much better for your mother? I saw how they did the treatment just now. The dialysis itself is tiring enough for her. It’s too hectic for her to travel to the hospital everyday for the treatment.”
Shin Hye held her gaze low and heaved another sigh. Of course she knows this arrangement would be the best for her mother but… the debts she owe him will be more now. She sold her marriage to him for five billion won. What can she pay him for this now?
Min Ho stood there and studied the troubled expression on her face. That expression… it doesn’t look like she was acting or pretending. If she is really the gold digger that comes to him with a motive, she should be happy now. But why did she feel so unhappy with it? As he was analysing her, the conversation he had with her mother before Shin Hye came replayed in his mind.
~~~~~
“Shin Hye will not be happy to see all this.” Han Ae Jung said in a discomfort voice.
Min Ho smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Shin Hye will be happy with anything that could make eomeoni’s feel better.”
Han Ae Jung sighed softly. “You don’t understand her. Yes, she loves her family a lot and will do anything for us. But she has a very high self-esteem too. She doesn’t like to beg for other’s help if she could do it herself.” She paused and breathed in deeply. “I’m sure you know about Taec Yeon.”
Min Ho clenched his jaw as he nodded, trying not to show the displease expression on his face.
“He wanted to buy a dialysis machine for me too in the past but because of that, Shin Hye had a big fight with him. We all know how rich Taec Yeon is but Shin Hye doesn’t want anything that related to money get involve in their relationship. When her father’s business was facing a big problem in Busan, no matter how bad her brother force her to ask help from Taec Yeon, she still refused to do so. I know being with Taec Yeon all those years was very stressful for her. His family doesn’t like her because we are not as rich as them.” Han Ae Jung looked at Min Ho and smiled slightly. “But I’m very proud of my daughter. She told me… she can be poor, she can suffer with us, she can let everybody to look down on her… but she will not betray her pride. She wants to hold her head high and tell the world that she don’t need to rely on anybody.”
Min Ho felt his chest tightened with a wave of guilt washed over him. Besides insulting her, he even threatened her with her family and forced her to give up her pride to accept his offer.
Han Ae Jung let out another smile. “I’m glad she found you. At least, you are the person that she love for a long time.”
Min Ho’s brows creased in confusion. “Love for a long time?” He just knows Shin Hye for few months. How can it be a long time?
“When the time comes, you will understand.” Han Ae Jung said as she reached for his hand and squeezed it softly. “Take good care of her. She might look strong but she is not. She is too kind to protect herself. Sometimes I wish she could be more selfish and think about herself more.”
~~~~~