Chapter 21: Poles Apart

The rest of the entire day, the four of them were laughing and smiling while eating cotton candy, which happened to be Rin's favorite.

"We should best be getting back to the hospital now," Rin advised as she tightened Linden's shawl around his neck. "It's going to be dark soon."

Ji Hoo nodded as he glanced down at his wristwatch. "Yeah, I've got several assignments piling up for an all-nighter."

"I'll take Linden back," Woo Bin volunteered, jiggling his car keys in his hand.

"Then I'll take Rin home," Ji Hoo answered.

Linden latched onto Rin's hand, almost instantly, seemingly unhappy with the arrangement being laid out.

"No, I want Rinnie to come with me," Linden argued, pouting.

"It's okay, I'll take him back to the hospital with me," Rin reassured them. "We'll take the public transport."

The two of them stared at her. Definitely, not in that outfit of yours…

"No way," Woo Bin told her with a look. "Then, that settles it. Rin will come along with us to the hospital."

Ji Hoo nodded, albeit reluctant about it. He did not want Rin to be alone with Woo Bin even though he was a close friend of his. Moreover he still had that whole heap of homework and essays that he had yet to complete since he was missing out on a ton of classes at the university due to the attachment. "Alright, I'll catch up with you guys soon," he finally sighed.

"Okay, let's get into the car so we can warm ourselves up with the heater," Woo Bin instructed once Ji Hoo had left and led the two of them back to his car.

Linden chose the front seat while Rin went into the backseat. Woo Bin raised the temperature of the already freezing environment of the car and carefully aimed it particularly towards Linden. To Rin, he handed his woolen coat which was a few sizes too big for her but was snug enough for her to wrap herself within its warm embrace. "Thank you," she said shyly.

Woo Bin grinned at her. Linden watched the obvious chemistry going on and of course, he was not too pleased with it. The eight-year-old poked Woo Bin with a finger and glared at him, warningly. The older guy chuckled and patted his head before starting the engine and backed out of the parking lot.

"Did you have fun today, Linden?" Rin asked the boy as she kneeled down to face him properly.

The eight-year-old's face lit up and he beamed, nodding his head enthusiastically. "I did, I did. We did everything Momo did today!" he answered.

Woo Bin smiled inwardly. Momo must obviously be his hero or something…
The nineteen-year-old girl smiled back and nodded. "Yup, we did everything Momo could possibly do. Now, it's your bedtime."

As Rin helped him to change out of his outdoor clothes and into his hospital pajamas, Linden suddenly spoke up. "Can you tell me about Momo now, please?"

"Of course, I can," Rin answered, still smiling, her sunny smile (that was what Woo Bin called it).

Both of them settled on the bed with Woo Bin, seated on the chair beside them.

"Well…after Momo went to the theme park with his sister, days passed and very soon, came Momo's birthday and his sister decided to celebrate it for him, in a very special way – "

Before Rin could continue any further, she was interrupted by a knock on the door of Linden's ward and Doctor Hyun came inside. Instantly, Rin straightened up.

"Hyun-ah, what's wrong?" she demanded when she caught sight of Hyun's upset expression.

"They came…" was all the twenty-one-year-old could manage.

Rin's face turned pale and her lips tightened.

His body language said it all. Something was definitely wrong. The young boy peeked from behind his sister's back and stared at the doctor. Linden had never liked doctors from the start but he knew and liked Hyun. Aunty Ayane, Uncle Jong Won and Rinnie were exceptions. He loved them. Linden tugged on Rin's shirt and whispered, "Rinnie, I don't like this. What's going on?"

Trying to look unruffled, Rin turned around to face him. "Sweetie, Rinnie unnie will continue tomorrow night, okay? I have to go now."

He knew it, something awful had happened to make his sister like that. Linden looked up at her for a long moment. "Promise you'll come tomorrow?" he asked finally.

The girl nodded hastily. "I promise."

The eight-year-old dutifully tucked himself in bed and placed the blanket over himself. Rin kissed him goodnight and she left the room, followed by Woo Bin and Hyun.

"How in the world could that have happened?" Rin demanded as soon as she stepped outside of the boy's ward.

The doctor shook his head in response. "I'm not sure of the details but one of the receptionists told me that they were looking for Linden."

The nineteen-year-old could hardly hold her temper in check. "They abandoned him for almost two years without word and now they dare to show their faces here?"

The urge to slap these irresponsible people was really intense and fierce. She knew that they had left on bad terms with Rin and her family. "If I had known this would have happened, I should have taken Linden under our custody sooner."

"You mean you were thinking about it?" Hyun asked sharply, taking a step nearer to her.

Her face twisted in a rage. "It's always been on my mind from the day they left him," she spat out venomously. "I'll make sure that they never hurt him again."

"Rin, please you have to think this in a rational manner," the doctor pleaded. "This can become a court case…and I'm sure you know of the outcome before it has even started."

Rin glared at him, spitefully. "What do you know about what I went through during those months? Heck, they shouldn't even be called Linden's parents when they deserted him in the first place! Those worthless trash!"

Woo Bin who was witnessing all of this silently, looked at Rin in shock. He had never known about this side of her before.

Nonetheless, what the three of them did not know of, was that Linden had overheard every single word from behind the closed door. He had decided to eavesdrop on their conversation even though Rin had advised him against it. It was wrong, he knew it but still the child wanted to help Rin, and smile like she always did. Linden's eyes widened as he took a step back from the door. He had never seen or heard Rin getting furious before. Linden's eyes glistened with tears when he realised that his most favorite sister loathed his parents so much. The eight-year-old, his heart torn, ran back to his bed and cried himself to sleep.