Author's Note: So I had sudden inspiration so this story might be a little longer than I thought. Go ahead and start giving me new ideas. I'm thinking of making a story with the new character Min Ho but don't know who I should pair him with.

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Eri's eyes felt heavy as she tried to open them. She couldn't figure out what was going on for the longest, but then she remembered that she was in the hospital. They had gotten smart. Instead of full anesthesia, they used sedation. That was the best bet since it was hit or miss with how long she would stay under with anesthesia. It was something in the compound. Her body metabolized it faster than it did the sedation medication.

She did the first thing anyone did when they woke up. She stretched. She closed her eyes again as she listened. Like it had been for twenty years, she couldn't hear anything. Blessed silence. Even though she had enjoyed hearing for that year, she enjoyed her silence more. It said a lot more than sound did anyway.

A hand clamped over hers. She looked over expecting it to be Woo Bin but it wasn't. It was Hyun Sub. What in the world was Yi Jeong's father doing here? Was he trying to get revenge for her shoving him the other night? If so, this was as good a place as any. The doctors could patch her right up and she could go back to her life.

He said something and she was thankful she couldn't hear. But lip reading was a completely different thing. He said something along the lines of how could a beautiful woman be tied to one man. She really wanted to punch him but her body was lethargic. The sedative hadn't worn off all the way and she felt really heavy.

As he spoke, she wondered again why he was here. Yi Jeong wouldn't be here because the shop would be open and someone would need to be there since she wasn't. School was in session so Ga Eul would be working. Everyone else could barely tolerate the man and the only other person in the hospital was her son.

He talked for a few minutes, obviously not understanding that she couldn't hear. It was an obvious misconception considering she had these white oval shaped covers over her ears.

The door slid open while he was in one of his longer talks. Min Ho walked in and looked sort of mad. That was new. She had never seen the young man mad. He said something to Hyun Sub and the older man turned around sharply. They had a brief altercation before Hyun Sub left, slamming the door so hard it bounced off its tracks.

Eri hit the button on her bed and lifted it up so she could be at eye level as Min Ho sat down. A very smart man, he brought coffee and a muffin. Not particularly hungry, she waved away the muffin but gladly accepted the coffee. Knowing from experience, hospital coffee was the worst.

He fumbled with his hands as he tried to sign something. They shook out of nervousness. She finally placed hers over his and forced him to look at her.

"As long as you're looking at me, I will know what you're saying. Just speak," she said. She deliberately didn't sign because she didn't want him to feel even more inferior.

Sighing, he placed his hands in his lap. "How are you feeling?" She waved her hand from side to side, the universal sign for so-so. "They said the operation went well. You didn't have any issues this time like you did last time."

She smiled at him. "How would you know how it was last time?" A slight blush crept across his skin as he realized what he'd said. "Don't worry. I'm not mad that everyone talks. It's one of the things that makes me happy t be part of this family. No one leaves anyone alone for too long, and if they do, they always come to find us."

"Woo Bin said you have a hard time with anesthesia so everyone was worried."

She watched him fiddle with his hands. He was nervous again. This time she really didn't need to hear what he was saying. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Min Ho was just like Woo Bin in this aspect.

She reached over and took his hand, making sure he looked up at her. "Min Ho, you're a wonderful guy, but Woo Bin is even more wonderful. He was there when I had no one, and he brought me into a world that I knew and know nothing about. It's not just gratitude I feel for him, but pure and unadulterated love. When I think about how I felt when I was with Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong, nothing compares to the sense of security and honesty and fullness I feel when I'm with Woo Bin. It may just be the drugs talking but it's all true."

Min Ho smiled and covered her hand with his. "I know and I would never try to break your family apart. You were so kind to me when I first started working at the shop. Everywhere else I worked thought I was so weird for enjoying art, but you didn't say one thing."

She touched his face, shocking him. "You have to look at me when you speak or else I can't hear you."

Woo Bin was suddenly there, a smile crossing his mouth and lighting up his eyes. "I should be worried that my wife is touching another man so tenderly."

Eri looked up and around. Woo Bin wasn't alone. Yi Jeong and Ji Hoo stood in the doorway and smiled in at the scene. Suddenly she felt like an alien because of the bandages on her ears, but they had seen her in worst states of undress before so it wasn't really an issue anymore.

She focused back on Min Ho. "Look at these three. When I was at my lowest – to the point where I was just drifting though day to day life – these three men reached down and pulled me out of the muck I was stuck in. They didn't criticize me for being a hearing impaired surgeon or an emotionless bitch as I was so often called. They stood by with their hands outstretched in case I needed something more."

She pointed to Ji Hoo. "That man right there, that wonderful doctor saw all the potential I had and took my side no matter what I did. Even if I was completely and utterly wrong, he defended me then would talk with me afterwards. He stuck by me even when I told him to get the hell out of my life."

Her finger went to Yi Jeong. "That one opened his most precious space to me. No one is allowed to mess with the clay and pottery in his studio unless he tells you that it's okay. Somehow he saw what I needed and gave me a key not only to his studio but to something I thought I had long since lost. He gave me a way to express it all and to him I am forever grateful."

Min Ho saw the sudden change in her gaze as she looked at Woo Bin. He had taken a seat on the foot of the bed so he wouldn't disturb this moment. She looked at him with something completely different than she looked at the others.

"And this man, he's done the one thing that no one ever has before. He has given me so much love and support that sometimes I wonder if he's real. He lets me do what I want and always has a gentle way of criticizing me when I make a mistake. But the most important things are he's given me his heart and two beautiful kids that I am so proud of. I have never been so bonded to a person that without him I thought I couldn't breathe."

She wasn't finished. "But you, Min Ho, have given me something I would never understand if it hadn't happened. I know what having a younger brother feels like. I only have an older brother if you don't count those three. So I need a younger one to push around."

Behind him Ji Hoo snorted. "You push us around all the time."

"No," Yi Jeong corrected, "she just does what she wants whether we like it or not."

"But we follow her like puppies. It's worse than when Jan Di was dating Jun Pyo. We blindly follow because we're worried," Woo Bin added.

Min Ho looked at the four in the room. He understood what it meant to pick your family. He had been born into a large family of four kids. He had two older brothers and an older twin sister but none of them were very close. There was twelve years between him and his oldest brother and nine between him and the middle brother. His sister was more into science and didn't understand the process of art so she dismissed his passions. His brothers worked in his father's company so they didn't really see what he did.

But here were four people who understood immediately. From the same types of backgrounds, they had found each other and had formed this tight knit family that you needed an invitation to enter. They seemed to be more open to people who were a little weird like they were.

"Oh, Yi Jeong, your dad came by. He was here when I walked in," Min Ho said.

The mood in the room dropped as Yi Jeong looked ready to murder the man. Ji Hoo clapped a hand on his shoulder to keep him from losing his temper. Eri looked at Woo Bin who shrugged. Both were at a loss as to why Hyun Sub would show up.

"Is he still mad?" Ji Hoo asked.

"No, he's just being his usual self. He came by the studio that night to ask if I was really getting married or if it was just a ploy. He came with Woo Bin's dad the other day because they were out eating for work. When Woo Jun said he was coming by, Father tagged along. I'm not quite sure why he was here this morning," Yi Jeong replied. His face and ears were steadily turning red.

Ji Hoo turned his attention to Min Ho. "Was he saying anything weird?"

"Not really, no. He just said that he hoped she got better and that he'd see her at the wedding. I didn't hear the first part and I don't know how long he was here before I came in," Min Ho explained. "She was looking over his shoulder so I don't think she paid attention to him."

"He did tell her the cochlear implants were ugly on her," Yi Jeong said.

Woo Bin finally started putting pieces together. "You were at the studio the night she came home and told me she was having surgery. Was your dad there as well?"

"He started saying things about how it was obscene to have a party in my studio. Eri's mouth took over before I could say anything. She fanned the flames higher."

Eri stared at him. "Thanks for that. I thought we weren't telling him."

"We never made that promise," Ji Hoo said with a slight smile.

She wanted to punch them but couldn't get out of the bed. "He'll think twice before he says something again. I almost broke his wrist."

Woo Bin laughed at that. "I would have paid to see that."

"She wasn't very nice to him. I think she's one of the first women to turn him down."

Eri had zoned out the second she saw Bo Na lurking behind Ji Hoo. Either the doctor was very obtuse or he just wasn't paying attention, but he didn't seem to know she was behind him. He jumped slightly when she touched his shoulder. She eased him as she slid into the room.

"I wasn't sure if Woo Bin had told you, but Bin Ji is awake." She laughed when the mother slid her gaze to her husband. He looked sheepish. "He's doing well. He's still on liquids until his body is a little stronger. He's been asking for you since Min Ho left this morning, but I told him mama had something important to take care of before she could visit him. He said ok and went back to sleep."

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Two days," Ji Hoo answered. "We thought it best to keep you sedated for the first couple of days you were here. We started weaning you off it last night knowing your body would metabolize while you were asleep. Bin Ji woke up on the day of your surgery."

"I hate you."

She didn't really but she wanted to be there when he woke up. Instead she was lying in a hospital bed as well. That stung worse than the stitches in her head. Irritation flooded her, and she dropped her head back to the pillow to stare at the ceiling, the pain of the action not even registering.

Ji Hoo watched closely, only picking up a piece what she was feeling. Since the night Hyun Sub had showed up, she hadn't told them how she was feeling. That door had been sealed tight, but when pain was evident she was an open book. He shoved off the door and turned right to go down the hall. It took him all of five minutes to do what he planned then he was back in the room.

"Get her things, Woo Bin. We're going to move her and Bin Ji into the same room."