Una Mattina - You or Nothing

Chapter 3: Haru

Despite only spending less than a day with Haru, Ji Hoo had already grown a bit attached to the dog.

He'd woken up earlier than usual because he was craving for some pancakes. Haru had followed him into the kitchen and watched quietly as he fixed himself breakfast.

"Would you like some?" Ji Hoo asked.

He supposed Haru's patient panting was a yes.

The two ate together in the sitting room. Ji Hoo sat on the carpet and used the coffee table as a dining table, while Haru had his own plate next to him on the floor. After every few bites, he'd reach down to scratch behind Haru's ears.

Maybe I should get a dog, he began to think to himself. It might make him feel less lonely.

Ji Hoo seemed to have enjoyed his morning too much with Haru that he only realized too late that his rounds at the hospital was starting soon. As soon as he did, he lapped up the remaining slices on his plate and dropped it as quickly as he could by the sink. He dressed himself quickly and was halfway out the door when he heard the whine.

"Oh, Haru," he sighed, leaning down to pet the dog. "I have to go to work."

Haru tilted his head and whined again.

"The help will come by soon to take care of you," he assured him. "I'll be back in the afternoon. Enjoy yourself."

His thoughts were on his newfound furry friend throughout his motorcycle ride to the hospital.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Ji Hoo demanded.

Apparently, patient Park Ha Neul had left the hospital some time that morning without the consent of her main doctor, which was Ji Hoo in this case.

"I apologize, Dr. Yoon," Nurse Dan Bi was saying, her head hanging low in shame. "The papers and payment were settled, and she'd asked Dr. Ra to clear her. The patient seemed to be in a rush to leave."

"Dr. Ra wasn't in the surgery, and neither did he ever overlook this patient's case," Ji Hoo stated firmly. "I'm disappointed, Nurse Dan Bi. This is a gunshot wound patient, and she was your responsibility. We're not supposed to let her go so easily."

"Please forgive me, Dr. Yoon." The nurse sounded as if she was ready to cry at any moment.

"Bring Dr. Ra to my office," he ordered. "Now."

The nurse bowed low in response before showing herself out.

Ji Hoo reached for Park Ha Neul's file, which the nurse had left on his desk earlier. As she had said, the patient had filled out the necessary forms and settled the bill with her health insurance. The clearance form also seemed to have no issue. However, he noticed that the patient had failed to fill out any of her contact details, particularly her contact number and address.

Sighing, he closed the folder and rubbed his finger on his temple.

"Ms. Park Ha Neul," he wondered out loud. "What are you hiding?"

Despite a hectic workday, Ji Hoo was looking forward to getting home to see Haru. While he knew the dog wasn't his, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with him.

Which is why his frustration was justified when he couldn't find the dog anywhere in the house. This just really wasn't his day.

"Where's the dog?" Ji Hoo asked exasperatedly on the phone as soon as his butler picked up.

"Good afternoon, Master Yoon," he greeted. "Upon your orders, we gave the dog back to the owner when she came by at lunchtime. To make sure she was the rightful owner, she gave us proof in the form of the note you left at her house."

Immediately, Ji Hoo felt awful for being angry. Haru was back home now, after all. "Alright, thanks."

Before he could hang up, however, the butler said, "If I may, Master. Haru's owner seemed to be…unwell."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she seemed to be avoidant to our questions," the butler tried to explain. "Wouldn't even give us her name, only the note. And she also seemed to be injured. There was a bandage under the blouse she was wearing, across her chest."

Ji Hoo widened his eyes. It couldn't be…could it?

"Master?"

"Yes, understood," he replied quickly. "Thank you."

After hanging up, Ji Hoo practically ran towards his camera cabinet. After a few minutes, he found the CCTV camera he was looking for and immediately rewinded the recording to around noon. It didn't take long for him to find his mysterious visitor.

What had she said, back at the hospital? Neighbor. No wonder she was familiar to him. While he was sure they never interacted, he must've passed by her a few times in the neighborhood.

Despite the recording being hazy, it was clear that Haru's owner––his neighbor––his missing gunshot wound patient, were all the same person.

"I've found you now, Park Ha Neul," he murmured to himself.

"Now, what exactly did the strange man feed you, Haru?"

Ha Neul managed to dress herself up in more comfortable clothes when she reached home, but not without difficulty. The wound on her left side made it excruciating to move her left arm too much, so her other hand had to do most of the work. She was now in the kitchen, using this same arm to prepare Haru's lunch, which was cooked pork with a few slices of cucumber and steamed cauliflower.

Haru began barking suddenly at the door, which made Ha Neul jump.

"Be patient," she ordered her dog, managing to put all of the vegetables on Haru's bowl. "Come––"

"Patient Park Ha Neul!"

Ha Neul jumped again at the sound of her name from a familiar voice outside the door. Soon after, she heard a few loud knocks.

Shit, shit, shit, she thought, frozen in place in the kitchen. This is all Haru's fault. Maybe if I pretended I wasn't home––

"I know you're in there," she heard him say calmly. "As your overlooking doctor, I need to clear you myself. You may not be well."

Ha Neul chose not to speak or even make a sound. To her frustration, Haru began to bark and scratching at the door.

"I promise that's all I need to do," the man said, softer this time. "I'm not trying to pry into any of your business. I'm just…I'm your doctor, and I'm worried."

She decided there was no other way. After all, he could so easily just harass her every time she left the house. Sighing, Ha Neul walked up to the door and opened it slightly.

She immediately recognized her reclusive––and, she had to admit, gorgeous––neighbor living in that big hanok house all by himself, standing outside in a simple sweater and khakis. There was a strange, inquisitive look on his face.

"You see?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm fine. I hope you're satisfied, doctor."

"You're not wearing a sling," Ji Hoo noticed immediately, holding the door open with his hand when she tried to close it.

"It didn't hit my arm."

"Yes, but you're causing stress to the wound by moving your left side around and about," he explained in a monotone. He pulled up his hand, where she noticed he held a large medical supply kit.

"Doctor––"

"I can treat you here, my house, or back at the hospital," he said slowly. "Whichever you prefer."

Ha Neul stared at him up and down a few times. His words seemed genuine enough, and while his expression was mostly stoic, there was a hint of pure worry in his brown eyes.

She sighed again. The wound was bothering her, whether or not she admitted it.

"Come in, Doctor Yoon," she said, opening the door wide.

She watched as Ji Hoo immediately knelt down to greet Haru as soon as they entered, scratching him behind the ears.

"Are you here for me or my dog?"

Ji Hoo stood up slowly, shooting her a small smile. "Right. Where do you want us to work?"

"Here's fine." She gestured towards the kitchen, sitting herself down on one of the seats by the granite bar counter.

Ji Hoo nodded once before setting down his supply kit on the counter. He suddenly froze in front of her, and for the first time, Ha Neul saw him look unsure of himself.

"I'm sorry to ask this," he began. "But I'll need to check on the wound. If you don't mind."

Ah. She rolled her eyes. "No need to be shy about it, doctor."

She pulled down the sleeves of her blouse until it pooled around the top of her bra. As for the bandage––

"I can do this part," he murmured, smiling softly at her.

Ha Neul looked at anywhere but his face as he unwrapped the layers. She couldn't help but notice his fingers were feather-like, as if he was afraid touch her the wrong way. Even as her own doctor. She could admit it was a bit sweet.

"Just as I thought," Ji Hoo whispered, possibly to himself. "There's a bit of infection."

Ha Neul blanched. "Is it bad?"

"Not necessarily," he assured her, moving away for a few moments to rummage through his supply kit. "I'll need to clean it first, then prescribe you some antibiotics." He paused in front of her with a sterilized cotton ball in his tweezers. "This may sting."

"I got it."

It did sting, of course, but Ha Neul had a relatively high pain tolerance. It was also easy to distract herself with other thoughts, such as how sweet and clean the young doctor smelled. Or how his breathing was inhumanely slow and even as he worked around her.

"You're really not going to ask?" Ha Neul said.

"I made a promise," he said smoothly, his eyes focused on his task.

"Interesting," she hummed in reply, wincing slightly when he pressed at a particularly sensitive part. "Well, can I ask you questions?"

Ji Hoo looked up at her briefly. "I suppose. But I'm not promising to answer all of them."

"Fair." She breathed deeply before shooting her first question. "You're Yoon Ji Hoo, right? Member of the famous F4 back in the day?"

Something about what she said might've been funny to him because his lips quirked slightly into a lopsided smile before turning back to neutral. "Yes."

"Your grandfather was once the president?"

His fingers froze for a few seconds over her wound, before moving slowly again. "Yes."

Before she asked again, Ji Hoo raised a hand. "Take a deep breath. I'm putting a new bandage."

She did as she was asked. Ha Neul waited for him to finish all the layers before asking, "Why are you a doctor?"

Ji Hoo tilted his head. "That's a hard one."

"Really?"

He pulled out a sling from the kit and began adjusting the straps against her arm. "I didn't really think about it that much. I suppose it was something that I could do, and my grandfather was passionate about. And…"

"And?"

"All done," he said, gesturing for her to pull up her sleeves. "Let me just write you a prescription."

Ha Neul opened her mouth to ask again but closed it eventually. He said he couldn't promise to answer all her questions, after all. "Thank you, Dr. Yoon."

He left the prescription on the counter. "I'll show myself out now."

As she watched him make his way to her door, she couldn't help it anymore. "Who are Seo Hyun and Jan Di?"

She instantly regretted it. Ji Hoo had frozen up in front of her, and his fists slowly curled into tight fists. Even without turning around, she knew that it was the wrong thing to ask.

"What did you say?" He still didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry," she found herself saying softly. "I thought I was dreaming, but I guess I was still a bit conscious back at the hospital. I heard you say those names, saying that they…"

"It's none of your business." Ji Hoo turned his head back at her, and his expression was colder than she'd ever seen it.

"You said you were alone," Ha Neul blurted out, standing up slowly from her seat. "That I would understand. I think you're right to think that way."

"Ms. Park—"

"Listen, Dr. Yoon," she said evenly, trying her best to stand her ground. "I can answer your questions if you like. But only if you talk to me, too. Or anyone. It's not…good, to feel alone."

There was a long pause, and Ha Neul thought that the doctor was actually considering it. However, when Ji Hoo turned around fully to face her with a hostile, cold expression, she realized that was far from the truth.

"I wasn't trying to be nice," he said. "I promised I wouldn't pry, but only because I honestly don't care. I don't know you, and I don't want to."

Ha Neul couldn't help her mouth falling agape in shock.

"Take your medicine," he ordered flatly, gesturing towards the prescription on the table. "I'll come by in the next couple of days to check up on you. Once I see you're recovering well, it's best we go back to never talking to each other."

Ji Hoo didn't bother waiting for her to respond and walked briskly out of her front door.

"What's on your mind, brother?"

Woo Bin and Ji Hoo were back in their old outdoor shooting range. It was the former's idea to head out––"It hasn't been the same, shooting discs without real competition", Woo Bin had said––and Ji Hoo easily accepted the invitation. However, it was clear that something was on his mind, as Ji Hoo missed the past four discs.

"I'm out of practice," Ji Hoo said smoothly, reloading his rifle.

Woo Bin hummed in response but was definitely not buying it. "Have you heard back from Jan Di again?"

"No."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"I don't care." Bang. This time, Ji Hoo didn't miss.

"Nice. My turn." Woo Bin picked up his rifle and got into position. Each of the next five shots he took squarely hit the flying discs effortlessly.

Ji Hoo chuckled next to him. "Show-off."

"What can I say?" Woo Bin shrugged. "I'm here three times a week. Helps me destress."

"Has Il-Sim been that hectic recently?"

"You have no idea," Woo Bin mumbled, recalling the bloodied foreman.

"Maybe you should get a girl."

Woo Bin guffawed at that. "Believe me, man, girls aren't the problem for me."

"I'm not talking about the fangirls you hit up once in a while," Ji Hoo snorted as he took position to shoot. "I'm talking about an actual girlfriend. Going on real dates. Isn't it time you settled down?"

"Damn, you're talkative today," Woo Bin grumbled. "You know, with your track record, I don't think you're convincing anyone that relationships are good for destressing."

Ji Hoo was quiet for a long while after that, which momentarily made Woo Bin feel that his joke might've come at a wrong time. Eventually, though, Ji Hoo sighed and said, "You're right. Maybe I should be more like you."

Woo Bin gasped exaggeratedly. "Are you saying what I think you're saying, Ji Hoo? You want to take a page from the infamous Don Juan?"

Ji Hoo shot once before shrugging vaguely.

"You won't regret it," Woo Bin chuckled, already compiling a list on his mind of girls suitable for his friend. He thought long and hard as he shot tens of discs with his rifle––he wasn't about to subject Ji Hoo to a random blind date––but still, no one came to mind.

This was going to be a fun challenge.

Woo Bin had just gotten out of the shower before heading to bed when he finally thought of the perfect girl to set up his best friend with. He realized Ji Hoo wasn't going to enjoy a night with just anyone, especially with his temperament. It couldn't just be any one of the intense F4 fangirls he knew, and it also had to be someone charismatic enough to maintain an easy conversation with an introvert like Ji Hoo.

And, naturally, it had to be someone he'd never gone out with. That was the criteria he found most difficult to meet.

Woo Bin sighed as he lied himself down on the bed, not bothering to dress himself up yet. He picked up his phone from the nightstand and scrolled through his contacts until he finally found the name he was looking for.

He put the phone to his ear. It only took three rings before she picked up. "Woo Bin, is that you?"

"Myeong," he greeted cheerfully. "It's been a while. Any modelling gigs lately?"

"I haven't done one in a while, actually," Myeong said in the other line, sounding a bit unsure. "I'm focusing more on singing now. Why? Did you need something?"

"Come on, can't I reach out to an old friend?"

"Friend?" Myeong let out a high-pitched laugh. "Song Woo Bin, I know what you mean by friends. Do you actually want me to turn you down twice?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Woo Bin cried, sitting up suddenly on the bed. "For the record, I never asked you out. That was a big misunderstanding. You––"

"Alright, alright. No need to be so defensive. So what did you want?"

Woo Bin closed his eyes, trying to figure out the best way to word his request. "Okay, I lied. I did ask you out one time, but you turned me down. Which actually turned out for the best for the both of us, don't you think? I wouldn't have been good to you at all, and you knew that."

A few seconds of silence. "I guess, but I'm not following––"

"But I know someone who could be," Woo Bin finally said. "Do you know anything about Yoon Ji Hoo?"

"Yoon Ji Hoo?" Myeong blurted out in surprise. Catching herself, she cleared her throat before speaking again. "That guy…I know he's part of the F4, but didn't you tell me he's been MIA for years?"

"He's back now," he assured her. "Would you be interested on a date with him?"

Myeong couldn't help but let out a squeak of delight. "He's a piano prodigy isn't he? And violin, too? Fuck––I don't know, Woo Bin, I think I'd be too starstruck to speak to him, let alone go on a date with him."

"You weren't too starstruck to talk to me," Woo Bin said, feigning offense. "I'm in the F4 too, you know."

"You know that's not what I mean," Myeong laughed. "I really don't know…Hey, how about you come along? Like a double date?"

"Double date?" He puckered his lips as he thought about it. It may be easier to persuade Ji Hoo to go out with someone if Woo Bin was there as well. "All right, bet. Do you have a friend in mind?"

"Do I have a friend crazy enough to go on a date with you?" Myeong hummed with exaggeration. "I might. But she'll only be available after two weeks."

"Two weeks…I guess that's fine." Woo Bin leaned back down on the bed, satisfied. "And you think I'll like this girl?"

"She's gorgeous, talented, and a heavy drinker," Myeong revealed. "She's little shy but loosens up after a few drinks. Most importantly, she's not into anything serious. So yes, you'll like her."

"I think I already do," Woo Bin said, after nodding along to the traits she listed. "You're teasing me. Why not set the date sooner?"

"That's the catch, she's busy right now," Myeong sighed. "I've been trying to call her to come out and play, but she said she wouldn't be able to go anywhere in at least two weeks."

"And no one else is available?"

"Wow. You just said you already liked her."

Woo Bin pursed his lips. "You caught me there. Alright, two weeks."

"Should I send you pictures?"

"Nah, surprise me," Woo Bin decided. "The same way I won't send yours to Ji Hoo's. Make sure to catch him off guard with your charms."

"I'll do my best," she said. "Fuck––A date with Yoon Ji Hoo. Who would've thought."

"Play nice," Woo Bin reminded her. "I'll call you again before then. See you."