↱ECHO↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

第二

Hongjoong hates the rain, especially in Seoul.

It's not refreshing like the rain in Jinju and if it accidentally falls in your mouth it tastes like metal and smog.

Unfortunately for him, the wet season has come and more often than not, he's caught in a downpour waiting for the next bus.

If he didn't love his job so damn much, he would move back home, probably take up the farm and spend his days doing what he was always meant to do, but just the thought of it churns his stomach.

He could never go back.

Not after Seongie.

The bus is on time gratefully, and Hongjoong takes a seat and watches the streets of Seoul go by, wishing he could bottle moments like these, moments where he could get lost in the mundane pattern of life and lose the chaotic thoughts in his head.

It's one of the better qualities of the busy city; Hongjoong has never been without distraction for the last three years that he's been here.

His stop arrives, and he disembarks from the vehicle, pulling his umbrella closer to his body as he winds through pedestrians to arrive at his workplace for the day.

He likes this particular client, an old man who is dying of lung disease from too many years of intensive smoking.

Though a little gruff, he's jolly and quick-witted and seems to like Hongjoong a lot.

It always makes it easier if the patients are fond of him.

When he gets to the proper floor, Hongjoong knocks twice as usual, hiking his bag over his shoulder.

He stands in the hallway for a few moments, adjusting his scrubs and noticing that the walls have a new coat of paint.

The door opens then, the old man's daughter, Soojin, greeting him with a tense smile.

"Ah, Hongjoong-ah. Did you not get my message?"

Hongjoong frowns at this, pulling out his phone to see three missed calls.

"I'm sorry, noona. I guess I had the volume off," he explains. "Is everything ok?"

Soojin casts her gaze to the ground at this, worrying her hands.

"Appa passed away this morning. Hyejin found him. It happened in his sleep."

Stunned, Hongjoong clasps a hand over his mouth.

Of course, news like this was to be expected eventually, but he has never had one of his patients pass away in his care.

He had always been contracted out to another family before tragedy struck and this time it hurts far worse just knowing the man so intimately for many months.

Being a home healthcare nurse was difficult in many ways, but this is by far the hardest thing Hongjoong has ever had to deal with, and that's saying a lot, because he's lost someone before.

"Noona, I'm so sorry," he says quickly, hoping that he's not being rude in anyway. "I should've looked at my phone—"