UAI Chapter 09

 Episode 9 

Clap, clap.

"Uuugh."  

Clap, clap.

"Uncle!! Wake up!"  

Hajin, who was in a deep sleep, barely opened his eyes at the sound of his nephew’s voice and the small hands patting his arm.  

"Sejin, you’re already awake?"  

"It’s not ‘already.’ It’s morning. Uncle slept too long."  

"Uh-huh. What time is it now?"  

Hajin, still trying to regain his senses, glanced at the digital clock on the side table.  

6:20 AM.  

It seemed way too early for a child to be awake, but it appeared that his nephew was one of those kids who didn’t need much sleep.  

The cozy warmth under the blanket made Hajin reluctant to get up. Instead, he pulled his nephew close and held him in his arms.  

"Ah!"  

"Let’s sleep a little more, just you and your uncle. Come on, let’s snooze."  

Hajin said this while gently patting Sejin’s back, trying to lull him back to sleep.  

"No! I need the bathroom!"  

Sejin, who had woken up around 6 AM, initially had no intention of waking up his deeply sleeping uncle. He thought it would be good to let Hajin enjoy his rare sound sleep. However, nature's call left him with no choice but to wake Hajin up.  

‘Ugh! If only I weren’t so small, I could go to the bathroom on my own. Times like this really make me feel frustrated about my size.’  

Hajin chuckled at Sejin’s outburst and sat up.  

"Haha! So, our Sejin woke up his uncle just because he needed to use the bathroom? Alright, alright. We can’t have any accidents in bed. Let me take you to the bathroom."  

Teasing, Hajin’s tone made Sejin puff his cheeks in irritation.  

"I never pee in bed! Uncle, you’re mean!!"  

Seeing Sejin’s anger, Hajin quickly apologized.  

"Of course! My clever Sejin would never do that. Uncle was just joking. Don’t be mad, okay? Let’s go to the bathroom now."  

"Hmph…"  

Before Sejin could get angrier, Hajin scooped him up and carried him to the bathroom.  

"Uncle, go outside."  

"Alright. Knock on the door when you’re done."  

"Okay!"  

Hajin wiped the door quickly and stepped out of the bathroom.  

Sejin, annoyed by the morning teasing, sighed as he took care of his business.  

‘Seriously. I’m not a kid anymore. I’m mentally 21 years old, for crying out loud. Does he think I can’t even manage the bathroom? I really need to grow up. Being this small is inconvenient in so many ways.’  

After washing his hands thoroughly, Sejin knocked on the door, and Hajin opened it for him.  

"Since you’re already up early, shall we wash up? Breakfast will be served soon anyway."  

"Okay."  

Hajin took Sejin to the bathroom next to the restroom. There, he helped Sejin wash his face and brush his teeth before washing up himself.  

Back in the bedroom, Hajin applied lotion to Sejin’s face and grabbed a comb to tie his hair.  

"Sejin, come sit in front of me so I can tie your hair."  

Sejin sluggishly shuffled over and sat in front of Hajin, who began combing with a serious expression. As if creating a masterpiece, Hajin carefully tied Sejin’s bangs with a hair tie. However, the result was far from satisfactory, looking vastly different from how the caregiver usually styled it.  

"Hmm…"  

Hajin scratched his head, realizing something seemed off as he looked at the messy, uneven hair.  

"Uncle, it’s ugly!" 

Sejin exclaimed.  

"Wait, Sejin. Let me redo it! It’s my first time, so I was a bit clumsy. I’ll do better if I try again."  

"No, it’s ugly!"  

At Sejin’s firm rejection, Hajin reluctantly handed him a handheld mirror.  

Sejin checked his reflection, scrutinizing the haphazardly tied hair with strands sticking out and lopsided clumps everywhere. It was a disaster.  

‘As expected. My uncle really does have two left hands.’*

In his past life, Seo Hajin had been notorious for ruining everything he touched—even something as simple as cooking instant noodles. Improvement seemed unlikely, even if Hajin tried again.  

‘Fine. I’ll just wait until the caregiver arrives. As long as my eyes aren’t poked out, it’ll be okay.’  

With that thought in mind, Sejin handed the mirror back to Hajin.  

Hajin anxiously waited for his nephew’s reaction, but Sejin’s indifferent response left him confused.  

"Uh... Sejin, doesn’t it look strange? Should I fix it for you?"  

"It’s fine. Just leave it."  

"Really? You like it?"  

Sejin was baffled by the question.  

‘No way! If I liked this, there’d have to be something wrong with my eyes!’  

Not wanting to hurt Hajin’s feelings, Sejin softened his words.  

"Well... I don’t love it, but since you did it for me, I’ll keep it this way."  

Hajin chuckled at his nephew’s words.  

Even though he could tell it looked odd, he found his nephew endearing for wearing it despite not liking it.  

"Alright. Thanks, Sejin. When the caregiver comes later, let’s ask her to fix it."  

"Okay."  

As Hajin was finishing up tying Sejin’s hair, the clock struck 7 AM.  

Knock, knock.

The security guard entered the bedroom after knocking.  

"Good morning. Did you sleep well? Breakfast has been delivered and is set on the table in the lounge."  

"Oh, thank you. You must be tired from staying up all night, aren’t you?"  

"No, not at all. It’s part of my job."  

"By the way, I didn’t get the chance to introduce you yesterday because we went to bed early. This is my nephew, Lee Sejin."  

Hajin quickly turned to Sejin.  

"Sejin, want to say hello? From now on, this gentleman and others like him will take turns protecting you. They’ll make sure no bad people, like the one from yesterday, can get in."  

Sejin placed his hands on his belly and formally introduced himself.  

"Hello. I’m Lee Sejin, and I’m three years old!"  

The security guard smiled at Sejin’s confident introduction.  

"Hello, nice to meet you. I’ll be stationed outside the door to keep bad people out, so don’t worry and have fun."  

"Okay. Thank you very much!"  

"I’ll head back now. After you’re done eating, leave the dishes outside the room, and the staff will take care of them," 

The guard said before exiting the room, glancing fondly at Sejin as he left.  

"Sejin, do you want to eat on the bed or on the sofa in the lounge?"  

"The sofa!"  

"Alright, let’s eat in the lounge."  

Hajin helped Sejin off the bed, slipped on his slippers, and held his hand as they walked to the lounge.  

‘Oh no! My hair is still a mess! What kind of first impression did I make?!’  

Sejin felt momentarily gloomy about his appearance, but the sight of food on the table quickly erased all other thoughts.  

‘Wow. This hospital meal is worth the high price.’  

The spread included white rice, beef radish soup, stir-fried smoked duck with vegetables, fried shrimp, salad, kimchi, and dongchimi.  

Each dish was glistening, visually enticing, and emitted an aroma that tantalized the senses.  

Since Sejin had skipped dinner the night before in favor of chicken, the meal felt especially satisfying, like a long-awaited treat.  

"Uncle, I want rice!"  

"Alright, I’ll feed you. Sit here,"

 Hajin said, amused by his nephew’s excitement over the food.  

He quickly picked up a spoon, placed a piece of smoked duck on the rice, and brought it to Sejin’s mouth. The boy opened wide and eagerly took the spoonful.  

Seeing his nephew chew enthusiastically, Hajin smiled and brought another bite of food to his mouth.  

Yesterday, Sejin had insisted on eating by himself, but today he seemed too focused on eating to think about it.  

"Were you hungry, Sejin? You ate so much chicken yesterday."  

Swallowing his food, Sejin replied, 

"It’s all digested now!"  

"Haha! It’s all digested, huh? Wow, you’re so articulate."  

Unable to resist his nephew’s cuteness, Hajin kissed Sejin’s cheeks alternately.  

"Uncle! I’m eating! Don’t you know you’re not supposed to bother someone while they eat?"  

"Where did you even learn that?" 

Hajin burst out laughing and leaned back on the sofa, shaking with laughter.  

Sejin rolled his eyes and grabbed a fork to spear a piece of fried shrimp, starting to eat on his own.  

‘Looks like I have to take care of my own meal since Uncle is so distracted. But this shrimp is really good. Maybe it’s because the shrimp is big?’  

Ever since he became a child, Sejin felt like he was more impulsive and susceptible to his instincts. Back when he was an orphan, he could go a whole day without eating, but now he couldn’t stand being even slightly hungry. He also noticed his patience had diminished.  

As his hunger drove him, Sejin focused on his food and ignored Hajin for the time being.  

After a good laugh, Hajin noticed Sejin eating on his own and quickly resumed helping him with breakfast.  

"Uncle, you need to eat too," 

Sejin said after finishing his meal, his full stomach prompting him to take care of Hajin.  

Like Sejin, Hajin had also ordered hospital food, but his meal had gone cold while he was feeding his nephew.  

"Alright. Do you want to watch TV while I eat?"

"Okay! But eat slowly, Uncle. I don’t want you to choke."  

"Aw, you’re so sweet to think about me."  

Hajin patted Sejin’s head, turned on the TV, and played some cartoons before starting his own meal.  

While eating, Hajin noticed the same shrimp dish in his meal and picked up a piece with his fork, offering it to Sejin.  

"Here, Sejin. Want some more?"  

"No, Uncle, you eat it!"  

"But I’m full, so I don’t want to eat the shrimp. Are you sure you don’t want it?"  

After hesitating for a moment, Sejin took the fork.  

"Alright, I’ll eat it for you."  

"Thanks, Sejin."  

As Sejin munched on the shrimp while watching cartoons, Hajin quickly finished the rest of his meal.  

After cleaning up the dishes and leaving them outside the room, Hajin returned to find Sejin fully engrossed in his show.  

Hajin poured himself a cup of coffee and sat next to Sejin, enjoying the rare moment of leisure as they watched cartoons together.  

It felt like forever since he’d had such a relaxing morning.  

Once the show ended, Hajin gave Sejin his medicine.  

Knock, knock.

A knock at the door interrupted them, and the security guard entered.  

"The hospital director and attending physicians are outside," 

The security guard announced.  

Realizing they had come to apologize for yesterday’s incident, Hajin responded, 

"Yes, please let them in."  

Shortly after, the hospital director and a group of physicians, including Sejin’s attending doctor, entered the room.  

"Good morning. I’m Kim Naksu, the hospital director," 

"Good morning,"  

"We came to apologize for the unfortunate incident that occurred yesterday. We wanted to visit earlier, but we heard you were resting. We deeply regret what happened. You trusted us with your care, and we failed to protect that trust. We are truly sorry," 

The director said, bowing deeply along with the other doctors.  

The sight of the elderly director and physicians bowing made Hajin uncomfortable, prompting him to respond quickly.  

"It’s okay. Really, there’s no need to worry."  

"Thank you. To prevent such an incident from happening again, we’ve reinforced our security team. Additionally, we plan to replace the cleaning service contractor."  

Hajin hesitated before responding. 

"It feels wrong to see the entire cleaning staff lose their jobs because of the actions of one person. If there are no other major issues, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t change contractors after dealing with the individual responsible."  

The director nodded in agreement. 

"Understood. If that would ease your mind, we will review the situation and handle it accordingly. Is there anything else you need or are concerned about?"  

"No, there’s nothing. Please don’t worry about us. Just ensure this kind of incident doesn’t happen again."  

"Of course. You have our word. We’ll ensure security measures are strictly enforced. Our staff will monitor everything closely. Please trust us once again."  

"Alright, thank you."  

"Thank you. Please rest well. Once again, we’re deeply sorry," 

The director said as the group, except for Sejin’s attending physician, left the room.  

While Hajin had been speaking with the director, Sejin’s doctor had conducted a brief checkup.  

"You must have been very startled yesterday,"

"Yes, but I think Sejin was more shaken than I was. How is he doing?"  

"As I mentioned briefly yesterday, there doesn’t appear to be any serious issues. His recovery is genuinely remarkable. At this rate, he might be discharged sooner than expected. His test results are all normal, and although his muscle strength was a concern, it has improved significantly. We initially considered physical rehabilitation, but with his current progress, he should be fine with regular meals, rest, and light activity. Gradually increasing his movement should suffice."  

"Really? That’s such a relief. Thank you so much."  

"I didn’t do anything. It’s all thanks to Sejin’s resilience. Taking short walks whenever possible would be beneficial. Start slowly and extend the duration over time."  

"Got it. Thank you."  

"Alright. I’ll check in again later. Have a good day."  

After the doctor left, Hajin slumped onto the sofa, feeling a wave of relief.  

He wrapped his arms around Sejin.  

"Sejin, it’s great news. It looks like you’re truly getting healthy now. I’m so proud of you."  

"Uncle, are you crying?"  

"Haha! No, why would I cry?"  

"Okay. That’s good then."  

As they spoke, warm sunlight streamed through the window, casting a gentle glow over them.  

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