ACT VII | SCENE XXXIV

❝GOOFBALL❞

BOUQUET OF BUTTERCUPS and paper bag in hand, hoseok stepped into the hospital room with a smile, sliding the door shut behind him. soft but tired brown eyes fluttered open as he approached the bed. his smile grew as haesun's face brightened the slightest at his presence.

she sat up as he reached the side of her bed. "hey, beautiful," he said softly. "hi, hoseokie." she replied, smile widening. "i brought you these. your favourite." he handed the brightly coloured flowers over to her. "thank you." she quickly took a sniff before laying them on her blanketed lap. "also brought these." he lifted the paper bag up for her to see.

"are those éclairs?" she asked excitedly, taking the bag from him. "sorry to disappoint." he chuckled, settling down in the seat next to her bed. "if i brought you those, rian would take my life before i even crossed the threshold of this place."

haesun gave him a look, brows arched. "stop exaggerating." she told him with a roll of her big eyes. "you're acting like you don't know rian turns to the hulk when she's mad." he countered with ease. "you're one to talk." she retorted with a scoff. "hey! i'm a chill guy." he took on an easygoing expression, relaxing in the chair.

she let out a giggle, letting her eyes roam back to the brown paper bag in front of her. she pulled out the contents. two books. placing one down, she read over the title of the other. "it's an anthropology textbook." she mumbled.

hoseok nodded. "i figured you missed work or, at least, one of your favourite things in the world. you know, when rian first introduced us, you wouldn't stop going on about anthropology even though none of us understood half the things you were saying." he commented softly. a small laugh slipped past her lips. "rian always had to stop me mid ramble."

"i personally didn't mind. seeing you so passionate about something you love was adorable." he admitted with the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. haesun's eyes met his, cheeks lightly tinged with a soft peach hue. hoseok cleared his throat, shifting his gaze from her eyes to the other book. "the second one is a novel. the protagonist is an anthropologist, so i thought you might enjoy that. plus, you get to dissect the accuracy of her portrayal." he pointed.

"thank you, seokie. i was getting tired of watching dramas all day." she beamed gratefully. "i'm a hero, i know." he remarked playfully smug, causing another giggle to escape her lips.

"how's work? are you still giving your dad a hard time?" she changed the subject. "excuse me, he's the one giving me a hard time." hoseok's face was the image of innocence. "i find that hard to believe." she chimed with a chuckle. "this is all rian's fault." he huffed dramatically.

haesun smiled fully, shaking her head. "why are you here so early though? you usually visit in the evenings." her head tilted to the side. "ah, haneul's babysitter had a family emergency so she had to leave early and left haneul in my care. so i thought, why not visit now so we can both say hello to you and pick rian up from work too."

"ah," she bobbed her head in understanding. "killing three birds with one stone. i love to exercise my brain too." holding three fingers up, he grinned smugly and haesun's amusement only grew. "you're the goofiest goofball i've ever been lucky to meet." she remarked lightly. "i'd say i'm the lucky one, but today, i'll accept that you're also lucky."

another bright smile that reached her eyes curved her lips. "but where is my angel?" she looked behind him briefly. "oh, she stopped to say hi to her friends. she's pretty famous around here, collecting hearts like they're pokemons." he chirped lightly, making her laugh. "one of the nurses will bring her here." he added, smiling at the fact that the light had returned to haesun's eyes.

there was a quick knock on the door before it was open, revealing nurse kim and haneul. beaming brightly at the sight of her mother, haneul let go of the man's hand and waddled into the room quickly. "mummy!" she held her arms, hurrying into her mother's waiting arms.

"my little bundle of joy!" haesun chirped back with matching enthusiasm, grunting at the effort it took to pull her daughter up. "how was school today, baby?" she asked, handing the bouquet over to hoseok to help her put it in a vase. "school was fun! we read a book for the class!"

"hello, hyungnim." the nurse stopped next to hoseok who was glancing sidelong at haesun and haneul as they chatted animatedly. "hey, taehyung. night shift today?" he asked, carefully placing the flowers in a vase. "no, not today. but rian and i have the night shift tomorrow." taehyung answered. "ah, good. someone to take care of you." the older man nodded.

taehyung's nose scrunched, lips pushing out slightly. "hey, hyungnim, i'm perfectly capable of doing that myself." he whined. "i don't know about that nurse pouts. i don't think you know your limit." hoseok turned to fully face him. "i better not hear anything about you passing out because you're overworked because i'll whoop you back into consciousness."

"why am i being threatened?" taehyung stepped back, pupils blown out slightly in alarm. "i'm just saying." hoseok shrugged, a lazy smile dancing across his lips. "except i don't think you just are." taehyung shivered a bit. hoseok only snorted in reply before turning to face mother and child.

haneul was giggling as she told her mother how she'd gotten a compliment from her teacher for reading so well. the corners of both hoseok's and taehyung's mouths lifted at the sounds. "i'm so proud of you. you're such a smart little cookie." haesun ruffled her hair affectionately. another giggle spilled from haneul's lips. "i'm your smart little cookie!" she threw her arms up. "that you are."

"we'll leave you two to catch up some more." hoseok chimed in, drawing their attention. "alright." haesun smiled gratefully. he gave her hand a quick squeeze before turning around and pushing taehyung along. sneaking one last glance at the mother and daughter, an affectionate smile crawled across his lips. there was no doubt that haneul was haesun's favourite in the world. she truly was haesun's heaven on earth.

🌻🌻🌻

hobi hobi and a little haneul x haesun interaction because we need some mother-daughter magic. haneulie is her momma's whole world tyvm. happy new year angels! hope this year brings more good things than the last did! don't forget to stay safe and take care of yourselves! 💛