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"We need to talk." The man doesn't even glance back at me. Instead, he stares at the wall, hands clenching in clear discomfort. By taking a look at a few patient information documents, I quickly learn that my assumption was correct. His spout of transient amnesia is nearing its end. "I know you don't want to see me, Hell, I'd really like to not see you either." I grab an empty chair and sit in it, facing his bed but keeping a safe distance between us. "But I care about your son." His jaw twitches slightly and he blinks at the mention of Jaewook. "I know why you're like this. I know you don't mean to be this way, but you can fix this. Whatever it is that you blame yourself for, about your father, you need to let it go." Mentioning his father causes him to finally look at me, shock filled in his gaze. "Your father wouldn't be pleased knowing that you've let your self-hatred hurt the ones you love. I may have never met him, but by the way Jaewook talks about him, I know this. How would he feel if he knew what you've been doing to your family?" It seems all my words have finally brought him to the edge as he clenches his fists. "Shut up," he seethes. "No. I'm not going to. No one has talked to you about this and that's a problem. You need to fix this, to help yourself." He suddenly covers his tired face with his hands, frantically trying to hold himself together as he breathes out, "I can't." "Yes," I say firmly, "you can. And if you want your son to continue to be in your life, you will." His hands fall enough to show his eyes piercing through mine. "You can't take him away from me." "And I won't. But he will himself. He isn't a dumb kid Mr. Im, he's not going to let himself be abused and manipulated any longer. Unlike yourself, he knows what's good for him and what isn't." I make sure to look at him with intensity, 100% of my attention on him as I say these words. "Don't you feel bad for him?" I ask with a softer tone. I catch the tremble of his lips, the retreat of his eyes on me as he grows sullen. He looks like a man defeated by himself, unsure of how to tackle his own worst enemy. The words "I'm sorry," are barely a whisper. "I don't deserve to be a father, a son. I'm pathetic." I close my eyes with a sigh, letting my tense body relax a bit now that he's shown weakness and vulnerability. "You can always change your ways. You may never make it up to him, to your wife, to me," he grows apprehensive as he clearly understands what I mean at the mention of myself. "But you can become a better father. First, get help. There is a therapist here at this hospital who has seen many alcoholic patients before, I'm certain she can help you a lot." He lets out a puff of air, almost a laugh but more of an expression of disdain. "I'm a mess, I'm a joke, no one will ever respect me again if they find out I see a therapist. My job—" His words increase in speed as he spirals into chaos. "Your job should not be the only thing that matters right now. Your family matters. You matter. Besides, Dr. Hong will keep everything confidential, that's what doctors do." A moment of silence rings between us as his eyes shift from item to item in the room, clearly contemplating my words with panic and desperation. "Okay," he softly agrees without looking at me. "I'll speak to her right after and try to schedule an initial meeting between the two of you." "Thank you," he mumbles out of embarrassment, eyes lowering from my own. I begin to stand up. "But Mr. Im, don't think I've let what happened between us go. I have not and I will get the police involved if I need to." His body tenses and eyes widen. He stumbles over his words as I look down at him, the power dynamic greatly different from that night. "If you don't want me to say anything, you'll have to promise me one thing." "Y-yes, what, what is it?" His hands clasp together, begging me. It's pathetic, even sad to see. "You will promise to pay all of Jaewook's tuition for the years he is at the National Police University. I think that's the least you can do, you know, show that you actually care about your son's future and are proud that he got accepted." I say this knowing that he had no clue that Jaewook even applied let alone got accepted, and I see the humiliation in this father's eyes when he realizes this. When he sees just how oblivious he's been, just how little care he has shown to his son. I don't break my eye contact with him until he agrees. I finally unclench my jaw and stiffly bow to him in respect before leaving the room. Walking down the hall I feel like a different woman, one that has become hardened, who has grown a new layer of skin. The first thing I do is talk to Dr. Hong. The second thing I do is head home. The exertion from the intense talk I just had hits me as I grow exhausted, ready to fall asleep in my familiar bed. However, I don't know if Zen is there and if he's forgotten about our fight. Out of all the things I expected, I did not expect to see Sunny. "Sunny? What are you doing here?" I ask as she turns from her place on the couch to look at me with her round eyes. "I—, nothing, I just needed to pick something up." "From the couch?" Zen emerges from the bathroom and immediately freezes in place when we lock eyes. "Destiny, you're home?" "Yes? I was hoping we could talk," I say while looking suspiciously at my friend. "So did I miss something?" Sunny gets up and walks over to where Zen is, looking up at him with uncertainty. "About this," Zen begins. "We're dating," Sunny spits out quite loudly, as if it was killing her to keep it inside any longer. Zen elbows her and raises his eyebrows. "What?" She says as she gives him a pointed look. "When did this happen?" I ask before sitting down at the kitchen table. I always knew they got along well, almost too well, but Sunny has been my friend since middle school and nothing ever happened... until now? "He got drunk two weeks ago," Sunny blurts out. "Sunny!" He hisses at her. "He got drunk and for some reason showed up at my place." "I'm doomed," my brother gives up and falls onto the couch with a dramatic sigh. "I had just broken up with my douchebag ex—" "Wait, you broke up?" I'm floored. How much have I missed? "Yes, anyways, I was kinda pissed off at the world and then this guy shows up all sad cause you two fought, and then we kinda hooked up and now we—" "Okay! That's enough, congratulations," I hastily clap my hands, not wanting to hear any more of it. "Admittedly I'm a bit sickened by the idea of my best friend and brother dating but I can't say I'm shocked." Zen blinks with confusion while Sunny begins to light up. "So expect to see even more of me than usual hot stuff," she says while grabbing me into a hug. "Oh great," I mutter sarcastically. "So why did you two fight. Can you make up now? I need both my best friend and boyfriend to get along after all." I look over at Zen, sincerity in my eyes as he slightly pouts. "Can we forget what happened please?" I ask softly, just begging for this silence between us to end. He twists his body a bit in contemplation before nodding his head softly. "I'm sorry, I was just worried," he mumbles as if embarrassed. I softly smile in return. "I know." Sunny looks between us like a hungered bear that's trapped its prey. "Great! LET'S GO PARTY!" She starts going off, cheering and dancing around, a sudden burst of energy that is not all surprising when coming from her. "Wait, where's your cutie high schooler? Let's take him out for beers, I need to meet the man that has Destiny whipped." "He's not a high schooler anymore. He's going to become a policeman," I can't help the smug smile that floods my face when I say this. She oohs in excitement, grabbing onto my arm. "A police officer? Oh man, how exciting." The glint in her eyes gives me all the warning I need as I roll my eyes and try to walk away. "Are you gonna have him arrest you?!" She yells out suggestively as I escape to my room to change clothes. Zen sticks his tongue out in disgust and tells her to shut up. ...