As it was after visiting hours, and since Seulgi and company were not family, they were ‘encouraged’ by the staff to go home. Or just somewhere else. But, mostly home.

  Which was disappointing as Seulgi was getting ready to tell Jackson that the pale green hospital scrubs were very becoming and he ought to start wearing them to work. Seulgi didn’t often get a chance to have a legitimate reason to tease Jackson, so she had to make the most of it. And she was about to y into him when they were told to get out. Such is life, she sighed.

  Bhuwakul, looking very serious, discretely looked over at Sonja, caught her eye, and sauntered over to her. Once he was close enough, he quietly said to her, “Cedar Log cabin, ma’am.”

  She turned pale emphasizing her already ivory skin, then turned to the rest and said, “Please excuse us for a moment, something has come up.”

  He held the door open for her as they exited.

  Everyone looked at everyone else in mystification.

  “Dad?”

  “Don’t ask me, I don’t know either.”

  “Jackson?”

  “Same. I have no clue what that’s about,” he answered hoarsely. He was going to have problems talking for the next few days, she guessed.

  Thinking about it, she said to him, “You are going to need some time to recover. If I see you in the office this week, I am going to kick your butt so hard that Gillian will cuss me out while thanking me. You got it?”

  Grinning, “Yes, Seulgi.” Here was a man who knew that she hated being called ‘Ma’am’.

  Everyone else just shrugged at the notion. They started confabuting what this might have been about. Their hypotheses ranged from mundane to ridiculous. The less serious ones came from ‘Alfred’ and Seulgi began to believe that her dearly beloved father was trolling them. The urge to smack him was rising again. And Bhuwakul was not here to stop her.

  She grinned.

  Alfred saw said grin on his daughter and knocked off the silliness. He was also a smart man.

  “Gillian? Make sure he makes an appointment with his doctor as soon as possible. You guys have insurance, use it. Feel free to use my name in any threats. If that is not enough, we can get Nayeon in on the conversation and get her to talk to him. He’s never been able to out-talk her in all the years we’ve known each other.”

  It was Gillian’s turn to grin.

  Ignoring the bypy, Jackson said to the group that while he appreciated everything that they had done, to his knowledge all they did was visit him in the hospital, but he was tired and needed to sleep. Considering his past week, it was understandable that his memory was a bit fuzzy.

  They took the hint and got everything together and left the room. They saw Bhuwakul and Sonja down the hallway in an intense conversation. Hands were flying in emphasis. Again, taking the hint, the three sat in the waiting area for them to finish whatever that they had going on.

  “Seriously, Alfred, what is this ‘cedar log cabin’ business.”

  “Seulgi, knock it off with the ‘Alfred’ business,” he said with a sigh. “And to answer your questions, I honestly don’t know. At this point, I don’t really care. I just want to go home and go to bed.”

  “Well, their conversation does not have anything to do with us. Is there any reason for us to stay here?”

  Alfred and Yeji agreed that there was no reason to stay, so they got back up and started walking down the hallway to the elevator.

  As it happened, they would have to pass Bhuwakul and Sonja. Their conversation halted as the others passed by.

  “I’ll call you ter, Seulgi,” he said. She nodded back.

  “We’re going home. I’ll be in bed by ten-ish,” she replied.

  It was his turn to nod back.

  They exited the same way they came in, just in reverse. Waving at nurses, entering the elevator, exiting the elevator, going to the car park, and driving off. They left as uneventfully as they showed up. All three still had their guards up, so this easy ride was actually a bit concerning. It’s hard to keep yourself on edge all the time.

  Alfred looked in askance, cocking an eye at Yeji, when they parked in Seulgi’s spot and Yeji got out with them. Seulgi popped the trunk and Yeji grabbed the bag that was in there. She put the strap across her shoulders and looked at the other two.

  Alfred, again, cocked an eyebrow at Seulgi who, again, ignored it and moved them all off to the elevator. As they moved, Alfred gged slightly behind. He saw Yeji’s right hand make an odd movement and then something that appeared to be the hilt of a knife was in her palm.

  He, once again, was reminded that he was here for a reason, not a vacation. When they were on the elevator, they punched the button for their floor. At the ground floor, the car stopped and another couple got on. They said their ‘good evenings’ and punched the floor they were going to. Yeji and her father backed her into the corner and stood in front of her, just subtly.

  On the second floor, another couple got on. They pressed the third-floor button and sheepishly said, “We hit the wrong button.” Everyone grinned as if they had all done something like this before.

  They got off at the third floor. They stopped at the fifth floor when the other couple got off after wishing them a good night. Then they made it to Seulgi’s floor.

  They got off with Alfred leading the way, Seulgi in the middle, and Yeji following behind. Alfred had his hand out for the house key, which she handed him as wordlessly as he had asked.

  Once at her door, he opened it and entered like a ghost. Seulgi started to follow but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Yeji just shook her head and stayed looking up and down the hallway.

  They waited for about two minutes and then Alfred came back out and said “All clear” before Yeji gently shoved her inside the apartment. While surprised, she was even more surprised that she didn’t trip and fall.

  Keys went into the key bowl, purses were set on the table in the hallway, and coats hung on the coat rack. Very normal things to do when entering a house. As opposed to your father doing a seek-and-destroy clearance.