CH 97

“Mr. Do? You said you were going to the hospital. How did it go?” his client answered.

“I just came out from the hospital. I called to let you know a few things. Are you free to chat right now?”

Once he met with the parents of the victim, Yoonshin saw a faint sign that this could be solved well. He could tell from when the parents first allowed his visitation that they weren’t going to be nasty or coldhearted. So, Yoonshin aimed to get friendly with them and searched for a connection.

Thankfully, the mother attended the same elementary school as Yoonshin’s younger cousin. In addition, Yoonshin remembered visiting the school when he was younger. They broke the ice while chatting about inane topics such as the small size of the school’s field.

Yoonshin was always good at engaging with people like that. He had seen his father and his sister using those skills as well.

“Yes, I have time. You told them I’d give them a lot of money, right?” the other man on the line replied.

Yoonshin grumbled internally that it wasn’t always about money.

Yoonshin bit his lip, enraged at the superficial reply, but instead said, “Before that, you’ll need to apologize to them in person, sincerely.”

“Of course, I would happily do that, if they allow me to. I can go to apologize properly.”

“It’s great that you’re willing to do that. As you mentioned, I think it would be good if you gave them a decent settlement. There’s no precise standard, but usually, we calculate the sum per week of recovery time. There is a lot of room for variation. Considering all the circumstances and the hospital costs, I came up with $23,800.”

“How about just rounding it up to 25,000?”

“The child’s parents would likely be agreeable to that offer. Your sincerity is more important than the amount.”

“Well, money equates to sincerity. If it’s not enough, you can use more.”

Having the client be so willing to spend money was a good thing. Yoonshin gripped his phone tighter and quietly stood from the bench. “Then I’ll recalculate with that in consideration. You will need to come to the hospital to apologize. The child’s parents want me to visit with you, so let’s arrange a date that works. I’ll get all the paperwork straight and contact you soon.”

“Okay, I’ll be looking forward to your call. Thank you for your efforts.”

After ending the call, Yoonshin was about to head to hail a cab. He didn’t bring his car, so he needed to use some other method of transportation. He lined up at the end of the long taxi line, then he stared at his call history. On the bottom of his screen was the evidence of his call to Sehun the other day.

‘Does that mean we won’t see each other today after all?’ Yoonshin thought.

In the end, Sehun never replied to Yoonshin’s request to meet after work. They kissed again, but Sehun didn’t retract his question of why they needed to go on a date.

Of course, he could call Sehun first. However, he didn’t want to try to flirt immediately after declaring that he wouldn’t say he liked him first. He didn’t want to appear desperate.

He tapped on Sehun’s name, hiding his disappointment, and tucked his phone in his jacket pocket. He took one step forward, following the person in front of him.

It was then.

Beep beeep. There was a loud honking from the parking lot to Yoonshin’s right. Everyone in line turned their heads toward the source of the honk. Yoonshin followed the sound as well. The source of the honk was from a luxurious sedan parked in the lot.

Then, the window to the driver seat silently rolled down and Sehun’s face appeared from it, his hands on the handle. Perhaps because of his handsome face, a wave of murmurs swept through the crowd.