PON 02

Chapter 2

“Hey, hey! Can’t you all be quiet? What kind of ruckus is this in front of a patient? Shut your mouths, all of you!”

“Ah, our prince is so handsome.”

The face of one of the grandmothers suddenly popped up from behind the others. Jeong-oh’s dazed expression twisted instantly.

“Kkotmae, who’s your prince? Why do you keep saying nonsense like that?”

“Why are you even listening to that crazy woman? Just let it go in one ear and out the other.”

“Right, Il-unni, hasn’t Kkotmae been talking nonsense for years now?”

There was no need to ask who had brought them all here.
Among the few who could operate a boat on Cheongho Island, only one person was soft-hearted enough to bring the grandmothers along—the son of Cheong-seok, the fisherman.

The moment he stepped in, yawning, Jeong-oh grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall.

“Why are the grandmas here? Why is my grandma here?”

The ambushed Cheong-seok let out a strangled groan.

“Why did you bring them here, huh?”

“Well, the thing is…”

The man’s tanned, sea-weathered face went pale. He swallowed hard, darted his eyes, and forced a sheepish grin.

“F-Flower Granny started crying so bad she almost fainted—said she had to find her prince. And what kind of man would ignore a crying grandma? But hey, he’s really handsome, isn’t he? No wonder Flower Granny fell—ow!”

He didn’t get to finish. Jeong-oh kicked him square in the shin.

“Yoon Jeong-oh!”

As Cheong-seok hopped in pain, the grandmothers all turned toward the doorway.

When they saw Jeong-oh standing there, they swarmed over, clutching her hands tightly.

“Oh dear, Jeong-oh, you’ve been through so much.”

Trying to stay calm, Jeong-oh forced her voice to remain steady.

“Why did you come, grandmas? I was just about to head back.”

“They said you were hurt! And when we got here, this pretty young man was lying there—we nearly had heart attacks!”

“I’m not the one who’s hurt.”

“Really? I heard you were coughing up blood!”

“Someone said your stomach got stabbed clean through!”

“My stomach’s fine. No blood, no stabbing.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is?”

When Jeong-oh corrected them, the grandmothers burst out laughing.

“My hearing must be going. I misheard Cheong-seok. But Flower Granny here—she’s been bawling her eyes out to come find you. I thought she’d gone completely mad!”

“Anyway, you’re sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

The same questions repeated again and again until Jeong-oh, stifling a sigh, turned toward Flower Granny—who still hadn’t let go of the unconscious man’s hand.

“Grandma, let’s go home now.”

“I’m not going!”

Flower Granny slapped her hand away and clutched the man’s hand even tighter. Jeong-oh blinked, forcing a gentle tone.

“Come on, Grandma. I’ll make your favorite cabbage pancakes when we get back—”

“You go home, you brat!”

Normally, the promise of cabbage pancakes could move mountains. Not today.

What was it about this man that made her so stubborn? Even Jeong-oh, who wasn’t easily impressed, had to admit—he was stunningly handsome.

His features were sharp like a foreigner’s, his skin pale as porcelain. The inky black hair only made him seem whiter, and his lashes—long, dark, absurdly beautiful. He truly looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.

Yes, he was the kind of man who drew every eye in the room.

But why did it feel so…familiar?

And more than that—why did it make her uneasy?

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t place it. Shaking off the thought, she reached for her grandmother again.

“Come on, Grandma, stop being stubborn—ouch!”

“I said I’m not going!”

Flower Granny grabbed Jeong-oh’s hair and yanked hard. The strength in that frail old body was terrifying.

“You wretched girl! I know you’re trying to steal my husband away!”

Her husband?!

“Grandma!”

Jeong-oh screamed, trying to wriggle free, but the old woman only shook her harder.

Cheong-seok rushed to intervene, but one kick from Flower Granny sent him sprawling to the floor.

“You thought you could butter him up while I was gone, didn’t you?! You snake!”

“Good heavens! Kkotmae! Let go of her right now!”

The other grandmothers dashed in to pull them apart.

“You’ll rip her hair out!”

The hospital room had turned into a fish market.

“You vile hussy! You slept with my husband!”

Freed at last, Jeong-oh clutched her throbbing scalp. Flower Granny, still held back, glared at her with wild, tearful eyes.

“Because of you, I lost my baby! You witch!”

The disease had worsened lately, but even then, she had never mistaken Jeong-oh for her grandfather’s mistress before. Never attacked her like this.

“You’re trying to take him away from me, aren’t you? He’s mine! Mine, not yours—!”

“[Be quiet…]”

The sharp, foreign voice sliced through the chaos.

It wasn’t Korean.

Jeong-oh turned toward the sound. The man who had been lying unconscious now sat up, holding his head.

“Oh my stars!”

The grandmothers gasped.

“Flower Granny! Your prince woke up! He’s awake!”

Flower Granny shuffled forward and seized his hand again, beaming with a toothless grin.

“Our prince is awake now?”

The man frowned faintly, unable to pull his hand away.

“[Who… are you?]”

“Goodness gracious, he’s so pretty,” one grandmother whispered. “Skin soft as a peach—almost looks edible.”

The man stared at her with an unreadable expression. Then, with a grimace, he jerked his hand free and pressed it to his temple.

“[Damn it… my head’s splitting. Where the hell am I?]”

The startled grandmother began to tear up. Jeong-oh quickly stepped forward, steadying her and pulling her away.

How could he swat her like that? She was an old lady!

Even as Jeong-oh glared, the man was too busy muttering a stream of curses—in English.

She’d thought he was bad news before. Now she was sure of it.

Il-grandma squinted at him. “That’s not Korean coming out of his mouth, is it?”

Yi-grandma snorted. “Sounds like gibberish. He looks Korean, but maybe he’s one of those foreigners?”

No one had an answer. Sam-grandma scanned the room.

“Anyone here know how to speak foreign?”

Her gaze landed on Cheong-seok, slumped in the corner.

“Cheong-seok! You know English, don’t you?”

The poor man jerked upright, startled by all the eyes on him.

“Come on, come talk to him, Cheong-seok!”

“Ah—ah! My brother’s calling! Urgent!”

There was no ringtone. No vibration. Yet he fumbled for his phone, slapped it to his ear, and began babbling.

“Oh, hyung! Yes, yes, I’m at the hospital! Something urgent? Oh dear!”

A transparent lie.

Jeong-oh, knowing full well he’d barely passed middle school and broke into hives at the sight of English, could only click her tongue.

Then Il-grandma smacked Sam-grandma’s back.

“You forgot? That boy barely made it out of school alive!”

“Right! His dad used to beat him half to death for failing every test!”

The old women cackled. Jeong-oh, exasperated, slipped out and called for the doctor. Moments later, the doctor and nurse entered the chaos.

“You said… he’s regained consciousness?”