"Physician Kim!"
Namjoon looked up and saw that it was Yujin calling him. As he hesitantly parted from the window, thoughts of Gyuri's mystery person occupied his mind. "It is only because I am indebted to her," he mumbled to himself. "That is why I am curious. I am only looking out for her." Namjoon's footsteps came to a halt when the unthinkable came to him.
But what if this person is her paramour?
"Ah, Physician Kim!"
Namjoon pushed his thoughts aside as he focused his attention on the grumpy elder.
"Thank goodness you are here! If you had not come sooner, this rascal would have gauged both my eyes out!"
"I was being as gentle as I can!" Yujin retorted haughtily. "How can I check your eyes, Mr Feng, if you don't keep still?"
Namjoon stifled a weary sigh. He had forgotten how the pair were like oil and water. "I will take over now. Thank you, Yujin." He took the scruffy lad's place and the boy gave a sound of relief. "You should go home and tend to your father."
Yujin gave an obedient nod. "Gladly."
"Such a stubborn lad, that one," Mr Feng mumbled once Yujin was out of earshot. "I told him that I wanted the young miss to examine me, but he refused to get her."
"Mr Feng, Yujin is more than capable of doing it if you only just let him." Namjoon carefully tilted the elder's head back. "You should try and be more cooperative."
The elder hmphed. "The fault is that lad's, not mine."
Namjoon hummed, too weary to argue. A frown tugged at his lips as he inspected the pale, grey moon which the elder's pupil encircled. "Are you still having problems with your vision?" he asked.
"Ah, yes," Mr Feng croaked after Namjoon finished examining him. "Nowadays I can only see through my right eye but even then, it is like looking through fog. I am afraid my vision is failing."
Namjoon turned to consult his medical journals. "And this has been persisting since the last time you came to see me?"
"Yes." Mr Feng squinted and noticed Namjoon's expression grow solemn. "What is it?" he asked, growing nervous by the silence. "Is it bad?"
"It is as you fear," Namjoon murmured after a while. "I regret to inform you that the web in your eye is progressively worsening. Your vision is deteriorating at a faster rate than I can stop."
"Oh."
"But I will do what I can to search for a remedy," Namjoon quickly added. "I have not yielded so neither should you."
The elder had a defeated smile. "Your time is valuable so do not waste it trying to find a way to save an old man's eye. Use your time to help someone else, or better still, yourself." He scoffed, "You can start by getting a better helper. That rascal of yours is no good. Too hard-handed and rough, that lad."
Namjoon was about to protest but thought against it. "Yujin shows a lot of promise. If he perseveres, he can become a physician in the future. Maybe he will even find a way to cure you of your ailment."
"That lad?" Mr Feng said in disbelief. "A physician?"
"Why, yes—"
"Pray, if that lad becomes a physician then I will certainly become blind!"
Namjoon chuckled.
"But all jesting aside," Mr Feng said, his voice solemn, "I do hope you are not implying you will leave. You and the sanatorium have been a godsend. Many would not have survived all these years had you not been there to help. What would we do without you?"
"You need not worry. I will be here for as long as I am able. However, I do not know what the future holds. Yujin is my apprentice and protégé. In any case, he will inherit the sanatorium from me when the time comes."
"But why would that rascal take over the sanatorium? Surely you and your future wife will manage the sanatorium together?"
Namjoon was taken aback. "That future… is uncertain."
"Why is it uncertain?" the elder questioned. "If you are looking for a wife, my granddaughter…"
"Mr Feng, again, thank you for your offer but I am not looking for a wife."
Just as Namjoon finished his utterance Mr Feng caught sight of Gyuri. He grinned. "Ah, that is right. How can I forget?"
Seeing the coy smile forming on the elder's lips, Namjoon followed his gaze.
"She has grown prettier since I saw her last," the elder remarked while squinting. "Pray, is the young miss still a maid at your household?"
"Yes," Namjoon distractedly replied. He masked the butterflies in his stomach with an air of indifference. "Gyuri still works for us."
Mr Feng mumbled, "A pity, really. I thought there would have been some development by now…"