The Brothers Kim

The elderly man apologised half-heartedly but continued to glance at Gyuri. "Do my eyes deceive me, Physician Kim?" he enquired. "Correct me if I am mistaken but I believe I see a young miss over there with the face of an angel."

"No, you are not mistaken" Namjoon replied while gently trying to examine his eye. He peered up at Gyuri and saw that she was currently serving noodles to the patients that he had already examined. "That young miss you are seeing is Gyuri. She is my helper for the day."

"Oh," Mr Feng said with fondness. He glanced at her again. "She is a pretty one. Much better than that stubborn lad of yours."

Namjoon chuckled. "Mr Feng, the only stubborn one is you."

"I most certainly am not" the elder huffed. But then his earlier poutiness ebbed away when he saw Gyuri again. With a coy smile, he pried, "Is she a mistress of yours?"

Namjoon quickly corrected him, "No, of course not." He observed his array of vials and bandages as if he was searching for something. "She is a maid in our household."

"Ahh," Mr Feng let out a sound of acknowledgement. "I see. Then, she must be your personal maid."

My personal maid? Namjoon froze and before he knew it, he started thinking, if only she was. With rapid movements, Namjoon shook his head violently to straighten his muddled thoughts. What? W-why did I suddenly think that?

"She- she is not my personal maid" he mumbled.

Mr Feng eyed him curiously. "Oh? Really? That is a shame."

Namjoon forced a smile.

"Are you already attached to someone?"

At this Namjoon was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I have a granddaughter..."

"Mr Feng," Namjoon quickly interrupted, "I am not looking for a wife."

Mr Feng pouted. "I see. But, if you ever change your mind..."

"I will know who to enquire" he finished politely, "thank you, Mr Feng."

Mr Feng hummed in response. He directed his attention to Gyuri again and watched as she smiled at the patients, revealing her pearly teeth. Seeing her candid smile had stirred something in Mr Feng"s foggy memory like a small ember catching light amongst the most incinerated of ashes. He pondered, "She reminds me of someone..."

Namjoon hummed disinterestedly as he finally located what he was looking for. "Who?"

"That female physician."

Namjoon froze.

Mr Feng groaned, "What was her name?" He scratched his head in thought as he continued to mutter, "she was really smart for a woman and—oh!" Mr Feng gasped as he finally remembered. "Her name was—"

"Master Namjoon!"

Catching their attention, Mr Feng and Namjoon glanced up.

On the other side of the room, both men witnessed Gyuri struggling to keep an incredibly touchy patient from groping her. "Master Namjoon!" she screeched again. "Help!"

In one swift motion, Namjoon darted to her rescue with Mr Feng watching from his bed. With a quirked eyebrow, he observed Namjoon"s uncharacteristic behaviour. How strange...

It was the first time he had witnessed Namjoon express an emotion other than the platonic concern that he was accustomed to seeing. As Mr Feng continued to observe Namjoon"s apparent protectiveness, a sly smile crept up his lips as he recognised what it was that he was witnessing. "I see, so that is how it is." With a smug smirk, he uttered under his breath, "No wonder he declined my offer so hurriedly." Mr Feng watched as Namjoon treated Gyuri"s acquired scratches with the utmost care, his hands oh so gently touching hers that one could mistake it as a sign of affection. But while he did so, something else started nagging at the back of his mind. He frowned. "But is he even aware of it?"

With his good eye, Mr Feng observed the pleasant atmosphere blossoming between the couple which only served to confirm his earlier suspicions. He tutted at the realisation. "It seems they have a long way to go before they even realise it." He sighed, "And I thought I was the blind one." He shook his head slowly as he locked his gaze on Namjoon. "You need not search for a wife at all" he mumbled, "for it seems you have already found one."