22

                                    

                                          
"Are you sure they're okay? Maybe I should call-"
Cheol rests his hand on top of hers. "He'll be fine, Huiyeon. I trust that they'll be more responsible watching Seunghan then they were with me."
She raises her eyebrows. "The last thing I need is for my son to be tossed into the pool with Chan and they laugh instead of saving him."
"That'd never happen." He reassures her. 
The door opens and Cheol pulls his hand away. "Okay, Mr. Choi let's have a look. Can you come sit up here?" Cheol gets up and sits down on the examination table. Huiyeon nervously rubs her hands in her lap as the doctor begins checking his knee progress. "Any severe pain resulting in hospital visits in the last month?"
"No." Cheol answers.
"Any numbness? Difficulty moving your feet?"
"No."
"Lay down for me." He follows his instructions. "Any discoloration, problems with blood flow in the leg?"
"No."
"Okay, lets have you sit back up." He helps Cheol sit up and move his legs so that he's sitting over the edge. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad would you rate your pain on an average day with little to no movement. One being I don't feel pain at all and ten being I feel like my leg will explode with the slightest movement."
"Probably a four?"
"Hm... that's not too bad." He nods. "And on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain when going about your day regularly and being active?"
"Probably a six or a seven."
"Okay, that's normal." He nods once again. Huiyeon holds her breath. "And how have you been staying active with your injury?"
"Um, I've just been walking every day."
"Still on your crutches, correct?"
"Yeah, but it's been a lot easier."
"That's a good thing." Huiyeon lets out a sigh of relief. "Okay, Mr. Choi, let's have you come down." He helps him to the chair before taking off his gloves and tossing them into the trash before applying hand sanitizer. "Okay, so his knee is looking good, and is healing a lot faster than normally expected."
Cheol smiles at her before looking back at the doctor. "So, does that mean I can get back on stage?"
"Not exactly." He sits down in a chair in front of them. "You see, it is true that your injury is healing much faster than normal, but the recovery process for an ACL tear is difficult to navigate. It is crucial that you take care of it properly and more importantly it is crucial that you get some rest."
"So, are you telling me I won't be able to perform again?"
"Cheol..." Huiyeon looks at him.
"I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying that with the right care and a good amount of rest, you still have a good chance."
"With all do respect sir, I'd much rather you give it to me straight. Will I or will I not be able to perform again?"
The doctor looks at Huiyeon. "Cheol, he's not saying that you won't be able to dance. He's saying that patience is key during this." He looks up at the doctor who simply nods. "But this is good. Your knee is healing correctly and faster at that. Who knows, you might be able to be on stage in no time, you just have to be patient."
He sighs before nodding. "Okay."
After finishing up their visit and going over a few items of business, they headed home. As Huiyeon drove, she took a few moments here and there to check on him. He quietly leans up against the passenger window, deep in thought.