I never expected my hospital stay to turn into a medieval comedy special, but here we are.
The tests had taken longer than expected, and as I made my way back, I was stopped in my tracks by an unexpected sight.
There, standing proudly in the middle of a group of elderly patients, was Luke, still in my Granny's floral dress, tucked into a pair of yoga pants (gladly it's not too tight), his neon-pink clogs completing the ridiculous ensemble. As if that weren't bad enough, his hair was still tied up in the little sprout I had made earlier.
And the worst part? He was chatting animatedly with them.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
My brain refused to process what I was seeing.
What is he doing?!
Apparently, while I had been stuck in the examination room, Luke had turned into the hospital's main attraction.
He had roamed the halls looking for me, stopping at every nurse's station to politely inquire about the whereabouts of his "wife, Sena Valenhart."
A six-foot-tall, broad-shouldered man, dressed like someone's grandmother and speaking in a noble, formal tone, of course, it had drawn attention.
Half the staff thought he was a lost actor from a period drama. Others, amused by his composure and regal speech, started to ask if he was an actual prince.
One of the nurses hesitantly asked, "Are you from the UK or US? Some European kingdom? You looked like a Prince who stepped out of a medieval painting,"
Luke, completely oblivious to how few ruling monarchs exist in this world, simply nodded solemnly.
"Yes," he replied smoothly, his noble aura unwavering.
"Oh my goodness," I whispered under my breath, horrified. Technically, he wasn't lying. He was a prince, just not from here.
At this point, a small crowd had gathered. Some were secretly taking pictures, others were recording videos.
And then, Luke, still completely unaware of how bizarre he looked, explained his outfit with full sincerity to an elderly who asked why was he wearing such an outfit.
"This belonged to my wife's grandmother," he declared, his voice rich with noble pride.
"I had no spare garments since I have to bring my wife to the hospital immediately, so I wear this in her honor. It brings joy to my wife, and I was told that laughter is the best medicine. If my attire aids in her recovery, then I shall wear it with pride."
How many times did he just call me his wife again? Seriously, the fragility of my heart rises.
The nurses gave up trying to hold back their laughter. One had to grip the counter for support, and another wiped away tears from giggling too hard. Others were seeing it like romantically as they squealed at what Luke said.
One whispered, "Is he serious?"
Another chuckled, "Oh, he's serious serious."
Somehow, Luke's quest to find me led him straight into a hospital yoga therapy session for elderly patients.
Since he was already dressed like someone's grandma, the instructor invited him to be part of the session.
However, before starting the class, the instructor, who clearly knew Luke was not elderly, decided to let him participate anyway. It was obvious the elderly patients loved his presence, and besides, it wasn't every day a tall, chiseled man in a granny dress would participate in their therapy session.
"You, uh… might want to wear these instead," she suggested, barely holding back her amusement.
Luke looked at the pants, then down at his granny dress, and nodded with complete seriousness then he bowed as though giving thanks. "I see. This is part of the ritual."
A few minutes later, Luke had completely transformed his look.
He tucked the granny dress into the yoga pants, then He pulled the sleeves of the dress inside, making it look more fitted. His neon-pink clogs remained, giving him an absurd contrast of regal posture and ridiculous footwear.
And somehow—somehow—he still managed to look like a runway model.
I was dying.
He's the only one who can pull off something like this outfit. I think whatever outfit he wears, everything will look good on him.
As I stood frozen near the testing area, the yoga session began.
When the instructor told everyone to start with a simple breathing stretch, Luke, thinking this was a combat exercise, dropped into a full defensive stance.
The entire group stared. One elderly man leaned closer and whispered, "Is this… advanced level?"
But then, something even more shocking happened.
When the class moved into more difficult poses, Luke, despite his muscular, broad-shouldered build, executed each movement flawlessly.
While the elderly struggled to touch their toes, Luke bent forward with his palms flat against the floor as if it were nothing.
When they attempted the tree pose, he balanced effortlessly on one leg, looking as steady as a mountain.
And when they transitioned into a deep backbend, he arched so smoothly that the instructor audibly gasped.
One of the elderly men squinted at Luke and muttered, "Are you sure it's his first time? He's cheating. He's gotta be cheating."
An elderly woman reached out and poked his rock-solid bicep. "Young man, you're all muscle. How are you this flexible?"
Luke, completely serious, replied, "Flexibility is key in combat."
The instructor, clearly in awe, smiled, "You're a natural! You should join us regularly."
Treating the invitation as though it were an official royal decree, Luke clasped his hands together and declared, "I accept your invitation to this… warrior's meditation."
I wanted to scream.
The other elderly people clapped, looking at Luke like he was some legendary yoga master. They simply loved him.
Meanwhile, a nurse in the corner was wiping away tears from laughing too hard.
At some point, because of course, it happened, someone filmed everything.
A nurse posted a video of Luke wandering through the hospital, asking nurses where I was, all while looking like a lost noble from a fantasy movie.
Caption: "Lost medieval noble looking for his lady. He's in a granny dress. Someone help him. #MedievalHimbo #HospitalAdventures"
By the time I finally walked over to Luke, my phone was already vibrating with notifications.
Luke was going viral.
As we continued to walk toward my room, almost everyone in the corridor greeted him, may it be a patient, a medical staff, or some random person, their gazes were magnetized to him. All I could feel was anxiety at this point.
Luke nodded graciously at them. "Good day."
To everyone else, he looked like my devoted husband, supporting me gently.
I, on the other hand, was screaming internally.
When we finally reached my hospital room, I threw myself onto the bed. My phone continued to explode with notifications.
My colleagues had flooded my inbox with messages and some even called.
"Sena, is this you???"
"Are you married?!"
"DIRECTOR PARK! IS THIS YOUR HUSBAND?!"
I ignored everything.
And then, it hit me.
Luke needed a phone.
Ever since we returned to Korea, he had been entirely reliant on me for everything that required the internet.
If I wasn't around, he wouldn't even know how to order food.
I groaned and texted I-seo.
[Tell Amiel to grab Luke some clothes. Also, Luke needs a phone. ASAP.]
Then, I turned to Luke. "Wait. Don't you have spare clothes in your infinity storage?"
Luke blinked, as if remembering something. "…Oh. I do."
I waited.
Then he sighed. "But they are… clothes I wore in Valeraine."
I stared in disbelief. "You're telling me that this whole time, you had spare clothes, and you still chose to wear my grandma's dress?"
Luke, completely serious, said, "It brings you joy."
I nearly collapsed.
With a sigh, I picked up my phone and called Myeong.
"Hey. Find a store that sells clothes in US or UK sizes. I need something to fit this six-foot-tall medieval man before I lose my mind."
Myeong didn't even ask. He just burst out laughing after teasingly telling me, [You mean, your Medieval husband?]
So I ended the call immediately. Things were getting out of hand.
And as I sat at my bed, staring at this Granny Dress Prince, I realized something.
Will this man never going to fit into the modern world?
But maybe, I really want him to.
__________
I laughed at all the realization.
From swords to smartphones, Luke was about to enter the modern age, officially.
Then my phone rang again, now, it was a video call from my parents.
I immediately turned the camera to Luke, who was on the couch eating the food I had ordered earlier.
Caught off guard, Luke put down the burger and just waved politely at the screen.
My parents immediately bombarded us with questions about his attire and whether they were the ones in the viral pictures.
[Why is he wearing Omma's d-dress?!]
Mom tried not to laugh while asking about why Luke was wearing Grandma's dress, while Dad on her side was covering his mouth and trying his best not to laugh as well, but their eyes still betrayed them as tears from trying to avoid laughter started to fall.
I groaned, "Mom, can you shut it down or remove Luke's pictures or videos?"
They agreed, but then Mom added.
[Leave it to us, my baby. I already called our tech team to handle it. Well, we already saved copies of the pictures! We'll show them at your wedding as a remembrance of this day.]
I almost fainted.
"That's not what you think—" I started, but before I could explain, Luke suddenly moved closer, his brows furrowed as he squinted at the screen.
He walked to my bedside and looked from me to my phone and back, asking silently, "How are your parents inside this small box?"
Silence followed, and then everyone burst into laughter, even my dad, who rarely laughed.
Luke with his confused look, I mouthed that they could still hear him even though he just whispered his question.
My mom, wiping tears from her eyes, finally exclaimed.
[I really have the best son-in-law! Well, anyway! Wedding preparations have already started! We just need you two to be there!]
"Mom! You haven't asked me if I wanted tha-" I hadn't finished my sentence when Mom hushed me.
[Shh! You promised that if you're almost in your 30s, you will be married, that's why we didn't set up any blind dates for you! Now is your chance!]
Now I recall telling them that promise since they even wanted me to have a family after I graduated. But I managed to convince them that I wanted to do something for myself before thinking of getting married.
At that moment, as Luke continued talking to my parents about the wedding date.
"When?" he asked. "What date?"
I froze.
Wait.
Wasn't this just a kind gesture from Luke as a royal gentleman?
I looked at him and widened my eyes, silently pleading for him to give me my phone back. But he just ignored me and smiled sweetly.
'Really?! Oh, come on! Is he really taking this seriously?' I mumbled silently.
On the other end of the call, my mom clapped in delight.
[Once Sena is discharged, we can have the wedding ceremony! And don't worry, Luke, you don't have to give us a dowry or anything. We're loaded enough! In fact, you don't even have to work! But my baby girl was a different story. We'll give you a share of one of our companies since all the properties under Sena will be yours, too!]
Mom said enthusiastically. I think I have no say in this matter.
Luke nodded, smiling.
But in my mind, I knew he absolutely had no idea what a company was or he took it literally like a friend or companion.
I tried to stop them from talking, but they ignored me.
[Recover quickly, dear! And Luke, make sure Sena finishes all her tests! We want her in perfect health for the wedding!]
My entire face turned red.
I immediately grabbed my phone and ended the call.
I knew my mom would never joke about preparing a wedding extravaganza, yet it was odd that Luke was so willingly agreeing to everything my parents were babbling. Was he truly serious about this, or was he just trying to make my parents feel better?
My heart pounded with anxiety—am I really about to be married? Even without my fever, I could sense that the chaos might bring it back. I had expected the hospital to be a quiet refuge, but instead, it had become a stage for absurdity and unexpected joy.
Somehow, amidst the madness, I felt strangely happy. I rarely end up in hospitals, usually only accompanied by Grandma Hyejin, but now, here I was with this medieval man, about to be married to him. With his attitude, plus his looks, this is already a package deal from heaven, literally.
The moment I ended the call, I barely had time to recover when the door to my hospital room slammed open.
Myeong burst in, arms overloaded with shopping bags, looking like he had just run a marathon fueled by pure gossip.
The second his eyes landed on me, he dropped everything onto the floor with a dramatic thud and sprinted to my bedside.
Without warning, he gripped my arms, shaking me slightly, his face an unreadable mix of betrayal, excitement, and pure chaos.
"Director Park! I thought it wasn't true?! You even denied he was your boyfriend, but you were right! All this time, he was your husband! It makes sense, though I am still surprised! Why didn't you tell me?! I hatechu! That's why you were on his lap during the call, huh?!"
Myeong's words came out in one long breathless rant, his eyes wide, voice rising in hysteria.
My entire soul left my body.
"I WAS NOT ON HIS LAP!" I immediately protested, but my crumbling dignity was already beyond saving.
As if this couldn't get any worse, Luke, still standing there looking like a medieval model trapped in a granny's wardrobe, tilted his head slightly. His hazel-brown eyes narrowed as he repeated the word very slowly.
"Lap?"
He looked at me. Then at Myeong. Then back at me.
I felt my soul leaving for the second time.
"Nope. Nope. We're not doing this," I muttered before snapping my gaze to Luke.
"Go take a bath. Now."
Luke looked at me, then at Myeong, and then back at me again, as if trying to decipher some deep, mysterious puzzle.
Then, after a long pause, he nodded, as if he had reached a profound understanding of modern social etiquette.
"I shall return," he declared, with all the seriousness of a knight heading into battle.
Then, with perfect posture and regal air, he picked up the fresh set of clothes Myeong had brought and walked towards the bathroom.
The door clicked shut behind him.
And that was the moment I rested my entire body on my hospital bed.
I grabbed the extra pillow and put it on my face.
Myeong who was at my bedside, stood up while putting both his hands on his waist, like I was about to be scolded by my Mom.
"YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING!"
I groaned, muffled by the pillow, wondering how my life had spiraled into this chaos.
I was beginning to realize something very, very important.
From swords to smartphones, huh?
I laughed.
Because Luke Valenhart was getting his personal phone.
And, apparently, a wedding.