Chapter 9 

“How is he doctor?” Mr. Kim looked like he aged 20 years in a matter of hours. The proverbial ‘You don’t know what you have got until you lose it’ was hitting him hard. Never in his wildest dream would he have thought that one of his son's might pass away before him. Him and his wife were at the hospital, waiting for some news about Hyunjoong from the doctor. Jaejoong and Tiffany were still at the police station, giving their statements. 

His wife had been crying non-stop since they got the phone call from Jaejoong. He glanced at her, knowing that he should offer her some comfort but couldn't find it in himself to do so, “This is all your fault!” She had accused him, and his wife was right. He was so guilt-ridden. All he could do was hang onto the slim chance that his son would make it and he would be allowed to recompense on how he took his younger son for granted. 

Jaejoong and Tiffany finally got to the hospital. Eunkyhung was now in custody and the police had been able to gather so much evidence against him. 

“Dad, how is he?” Jaejoong was ashen-faced with worry about his brother. 

“We haven’t heard anything yet.” Mr. Kim stared at the wall. 

Torturous hours went by until the doctor finally showed up, “Hyunjoong is going to be fine. The procedure took longer than necessary due to the high alcohol level in his blood. We had to neutralize the alcohol first otherwise we would run into the risk of internal hemorrhaging. That is one lucky boy in there. He is being wheeled to the ICU right now. I'm happy to say that he should regain consciousness in about 3 hours.” 

“Thank you doctor. Can we see him now?” 

“Not right away. Wait a couple more hours before going in.” 

“Dad, mom, why don’t you go home and rest? I will take care of everything here.” Jaejoong said, after thanking the doctor. 

Mrs. Kim was about to protests when Mr. Kim interrupted, “I'm not leaving my son until he wakes up and I see with my own two eyes that he’s going to be alright.” 

“Both of you need some rest. How about we get you a room at the hotel across the street? You can rest up a little bit and then I will come and pick you up in a couple of hours.” 

After all the arrangements were made, the parents settled in at the hotel and filling out countless of paperwork that the hospital required, Jaejoong and Tiffany were finally alone, “Jaejoong Oppa, are you ok?” Jaejoong was leaning back on the couch with his hands over his face. Tiffany crouched in front of him and tenderly caressed his short brown hair, “Oppa?” She prodded softly. 

Jaejoong couldn’t control himself anymore. He pulled Tiffany into his arms and held her tightly, “Fany, I don’t know what I would do if Hyunjoong doesn’t make it.” 

“Shhh, don’t talk like that. Hyunjoong is a fighter, it would take more than a bullet to get him.” Tiffany had been trying to be strong but the scene when the gun went off kept playing in her mind. As if in slow motion, she saw the bullet barely missing Jaejoong and hitting Hyunjoong instead. A couple of inches and it would have been Jaejoong who got shot. 

She clung onto him tightly, “Oppa, what happened made me realize how short life really is. Anything could happen to any of us at anytime. You could have been killed.” Tears started flowing, “And I never would have had a chance to say how sorry I'm for hurting you. Oppa, I want you to know that I have always loved you and always will. There’s never been anyone in my heart except you.” 

“Fany.” Jaejoong's eyes were shinning with tears, “I love you, too.” Shudders went thru him, “When the gun went off, the first thought I had was please don’t let the bullet hit you. I feel so damned guilty now. It got my brother instead.” 

Jaejoong gently pulled Tiffany up until she was cuddled in his arms; he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, his hand absently caressing her long, brownish orange hair that he loved so much. After a few more minutes, the two fell asleep, each gaining comfort and love from each other. 

“Mr. Kim!” The nurse called out urgently. 

Jaejoong and Tiffany were startled awake, “Yes?” 

“The doctor wants to see you.” 

Hand in hand, Jaejoong and Tiffany followed the nurse. She led them outside Hyunjoong's room, “Doctor, what is it? Is Hyunjoong awake?” 

The doctor was shaking his head sadly. Jaejoong unconsciously tightened his hold on Tiffany's hand painfully, cutting off the circulation but she didn’t care; she needed to feel that pain to combat the numbness that was spreading thru her body. 

“I don’t understand. All your brother’s vital signs should be back to normal by now. I know the operation went well and there was no reason for your brother not to recover. It’s almost as if he gave up on life, like there’s nothing for him to come back to.” 

“No.” Jaejoong could barely comprehend what the doctor was trying to tell him, “You are not saying that...that my brother is dying?” Tears were streaming down his cheeks now. 

“Unless by some miracle he decided to come back to us. There is only so much that medical science can do, the rest is up to the patient himself.” 

Tiffany was assigned to inform and fetched Mr. and Mrs. Kim. Jaejoong walked inside his brother’s room. Jaejoong panicked when he saw Hyunjoong's usually vibrant face looking almost lifeless. What if he was already dead? The constant beeping of the heart rate monitor reassured him that his brother hadn't left them yet, “Hyunjoong.” Jaejoong held his brother’s hand. Memories of everything they had shared together, from little boys to adulthood, all the petty quarrels, the good times they had together were coming back in a rush, “Come on kid, you know you are stronger than this. There’s a whole expanse of future and wonderful experiences that are waiting for you. Please don’t leave us like this? Fight, damn it! Don’t give in. I need you, mom needs you and dad needs you. Please Hyunjoong, hang in there?” Jaejoong spoke non-stop. He didn’t care what he was saying anymore, “I still have to show you my favorite place. I finally found the place I have been dreaming off. Would you believe this? It’s in Jeju. I saw a documentary about the place on tv. You have got to see it for yourself.” 

“Jaejoong, how is he doing?” Mr. Kim opened the door. 

“Dad?” Jaejoong forced himself to let go of his brother’s hand and walked towards the door, “The doctor said only one person at a time in here. Did Tiffany tell you what’s happening?” 

“Yeah, she did. Did he show any signs of regaining consciousness while you were in there?” Jaejoong shook his head. 

“I’m going in.” Mr. Kim walked in. He prayed as he had never before prayed in his life. He started telling his son how he loved him and how proud he was of him. He apologized for not treating him well and for not appreciating him before. He begged for his son to come back and to give them another chance to make things right. Then it was Mrs. Kim’s turn. She cried and said how much she loved her baby, telling him that he was her world and finally, Tiffany asked for a chance to be with him, “Hyunjoong Oppa, can you hear me? This is Tiffany. Please come back? You have got all of us worried. We all love you very much.” 

To her amazement, Hyunjoong's hand tightened its grip. He slowly opened his eyes, “Fany? Do you really love me?" Jaejoong had opened the door to let Tiffany know that her time was up with Hyunjoong and he almost jumped with joy when he heard his brother talking to Tiffany but the words spoken stopped him and he remained by the door, silently listening to the conversation. 

“Yes Oppa, I love you. Everyone loves you.” Tiffany answered tearfully. 

Hyunjoong smiled, “As long as you love me. I love you Fany.” 

Jaejoong closed the door quietly and left the two alone, coming to a conclusion of what he should do, knowing it will hurt him but at least he will know that his brother is happy and well.