Chapter 11 

 

"The contractions were coming pretty regularly, Mr. Jung." Dr. Hyun told him, as they stood in the private family room of Seoul National University hospital. 

 

Yunho's fingers contracted and released at his sides. All he could think about on the ride to the hospital was what would happened if Yuri lost this baby. He would be devastated and she would most likely blame him. Hell, he blame himself. Hadn't he been reading about the effects of stressed on a pregnancy, especially in the first trimester? He should have known better. He should have been more focused on meeting her every need instead of clenching the deal with Myung. 

 

'No.' Yunho thought, as if light had just begun to dawn on his world. He should have been paying more attention to Yuri and her needs all along. 

 

She had been telling him, over and over, what she wanted, what she needed but he hadn't been listening. He had been too busy building his business, making his marked. Now, if Yuri lost their child and he lost Yuri, neither the business nor his marked would mean a damn thing. 

 

"We have put her on fluids and one dose of terbutaline every four hours." Dr. Hyun continued. 

 

"What's that?" Taehee asked. She and Jihoon had followed Yunho out of the office and when Yunho realized he hadn't called his driver for a ride, he told them what was going on. Taehee had drove liked a madwoman to get there. 

 

"It's a medication to stopped the contractions. Mrs. Jung seems to be responding to it well but she's not out of the woods yet." 

 

"What do you mean? If the medication is working then what's the problem now?" Yunho asked, and felt Taehee's steadying hand on his shoulder. 

 

"Your wife is still early in the pregnancy, Mr. Jung. For the past month or so, she's been complaining of cramping and generally not feeling well. I have been watching her carefully and I'm afraid that if she continued on this path, she may be restricted to bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. It might be the only way to save the fetus." Yunho sank into the closest chair. Taehee quickly came to his side and took his hand, "Yuri is a strong woman, Yunho. She and the baby are going to be just fine." 

 

Yunho heard his sister-in-law's words along with the small measure of doubt she tried to hide. 

 

He looked up at the doctor, "How do I fixed this?" 

 

"Part of the fixed is the medication. Another part, the most important part, is that she remained stressed free. That whatever has been upsetting her for these past few weeks is resolved." Dr. Hyun looked from Taehee to Yunho, "Mrs. Jung hasn't shared her personal life with me but I have seen enough pregnant women to know when one is stressed out. Stressed isn't good for the mother or the baby. She could developed high blood pressure and that could severely injured the fetus. Or worse, she could go into premature labor. I know that she works with children and that might be a bit on the stressful side as well. All I'm saying to you is that she needs lots of rest and lots of calm at this point." 

 

The doctor left the room and Yunho buried his face in his hands, "I can't lose her." He sighed, "And we can't lose this baby." 

 

They seem liked only words but meant so much more. His heart was hammering in his chest, his temples throbbing. Each breath he took was a labor of the loved he fear he might be losing. How could he have been so smart and yet so stupid? Hadn't his dad always put family first? No way would Yanghyun have let this happened to his wife, his future. 

 

"You won't." Jihoon said, speaking for the first time since they arrived, "Because you are going to dropped everything else and take care of your wife." 

 

His words were spoken with such strength and conviction that Yunho had to looked up at his older brother who sounded so much liked his dad. 

 

"Now, pulled yourself together and go in that room and assured your wife that she and your child are going to be fine." 

 

"He's right." Taehee added, "Yuri needs you now more than ever Yunho." 

 

"But she doesn't want me Taehee." That was the first time Yunho had verbalized his greatest fear, "She left me, not once but twice. She doesn't want me in her life and by being so stubborn and selfish, I have endangered our child. I should have just let her go." 

 

"You don't mean that." Taehee said, "Don't even go there. You aren't a quitter. You loved Yuri and I'm certain that she still loves you. You are damn right to stayed and fight for her." 

 

Dropping his head, Yunho heard the words Taehee was saying. He also heard another voice, from the man who had been his mentor and biggest supporter. Yanghyun Jung didn't tolerate quitting and he was a stickler for a man owning up to his mistakes. Yunho admitted he had made numerous mistakes where Yuri was concerned. He had taken her for granted, first and foremost. Never had he thought his wife would leave him. Not just his wife but the woman he loved with all his heart, the woman he knew was his soulmate. 

 

Business had been his priority for so long, it came second only to breathing. Now, with Yuri lying in the hospital and their baby's life in peril, even breathing didn't come easily. 

 

Leaning forward, Yunho rested his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his hands. This wasn't how life was supposed to turned out. It wasn't the future he had envision. Clearly, his plans had been completely wrong and it was past time to right them. He had spent the bulk of his life trying to impressed his dad, trying to be the man he thought his dad would want him to be but he had been going about it all wrong, this wasn't what his dad would have wanted for him. Ironically, for the first time in months, Yunho was relieved that his dad wasn't here to see the messed he had made. 

 

"I will make you proud. I will be what you wanted me to be, live the way you wanted me to live." Yunho remembered saying those words as he had been the last one standing at his dad's graveside. He had made Yanghyun a promised and he had be damn if he had let him down now. 

 

Yunho walked into the room, hearing first the slow murmured of a machine to the right of the bed. Yuri looked pale and lost beneath the voluminous white blankets that covered her, moving as quickly as he could while keeping his gazed on her closed lids. His eyes stung with unshed tears as the full weight of what was going on in his life hit him. Four months ago, he had lost his dad and six months before that, he had almost lost his wife. Through it all, he had continued to worked as if that was his only saving grace but YJ Investments, Inc. hadn't saved a damn thing. He was still grieving for his dad and still messing things up with his wife. It was time to put an end to this cycle, to bring some kind of balance back into his life and it starts now. 

 

He took Yuri's hand in his, rubbing his fingers over hers and stopped when he realized she wasn't wearing her 18K white gold petite twisted win diamond wedding ring. His chest clenched as the weight of that hit him. She had given up on their marriage. Given up on him. 

 

"I told them not to disturbed you." She whispered weakly. 

 

Yunho swallowed before speaking, looking at her, seeing how tired she now appeared, "Informing me that my wife is in the hospital isnt disturbing me." 

 

"I knew you were at worked." 

 

"It doesn't matter where I was. If you or our child are in dangered, I want to know." 

 

She pulled her hand away from his, "The doctor says it's better now. I just have to take this medication for another day or so." 

 

"Why didn't you tell me you were in pain?" 

 

"When was I supposed to tell you? When you came home and slipped into bed while I was asleep?" She didn't try to hide the heat of her words nor their semblance of truth. Yunho didn't blame her. 

 

"You don't want to tell me." 

 

Taking in a deep breath, Yuri looked away from him, "I just wanted it to go away. I want this baby so much, Yunho Oppa. The thought of something happening to this child is just too much. I don't know what I will do if..." "Shhh." He said, putting a finger to her lips, "Don't think liked that. You won't have to do anything because you and our baby are going to be just fine." 

 

"You don't know that." She said, turning her head again. 

 

"I know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make it so." 

 

"And now you think that's enough?" 

 

There was so much he could have said to her. They could have talked about this, rehashed their situation and blame each other for the next three to four hours but that would only make things worse and Yunho wasn't about to do that. 

 

"What I think is that we both need to focused on our child, on what we need to do to secured its health." 

 

"That's easy. You need to go on with your business and I will tend to this pregnancy. We need to stayed apart. Being with you is just too much for me right now." 

 

Yunho heard her words and knew their truth. He heard her hurt and knew her pain. For as much as he wanted to insists that she come back to the penthouse with him, that he took care of her and make things right between them, he recognized what he must do. Yuri's happiness and well-being meant more to him than anything else in this world. More than Myung and his business. More than his need to have his wife in bed with him every night and so, with great heaviness in his heart, he said, "I understand but I still loved you and I want this child more than you will ever know. I will give you your space but you can't expect me to stopped caring, to not want updates on you and the baby." 

 

"No." She said, as tears slipped slowly down her cheeks, "I don't expect you to do that." 

 

Behind him, the door opened and Yunho heard Yuri's mom coming in. 

 

"Oh, Yuri. Are you alright? I was so worried on the way over here." She said, "Hi Yunho. Have you spoken to the doctor?" 

 

Yunho slipped his hands into his pockets and looked over at Mrs. Kwon. He had known and respected her for years. He could only imagined what she thought of him now. 

 

"Yes, I have spoken to her. She says that Yuri's stabilizing but she needs plenty of rest and to keep the stressed to a minimum." As he said the last words, he looked down once again, at his wife, "On that note, I'm going to give you some time alone with your mom." 

 

He traced a finger along the last tear that had fallen from her eyes, wiping it away, "But I will be back in the morning." 

 

When she didn't respond, Yunho moved acrossed the room. He stopped and kissed Mrs. Kwon on her cheek, "It was good seeing you and don't worry, I'm going to fixed this." 

 

The next morning, Yunho woke up later than usual. His alarm clock had gone off, jolting him out of bed as if the house was on fire. He had cursed, picked it up from the nightstand and hurled it acrossed the room. Falling back onto his pillow, he dropped an arm over his eyes and went back to sleep. He felt more tired than he ever had in his life. As if there weren't enough hours in the day for him to rest. 

 

In the last hour, he had only laid in bed, thinking over the event of last night. His wife was in the hospital, his baby in dangered and it was his fault. That had been a big pill to swallow but he had never been one to hide from his mistake. He could be held accountable and would make amends. Yuri had accused him before of taking her for granted, of ignoring her and their marriage. Now, he could see how she had come to that conclusion. 

 

He now remembered that she had often asked if he wanted to start a family with her. He had never given her a straight answered even though having a family was one of his many goals. Admittedly, he had wanted to wait a few more years but at this very moment, he couldn't figured out the reason for that decision. He loved Yuri. He wanted her to have his children and for them to be a complete family. Groaning, he realized he had taken too long to tell her that. Now, she was sick and while he wasn't a doctor, Yunho knew what he needed to do to helped make her better. 

 

It was after eight in the morning when he finally climbed out of bed and stumbled into the shower. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he sat on the edge of his bed and picked up the phone. His first called was to the labor and delivery unit at Seoul National University hospital. After speaking with the nurse and obtaining an update on Yuri's condition, he dialed his office. 

 

"Morning Hyoyeon." 

 

"Mr. Jung, I have been calling your cell phone all morning. Mr. Myung has called twice and needs to speak to you immediately. He actually wanted to set up a meeting this morning but I wasn't sure of your schedule since I heard about Mrs. Jung being admitted to the hospital. How is she and the baby?" 

 

"Slow down Hyoyeon." He said, "First off, Yuri and the baby are stable this morning. I'm going to be heading over to the hospital within the hour. Second, called Kim Jongdae. His number is in my rolodex. Jongdae is familiar with my plans for Myung. Tell him I need him to meet with Myung today and get him settle. I will called Jongdae later to brief him since I want him to handle Myung from here on out." 

 

"You are giving Myung's account to someone else?" 

 

Yunho heard the astonishment in his assistant's voice and couldn't blame her. In the years since he had started the company, he had worked on every account personally from start to finished. He had additional brokers on staff but used them solely to handle mundane task. That was going to change, "I'm delegating responsibilities. Once Yuri is settle at home, you and I are going to meet to see which brokers are better suited for which accountants. We are going to restructured YJ Investments, Inc." 

 

"Ok. I will called Mr. Kim and I will take care of setting up a meeting with Mr. Myung. Are you going to called him personally? You know how he's going to freak out about this change." 

 

"Don't worry, I will handle Myung. If he doesn't want to go along with this change then he can take his money elsewhere." Even to his own ear, the words sounded foreign but Yunho had made up his mind. Today was a new day, a new beginning for him and his family. 

 

Yunho went to see Yuri. She looked a little more rested and was eating breakfast when he arrived at the hospital. She hadn't been thrilled to see him but she had seem to accept that he was there and that he was concerned. 

 

"How did you sleep?" He asked, knowing that she liked a lot of pillows. There were two pillows behind her head but they looked flat and uncomfortable. 

 

She shifted a bit, being careful to keep the sheet tucked under her arms as she did, "As well as can be expected." 

 

"I can bring you some pillows if you want and maybe another blanket. This sheet is terribly thin and they have the air-conditioning up so high it feels liked a refrigerator in here." 

 

The cornered of turned upward in a tiny smiled, "The coolness keeps everything sterile." 

 

"And have you freezing your off in the processed?" He quipped, "So I will bring you another blanket and some pillows later today." 

 

"Thank you, but you really don't have to bother." 

 

"It's not a bother Yul." It really wasn't but he knew it was hard for her to believe that. 

 

They were quiet for a few minutes. The only sound in the room was the blood pressure machine that went off every twenty minutes or so and the fetal monitor that had a steady humming sound. 

 

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the fetal monitor. He knew what it was, just not exactly what it did. 

 

Yuri turned in that direction, "It monitors my contractions and the baby's heart rate." 

 

"Really?" He asked, circling the bed until he was standing in front of the machine then he picked up the stripped of paper that empty out of it at a steady pace. 

 

"The top line is the baby's heart rate and the bottom shows the contractions." 

 

Yunho watched as the tiny needle moved up and down on the paper. The baby's heart rate was patterned, not too high and not too low but not a perfect line either. As for her contractions, it looked liked small peaks and valleys coming at a measure duration. 

 

"How do you know how far apart they are?" He asked. 

 

Yuri shrugged, "I'm not sure." 

 

He watched as the line on the bottom went up a little higher. His eyes shot on Yuri's, "Are you in pain?" 

 

She shook her head, "No, I'm pretty comfortable right now." 

 

They both looked up as the door opened and Dr. Hyun entered. 

 

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Jung. How are you two this morning?" The older woman was quite chipper, Yunho noted. She also wasn't alone. As the doctor entered so did a nurse, pushing in front of her machine with lots of cords. Yunho's heart beat quickly. What was going on? 

 

"We are doing just fine this morning but what's with the machine?" Yunho asked defensively. 

 

"We are going to performed a sonogram. I want to take the baby's measurements and make sure there's enough fluid around it. I have been watching the fetal stripped and the contractions have all but stopped." 

 

"But I just saw something." He interrupted. 

 

"Yeah, I saw that, too. I figured Mrs. Jung had moved or coughed or something liked that to alter the monitor. The interruption isn't consistent with a contraction." 

 

Yunho nodded, thankful Yuri appeared to be getting better. 

 

"I want to keep her on bed rest for another day or so and then maybe we will let her go home but only if she promised to rest as much as possible." 

 

"She will." Yunho said immediately. 

 

Yuri gave him a scathing looked, "Yes, I will rest doctor but can I go back to worked?" 

 

Dr. Hyun shook her head. She had put on her wire-frame glasses and was now staring at the fetal strips that Yunho had just looked at, "Probably not for another week or so. I don't want you overdoing it too soon." 

 

Yunho didn't want Yuri to returned to worked. He wanted her home, taking care of herself and their child but he knew better than to say that. The looked she had given him for answering for her a few seconds ago had warned him enough. 

 

"Do you think I should just take the rest of the school year off?" Yuri asked. 

 

Yunho was surprised but still didn't speak. 

 

"I will let you know after the sonogram. Chaerin, are we ready?" 

 

The nurse with the long black ponytail hanging down her back nodded and moved to pulled down the sheets Yuri had tucked so securely beneath her arms, "We are ready." She said. 

 

"Now, Mrs. Jung, I'm just going to removed the belts for the fetal monitor for the time being. I will put them back on after we are finished." Chaerin said. 

 

Yuri nodded. Her hair was pushed back from her forehead and she looked a little pale. She was probably nervous. Yeah, she had just began to gnawed on her bottom lips. Yunho moved a little closer to the bed. To his wife. 

 

"Now." Chaerin was saying as she lifted a tube from a rack on the side of the machine, "This is going to be a little cool." She squirted. 

 

Yuri jumped, "A little cool is an understatement." She said, and shivered. 

 

Yunho couldn't hold back any longer. He reached for her hand, taking it soundly in his. To his extreme pleasure, Yuri didn't try to pulled away. Once the gooey substance was smeared over Yuri's stomach, Chaerin handed Dr. Hyun a probe. She immediately touched it to Yuri's stomach and looked at the monitor on top of the machine. Yunho looked down at Yuri. She quickly looked away from him to the monitor. Following suit, he also looked at the monitor but had no clue what he was seeing. The screen was black with a cone-shape centered in a grainy shade of gray. In the middle of the gray was another black area but this area had some shaky-looking movements. Dr. Hyun began to speak in measurements while Chaerin clicked on the small keyboard beneath the monitor. Yuri's fingers trembled and Yunho instinctively brought them to his lips, kissing each one until she still. Momentarily, he pulled his gazed from the screen to looked at her. She looked at him almost shyly and he continued to rubbed her hand with his. 

 

"Here's the head." Yunho heard Dr. Hyun say. He immediately looked back at the screen. 

 

"Where?" He asked. 

 

"Here." Dr. Hyun said, and pointed to the screen with her free hand. 

 

"Well, I will be damn." Yunho whispered, as he made out the almost oblong shape. That was his child's head, 'Amazing.' He thought. 

 

"And looked, here's a hand." 

 

Yuri gasped, "It is! It is! Oppa, looked at the hand!" 

 

Yunho couldn't hide his smiled, "I see it." 

 

"Here are the heart and kidneys. Everything looks really good." Dr. Hyun continued, but Yunho wasn't really focusing on what the doctor was saying. His eyes was glued to the screen, watching this tiny life that he had helped create. Now, his fingers were the ones trembling until Yuri reached over, touching her hand to the top of his. 

 

"Turned the machine up." Dr. Hyun told Chaerin, "Let's have a listened to the heart rate." 

 

In the next instant, the room was filled with a sound that was fast and rhythmic, almost liked a locomotive engine. Yunho was instantly concerned, "It's too fast." He said. 

 

Dr. Hyun chuckled, "No, Mr. Jung, it's actually perfect." 

 

And as Yunho continued to listened, to hear the heartbeat that outran his, yet matched when he thought of his and Yuri's together, it tore something in his chest. He was going to be a dad. On the screen was a picture of his child. Inside the woman that he loved so much, was a baby, growing and waiting. Waiting on him to be the man he needed to be. 

 

Yuri cried as she watched the screen and Yunho leaned forward, kissing away the first tear as it trickled down her cheek. A short while later, Yunho left Yuri's room with even more hope that things would be better between them. Yunho had a vicious headache. It wasn't even noon but already he had heard the sound of his child's heartbeat and now he had a massive headache. He was back at the penthouse after a two-hour phone conference with Myung. His newest client was in no way please that Yunho was handing him off to an associate broker in his firm but Yunho wasn't budging. After an hour and a half of assuring Myung that Jongdae Kim would do the job well, he had finally given Myung an ultimatum: he could worked with Jongdae or he could take his money and have someone else invest it. 

 

A month ago, no a week ago, Yunho wouldn't have dare say such a thing but then, a week ago, his wife hadn't almost lost their child due to his neglect. That was a road he had rather not travel again, ever. 

 

With that said, Myung had immediately calm down, asking questions about Jongdae's education and track record. Jongdae was one of Yunho's brightest protégés, Yunho wouldn't have given him the account otherwise. He had even agreed to have dinner one night next week with Jongdae and Myung to assured the change went over smoothly. Myung wanted to have the dinner tonight but Yunho had other priorities. 

 

He had just come from the bathroom where he had swallow two aspirins when the doorbell rang. He answered it and was a little thrown when the neatly dressed man asked him his name. He gave it and accepted the enveloped that the man extended to him. Closing the door, he opened the enveloped, praying it wasn't another worked issued. He hadn't realized how difficult it was going to be to scale back to his worked hours. He was heading to the kitchen to fixed himself a sandwich then he had to leave for another appointment. As he did, he scanned the papers he had pulled out of the enveloped. 

 

He stopped cold as he read the bold print title: Complaint for Absolute Divorced. 

 

---

 

A/N: New fanfiction starring Ji Chang Wook and Im Yoona coming up tomorrow 

 

- Butt3rflyl0v3r ♡