Joon’s POV

“Joon ah,” my father called my name from across the kitchen counter the next day after lunch. “Where’s your sister? I noticed she was not here for lunch just now.”

I looked up from the book I was reading and glanced around. True enough, our maids had cleared the dishes and Yuri was still not down yet. I sighed. “I don’t know,” I replied. “I think she’s in her room again. I think Mir is with her.”

He nodded and put his newspaper down. “Do you think she would be okay to visit your mother today at the hospital?”

I hesitated, thinking about it. Among all of us, she was the one who took this the hardest.  But then again, she would want to go. I nodded slowly. “I don’t think it’s a smart idea, but she’d want to go,” I told him honestly. “Maybe we should bring Mir along.”

He nodded. “All right. Could you go upstairs and tell them for me, then? We’ll leave in an hour.”

I stood up and went up the stairs to my sister’s room. When I opened the door, I found Yuri and Mir sitting together in bed. Mir had his arms around her and she was talking to him in a quiet voice.

I cleared my throat and they looked up. “Ah, Appa wants to know if you want to see Umma at the hospital today,” I told my sister.

She immediately nodded without hesitation. “Neh, I want to,” she replied. She looked at Mir. “Can you come with me?”

I watched as Mir looked at her, nodding. I saw how his grip on her tightened as he leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers. “For you, I will,” he replied to her solemnly.

She blushed, looking away from his intimidating gaze.

I smiled to myself. It was obvious how much those two lovebirds care for one another. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they end up getting married. It seems to me that if they were given a choice, they would’ve gotten married a long time ago.

“Well, we’re leaving in a hour,” I told them and went back down to leave those two alone in peace.

An hour later, we were on the way to see Umma for the first time after we found out that she has leukemia. I know Yuri was probably nervous. Appa sat in front and I sat in the passenger’s seat while both Mir and Yuri sat behind us.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying through their whispered conversation but I decided that it was not something I should know about and plugged earphones into my ears to listen to music.

Once we reached there, from behind me, I heard Mir saying to Yuri, “It’s okay. It’ll be all right. I’m here for you, Yuri.”

I turned back to see the panicked expression on my sister’s face. She was freaking out. She was scared to see her — scared she might break down and cry in front of us. She was not one to cry in public.

I saw Mir taking Yuri by the hand and it gently with his thumb. “It’ll be all right, you can cry,” he said softly, kissing her face.

Appa and I exchanged glances. He was the only one I know who can calm Yuri down. Even L.Joe couldn’t and didn’t have that authority.

We walked in and Appa led the three of us to where Umma’s room was. She was staying the cancer ward. Yuri stood by the door, suddenly all stiff like she could not move. Mir noticed and decided to stay with her. He motioned for me to go in ahead.

She smiled weakly at us when we entered through the door. “Annyeong, Joon ah. Where is your sister?” she asked.

I looked at her. She looked so weak as I rushed to her side. “She’s outside,” I told her. “Umma, how are you feeling?”

“Yuri is scared to come into my room, isn’t she?” she asked knowingly.

I nodded. “Mir is with her,” I reassured.

She closed her eyes, leaning back down in her pillow. “I like Mir,” she said. “He is good for her. I think he suits her well.”

There was a soft knock on the door and Yuri and Mir entered the room.

Yuri glanced at our mother, taking a deep breath.

Yuri’s POV

After many arguments, Mir managed to convince me to walk into the room to see Umma. I gotta to be honest. I was scared senseless to see her. What if I break down and cry? Mir reassured me I’ll be crying in front of people I know.

That wasn’t . . . exactly reassuring.

I was being stubborn and I knew I was wearing his patience thin but yet he still held back, he was still able to tolerate me. For his sake, I gave in and decided to see my mother.

As I walked through the door, taking a deep breath, my heart was hammering loudly against my chest. Can they hear how loud it was? The sound was ringing loudly in my head. I shook my head to shake that noise off.

“Yuri,” Umma smiled when she saw me walking into the room. “I missed you. How are you, my dear? Are you well?”

Umma looked . . . sick. I mean, yeah, of course she is sick but it was different because it was . . . extremely heartbreaking to see her like that. She suddenly got so thin and fragile like her bones would break if I touch her and her hair was failing.

But I know deep down she was still Umma despite her outward appearance now.

Umma looked at the others. “Could you all possibly let Yuri and I have a private talk, girl-to-girl?” she asked my dad.

Joon steered him and Mir out of the room in haste. “No problem! Call us when you’re done! We’re going to get drinks.” The three of them left the room, leaving us alone for some privacy.

I turned back to Umma.

“Come.” She reached out an arm to me and I ran into her arms without thinking twice. I threw my arms around her neck and I let the waterworks pour down from my eyes.

“Umma, I don’t want to believe it!”

She nodded, hugging me tight in her arms. “I know. It’s okay,” she whispered sympathetically, my hair gently.

“Umma, why didn’t you tell me about it?” I wanted to know through my tears.

She shrugged. “Well, I was hoping for a miracle as I did the surgery in Busan. But when it was clear that I’m not going to make it, I needed to let you know instead of telling you at the last minute.”

“I don’t want you to die!” I wailed.

She my hair. “Baby, I may be gone but I’ll still always be in your heart.”

“Umma, don’t go,” I pleaded a hopeless case. “I need you. Please, don’t go.”

“Sweetie, you know I don’t have a choice.”

“But there must be at least some sort of cute for it, right?” I insisted stubbornly. She’s not going to die. She is going to live. She’s NOT going to die! No, I must stay positive. For her, I must. I MUST.

Umma smiled affectionately at me and just my hair. “Oh, I wish, darling. I wish there was,” Umma sighed.

“Umma . . .”

“Promise me something,” Umma spoke up all of a sudden.

I pulled back to look at her. She seemed serious. “Neh?”

She smiled and cupped my face, tucking a strand of hair behind my left ear. “Mir is a gentleman,” she said. “Guys like him don’t come by very often. And you know I don’t want to put you up for an arranged marriage. I want you to promise me you’ll marry Mir. It’s obvious he is the One for you. He’s better than that Woo Chul boy, I have to be honest.”

I nodded. “Neh, I promise.” I paused. “And I agree with you. Woo Chul is a nice guy and all but Mir is nice too and I can see that he loves me and is not afraid to show it whereas Woo Chul needed to keep it on the down low.”

“I have a sneaky suspicion that he had cheated on you before,” Umma said.

I shrugged. “Now that you mentioned it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.”

She looked at me. “You’re awfully calm about the fact he might have cheated on you,” she observed with a tease.

I blushed. “Well, I’m with Mir now. I’m happy. I love him. He loves me. That’s all that matters.”

“Aigoo, chincha,” Umma gushed. “You two are so adorable.” She reached out to pinch my cheeks like she always do whenever she was feeling mushy and corny about me and Mir.

“Aish, forget I said anything,” I said, swatting away her hands from my face, saving my rosy cheeks from getting any rosier.

The door opened and Mir popped his head through the door. I had a feeling that he was forced by Joon to come disturb us. “Hi,” he said meekly and Umma and I exchanged glances.

We burst out laughing. He looked so cute.

Mir’s eyes went wide in bewilderment, wondering why we were laughing.

“Yes?” I asked him.

“Uh, well, the others and I was wondering if we can come in now?” he asked timidly.

Umma and I laughed again, forgetting about the fact that in the midst of our little girl-to-girl chat, the boys were still outside, waiting for us to finish so they could chat with Umma as well.

I pulled Mir in and he motioned for the others to come in. “Did you guys managed to get drinks?” I asked them with a smile.

Mir held up a can of Coke. “I got one for you too,” he said. He popped the can open before handing it over to me. Ngaaw, he is absolutely the sweetest boyfriend ever! So thoughtful.

From the bed, Umma snickered and my face went red with embarrassment.

Yeesh, mothers.

“So, Umma, when are you allowed to come back home?” Joon wanted to know, sitting on the edge of the bed, careful not to make any sudden movements in case it hurts her.

Appa and Mir sat on the chairs. I looked at Mir and skipped over to him, sitting on his lap and immediately his arms were wrapped around my waist. He nuzzled me gently, kissing my hair. I melted into his arms and he hugged me tight. His hand slipped behind on my back and his fingers crept slowly into my shirt.

“Ahem, no hanky panky while we’re in here,” Joon spoke up, causing us to pull apart slightly, blushing with great embarrassment. “Or anywhere in public, for that matter. It makes us single people jealous and make old people like Umma and Appa sad because you guys remind them of when they were like you.”

Aish, my family is out to get me, aren’t they? Where is the justice?! This is not the reality that I want!

Umma and Appa just laughed while Mir and I were there, blushing furiously.

“So, Umma, you haven’t answered Joon’s question yet,” I pointed out.

My dad grinned at me. “Are you trying to change the subject or what?” he asked.

Aish.

Umma laughed, but decided to humor me. “Well, I guess I could come home in a couple of days’ time,” she replied.

“Yay!” Joon and I cheered.

For the rest of the day, we talked with Umma until she was tired before resolving to go home back home. I stayed with Mir a bit longer and we walked to the park.

“She looked so weak,” I was saying to him as we took a stroll at the park in the cool evening.

He nodded, putting his arms around my shoulders. “I guess there’s nothing much you can do but to just be there for her when she gets home and such,” he told me as we sat down.

I sighed, leaning on him, snuggling up into his warm embrace. “Yeah . . .”

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Heeeeeee. I just wrote the next few chapters. Hahaha! :P

I sound so evil xDD guess I'm just excited for the drama.