Chapter 21
“Is sister-in-law okay?” Donghae discreetly asked Eunhyuk as they watched the mentioned girl tuck Kyuhyun’s sleeping and immobile form under the pristinely white hospital blanket.

A week and a half after the operation, the doctors deemed that it would be better if Kyuhyun was transferred to a hospital in Seoul as they would have better facilities over there and he would get better care. This being decided, he was immediately driven to a hospital in Seoul, where Jin Ri was now making sure that he looked comfortable and that his room was cozy.

Eunhyuk bit the inside of his lip as Jin Ri moved around the room, making sure that things were organized and that everything was clean. Since the early morning where he found her crying on the floor in Kyuhyun’s room, he hadn’t seen her cry anymore. In fact, aside from him, no one had seen her sobbing, like they all thought she would be doing when she found out about his condition. It was all something they’re wondering and was deeply worried about. Jin Ri was someone who always expressed her emotions well.

“She’s fine,” Eunhyuk confidently told his friend. He didn’t really need to say otherwise because he knew that they all knew whether she was okay or not, despite the absence of tears. But he wished she didn’t have to put up such a mask in front of them.

The hospital door opened and Na Young walked in, tummy very much round and visible. She greeted Donghae and Eunhyuk with a hug before the two boys quietly walked out of the room to leave them to talk to each other.

“Hey,” Na Young greeted Jin Ri, who smiled and gave her a hug.

“It’s nice that you’re here,” Jin Ri sincerely told her. She pulled her deeper into the room and made her sit on the chair beside Kyuhyun’s bed. “He would be happy to know that you visited.”

Na Young smiled, although it felt like crying would be more appropriate. Her eyes traveled through Kyuhyun’s face, where tubes were stuck in his mouth, as well as a mask covering it, then to the machine beeping beside him. She then turned towards Jin Ri, who was just watching her the whole time.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit in Incheon,” Na Young apologized.

“Totally understandable,” Jin Ri stated dismissively. “You can’t travel so far. You’re pregnant.”

Na Young gave her a knowing smile. “So are you.”

Jin Ri’s smile widened and her eyes twinkled with obvious joy at the thought. “Yes, I am,” she confirmed, lightly rubbing her tummy. “What is your first child going to be?” she then asked, glancing at Na Young bulging stomach.

“We don’t know,” Na Young answered, shaking her head. “We’ve decided we’d just find out when I give birth. We want to be surprised.”

Jin Ri smiled and nodded in understanding. “I’m hoping ours will be a boy,” she replied. “Kyuhyun would like a boy as our firstborn.”

“He just wants to have a boy because then he’d have someone to play Starcraft with him when his hyungs refuse to,” Na Young commented, rolling her eyes as she chuckled.

“I can just imagine him bullying our son as they play,” Jin Ri added, laughing as well.

“The perfect father,” Na Young established with a dip of sarcasm.

Jin Ri’s smile turned wistful and her eyes turned misty as her gaze drifted over to Kyuhyun’s form. She couldn’t help but think about their dreams and plans together. Although it’s too early to be thinking so negatively, she wondered how she would be able to live, if she could live, without him by her side. He was her strength. He was what made her be. He was what she lived for. He was why she loved. And if he was gone… she really didn’t know what she would do or if she would be able to do anything again.

“I’m sorry, Jin Ri,” Na Young softly said.

Jin Ri shook her head and smiled, turning to her. “Kyuhyun’s always been awkward and clumsy. He’s always getting himself into these things and he always pulls through,” she relayed. She then quietly sighed and reached out to pat his thigh. “Always,” she repeated in a firmer manner.

~ * ~

“Is there a reason as to why you’re here?” Taeyeon demanded, her arms crossed on her chest. She ignored Seohyun’s quiet pleas behind her to calm down.

Keiji shifted in his stance and glanced at the closed door of what he knew was Kyuhyun’s room. As soon as he found out that he had been transferred to a hospital in Seoul, he immediately took time off to go and visit. He turned his attention back to the livid SNSD leader standing in front of him and frowned.

“Kyuhyun’s my friend, too,” Keiji quietly muttered.

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes at him and bit her lip, instead of saying all the things she was thinking. She would have sounded accusatory and she didn’t want to be as such, considering Seohyun was there and because she didn’t have any proof. Not yet, anyway.

“I’m going to ignore that,” Taeyeon said. “But you can’t go and see him. Not even Jin Ri,” she added when he opened his mouth to protest.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Keiji began just as Donghae and Eunhyuk came back from the canteen and just as Na Young stepped out of the room. “But I would have you know that I didn’t have anything to do with this.”

“No one said anything,” Taeyeon innocently stated.

Donghae gave Taeyeon a meaningful look before taking over the conversation. “Why would you feel the need to explain yourself?” he then asked. “Unless, the thought of stabbing Kyuhyun has crossed your mind.” Everyone flinched at the statement, including Keiji.

“Because Heechul-ssi came to talk to me,” Keiji told all of them. Taeyeon, Donghae and Eunhyuk all exchanged surprised looks. “He told me that if I had anything to do with what happened with Kyuhyun in the airport I would pay for it.” He looked at Taeyeon. “I was angry at Kyuhyun for the way he’s hurt Jin Ri, for cheating on her, but I would never… Kyuhyun’s my friend, too. Maybe not anymore, but he was my friend once,” he repeated more solemnly.

“But Tiffany unnie said—,” Seohyun began to say, but cut herself off, controlling herself. She wasn’t one to hurriedly lay blame on people.

“I know what I said,” Keiji amended. “It was a rash comment. I would never kill Kyuhyun or even attempt to.” He shifted uncomfortably at the statement. “I’m sorry for saying that,” he mumbled.

“I don’t believe you,” Taeyeon grounded out, biting her lip to keep from lashing out at him in a much harsher way than she intended. “You tried to break them up and that’s practically the same as what had happened to Kyuhyun oppa at the airport. When Ri finds out…”

Keiji’s gaze snapped towards her in panic. He knew that Jin Ri would never forgive him when she finds out about what she did. The thought of her finding out soon scared him. It meant that she was going to lose her forever.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Eunhyuk lightly told Taeyeon and Donghae. He looked at Keiji, as if assessing him. Keiji wasn’t his favorite person in the world, not after what he had done to Jin Ri and Kyuhyun’s marriage, but he didn’t seem like the type who would ever try to kill anyone. At least to him. “Maybe you can just help us in finding out who could have done this. Help yourself in proving your innocence,” Eunhyuk then said, trying to ease him out of the scrutiny that everyone was giving him.

“It could easily have been anyone,” Keiji said at once, looking a bit relieved.

“That really doesn’t help because it’s what we already know and it’s what’s most bothering about this,” Donghae muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Someone should have seen something,” Seohyun supplied hopefully. “I mean, there should be fancams or things like that. The fans who were there would eventually send a video or some photos of what happened.”

Eunhyuk bit his lip in an effort to stop himself from crying, which he almost did when Donghae grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He knew what that meant. It meant that he wished that even just one of them had seen something.

~ * ~

Jin Ri stood in the middle of the room and looked at the door. It took quite a while, but once she was sure that no one was going to come into the room, she walked towards Kyuhyun’s bed and pulled the blankets up on the left side and laid herself down beside her husband. She sighed in contentment as she cuddled towards him, careful as to not pull any of the tubes connected to him.

Closing her eyes, she savored being beside him, being so near him. It was during these times, when everyone had already gone and visits had stopped, that she liked the most. She was able to be with Kyuhyun and he was able to be with her. Just like they had always been ever since they got married.

“Hi seobang,” she greeted him in almost a whisper, looking at his side profile.

She had asked the doctor on what she could possibly do, even in the smallest of ways, to help him get better. The doctor had mentioned that talking to comatose patients created some miracles. And she had looked it up. Comatose patients may seem like vegetables, not able to do anything, not even open their eyes. But studies had been written, showing that hearing is the last of the senses to go when a person becomes unconscious. There had also been reports that after a comatose patient had regained consciousness they are able to remember things that have been said to them or what they heard while they were unconscious. This was the small shred of hope that she was looking for when she first found out and she was going to hold onto it with everything that she had.

Gently, she reached out and placed a hand on his chest. “It’s been another long day for you,” she continued. “So many visitors.” She smiled a little, thinking back at all the well wishes of all the family and friends who continued to visit day in and day out.

“Heechul oppa was here again today. He and Kibum oppa stayed the whole morning and played Starcraft on their laptops. They brought yours along because they knew you didn’t like being left out in a game,” she shared, chuckling a little. Heechul and Kibum’s grunts and cries of victory and demise made her smile. It reminded her of all the times that Kyuhyun spent gaming back when they were still friends, while they were dating and even when they finally got married.

“Henry brought his violin and played for a bit,” she continued on, her smile growing wider. The real magnae of the group had been so cute coming into the room with violin in hand. The looks on the other members’ faces that were there when he arrived were a mixture of surprise, amusement and plain horror. Because, apparently, despite Henry being good at violin, not all of the members were fans of it. “He’s really so good,” she told him. “I wish he would be given the chance to share his musical talents more. One number during a concert isn’t sufficient. It doesn’t even show an ounce of what he can do.” She leaned her head back at bit to get a better look at him. “You agree, right?” She smiled. “I know you do. You love Henry even though you keep on complaining that he’s usurping you as the magnae.”

“I think Ryeowook oppa was jealous that he didn’t think of playing you something,” she then went on, giggling. “But he couldn’t very well bring his piano here. When Shindong oppa teasingly reminded him of this, he just pouted the entire time.” Laughing, she exclaimed, “He was so cute!” Suddenly sobering up, she kissed his left shoulder. “But, of course, you’re cuter.”

“All the members came by,” she told him, nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder. “I don't know why you're so mean to your hyungs and to Henry. They’re all such balls of sunshine. Hyukjae oppa and Donghae oppa even had a mini dance off. But they stopped almost immediately because the nurses came in, hearing the loud music. They would’ve been banned from ever coming to visit you again if it weren’t for Siwon oppa charming them—I didn’t know he could be such a charmer!”

She shifted in her position and slowly entwined their fingers together, making sure that she folded each of his so that he was holding her hand as well.

The times when she and Kyuhyun were still dating came back to her. She remembered the times when they called each other every free time that they got, talking about anything in the world, even nonsensical things such as how toothbrush should be invented with toothpaste automatically coming out as soon as you were to brush your teeth. It made her smile as it reminded her of how lovely his smile was, albeit dorky and sometimes awkward. It was a smile that made fangirls worldwide swoon. Coupled with other members’ smiles, like Zhoumi’s, it could be deadly.

“You know, Mimi hasn’t been around as the other members have been,” she thoughtfully said. She sighed and frowned. “I think I know why. But he shouldn’t have to feel guilty about anything. We both know that he would do anything to protect you. I know he knows that you know that.” She lightly squeezed his hand. “I wish he would just talk to me so that he would know that I have nothing against him, that I’m not mad at him and that I don’t blame him for anything.”

She was quiet for almost a full minute before smiling so widely. “Seobang, Angie unnie and Jungsoo oppa’s twins are growing so fast! Sunhee’s started to walk already!” She shifted and faced him completely, a huge grin on her face. “I mean, she doesn’t walk by herself yet. Angie unnie was holding her hand. But you should see her, Kyu. She walked the short distance from your bed to the couch, where Jungsoo oppa was waiting for her. She walked—waddled—towards him with one arm stretched out.”

She giggled, thinking back on it. Apparently, Sunhee just suddenly started walking randomly. Leeteuk actually just wanted to see (which is what he’d been doing for the past weeks—trying to get the twins to start walking) if one of them would do so. After making her stand, she suddenly took her first steps. Angie said that Leeteuk shed even more tears than her.

“I can’t imagine you being the same,” she mused, chuckling at the thought of her husband crying at the first steps of their first child. “You’d probably demand that our kids walk right away.” Laughing, she buried her face on his arm. “I’m kidding,” she then said, imagining him looking affronted.

Absent-mindedly rubbing a hand on her tummy, she whispered to him, “You better wake up before I give birth. Cho Hyun Jin demands it.”

She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. She let it engulf her and the memories it brought back; the two of them running away from the crowd, escaping to a small café to get something to eat and start conversing, their first text messages to each other, the two of them spending so much time in her apartment, the two of them standing under the rain, taking photos together, watching the world cup, their first kiss, their first fights, their conversations, their wedding day…

“We have so much more ahead of us,” she told him, almost insistently, opening her eyes and looking at him. Cuddling even more to him, if that was at all possible, she leaned closer and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I miss you, seobang.”

~ * ~

“Na Young!” Zhoumi greeted in surprise when he saw her after he opened the door to their dorm. “What are you doing here?” He led her into the dorm after closing the door behind them.

Na Young hesitated. “Is anyone else around?” she asked.

“Siwonnie’s here,” Zhoumi answered just as Siwon walked out of one of the rooms.

“Na Young, what are you doing here?” Siwon asked as he gave her a quick hug.

Na Young looked lost for a second then looked around as she hesitated. She played with her hands and looked greatly worried about something. This put Zhoumi on edge.

“Okay, what is it?” Zhoumi blurted out. “You’re making me nervous.” He glanced at Siwon, who had a concerned look on his face as he looked at her.

“I suppose you two will have to do,” she finally said, seriously looking at both of them.

“We will have to do for what?” Siwon repeated, suddenly looking apprehensive. “What’s going on?”

“I need to tell you something,” Na Young told them critically.