Chapter 28
It seemed that everyone had come to see him. His parents, his sister, a few other relatives, the members’ parents, siblings of the members, some friends, the members, their significant others, some nurses and two doctors. Everyone went in and out of the room, coming and going at varying time periods. But his eyes continued to flit about the members’ faces, the ones who were currently staying with him. It had been a day since he’d been awake and yet, there was still someone he wasn’t seeing.

He grabbed Ryeowook’s wrist as the eternal magnae moved to leave his bedside to sit beside his fiancée on the couch. Ryeowook stopped and looked at him curiously.

“Where’s princess?” Kyuhyun asked in a hoarse voice. “My wife, Jin Ri, where is she? Does she know I’m awake?” The first person he wanted to see was Jin Ri. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t disappointed that she wasn’t around.

Ryeowook looked up and exchanged a look with Eunhyuk, who turned to look at Leeteuk for some sort of guidance. The leader stood up and replaced Ryeowook’s place beside the bed.

“She’ll be here,” Leeteuk assured him, reaching for his hand and squeezing it.

“Is she on her way?” Kyuhyun persisted.

No one answered. No one really knew when Jin Ri planned on coming to the hospital to see her husband. Greatly traumatized by what she had witnessed, she had been sleeping rather fitfully, or not sleeping at all. She kept on crying, sometimes screaming in her sleep, according to Zhoumi, who had been tasked to look after her.

“Something’s going on,” Kyuhyun deduced, watching the uncomfortable expressions on his hyungs’ faces. Understanding that no one was going to say anything, he decided to drop it and just changed the subject. “What are all the balloons and paper cutouts for?” he voiced out, looking around the room, noticing the blue balloons and white cutouts hanging as garlands from the ceiling and the walls.

“They’re snowflakes!” Donghae told him, sounding and looking offended.

“Really? They’re snowflakes?” Kyuhyun asked in disbelief, wrinkling his nose. A couple of the boys groaned in offense. “What for?”

“It’s your birthday tomorrow,” Kangin quietly reminded him, head bowed. He played with his hands and avoided everyone’s gazes. He didn’t want them to know how close he was to crying, although Leeteuk put an arm around him and squeezed his shoulder. It was that relief all over again. Kyuhyun was alive.

“Jin Ri thought you would like it if we recreated some semblance of snow into your room,” Sungmin shared, smiling a little as he watched their magnae’s eyes widen in realization and happiness. “It has been almost two months, Kyu,” he then told him.

The members watched as his eyes moved around the room and stopped as he saw the photos plastered on the wall, photos that he knew Jin Ri had taken.

“When did she do this?” he asked, taking in each and every photo on the wall.

“It’s her Christmas gift to you,” Ryeowook answered for everyone.

Kyuhyun let out a breath and closed his eyes. “How is she?” he asked softly. It was only then that it was sinking in how hard it must have been for his wife, not knowing whether he was ever going to wake up.

“She’s fine,” Shindong assured him. “She’s strong.”

“Stronger than all of us combined, I think,” Eunhyuk added with a resolute nod. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”

Later, when most of the members had left and only Sungmin and Ryeowook had stayed, Kyuhyun asked something in such a straightforward manner that neither of the two had the thought of even lying.

“I made her cry, didn’t I?”

“It’s not your fault,” Sungmin finally spoke when Ryeowook merely looked away. “She was here everyday and every night, taking care of you, talking to you.”

“I know,” Kyuhyun admitted, closing his eyes once again. Sungmin and Ryeowook exchanged a look in wonder. “I heard her.”

~ * ~

“Ri, you can’t just not go and not see him,” Taeyeon calmly spoke as Jin Ri sat down in front of the vanity mirror in her room and brushed her hair. When Jin Ri blatantly ignored her words, Taeyeon turned to Zhoumi, who was standing by the doorway, arms crossed on his chest.

“Kyuhyun has been asking for you,” Zhoumi relayed, letting out a quiet sigh. “He’s been wondering why his wife hasn’t been to the hospital to see her husband who has been in a coma for almost two months.” He made a face at Taeyeon, who glared at him at his words.

Jin Ri put the brush down and turned to face her friends. She looked at both of them and felt a surge of gratefulness. Taeyeon and Zhoumi had been her pillars, along with the other members. Both of them had been incredibly supportive and had been unbelievably patient with her. She had been so emotional and almost destructive and yet they never left her side and never left her fall by herself. Somehow she knew she just needed to make them understand her side.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see him,” Jin Ri corrected their train of thought. “I want to.” Oh how she wanted to see Kyuhyun, to hug him and kiss him with his eyes open and looking at her, knowing that it was her, that she was with him.

“What’s stopping you?” Taeyeon calmly asked.

“I can’t let him see me like this,” Jin Ri answered, gesturing towards herself.

“Like what?” Zhoumi wanted to know, frowning.

“Like…” Jin Ri breathed deeply. “I’m not the Jin Ri Kyuhyun knew before what happened happened. I don’t know if he’ll like what he’ll see or if he’ll even—.”

“Don’t even continue that thought,” Zhoumi interrupted before Taeyeon even could. He took three strides towards Jin Ri and crouched down in front of her. “Look at me,” he directed her rather sternly. “You do not get to decide whether Kyuhyun still loves you or not or just how much he does. Really, Ri, after all this time, you still doubt his feelings for you.”

Jin Ri hesitated and looked away and Zhou Mi immediately regretted the last thing that he said. How could he have been so insensitive so as to forget the biggest challenge that Jin Ri had to go through: Kyuhyun cheating on her.

Zhoumi reached for Jin Ri’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry,” he apologized at once. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Jin Ri forced out a smile. “But you’re right,” she admitted. “After all this time…”

“Ri, it’s so obvious just how much Kyuhyun oppa loves you,” Taeyeon reiterated.

“He cried everyday when we were in China,” Zhoumi quietly shared. “And he hung on our every word in the hopes that your name would slip out and then he’d know how you were doing. He called Shindong hyung all the time just to ask about you.”

“He called me, too,” Taeyeon confirmed.

“Why are you telling me this?” Jin Ri but her lip to keep her sob from spilling out.

“Because,” Zhoumi reached out and touched her chin to make her look at him, “despite what he had done, despite his mistake, he’s never stopped loving you. It was a lapse in judgment on his part, a stupid one really, but he continues and I know he will continue to make it up to you for the rest of your life together.” He lightly tapped her cheek. “I know this because I’ve seen it everyday, the longing in his eyes, the way his whole demeanor changes when even just your name is brought up…that boy is so in love with you, I can’t even begin to explain just how much.”

“The summary of it is: he’s whipped,” Taeyeon concluded.

This brought a smile to Jin Ri’s face, albeit a small one. She then looked at Zhoumi then at Taeyeon.

“I knew there was a reason I kept you both around,” Jin Ri told them with a light chuckle.

“Are you going to see him then?” Zhoumi asked uncertainly, despite being flattered by her comment.

Jin Ri, the smile on her face now forced, shook her head. “I can’t.”

~ * ~

There was a ringing in her ears.

Jin Ri sat up on the bed, rubbed her eyes of sleepiness, and stared at her phone. It had been ringing non-stop the whole day, as she knew it would. What she was doing was cause for concern and much disapproval, which was what she had been hearing all day, despite it being subtle. But it was so late in the evening—it was 11 o’clock—that she didn’t think anyone would still be calling.

She grabbed her phone and looked at the screen. It was an unknown number.

“Hel—.”

“Cho Jin Ri,” Heechul’s harsh greeting came through the earpiece. “What is this I’ve been hearing that you wouldn’t see your husband who’s been awake for three days already?”

“I—oppa,” Jin Ri helplessly greeted back.

“Ri, what is the matter? What is stopping you from seeing him?” Heechul wanted to know.

Heechul asked her in such a way that gave her no room for denial or lying. This was probably why the members had resorted to calling him and telling them about what she was doing. They just knew that Heechul would be able to get the truth out of her.

“I’m just scared,” she finally admitted.

“Of what?” he asked, his tone softer.

“So many things have changed, oppa,” she told him. “What if…what if he doesn’t like those changes?”

“I may not be in a position to tell you this, but marriage is work, Ri,” he stated. “I know you know this already, after everything that you and Kyuhyun had been through, but I’ll just say it again. You married each other because you want to spend your lives together through anything, good or bad and everything in between, including whatever changes might happen. Change always happens in any relationship, but it’s up to you two to make it work. In this case, you’re not even giving him the chance to do that.”

“Of course, you’re right,” she responded.

“Ri, it’s his birthday today,” he reminded her gently. “He’s alive. This is what you’ve always wanted. This is what you’ve been crying about and praying for. It’s here, it’s done. So why aren’t you with him?”

“I’m so stupid,” she said, starting to cry.

“You’re not stupid,” he corrected her with a soft sigh, “just scared. And it’s normal to be, just…be scared with him. Because he needs you, too. You’re not the only one who’s scared. You’re not the only one who’s lost time.”

“Thank you, oppa,” she told him so earnestly that it tugged at Heechul’s heart.

He was quiet for a moment. “Go and see him now. Don’t make me sneak out of the camp to drag you to the hospital.”

~ * ~

Kyuhyun’s door and the space outside his room were filled with flowers and letters. In the dim lighting, from her spot at the end of the hallway, Jin Ri could see the colorfulness of the flowers and letters, as well as smell the love that came from them.

As she took a hesitant step towards the room, the door opened and out walked Donghae and Zhoumi. She stopped in her tracks and made a quick decision to hide herself. But, just as she was to do so, her eyes met Donghae’s, making her movements freeze.

“You came,” Zhoumi said as his way of greeting when she finally made her way to them.

Her answer was a small and embarrassed smile.

“He’s been asleep for a while,” Donghae informed her. She nodded. “But he’s been waiting for you.”

“I…thank you, oppa,” she whispered to them, not knowing what else to say.

“You came to see him and that’s what matters,” Donghae told her as he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“You’re going to be his best birthday gift,” Zhoumi added, enveloping her in a hug.

It took her a while to go inside the room, even after Donghae and Zhoumi had gone. She really didn’t know what she was afraid of. Heechul was right. Kyuhyun being awake and being alive was what she had been praying for, what she’d been hoping for. Now that it was a reality, it was like she was caught off-guard, unsure of what to do, afraid of how to act and what would happen.

She closed her eyes for a second and breathed deeply. This was Kyuhyun, her husband, the love of her life. Whatever happened or whatever he would think or would say, it was all going to be okay because they would be together again.

Quietly, she turned the knob and stepped into the room. It was dark, save for the lamp beside Kyuhyun’s bed. The room was still decorated with the garlands and snowflakes cutouts that she and the members had prepared. The food had all been taken away, probably by the members and whoever had visited. Her eyes swept through the room, taking in the photos she had stuck on the wall, the gifts she had prepared for him, and finally resting on Kyuhyun’s sleeping form. He was snuggled underneath the blankets, eyes closed, breathing peacefully.

She put her bag down on the sofa and walked over to his bedside. There were no more tubes connected to him, his face was clear, as well as his arms. Tears prickled her eyes at this. Slowly, she reached out and brushed his bangs away from his eyes. She became aware of how warm his face felt as compared to all the other times he felt clammy and almost cold.

Without thinking of anything else, she pushed the blankets aside and lay down beside him. She wanted to feel his warmth that she missed so much. Turning on her side to face him, she snuggled towards him, her cheek resting on his arm.

With all the movement she’d done, Kyuhyun stirred in his sleep and realized that he wasn’t alone on the bed anymore. He lifted his arm so that she could snuggle closer to him and wrapped his other arm around her waist.

“You’re here,” he whispered through her hair, inhaling her scent. He knew the moment she lay down on the bed that his princess had finally come to see him. The way she felt and how she smelled was something he won’t ever forget.

“I’m sorry,” she replied very softly, burrowing her face on his chest.

“I missed you,” was his response.

“I missed you, too,” she returned emotionally. “So much.”

Kyuhyun finally opened his eyes, adjusting them to the darkness of the room. His shirt was damp from her quiet tears. He slightly moved away from her so that their eyes would meet. He saw just how much pain he had caused her, how the light in her eyes had become faint because of all the waiting and the fear.

He had heard everything that she had told him in all the nights that he was in a coma. He listened as she talked to him, worried and afraid of him leaving her, afraid that he won’t come back to her. He knew all about her tears, felt them in his heart, frustrated that he couldn’t do anything to stop them, couldn’t do anything to give her comfort, to let her know that he was still around.

But he couldn’t do anything about any of those things anymore. What was important was now. She was there and he was beside her, eyes opened, seeing her clearly.

Thumbing her tears away, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, slowly and then more passionately. Without hesitations, she kissed him back fervently, her hand coming to rest on the side of his face.

“I love you,” he told her with each kiss. “I love you. I love you.”

She pulled away and gave him a teary but happy smile. “Happy birthday, seobang.”

“Where’s my birthday gift?” he teasingly asked as they continued to kiss.

“What, you mean I’m not enough?” she joked back, giggling as she pulled away.

“You’re more than enough and you know it,” he replied, leaning closer for another kiss.

The kiss was unhurried, like they were taking their time, as if reacquainting themselves with each other again. Jin Ri shivered as Kyuhyun’s hand trailed down her back. She squeezed her eyes shut as she kissed him back. She couldn’t believe that this was happening.

“So…” he started, pulling away. He removed his hand from her back and placed it on her belly, giving her a meaningful look.

She stared at him with wide eyes.

“Despite everything that has happened, I will always keep my promises to you,” he silently affirmed. “I promised you that I would always come back to you, that I would always run after you, that I would always love you the same way if not more. I am going to continue keeping those promises. I’m sorry I couldn’t assure you sooner, but I heard you, princess. I’m sorry for making you cry.”

She shook her head and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You love me. That’s the most important thing,” she said and kissed him again.

“I do,” he repeated.

They kissed for a bit. It was like courtship all over again. There was that tingling feeling every time they touched and they just couldn’t get enough of it and of each other.

“How did you know?” she then asked.

“I heard you crying,” he answered, kissing her forehead. “I’m sorry for not being here when you wanted to tell me about our baby,” he continued. “But, I want you to know, this makes me so happy. You make me so happy.” He kissed her deeply. “I wouldn’t have missed raising our child for the world.”

She clung onto him, fresh tears soaking his shirt. “I can’t believe you’re here, telling me these things,” she sobbed, albeit sounding happy. “I tried really hard to have faith that you would come back sooner or later, but I was scared and confused and I wasn’t sure how I was going to go on if you didn—.”

“Shh,” he stopped her at once, hugging her tightly. “Don’t. I’m real.”

“Seobang,” she called feebly, the only thing she could say.

“My princess,” he responded with a light chuckle as she started crying once more, “Please stop crying. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He paused for a second to intently look into her eyes. “I love you.”


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Author's Notes:
1. Yes, Kyuhyun is finally alive and well. :) I'm sorry to have made you all suffer, but it really hasn't been that long since he's been a coma. Just about close to two months. I know I know, it felt like ages. But it's all over now. :D Let's all be happy!
2. As for Jin Ri... I know you all expected her to just rush into his arms and all that. She wanted to do that, but she's emotionally stressed and she's traumatized. There was Kyuhyun cheating on her, finding out she was pregnant, then the stabbing, then finding out he was in a coma, and then Hyo Sun hanging herself. Too many things happened to her and she's just one person who can only take so much. So yeah. She really was afraid that Kyuhyun would find her so changed that he wouldn't know who she was anymore. But, in the end, she couldn't stay away from him. :D
3. Kyuhyun's last line was a throwback to the end of Slow Motion. It's the exact same thing he told Jin Ri when she asked him to take her back under the cherry blossoms in Japan.
4. Violent reactions are very welcome. Just so you know, it's been a very stressful day for me. I'm surprised I could write anything at all.
5. I'm debating whether this will be the last chapter or the second to the last. LOL.
6. /skips away