.15
Crazy Fates
Chorong sat like a frosty statue. A beauty trapped in time. Doomed to watch the world turn into havoc. Sadly her world was already havoc. It always was, she was so was so used to it, it was embedded into her.
She was sure she had been put into an alternate universe where her husband had been replaced by a look-alike. That was the only reasonable explanation to this.
Where was her husband? In the kitchen, cooking up a storm after dragging her out of bed. He had canceled all her study lessons today as well as taking time off of work.
It wasn't that Chorong didn't believe that he had actually changed. It was the fact that he had changed for her.
"Breakfast is served." Woohyun announced stepping into the dining area. He had two plates in hand. It was a simple American breakfast: bacon and fried eggs, pancakes and orange juice.
Chorong stared at him, her eyes cold. She was staring at him like he had grown a third arm.
He ignored her wary eyes and sat down across from her. Sliding over her plate he began quietly eating.
"What, you're not hungry?" He questioned while stuffing a hand full of pancakes down his throat. He received no replied from her. Only a stare that scared him for he had no idea what she was thinking. He never did.
The only sounds that filled the room weas the silverware and the light breeze coming in from the open window. The sun fully lit the room up eloping the two in sunshine. Both knew however that their marriage was anything but sunshine.
"What are you?" Chorong mumbled not taking her eyes off of him.
"Your husband." He replied taking another mouthful of pancake and sipping on his glass of orange juice.
"That never seemed to matter in the past. Why now?" She brought up. She had always been curious. She remembered it all to clearly. They were drenched in rain water, frustrated, upset, and extremely angry. Then he said those words that made her loose all sense of reality.
"I like you. I like you Chorong." His voice trembled in her mind. The memory was all to fresh yet she had found herself denying to admit it.
She heard the fork in his hand drop hitting the china plate. He looked up to her. Her eyes didn't wary, they didn't blink, they didn't move. Indeed there were times when he was often scare of his wife. It was times when it seemed like there was no trance of life within her.
"Are you going to tell me what happened or not?" He asked staring at the scar marks that lined her face. He still couldn't let it go. He had returned home to find her beaten.
Her eyes finally blinked, the life returning into her face as she looked down. "Just let it go." She ordered in a soft yet stern tone.
"No." He rebutted like a stubborn child refusing to leave the store without the toy he wanted. Nam Woohyun was used to getting what he wanted. Until now. And what he wanted was Chorong.
"Do you have to be so stubborn?" She questioned clearly annoyed.
"Do you have to even more stubborn?" He shot back. She huffed out air picking up her butter knife.
"It's nothing. Just let it go." She replied looking him straight in the eyes. He hated her stubbornness. He hated that sense of secrecy that hung over her like a rain cloud refusing to float away no matter no hard and how much he blew.
"You were bleeding and beaten. God knows what would had happened if I didn't find you in time." He stated. Chorong's glare weaken. He didn't sound mad, he didn't sound frustrated. No, he sounded worried.
"Well I'm fine now. So please let it go." She answered. He sighed standing up from his seat stomping out of the room. Chorong exhaled deeply.
Trust him. Don't trust him. She didn't know.
Chorong didn't know what to do with her feelings, her emotions, her fear. There was Naeun. Her sweet sister who was due for surgery in the matter of days. Her sister was clueless, clueless to the work of L.
Naeun seemed like the simple part of her life. The only good part. Naeun was going to get her surgery. She was going to be cured of cancer, again.
Again. That was the word that popped out. Naeun was diagnosis with cancer years ago. She was cured at that time, only to have it returned. To beat cancer twice. That was a miracle.
It was a miracle within a curse.
She broke out of her thoughts when the door to the dining room slammed opened. Her husband standing on the other side of the door. He walked to her.
She felt her lungs begin to dry of oxygen and her heart begin to rapidly beat. Finally standing in front of her he kneel down. Turning her chair so her body was facing him and not the dining room table he placed his forehead in her lap.
She could feel his breath against her skin sending chills all over her. "I told you I'll protect you right. So let me protect you." He begged. She would be a fool if she said his words didn't touch her. They did. But there was so much he didn't know, so much he couldn't understand.
Chorong lived a life before she met him, and that life was at their doorsteps. It was knocking, no, hammering, each echoing nudge was slowly tearing her apart.
She nimble on her bottom, something in her tearing into shreds. She moved her arm to his face, gently lifting his face up, her finger on his chin she leaned in towards him.
"I'm sorry Woohyun. But I can't." She whispered with a voice that was already broken to begin with.
--
"Don't be scare okay." Chorong muttered to Naeun. Naeun turned to Chorong and smiled.
"I should be telling you that unnie. Don't worry okay. Everything will turn out fine." Naeun commented. Chorong smiled.
"We have to go." A nurse told Chorong. Chorong nodded hesitantly letting go of Naeun's hand. Naeun gave her a small smile, a simply lift on each side of before being dragged off.
Chorong slowly closed her eyes. Everything is going to be okay. Everything will be fine. Chorong told her self mentally.
Woohyun had been overly protective of her lately. There was not one second where she could be left alone. He was with her at all hours. He was attached to her like a wad of gum.
She addressed to him that he had to work after all. He agreed after constant nags from her. In replacement of him he had asked some of his friends to watch over her. Meaning: Sungjong.
She was actually glad about this. She had began teaching Sungjong cooking lessons though they were still in the phrases where a fire truck should be waiting on the doorstep of the house. Chorong had decided that anything involving the oven, stove, or grill was so broad of a challenge. So it was microwave popcorn and sandwiches.
After a period of time L was the one who watched her. She was relieved because now she could see her sister. He would drive them to the Care Center. Spend hours with Naeun then drive back before Woohyun arrived from work.
L would crack a joke or two about how the two were sneaking around behind Woohyun's back. Chorong didn't take it to heart, through there were times when Woohyun would ask what she had done all day.
It was times like those when she regretted lying to him.
"Hey." A deep voice broke her out of her thoughts. She didn't need to turn around to know the owner of the voice.
"L told you didn't he?" Chorong guessed. She could feel him walking closer to her, his soft footsteps stepping towards her.
"I couldn't get that idiot to spill no matter what tactics I used." Woohyun complained. "But his family's company and ours work together. Myungsoo took out a grant. A grant for a certain patient by the name of Son Naeun. I did a check and found out she was placed in the same Care Center Bomi-shi was working at. The rest fell into place." He answered.
She could feel him literally behind her now. His arms reached out coiling themselves around her waist before leaning his chin down on her shoulder. His face brushed against her soft hair and she could feel his breath on her shoulder that made her tummy do back flips every time.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Woohyun asked. "You never even told me you had a sister." She frowned. There was so much he didn't know.
"Are you tired." She asked purposely avoiding his questioned.
"Not around you. Never around you. You're a temperamental ball of energy." He answered. She let out a small crack of a smile. She could feel him smiling even if she didn't see his face.
"So are you." She mumbled, his hand brushed against the side of her face, the same place where a light scar was.
"Come on. Sit down." He said pulling her closer to the chairs with his strong arms. She followed behind under he let go of her waist. She felt a mass of ice crush onto her when he let her go.
"Come on. Sit down and relax." He said pulling her down by the waist to the seat next to him. She fell down and was tackled by his arm into his chest.
"Sleep okay. I'll tell you if anything happens." He mumbled to her. She nodded slowly closing her eyes and drifting away.
--
"Yes Auntie. I know Auntie. Don't worry Auntie. Just get back from Japan safe." Bomi said before hanging up. She stared inanely through the windows down onto the streets. The Han River fell into her sight. The lights from the lights and the moon shining brightly above lit the city up like a Christmas tree.
She sighed praying that Naeun was safe. Everything will be okay Yoon Bomi. You're over thinking it.
She realized that there were often times when women would over think the smallest of details. It was an ancient trait that belong to the female breed.
"Bomi-shi." A voice called to her. She turned her shoulder around to face the familiar man.
"L oppa." She muttered his name. He stood in the dark, his face worried, obviously, just like all of them.
"You didn't talk to her." Bomi remembered Naeun asking for Myungsoo. Naeun was asking for her L oppa before she left. But he wasn't there.
Her voice sounded disappointed almost, but she knew she was being biased and using her own personal experience in place of theirs. She knew Myungsoo cared deeply for Naeun. He had a crush on the girl. Naeun was just to naive to notice this.
"I know. I couldn't-" He said but cut off as he turned his face away from her. Oh the pain that was laced in his face told a story of its own. He was falling in love with her. And he was terrified he'll lose her.
"It's fine oppa." She said brightly, through she knew it wasn't. You can go wait in the waiting area with Chorong unnie." Bomi instructed. He nodded and turned around but stopped mid way.
"I know this is bad timing and all, but they keep insisting. And when you meet them you're understand why." He said as he combed his hair nervously. She pouted confused at when he was indicating.
"Hi Bomi." A voice sweet voice called to her as the side door opened. Sungjong came running in with a cheerful smile as he grabbed Bomi into a bear hug.
"That's Sungjong." Myungsoo told her. She nodded breaking away from her hug with him.
"Hello. I'm-"
"Yoon Bomi." Another voice answered for her as another man came walking in. She had recognized his face as well as the faces of the two who followed after.
"That's Sungyeol. And they are Sunggyu and Hoya." Myungsoo said pointing each of them out.
"She's pretty." Sungyeol commented shamelessly.
"Hey, I'm Sunggyu." Sunggyu introduced himself with a bright smile causing his eyes to entirely disappear. Some of them she had met before when she dropped Chorong off once, but never really got to know any of them.
"Hoya." Hoya uttered with his arms crossed.
Bomi smiled kindly to them. Their faces, she had known, but had never formally been introduced.
"Now we had formally met Dongwoo's ex-fiancee." Sungyeol rendered. Bomi instantly frowned when he mentioned those words. And everyone in the room saw this.
"Ignore the talking idiot." Sunggyu whispered not so quietly to her causing Sungyeol to give the oldest a punch in the arm. Bomi get out a giggle.
"Now you see why I had to introduced you to them. They, no, Sungjong's been nagging me for weeks, but there was never a right timing." Myungsoo said.
"And right now at a hospital, in the middle of the night is a good timing." Hoya commented sarcastically. Myungsoo groaned at the older of the two.
It was all good conversations, witty responses and weird and unusual comments made from each of them that caused Bomi to entirely loose her mind of where she was and why she was here. She laughed at their goofiness and lost herself in their jokes.
Maybe she could see now why Chorong had become so attached to them.
But it was all cut short when the next figure stepped through the door. Dongwoo. Bomi's smile instantly disappeared into a worried frown at his appearance
Hoya was the first to noticed. He turned his shoulder around, his smile failing on him as he tugged on Sunggyu's shoulder.
"What?" Sunggyu asked but Hoya's eyes told him all.
"Dongwoo hyung." Sungjong announced to the room.
"Okay, let's go guys." Sunggyu ordered pulling the group of of there until it was only Dongwoo and Bomi left staring at each other.
A quietness dropped over them, but it wasn't awkward. It was a peaceful quiet, a silent quiet that could rock a infant to sleep. But sadly reality had to crash in.
"Hey." Dongwoo muttered. Bomi instantly broke her eye contract with him.
"I should go." She said as she began walking away towards the other door.
"Bomi can you wait? Please?" He asked. She froze in her steps and her body on its own consent turned around. To her dismay he was now standing only a few inches away from her. He was so close she could smell his cologne. He still wore the same cologne he wore all those years ago.
"Can we please just talk." He begged with sad eyes.
Bomi frowned looking down to her feet only to have her chin be lifted up towards his eyes with a simple touch of his fingers. She felt electricity light up in her at his touch.
"We need to talk." She acknowledged, "But not now. And not here of all places." She responded.
He nodded. "Okay." He said and to his disappointment she slowly took a step back, followed by another and another.
"But can you do me a favor?" He asked as his eyes lit up.
"What?" She asked.
"Let's go to the Children's wing of the hospital. There's a day care." He said knowing she could never deny his offer. That was part of the reason why he had asked her this. Children were Bomi's weakness. She adored kids.
She stared at him for a few short seconds, but to Dongwoo it felt like a eternity of waiting. "Okay." She answered and he broke out into a big sunshine smile.
Bomi sighed, she had never realized how much she missed his smile.
--
"Naeun!" Chorong exclaimed when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her eyes popped open as she looked around like a lost child.
"It's me. Woohyun." He muttered to her as her body began to relax. She looked around to find Sungjong sleeping across from her. His face was leaning against Sungyeol's shoulder whose legs were on Sunggyu's lap. Hoya was sitting next to Sunggyu, his arms were crossed and oddly enough sunglasses covered his closed eyes. Why was he wearing sunglasses? The four were deep in their sleep and Chorong wished she had a camera to capture this moment.
"Yeah, you love them now. Just give it another three years and you won't be loving them as much as you're annoyed by them." Woohyun told her. She smiled at his comment. She knew Woohyun couldn't live without his friends. Just as she couldn't live without her sister.
"Here." He said as he sat down beside her holding out a cup of coffee.
Chorong denied the coffee. "No thanks." She responded. He pouted at this. Chorong had soon began to realized her husband's childish ways. He would pout whenever she said no to something.
"I don't drink coffee." She added. This time his frown grew deeper.
He chuckled. "I never knew that....there's a lot I don't know about you." He said and both knew he was right. There was much he didn't know.
But maybe now was a time to start. A time to start knowing her. And the fastest way to do that was by letting her know him.
"I love eating tuna sushi." Woohyun stated out of no where.
"What are you doing?" Chorong asked with bewildered eyes.
"And I think the most important thing a gentlemen should have is a thick wallet." He added causing Chorong to laugh.
"And I hate working, but do it for my parents." He admitted.
"And my grandmother is one of the women in my life where I can always count on. I mean, look what she did. She gave me a beautiful wife." He added making Chorong laugh even more with joy.
He stopped for a while and thought about the next thing to say. "And I miss my sister. I miss her so, so much." He turned to look at her and with all the honestly the world could conquer up he smiled.
"And I want to protect my wife. I want to protect her from the world." He finished before he broke out into a big grin.
She was smiling. She was actually smiling. She was actually laughing. And it was because of him. He had told himself that one day he was going to make her laugh. And he did. And the payoff was better than anything he could had expected.
Today he smiled a smile he hadn't in a long time. And it was because of Chorong. Seeing her happy made him happy as cliche as that sounded.
"Thank y-." She muttered to him only to by his lips that felt like a touch of heaven on earth.
She froze, her body and mind exploring with fireworks.
"No, thank you." He responded breaking away from her as a smile crossed his face. Chorong smiled. It was so obvious now. It had been there the whole time. She was just to blind, to enraged, to aggravated, to flustered to realize it. She was in love with her husband.
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