“I think we packed everything, but I’ve put a key to the house in your smallest backpack pocket just in case you think of anything you want that you forgot. Your medicine is in the large inside pocket of the suitcase.”

“Mom.” Marina reaches from the backseat and feels for Sarah’s shoulder to give it a squeeze. “I’ll be fine. I didn’t have any problems with getting in the car this time, right?”

“I just don’t like leaving you for so long,” Sarah sighs. “I don’t see why they’re insisting I go there instead of just sending the paperwork and whatever else they need.”

“We’ll be fine, Mom. It’s only three weeks.”

“Can’t I stay with Soohyun oppa too?” Rose asks, wiggling in her booster seat. “I want to too.”

“You’ve got to keep an eye on Mom for me, remember? Plus, you’ll get to see Grandpa and Grammy if you go with Mom. Don’t you want to see them?”

“I guess. I do like the presents they send me for my birthday and Christmas,” the little girl replies thoughtfully.

Sarah suddenly chuckles. “Someone’s been eagerly waiting for you. Looks like he’s been sitting outside for us.”

Soohyun bounds to the car before it even completely stops, opening to back door. “Hi, Marina, Sarah, Rose.”

“Hi!” comes Rose’s cheerful greeting.

“Hi, Soo.” Marina wiggles to the seat’s edge, her hand finding his shoulder so she can hug him. 

“What, no Wishbone?” Soohyun asks teasingly.

“Yongsoolie oppa’s watching him since he has a dog too and that way Wishbone won’t get lonely while we’re gone,” Rose explains.

“We didn’t want you to have to take care of the both of us.” Tilting her head at a banging coming from the trunk, Marina groans. “Not the chair, Mom. I have the crutches right here.”

“Nope. You’re using the wheelchair this time,” Sarah huffs as she fights with the metal, finally managing to snap the pieces out and put the wheelchair by Marina’s door. “This time I have backup.”

“I can walk with the crutches now, no problem.”

“You still have a cast on your leg,” Soohyun reminds her, trying to keep the amused smile on his face out of his voice. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re going to be using the wheelchair. The building has an elevator so you don’t even have the excuse of stairs.”

“I can push Marina’s chair all by myself,” Rose pipes up, struggling to unhook the seatbelt so she can get out too.

Marina starts to feel along the seat to help her sister, but Soohyun beats her to it, reaching across her.

“Thanks!”

“Rose, why don’t you help me with Marina’s bags?” comes Sarah’s voice, making Rose scramble to the back of the car.

“Need help getting out?” Soohyun asks, restraining himself from just lifting Marina after he glimpses the slightly frustrated look on her face.

She shakes her head. “Do I need to step down or is the car level with the curb?”

“There’s a small step down and then you’ll need to step up to the sidewalk.”

He steps back to give Marina more room, watching closely as she cautiously shifts her body to get out of the car. She stands without a problem, but misjudges the sidewalk’s height, almost tripping. Soohyun catches her hand and steadies her before she can do more than waver.

“I hate this cast. It’s heavy and just gets in the way,” Marina mutters as he guides her to the concrete and in front of her wheelchair.

Soohyun snags a kiss on her forehead as she lowers herself into the wheelchair. “Only a few more weeks and it can come off.”

“I’m using those crutches.”

Humoring her, he simply replies, “We’ll see what the physical therapist says. Do you all need help with anything?”

Sarah reappears with a suitcase and Rose in tow, the little girl carrying a backpack almost as big as her. “This is it. Lead the way.”

Nodding, Soohyun pushes Marina’s chair down the sidewalk and into the apartment building. Rose chatters about the goings-on of her class, keeping the adults’ attention occupied during the short elevator ride. Soohyun’s palms acquire a slight nervous sweat when they reach his floor and he keys in the passcode, pushing open the door.

“Here it is,” he says as he pushes Marina through, glancing back at Sarah’s face.

Her eyes scan the small but tidy living room and kitchen, resting on the bunch of cheerful yellow roses interspersed with gentle purple lavender sitting on the coffee table. Meeting Soohyun’s eyes, she gives an approving nod and smile.

“So, what’s it like, Mom?” Marina asks with a teasing smile. “Do I have a neat boyfriend or a slob?”

“Hey!” Soohyun laughs, putting her in a pretend headlock and making her giggle as she fights back. “Like Hoon would let us live in a pigsty even if I was a slob.” 

Sarah smiles at the two of them. “It gets the mom okay.”

“Where’s your room?” Rose asks curiously, her gaze moving back and forth between the two visible doors.

He points towards the short hallway opposite them. “I’m over there, and that’s where Marina will be sleeping.”

“Where’ll you sleep then?”

“I’ll camp out on the couch.”

“But that’ll be bad for your back,” Marina says with a frown. “We have an air mattress at home you could use.”

“It’s fine.” Soohyun gives her hand a reassuring pat. “Half the time after practice I pass out on couch because I’m too tired to make it to my bed.”

Although she doesn’t look convinced, Marina doesn’t protest further.

“Should we take her bags there then?” Sarah gestures to the suitcase she’s carrying.

“Sure.”

“You better not have pictures of bikini models or something. Rose’ll rat you out,” Marina teases.

Chuckling to hide his sudden worry that he hadn’t remembered to stuff his dirty practice clothes in the closet, Soohyun again leads the way and opens the door.

Thankfully he had. He mentally pats himself on the back for having cleaned it so well from the state of disarray it’d gotten into with his busy schedule. His multiple pictures, various gifts from fans, and other personal odds and ends are neatly arranged and the sunshine streaming through the large window adds to the pleasant look of the small room.

Sarah bends down to put the suitcase on the floor, glancing at the nightstand. “Is this your family?”

A fond smile comes to his lips as he looks at the people in the frame. “Yes. My mother and my sisters, Jiyun and Sooyun.”

“They’re pretty, just like you,” Rose comments, on her tiptoes to see.

“Thanks.” Noticing the flicker of disappointment in Marina’s eyes, Soohyun changes the subject. “Rose, notice something familiar in here?”

The little girl glances around, her eyes lighting up when she finds it propped against a framed photo of Soohyun and Marina. She tugs on Marina’s shirt in excitement. “My picture! You kept it!”

Marina smiles, clasping her sister’s little hand. “The one you gave him the first day you met him?”

“Yeah!”

She chuckles, but suddenly turns her head. “Mom, you have to be at the airport soon, don’t you? You can’t miss your flight.”

Glancing at her watch, Sarah reluctantly replies, “I still have another three hours.”

“Yeah, but you never know how bad traffic’s going to be.” Marina shakes her head. “Remember when we went to see Grandma that one time and we almost missed our plane because D-Dad got stuck right on the terminal road? It’ll be worse since people’ll be on their way home soon.”

“I suppose you’re right. Come on, Rose, it’s time to say goodbye.”

Rose’s expression turns sad as she holds her sister’s hand as they all move back into the living room. Swinging their joined hands, she asks Marina, “Can’t you come with us? I can sit on your lap on the plane.”

“Thanks, Rose, but I don’t think they’d like that. Cheer up, munchkin.” Marina pats Rose’s cheek. “It’s only a little while. Jacob can play with you when he’s not working.”

“He’s not as fun as you.”

Soohyun chuckles, completely agreeing with the little tyke.

Smiling and pulling her sister in for a hug, Marina says, “You’ll be back here before you know it and then we can play together, all right?”

“Can we paint in your special room again? We haven’t done that in forever.”

Marina bites her lip, her voice carrying the smallest quaver. “Sure. Be good for Mom. Say goodbye to Soohyun.”

Sarah leans down and replaces Rose in Marina’s arms as the little girl focuses on Soohyun. The two women hold each other tightly for a few moments before Sarah presses a final kiss to Marina’s forehead.

“We’ll be back in two weeks. We’ll Skype when we can. Try not to cause too much trouble.”

Marina bats away the fingers her mother had used to playfully tug at her nose with a small laugh. “I’ll try, but it’ll be hard. You know me: Ms. Mischief.”

“And you,” Sarah says, her smile matching Marina’s as she hugs Soohyun too. “Don’t let her bully you into giving into her. No more crutches till the doctor says it’s okay.”

“Mommmm.”

Sarah and Soohyun laugh.

“I mean it, young lady. I love you.” Sarah gives her another kiss, as does Rose, before opening the door. In a soft voice, she adds, “Thank you again, Soohyun. Truly, thank you.”

“We’ll be fine,” he promises.

“If there’s an emergency, I put numbers where you can reach me in the backpack,” Sarah says over her shoulder as she walks out the door. “And her pain medication if she needs it is-”

“In the suitcase,” Marina finishes, waving her hand. “We’ll be fine, Mom.”

“I know, baby. I’ll be back soon.” With a final kiss on Marina’s forehead and a smile for Soohyun, Sarah takes Rose’s hand and disappears into the hall.

“Bye, Marina, oppa! Love you!” Rose calls.

“Love you too!” Marina answers as Soohyun moves around her to close the door.

When he turns around, he finds her struggling to her feet. “Marina!”

“What?” She chuckles when he hauls her into his arms before she can trip of the wheelchair’s footrest. “It worked didn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“This is what I wanted,” Marina sighs, burying her face in his chest.

Soohyun smiles gently and holds her tighter, resting his cheek on her hair. “You never have to ask, you know.”

She just nods. “Thank you for agreeing to let me stay here.”

“For you, anything.”

Kissing her hair, Soohyun slowly lifts her up, keeping her cradled against him, and walks to the couch to sit down. With eyes closed, the two simply fall into their own peaceful world of each other’s warmth and heartbeats. It takes Marina’s grumbling tummy to finally stir them, giggles coming from them both.

“So what’ve you got to fill a girl’s stomach around here?” she asks, wiggling herself to sit up in his lap.

“Let’s see what magic Chef Soohyun can whip up for her.” Stealing a quick kiss, he slides her off his lap and stands, stopping when she hangs onto his hand.

“I wanna come, please; I’ll get bored.”

“Okay, but no knives for you and you’re sitting in the wheelchair.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Marina nods, letting him scoop her up again, put her in the wheelchair, and wheel her the short distance into the kitchen. She waits patiently as he opens the fridge to investigate their options.

“Well, there’s some leftover take-out from a few days ago; I don’t even remember what that was. Some rice noodles you like. Pork strips. Assorted veggies... How about come noodle soup and I grill up some pork to go with it. Sound good?”

“Sounds yummy. What can I do?”

Soohyun glances down at her while pulling out the food to put on the counter. “Nothing, I’ve got it handled. You just relax.”

A steely glint comes into Marina’s eyes. “I’m blind, not brain dead. I’m not helpless.”

He flinches slightly, taking a breath and squatting down to be on eye level to take both her hands in his. “I’m sorry, Marina. I didn’t mean it that way. Remember what I asked you before? To let me take care of you? That’s all I’m doing; I can’t help it.”

Her face softens and she frees one hand to his cheek. “I know and I’m grateful for it, but please don’t treat me like a porcelain doll. If I’m stuck like this, I’ll have to learn how to do things on my own sometime.”

“You’re not stuck. They’ll figure it out.”

Instead of answering, Marina asks, “So what can I do to help? I guess the pork’s out since I’d burn it. The soup too, probably.”

“How about shredding and washing the lettuce? We can have it with the pork.”

“Works for me.”

“Hang on.” Dumping the lettuce in the sink, Soohyun nudges the wheelchair backwards a little. “I’m going to put you up on the counter by the sink so you can reach.”

Marina’s arms easily come around his shoulders as he lifts her.

Grabbing a bowl from the sideboard, he places it so it touches her leg and guides her hand to touch each object as he mentions them. “Here’s the bowl for the clean lettuce. Here’s the faucet, just push up to turn it on, and the lettuce is on your other side.”

“Okay, Chef Shin. I think I can handle this,” Marina smiles, giving him a jaunty salute.

“Thanks, Assistant Sacchieri,” he laughs, lightly bopping her nose and making her giggle.

Flipping on the radio out of habit as he turns to his work, Soohyun starts singing along, Marina joining in occasionally. Her voice twining with his combined with the sight of her contentedly sitting on the counter gives him an unexpectedly warm feeling. It just felt right to have her there working beside him, more right than things had felt in a while if he admitted it.

Marina finishes her task with time to spare but is perfectly happy to remain where she is, occasionally reaching out a hand to touch him. When dinner is ready, she insists on helping carry things to the table and this time Soohyun doesn’t bother objecting. He does, however, manage to convince her to let him help with the soup so she doesn’t burn herself and her medication so she gets the right dosage. By the time both their bellies are full, they’ve migrated closer together, Marina leaning against Soohyun’s shoulder.

“Sleepy?” he asks when she suppresses a yawn.

She snuggles closer, nodding a little. “A tiny bit. The pain meds make me drowsy.”

“Let’s get you to bed then.” As a thought occurs to him, Soohyun blushes, mind panicking and trying to figure out how to solve this problem. “Um...do you need to shower?”

Marina giggles. “Don’t worry about it. Mom helped me shower before we came and as for while I’m here, I’ll just take washcloth baths since I can’t get the cast wet. The only thing I’ll need help with is washing my hair.”

Relief shows unabashedly in his voice. “Hair. I can do hair.”

“Was someone having dirty thoughts?” comes the teasing reply. Laughing when she feels him squirm, Marina presses a smacking kiss to his cheek.

“Yeah, we’re getting you to bed before you cause any more trouble, my little minx.” Picking her up and dropping her into the wheelchair, he pushes it back to his room, parking it beside the bed. “Pajamas?”

“Suitcase, upper left. I get those by myself too.”

Opening the suitcase, Soohyun finds them exactly where she said they would be. “This blue set’s cute. These work?”

Marina nods, holding out her hands. While he’d had his back turned, she pulled herself onto the bed. After he giving her the silky clothes, she twirls her finger. “Turn around, please.

He obeys but is unable to not hear the soft whisper of fabric as Marina changes.

“All done.”

Soohyun turns back around, a jolt going straight to his gut at the sight of Marina sitting pretty as a present on his bed. Shaking his head violently, he says, “Need me to pull the blankets down for you?”

“I’ve got it.” Crawling under the sheets, she wriggles to get comfortable, smiling sleepily. “Your bed’s really soft, smells good too.”

Sitting down on the bed beside her, Soohyun smoothes away some of the hair from her face. “Believe me, I know. It’s hard to drag myself out of some days. Ready to sleep?”

A bit of Marina’s smile fades. “Can we leave the lights on?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll say goodnight then, Marina. Sleep well.” Leaning down, he grazes his lips against her forehead lightly, but as he moves to stand, she catches his sleeve.

“Please. Please stay. Don’t go.”

Surprised, Soohyun sinks back down. “I’ll stay right here until you fall asleep, I promise. Should I sing for you?”

Marina shakes her head, her grip tightening. “I mean- could you stay the whole night? Sleep with me? It makes me nervous being alone... I get nightmares otherwise.”

“Like when you had the panic attack at the hospital,” he says, the connection made almost immediately and confirmed by Marina’s nod.

“I’ve only had one since I got out of the hospital. After that, I slept in Rose’s bed with her.  I don’t know why that keeps them at bay, but it does,” she says, seeming to try to be convincing him.

His heart twists, knowing how much admitting this must have taken her. Soohyun raises their joined hand and kisses the back of hers. “Like I said, anything for you, my love. Just let me get changed.”

Marina releases her hold, allowing him to slip away and quickly shed his clothes in favor of an old shirt and shorts. Sliding under the sheets, Soohyun drapes an arm over Marina’s waist and draws her closer so her back presses against his chest. She rests her hands over his and he kisses her ear. Already he can feel her breathing starting to slow.

“I promised I’d never leave you,” he whispers, unsure if she can still hear him and not caring, “and I keep my promises.”

With her soft breath as Marina’s only answer, Soohyun nuzzles her hair and closes his own eyes, drifting off just as easily as her despite the bright lights overhead.

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Yes, I am alive. I'm so sorry for being gone for so long. I hope this double update goes a little way in helping you to forgive me. Graduating college this year kept me busy and then a few things happened that made me leave Kpop alone for a good amount of time. Hopefully I won't disappoint you with another long absence, but I won't be able to do weekly updates. Thank you for being patient with me.