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Winter passed by painstakingly slow and finally spring came. Since that incident, Min Kyeong hasn’t been able to leave the hospital. Almost as though she was bed-ridden, she would spend most of time lying on the bed, her face had lost its colors and almost half her soul drained out from her eyes.

The birds chirped cheerily outside of the window and the smell of freshly cut grass faintly filled the room. MinKyeong’s face lit up as she tried with all her might to turn her head to look out of the window. It was a peaceful Sunday as the kids had persuaded me to let them stay over with Youngmin (to which I gladly agreed). There was no fussing between caring for MinKyeong and the kids, and there were no high pitched screaming from the two. Instead it was just me, Min Kyeong, and a bunch of birds keeping us company on a normal spring afternoon.

Gently, I slipped my hand into hers and took it. “Isn’t this just lovely? Spring is finally here.” I tried to sound happy.

MinKyeong smiled, her eyes still fixed on the top of the tree where the birds were outside the window.

Patting the back of her hand softly, I heaved out a small sigh as I fiddled with the ring in my pocket. My face scrunched into a bright smile, but my heart feeling otherwise.

Spring was here.

15 years have passed since I first met her in high school in spring.

15 seasons of spring spent together.

Countless of memories created together.

I couldn’t help but feel a wave of worry and fear wash over me.

How many more springs were we going to have together?

“Kwangmin uh, I want to go outside.”

“But the doctor said you can’t. We need to keep you as healthy as you can be till you … till you get better then we’ll go out.” I tried to comfort her, knowing how she must be dying to just go out and feel the freshness in the air and see the array of flowers before her.

“But Kwangmin uh,” she said as her eyes went faint and her voice weakened as she forced out, “this might be my last spring…”

My heart skipped a beat as she finished her sentence and shut her eyes. For a moment there, I almost hyperventilated.

Calming myself down, I placed a finger to her nose and relaxed as she breathed out gently. Only then, I pressed the button by Min Kyeong’s bedside as the doctors rushed in to check on her.

It wasn’t the first time this has happened. The doctors said that it was just a withdrawal syndrome from stopping the new medication which we had agreed to try and that it should not be a problem. However for safety purposes, he advised me to call for him each time this happened just to make sure it was a side effect and not… the other thing. The new medication did not make her situation any better, so we stopped. Who knew this came along with it. It’s like numerous ‘rehearsals’ occurring before the ‘actual thing’ happens. So much for ‘hope in the future’.

As doctors and nurses flooded in, I was shoved to the end of the room. The scene wasn’t new to me. I knew that after a few minutes of routine check-up, the doctors would leave, give me a pat on the shoulder and say “she is fine.”

No, we all know, she isn’t.

However months has passed since the day she collapsed at home and she gets confined within the four walls of the hospital ward and it had suddenly hit me that I have probably got to start accepting the fact that there is no turning back. Things are only going to get worse, and we can’t stop it.

Easier said than done.

My mind wandered off in effort of not focusing on the horrifying scene of Min Kyeong getting poked and scanned. Instead, I distracted myself by looking out of the window to where MinKyeong was looking before she passed out and hummed to myself Min Kyeong’s favorite tune.

7 years since the time we first met, I finally gathered enough courage to ask Min Kyeong’s father for his approval of our marriage. Alone, I made a trip to Busan to meet him, only to have him give me an intense interrogation.

After much questioning, he sighed.

“Kwangmin, one last thing, are you confident in making my daughter happy for the rest of her life?”

I smiled. “I’m not just confident, I DEFINITELY will make her happy.”

With that he took my hand into his, a tear escaped from his eye. “Kwangmin, I know you are a good guy. It’s hard for me to let my daughter go but I know she’ll be in safe hands.”

After that, everything seemed to pass at whirlwind speed.

I remembered just rushing back to Seoul and that same evening, I had asked Minkyeong to meet me at the park that we used to go to during our high school days.

An hour before she had arrived, I “activated” my ‘support group’ (well they are actually just my gang of friends and brother) to help me set up the place. I even requested for them to sing a song while I proposed to MinKyeong.

The whole time I was waiting for MinKyeong to arrive, I fiddled with the bouquet of flowers and ring box in my hands. Having several moments of mental breakdown from nervousness and telling my friends that I am going to run away, I am thankful for my brother holding me back while the eldest of us, Donghyun hyung, laughed at me for being a coward and an idiot. Without them, I would probably have ran far away and wouldn’t have the courage to propose to her that night.

Finally after calming my exploding heart down, I noticed a familiar figure dressed in a cream colored dress approaching me, wearing a look of shock even more outstanding than her make up as she gasped softly.

“What on earth Kwangmin? You are going to get caught for littering!” she pointed to the rose petals on the floor and the lights in the trees.

As usual, Min Kyeong. Always focusing on the wrong things.

Everyone laughed at Min Kyeong’s comment, totally ruining the moment, and obviously forgetting to sing.

“WELL,” I raised my voice slightly as I cleared my throat. When I noticed all the eyes on me, my voice immediately softened and I tried to avoid eye contact with anyone. “I, uh, I did this because… uh, I mean, I wanted to… AHHH. I’m just gonna do it.” I commented subconsciously out loud.

And with that I mustered up all the courage I had in me, bent down on one knee and presented to her the diamond ring that I had been saving up for.

“Min Kyeong, you are my princess. Would you marry me?”

The look of shock from before on Min Kyeong’s face was replaced with one of elation and excitement. As she nodded her head profusely, she quickly helped me up and gave me a big bear hug. Hugging her back, we remained in that position as passers-by congratulated us while my boys sang for us in the background.

She was perfect.

Life was perfect.

Within a year, we got married. As her father held both our hands before placing his daughter’s in mine, he gave us a slight pat on the back before he whispered “be happy.”

Emotions overwhelmed me.

As we said our vows, a tear rolled down my cheek. MinKyeong looked over and chuckled as she wiped it off my face.

I curse these overly sensitive tear glands of mine for embarrassing me on my wedding day.

But then again, nothing beats the happiness I felt on that day.

The flowers bloomed and the birds chirped as though celebrating our marriage with us.

It was spring.

Our favourite season.

Like I had expected, a hand patted my back gently, snapping me back to reality. Startled, I turned to look at the man standing next to me as he flashed me a slight smile. “She is fine. It’s just the withdrawal symptoms. She will wake up in an hour or two.”

As expected.

I bowed slightly at the doctor thanking him for his efforts before I closed the door to MinKyeong’s ward. Pulling my sweater over my body, I walked over to the window and half-shut it as the breeze was getting a little too strong. Then, I carefully tucked MinKyeong’s hands under the blanket. Once again, as with every visit to the hospital, I sat on the chair beside her bed as I helped myself to a glass of water while I stared at her face.

How I wish I knew how MinKyeong felt. How I wish I knew how to take her pain away. How I wish I could keep true to my promise of making her happy for the rest of her life.

Caught in my thoughts, a cold hand reached for mine and rested on it softly. “What’s the matter?” MinKyeong asked with an almost inaudible voice. Caught off guard, I jumped slightly.

“Oh, ah Minkyeong uh, that was pretty fast.”

“What do you mean? Was I out for a long time?” Min Kyeong asked with sense unlike her usual after-medicine-nonsensical-state.  

I shook my head and I allowed my lips to curve into a smile. Was it relief that she was alive, or was it just a reflex that every time she looks at me I have to show her that I am fine so that she wouldn’t worry?

I gently her head as I took a seat on her hospital bed and stared into her eyes that looks at me with such love and hope despite her situation.

“I have something for you.” I finally said after what seemed like ages of silence.

I cleared my throat as I pulled out the ring I was fiddling with the whole time since I came in the morning.

“Happy wedding anniversary Minkyeong.” I wished as I lifted her finger up and slipped the ring into her index finger with ease. I had hers made like the size of her wedding ring but they no longer fit perfectly as she had lost so much weight. As I fiddled with both her wedding ring and the new ring I just got her, emotions overcame me and I had unknowingly whispered “Here’s to many more years together.”

Minkyeong’s lips parted as though she had something she wanted to say in return to what I had just said but she quickly pressed her lips together again and instead, just smiled at me and nodded. “I love you.” She said all of a sudden. Minkyeong was not the type to express her love verbally so easily without some sort of alcohol or emotional breakdown that precedes the confession. My heart skipped a beat as I looked at her and reciprocated her sweet gesture.

Just like that, she made me fall in love with her all over again. Without a second thought, I leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips.

Pulling away from her, I reached in to my pocket again and took out two necklaces with a ring hung on it as a pendant. Lifting my own hand with the ring, the two other necklaces in the other, I brought it closer to her so that she could see. “When the kids are old enough, they will wear it on their index finger, just like us. It’s our promise ring. But it’s not the regular promise ring you get… it’s our family ring. Our promise to be a family forever till the end of time… together, forever.”

Minkyeong smiled at me. “Wherever we are, we will always be a family”

How I wish time could stop in this moment. Where Minkyeong is happy. Where we are happy. Where I get lost in her eyes, and she gets lost in mine.

Of course, that’s impossible… definitely not when we have kids, and YOUNGMIN.

The kids barged into the ward and pounced into my arms, followed by Youngmin who raised his hands in the air and sang as though he was at a club.

“Oh the beauty of a private room!” He exclaimed as he greeted MinKyeong with our new song and a crazy dance, setting MinKyeong into a laughing fit.

Youngmin always had that ability to make MinKyeong laugh like she was a little girl. I used to get jealous over this connection and relationship they had but years down the road, I couldn’t be more grateful to him for making my MinKyeong laugh even in times of difficulties and hardship.

In the midst of all these chaos, I stared at Youngmin intensely, trying hard to control my laughter at the clown he has become.

“PUT YOUR HANDS UP UP UP UP UP U…. WOAH. Okay Looks like we interrupted something we shouldn’t have kids…” His voice trailed off as he took a few steps back and the children giggled shyly. “Erm… Do you want us to go get some ice cream while you two, you know, finish up whatever you had to do.” He joked as he winked at MinKyeong and me.

How old did they think we were?! 18?!

“Come on Youngmin you know we are long used to you always interrupting at the wrong times but we forgive you considering you took care of the kids for us for a night.” I teased back as he shrugged and sat on the other side of MinKyeong and pulled out a picture from his back pocket.

We glanced at the photo and before we even had a closer look we knew what it was all about. Being parents of two, those photos were already familiar to us.

“YOONJI IS PREGNANT?!” I exclaimed, probably a bit too loudly.

Youngmin nodded, a silly face stuck on his face. “Due in October. That’s why she couldn’t be here today since she isn’t feeling too well.”

MinKyeong smiled brightly at him as she congratulated him and told him that she can’t wait to meet the new addition to their family. Youngmin took her hand into his and patted it gently, “So you have to be healthy alright? So that you can watch the children grow up to be the amazing people they already are.”

And with that, he bid us goodbye and left to be with his wife and children.

“You heard that, be healthy and we will watch our children grow up to be the amazing people they were meant to be.” 

Hey Everyone! We are so sorry for the hiatus. We have been really busy and we havent had time to really do anything except for the stuffs that kept so busy. 

Here's a new chapter, a long one to make up for the absence. Please be patient with us and enjoy the story :) 

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Love, 

YooGeum