CHAPTER 6

“Please fasten your seatbelt and put your seat in an upright position!” The pilot announced, over the intercom.

Yonghwa didn’t even notice the announcement. It’s been a rough week and all he wanted to do right now was go back home. He closed his burning eyes and started thinking back to the day he found Seohyun, ‘Why does she have to be so stubborn?’

“Yong Oppa, you haven’t fastened your seatbelt.” Seohyun reminded Yonghwa.

“You’re awake.” Yonghwa gave a small smile, “How are you feeling?”

Seohyun rolled her eyes. It seemed like he would ask the question at least a million times a day, “Again, Oppa, I’m fine. You know, being pregnant doesn’t mean that I’m sick. Unlike someone I know.” and she looked meaningfully at him. Then, she proceeded to ignore him and started to read a manga, Crayon Shinchan, she bought.

Yonghwa hated the tense silence between them. There was so much he wanted to do and say but he can’t. Seohyun had laid down the rules and he had to abide by them or she would leave. At least, she agreed to stay with him for a while. He had three months to change her mind and based on their interaction for the last couple of days, he had to be careful, determined and patient to win back her trust.

“I’m going to take another nap, don’t forget to take your medicine Oppa.” Seohyun said, and closed her eyes.

*Flashback*

“Mrs. Jung.” Those words seemed so foreign for Seohyun, “Your husband is going to be fine. He just need to stay in the hospital for some tests and observation but he should be able to go home tomorrow.” The doctor said.

“Make sure he starts eating properly, get some exercise and stay away from stress. If his ulcer is not taken care of now, it might escalate into something worse.” The doctor added, as he left for the rest of his rounds.

A numb Seohyun was sitting next to an unconscious Yonghwa. The doctor had given him heavy-duty painkillers that knocked him out. Seohyun was still extremely frazzled from Yonghwa’s collapse.

Seohyun stared at her husband, “YongOppa, how could you make yourself so sick?” Then, she held onto his hand as she tried to sort through her emotions. He had hurtled her and she hated him and had sworn to stay as far away from him as possible. She also realized that underneath all the hurt, she still cared deeply for him. After all, he was her first and only love but could she ever forgive him for what he did? He claimed that he loved her and what happened was a big mistake. Should she risk exposing herself to more pain by giving him another chance? All she knows right now was she was tired and scared.

She felt Yonghwa tightened his hand and looked up, “Hi Hyun.” Yonghwa whispered. Then, he noticed the unique antiseptic smell of a hospital, “What happened? What am I doing in a hospital?” The last thing he remembered was talking to Seohyun.

“Oppa, are you feeling better?”

Yonghwa, still feeling disoriented, didn’t respond. Seohyun immediately let go of his hand to go fetch the doctor.

“Hyun. Where are you going?” A panic stricken Yonghwa sat up and asked. He immediately laid back down as a wave of dizziness hit him.

“Oppa. You shouldn’t move.” Seohyun came back to his side instantly and made sure that he was alright, “Oppa, I’m just going to get the doctor, I’ll be right back okay? Don’t move.”

“Don’t leave.” Yonghwa said, with his eyes closed.

“I promise I’ll be right back.”

~

Five days later, at Seohyun’s apartment, “Not fair. I think your pills are cuter than mine. Let’s swap.” Yonghwa stated. They were both in the kitchen, Yonghwa taking his prescribed medicine andSeohyun taking her vitamins.

Seohyun looked at him strangely; she was starting to notice something about her husband, “You have a weird sense of humor.” She commented.

Yonghwa blushed. He certainly wasn’t scoring any points with his wife. He’s been trying his best to negate the uneasy atmosphere between them but instead, his old nerdy high school self that he had worked hard to dispel was starting to show up again, “Sorry.” He mumbled.

Seohyun raised a thick straight eyebrow, wondering what was wrong with him this time. She personally thought that what he said was cute but then again, who knows? They’ve had a lot of awkward moments like this. A silent truce was being honored, neither wanted to broach any topic that might be upsetting, ‘No stress.’ The doctor had ordered. Seohyun gave a bitter smile, ‘Yeah right, like I can just wave a magic wand and all our problems will disappear. At least, he’s eating properly for now.’

“So, are you tired? Do you want to watch some TV?” Yonghwa said hopefully. He had been sleeping on the couch and every night, Seohyun would retire early. He was no longer to go inside her bedroom.

Seohyun was actually having a good day for a change. Her hormones had been driving her crazy lately. She’d go from happy to depress in a split second. She’d start crying for no particular reason and more often than not, she would be too tired to do anything. Then, she looked at Yonghwa, ‘I wonder how long he’s going to stay here?’ It was getting harder for her to deal with everything andYonghwa was a problem she could do without.

“I have a better idea, why don’t we talk.” She said seriously.

Yonghwa took one look at Seohyun’s expression and nodded, all the while mentally preparing himself for the conversation ahead. With mutual agreement, they headed towards the couch.

“I don’t mean to be rude but when are you leaving?” Seohyun served the first shot.

“I can leave any time you’re ready to go with me.” Yonghwa hit the ball back to her court.

“Who said anything about going with you?” Seohyun volleyed.

“Well then, I guess I get to stay for a while.” Yonghwa slammed back.

Seohyun sat there glaring at Yonghwa. Why won’t he just leave me alone? She remembered all the sleepless nights and tears she cried. It took her weeks to get on with life again. Actually, it was finding out that she was pregnant that made her determined to get her life back together.

“Oppa, my doctor told me that I shouldn’t have any stress in my life right now and you are nothing but stress. In short, you being here is not healthy for me.” Point for Seohyun.