“Taeng, calm down!”

Tiffany tried to pull Taeng back when Dr Choi wheeled Jessica quickly into the operating theatre. He looked grim and Tiffany was terrified. But she had to be strong for Taeng’s sake. The man was crumbling down.

“Jessica!!! Jessica!!!”

He yelled and screamed; trying to push Tiffany away but Yul was quick to hold Tiffany’s back. He was definitely the stronger one. He pulled Taeng towards them and made him sit in front of him.

“Kim Taeng, calm down! You need to calm down!”

“Kwon Yul, how do you expect me to calm down?!”

“You have to! Jessica needs you! So you have to calm down!”

Yul yelled as loudly as he could. Sunny was beside him and Tiffany was hugging Taeng tightly.

“Taeng, you have to calm down. Yul’s right. Jessica needs you. What if she sees you like this, her condition might get worse, Taeng.”

Taeng looked at his friends’ faces; one at a time. They were worried for him. He sighed before burying his face in his hands. He was crying. Tiffany caressed his back while Yul squeezed his right shoulder tightly. 

“We’ll be here for you, Taeng. Jessica will be fine. We will pray for her.”

Sunny’s soft voice was calming him down somehow. 

*

Dr Choi was panicking. Jessica’s blood pressure was going way down below. It was risky for her and her baby. The nurses were assisting him and a few other doctors were also nervous.

“Dr Choi, maybe we should remove the baby!”

“Yes, I’m planning on that but this is too risky. Nurse Hoo, can you get her husband’s permission on this?”

“Yes Dr Choi.”

Nurse Hoo left the operating theatre quickly. Dr Choi was trying to keep Jessica breathing. 

“Come on, Mrs Kim. Come on, hang in there.”

His hands were shaky. He administered some medicine quickly to prolong Jessica’s life. Nurse Hoo quickly came in and reported to him.

“Mr Kim said just do anything to save their lives. But he emphasized on saving Mrs Kim’s life.”

Dr Choi nodded his head and the team quickly got into position. Dr Seo Juhyun and Dr Kim Hyoyeon were there to help him. Dr Seo has experience with comatose clients and Dr Kim has ample of expertise to assist in this operation.

“Dr Choi, this is it.”

Dr Seo was looking at him. He nodded his head and then quickly did a Caesarean on Jessica. He looked nervous. He had never been so nervous before. For some reason, this lady on his operating table means a lot to his love and also to his newfound best friend. 

“Jessica Jung, please stay with me. Just stay with me.”

He whispered softly. 

“Dr Choi, her blood pressure is falling quickly. I will do something about it.”

Dr Seo was quick with her actions. Everybody in the operation room was nervous and the moment was heart-thumping. Nobody dared to move a single inch. Dr Choi struggled for a moment but somehow sighed in relief when he saw the baby.

“How’s the blood pressure, Dr Seo?”

“She’s stabilised.”

“Okay, im going to remove the baby now.”

“Ready as you are.”

Dr Choi scooped his hand gently and held the baby’s body tenderly. He was sure not to hurt the little baby. And he somehow managed to pull the baby out to safety.

He lifted him up by the legs and hit his back gently. The baby let out his first cry and everyone heaved in relief. Dr Choi was almost in tears when he heard the baby’s cries. One life has been saved. Now he has to save another.

But Jessica’s blood pressure suddenly plunged downwards. It was going down at a fast rate that even Dr Seo was completely nervous and terrified.

“Is she losing too much blood?”

Dr Choi quickly requested for more blood bags. One of the nurses ran out of the room and quickly grabbed a few blood bags. The beeping sound from the machine was intimidating. The doctors raced against time just to get Jessica Jung to stay alive.

“God dammit!”

Dr Choi was no longer calm and composed. Jessica’s heart has stopped beating.

“Hurry!”

He requested for the defibrillator and Dr Kim quickly pulled out Jessica’s operating gown. 

“Clear!”

She shouted and Dr Choi placed the heated pads on Jessica’s chest. They did that a couple of times and Dr Kim was still monitoring her heart beat. Although the ordeal lasted for 5 minutes, it felt like hours.

Dr Kim finally found a faint pulse. 

“Detected a faint pulse.”

Everybody almost died especially Dr Choi. He cried out immediately.

“God, Jessica Jung, don’t do this anymore!”

It was clear to everybody. Jessica Jung means a lot to the people around her.

*

Taeng was still waiting with anxiety. When Nurse Hoo came out to look for him, she looked panicky for some reason. He didn’t like the way she looked at him – her eyes were filled with pity.

“Dr Choi seeks your permission to remove your baby immediately.”

Taeng’s mind was blank. What does that mean?

“What? But isn’t the baby premature?”

“We didn’t have much choice. We need to save the baby quickly.”

Taeng was terrified. It was a life-death decision. It was terrifying. He was still staring at Nurse Hoo. 

“Are both mother and baby will be fine?”

Sunny asked quickly.

“We’re trying our best.”

Her voice was desperate. Taeng was still stumped. He turned numb; not knowing what to do. He had to make a life-threatening decision. If he made the wrong decision, he might lose Jessica or the baby or maybe even both. He couldn’t afford that; he cannot lose either one.

“Mr Kim?”

He snapped out of his thoughts and then nodded his head.

“Just do whatever he thinks is right for my wife and my baby. But please, keep the mother alive.”

“I understand.”

Nurse Hoo ran back in; leaving Taeng cold and bereft. Everybody was stunned with the sudden decision. Sunny was tearing as she clutched her tummy tightly. She’s pregnant too. Yul was hugging her. 

Tiffany was staring at the operating theatre. Her mind was in chaos. She suddenly closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. 

She was praying. She was praying really hard. 

Taeng watched as his parents; Jessica’s parents; his friends were surrounding him; worried for Jessica and his son. At that very moment, he wished he had a time machine. He would travel back to the first time he saw Jessica.

Regrets filled him up instantly and he broke down eventually. He slumped to the floor.

“Taeng!”

He didn’t react to anyone. His eyes were filled with warm tears and he was crying like a little baby. It was heart-wrenching and everyone couldn’t help but feeling sorry for Taeng.

Tiffany was dying as well. She was partly responsible for all these sad moments right now. Watching Taeng losing himself everyday to pain and misery, Tiffany couldn’t help but feeling extremely sorry for him. She sat down beside him on the floor; took his hands and held on tightly.

“Taeng?”

He slowly turned to look at her.

“Whatever happens, I’m right here with Soo Young.”

He just looked on blankly; unsure what he should react.

“Even if something happens to Jessica, I’ll help you to raise your baby together with Soo Young. Yul and Sunny are here too. We will help you.”

Taeng nodded his head gently as Tiffany pulled him closer. He became like a little child; wanting someone to hug him. Tiffany wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly. 

Sunny, too, hugged him from his back and Yul was sitting beside the two ladies as he watched his best buddy crumbling in pain. It pained him too. Kim Taeng wasn’t like this but he was reduced to nothing. 

Yul looked around the room and everybody was crying or sobbing softly. He then stood up and then went down on his knees. Sunny was shocked.

“Yul?”

“Dear God, I’m Kwon Yul, Taeng’s best friend. I know you can listen to me but please take my words seriously.”

Taeng looked up; puzzled to find his friend kneeling down on the floor. 

“Kim Taeng is a changed man. He has turned over a new leaf; giving his all and faithfulness to his one and only wife, Jessica Jung. Please pity on them. They are expecting a baby together and so am I with my wife, Sunny. I just want the four of us living happily in the future, sitting at the verandah; watching our children playing together.”

Taeng’s eyes filled with tears. His friend was praying for him.

“I’ve never seen him loving a woman this much.”

Tiffany nodded her head. She agreed.

“I’ve never see him crying for a woman like this.”

Yul’s tears were trickling down from the corner of his eyes. Sunny wiped his tears away.

“So please, please stop this pain and misery. Please put an end to his sufferings. He deserves another chance with 
his wife. They are meant to be. So please, as a plea from his best friend, please don’t take Jessica away from him.”

Taeng cried loudly.

*

Taeng stood outside of the nursery. He saw many babies lying side by side in their little cot beds with pink and blue cloth wrapping them into bundles. Pink are for the girls while the blue is for the boys. They were sleeping peacefully and Taeng broke into a small smile.

All of them are beautiful. He looked up and tears filled his eyes. His son was inside an incubator. He’s a premature baby. He’s really small.

“Taeng?”

He turned to find Dr Choi, now has become one of his good friends,