• DARA •

 

I'm nervously tapping my index finger against my thigh as chaerin drives to the hospital. I can barely speak, much less cry.

 

Aunt Su-hyun? A car accident? I shake my head and lean it against the cold window. She had to be ok. chaerin said she didn't know the exact details. sam had called her and had only said she had gotten in a car accident. Not knowing anything else caused me to because a nervous wreck. What if she was seriously hurt?

 

"Calm down, dara." chaerin tells me, breaking the silence. "She's going to be ok."

 

"How do you know?" I snap and through him an apologetic look for being so harsh.

 

sHe flashes me a reassuring smile. "I just know." I sigh and stay silent, watching the passing cars. We arrive at the hospital in no time. chaerin hasn't even stopped the engine and I'm ready running across the parking lot.

 

"dara, slow down!" sHe orders, slamming the door shut and locking the car before running after me.

 

I ignore her, not slowing down. In fact, I only increased my speed.

 

"Aishh, Dara!" I hear her say and suddenly her warm hand is around my wrist, pulling me back. "It's all going to be ok."

 

I nod and he uses her thumb to wipe away a tear that must have escaped.

 

"Let's go." sHe tells me, kissing my forehead and leading me towards the hospital's front door. We step inside and walk over to the lady at the front desk. She seemed to be in her early thirties with red hair and black eyes. The minute she sees us, she looks up from her computer.

 

"How may I help you?" She smiles.

 

"We're here to see Park Su-hyun." I blurt. "I'm her niece."

 

The lady nods and looks down at some papers, letting eyes scan over them before looking back up. She points down a hall.

 

"She's down the hall on room 14." She informs us.

 

chaerin nods a quick thank you as I grab her hand and begin pulling her towards the direction of room 14. I quickly spot it, running over and prying the door open without hesitation.

 

"Aunt ?!"

 

"dara?" Her voice says, surprised. She lying on the hospital bed, a surprised look on her face. From what I could see, she looked...fine. She looked fine. I heaved a sigh of relief and walk over to her.

 

"Are you ok?" I ask her. "What happened?"

 

She takes my hand and squeezes it. "I'm fine, Sweetheart. Just a little bruised and sore. Some lady was texting and driving and didn't see the light change. She drove right into the passenger side of the car. Luckily, it's the car that was severely damaged. Not me. The lady, on the other hand," She sighs. "She's in a coma."

 

"That's terrible!" I exclaim. "But I'm glad that you are ok. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't."

 

Aunt smiles. "I'm glad you care, dara." I feel chaerin drape both her arms around me, resting her head on my shoulder.

 

"She freaked when I told her." sHe informs Aunt .

 

Aunt chuckles. "I can imagine." She looks between us. "How did y'all sleep?"

 

"Like a baby." chaerin jokes, kissing my cheek. I feel myself blush, but I try to hide it. "It was a calm night," I tell my Aunt. "I kinda needed the escape. I feel like...like everything's finally coming together."

 

"Good to hear." My Aunt smiles.

 

"Park Su-hyun ?" A deep voice interrupts, the room door creaking over.

 

chaerin and I turn our heads simultaneously to see a man standing there. Judging from his clothes, he was a doctor. He was tall and surprisingly good-looking for a guy his age. He had long brown hair that fell down beneath his ears and hazel-brown eyes.

 

"Dr.Jeane left on lunch break so I took over," He explains as he walks over to stand by the bed. "I came by to see if you were feeling..." His voice fades and his eyes widen. "Su-hyun?" He squints, getting a closer look at Aunt Su-hyun.

 

"Su-hyun?"

 

Aunt Su-hyun's eyes widen as well. "J-Jack?"

 

"It's you." The doctor, Jack, murmurs, a mix of emotions flashing throughout his face.

 

chaerin and I stand there awkwardly, confused and not knowing how to react or respond.

 

"Oh, Jack!" Aunt motions him forward and they hug, tears glistening in both their eyes.

 

"It's been years!" She exclaims. "I never knew what happened to you!"

 

They pull apart and Jack wipes a tear from his eye, clearing his throat. "I thought you were dead." He runs a hand through his hair. "He told me you died when...when you were giving birth."

 

Aunt gasps. "That explains why he made us move. That, that explains a lot of things!"

 

"Um ," I interrupt. "Aunt ?"

 

She turns to looking at me, her lips forming an 'o'. "Oh! dara, this is Jack. Jack, this is dara and her girlfriend chaerin." She motions to us with her pointer finger. "dara, Jack was..." Aunt bites her lip. "He's the last boyfriend I ever had."

 

"Oh...!" I realize, all of it making sense. "Nice to meet you." I greet him while tugging on chaerin's hand.

 

Jack simply smiles. "Nice to meet you too."

 

"I...we should...go." I intertwine my fingers with chaerin's and we leave the room, leaving Aunt and Jack to bond and catch up.

 

"That was odd." chaerin said once we're outside.

 

"Who do you think he was talking about when he said 'he told me you were dead'?"

 

"My grandfather." I tell chaerin, disgust in my voice. "From what Aunt has told me, he was a mean, mean man."

 

"Hm," chaerin's nods in agreement. "Do you think Jack could be bom's father?"

 

I don't even hesitate to reply. "I don't think. I know."

 

• • •

 

CL and I wait outside for like twenty minutes. Believe it or not, we didn't get bored. The way chae had her arms around me was pretty soothing and the way she kept placing random kisses on my face had me completely distracted. Why did ever think about of pushing her out of my life for good? I must have been crazy or something because I don't want chaerin away from me. I want her as close as possible, forever and always.

 

"I thought you guys had left." A familiar voice breaks our silence.

 

We both look back to see Aunt walking out way, Jack supporting her weight.

 

"They released you from the hospital?" I question.

 

Aunt nods. "It's just a few bruises. I should be fine. Jack's driving me home."

 

I run a hand through my hair. "Oh, well..." I pause. "Hey, Aunt ? Is Jack-"

 

She cuts me off, shooting me a look. "Yes."

 

I feel chaerin elbow me and Jack glancing oddly between the three of us.

 

"Are you-" I begin but Aunt butts in again.

 

"Later." She assures me. "It's too...early. We should get going anyways. See you back at the house."

 

I simply nod, allowing chaerin to wrap an arm around me and lead me towards the car. "She seemed nervous." I observe.

 

"Yeah. But telling someone they have a 22 year old daughter isn't exactly easy to do." chaerin comments.

 

I nod my head in agreement. "I can imagine."

 

• • •

 

When we arrive at the house, Aunt and Jack are already there. Their sitting in the car talking. I can tell it's serious and I have a pretty good feeling I know what it's about.

 

chae and I head inside to find sam sprawled across the couch...with tiffany?

 

"You're still in town?" chaerin blurts. tiffany turns, her cheeks blushing. "I had a free week. Thought I'd spend it here."

 

sam winks at me from the couch and I roll my eyes. chaerin doesn't notice.

 

"Oh, well, I'm warning you." chaerin says. "I think things are about to get emotional."

 

"What do you mean?" sam questions, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Hey, guys!" bom appears at the bottom of the stairwell. "Have you seen my-" She's cut off by the door opening.

 

Aunt and Jack are standing there. Aunt wipes tears from her face while Jack just stares, his eyes gliding across the room. Aunt must have told him everything, I guessed. From how she'd been lied too as well and to how it was just yesterday we found out bom was her daughter.

 

It must be tough, you know, the truth slowly unveiling itself day after day. Aunt motions a very confused bom forward. "Jack," She begins. "This is bom. Your daughter...our daughter."

 

bom eyes widen. "What?"

 

"He's your true father, bom." Aunt tells her.

 

"I'll explain the full story later."

 

Tears glisten in bom eyes. She's speechless and unmoving, not even taking a step toward Jack.

 

"You're my daughter." Jack blurts, breaking the silence between them. "My daughter."

 

He opens his arms and gives bom the option of hugging him or walking away. She hesitates but then throws herself into his arms, wrapping him arms around him tightly.

 

"Daddy."

 

I smile and turn to chaerin. "I think we should give them and..." I motion to sam and tiffany who are awkwardly cuddled on the couch. "and them their privacy."

 

chaerin nods in agreement. "Let's go." sHe takes my hand and we make our way upstairs. We head into her room and don't bother to turn off the lights as we slFip in beneath the covers. It's not even close to nighttime yet but for some reason this felt right.

 

chaerin wraps an arm around me and kisses my lips gently. "I love you." sHe informs me. I smile in the darkness. "I love you too."

 

We stay silent for a while, my thoughts floating in my head. Suddenly, I break the silence.