Chapter 61

Tiffany gasped, “Twins?” She breathed out loud, “But how?” She asked, amidst the pain & shock, “I had a feeling that it could be twins. He must have been covering his twin’s heart beat with his own, protecting the other.” Tiffany smiled again, “Twins.” She said in awe, “We have twins, Jaejoong Oppa!” She screamed again. The pain for this baby seemed five times worse than before. The doctor frowned, “The baby’s head is turned the other direction.” Tiffany’s entire body was overcome with pain, “Is it going to be okay?” She asked.

“I’m sorry but it’s just not coming out right. I’m afraid we have to prepare you for a cesarean section.” Tiffany gasped but she nodded, “Anything that can save the baby. Please save my baby?” The nurse left the room only to be stopped by Siwon, “What’s wrong? I heard a baby cry.” The nurse recognized the doctor in training & shook her head, “Are you family?” Siwon nodded his head, “It’s not okay. One baby came out fine but the other is breached. The doctor has to perform a cesarean section.” Siwon took a step back, a look of awe on his face, “Twins?” The nurse nodded, “I have to be on my way to find an anesthesiologist.” Siwon pointed to his left quickly, “Dr. Kang just went that way. He just passed by here a few seconds ago.” The nurse thanked him & went to go get the doctor.

Inside, Tiffany fretted for the life of her second unborn baby, “Please don’t let anything happen to my baby? Please don’t?” She said, over & over again. The door opened & Dr. Kang came in, “Please relax Mrs. Kim? I’m going to inject the anesthetics now. It will all be okay.” Tiffany barely felt the injection but she did relax, “Now, count backwards from ten to one.” Tiffany nodded & started counting. She didn’t get further than eight. She slept peacefully & dreamed of Jejung & her in happier times & of the future with them & their babies.

Outside, her parents in law & Keunsuk & Sooyoung along with Sunny & Siwon waited for the news. When they had all tried to convince Jejung to come out again, to see Tiffany, they had found him sound asleep. Sunny didn’t tell anyone the spat she had with Jejung before even though it was so hard not to talk about it, “How much longer will it take?” Mr. Kim asked, “It shouldn’t take very long. We will know very soon.” Siwon reassured them, & sure enough, as soon as he had said that, another baby cry sounded through the operating room. The crowd all started laughing & breathing sighs of relief.

The operation was a success. Two nurses came out from the room, each carrying a bundle. One blue & one pink. Mrs. Kim started for them first, “My grandchildren. My first grandchildren.” The nurse handed the blue bundle to her. Mrs. Kim tentatively took the baby & hugged him close to her, “This is the big brother.” The other nurse then handed the pink bundle to Mr. Kim who chuckled merrily, unlike his usual more domineering self, “& this is the little sister. They were born thirty-five minutes apart.” Mr. Kim kissed the little baby girl in his arm, “Welcome to the world, Sora Kim Abby.” Mrs. Kim did likewise, “Welcome to the world, Seungheon Kim Sam.” & she kissed the baby boy. Sooyoung & Keunsuk were the next two to hold the babies. Keunsuk the soft cheek of the baby boy in his arms, “So, when are you planning on giving me one of these?” He asked his wife. Sooyoung blushed & didn’t answer but she bent her head to kiss Sora’s cheek, tweaking her little nose. The nurses allowed Sunny & Siwon to hold them for a minute before whisking them back into the Neonatal Care Unit, “They appear to be healthy but they are still born prematurely so they are still underweight as compared to other normal babies.” Siwon said. They all nodded in responses. After the babies were brought out of sight, they all proceeded to Tiffany’s hospital room. They all sat with her at different intervals. When she finally awakened, it was during Sooyoung & Keunsuks’ watch.

“Soo, Keunsuk Oppa, tell me the truth, how are my babies?” She asked. Sooyoung patted her hands reassuringly, “They are great. You gave birth to a four & a half pound baby boy & a four & a quarter pound baby girl.” Tiffany smiled happily, “Could you tell me how they look like?” Keunsuk answered for her, “They are the cutest babies anyone had ever seen. They both have these really beautiful eyes like yours & these adorable soft pink cheeks.” He went on describing them until Tiffany finally called the nurses & told them to bring Sora & Seungheon to her.

Tiffany went to the baby ward everyday to feed her babies & feel them, singing to them nursery rhymes. She was release from the hospital on the same day as Jejung but for her babies’ sake, she decided to stay in the hospital until they were able to be released as well. Holding her babies in the safety of her arms, she smiled contentedly. It was only with them that she felt the peace that she longed for since the accident. She could spent hours with them & told them all her problems & they would listen, without talking back to her.

“Did you know that tomorrow is going to be your mommy & daddy’s first wedding anniversary?” She asked them. They gurgled in responses. Tiffany smiled with a dreamy fond look on her face as she remembered their wedding day. She nudged the pocket of her robe & felt the present that she had made for Jejung on that day. Every star was made out of her deep love for him. Making paper stars were one of the few things that she could make for him without having to see how to fold them. She could simply make a star by feeling the paper. The stars represented the first time they had seen a shooting star together.

As she remembered the feeling that she had felt on their wedding day, a wave of sadness overcame her. Sadly, all she could do was imagine just how everything looked on that day but the love felt between her & Jejung was unmistakable & stronger than ever on that day, “I love him so much.” She said, hugging Sora & Seungheon closer to her, “I sang for him that day. I wrote him a song that was based on our love. Do you want me to sing it to you two?” Sora & Seungheon again, gurgled in responses once again.

Yunho approached the door to the NCU with caution. He didn’t know how to talk to Tiffany after all that had happened to her. Hearing a baby cry made him remember that she had just given birth to hers & Jejung’s first children. Tiffany heard the shuffling outside & smiled as she recognized those steps, “Yunho Oppa, how are you? Come in & meet Sora & Seungheon.” Yunho smiled & shook his head. She always knew it was him even though she couldn’t see him. He sighed & walked in. His small oval-shaped face warmed up as he saw her with the babies, “They are adorable.” He breathed out & he really did mean it. Tiffany laughed, “Come over here & hold them & then you can hand over the roses. They smell so wonderful.”

“Let me put them into a vase first.” The nurse in the room intercepted, “Here, let me take them.” Yunho uttered a quiet thank you & then proceeded to walk towards Tiffany. Tiffany instructed him how to hold them. He looked down at their cute cherub faces in awe, “Hi, little Seungheon, Sora.” Tiffany started laughing. His baby talk was something so unlike him. Yunho blushed a little but laughed along. The nurse came back with the vase of roses & helped place them in Tiffany’s hands. Tiffany closed her eyes & breathed in the scent, “I just love the smell of fresh roses. What color are they?” She asked, touching the petals.

“They are pink & blue to symbolize the baby boy & girl you just birthed.”

“I love them.” Tiffany said. She then reached down to touch her own pouch, her roses of yesterday’, remembering the day Jejung had given her the roses, “I remember everything that has ever happened between us Jaejoong Oppa, will you ever remember?” She asked quietly. Yunho sighed sadly & handed the babies over to the nurses. He patted Tiffany’s hands, “Have faith, Tiffany.” He reached into his pocket & produced a greeting card typed in braille & placed them in her hands, “This was made by Jejung before the accident. He’s waiting for you.” He then took out the bag that he had been carrying for the whole day along with the roses, “This is also for you. May things turn out better for you by the end of the night tomorrow.” Yunho checked his fossil grant chronograph stainless steel watch, “I’m sorry Tiffany, but I have to go.” He kissed her cheeks, “It’s been so great seeing you again.” Tiffany nodded, “Thank you Oppa, for everything.”

As soon as Yunho left, Tiffany touched the first words on the cover of the card, “Happy anniversary, my beloved wife.” She read, wiping away some tears as she did so. She opened the card. With each word that she felt, her tears started flowing more & more freely. When she finished the last sentence, she gasped & read it over. The card fell from her hands & she felt the feeling of hope touch her.