Chapter 56

Yuri peered into the dark room. She pressed her hot pink lips together. With a flip of her hair, she walked over to the crib. Taehyun was curled up into a ball, lying on his stomach. She tilted her head to the right. She ran a hand down his blanket, trying to straighten the wrinkles. He whimpered with a flinch.

“Come & eat please?” She lovingly whispered. He didn’t respond, “You haven’t eaten much in a week. You are worrying me, Hyunnie. You don’t have to eat any broccoli.”

Taehyun moaned. She bit her lips. Oh god, her son was really killing her. He had cried nonstop for five whole days. The least he had eaten was eight tiny spoon of applesauce on the whole week. He hadn’t drank his milk. His body was getting weaker. His ribs were showing. There was no life back in him. He cried. He slept. This wasn’t her son.

Her true son sips all of his applesauce. Her loving son drinks his milk with no drops to be found. Her cute son used to be chubby. His cheeks should be pink, not pale. His eyes should be alive, not lost. He was an energetic bunny-child who hops on forever without any stop but now, he’s lying in his crib, crying & then going to sleep without any pleasant dreams.

“Hyunnie.” Yuri brushed his hair. Hotness climbed up her hand. She swallowed then her lips parted. Her son was having a fever, “Oh god, Hyunnie. Don’t you dare do this to me. Don’t you dare get sick. Oh, god.” She quickly took him into her arms. Wherever her hands touch, hotness covered them. She swallowed over & over again, but then, became dried. With him in her arms, she ran out of the apartment.

“You have to be alright, Hyunnie. You have to be.” Her grip on the steering wheel was nothing but brutal.

“If anything happens, if any...oh, you have to be alright.”

Reaching the hospital in a motherly, panicking way, a nurse grabbed Taehyun away from her arms. She was an extra, standing there like everybody else waiting for the results of their love ones but she, she was left with nothing. Her arms fell empty. There was no Taehyun to comfort her because it was her fault of getting him sick. There was no one to comfort her. Her family was half a world away from her & she was three-fourth a world away from her son.

This was all her fault. Should she have remarried the man who cheated on her? Should she have stayed in Korea with her heart getting crush again? Should she have done all of these instead of waiting for her son adversely affected?

Yes. She should have. For all she cared, she would have die for him. Her son’s sake. Her son’s sake. Oh lord, she loves him dearly. She loves him more than her own life. Then why did she not take the man’s offer & remarried him? Nothing for remarrying him would be as bad as Taehyun being sick. She hated herself. She wasn’t a good mother as Jaejoong had said. She was a terrible mother.

“Ms. Kwon.”

Yuri glanced up from her outstretched hands & saw Taehyun’s doctor. She walked up to him, trying to see through her blurred eyes, “Is...Is my son alright?”

“Half.” He answered.

“Wha...What do you mean?” She asked, almost couldn’t breathe.

The doctor forced a thin smile onto his face, “Let’s sit down first, shall we?” He didn’t wait for her answer & lightly pulled her onto a bench, “He usually gets fevers on summers but this one is only half of it, Ms. Kwon.” He cleared his throat, “His ribs are showing. Now, can you tell me why? This solution is serious, Ms. Kwon. If you had been starving him…”

“I haven’t.” She whispered, head down with her elbow on her knees, “He...He wouldn’t eat.”

The doctor’s worry face turned even more worrier, “& why is that?”

Yuri hesitated, “We just came back from Korea about a week ago. He found the father he had been wishing for. After coming back home, he refuses to eat anything that was given to him, only a few sips of applesauce. He only wanted his father.”

He sighed, “That’s going to be a problem. With the problem of his starving, the missing needs & this high fever going on, we are not sure if he’s going to make it but now…”

“No, doctor! He’s going to make it! I know he will! He’s a strong boy!” Yuri cried, finally looking at the elderly doctor, “He...He can make! Please, help him?!”

“Ms. Kwon, you need to calm down. We are trying our best.”

“No!” She cried, shaking her head, “You don’t understand! I only have him! I have nobody else! I...I can’t live without him, doctor!”

He patted her on the back, “We need your permission to feed him food through tubes. Only liquid-like food will go through. If you would sign this, we will start the procedure right away.” He handed her a click board. She reached her shaky hands out & stared at it, “This will take time since he hadn’t eaten for days.” The doctor explained some more, “He can’t swallow much though. We will have to feed him through his nose while he’s asleep.”

“Why not after he wakes up?”

“If we don’t do it now, he won’t have enough energy to go through the emotional problem & fever & I’m afraid he won’t wake up any sooner. It’s the best to feed him through the nose now. If we feed him through the mouth, he will choke.”

She nodded jerkily. With a pen in her hand, she scribbled her name down.

“Thank you, Ms. Kwon.” He said, taking the clickboard back.

“Can I see him now?”

“Not yet. We have to start the procedure now but afterwards, please try to whisper comfort words to reach into his deep dreams. Emotional problems had mostly caused this. He misses his father. I would advise you to call him, Ms. Kwon, & get him here. The kid needs the most comfort from one he’s dreaming about.”

He stood up & walked away. She clamped her hands over her face. Call him? How?

“Ow, Jae Oppa.” Jessica giggled, “You stepped on my toes again.”

Jaejoong sighed. He was in another world again, “I’m sorry but I told you I haven’t dance for years now.” “You liar.” She giggled again, “The last time we danced together was about a month ago.”

“That seems like years to me.”

“That’s why we are here to practice our dance. You already knew how to do the box step but the parts where you are to spin me around, you are supposed to keep doing the box step. Not standing still.”

Jaejoong groaned, trying not to be so imprudent. He was here with his fiance, trying to relearn how to dance again, at a wedding reception but his whole head was full of his ex-wife, “I always try to remember that.” “Maybe you are trying too hard.” She said gently, “But let’s not give up. Look at those elderly couples. They are eight times better than us.”

“Well…”

A cell phone rang. They both dropped their hands. Jaejoong patted his sean john marcus straight-fit jeans pocket. Jessica reached for her pocketbook but then remember that they had been dancing. She stare as Jaejoong opened his cell phone.

“Hello.” There was no responses, “Hello?” It became a question. A cleared throat was heard. Frowning, he covered the phone piece & turned his attention to Jessica, “I’m not sure who it is. Can you wait here?”

“Sure.”

Jaejoong walked away, wondering whom the person was. A number he didn’t know was shown. At the far corner alone, he his lips & turned his attention to the person on the line.

“Hello?”

“Jaejoong Oppa.”

He compressed his brows, “Yuri?”

She cleared again, “Yes, it’s me.”

Her voice was shaking but he could tell that she was trying to hide it. He blinked; knowing that something was going on. She would never call him unless something had happened.

“What is it?” Jaejoong slowly asked.

“I...I.” She closed her eyes & rubbed her temples. It was throbbing quickly against her soft skin, a nuisance to her right now.

“Yuri, what’s wrong?” He asked gently, yet wanting her to spit it out, “Tell me?”

Still with her eyes closed, a tear slid down her cheek. She briskly brushed it away, “I’m sorry to bother you, Oppa. H...Hyunnie’s in the hospital. He’s sick from that summer fever & he’s sick from missing you. I...the doctor’s not sure if he will make it.” Yuri bit her lips, not sure if she can continue. She listened to what he have to say but no responses came through. She choked back another tear, “He needs you. Can...Can you come to the states? Please?”

Her lips trembled, waiting for his answer. Yuri placed her left hand tightly over , not letting out a sound of her cries. She wasn’t about to let him know that she was crying. Calling him was bad enough to ruin his day, probably with Jessica. The background music could be heard.

Yuri was still waiting for his answer but the line was silent. She nodded jerkily, understanding that he wasn’t going to come with his silent respond. Of course, he had more important things to do. He had his wedding coming up within two weeks. He can’t miss out on anymore days, even with his precious son.

“Alright.” She uttered out, “If you can’t come, I understand. I’m just calling to inform you that our son will not be waking up without his beloved daddy but we don’t need him. He’s useless to us. Goodbye.”

She hung up, pressed the anger inside of her & walked back to the room.

‘We don’t need him. We don’t, sweetheart. We will make it together.’

Yuri let out a shaky breath & brushed her hair back. The metal door stood before her, waiting for her to open him up. She reached out a hand & turned the doorknob. It creaked as she open it wider, walked in & closed the door. The room was dark. No more than a spark of light was showing in from through the blinds. With weak knees but strong self-assurance, Yuri walked over to her son. She sat down on a chair & took his wee hand into hers. The oxygen mask covered his mouth along with his small nose. Machines were wired onto his small body. Yuri trembled slightly. She should have been the one who was supposed to be on the sickbed.

Right, she should have remarried him. Nothing could be more worst.

“You are going to make it, baby.” She cooed, kissing his palm, “You got to. Don’t leave mommy all alone in this world. You are the only one that really knows me. You brought my world up. You comfort me when I cry. You sing songs to me when I’m sick. You read to me when I’m too lazy to read for you. You brush my hair when I can’t reach it. You always kiss me whenever you are done being mad at me but when I’m mad at you, you always come back to be so energetic. I’m not mad at you now. I was never mad at you. How can I when you are sleeping in this room, not opening your beautiful eyes to look up at me? Oh, sweetheart, please speak to mommy? I love you. Your daddy loves you. We love you. Now, please wake up before he comes here to see you? Yes, daddy’s coming to see you. He’s coming. Just be patient & wait for him. Don’t go too deep into that lovely sleep of yours. Wake up to look at mommy, please? Give mommy one more chance? I will give you what you have always wanted. Anything but you have to name it. Anything, sweetheart. Anything.”

Yuri wiped her tears away with a sniff. A strand of light hair fell down his forehead. She lunged over & brushed it away. Her son’s face was paled. No red cheeks. The outlines of his eyes were blackened. His thick, long eyelashes curved below his bottom lids under the valley of his raising cheekbone. His lips were lightly purpled.

She clutched her left hand at her chest with her right hand still holding his. Her family was coming. She had informed them not only a few minutes before calling Jaejoong. They weren’t going to leave her alone, her father had said. Taehyun needs their comforts too, but at the high expenses of tickets, Mr. Kwon would be the only one to make it along with Doyeon & Ahjoong. With Mrs. Kwon still not strong enough for her own will; Mina was to care over her but she needed Jaejoong along with her son. Another lie of her was given to her son but what else could she have done? If he really loves Taehyun that much, he would come.