Chapter 16

Hope and Chances

In the morning on Saturday, you felt a soft kiss on your cheek and a hand lightly running through your hair.
"Morning sleepyhead." Yongguk murmured.
Squeezing your eyes tightly shut, you rolled over so your back was to him.
"Honey." he quietly said as you felt the bed dip from him sitting down. "Please get up and eat breakfast at least. You didn't eat last night."
"I'm not hungry." you firmly declared.
Instead of moving away, you felt him scoot closer. "Please honey." he pleaded.
You quickly pulled the blanket over your head and buried yourself under it without saying anything.
"Is my still-as-beautiful-as-before butterfly going to emerge?" he asked.
A sharp pain hit your chest as you remember him saying that months ago. Before everything. Before he changed and you pressed your lips together to stop yourself from saying anything harsh to him.
Finally after a few moments, Yongguk said "I have to go in for a few hours but I won't stay long. I'll be back this afternoon. Will you talk to me then?"
Again, you stayed silent and hoped he understood that as your answer.
You felt him lightly drag two finger down the back of your neck. "I love you." he quietly proclaimed. "I will always love you." Then he stood up and you heard him leave the room.
You poked your head out of the blanket and looked at his spot on the bed. "I love you too." you whispered even though you weren't ready to forgive him yet.

The day drifted by and you were only somewhat aware of the time. Perfectly content to lay in bed and not let any thoughts enter your heard. You just stared at the wall without moving.
"I'm hungry."
The noise broke you out of your little stupor and you rolled over. You saw Jaewoo standing next to the bed. You also noticed the look he was giving you and the way his lips were pressed in to a thin line. So you rolled back over and got comfortable once more, ignoring him.
After a few seconds, you heard him run out of the room and you closed your eyes. You let out a small sigh while letting go of your thoughts too. Letting your mind drift back to nothing.
It must have been about an hour later when you heard footsteps in the room. They stopped by the bed but you didn't move a single inch.
"I'm hungry." Jaewoo quietly whined.
You quickly looked at the little boy because of the way he said those two words. It was different before. Just like the look he was giving you, more pleading than glaring. And his fingers nervously played with each other as he shifted where he stood.
You glanced at the clock and saw how much later it was then when you usually fed him lunch. "He must be really hungry." you thought. Then you closed your eyes and took a deep breath, gathering what little strength you had in you before kicking the blanket off.
You climbed out of bed and made your way to the kitchen. Without asking, you hastily put a turkey sandwich together and added some of the cheese crackers he seemed to like. Then you carried it to the table where Jaewoo was already sitting. As soon as you put the plate down, he grabbed one of the sandwich halves and eagerly began eating.
Thankful for not receiving an argument, you turned and left the kitchen. You walked down the hallway, intending to go back to bed, but suddenly stopped. You peered in to the small bathroom and noticed the hand towel had fallen down. You stepped inside and picked it up before hanging back on the rack. Then you glanced over at the white shower curtain, noting how the color of the towel didn't match it. It matched a different one instead.
You crouched down and opened the cupboard door under the sink. Inside was all the bathroom stuff with cartoon dinosaurs on it that you had purchased before. You never did get around to using any of it.
Chewing on your bottom lip, you stood up and walked out of the bathroom. You went to where the washer was and grabbed the tool box off of the shelf above it. You carried it back to the bathroom with you and set it on the counter. Then you grabbed everything from under the sink and began to work.
First you started with the wallpaper, measuring it and cutting it to the right length. Then you filled the tub with warm water to dip it in. Once you got the first piece on the wall, you smoothed it down and used a ruler to get air pockets out of it. Then you used a cloth to wipe the water off of it.
"What are you doing?"
You turned and saw Jaewoo standing in the doorway with a confused expression. You blinked at him for a second before turning away and continuing your work.
"Just take me back." he hissed.
You paused and looked at him once more. "What?"
"Just take me back already!" he yelled while glaring at you.
You didn't say anything for a few moments before calmly asking, "Do you want to go back?"
He pressed his lips together and then ran off. You stared at the empty door way, confused by his actions. But you dismissed it and went back to work.
You hung up the rest of the wallpaper and measured out the border. Then you dipped it in the water and pressed it against the wall. You wiped it down with the cloth, making sure it was firmly stuck before sitting back and admiring it.
A noise from the hall made you turn and your heart skipped a beat. Jaewoo was standing there again but this time, tears streamed down his face.
"Take me back!" he shouted as his shoulders shook. "You don't want me so take me back!"
You stared at him for a while before looking away. You stared at the border and the little dinosaurs in bathtubs on it. How excited you had been when you picked it out. "You obviously don't care about him." was what Yongguk had said and Jaewoo was saying the same thing. "You don't want me."
"This is your home. I hope you realize that one day." you told him. "And we can be your family. If you just give us a chance." You your lips before looking back at the little boy. "If you give me a chance."
His jaw shook a little before he took a deep breath. "I hate you!! I hate you!! I hate you!!" he screamed over and over. Then he ran away and you heard his bedroom door slam shut.
Your shoulders drooped as you looked down at the floor. You took a deep breath before reaching over and grabbing the dinosaur shower curtain.
You took it out of the package and swapped the white one out for it. Then you took a screwdriver and removed the light switch cover. The one that replaced it had a dinosaur in a tub full of bubbles with a shower cap on.
Finished, you cleaned up the mess you had made and put the tool box away. Then you went back to your bedroom and crawled in to bed. Pulling the blanket over you, you curled in to a ball with your arms wrapped around you and closed your eyes.

"Honey." Yongguk said as he gently shook your shoulder.
You opened your eyes and blinked a few times as your eyes adjusted to the light.
"I made dinner." he continued. "Your favorite."
You to your stomach and buried your head under your pillow.
"Honey please." he begged. "You haven't eaten. I'm worried about you." He put his hand on your back. "I'll bring it to you. Dinner in bed."
As much as you wanted to ignore him, you felt a pang of hunger in your stomach. So you shifted a little and brought your head out of the pillow. "Fine." you sighed without looking at him.
Instantly he stood up and hurried out of the room. You sat up and adjusted your pillows before leaning back against them. Then a few seconds later he was back and handing you a plate.
You took it from him wordlessly and started eating. He sat down on the bed again and reached over to rub your leg with his hand. You immediately pulled your leg away though. His hand hovered in the air as he hesitated before moving it to his lap. No longer touching you.
"The bathroom looks nice." he commented.
You shrugged your shoulders and took another bite.
"Did... did he... say... anything?" he inquired while giving you a hopeful look.
You swallowed and felt your stomach turn at the question. You set the plate down on the bedside table, no longer hungry. "He said he hated me." you quietly uttered.
Yongguk's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh honey." he murmured as his face etched with concern and he moved towards you.
You shifted as you turned away from him and laid back down. You curled up and closed your eyes as you fought the nausea building up inside you. Then you felt Yongguk barely touch the side of your head. When you didn't move away, he ran his fingers through your hair.
"I... I'll talk to him. Okay?" he said. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
After a while, you felt him get off the bed and walk out of the room.

The next time you opened your eyes, you your dry lip but it didn't help much. You stretched a little and debated on how much you wanted to leave the safety of the bed for a drink. Then you took a deep breath.
Reluctantly, you slowly got off the bed and shuffled out of the room. You quietly made your way down the hall but stopped just before Jaewoo's door when you heard voices. You listened intently and realized that Yongguk had just finished reading Jaewoo a bedtime story.
"Get some sleep now." Yongguk said.
"The nightlight." Jaewoo hurriedly whined.
You heard some noise and assumed your husband had gone over to turn the light on. You went to walk away but the next words you heard made you stop once more.
"Noona got you that." A brief pause before you heard Yongguk talking again. "Noona was the one who picked out everything. Your toys, your clothes. Even your blanket."
You held your breath and leaned your back against the wall as you eavesdropped.
"You should have seen her at the store. She was so disappointed when they didn't have a dinosaur blanket. So she picked out this car one for you but she was really worried you wouldn't like it. She wanted everything to be perfect for you."
You felt your eyes water a little as you pressed your lips together.
"It was her idea to put dinosaurs in the bathroom for you too." Yongguk continued. "She even panicked cause the bathroom wasn't done when you came to live with us. She was so busy with work, she didn't have time for anything. Just like how I've been working so much. But she really put all her heart in to making sure you had everything."
You let out a shaky breath and wrapped your arms around you. You heard Yongguk tell Jaewoo goodnight and then a few seconds later, he stepped in to the hall and partially closed the door. Then he saw you and his eyes widened.
"Thank you." you whispered before swallowing past a lump in your throat.
He stepped closer to you and brought his hand up. He brushed your cheek with his fingertips. "What do you need?" he pleadingly asked.
"I... I was getting water." you told him.
"Okay." he replied and nodded his head. "I'll get it for you."
You nodded once before turning and shuffling back to the bedroom. You got on the bed and sat there while waiting. You didn't have to wait long though before Yongguk came in to the room.
"Here." he said and handed you the glass of cold water.
You took it from him and drank a big gulp. Then you set the glass down on the bedside table.
"What else?" he asked.
You glanced over at him and your lips. No matter how much begging you saw in his eyes though, you couldn't bring yourself to say anything to him.
Suddenly he stood up. "I understand." he said and pulled the blanket down.
You gave him a questioning look but he merely indicated the bed. You laid down and he pulled the blanket over you, tucking you in.
"I'll wait until my always-beautiful butterfly is ready to emerge."

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Chiiyochii #1
Chapter 23: Aaaaah this was soo cute!!! I couldn't help myself to read it in one go ? thanks for the amazing story!!! ???
Chiiyochii #2
Chapter 1: Waaaaa I just readed the first chapter and I already can tell this gone be one of my fav stories!! I like your writing style it's easy and fun to read. And I love the concept !!!! Let's see how this story develop!! Keep the good work up!!! You have a new fan here ???
VocalPrincess
#3
Reread this and I still love it!
peppermintani #4
Chapter 23: I've never read a fanfic like this before. I loved the drama and mature story, it was so realistic but perfectly paced. It never dragged on and was the perfect length. Thank you!
myuniqueface
#5
Chapter 23: I just read it again, I lost count how many time I've read this beautiful story already :")
Shawn111 #6
Chapter 23: Awww this is a really good story I cried a lot. (:
chuppoppo #7
solarflare authornim! i just thought that youshould know...once in a while i come here and read this all over again. i think i'll never get bored reading this. <3 <3 <3
junghafie #8
soooo lovely and heartwarming /wipe tears/ ;)
Sya_EXOTIC #9
Chapter 23: where can i find a husband like yongguk ╥﹏╥
hes like so perfect in here
ShinSeoRae #10
I can't believe ive only read this masterpiece just 2 years after >_< this was written beautifully and really deserves an upvote..just this made me miss Yongguk more <////3