I'm Here for You
My Perfect Stranger
I slowly woke up to the faint sound of a machine rhythmically beeping. My body felt sore and my throat was really dry. Where the hell could I be?
As I opened my eyes, I squinted from the bright lights above me. I turned my head to the right and saw a window bringing in much more light. I groaned them turned my head to the left and spotted Minho sleeping in a chair next to the bed. As I took in my surroundings, I soon figured out that I was in the hospital. I remembered that night that got me there, but only vaguely. I needed answers.
"M-Minho..." My voice came out raspy. "H-honey.." Then I coughed uncontrollably at how dry my throat was. That ended up getting his attention.
He hopped up and quickly made his way to me. "Kibum? You're awake! How are you feeling?"
"Thirsty...."
A smile broke on his face. "I'll send a nurse in to check up on you while I go and get some food for you."
I scrunched my eyebrows. "You're leaving?"
He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "I'll be back as soon as possible. I promise. I'm just going to get food and a nurse. When I come back, I'll explain everything, ok?" I nodded then he left, leaving me to my thoughts.
How long had I exactly been in the hospital? What happened that night after I passed out? Where's Jonghyun? More importantly, where are my boys? Ugh, I really hope they're ok.
Minutes later, Minho returned with a nurse and the food he'd promised.
"Hello, Mr. Kim," said the nurse. "I'm Nurse Lee. How are you?"
I said with much difficulty, "I-I'm ok. Just thirsty a-and sore."
"Well before you can eat, I'll have to check your vital signs." She took some blood work, checked the machines and took notes. "I'll be back in a couple of hours with results and the doctor. Get well soon." She bowed to me and Minho before leaving.
Minho got up and sat the food down on the table next to the bed. He grabbed a bottle of water and put a straw in it so it would be easier for me to drink it. He held the straw to my lips and I gladly accepted the drink.
"Thanks, honey," I said after drinking the water halfway.
He chuckled. "No problem. Do you want any food now? I have Subway," he held up the bag.
"No thanks. I was just thirsty. I don't really have an appetite right now."
"Alright." He pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down before holding my hand in his. "So what's going on?"
"I should be the one asking you that. What happened to me that night? Where are my children? What happened to Jonghyun?"
He tightened his grip on my hand to calm me down. "That night when you tried to pull Jongin and Taemin away from the fight, Jonghyun accidentally punched you in the side of your head near your ear. After that, you were knocked out. Everyone instantly panicked. You have no idea how much I wanted to kill Jonghyun then, but my main priority was you. The boys were crying hysterically. It was a really sad scene. After calling the cops, I called your mom to get the boys."
My lip quivered before I whispered, "I really hate that they had to see that. Oh, my poor boys."
"I know. I feel bad for them too. They looked afraid of Jonghyun. They wanted to be nowhere near him after seeing what he'd did to you, so they ran upstairs until your mom came. As I tried to pick you up, jonghyun instantly became enraged saying that it was his job to do that or whatever."
I rolled my eyes. "So typical of him."
Minho continued, "I ignored him and brought you to the couch in the living room. The only helpful thing he did was bring a cold wet rag to place on your forehead. We sat in silence the whole time looking at you until the ambulance came. After asking questions and getting the full story, they decided to call law enforcement and arrested Jonghyun."
My eyes widened. "They arrested him?!"
"Yeah, they said since they couldn't ask you whether not you wanted to press charges, they were going to keep him in a holding cell as they proceed to file charges against him."
"But didn't they have to ask you too?"
"Yeah they did."
"And what did you say?"
"I told them to arrest him. I informed them about the restraining order and the fact that he trespassed made it that much worse."
I stared blankly ahead. I couldn't believe that Jonghyun actually got arrested. I mean, though it's true that it's his fault why all of this happened, I didn't want him getting arrested. What about the boys? I don't want them knowing their father is in jail.
"Drop the charges," I said after minutes of silence.
"What?"
I looked at him defiantly. "Make them drop the charges. Tell them that I don't want to press charges."
His eyes widened. "Kibum, are you crazy? After all he's done, you're still protecting him?"
"You don't understand. You wouldn't understand-"
"Then make me understand, Key."
I sighed. "I can't have my kids growing up without him. I just can't. I'm sure whatever he's going through isn't as bad as it may seem. I just feel that if he goes to therapy or some type of institute, then he'll come back fine. I know he's a good person, Minho. He doesn't deserve to sit in jail."
Minho inhaled deeply before exhaling. "Listen, I love you, Key. If anything happens to you, I don't know what I'll do. You don't understand how much I wanted to ing murder him when you didn't move. Key, I can't risk anything like this happening in the future, and neither can you. You have two kids that need you right now, more than anything. If you happened to leave their life because you couldn't wake up from a coma, it would destroy them."
I shook my head. "But-"
"I get that Jonghyun's a good father, but he's not a good person to you. You have so much faith in him and it ing annoys me sometimes, Kibum!" He looked down at our conjoined hands as he calmed down before looking at me again. "I just think the best thing for him is to be away from you, and I don't mean by a restraining order. I mean for good."
The look on his face told me he was serious. He was fed up with Jonghyun's antics, more than I was. It really made me feel bad because he didn't have to put up with this. He could've left me anytime, but he stuck through everything because he loves me, and for that, I couldn't be more grateful. The least I can do is ease him of this stress.
"What about my kids?"
"Key, I swear to you that they'll be fine. It may be hard in the beginning, but I've known these boys long enough to know that as long as they have you, they'll be able to get through everything. I promise you, I'll step in as much as I can to be a father-figure to them. They don't deserve to grow up fatherless. I agree with that. But what I don't agree with is having them grow up with a mentally unstable father."
I pursed my lips before sighing. "You're right. You've always been right. I guess it's just so hard for me to let him go because I don't want to believe he's mentally unstable. When we were dating, he was the most mentally stable person I knew. He was always happy and had great advice. I guess when I look at him today, I still see that same person." I detached our hands so I could place my head in them. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, I don't want you stressing yourself out, ok? You've been in the hospital three days because of that."
I popped my head up. "I've been in here for three days?!"
"Yeah. We all were quite surprised because usually it only takes one night for someone to recover from what happened to you. The doctor told me your stress levels were out of this world and your blood pressure was really high. He said it took longer for you to wake up because your body was still trying to regenerate itself. You just need to stop stressing out so much, Key. Honestly, it's starting to scare me. My wish is for you to be healthy and happy."
I stared solemnly at my lap. My heart was feeling really heavy. Minho was right. I couldn't keep lying to myself like this. I began tearing up because I couldn't believe this moment was actually happening. Soon enough tears were streaming down my cheeks.
"Oh, Key." Minho got up and hugged me. "I'm so sorry. I know it may be hard to hear, but you need an escape from him. Things happen for a reason, baby. I want you to know that I'm here for you all the way, ok?"
I nodded in his chest as I sniffed. "Thanks, honey. Thanks so much for being here. I owe so much to you. You're so amazing."
At that moment, the door opened, revealing my mom and the boys. My mood instantly changed as always, and instead of letting out sad tears, I was crying tears of joy. It's been so long since I've hugged them.
"Umma!" They both ran towards the bed. Minho helped them get on top and they both hugged me before I placed a kiss on both of their cheeks.
"Umma," said Taemin, "why are you crying?"
I smiled. "These are happy tears, sweetheart. I'm crying because I missed you two and I love you guys."
Jongin started crying, "We missed you too umma." That only set Taemin off to start crying as well. "Appa scared us. He hit you, umma. What if he does that to us!"
I wiped their tears as I said, "There's no need to be afraid of your Appa, ok? This whole situation was an accident. He still loves you guys. I never ever want to hear you say that you're afraid of him. Understand?" They both nodded as their sobs quieted to sniffs. "Now, go say hi to Minho."
Both of their faces lightened and they got off the bed to hug Minho. While they were preoccupied with him, my mom walked over to me.
"Hey, umma."
"Hey, son. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine now. Where's Appa?"
"Well, your Appa had to work, but he sent his condolences."
"Well when you see him, can you tell him that I love him."
She smiled. "Of course, sweetie. Why so sentimental?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I kind of miss him and wish he were here."
"If it makes you feel any better, he came the first night you were here. Both of us did. Your Appa's really worried about you."
I sighed. "And that's what makes me feel even worse. I don't want you guys worrying about me. You both should be enjoying your own lives."
"Kibum, you're our son. It's natural for us to worry. We just want you to be well off with someone good for you. Like Minho," we looked over to see Minho playing a hand game with the boys. The sight had me smiling, "He's perfect for you and your family. I'm not just saying that because he's financially stable, but because you just seem happier. Me and your appa can easily see it without you having to say anything. We believe that if you stay with him, there's a bright future for you."
I smiled at her. "So you guys gossip about me?"
She chuckled. "It's not gossiping. We were just discussing our concerns about you. We know that Minho's the one for you."
"Yeah~, but you never know. I don't want to get my hopes up."
She kisses my head. "Whatever you say, honey."
Hours later, the doctor walked in with the nurse. "Nice to see you're awake, Kibum. I'm doctor Cho. Based on your results, you'll be able to be discharged today. However, you will need to be put on medications and monitored for the next three weeks to make sure your stress levels aren't above normal. Mr. Kim, you really need to slow down on things. I recommend that you stay homebound for at least a week. I've contacted your job to let them know about the situation. Any questions?"
"Um, what type of medication will I be on? I don't want it to affect my work environment when I decide to work again."
"Oh, they'll be mild medications. They won't affect you too much from doing normal activities. But I still suggest that you wait at least a week before going back to work."
I nodded. "Thank you doctor."
"You're quite welcome. You're free to leave now. Nurse Lee will see you out."
At that, we began setting up to leave. I was given clothes to change into and Minho gathered all of my things. The nurse led us downstairs to the front desk to sign out. What surprised me was the scene outside. When we walked out of the glass doors, there was a mob of paparazzi, security, and random people. It was really hard to get through the crowd.
I picked up Taemin while Minho picked up Jongin as we tried to move through the swarm of people. A security guard tried his best to lead us out. Sadly, I couldn't block my ears from the questions being thrown at me.
"Is it true that you're having an affair with the idol, Kim Jonghyun?!"
"Is it true that Kim Jonghyun is abusive?!"
"Are these two boys your love children with Choi Minho?!"
"Minho, do you have any comments?!"
These questions were really getting to me. Minho whispered in my ear, "Just ignore them. We're almost to the car."
"Umma," said Taemin, "I'm scared." There was a tremble in his voice as he hid his face in my neck. I'm not surprised that he's scared. The scene itself looked scary with how many people were there and the many flashes from the cameras.
By the time we got to the car, security had the crowd far away from us. I let out a sigh of relief. My mom was really concerned.
"Kibum, do you have to deal with this everyday?"
"No. I guess the news got out about Jonghyun. Let's not forget he's an idol. Plus, Minho's involved and he's a famous soccer player. I bet magazines are dying to get their hands on this story."
My mom shook her head disapprovingly. "This is not safe for the kids."
"I know, umma. I just need to get them home."
She hugged me and kissed me cheek. "Ok, be safe." Then she left to go to her car. Minho helped me put the boys in the car before we got in and drove off.
Jongin asked, "Umma, who were all of those people? Why did they ask about Appa?"
I turned to look at him. "Don't worry about it, baby. Just don't mind them." I turned to look at Minho with a worried expression, in which he returned.
When we arrived home, we quickly went inside just incase paparazzi found out where I live. Once inside, I told the boys to go upstairs and take a bath. Me and Minho walked into the living room and flopped on the couch.
I let out a sigh. "I can't believe that they know. Ugh, my life is already complicated enough. I don't need this."
He came over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Key, don't worry about it ok? Remember, the doctor doesn't want you stressing yourself out anymore than you need to be. Let's just sit back and watch some tv," he said as he grabbed the remote and the tv.
I nodded and snuggled into his chest.
The TV was on the news. Everything seemed normal until they mentioned Kim Jonghyun. I already knew wear this was going. Minho tried to turn the channel, but I snatched the remote out of his hand and turned up the TV.
"It's been reported that famous idol singer, Kim Jonghyun, is in a holding cell at the local police station awaiting a court date. Just three days earlier, deputies were called to Kim Kibum's residence, a celebrity stylist known for working with big idols such as Girls Generation and Big Bang, because of a dispute that took place. What's more alarming about this situation is the police were called by famous soccer player, Choi Minho.
According to sources, Kibum and Minho have been dating for a couple of months. What makes this story mind boggling is the fact that Kim Kibum has two children with Kim Jonghyun. Maybe that would explain the dispute that took place at the stylist's residence.
Based on police reports, Kim Jonghyun and Choi Minho had gotten into a physical altercation due to Kim Jonghyun's trespassing and desire to see his children. Somehow, Kim Jonghyun ended up hitting Kim Kibum, who tried to stop the fight. He's been in the hospital until today.
That's all we have on this story. We'll update you as soon as we have more details."
I stared blankly ahead as Minho cut the TV off. I couldn't believe that the media knew that much of the story.
"Kibum, don't worry-"
"Don't worry? The media knows just about every detail of this event and you want me not to worry? Minho, my kids are involved in this! If it were just us, I wouldn't care, but they involved my kids. I'm so happy they didn't say their names or put up pictures of them. The lives and integrity of my children are at stake, Minho! I can't have this happening right now."
"Just calm down, Key."
"Yah, how can you be so calm about this?!"
"Because I'm your boyfriend who's worried about you. I would be making the situation worse by freaking out. I'm here for you, Key. I'm here for the whole ride. No matter what happens, I'm here. I just don't want you to end up in the hospital again because of your health. Don't put so much stress on yourself."
I poked my lips out and buried my face in his neck. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. This is just really getting to me. It's bad enough I gotta deal with Jonghyun's mess, but now I gotta deal with the whole world watching me."
He kissed the top of my head. "It'll be over before you know. Just wait. Everything gets better with time."
Uh oh! Now social media knows! Let's just hope Minho helps Key deal with this stress. Please share your thoughts! ^.~
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