Yoona’s POV

            I felt my fingers getting colder as I took the flash drive from the back of the picture frame.  I felt like a complete mess, and this whole thing was making me feel even messier.  Seunghyun had just discovered the pregnancy tests.  I had planned everything.  I was going to mourn a little longer, and then I was going to go to New York.  I was going to accept the head of pediatrics position at New York General Hospital and join my cousins there.  I was going to raise this baby, and I was going to do it alone.  It would remain a secret, and I was not going to let Seunghyun know.  He always ruined my plans.  Damn it. 

            I turned my laptop on quickly and shakily pressed the flash drive into my laptop.  After about a minute, I put the cursor over the file and double clicked it.  I pressed my fingers against my lips while I waited for the file to load.  A menu popped up, which gave me the option to play.  I pressed on the play button, and then the room was filled with sound.

            “Hi, mommy!” Violet grinned in the video

            My beautiful angel…she was right there on my screen.  I immediately let out a cry as I covered my mouth with my hand.  My beautiful girl was on the screen.  I could feel her looking at me.  For the first time in a long time, my heart had melted.  Her dark brown hair was down, and she was smiling at the camera brightly.

            “Okay, just say what you want to tell your mommy,” a woman’s voice said, “Just like how you practiced.”

            I recognized that voice.  It was Bom’s voice.  Bom had helped Violet film this video for me.  I was filled with emotions as I tried to memorize every single second of this video.  Violet was alive in this video.  She was lively, colorful, and cheerful.  She was not lying in a buried coffin.  For that moment, she was right in front of me.

            “I just wanted to say I love you so much, mommy.  I love you to the moon and back!” Violet smiled.

            The tears just fell naturally from my eyes.  I had been praying to God for one more moment with my daughter.  I wanted to hear Violet’s voice once again.  I wanted to feel her next to me. 

            “I know that you cried all those nights, mommy.  You cried a lot because of me,” Violet said as she looked down, “You cried because I’m sick, and I know that I’m going to die.  I heard all of my doctors talk about me.  I heard them talking to daddy about my sickness.  They think that because I’m a kid, I won’t understand it.”

            Violet had always been observant.  I felt my stomach twisting.  I had no idea that Violet knew about her condition.  Most children had no idea when something was wrong with their bodies unless there was pain. 

            “I know that I’m dying, mommy,” Violet spoke softly, “Daddy cried when I asked him about what I had.  He cried when he told me about this thing in my brain.  I had never seen him cry in my life.”

            I breathed in.  I had no idea that Seunghyun knew about Violet’s knowledge over her tumor.  My poor baby knew that she was dying.  She acted like the happiest child every single day even when she knew that she was running out of time.

            “I asked daddy not to tell you that I was dying,” Violet swallowed, “I asked him not to tell you because I wanted you to treat me like how a mommy would normally treat her baby.  I wanted to live normally even if it was for a little time.  Daddy and I made a promise.  It was our secret.”

            I felt my whole world spinning.  Violet had tears in her eyes in the video.  Tears were rolling down her rosy cheeks, but she immediately wiped them away.  She replaced her frown with a smile.

            “Our secret was that he would not tell you about my sickness at my request—not until it was almost time for me to go,” Violet sniffed, “In exchange, I was supposed to keep that secret, too.  We pinky promised, and when we promised, I swore on my grave.  Daddy didn’t think that was very funny, but I tried to make him laugh.”

            I giggled shortly at Violet’s odd humor and then pressed my lips together.

            “I wanted you to know the rest of daddy’s secret.  Here I am breaking my secret with daddy because I know it’s going to get in between you two,” Violet stated, “I’m a child, but I know that you two will argue.  When you find out about my sickness, you will blame him, and because I know daddy well, he’s going to refuse to let you know about our secret.  He’s not going to tell you that it was me who wanted to keep it a secret from your because he promised me.  He doesn’t want you to blame me for not knowing about what I have.  It’s not daddy’s fault, mommy.  I asked him to not tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.  My birthday is coming up in a few days…and when you guys ask me to make my wish, I will wish that you would give daddy another chance.  This was not his fault.  He wanted to tell you about my sickness, but I asked him not to.  Please make my last birthday wish come true.”

            The room was silent for a moment.  Yoona felt her body warming up as Violet stared at the camera with so many expressions on her face.  Yoona could hear Bom crying in the background—trying to stay quiet.

            “Please don’t let me be the reason you don’t end up with your soul mate, mommy,” Violet breathed out, “I want you to find your happy ending.  Find your happiness, please.  I love you, mommy.  I’ll love you no matter what you choose to do.  I’ll be able to be in your arms again one day.”

            The video immediately went blank as Yoona threw her head back against her pillow while crying.  There were so many emotions filling her.  She didn’t know if she was sad or happy.  It truly was a bittersweet moment.

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Seunghyun’s POV

One week later…

            I had returned back from Washington D.C.  Everyone was looking at me with a weird look; I didn’t know why.  I stepped out of the elevator to the hospital as I stuffed my hands in my pockets.  I had a heart transplant scheduled for the day, and I was already being called on for three cardio consults.  I felt a hard slap on my back, and then I turned around to see Jiyong.  He had a big smile on his face as he laughed.

            “It’s great to have you back, Dr. Choi.  Isn’t today a good day for new beginnings?” Jiyong asked.

            “What?” I asked.

            He smiled, “Well, there are new interns today.  We have people starting their fellowships today, and Yoona’s here.”

            “Yoona’s here?” I questioned immediately.

            “Yeah, she’s on top of her game.  She came back the day that you left for Washington,” Jiyong informed me, “She’s in a good mood and everything.  Did you two finally make up?”

            No, we did not make up.  She was probably in a good mood because I wasn’t at the hospital.  I didn’t know why, but that ruined my mood. She would only return to the hospital if I were absent.  Did she really hate me that much?

            I walked away from Jiyong as he followed me.  He began to ask me questions about what was wrong, but I ignored him.  Yoona had ruined my day.  She thought she could take away my baby from me?  She thought that this hospital was hers?  I continued to curse out a few words as I made my way into the locker room.

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Yoona’s POV

            “Okay, your baby’s heartbeat is not as good as I want it to be, but we’ll go ahead and set you up on some fluids to keep you hydrated, and we’ll see from there, okay?” I told my patient.

            My patient suddenly grabbed my hand as I stared in shock.  She had tears in her eyes.  Her husband was looking at me with the same look on his face.  I had to admit that it felt good to be back.  I was a surgeon again.  I was helping others again.  I was saving lives.

            “Thank you so much, Dr. Im.  We had been trying for more than ten years to conceive a child.  When we received word that we would have a miscarriage, we were devastated.  Six months ago, you looked at us in the eyes and told us that we were going to deliver full term.  Here we are now!  I’m due next week, and my baby is safe.  Thank you, Dr. Im.”

            “The pleasure is all mine.  Parents like you deserve a child,” I smiled.

            The man admitted, “I have to confess that we were worried.  You didn’t return our calls for a little over a month.  We contacted the hospital, and they told us that you were going through something personal, and we were worried.  We worried that you wouldn’t be able to see us at the end of the pregnancy like we planned.”

            “Well, don’t worry now,” I assured them, “I’m here for you two.  I will deliver your baby when he or she is ready.  I will take care of everything.”

~~~~~~

            “Hello, Dr. Im,” I heard a snarly voice.

            I turned around to see Dr. Ga-in Son in front of me.  What the hell was she doing here?  She moved away from Los Angeles Medical Center once they promoted me as the head of pediatric surgery.  She claimed that she would rather rot than work under someone who used to be her student.  I didn’t mind much because I always knew that I was a better surgeon than her.  She still sported her short hair, but she looked years older. 

            “Long time no see,” I replied.

            I hated the fact that she was still pretty.  She was wearing a white lab coat and a black dress under it.  I looked lower to see that she had on a pair of ridiculously high heels on.  The only time surgeons dressed formal was when they were going to have a meeting or if they were going to present something.

            “Where are you going?” I questioned, “Are you going to give a lecture to the new interns?”

            Ga-in smirked, “Actually, I’m here to mix pleasure with business.  I’m here to perform a surgery on a two-year-old child.  I guess they have you all booked up.”

            I remembered that because Bom quit a few days ago, they were scrambling for a replacement.  I had just returned, and I was taking all the cases I could take.  I frowned as I tried to think of what else she was trying to hint.  She was up to no good.  I had known this woman for years, and she was cunning and very flirtatious.  This woman used her looks and charm to get everything.

            “What do you mean pleasure with business?  What’s the pleasure part?” I interrogated.

            She laughed, “Oh, dear.  Maybe it’s better off if you didn’t know.”

_______________

            I had my hands inside a child’s chest cavity, but I could not stop thinking about Seunghyun.  Jessica just told me that he had come back from Washington.  Who the hell did he think he was?  He thinks that he’s the best just because he was asked to operate on the President of the United States’ cousin?  Ugh, he was so annoying!

            I was about done with the patient, and all I had to do was close his chest.  He was going to survive, and that was all that should have been in my mind—except that it wasn’t.  Seunghyun was on my mind.  He had been on my mind 24/7.  After I saw Violet’s video, I tried to call him.  I tried everything—calling, texting, FaceTime, and even Facebook!  He did not reply to a single one of my messages.  I wanted to tell him that I had a change of heart, but he was making it too difficult.  I could have told him in person, but as soon as he left my house that one day, he left for the first plane to Washington. 

            “Can you believe it?” Minho asked, “Dr. Son is in town.”

            “Yes, it brings back so many memories.  You were still in med school when I met her for the first time,” I sighed, “She’s a good surgeon, but she always had men on her mind.”

            Minho chuckled, “I wonder if hyung is going to survive.  That Dr. Son is a man eater.”

            “What are you talking about?” I inquired.

            Minho stayed quiet.  I knew what this meant.  I had practically raised Minho.  He was my brother, and I knew him like the back of my own hand.  He was withholding information from me, and I needed to know it.

            “Well, there were rumors that Dr. Son was going to see hyung tonight.  I think they’re having dinner tonight,” Minho revealed.

            I asked, “Which hyung are you talking about?”
            I sounded angry.  Even I surprised my own self.  The nurses were staring at me as if it was such a revelation to see me lose my cool.  I tried to regain my composure as Minho stared at me with uneasiness.

            “Seunghyun hyung.  I heard they left about half an hour ago,” Minho admitted, “Noona, I thought that you two broke up?  Why does it even matter?”

            He was testing me.  This boy was testing me!  I wanted to be like a child and smack my own little brother, but I had to remember that I was a world-class surgeon.  I had to remain cool and composed.  I had to have manners in my own operation room.

            “Which restaurant?” I snapped.

            “Noona…”