Chapter EIGHT; THE BURDEN OF HAPPINESS CAN ONLY BE RELIEVED BY THE BALM OF SUFFERING

Haneul's jaw fell open in disbelief at the situation she was quickly finding herself drowning in. Child neglect? Fine. Child abandonment? Isn't she back for her now? She's standing right here, requesting custody of her child. She simply did not want to donate her bone marrow, she hated pain.

"E-Excuse me?" Haneul scoffed, taking the file out of her friend's hands. Her eyes ran down the court papers, the statement official with the stamp of the courthouse. "Y-You can't be serious, right?" Hyemi wasn't about to back down to the woman standing before her, the woman she was one proud to call a friend.

That was history. Now, the woman before her is a woman she wished she had never met. She was disgusted to the deepest pits of her stomach of the choices she had made towards the welfare of her child, the responsibility of a parents, and the responsibility as a married woman to her family.

"And on behalf of Jieun, I will be suing you for child endangerment. I will make it so you will have no right to take her from us. I have my evidence and I will see that you will have no happy day just like you did to Jieun." Yongguk growled, adding the final punch to the pack. 

He wasn't able to lose her again, not after all he did just to find her. 

Hyemi took a step back, two steps back before shaking her head. Her eyes shifted from her friend to her son and then, she fled.

Yongguk breathed out a sigh of anger, his attention momentarily diverted to his mother as she her knees buckled, collapsing into the arms of her son.

"Mom!" He screamed as he caught her in her arms.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound of the heart monitor echoed throughout the room as Hyemi opened her eyes, white ceilings and white walls greeting her. 

Then, the face of her beloved and their child.

"Yonghwa.." She croaked out, her hand flying to as she realize just exactly how parched she was.

"Sweetheart!" Yonghwa shot out of the chair he was sitting in, his hand gripping at his wife's as he brushed her bangs to the side with worried eyes. He lost 10 years of his life with the one phone call from his son. 

"You nearly gave me a heartattack when Yongguk told me you collapsed." Yonghwa slipped his hands away to spill her a cup of water before lifting it to her lips for a small sip. Once satisfied, Hyemi gave her husband a rather tired smile. He softened. The weight of her decision was leaning on her shoulder and she knew it was the right thing to do.

But this was her friend of decades she was talking about, it wasn't as simple as it was made to be sound.

"Yongguk.." Hyemi blinked as she saw her son sitting in the far distance, her voice dying off as she took in the sight before her. Yonghwa sat down next to his wife, hands never parting from one another's grip as they watched their son.

Her heart broke but the sight before her fortified her decision. It was the right thing to do.

"He argued with the staff after you collapsed that he wanted you to be in the same room as Jieun. That stubborn child wanted to watch over the two woman he cared most about." Yonghwa gave Hyemi's hand a small yet intimate squeeze.

"...That silly child..I was simply just fatigued." Hyemi shook her head to her husband's disapproval. He supported her decision but he would've had second thoughts if he knew what his wife was doing to herself, the decision ultimately taking a toll on her health.

"Simply?" He chastized her gently, a sheepish grin from his wife in return.

"She's going to wake up soon." Hyemi insisted as she gazed at the female laying in the quarantined bed, the plastic covers mounting over the entire perimeter, shutting her off to the outside world. 

"She is. Our daughter is that strong." Tears pricked at Yonghwa's eyes as the wedded couple watched their son. Hyemi broke into a soft sob, welcoming the embrace of Yonghwa. 

In their head and in their heart, they spoke in unison that the fragile girl did nothing to receive this punishment. Has God abandoned his will on her?

Himchan and the rest of the group continued their routine rounds of visiting the hospital and watching over Jieun though the only difference is that Yongguk has not budged from her side since that day. He went home to shower when his father came to pick up his mother, completing the discharge papers but in no time was he back.

Jimin already knew better than to get on the bad side of the man but his stubborn personality proved dominate. With the help of his parents, Jieun's mother has retreated back to the states but not before creating havoc in court over the custody of her child. The judge ultimately dismissed the case, fining the mother and with the Bang families insistance, a restraining order was put into place on the mother.

The court as well ordered the mother to have herself tested to find if she was a match for a bone marrow for her daughter which was the final stick in the hay for her to leave but, they all knew that she was going to be back.

"Did you eat yet?" Jimin announced his presence as he dumped a lunchbox on the table outside of the quarantined space where Yongguk was. He had taken charge of his lunches considering he knew nothing but Jieun these days. It pissed him off he had to admit, his actions irked him in places he didn't want him to be at.

"No..thanks." Yongguk released the unconscious girl's hand, slipping it back under the covers before slipping out to eat his lunch. Jimin replaced Yongguk's position, watching the pale complexioned girl breathe. This was something he found himself doing constantly these days. Every single day was a precious day for Jieun, a step closer to death if they didn't find her a donor soon.

He watched Yongguk from the corner of his eyes, his eyes wandering around the surroundings as he realized that literally all of the man's paperwork from his company laid astrew around the room. The only place cleared of paperwork was the quarantined space. He knew Yongguk watched him here and there but after weeks of spending with him, his guard was finally down.

I guess he finally trusts me now, huh Jieun? 

His eyes fell to the girl, his hands clasped together as each elbow rested on each leg. 

Wake up soon....I beg of you...

He shut his eyes, tears threatening to spill as his eyes grew glazed. 

The results of the tests for Haneul were coming back today and it put the boys on edge. Yongguk was practically restless, pacing around the room and asking nurses when the resu