Sitting on the bench in front of the operation room was Ga-in with her somber expression. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her nose pinkish after so much crying and sneezing.

The handkerchief she had in her hand had been tied into a big knot where she could no longer tie another one. She felt nothing except that her world had crushed down into a state beyond repair. Her mind was busy reciting whatever mantras or verses she knew, praying hard that Woo-bin could make it out alive.

“Ms. Cho, since we can’t get into contact with Mrs. Choi, and you’re the biological mother of Woo-bin, we would like to get your approval for us to perform on him. Would you come to the hospital as soon as possible because Woo-bin is in serious condition right now?”

Ga-in was looking for a suitable gift for Woo-bin since it was the first day since he got his bone marrow transplant treatment when she got the call from the hospital. Her mind went blank for a whole minute before she recomposed herself.

Immediately she dropped everything in her hands and drove straight to the hospital. She was almost out of breath by the time she reached Woo-bin’s ward. There she saw him unconscious with many tubes attached to his tiny body.

Her heart ached so much seeing him in that state.

“Woo-bin was having his bone marrow transplant treatment before he coughed out blood and went unconscious. From the report we get, we suspect that he has contacted pneumonia. We’re truly sorry for our mistake of missing such sickness when he was showing symptoms for the past few days. But now our priority is to perform the operation for his safety.”

Though she really wanted to get mad at the team of doctors surrounding Woo-bin but she couldn’t help herself to do so. All she could do was sign the papers and send Woo-bin into the operation room.

Her vision turned blurry while droplets of tears started to fall when Woo-bin was out of her sight.

Waiting for a minute to pass was like slashing her fresh again and again. Ga-in could be seen pacing up and down in front of the operation room biting her lips. When she was tired, she would just sit there, staring straight at the door hoping that someone would come out and inform her that the surgery was a success.

Ga-in didn’t know how long she had been waiting but she only came to her sense when someone pulled her hair forcefully before landing a slap on her face that sent her to the floor. When she looked up, that person was no other than Park Bom, Seung-hyun’s wife and Woo-bin’s stepmother.

“How could you sign those papers without my acknowledgement? Who are you and who gives you the authority to do so?” Another slap landed on the right side of Ga-in’s face when she screamed at her. Anger and hatred could be seen in her eyes.

Ga-in got herself up before coming face to face with Park Bom. Staring straight into her eyes, she replied, “Because I’m his mother!”

Park Bom scoffed at her answer and said, “Mother? Are you serious? Do you know what his likes and dislikes are? Do you know his favorite food and drinks? Do you know his hobbies? Do you know about his habits and addictions? You abandoned him when he was just a few months old baby to Seung-hyun and now you do dare to proclaim yourself as his mother! What a joke!”

Hearing what Park Bom had said was like stabbing a knife into her heart non-stop.

Yes, she won’t deny the fact that she left Woo-bin in Seung-hyun’s care when he was just a five months old baby. But, she had a reason for her action. She was only eighteen while he was twenty four, both young and immature when they had their first baby.

So when Seung-hyun’s family decided to migrate to the States, Ga-in chose to let Woo-bin go in the hope that he would get a better and favorable condition to grow up into real man.

Yes, she was indeed clueless about all Woo-bin’s likes and dislikes or anything about him, but she swear she has never forgetten about him even for a second.

He always held the first spot in her heart.

She had in fact tried her best in keeping their relationship alive by having long distance calls or video calls. She may not have the chance of hearing him calling her as his Mommy, still she was content to hear him calling her Auntie.

His cute little voice was the sweetest. Not to mention his big dark eyes that he inherited from his father, those were calming and heart-warming too.

“Answer me, mother of Choi Woo-bin! Are you mute or do you feel that you’re so great that you can decide on behalf of me? Open your mouth and talk to me!”

Park Bom’s voice echoed through the empty corridor. It was so loud that made nurses from another department come running to pacify them.

Looking at Park Bom and those nurses surrounding them, Ga-in felt as if she was the black hole in the universe, all alone by herself.

Her mind was empty and she couldn’t reason out an answer for Park Bom. She knew Park Bom cared for Woo-bin as her own child and that was what she had been grateful for all these years. But, denying her the right to do the best for her son was unacceptable! After all, she was the one that carry him for nine months in her womb and went through hell when delivering him to the world. That was what differentiated the two of them.

#                                        #                                      #

Mark Tuan was not surprise at all when he saw his mother step into the room together with their family lawyer, Mr. Lee. He had been expecting this to happen soon given that Mr. Lee was a family friend and that he was a poor actor in front of his mother dearest. Mrs. Tuan could smell his lies like the ants to the sugar.

“Hey, mom, what brings you here at such an hour?” Mark Tuan acted cool and asked casually as if he was clueless of what was about to happen.

“Stop acting innocent. You do know what I want to know, don’t you?” Mrs. Tuan sat down in front of Mark Tuan before nodding her head to Mr. Lee. Understanding her signal, Mr. Lee took out a stack of documents and placed it on the table.

“I won’t beat around the bushes and I’ll ask it right away. Mark, why did you have our Mr. Lee got involved in Ga-in’s fight for the full custody of Woo-bin?”

Putting down his pen, Mark Tuan shifted his attention from the PC to Mr. Lee and lastly his mother. Judging at Mr. Lee’s guilty face, he knew the elderly man must had felt bad for breaking their promise of keeping Mrs. Tuan from the secret they had.

Turning to his mother, he saw a concerned mother that constantly worried that her son might make the wrong choice in his life.

Wearing a smile on his face, he answered, “It’s simply because I believe that he is the most suitable and capable person in helping her in her fight.”

“But why must it always be you that poke your nose in her business?” Mrs. Tuan asked, unsatisfied with his reply.

“I’m not being nosy. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do as a boyfriend of Ga-in.”

Hearing him proclaiming himself as her boyfriend made her blood boil.

“I just don’t understand what was so special about Cho Ga-in that made you fell head over heels for her. Don’t you know she brings shame to you and our family’s reputation?”

Shaking his head, Mark Tuan disagreed about what his mother had said. “No. I didn’t feel ashamed at all by being together with her. In fact I feel grateful to God for sending such a rare gem to me. As a matter of fact, don’t you think I should be the one feeling ashamed of myself when it is an open secret that I’m the illegitimate son of Chairman Tuan?”

Mrs. Tuan widened her eyes upon catching the word ‘illegitimate’ slip out from Mark’s mouth. She felt a sharp pain in her heart.

“Mark, are you that ashamed of yourself and most of all, are you telling me that it’s all my faults for giving birth to you?”

Seeing his mother’s reaction to his earlier reply, he knew he had unconsciously hurt her feeling and pride as a mother. How he wished he had the power to turn back time and put a stop before he had the slip of tongue. Well, he had none and so he could only retort to apologizing.

“I’m sorry mom. I didn’t mean to humiliate our status. It’s just that I feel Ga-in and me are of the same boat. Both of us have a background or past that no one can understands except ourselves. It’s just as simple as that. I’m sorry if my words hurt your feelings.” Slowly Mark walked towards his mother and offered to wipe of her tears.

Pushing his hand away, she cried, “What had she done to my precious son? What has she done to you that you would rather hurt your mother than siding with her? Why have you changed into such someone an unrecognizable person?”

Holding her hands into his, Mark begged, “Mom, please stop putting the blame on Ga-in. She has done nothing in changing me in person. She had in fact been rejecting me for three years before she gave her nod to be my girlfriend three months ago. Mom, it was me that chased after her like a mad man. She had never tried to seduce me, never! Mom, it is your son’s heart that couldn’t control his feeling from falling deeper into her.”

Shaking her head in disbelieve, Mrs. Tuan choked and started to sob.

Pulling his mother into an embrace, Mark said, “Mom, why don’t you try and put yourself in her shoes? You’re a mother as well, right? Surely you know how it would feel when your son calls you Aunty instead of Mommy. And the truth is that she has been suffering in silence for the past six years. It was me that encourages her to fight for her son now that Woo-bin is in critical stage of leukemia while Seung-hyun has just returned to Korea in the attempt of expanding their family business. Mom, the main culprit of all these drama is me, your son, Mark Tuan Yi En.”

No one spoke for the next few minutes. Sensing that it would be better to leave the mother and son alone for some private moment, Mr. Lee excused himself in discreet.

Memories of her olden days came into her mind, so fresh that it looked like yesterday. There she was, a young and innocent girl when she took up the post of Personal Assistant to the now Chairman Tuan. And she fell in love with him at first sight and accepted him into her life even though she knew he was a married man with three children. Still, she agreed to be his hidden lady and hide from the crowd.

Mark came into their lives when she merely passed her twenty birthday. Raymond Tuan aka Chairman Tuan was over the moon for having a son to inherit his company when his wife could only give him three daughters.

Being the hidden lady had never been easy for her. Rumors and gossips could be heard when she was brought along to attend the Annual Dinner Celebration. She felt bad and ashamed of herself at first, but slowly she became immune to those kinds of talks. Though she was still not officially recognized as the wife of Chairman Tuan back then, she still felt proud of being the mother of Mark.

Every mother in this world is great as they carry a heavy burden on their shoulders. They would always do and provide the best for their children in the hope that they, the children would achieve success in the future. And it was then that she realized that Ga-in must had been baring the pain of not being able to stay close with her son. Having a son to address you as Aunty instead of Mommy was like rubbing salt on the open and septic wound that Ga-in had in her heart.

When she had her emotions in check, Mrs. Tuan pulled herself away from her son. She looked into her son’s eyes. There she saw honesty, loyalty and love. She had seen those pair of eyes before and that was exactly twenty eight years ago when Mark’s father asked her to be his woman.

“Tell me Mark, what is the percentage of you guys winning in this court case?”

“I’m not sure Mom.”

Honestly he had no idea of whether they may succeed in having the custody right from Seung-hyun since Woo-bin had been under his care for so many years. Still, he would fight till the end for Ga-in’s sake.

“I guess it’s below thirty percent. But, I still hope that the judge will give us the benefit of the doubt as Ga-in had just donated her bone-marrow for Woo-bin’s treatment. We may lose at the end of the day but it’s better than if we had never had such a fight.”

“Who taught you to have such low self-esteem on yourself?  Didn’t I telll you since ages ago that only take up the fight when you’re hundred percent of winning? Now that you started this fight, I would like to see a champion but not a loser when the day comes. Do you understand what I have to say?” A smile could be seen on her face when she spoke.

Though he was puzzled to her sudden change of attitude, but Mark was glad that his mother gave him the support he very much needed from the beginning.

“Thanks Mom. Thanks for being understanding and willing to stand by my side. Thanks for everything and I love you Mom.” Mark went forward and gave his mother a hug.

his back as she used to do, Mrs. Tuan replied, “I love you too, my son. You’re Mom’s everything in life, aside from your father. I’m proud of you Mark for being such a responsible grown up man.” Mark went on to hug his mother even tighter.

#                                       #                                     #

By the time Mark reached the hospital, it was already past midnight. He parked his car and went straight to Woo-bin’s ward. And there he saw the one he cared and loved dearly sitting there with a blank expression.

Slowly he approached her. She got a little surprised when Mark sat himself next to her but she managed to give him a smile.

“Mark, let’s drop our case. Can we?” Ga-in popped the question.

“Why Ga-in? What happened?” asked Mark with concern. “Is there something had happened when I wasn't with you that changed your mind out all of a sudden?”

Shaking her head, she answered, “No. Nothing had happened. It is just that I don’t feel like continuing this fight anymore. It’s just a waste of time when we all know our chance of winning is as slim as a piece of A4 paper.”

“Why it is now, Ga-in? Didn’t you tell me that you want to stop to your suffering? Didn’t you say you want to hear him calling you Mommy? Didn’t you want to be there with him till he is a fully grown up man? Where have your dreams gone? What happened to you that you decided to abandon your dreams?” Queried Mark with anger.

Looking up at Mark when she was about to break down again, Ga-in replied, “I’m sorry Mark. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this mess of mine. Let’s stop before it’s too late for us to pull away, okay?”

“Marry me then if you want us to quit!”

“What?” Ga-in looked at Mark wide eyed. She was seriously dumfounded in hearing his proposal.

“I said marry me, Ms. Cho Ga-in. Agree to be my wife and I’ll ask Lawyer Mr. Lee to drop the case.”

“Stop joking with me, Mark when I’m serious.”

“I’m serious too, Ga-in.”

Ga-in paused and stared at him in disbelieve. She thought he must be out of his mind to even bring out the subject of marriage. It was not that she felt phobia of getting married again. She just hadn’t prepared herself to enter another marriage and commit herself to someone. After all, they had only been dating for three months. Marriage for them seemed to be too fast.

“It’s not funny Mark. I’m a divorcee with a son. People have been talking about us ever since we announced our courtship. I don’t think I would be able to withstand that kind of pressure if I chose to be your wife. It would be unbearable.”

Ga-in’s answer got to Mark’s nerves. He couldn’t get why Ga-inn was so ashamed of herself.

“Cho Ga-in, listen carefully to what I have to say now as I will only say it once!”

Ga-in gulped down the lump that stuck in and had her attention fixed on Mark. Cold sweat wet both her palms while her heart was beating at an abnormal rate.

“Yes, I do is my answer, Cho Ga-in.  Yes, I do want to marry you as my wife. I don’t care about  the the others talk about us behind our back, but I want you earnestly. Yes, I do want to start a family with you. You may have Woo-bin from your previous marriage with Seung-hyun, but I swear I will take care of him like my own if the court’s rule favor us. Yes, I do want to have a fairy tale ending with you. So, will you agree to marry me?”

For a moment, Ga-in’s mind couldn’t think of anything. She was truly touched by his confession. And that brought her to tears.

Mark took out the ring he kept in his pocket and kneeled in front of her. This time he asked for her hand in marriage with a much serious tone.

“Will you marry me, Ms. Cho Ga-in?”