Chapter 32 – Love her

Four hours. Only four hours but it felt like eternity for the Kwon family. The moment the operation room’s door burst opened along with the head surgeon telling the Kwon family that Yuri’s mother hit her head hard on the floor as she fell down and that was why she fell into deep unconscious but all was well now even though she needed to stay in the hospital for further check-up, that was when Yuri let out a deep breath she didn’t know she was holding. Yoona has been by her side all these times, wrapping her arm around her shoulder while holding it gently enough hoping all her worries will go away.

“So, she’s gonna be okay? When will she wake up? ”Hyesung couldn’t wait to address his worry as he directed his questions to the middle-aged doctor.

“As of now, I can assure you that she’s gonna be fine. If nothing changes, I think she’ll be awake in another few hours. Also, I guess you must know about her heart condition already so please try to keep her from any shocking events in the future.” The doctor calmly said.

After saying thank you repeatedly to the doctor, the three people followed the nurses to Misun’s room. Yuri rushed to her mom’s side as she held her hand, the tanned girl slowly studied her mom’s face. The day Yuri left LA, her mom’s face was never this pale. Why? What happened? Why did she faint? Did she happen to know about her broken marriage? Her thoughts was interrupted by the loud clicking noise of high heels and someone running into the room.

“Yuri-yah, I’m here, is your mom okay?” Tiffany loudly announced her presence. She also couldn’t hide her surprise when she saw Yoona was standing behind Yuri. Did Yuri call her to come here?

“Everything’s okay now, I guess… Did you pack my clothes with you?” Yuri replied.

“Here, only a few of your shirts and jeans.” Tiffany said as she handed Yuri a small handbag as Yuri slowly took and muttered a quick thank-you.

Hyesung nodded as Tiffany formally greeted him. So, it seemed like Tiffany lived in the same place as Yuri and Yoona. That was weird for a married couple to share their apartment with another friend. Were they not making enough money? Anyway, Hyesung just tried to put that thought at the back of his mind. This was no time to be thinking about it right now.

“Ah, that reminds me. I think I should go back to the hotel to pack some of your mom’s belongings, I guess she’s gonna stay here for another few days. Yuri-yah, you’re gonna stay here with your mom, right?” Hyesung told Yuri which she nodded as an answer. “Take care of them” He told Yoona.

“I sure will, aboji.”

As Hyesung just left, Yong appa entered the room. The old man was trying to hide a grin on his face since it would be considered rude if he did so in this situation but he couldn’t help it when he saw his daughter’s hand was on Yuri’s shoulder, comforting her. Guess his daughter, for once in her life, didn’t disappoint the old man.

“Appa…” Yoona addressed.

“Yong appa… You’re here but ho-how do you know??” Yuri confused. Now that explained why Yoona was here.

“My monthly check-up, you know me, I just can’t stand staying in a room for too long. Just happen to see you passing by so I figured something might have happened. So…”

So you sent me a heart-attack text. Look at him, look at how he tried to hide his excitement when he successfully tricked his only daughter. Yoona unknowingly sent a death glare to the old man’s back. Well, she didn’t dare to do this in front of his face anyway.

“Anyway, how is your mother?” He continued.

“She’s fine, Yong appa. Nothing’s serious. She’s gonna be able to wake up soon.” Yuri widened her eyes as she suddenly remembered something “Btw, it’s midnight already and you are still wandering around? You need to rest, go, go back to your room. Where is it? Do you need me t-…”

“Aigoo, I know, I know. Just want to make sure you’re okay.” Yong appa cut short Yuri’s nagging. “But now I see that my rascal is here. Everything is sure gonna fine.” Once again, tried to hide his grin, “Rascal, stay here and take care of her. Don’t you dare leave this room until I allowed you to do so.” Yong appa solemnly told Yoona.

Yoona obediently nodded. Seeing the way Yong appa treated Yuri made Yoona wonder if she was really his daughter or Yuri was? One moment he was all smiling gently at Yuri like a loving father, the next moment he turned to her and he became this person he had always been: grumpy, strict, bad-tempered, throwing things… Yoona could list his bad behavior toward her all day.

“Btw, who is this?” Yong appa directed his question to Yuri while gesturing Tiffany.

“Ah, she’s my best friend, Tiffany Hwang. I mentioned to you a few times before.”

Ah, the barrier maker. He said silently as he studied Tiffany’s face. The old man’s gaze sent some serious chill down Tiffany’s back.

“Anyway, I’m gonna walk back to my room now. You make sure you get some sleep too okay?” Yong appa said as he tapped Yuri’s shoulder.

Yuri smiled. Yong appa always brought this warm atmosphere with him wherever he went.

Well, not for Yoona. Why??? I was your daughter, should I get some sleep too?? Yoona was screaming inside.

“Yah! Make sure…” He called out to get Yoona’s attention.

Yes! Finally! Some attention.

“… to take care of her Mom when Yuri fell asleep, okay?”

Okay, it’s official. Im Jang Yong wasn’t her father. He wasn’t.

Yuri just shook her head at the scene. This man really didn’t know how to express his true feelings. Even though he deeply cared about Yoona, he never showed it. She guessed he just loved teasing her and seeing her getting all frustrated.

Tiffany watched Yong appa’s back as he left the room. This person seemed to be fond of Yuri more than she ever thought he would be. What a shame. If he was present at the time Yoona thoughtlessly hurt Yuri, maybe he could have knocked some sense into his daughter’s head and stopped whatever regretfully happened. Looking at the couple standing in front of her, Tiffany asked herself. Why was it that whenever Yuri needed someone to lean on, Yoona would always be the first person to appear? Why was it that no matter how much Tiffany tried to comfort her best friend, she always felt like it wasn’t enough but just a gentle touch, a sincere word from Yoona could make it all better. Was it fate? Were they meant together? Tiffany wasn’t sure but one thing she knew for sure: Yoona was one missing puzzle piece in Yuri’s life. But did Yuri really need this piece? Tiffany guessed Yuri was the only one who could answer this question.

Yoona turned around as she felt someone tugging at her T-shirt’s lower hem. She was quite confused to see Tiffany who was gesturing her to go outside for a private conversation. Great, what now…

As they walked together in the hospital’s hallway, neither of them knew how to start the conversation but Tiffany decided to be the first one to break their long silence.

“So… you are dating Jessica right now?”

Okay, this was a quite random question, and private too.

“Yeah”

“You like her?”

Great, first it was Yuri now it was her best friend. You guys are best friends, exchanged information please.

“Uh… I guess.” An uncertain answer. Yoona couldn’t understand why in front of Tiffany she felt so guilty because of her uncertain answer. Just guilty.

Here we go again. Uncertain about her feelings, the typical Yoona. This was why she couldn’t trust her. She could say she was in love with Yuri forever and ever one day and the next day she would see her chasing after another girl. This was just pissing her off.

“Yoona-sshi, do you know why I have so many prejudices against you?”

Hurting her best friend the worst way possible? Cheating on her on the wedding day? Sleeping with her, confusing her when she promised to stay away? Well, Yoona could go on forever but she preferred playing dumb.

“Uh… why?”

“Because of your feelings. They are so unpredictable and that what makes you so dangerous to be around. Especially Yuri who always gives more than she takes, her feelings… she gives it all and left her with nothing.”

“I…”

“Yoona…” Tiffany continued as she decided to drop the formality, for the first time in her life she wanted to talk to Yoona as a friend. “Yuri loves you, that 7 days, she already decided to give it all to you and there was no way she can take it back no matter how hard she tried. I always find that hard to believe but you really make her loves you more than she ever did with Nicole tried to do in years. I know this and you know this as well.”

Tiffany paused as she tried to study Yoona’s expression. But it was just so hard to read so she decided to continue anyway.

“Yet, I can’t fully trust you and support this relationship because of your feelings. Your uncertain feelings. You cannot control them and you’re hurting other people around you without knowing. That day, you are so sure standing in front of me and Yuri saying that you love her, you almost persuaded me. Almost. And the next thing I know, you’re going out with Jessica. Her sister. Now you tell me, Yoona, do you truly love Yuri or not?”

Yoona was in awe at how honestly Tiffany was acting right now. She told her, Yuri loved her. She wasn’t all that surprised, like Tiffany said she knew. Deep down inside, she knew Yuri loves her. She could feel it but she couldn’t trust her own judgements anymore. Three years ago, she thought that they were madly in love too and looked at what happened?

Revenge. How stupid. Revenge the person she loves the most and now there was no turning back.

In front of Yuri, Tiffany reminded her what she did to Yuri. As Yoona looked at Yuri’s expression, for the first time, she could feel what Yuri felt that day and finally she fully understood what she had done. Acting like she cheated and breaking their foundation of trust. Trust take years to build but only seconds to break and forever to repair. Yoona wasn’t sure if her love is strong enough to heal Yuri’s wound or in one split second, she would make another mistake and break her heart into million pieces again. Yuri was just so delicate, so vulnerable that one wrong move she might lose faith in love and never love again. Their future… suddenly turned into nothingness.

“I love her, I do love her. A lot. But what I did, it cannot be fixed. I finally understand why you did what you did, asking me to stay away from her. So I moved on, at least I tried to. Not moving on the way I have been doing the past three years, lying to myself, drowning in meaningless and pointless dates but now I really try to learn to love someone again. And I picked Jessica, she deserved it and I trusted me with her. Even though my feelings for her isn’t as strong as love but because it is Jessica, I will never be able to hurt her. At least, around me… she is safe.” Unlike Yuri. Those two last words remained unspoken.

Tiffany was lost for words. She thought that she would never use this word to describe Yoona but Yoona was being very thoughtful right now, for Yuri, for everyone. It was almost like she became a different person. Can love be nurtured? Can you really learn to love someone even though you have no feelings for them in the beginning? Tiffany wouldn’t believe it but right now, she trusted Yoona enough to let her try whatever she had in mind. Yoona would be thoughtful enough that she wouldn’t hurt other around her, intentionally or unintentionally.

For the first time, Tiffany trusted Yoona.

“You know that Yuri cared about Jessica right?”

“Yes, I do.” Yoona firmly replied.

Staying silent for what seems like forever, Tiffany finally spoke.

“If you can… just… Love her”

Yuri awoke in the morning as the warm sunlight hit her face and slowly raised her hand to block it. She was still sitting on the chair beside her mom’s bed and holding her hand. She took a good look around to take in her surroundings and she found Yoona sleeping on the couch while her father sleeping in an armchair nearby.

Slowly making her way toward Yoona, somehow just watching her sleep setting her mind at ease. So peaceful.

There she went again, taking one step further into Yuri’s heart without asking for permission. Time after time. Yuri got down to Yoona’s level so that she could have a closer look at the sleeping beauty.

“You’re here… just like you said before… you’re here…”

Yuri gently tucked a few strands of Yoona’s hair behind her ear, this small gesture accidentally woke the light sleeper on the couch as she stirred slightly. Yuri quickly stood up and composed herself, acting like she just woke up also.

“Uh… You’re up?” Yoona asked half-asleep while rubbing her eyes.

“Yeah...”

“What time is it now?”

“Almost six, I think…”

Almost six, Yoona immediately thought of Jessica who was probably waiting for her at home. She turned around to see Hyesung was sleeping soundly nearby.

“Uh, I guess… I should head home… she’s waiting for me.” Yoona said slowly. She knew those are forbidden words and it hurt like hell as she said so but she wanted to remind herself that Jessica was waiting for her. It was her decision to be with her best friend and now she had to be responsible for it. She was not going to break another person’s heart. Not Jessica.

And it hit Yuri. Yeah, Jessica. Her sister. This was Jessica’s happy ending. Not hers. Jessica deserved this. She deserved love. Yuri should be happy that Yoona did care about her sister but why… this ache inside…

“Yeah, I understand… Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything here. About… our marriage…”

“It’s best to keep it from them for a little longer. It’s okay. Right now, I don’t have anything to do anyway. Call me when you need me.” Yoona finished what Yuri wanted to say. With Yuri’s mom’s condition like this, Yoona was sure that Jessica would understand.

“Sure…, uh... tell her I said hi…”

Yoona nodded as she turned to walk away only to stop as Yuri grabbed her hand.

“Please, treat her well.” Yuri paused, “And thanks… for being here.”

Once again Yoona nodded.

As Yuri watched Yoona walking away, she realized what had been missing between them.

Timing.

Also courage.

&&&&&

Not long after Yoona left, Misun woke up. Yuri came back to the room after having had her breakfast in the hospital cafeteria and found this unusual quite atmosphere between her mom and dad. Her dad was cutting an apple, probably for her mom while she was turning her head away from him as if she didn’t feel comfortable because of his presence.

“Omma…” Yuri spoke as she walked to her mother’s side.

Misun cracked a smile as soon as she saw her daughter coming in.

“Yuri-yah”

Yuri could easily notice the obvious bliss on the older’s woman face as soon as they made eye contact. As if because of her presence, her mother was saved from something. Before she could say anything to her mom, a nurse walked in.

“Excuse me, are you Ms. Kang’s family?”

“Yes, I’m her husband. What’s the matter?” Hyesung nervously asked.

“Ah, it’s nothing serious, I just need one person following me to fill in some forms for Ms. Kang here.” The nurse smiled warmly.

Hyesung could easily notice his wife’s awkward attitude toward him himself so he volunteered to follow the nurse outside leaving his wife and daughter some space alone. He was sure that something happened and his wife needed someone to confide in. Anyone but him.

“Omma, how are you feeling now?” Yuri asked as she approached her mom’s bed while helping her sitting up.

“Heartbroken… confused…” Misun honestly answered.

“Omma, what’s wrong?” Yuri couldn’t help but felt surprised at her answer. Then it hit her. Her mother must have known about Jessica and her dad’s past affair. “Was it about… Jessica?”

A bitter smile curled on the older woman’s face.

“So you know about it too… For how long?”

“Just recently, Mom. Yoona noticed his strange behavior around Jessica and told me to ask him about it. He quickly admitted it. Dad only learned about his relationship with Jessica recently. Trust me Mom, he had been trying to come up with courage to admit it to you… But how do you know? Is it the reason you fainted?” Yuri explained.

“I found a letter Hyesung hid in his suitcase. It probably meant for Jessica. And he explained everything in it. The truth is just overwhelming that I… lost it” Misun paused, “I don’t know, for such a long time, I trusted him, Yuri-yah. But now, this happened, I don’t know how many more secrets he was hiding from me. At our age, a divorce is completely meaningless, I know I have to forgive him somehow, it has been so long but… but I just can’t.”

“Omma…” Yuri slowly spoke.

More than anyone she understood the feeling when your heart really wanted to let it go, to forget, to forgive but when you looked at that person, your mind kept telling you it was a bad idea, a very bad idea. Being cheated on, it was the worst feeling ever. Relationship is like mirror, once it has been broken, trying to fix it meaning trying to hurt yourself with it. Despite all that, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her mom to let go, can one mistake really ruin whatever had established for years?

“Yuri-yah, what should I do?” Misun said as she let a teardrop rolling down her face.

Holding on or letting go, it was never the choice of the head but the choice of the heart. Never reasonings but feelings. In the end, love always wins.

“Omma, to be honest, I can’t tell you what to do because you’re the only one who knows the answer to your question. Is this love worth holding on? Can your love for him wins over your fear? After all those years, you should have known what he felt about your relationship better than I do. But whatever your decision might be, I want you to know that I’ll always support you.”

Even though Yuri was the one who was giving advices to her mother, she was actually telling this to herself. How ironic, maybe it runs in the family, what happened between her parents was exactly what happened between Yoona and her. One huge mistake, they lost what felt like the most precious to them. The only difference was her parents had years to build their trust, give love and receive love but for her and Yoona, the love was there but trust only existed in seven days.

“But you know what, omma. I trusted him. Because he is my dad.”

Misun smiled at her daughter’s wholehearted words as she mouthed a small sincere thanks to her. She looked at her daughter and couldn’t help but felt proud of her. Yuri has turned into a smart and beautiful woman who could give back her mother some great advice on something Misun, herself for a moment could not solve. It was almost like she had been through this before and it made Misun worried.

“Yuri-yah, has Yoona been treating you well?” Misun asked.

Yuri flinched at the mention of that name. What? Did she slip something?

“Yes, we’ve been well. What’s the matter?” Yuri said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

“Nothing, the way you have been talking to me seems like you have been through what I’ve been. And she isn’t here either. So, I’m worried.”

Yuri slightly bit her lower lips, the only thing she wanted right now was just simply bursting into tears, running to her mother’s warmth and telling her exactly what happened. Then again, her mother’s health has always come first. Always.

“No, omma. Yoona is treating me well, she always showers me with love. She has been here with me the whole time while you were unconscious, she left because I asked her to get something at our home.”

Misun finally nodded, reassured but not forget to once again make sure her daughter knew that she would always be there for her.

“If anything happened, promise me you would tell me Yuri-yah. Even though I’m not physically close to you, but I can give you all the mental support I can offer.”

“I promise” Yuri said as she leaned in her mom for a tight hug.

A little white lie wouldn’t hurt anyone right?

After the conversation, Misun seemed more relaxed as Yuri continued what her father was doing, cutting fruit for her mom. All that left now was in Misun’s hand. She was lost in thoughts until she saw her husband pushed the door gently opened as he came back from whatever the nurse needed him for.

“Is everything settled?” Misun asked, trying to start a conversation with her husband.

Trying to hide his surprise since it seemed like, out of blue, his wife has gone back to normal, Hyesung answered, “Yeah, it looks like you’re gonna stay here for another week.”

Misun nodded as Hyesung still tried to grab a hold of what had happened. The only came to his mind was ‘woman is the most complex creature in the world’.

After a few normal daily life conversations, Misun suddenly spoke.

“Hyesung-ah…”

“Yeah??”

“If you can… invite Jessica to our family’s dinner sometimes.” Misun slowly said as if that was just another topic of their daily lives.

Yuri let out a small chuckle as she looked at her father’s widen eyes. It looked like her mom already made a decision. Mom was always like that, once she set her mind on something, she would approach the problem calmly and gently. Yuri quietly excused herself since it would be best to leave her parents alone in the room.

So, she forgave him.

Yuri couldn’t help but thinking to herself.

Could she?

Yuri was still deep in thought until she heard one familiar footstep in the hallway.

“Yong appa!” She happily addressed the person.

The old man flashed a smile at her before scrunching his eyebrows in annoyance as he noticed something was missing from the scene.

“Why are you standing outside the room? And where is my rascal?” He asked, couldn’t hide the irritation in his voice.

“I want to give my parents some alone time so I stay out here. Come with me, Yong appa, let’s have breakfast together at the cafeteria.” Yuri said as she hooked her arm through his and dragged him down the hallway.

“But where is Yoona? I told her not to leave your side, didn’t I? Aishhh, this rascal.”

“Don’t you get mad at her. I asked her to get something for me. Thanks to you, she’s like my personal gofer now.” Yuri lied as she tried to calm him.

“Now that’s what I want to hear.” Yong appa finally nodded.

“Btw, I think there’s something you need to know.”

“What is it?”

“My parents don’t know anything about what happened to my marriage. I tried to hide it for years because of my mom’s condition and since they live far away, it isn’t that hard either. But I’m planning to tell them soon, in the meantime, if you happen to meet them here, I hope you can address them as your in-laws.”

“Does Yoona know about this?”

“Yes, she already agreed to help.”

“Well, even if she doesn’t, I’ll make her, haha.”

Right, in-laws. This is going to be good. Yong appa couldn’t help but grinning from ears to ears to himself.

“Wait, it has been three years. How come your parents never notice something strange when they can’t even speak to Yoona once?”

“Ah, they rarely called. We mostly exchanged emails. Even when they called I just told Tiffany to answer in very short answers since they don’t really know how Yoona’s voice would sound like through phone, haha. I always blame it on the phone.” Yuri paused as she suddenly remembered something, “Oh, and one more thing”

“There’s more?”

 “Well, because I don’t want my parents to keep asking about meeting my father-in-law, I kinda… uh … tell them that you went on a world tour for years and you specifically told Yoona that you don’t want anyone to bother you.”

Yong appa looked at Yuri in disbelief. World tour? Really? No wonder she could keep the secret for so long. Today, he saw another side of Yuri that he had never seen before.

A good liar... a very good one when she needed to be.

TBC

A.N: I just want to send a big thank-you to all of my non-stop supporters out there. You guys are my endless inspiration to continue this. I hope this update will do you justice and this time, I'm determined to finish this story.

I came back also because of GG's 10th anniversary. 10 years... *sigh*

I will update on Sunday every week.

Last but not least, enjoy!!!