Sorry it took longer than expected! My bad. Thank you all for your continued support!!

~*~ Dae’s POV ~*~ Day Six of Rescue ~*~ Flashback ~*~

“Abigail, we have to take you home” Dae tried to express in a calm manner, knowing the female was becoming weak for she looked pale as a ghost and disturbingly thin.

“We can’t leave… What if they are watching for the chopper? What if they are following it? If they see it flying away, they will give up” She answered in a mere whisper, proving further that her health was fading and that the illness was taking it’s toll. “We gave them hope, we can’t rip it away.”

“I’ll come back after dropping you off!” He yelled this time, not being able to handle the guilt of watching her die, not knowing if the men were still alive or if they were looking for corpse at this point. “We don’t even know if they are alive!”

“I know he is, I can feel his heart beat” Abi argued as she closed her eyes and settled herself into the passenger seat, pulling the blankets further up her chest. “As long as I can feel him, I know he’s out there. I’ll stay here today, I will only slow you down” she expressed with a soft yawn, cuddling into the leather seats despite how uncomfortable they are.

“You won’t make it” Dae tried to reason, but he already knew what she was going to say, that she wasn’t going to leave regardless of how much he asked her to do so. “I hope you know what you are sacrificing here. I pray he’s still alive” Dae whispered before venturing into the woods, leaving the yellow pebbles that he was asked to take with him.

He didn’t know what to expect when he followed the yellow pebbles in the morning, the weather change making it slightly warmer than usual. He hoped that she had survived over the night, had hoped that he didn’t leave her there to die alone, yet his heart already settled with the outcome he may come and find. Looking at her from the wood line, she looked at peace as she slept, the blankets still heavily clung to her and the food he had cooked for her being gone.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as her eyes fluttered to an open, the redness that claimed them only being a brighter shade than they had been before.

“I’m alright… Any signs?” She whispered, her eyes falling towards a close once more as she in a deep raspy breath, indicating the worsening condition.

“Abi… If he’s not alive and you die here… Your children will be devastated” he began once more, only to bring a shake of her head. “By the time the car gets here and gets you back to the hospital, you will die” he warned grimly, yet she was hearing nothing, refusing to allow the chopper to leave.

“If they see the chopper leaving…” she whispered, her voice becoming weaker with each new word “they might give up… I can’t let him down. He’s still alive…”

~*~ Day Seven of Rescue ~*~

“She passed out about ten minutes ago” Dae explained as he frantically held the unconscious woman within his arms, helping them ease her into the ambulance. “She ate this morning, but she threw it back up. She’s extremely dehydrated” he was trying to give them all the needed information, but he felt just as defeated as she had looked.

“She’s crazy” the paramedic explained while hooking up the machines and iv’s, knowing that her life was tittering back and forth. “Losing her life for a man that is already dead…”

“He’s alive” Dae heard himself speaking, not being able to accept losing Abigail over someone who wasn’t alive. Abigail was certain that her husband was alive, and spent over nine million to find him, so she must have truly believed he was still alive. “He’s alive, and I will bring him home. Make sure she stays alive to see it” Dae promised to himself, watching as the vehicle sped away, hoping for the best yet keeping his expectations low.

~*~ Day Nine of Rescue ~*~

He didn’t understand where his determination had come from, but he never left the chopper after that night, sending it into the air several times a day in hopes of life coming from the wood line. He wouldn’t give up his hope, would continue to raise his chopper in the air everyday until they came to him. The pebbles were gone, and so he spent most of his time simply waiting, his memories of Abigail keeping him motivated during the long hours.

He heard them before he seen them, their small talk and whispers flooding his ears as he stared at what were once men. They looked heavily damaged, they smelled worse than they looked, but the sight was something beyond beautiful as a smile took his lips. She was right, they were here the entire time and fighting to survive, his chopper being their hope of going home, and leaving may have indeed destroyed their hopes.

He had planned on telling them everything, had planned on shaking the hand of the man named Choi Seung for having such a noble wife. He had planned to express how much she had changed his life in such a short time, and to give the money back to him, yet he couldn’t bring himself to speak the words, not wanting to ruin such a special day. Instead, he waited until they were freshened up and looked like humans once more to tell the news, his eyes focusing on the man who claimed himself as Choi.

‘Selfish’ was his first thought when the time to speak wasn’t granted, and he couldn’t understand how such a selfish man could have landed such a selfless wife. ‘Self-centered’ more dirty words roamed his mind as he begged for the time, hearing that his sacrifices weren’t the reason why the men were home. Of course he didn’t wish to be glorified for saving them, but he did expect some type of respect for the guilt that would forever claim his name.

Anger had been the outcome of all of his thoughts and guilt, his voice yelling despite how much he truly wanted to break down and cry. He had heard that Abigail didn’t make it to the town before passing away, that she had given her life to save a man who couldn’t even take a second to hear the words. He wasn’t worth her life, and he hated himself for allowing her to persuade him differently.

“Abigail didn’t make it…” he found himself speak the words and it brought a whole new reality to the situation as he sobbed in a breath. “She may have died looking for you, and you can’t even thank the person she paid to save you!?” He yelled out, unaware of the man he just shattered with his words, his own guilt coming first. “Do you know how many times I begged her to leave!?”

“A..Abi.. My wife was here?” The broken whispers pulled him out of his self-loathing, his eyes falling towards the man who looked worse than he did when leaving the woods and more guilt lined his chest for being so insensitive to the situation.

“I... Yeah” Dae found himself at a loss of words. “She got sick and left with the ambulance. I didn’t hear anything from them yet” he spoke the words slowly to allow them to be processed.

“Where did they take her?” His voice gained more life to it, however was depleted when a simple shrug came from Dae’s shoulders, showing he was just as much in the dark as they were about the situation. “Why didn’t you force her to leave!?” He yelled out his emotions which caused all the men to flinch slightly, understanding his pain and frustrations.

“She wouldn’t let me leave until you arrived” he admitted with a short breath “she said she wouldn’t give you false hope again. That she wouldn’t be like the others who gave up. She knew you were alive…”

~*~ Seung’s POV ~*~

He could feel his heart beat pick up as he stepped into the hospital, his eyes immediately falling towards the closed curtain that held the love of his life. He wasn’t able to ask any questions, for he didn’t hold the strength to hear the news, but standing before the curtain seemed to only make it harder. He didn’t know if he was walking into the death of himself, or achieving the goal that kept him motivated this entire time.

“Are you ready?” Junhoe asked with a soft pat to the shoulder, trying his best to comfort the man who became so vulnerable.

“Not really” Seung admitted with a shaking breath, but knew that prolonging the answers weren’t going to change the outcome of them.

Taking in another breath and holding it, his hand would reach for the curtain, pulling it back inch by inch until she was finally revealed to him. He had hoped that somehow it wasn’t her, that somehow she was confused with someone else, but when his eyes fell upon a motionless sleeping beauty, his largest fears would come to life. The tears weren’t able to be held back, his legs freezing from under him and he watched helplessly as Junhoe took her hand, checking for a pulse.

“She’s alive” the words were whispers, yet were heard as screams as Seung found his strength once more, running to her side and embracing her in a tight hug, his tears falling relentlessly, soaking her white cotton gown.

“Why did you do that!?” He screamed out, knowing she couldn’t answer but still needing to vent out all of the emotions before he exploded. “My life wouldn’t be worth anything without you and our kids, don’t you understand!?” He continued to yell in-between sobs, alarmed at the hand that squeezed his own, his eyes widened as he pulled back to stare, hoping to see her beautiful blue eyes, but it was pointless, she was still out.