Chapter 13

It takes almost six hours of touring Universal Studio Japan for Jiyong to understand some of the current pop cultures references Jinwoo often made. Physically, almost impossible for him to continue this adventure after all the walking and lifting. Mentally, this is one of the most fulfilling trips he has ever done.

“Here, refuel.” Taeyeon shoves a cup of iced coffee his way. Jiyong accepts it, gratefully chugging half of the refreshing beverage in one go.

“Please tell me we had every corner explored.” He glances at the wheelchair that has switched function into a shopping cart. Before this trip, he had no idea that a theme park can be this huge and the merchandises can be this much.

She chuckles a little, shaking her head.

Groaning, Jiyong stares at their boy who's queueing in front of an ice cream stall. “His next meds round is due in an hour.”

“You're crazy if you think he'll let you strap him into an IV right now.” Taeyeon grimaces, grabbing Jinwoo's backpack from the wheelchair. “We're going oral today.”

“Oh, what fun. He'll need a gallon of booger beer to go with all those pills.”

“Butterbeer, Ji. Butterbeer.” Taeyeon laughs, extracting a plastic container of Jinwoo's medicine from the bag. Colorful pills rattle in it. “Given the motivation, I bet he can take all these pills raw.”

It's Jiyong turns to grimace.

“Thank you, Ji.” Taeyeon shifts closer on the bench to grab a bottle of mineral water from the pocket behind the wheelchair. “He has been dreaming of this trip since he forever.”

“You're welcome.” He grins. Jinwoo has been nothing but smile and laugh since they arrived in Japan. If he could, Jiyong would have made this trip happen every day.

“Thank you so much for taking time to be with us too. I know quitting is hard for you.”

“Please, Tae.” His grin fades a little. “Stop mentioning my old job.”

“You'll ride again, right?”

He looks down at his pair of sneakers. “I don't know. I don't want to think about the future at the moment. If Jinwoo's gone...”

“Please, Ji. Don't.”

“I'm sorry.”

They stare at each other's shoes for quite a long moment, unable to string more words. Jiyong can only imagine how hard it is for Taeyeon to be happy at the moment, to smile and laugh with their boy while the dark clouds of cancer looming over them. He admires her strength. He falls for her even deeper it feels like he's taking advantage of her weakest moment just by stealing a glance at her right now.

“You know, since you decided to race a few years ago, I've been having the online subscription of MotoX monthly.” She breaks the silence, setting her phone between them on the bench.

Jiyong glances, there's the article of him on the screen. The headline is on big red fonts, waving hidden truth to their eyes.

“Is it true? That you've lost it all?”

He doesn't answer, staring at Jinwoo who's busy ordering ice cream.

“Ji?”

“I haven't lost it all.” He drinks the iced coffee once more before tossing the empty cup to the bin. “I'm about to.”

“Ji, you shouldn't have-”

“I'm not talking about money, Tae.” He stands up, walking to Jinwoo who's clearly having trouble carrying three ice cream cones at once. “Money means nothing to me.”

Man, It's two in the a.m.” Jiyong stretches his hands out, yawning. “I thought he would never fall asleep with all that enthusiasm.”

“There's a bottle of complimentary koshu wine here,” Taeyeon speaks from the penthouse kitchen. “I can brew coffee too if you want.”

“You kidding?” He throws himself on the couch, stretching his legs and yawn once more. “We're flying out of this country early in the morning.”

“Since when did you became so weak?”

“Since you and Jinwoo had me carrying a ton of stuff across this country.”

Her chuckles are like a drizzle of refreshing autumn rain, stupefying Jiyong like a love charm.

“We're really really sorry. Here, have this warm milk.” She walks in, setting a tall glass of milk on the coffee table. “It usually knocks Jinwoo out in less than five minutes.”

“Thank you.” It doesn't need more than just a glance for Jiyong to observe Taeyeon's beauty. Even in a hotel robe, she still looks like the magnitude of beauty she always is.

He sits up, stealing another glance while sipping the milk. “May I talk about Mark now?”

“Only if you talk about the lawsuit first.”

“You can't believe a tabloid.”

“You promised not to interfere with my personal life.”

“Touche.” Jiyong laughs, leaning back on the fluffy couch. After all these years, the intoxicating mix of sweetness and stubbornness that is Kim Taeyeon still amazes him. “I'll just hit the shower and sleep then.”

She nods, drinking from her glass.

“Taeyeon...” He calls her before entering his room, eyes land on the content of her glass that's clearly not water nor milk.

“Yeah?”

When Taeyeon lips touch the edge of her glass again, Jiyong glances at the opened bottle of wine by the kitchen counter. “Don't sweat the lawsuit. I have stuff secured for you and Jinwoo. Money will never be a problem for you guys.”

She stands up, glass in hand. The slit on the robe goes open a bit, revealing her fair skin. “Money means nothing to me.”

It's not the first time Taeyeon uses his own words again him. Jiyong can only gaze at her, admitting defeat.

“Not when this is all over anyway.” She walks to him, barely a meter of distance separating them now. “But thank you for every extra measure you have taken for us.”

“I did it all too late.”

“No. Jinwoo is still here. Just a few minutes ago, I heard him laugh with you like he never laughed before. It means a lot for him, you being here.”

“No.” He shakes his head, waving his hand dismissively. “Ten millions of this won't be able to replace the lost time.”

“But it's enough. Jinwoo's happiness is enough.” She comes even closer. “No matter how and when his story end, he's happy and that's all that matter to me.”

Jiyong finds it difficult to breathe, in a very good way. This proximity, it nearly chokes him with giddiness. He can see those beautiful eyelashes now. He can even smell the wine and see it glossing her lips in such a way he almost leans in to kiss her.

“We're forever grateful for you, Ji.”Her soft lips land on his cheek first, catching him off guard. “Goodnight.”

The sudden sweet gesture knocks the last reserved air out of Jiyong's lungs. He mentally flails for clarity under the haze of Kim Taeyeon's boldness, can't even reply to her with a simple goodnight. Even after Taeyeon disappears into the room she shares with Jinwoo, he's still in a daze.

One thing is clear though. That sweet kiss? He wants more.

“There you go, buddy.” He dabs the back of Jinwoo's hand with the alcohol swab. “Your last drip for today.”

“It's not even hurt anymore.” Jinwoo holds out his hand where Jiyong stuck an IV needle a few hours earlier this morning. “I'm invulnerable to the needle now.”

“Alright, Mr. Invulnerable. I can't find your vitamins. Where does your mom keep it?”

“She moves it to her bag. My bag is full.”

“With all these dolls.” Jiyong takes out a boxed toy from Jinwoo's backpack, teasing his son. “Such a baby.”

“It's a figurine art, daddy. Figuarts for short. Cool people like me call it SHF. And it's a rare Kaizu Godzilla 2000 SHF, mind you.”

“Dolls.” Sticking his tongue at Jinwoo, Jiyong reaches out to tap Taeyeon who's sitting in front of him. “Tae, where do you keep Jinwoo's vitamin?”

“Mom is asleep, daddy. Don't wake her.”

“Tae?” Jiyong tries again, but Taeyeon doesn't budge. “Well, I guess the vitamins can wait until after we land. You need anything else, dolls boy?”

“Adults collect SHF too, you know?”

Jiyong laughs at Jinwoo's protest, reclining on his seat. “Well, this adult prefers collecting sleep than collecting toys. Wake me if you need anything, alright?”

“Daddy?”

“Huh?” Jiyong doesn't even properly close his eyes yet. “What do you need? More drink?”

“No. I just...” Jinwoo gazes out at the dark clouds behind the plane window, rubbing his temple.

“Jinwoo, what's wrong?” Sitting up straight, Jiyong puts a hand on Jinwoo's shoulder. It's so dark outside. Rain might be falling soon. “Are you hurt? I can add the dose of the meds if you're in pain.”

“Am I dying, daddy?”

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