Chapter 27

HEART BEATS
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter

Painful Time

The kitchen was one perfect sanctuary for Yuri. Learning to cook from her mother since a very young age, she found the act of preparing meals therapeutic. It didn't feel so for the evening though, she had to cook while paying attention to Aaron and Jessica who were bickering with each other in the living area. After rushing the mince of the short-ribs, she spiced the tteokgalbi while trying not to yell all at Jessica for stealing the remote from Aaron. Soon the smell of seared meat wafted in the air, promising a delicious dinner which Yuri hoped could calm the two down. When she moved to prepare the lettuce wrap, Aaron shot out of the living area and grabbed her leg.

"Aunty..... TV...." Aaron looked up to her with sad, rounded eyes.

"Jessica... come on..." Rather annoyed, Yuri threw a look at her girlfriend who was reclining on the couch with the remote in hand.

"He has been watching the same train show all day. It's my turn." Jessica pouted. "I need to catch up on Game Of Thrones before going back to work tomorrow."

"Baby, please. He's just a kid." It felt like there were actually two toddlers in the house today. Jessica was moodier than ever, probably due to the anxiety of getting back to work after months of hiatus. Yuri completely understood that. What she failed to comprehend was why the fully functional adult keeps picking a fight with the innocent toddler.

"That kid has been hogging you and the TV since he arrived." The pout got deeper, Jessica changed the channel but not even took away her eyes from Yuri. "I know he's sad and all but you haven't even kissed me properly in the last few days."

"Oh, my baby. I'm so sorry." Yuri transferred the perfectly seared patties into the plate of lettuce wraps. Taking a few deep breaths, she poured the bubbling sauce from the pot into a small bowl, grabbed two tinier plates and two pairs of chopsticks, add a bowl of kimchi and a plate of fries then arranged them all on one big tray. "Here, Aaron. Help me bring these bottles for Aunty Jess." She handed two small bottles of mineral water to Aaron.

"No." Aaron shook his head. "Aunty Jess means."

"She's nice once we give her food, trust me." Yuri winked at the boy, completely aware of Jessica's icy glare from across the room. "Come on." She led the way with the tray in her hands.

"If you think that food is all it takes to fix my mood, you're dead wrong."

Putting the tray on the coffee table, Yuri flopped on the couch and wrapped a hand around Jessica's shoulder. Gently, she pried the remote off Jessica's hand. Leaning suggestively closer to the sulking girl, she changed the channel. "Look, Aaron! Thomas The Train!"

Aaron dropped the bottles on the table, eyes on the TV. Yuri wasted no chance, throwing the remote behind her before cupping Jessica's cheek and captured those bubblegum lips in a searing kiss. "If you miss my kiss you should just say so, no need to be so mean on the innocent toddler." She grinned at Jessica when they broke apart a few seconds later.

"Innocent?" her lower lip, Jessica stared at the toddler who was literally hypnotized by the TV show. "He slept between us for the last two days, kicking me in his sleep every time. This so-called innocent kid bruised me."

"Just a little." Yuri hooked her finger on the collar of Jessica's T-shirt, peeking at the shade of blue that appeared just above Jessica's cleavage. "I'll make it all better tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Uh uh. His grandparents want him to be there for the last rite." Yuri put a handful of fries in Aaron's hand. Once the boy was fully occupied with the food and the show, she dove in to the pulse point in Jessica's neck while let her hands roamed under the T-shirt that wrapped snugly around Jessica's body. "I miss you too, baby. You'll have me for yourself tonight."

"Hmmm." Jessica leaned back on the armrest, wounding her arms around Yuri's neck, and pulled her closer. "Say that again."

"I miss you-"

"You guys are going to give the poor kid a complex." Without knocking, Taeyeon came through the front door hauling a monkey plushy twice her size. "Hey, Aaron. Aunt Sunny asked me to drop this giant monkey for you. She said she misses you."

"Monkey!" Aaron slid down the couch, dropped the fries on the table, then ran to the plushy Taeyeon had dropped on the floor.

"Not with your greasy hands, baby." Yuri jumped out of Jessica's arms and grabbed the boy before he could make any contact with the furry monkey. "Let's wipe them first. Jessica, wet wipe, please. On the kitchen counter."

"Nope." Jessica shook her head, grabbing the remote. "Too far."

"Taeyeon?"

"Sorry. Just got back from a long shift, too many germs on me now." Taeyeon made her way to the couch instead, immediately grabbing the chopsticks. "Tteokgalbi, nice!"

Hauling the wriggling boy over her shoulder, mumbling about how Taeyeon shouldn't touch the food with her germy hands, Yuri walked to grab the wet wipe from the kitchen herself. "How is Mr. Wang?" She asked Taeyeon while cleaning Aaron's hands. They had agreed to keep the conversation about Aaron's parents as discreet as possible when the boy is around. To Aaron, his father and mother were simply absent because they were sick. Nobody had the heart to tell the boy the truth so they agreed to let the grandparents deal with it later.

"Regained a full minute of consciousness just when I was about to clock out." Taeyeon swallowed a piece of meat before continue speaking. "The Mrs was all he looking for in those narrow timeframe. We couldn't even tell him anything." She turned her head to give the boy perching on Yuri's shoulder a few seconds of doleful glance.

"All his stats are good, right?" Jessica interjected, grabbing the last pair of chopsticks from the tray. "We can expect full recovery?"

"Yeah." Taeyeon turned her focus back on the meat. "Dr. Shim said there's no apparent nerve damage so we can expect him to wake up again soon."

"You clocked out early today. Is everything okay?" Releasing the boy into the monkey's arms, Yuri grabbed another set of chopsticks from the kitchen before sitting between her lover and her best friend. She had put the forgotten test pack in Taeyeon's bathroom yesterday but the girl hadn't said anything about it. Resting one hand on Taeyeon's thigh, Yuri tried to lock gaze with her. Taeyeon was busy chewing the patty though, paying fake attention to the TV.

"Taeyeon?" Yuri tried again after one full minute. After all these years, Yuri still feared the drastic move Taeyeon might take.

"I'm okay." Taeyeon let go of the chopsticks and grabbed the bottled water. Taking one long sip before wiping with the back of her hand, Taeyeon gave Yuri the benefit of an assuring glance. "Dr. Webber sent most of us out early in case we want to help with the funeral tomorrow."

"Oh."

"And no, I'm still not brave enough to take the test." Standing up, Taeyeon threw another look at Aaron who was busy wrestling the giant monkey off its plastic wrapper. "Aren't the grandparents picking him up tonight?"

"I decided to drop him instead. They might still be busy with the funeral preparation."

"Right." Taeyeon took another look before sighing deeply. "Wake me up early tomorrow. I need to buy something before we leave."

"Sure. Sleep well." Still worrying, Yuri let her eyes follow Taeyeon until the girl disappeared upstairs.

"What's going on?" It was Jessica who rested a hand on Yuri's thigh now. "Is she sick?"

"She's...." Yuri shook her head slowly. The three of them had unbiddenly become housemates but it still didn't feel right to share everything with Jessica. "Let's just finish eating so we can drop Aaron before he gets too sleepy."

The funeral went as heartbreaking as it can be. Aaron clung to his crying grandma, at his thumb while looking at Yuri as if silently begging her to hold him. Yuri tried her best not to cry because everyone else already did. Sooyoung had to be propped up by her boyfriend, sobbing in his arms. Sunny and Jay stood far away behind, holding each other in silent tears. Yuri herself had Jessica on one shoulder and Taeyeon on another. She held both of them close. The two persons who had lost so much in their life she wished they chose not to attend this painful event instead.

"Aunty..." Aaron's hands reached for Yuri as people started to dismiss themselves at the end of the funeral.

"Hey." Yuri mustered a smile while keeping her hands in the pockets of her black blazer. "Did you and Mr. Monkey sleep well last night?"

"Mr. Monkey wants us to sleep with you, aunty."

"Oh baby, I'd love to have you around but I work day and night." Yuri kissed the boy on the forehead. Her arms ached to hold him but she couldn't let the boy get attached. Irene's parents were to take care of him until Jackson fully recover. "Stay with grandma and grandpa, okay? I'll call you whenever I'm off work."

"Are you working to heal daddy?"

"Yes. I am.  My doctor friends and I will do our best to help your daddy get better soon."

"Can you and your doctor friends bring mommy back too?"

"I am really sorry, Aaron. I can't." The words caught in Yuri's throat. When she looked away she saw tears on Jessica's cheeks. Sooyoung and the rest were already a sobbing mess. Another look at them and Yuri would have cried too. So she looked away, counting to ten, and calmed herself like she always did. Taking a deep sigh after ten, she was about to say more reassurance for the boy but Taeyeon beat her to it

"Your mom loves you so much, you know? " In a move so unexpected, Taeyeon leaned forward and took the boy in her arms. "She's up in the sky now, watching you from heaven."

"Up there?" With one hand wrapped around Taeyeon's neck, Aaron pointed at the bright morning sky.

"Yes. Up high above the clouds. Whenever we are happy, she's happy too. So we gotta be brave and be happy for her, okay?"

"Okay."

"If you ever feel lonely and sad just ask your grandma to call one of us, alright? We'll be there. Here." Taeyeon took out a small paper bag from the purse hanging from her shoulder. "There are our numbers in here, your grandma will keep them in her phone." She nodded at Irene's mother. "There's also this." She took out a package of candy. "Milkbars."

"Milkbars?"

"Yep. It's a candy my mom bought me before she went up to the sky like your mommy."

"Your mom is in the sky too?" Aaron curiously looked into Taeyeon's eyes.

"Uh uh. Whenever I miss my mom I eat this candy and I feel all better instantly."

"Really?" The boy, leaning his head on Taeyeon's shoulder, touched the package slowly.

"You can try it now." Taeyeon struggled to open the package while holding the boy.

Smiling, Yuri reached for the package, opened one, and put a candy on Taeyeon's palm.  Taeyeon smiled back. Her first genuine smile in the last few days. Somehow, seeing that smile made Yuri feel a little less worried.

Aaron's eyes went wide as soon as the candy bar touched his tongue. Chewing and at the treat for a few seconds, he then smiled wide. "It's good, aunty. Like milk!"

"Told ya." Taeyeon's smile got wider too.

"Now you made me want one." Yuri tore another package and popped it into . "Hmmm. Yummy."

"Can I get one too?" Sunny, in her signature aegyo, bunny-hopped her way to them. "It sounds so tasty."

"Me too!" Jay came over.

"Nope. We don't have enough for everyone." Yuri playfully kicked Jay on the . Of course, Jay exaggerated his tumbling forward, eliciting a chuckle from the toddler. Sunny managed to sneak one candy from Taeyeon's hand but Jay snatched it away from her immediately. The silly fight for one simple treat turned into a few minutes of entertainment for Aaron and they all ended up laughing with him at Jay and Sunny's clownery. When it was time to say goodbye, no one was in tears anymore. With swollen eyes, Sooyoung smiled at Aaron while chewing the candy. Jessica blew Aaron a kiss before whispering a promise to buy the boy a truckload of milkbars into Yuri's ear.

"Oh, you two are not enemies anymore?" Yuri whispered back into Jessica's ears, waving at Aaron who waved back enthusiastically from inside the speeding car.

"Now that he can't steal your attention from me anymore, we're not." Jessica smiled while linking her arm with Yuri's. "Are we going straight to work? Can we have some brunch first?"

"Taeyeon?" Yuri asked her best friend whose gaze was still fixed on the car disappearing behind the row of pine trees. The three of them came to the funeral in one car and had the same work schedule today.

"Sure. I can do with two servings of egg drop sandwiches r

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
windflower01
#1
Chapter 29: This story is truly a gem.
soshifiedpixie #2
Chapter 29: reread parts of this today. you did so well authornim!
forgotme #3
Chapter 29: Request for a sequel??😁 or another yulsic.. You did great..
starfl
#4
Chapter 29: It’s been what? Five months I think! I’m so sorry. I got stuck at chapter 27 I guess… :( I have a trip and also continue with my studies! I’m so sorry but finally I finished this…

…and it was soooo awesome! The best! THE BEST! I loved so much. Thank you for writing an awesomely piece like this. :’) I’m sad because this is the end!!! I got emotional
langsircoklat #5
This story is so exciting to read..please make another yulsic story..😍
kun90ero
#6
Chapter 29: wii happy ending, makasi penulis terbaik deh kamu
SoneBuddy
11 streak #7
Chapter 29: Happy ending for everyone. Thank you author 😊
soshifiedpixie #8
Chapter 29: taeyeon and jiyong's having a baby and yuri and sica's getting married🥺💖 thank you so much for this great story!
kimtaeny1110 #9
Chapter 29: Gosh i love this gang..., so sad that it ends here
Keichan13 #10
Chapter 29: Five years of dating before meeting Yuri’s mother ahahaha far out! How did they do that for so long! Absolutely happy with the ending and also praying for your next story to be yulsic!