Bar

Hyojung Birthday

“Hey”, Hyojung took the offered drink from Woohyun; she’s been sitting by the bar watching everyone dancing as if it’s not her birthday after singing the birthday song and cutting the cake, “all good?”

“Hmm”, Hyojung played with the bracelet given to her from Sunggyu “you must think I’m weak.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I held up real good for 18 years; how did this happen to me!”

“Because the past 18 years you rested assured Bora is doing a good job raising him.”

“Maybe”, Hyojung sighed and Woohyun understood the meaning behind that sigh, “I tried to make it hard for him to live at the same house with me, but he just wouldn’t leave.”

“You think I didn’t know what you were doing!” Hyojung chuckled, “but I knew it wasn’t from your heart.”

“Was it on purpose? Moving in with us?”

“Hmm, it seems to work thou.”

Hyojung sighed, “The things I said to him. So, you think it’s too late now?”

“Probably, but it’s not too late to be someone he could lean on.”

“Like Bora?”

“Hmm.”

“That boy won’t let me; I was too mean to him.”

Woohyun nodded, “Hmm, he is stubborn; his head is made of a rock!! Just like you”, Hyojung and Woohyun laughed, she knew he was right, but it didn’t last Hyojung returned to sighing, “are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“I did a test the other day.”

“What test? Are you sick?”

“I can’t get pregnant, Woohyun.”

“What! Are you sure?”

“Hmm, it’s not the first one; this one just confirmed that it’s impossible.

“And Hyung knows?”

“Of course, I can’t hide such a thing from him.”

“And?”

Hyojung smiled as she sipped her drink, “I guess he truly loves me.”

“Who wouldn’t!!” Woohyun patted her shoulder, “you can still adopt, right?”

“I thought you were going to say I still have Sunggyu.”

“Hyojung~.”

Hyojung paused a little before she asked, “you think God is punishing me?”

“Of course not! You were young and scared.”

“Woohyun, I put my baby in a basket next to a church to get rid of him; you think he wasn’t scared?”

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18 years ago

Outside of a church

Hyojung walked under the rain toward the church holding a basket in her arm, she could’ve come another day, but she was too scared to weaken and change her mind. Hyojung was wearing a hospital gown, still didn’t get the chance to change; she had to sneak out to do this, or her friends won’t let her.

Hyojung placed the basket gently on the floor next to the church door; she made sure it shaded to avoid the heavy rain. She then crouched down next to it and uncovered a beautiful baby boy face,

“God, you’re so beautiful”, she caressed the baby’s head gently, not to wake him up, “I’m so sorry, little boy. I don’t want to leave you.”

“Then don’t do this!”

Hyojung turned to find her friends Bora, Woohyun and Sungyeol “this is my decision; no one can change it.”

“But it’s cold!” the first one to approach the basket and pick up the baby was Sungyeol, his girlfriend was expecting at that time; he wouldn’t imagine seeing his baby thrown like that in such a cruel way!

“Put him back, Sungyeol I don’t want this baby!!”

“Stop acting so selfish!!!” Bora stopped Hyojung from taking the baby from Sungyeol, “how could you have the heart to throw him like that?”

“Hyojung”, Woohyun covered her with his jacket then hugged her; she was shaking “we will help you, we got you.”

“My parents are going to kill me!”

“It’s not your fault!” Bora felt terrible for her friend, but it doesn’t justify giving up her baby in such a way, “that jerk deserves to die.”

Hyojung stayed in a college dorm when she got pregnant and avoided visiting them, which wasn’t hard; like any college busy student, she complained about how hard studying was and how their professors tortured them with assignments and projects.

Hyojung wasn’t screwing around and dating when that happened; she has always been the beauty of the college but never was interested in dating, boys tried to propose, but she rejected them all. She didn’t expect her professor to hit on her; he called her to his office to discuss an assignment, which wasn’t unusual, so she didn’t think about it much. Hyojung didn’t know that she’d get by her professor and threatened to keep it for herself if she didn’t want to get expelled from college.

Hyojung kept this a secret until she got pregnant; she was about four months away when she discovered; Hyojung thought that whatever she felt from nausea and sickness was because of what happened to her; it turns out she was pregnant. Of course, she considered getting an abortion, but it was a risk to her health; the doctor advised her to go through with the pregnancy and consider her other options after giving birth.

“We will help you raise him, uh?” Woohyun tried to assure her.

“No!! Put him back, Sungyeol; I don’t want that baby; I hate looking at him!! Every time I see him, I remember what happened to me!”

Bora took the baby from Sungyeol “fine, if that’s what you want, then let it be.”

“Yah, Bora!! Are you serious!!” Sungyeol couldn’t believe it, so they’re going to leave the baby for strangers to pick up?? “Anyone can pick him up; what if it was a psycho????”

“It won’t be a psycho”, Bora kissed the baby’s head, “because I’m the one who’s going to take him.”

“What!!!”

“Thank god”, Sungyeol was relieved, of course.

“Bora, are you sure???” Woohyun asked her, concerned, “what are you going to tell your parents?”

“To adopt him, I always wanted a sibling; they couldn’t give me one.”

“Bora, you can’t do this!”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to see his face every time I see you!!!”

“Then don’t come over and see me.”

“W-What? Are you choosing that baby over our friendship???”

“That baby will be my brother, it’s either you accept him or-”

“Don’t continue; we’re so over; our friendship just ended, Bora.”

“You guys, calm down”, Woohyun didn’t want to see his friends go through this, “you two are close! Like sisters, you think you’d be able to live without each other???”

“Yes, but before I go, let me tell you something, that boy will steal everything good in your life as he did to me.”

Hyojung walked away from her friends, not wanting to hear more, “aren’t we going to follow her?”

“Hmm, please go after her, Sungyeol.”

Sungyeol listened to his friend and followed Hyojung leaving her with Woohyun alone “are you sure about this?”

“Hmm, she’ll thank me later; I have a good feeling”, and that’s how Bora and Hyojung friendship ended, and that baby grew to be Sunggyu.

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Back to current time

Hospital

Woohyun and Hyojung ran the hospital hall after getting a message from Sunggyu to pick him up from there; they were panicking that they didn’t ask him why assuming his ankle got worse.

“Kim Sunggyu”, Woohyun asked the receptionist.

She typed in her computer, looking for the name but nothing, “we don’t have a patient with that name, sir.”

“Look again!!! He said he’s here!!” Hyojung was even more worried than Woohyun, something she was experiencing for the first time; it was like the minute she opened her heart for Sunggyu, motherly feelings flooded. “Woohyun, do something!”

“I’ll call him, wait.”

“What if he doesn’t answer-?”

Hyojung’s eyes fell on a Sunggyu standing by the vending machine getting a drink; her legs unwillingly walked toward him, and without words, she hugged him, surprising the younger.

“Nuna?” Sunggyu tried to wriggle from her grip successfully, “are you crying? Omg, you’re mad!”

“What-? No, I’m not-”

Sunggyu went to Woohyun’s side when he joined them; the teacher scanned him from head to toe, checking if he was okay, “are you okay?”

“Hmm, it’s our coach, not me.”

“Sungyeol? What happened to him?”

“His stomach hurt, and now they said he has to go into surgery.”

“How did you get here then?”

“Taxi, we had no other choice.”

“Give Sunggyu your jacket” Hyojung took Woohyun’s jacket to put it on Sunggyu’s shoulders, “where is your jacket??? It’s cold out there.”

“We were in a hurry; I forgot it”, Sunggyu then looked at his husband, “will the coach be okay?”

“Hmm”, Hyojung wished she could hug Sunggyu, not Woohyun, but it’s too soon to go that far “you did good bringing him here.”

“Oh, Seonsaeng-nim”, Myungsoo bowed, greeting his teacher, “coach is asking for you.”

“Araso, let’s go. Hyojung, can you please call Hyung?”

“Sure.”

They were all walking in the same direction when Myungsoo said, “why is she coming with us?”

Hyojung wanted to smack Myungsoo, but it looks like he is one of Sunggyu’s best friends; she couldn’t risk it “hey kid, shut it.”

“Omg, you are me