The lights turned off. Baekhyun rubbed his tear-misted eyes, his heart pounding hard as he ran forward to meet the surgeon who came out of the operation room. 

 

"Doctor, how is my wife? How is she?" He asked, his heart beating so fast because of the nervousness. 

 

The surgeon wiped beads of perspiration from his tanned forehead,"don't worry. The surgery was successful and your wife is safe. You may visit her in her ward now though she is weak and needs rest." 

 

"Thank you, doctor." Baekhyun whispered, shaking his hand hard. He brushed away tears of relief as he sprinted towards Kamin's ward. He felt as if a heavy stone has been lifted from his heart. Thank god you are safe, Kamin ah. 

_________

He sat by Kamin's bedside as he took her hand, kissing it tenderly. He gazed at her affectionately, her long silky hair gently, as if it were to break under his touch. He let his eyes slide over her features, studying the familiar features carefully; her flawless porcelain skin, her beautifully arched eyebrows, her long thick lashes which lay on her pale cheeks, her ruby red lips. He touched her cheeks gently and bent down to kiss those lips. All he wanted was for Kamin to wake up, to open her eyes of mesmerizing black and make him feel something, something warm and fuzzy inside.

 

His eyes trailed down to her stomach. His vision became blurry as tears filled his eyes once again. He clutched Kamin's hand as he hung his head low.  

 

"Kamin ah, can you hear me? It's Baekhyun. Kamin ah... I am sorry. I really am. I couldn't do anything else, there was no... I had no choice and I had to do so. Kamin," Baekhyun kissed her fingers,"you will forgive me right?" He cleared his throat as a lump began to form.

 

"I know Byun baek baek is, I mean, was your precious darling baby... I loved him too, the both of us wanted a happy family right? But to sacrifice your life..." Baekhyun stopped as he tried to calm down. 

 

"I can't." 

 

Baekhyun put his head into his hands. He stared at Kamin, still sleeping so soundly. She still doesn't know anything.

 

"Baekhyun ah." A kindly voice called out. 

 

"Eomma?" Baekhyun turned around to find his mother standing by a side. He half-smiled to welcome her and she nodded with a grim smile as she gestured for him to go outside. Baekhyun took another glance at Kamin before he walked out of the ward, closing the door behind him slowly. 

 

 

"Yes, Eomma?" Baekhyun asked as they sat silently on the chairs outside the ward.

 

"Baekhyun ah, I know that Kamin and the baby went through a lot and you must be very affected. But I hate to break this news to you..." His mother went silent for a while.

 

"Baekhee.... She is dead." His mother sighed.

 

Baekhyun fell back into his chair, his heart literally stopped pounding for a while. "Eomma, you... You mean Baekhee, she... How?" Baekhyun stuttered, his eyes wide with disbelief. 

 

"She slashed herself with the penknife. She committed suicide, Baekhyun." She placed a hand on his shoulder. " I know this is a lot for you to take, but its the truth." 

 

 Baekhyun let out a deep cry of anguish, piercing the silence of the hallways. He cried salty tears as he mourned over the loss. "Even Baekhee is gone... Though Baekhee did do things that hurt or pained me, she is still my sister and she is one of my only kin besides you. She went through a lot too...Eomma... Another loss, another loss." He repeated those words almost hysterically.

 

"Another?" His mother asked softly, her eyes gleaming with a tinge of melancholy.

 

"Eomma... Kamin... Our baby..." Baekhyun whispered, his eyes doleful.

 

"Oh, Baekhyun ah..." His mother spoke, her voice trembling.

 

"Eomma, I couldn't do anything to help her. I really had no choice. I had to sacrifice either of them. It was so hard, so hard..." Baekhyun cried disconsolately. His mother looked at him with sad eyes, unable to do anything more than murmur comforting words to her son. Her son was in such anguish, such pain. He was a strong one since he was young but the state he was in showed how much it pained him to sacrifice his own flesh and blood. 

 

"Baekhyun, it is inevitable. You did the right thing. You are not to blame, Kamin would understand, really. Be strong, child." His mother patted him gently on the back, cleaning off his tears. 

 

"Thank you, Eomma. I will." Baekhyun wiped away the remaining tears and put his act together. He had to be strong. For Kamin.