Yul got out of the vehicle and opened the back door, pulling Yoona’s crutches. He went over and she already had her door opened, so he took her by the waist and lifted her out, then handed her the crutches. He grabbed a few of their suitcases and followed her to the front door, unlocking it for her. She went in ahead of him and looked around. He dropped the suitcases by the door, and then went out for the rest of their things. He brought them in and closed the door behind him. “It all looks so different,” Yoona said.

“Yeah, it does,” he agreed.

“Did you have someone come and clean?” she asked. “It smells really good in here.”

“Yeah, I called Fany and she came over and cleaned for me,” he told her.

“Oh, that was nice of her,” she said.

“Should we go put away our clothes?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “Which room am I staying in?”

“Your old bedroom,” he told her.

“Are you staying in my parent’s room?” she asked.

“Eww! No!” he said, laughing. “I’m staying in one of the spare rooms.” For some reason, the thought of staying in his in-laws bedroom was repulsive to him… despite the fact that they hadn’t lived there in years.

“Okay,” she said.

“I’m right behind you,” he told her, grabbing her two suitcases.

He followed her up the stairs, and then when she stopped at her old bedroom door, he pushed it open for her and she went in. she came to a quick stop. Yul looked around. “Do you like it?” he asked.

She looked around her room, set up exactly the way it had been when she was in high school and she and Yul had first met. “Where did you get all of my old stuff?” she asked in disbelief.

He put her suitcases down and then shrugged. “I had some of it in storage,” he told her. “And the rest of it… your parents had in storage.”

She turned around so she was facing him. “I thought you said ‘let’s live in the present.’ This looks suspiciously like the past to me.” Yul didn’t say anything, so she turned back around, her eyes sweeping over the room again. “This is where we almost made love for the first time,” she said quietly.

Yul walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. “And the second and third and fourth,” he said, kissing her on the neck.

She moved her cheeks down to her shoulder to push him away. “You’re crazy, Yul,” she said.

“Only about you, Yoong,” he said softly.

Yoona didn’t say anything, just ignored his comment, like she did every time he made a comment about his feelings for her. But he was dealing with that. He’d decided that he was going to be honest with her every step of the way, no matter how she reached. He had been less than honest with her when he’d left for New York, and he swore to himself he would not do that this time. If he lost her again, and he was hoping and praying that he wouldn’t, it wouldn’t be because he hadn’t laid everything out on the line. He gently spun her around, letting her crutches fall to the floor. He was going to lean in to kiss her when the chain around her neck caught his eyes. He took it in his hand and gently pulled it out from under her shirt so it was free. “My wedding ring,” he said surprised. “I was so afraid it got lost at the hospital,” he said.

“Yeah, no, it didn’t. I… found it in my bed and… kind of hung onto it,” she said as she started blushing.

“You’re adorable when you blush,” he told her.

“Thanks,” she said uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at his face. He was grinning from ear to ear.

He put the hand that wasn’t holding the chain on her cheek and turned her face to his, then pulled her to him by her necklace. “Yul…” she said, as his mouth swooped down to capture hers.

“Just go with me here, Yoong,” he said a second before his lips touched hers.

As soon as they did, Yoona hesitantly moved her arms up around his neck.

“Yoona?” Yul said, knocking on her bedroom door. “Are you awake?” he asked. She was supposed to be getting ready to go out for supper. He’d told her that they were going to Jesse and Tiffany’s, but he actually had a surprise planned for her. When there was no answer, he slowly pushed the door open. “Yoong?” At the sound of her sobbing, he quickly walked into the room and sat down next to her on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t… I can’t…” she choked on a sob.

“Yoona, breathe,” Yul instructed, rubbing her back. “You can’t what?” he prompted.

“I can’t change my clothes,” she told him.

“What do you mean?” he asked confused.

Yoona gave an exhausted sigh. “I can’t move around enough to change my clothes. I’m too sore,” she explained dejectedly.

“That’s okay,” he said gently, trying to calm her. He’d never known Yoona to be this emotional. Clearly this accident had more of an impact on her than he’d realized.

She rolled away from him. “No, it’s not! We didn’t bring Rosie with us,” she said, borderline hysterical. “I’m fine in the morning when I first wake up, but after moving around on those stupid crutches all day, not I can barely move!” she said frustrated.

“I’ll help you change,” he assured her.

Yoona shook her head.

“Yoong…”

“I don’t want you to see me,” she said firmly.

Yul laughed softly. “I’ve seen you thousands of times before,” he reminded her.

She turned around to face him again, and he saw the anguish in her eyes. “Not like this,” she said.

“I know our relationship is different now,” he said. “But…”

Yoona shook her head. “No, it’s not that.”

“I… I don’t know what you mean,” Yul said perplexed. She wasn’t making any sense. “Did you have some pain medication?” he asked.

Again, she shook her head. “No. It’s… I don’t want you to see me, Yul. I… I have lots of bruises,” she explained.

“Oh,” he said, suddenly understanding. Except for very first time they’d made love and her pregnancy, Yoona had never been self-conscious of her body with him. And as far as he was concerned, she’d never needed to be. Her body had never been anything less than perfect in his eyes. He smoothed the hair away from her face. “It’s okay, Yoona.”

“They look horrible,” she insisted.

Yul nodded his head. “I’m sure they do,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully. He’d seen a lot of different injuries during his years as a basketball player and he knew how unsightly they could be. “But when the colours change and they start to look worse, usually that means that you’re healing,” he told her.

“I know that’s what I mean, but it’s still… I don’t like it,” she said, overwhelmed.

“I know you don’t,” he said. “But I do.”

Yoona’s face wrinkled in confusion. “You haven’t even seen them.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” he told her. “Every single bruise on that body of yours means that you’re okay, and that you’re here. I don’t care if you’re black and blue from head to toe, as long as you’re here.”

Yoona’s eyes filled with tears again and she slowly sat up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. “Thank you for being so nice to me,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome,” he said softly, her hair. “Are you ready to get changed?”

She pulled away and smiled weakly at him. “Yes,” she said on a sob.

She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, and Yul stood up, walking over to the closet. He opened it. “So, what’s it gonna be, Yoong?” he asked.

She sighed. “I really want to wear sweats and a t-shirt, but I’ll go for jeans and a button up.”

He grinned. “Good choice. Which pair of jeans?”

She shrugged. “I don’t care. Anything boot cut. They fit over my cast better.”

“Okay,” he said tentatively. “And what are boot cut jeans?” he asked.

Yoona laughed. “I’ll find some,” she said.

She stood up and leaned over to get her crutches, but before she could, Yul scooped her up in his arms.

“Yul…”

He shook his head. “Not a word from you,” he threatened goo-naturedly.

She grinned. “Okay.”

He walked over to the closet and put Yoona down in front of it. When she found what she was looking for, she turned to face him. She looked up at him and bit her lower lip. “I’m ready,” she said timidly.

Yul nodded and took the clothes from her. “Lift your arms up high as you can,” he coached. She did, and he pulled her t-shirt off. He got down on his knees before her, and was reaching for the button on her jeans when his eyes fell upon her stitched gash. Yul took a deep breath as he realized once again how close he’d come to losing her. His hand went to her cut and he gently ran his thumb over it. He felt her shiver and take a deep breath. He lifted his eyes to hers. “Does it hurt?” he asked worried.

Still biting her lower lips, she shook her head no. he leaned in and placed feather light kisses along the entire length of it. He sighed and wrapped his hands around her waist. He leaned his head gently against her stomach and hugged her. He sighed deeply. “Thank you for letting me take care of you, Yoona,” he said sincerely.