Chapter 17

 Yoona was sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, her leg elevated on a pillow. She was facing Tiffany who was sitting on the other end of the couch. “So now he’s not leaving for another five days because they changed the press conference,” Yoona told her.

Tiffany nodded. “Yeah, Jesse said something about that,” she said. “So, how are you feeling?”

Yoona laughed sarcastically. “Physically or emotionally?” she asked.

“Both,” Tiffany said titling her head to the side.

Yoona took a deep breath. “Physically, I’m doing great. I never thought I’d heal this fast.”

“Yeah, well, every day that you spend healing is one day closer to you being able to leave Yul,” Fany said studying Yoona for her reaction. Her friend looked away.

“Right,” Yoona whispered.

“Yoona?” Tiffany said softly.

“I’m an emotional wreck, Fany-ah,” Yoona said honestly, tears springing to her eyes. “Yul is… I can’t believe how wonderful he’s being. I don’t deserve it,” she said sadly.  

“Oh, Yoona, yes you do,” Tiffany assured her.

Yoona shook her head. “I don’t,” she protested.

Tiffany looked at Yoona as realization dawned. “Yoona?”

Yoona looked up.

“All these years I thought you wanted to divorce Yul because he left and you couldn’t forgive him, but that wasn’t it, was it?” she asked softly.

Yoona quickly looked away.

“You don’t think you deserve forgiveness for not going to that airport,” she said, finally understanding the depth of the situation. “That’s why you’re letting him take care of you. You’re scared to death, but you know it makes him feel better to be by your side.”

“Fany-ah…” Yoona said firmly.

“Oh, Yoona,” Tiffany said, her voice full of compassion.

“Don’t do that! Don’t try to analyse me!” Yoona said angrily.

“But you do realize that when you leave, you’re going to feel the same way, only worse,” Tiffany warned her friend, “because you will have left him twice.”

Yoona closed her eyes and nodded her head.

“You have to forgive yourself, Yoona,” Tiffany told her friend.

“I don’t know if I can,” Yoona said honestly.

“So, how’s that heart of yours, big brother?” Yul asked, blocking Jesse’s shot and grabbing the ball for himself. He put the ball up and after circling the rim, it went in. “Still taking your medication?” (Have a heart problem, genetic)

Jesse nodded, hands on his knees, bent over and breathing heavily. “Fany-ah shoves it down my throat every day,” he assured Yul.

“Good,” Yul said, heading for the picnic table. He sat down on the top of it, his feet resting on the bench. Jesse sat down beside him, catching his breath.

“How’s Yoona doing?” he asked.

“Same as she was yesterday,” Yul told his brother. He turned to look at him. “I hear you had a quite the conversation with her, though,” he said.

“Yeah,” Jesse said. There was a pause, “You mad?”

Yul shook his head. “No. I should have told her that a long time ago, bro. Do you know what she said?”

“What?”

“She said that she wanted Yul Jr to be in my arms, because it was his favourite place on the planet.” Jesse smiled at his brother. “She’s right, Yul. Your son was a daddy’s boy.”

“Yeah, but, how unselfish was that?” he asked.

“It was,” Jesse agreed.

Yul sighed. “It just made me love her even more,” he said.

“Yul, you know she’s going to leave. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“I know she wants to leave,” Yul corrected his brother. “It doesn’t mean she will.”

“She will. She’s made up her mind and you know how wilful Yoona can be,” he reminded Yul. This was twice in two days when Jesse had to tell the ugly truth, and he didn’t like it one bit, but he knew it had to be done.

“Why are you doing this?” Yul asked.

Jesse sighed, “Because I don’t want your heart to be worse shape than mine, little brother.”

Five days later, Yul was getting ready to go to New York City and Yoona was sitting on the bed propped up with pillows watching him as he packed. He’d moved his stuff into her room just a few days ago since he was in there most of the time anyway. Their lovemaking had become a ritual. Every night, he’d make love to her slowly. No matter how much she begged, Yul would remain unhurried, wanting it to last as long as possible. He was definitely sticking to his promise of not playing fair. And every morning Yoona reminded him that she’d was well again. He’d just smile softly at her and say we’ll see. She took a deep breath and put a deliberate pout on her face. “I don’t want you to go,” she said stubbornly.

Yul looked at her and grinned. “See, it’s starting already,” he teased. “You can’t live without me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to be lonely at night,” she said.

“Oh,” he said with a teasing tone of voice. “Is that what’s bothering you?”

She tilted he head to the side. “Do you really have to be gone for five days?” she asked softly.

He finished zipping his suitcase and then walked over to her. He put the knee closest to the bed by her waist, and then gently swung his other leg over her so he was straddling her. He leaned back and put his weigh on his heels so none of it was on her. Her leg was doing much better and he didn’t want to risk re-injuring it. “I have to be gone for five days as it stands now, but trust me,” he said, taking her face in his hands and gently placing a kiss on each eyelid. “If there’s any way that I can get back to you any earlier, Yoona, I will,” he promised firmly.

“Good,” she said, content for the moment.

He stared into her eyes for a second unsure of what he was looking for, only knowing that he was looking for something. He sighed. “Just promise me you’ll be here when I get back,” he whispered desperately.

She nodded, mesmerized by his intense gaze. “I’ll be here,” she whispered back.

He put his arms under hers and lifted her to him in a fierce hug. She lifted her arms to his waist and squeezed him back. “Good,” he said softly. One last squeeze, and then he let go, getting back off the bed. “It’s almost time for me to go,” he said as he helped her stand up. He passed her, her crutches and she situated them underneath her arms with a sigh. She was going to be so lonely without anyone here with her.

As she was following Yul down the stairs, she heard the doorbell ring. “Oh, your surprise is here,” he said over his shoulder.

“You got me a surprise?” she said excitedly.

“Yeah, I got you a surprise all right,” he told her. “Why don’t you have a seat on the couch and I’ll bring it to you,” he told her.

“Okay,” she agreed, moving swiftly to the couch. She was sitting there for a few minutes listening intently, but she couldn’t hear anything from the kitchen. Finally, she heard the swinging door leading to the kitchen open and turned around. Yoonhee walked into the room with a huge grin on her face, Yul right behind her with the baby in his arms. Yoona screeched and got to her feet as quickly as she could. Yoonhee ran over to her and threw her arms around her sister, hugging her with an urgency born out of fear.

“Oh, God, Yoona,” Yoonhee said. Yoona could hear her sister sobbing. She tried to let go and pull back, but Yoonhee wouldn’t let her.

“Yoon? Are you okay?” she asked concerned.