Chapter 18

“Thank you,” her sister whispered instead of answering her question.

“Oh, Yoon, for what?” Yoona asked gently.

Yoonhee finally pulled away from her sister but didn’t let go. “For being okay,” she said. “For not dying.” Yoona pulled her sister in again. “Oh, Yoon,” she said softly. “Did you really think I would leave world without meeting my new nephew?” she teased.

Yoonhee hiccupped on a sob. “I wasn’t sure,” she said honestly. “But I prayed like crazy, Yoong.”

“Well, it worked,” Yoona reassured her. “Your prayers worked.”

She felt Yoonhee nod and then her sister pulled away again. She turned to Yul who was still standing in the doorway holding Yul Jr II. He was giving the sisters the space that they needed for their reunion. Yoonhee smiled at him and waved him over. “I think I’m okay now,” she told him.

“Are you sure?” he teased, walking towards them. They each still had an arm around each other.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Yoonhee said. “Let’s introduce Yul Jr. II to his aunt Yoona,” she said, lifting the baby out of Yul’s arms.

“Oh, Yoon,” Yoona whispered. “He’s gorgeous!”

“I know,” her sister said, grinning from ear to ear.

“They let you fly with a five day old baby?” Yoona asked as she sat down on the couch. When she was situated comfortable, she reached her arms out and Yoonhee handed her the baby, sitting down next to her.

Yoonhee looked at Yoona. “I didn’t exactly fly commercial,” she told her sister.

“You didn’t?” Yoona asked.

“Ummm... no, actually... I flew here on a private jet.”

“Really?”

“Courtesy of Yul,” she confirmed.

Yoona looked at Yul. “The Donald?”

He grinned and nodded, reaching down and ran a hand gently over the baby’s head. Looking at him longingly, he took a deep breath and then leaned down, giving Yoona a chaste kiss on the lips. “I have to go,” he said softly.

Yoona nodded. “Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“No, you don’t have to,” he told her.

“I want to,” she said firmly, handing the baby back to her sister.

“Take good care of my wife, Yoonhee,” he told his sister-in-law as he gave her a quick hug.

“I’m already on it,” she said smiling.

She stood up and he passed her the crutches then followed her into the kitchen. She looked at his suitcase by the door and then turned around so she was facing him. “Thank you so much,” she said.

He smiled at her. “You’re welcome,” he replied. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”

She nodded. “And now I won’t be.”

He took a deep breath. “I’m going to miss you, Yoong,” he told her.

She smiled softly at him. “Kiss me goodbye,” she commanded.

He grinned down at her and placed his arms around her waist pulling her to him. He landed his face down and nuzzled her neck, making her laugh. She reached over and grabbed his hair, gently pulling his head up so his face was just above hers. She lifted her face to his and gave him a gently kiss, like the ones he’d been giving her lately. She gasped when he dug his hands into her hips and pulled her roughly against him. There was a clatter as her crutches hit the kitchen floor. He took a few steps backward until he was against the counter, and then, not breaking their kiss, he reached behind Yoona’s knee as she held onto his neck and lifted her up. Not breaking their kiss, he turned around and placed her so she was sitting on the counter. He moved as close to her as he could, and she involuntarily squeezed her knees so he wouldn’t step back. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips and she opened immediately for him. He let her take control of the kiss and it was filled with a hunger he didn’t even realize she possessed. He lifted his hands up underneath her shirt and caressed the area underneath her s with his thumbs. When he heard her whimper, that was his cue to pull away. Keep her wanting more, Yul, he thought to himself. He quickly stepped back before he could change his mind, and she sighed in protest. He gently lifted her down off the counter and then wiped the side of his mouth with the back of his hand. “That ought a hold me over,” he said. “See you in five days, Yoong.”

“Yeah,” she said breathily, still reeling from the kiss.

With that, he picked up his suitcase and walked out the door.

“Sure, now that he’s leaving he gets fast and furious,” she muttered, taking a deep breath and trying to collect herself before she went back into the living room to see her sister. She smiled as she looked down at the crutches on the floor. Clearly the kiss had affected Yul more than he’d let on, or he never would have left her crutches in the middle of the floor like that. Had he been thinking clearly, he would have gotten them for her. She grinned victoriously and then went back to her sister.

“What was that?” Yoonhee asked as Yoona sat back down on the couch next to her.

“What?” Yoona asked innocently.

Yoonhee shook her head. “Yoona, what are you doing?” she asked softly, placing Yul Jr. II in his car seat that was in front of her on the floor.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you guys back together?” she questioned.

Yoona sighed. “He knows I’m leaving, Yoon,” she said, not in the mood for another lecture.

“It’s not him I’m worried about, little sis,” Yoonhee told Yoona looking in her eyes.

“I’ll be fines,” she said, looking away. Her sister’s stare was unnerving.

This time, it was Yoonhee’s turn to sigh. “But don’t you ever get sick of being fine?” she pressed. “Don’t you ever want to just be happy?”

Yoona laughed cynically. “I don’t even remember the last time I was happy, Yoon,” she said honestly.

“Well, I do,” Yoonhee said with a fierce certainty.

“When?” Yoona asked.

“Just before you husband leaned down to kiss you goodbye,” Yoonhee said dryly.

THE NEXT DAY

“Yoona!” Yoonhee yelled, walking into the kitchen. She placed a bag of groceries on the counter.

“Living room!” Yoona yelled back so her sister knew where to find her.

Yoonhee snagged an apple from the bag, and after rinsing it off in the sink, she took a bite and headed to the living room. When she walked in, she smiled. Yoona was sitting on the floor holding Yul Jr. II, her back against the couch, her sister looking down at the baby while feeding him. Yoonhee sat down next to her and kissed the baby on his forehead, ran a finger over his cheek. “Hey, baby,” she said softly. “Oh, Yoong, you’re such a natural,” she said.

Yoona laughed ironically. “I guess your maternal instinct never leaves you.”

Yoonhee looked at her sister and took another bite of her apple. She sighed. “I admire you, Yoong,” she told her little sister.

“What do you mean?” Yoona asked.

Yoonhee took her eyes away from her sister and looked at her son. “Oh God, Yoong, when I held him for the first time... I can’t even imagine what it was like for you to lose Yul Jr.”

Yoona squeezed Yoonhee’s hand. “And I pray to God every day that you never do, Yoon.”

Yoonhee looked at her sister and smiled sadly. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Okay, we definitely need to lighten the mood,” she said.

“I agree.”

Yoonhee picked up a pile of magazines that were on the floor beside her. “Well,” she said, thumbing through one of them. “It seems that the world is dying to find out where Kwon ‘Im’ Yoona is,” she informed her sister.

Yoona rolled her eyes. “Too bad Kwon ‘Im’ Yoona wasn’t so concerned about the world,” she said sarcastically. Her sister closed the magazine, and Yoona read the cover to herself. Where in the world is Kwon ‘Im’ Yoona? “I can’t believe they’re that... frantic to find me,” she said softly.

“You okay, Yoong?” Yoonhee asked.

Yoona shook her head. “Not really,” she said candidly.

“Talk to me, baby sis,” Yoonhee commanded.

Yoona sighed. “I want to walk away from all of it,” she declared.

“All of what?” Yoonhee asked confused.

“The fame, the publicity, all of it, I don’t want it anymore,” she said.

Yoonhee shrugged. “You walked away from it once,” she reminded Yoona. “You can do it again,” she said confidently.

Yoona shook her head. “It’s not the same,” she persisted. “I wasn’t famous when I walked away from that tour,” Yoona said. “I was just starting out. I wasn’t even signed to a record label. Im Yoona was easy to forget.”

“Not so for Kwon ‘Im’ Yoona,” Yoonhee said softly, recognizing her sister’s plight.

“Yeah,” Yoona said bitterly.

“What about your contract? Can you get out of it?” Yoonhee asked.

“I’ve signed to do another record and another tour for the record company.”

“Do you have the contract?”

“I’m sure I have it somewhere in my apartment back in L.A.,” she said.

“Do you think that Tiffany has a copy?” Yoonhee asked.

“Oh, I’m sure. That girl is so organized. She could probably find her copy in ten seconds flat.”

“Well, maybe you can call her and have her fax it to Siwon,” she said. “His firm could take a look at it. Maybe it has one of those loophole things,” she said.

“Maybe,” Yoona agreed then sighed. She grabbed the remote and the television. “Yul’s press conference should be starting soon,” she said, turning it to ESPN.