CHAPTER 4: 1 DAY TO GO: PART 4

Taemin returned to the waiting room outside the theatre to find that Boa was not in there and that the operation was finished. No one was around. It was like a dead house. Taemin hyperventilated before heading to the reception. Each step closer made him feel more nervous, more on the edge. He called for the receptionist and waited for her to come forward. A voice replied that there would be a delay as she was having a quick break. Quick break. The words made Taemin’s blood boil. With rage, he banged the desk with his fists when the woman rushed over, realising how urgently Taemin needed someone.

“Where is Kwon Boa? She went into operation!? Pregnant lady?” Taemin quickly yelled out at the startled woman. The woman nodded and tapped in the information into the computer. Taemin watched the clock as time slowed down dramatically and left him feeling useless as ever. The woman finally looked up with concerned eyes.

“I’m sorry but she passed away five minutes ago.”

Nothing meant anything more than Boa in Taemin’s life. The memories flashed before his eyes. The time they kissed after dancing together. The first moment they shared in the bedroom. The cute and silly, mischievous glances they shared secretly, the calls and laughs… every last precious and beautiful moment passed through his mind and seemed to leave his head, becoming white light. Boa, in his mind, was becoming a legend; a mystical star in the sky that no one could find with a telescope. Her mind, soul, heart… Taemin felt as though someone had taken his heart away and had flown with it. He looked up with uncertainty. He looked back at the woman who stared at him worriedly. He felt his heart slow down like it was dying.

Boa couldn’t be gone- the thought repeated in his mind. They were going to run away together. Raise their son or daughter. They were going to be with each other in their love. He needed her. Without her, he was completely nothing. Yes she was married but he made her the happiest woman alive. When she was suicidal, he had been there to pick her up and give her the love she deserved. He needed her more than ever.

No. Taemin shook his head and stepped back. He looked around for Boa, to see her image, to see her in the flesh. He had to. He couldn’t live without her, no, he could not. Nothing, nothing else mattered. He wanted God to take his life. Take his life and bring her back. Back to the World. Back to where she belonged. He… he felt his hot, burning tears bring him back to the receptionist who was talking to him. He couldn’t hear her. He needed to hear Boa. Tell her he loved her, wanted her. He loved her so much it hurt him so much. He felt like he could disappear.

He watched his vision blur as he fell back to his knees and stared at the floor. Boa, he needed to return to Boa. The woman he loved, the one, the only one. Tears dropped down and Taemin closed his eyes, unable to understand the words. Passed away. Passed away? No, she couldn’t. Maybe this was all just an evil prank. Perhaps this was a sickening nightmare. He couldn’t cope. His heart faltered and his head spun around. Boa couldn’t be away. No, she couldn’t. He loved her and that was that. They’d be together. No one could take away their love. No. It was false. He finally heard someone yell for help as he blanked out dreaming, wishing, hoping and praying for Boa to return to him.

***

Yunho was in his car, travelling fast through the roads towards the hospital. Cars swerved out his way but he didn’t care anymore. Nothing was right in the world. His whole world was destroyed. He couldn’t comprehend how one minute he was happy with Boa and the next he was split apart into nothingness. He looked briefly towards the sky as he realised it was snowing heavily. The tiny snowflakes stared at him with hope sheading towards him softly. Yunho looked back at the road just as he noticed he was on the wrong side. His eyes widened as a truck crashed straight into him after horning as loudly as it could. He had no time to react.

Time stopped as the car lurched back as the truck forced its way through the car’s metal, crushing the engine. His own horn blared out in warning as he felt the car push back into the air, high above. Yunho was on a bridge. The metal screeched against the car’s carbon fibre. The waters he previously wanted to plunge into welcomed his car and body into its dark, wide-open mouth. The car flew into the sky. Yunho watched in slow motion as a pretty snowflake hit the windshield. The whole car fell through the snowflakes before finally disappearing into the hard water. Yunho’s head was hit hard by the sheer impact and he lost consciousness before realising what had happened. His body sunk to the bottom inside the cage that was his car.

***

Taemin woke up in a bed with the sound of his heart bleeping in his head. The first thought that came to him was Boa. His thoughts returned. Why Boa? She… was… Taemin wept after realising that time was not going to go back. Boa was gone. Her heart condition had finished her. He felt so lost already without anyone beside him. He had no one anymore. How could he even think about anything else anymore? All his joy and fun had been from him like a wormhole. In the back of his mind, something was trying to push to the front. He felt shattered into pieces and nothing could possibly make sense anymore. It was nonsense.

Then the bells inside his heart rang out loud and clear. Boa was dead- that fact was undeniable and certain with all of Taemin’s anger and regret. Yet she was pregnant. With his child! That child that not come across his mind- not since he realised she was gone. But yes, he had a child to think about. Boa had gone but she had left behind a gift- if his young infant survived. Taemin’s mind was straining to think straight. He couldn’t. He didn’t have himself to think about anymore.

His thoughts were completely stopped as his door swung open and a nurse headed straight towards him with a check board. She seemed worried about him as he was pretty young to have fainted. He felt embarrassed but that was the least of his worries. He needed to find out where his infant, his child- the last part of Boa- was.

“Where’s Kwon Boa’s child?” He asked as loud and as clear as possible after the nurse shut the door. The nurse stared at Taemin; dumbfounded. Taemin stood up. How could she be confused? It made sense after he questioned her confusion- he was pretty too young to be a father. He stared at the nurse and towered over with his death-filled eyes. The nurse backed away feeling claustrophobic and was frightened by the boy’s actions. He seemed reckless and crazy.

“I’m sorry, can you please sit down?” The nurse replied with a stern voice. Taemin sat back on his bed and waited till the nurse checked him over. Standard procedure had to be done of course. He needed to be in good shape to see his baby. He knew he had lots of endless time left anyway. His whole life was nothingness and he knew that fighting against the clock would end with a great defeat. The nurse seemed mildly pleased by his condition. She then proceeded to explain what had happened.

“Kwon Boa had a seizure during the birth. The doctors tried everything, I’m afraid.” The nurse bowed her head. She then waited for him to say something but he said nothing. He seemed emotionless and blank. “The baby was born healthily. A baby girl.” The nurse continued. “I’m afraid only the father can see the young baby.” The nurse said regretfully. She assumed the boy was Boa’s brother. She never imagined he’d be the father. That was until he opened his mouth.

“I… I am the father of the baby.” Taemin admitted. He stood up with dry eyes that seemed soul-piercing. “Please show me my daughter.” Taemin pleaded. The nurse felt her own heart race. It was something that never happened to her. Countless similar cases had occurred but nothing quite the same as this. She could feel how much the young man wanted to cherish the child. It was highly unlike her to allow an underage boy see his illegal child. She understood that their relationship wasn’t mentioned after the baby was born. Their relationship wasn’t legit. Yet a part of her heart felt like it was destiny to allow the boy to see… his daughter; fate had played a cruel game.

***

Jaejoong arrived at the hotel and entered to see if Yunho was inside. He stepped in to find Eunhyuk and Donghae in the lobby. Donghae was talking to Jessica on the phone and Eunhyuk was waiting impatiently for him to finish his call. Jaejoong tapped Eunhyuk on his shoulder and Eunhyuk greeted Jaejoong with a hug.

“Hey, Jaejoongie!” Eunhyuk cooed in his typical, flattering way. Jaejoong smiled and rolled his eyes with sarcasm. Eunhyuk grinned, showing his gums playfully before tapping Jaejoong’s back heartily.

“Have you seen Yunho?” Jaejoong asked impatiently after checking his watch. He had promised Yunho he’d be there immediately but it had taken him an hour to finally arrive. He felt bad but the traffic was terrible. There had been an accident; a car had crashed before falling into the lake. He had stopped to ask the people if they knew who it was but no one had answers.

“He, err, Boa collapsed and he went to the hospital!” Eunhyuk cried out frantically. He pushed Jaejoong towards the entrance. “You’d better go! Yunho’ll need you!” Eunhyuk smiled as Jaejoong rushed back to his car. He drove as fast as he could until he reached the bridge where the accident had taken place. There was a long line of traffic. The police were pulling out the car from the river.

Jaejoong stepped out and walked towards the area to see the car with the rest of the growing crowd. He realised they had also found a body. With curiosity, he edged forward, wondering if it was a girl, boy, Ajhussi, Ajhumma… he felt bad for being so nosey and terrible but he wanted to know and this was his chance. The police had covered the man’s face with a white cloth. Jaejoong noticed the person’s hand had fallen to the side. That’s when he noticed something unmistakable.

The watch he had specifically made for Yunho for his birthday. There was definitely no other kind. He had spent so much on it, no one else nearby would be able to think about spending so much. Jaejoong was very wealthy and he knew it. He frantically came up with the theory that someone stole it from Yunho. Yet Yunho would have told Jaejoong straight away or searched for that person to the ends of the Earth. He was that kind of person; a man who wouldn’t allow injustice to win. Jaejoong pushed people roughly out of his way, marching forward with disbelief clogging in his throat like a ball.

“What do you think you’re doing!? Jerk!” A teenaged girl yelled at Jaejoong with a rude tone that would have angered Jaejoong. It truly didn’t affect him. He remained emotionless to it. He had pushed the girl viciously as he forced himself closer. He didn’t care what anyone else thought anymore. This was the way to the hospital from the hotel; one of the easiest ways; a way Yunho would’ve taken for his wife. Jaejoong was definite. He would not have risked an easier way. He knew Yunho had told him Boa’s baby wasn’t his… and he would have returned to the hotel to find Ara to find out her baby was his. That was the only way he could’ve known. He would have decided to end his life? No. Yunho was too strong-willed for something that sad as his ending. No. Perhaps he guiltily decided to go back to Boa to make ends meet? He knew Yunho loved Boa, deep inside, and was making a mistake with Ara. It was too late for that anyway.  Perhaps he accidently crashed? Jaejoong moved more people out of his way. All of them were protesting but their voices didn’t enter his mind. They were meaningless.

Jaejoong gulped as he pushed past the last few people to get to the trolley with the person on top under that sickening cloth. He began breathing heavily as he knew for definite it was Yunho’s watch, without a doubt. The colour of the handles, the shape of the buckle. It was definitely Yunho’s. He sprinted to the police officer, knowing that if it wasn’t Yunho, and his theory was incorrect, he’d be looking at someone else’s best friend; not his.

“Please, I recognise that watch! Who is the person? There’s only one watch like that. I customised it. There is no other like that, please, tell me.” Jaejoong blabbered. The police officer looked into Jaejoong’s deadly serious eyes and told Jaejoong he didn’t know who the person was. He called the medics over so Jaejoong could recognise him. Jaejoong’s heart stopped beating as they slowly lifted off the cloth over the head to reveal…

Yunho. He was irreversibly correct.

“YUNHO! YUNHO! OH MY GOD, PLEASE, YUNHO!” Jaejoong shrieked. He hit Yunho’s face in hope that it was a terrible joke. It was sick if it was. Jaejoong couldn’t believe his best friend was lying lifeless. He wouldn’t allow it. He’d pay for the best doctors to save him. The police officer pulled him back and restrained him as Yunho was rolled into the ambulance. People in the crowd behind were weeping at the sorry sight.

“Please identify his full name please, sir.” The police officer asked emotionlessly with courtesy. Yet disrespectfully, he held a notepad to write down the details readily. That was Yunho’s life he wanted to write down, a name that meant more than the world to Jaejoong and nothing to the unknowing man in the uniform.

“WHAT, YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ANOTHER VICTIM? ANOTHER CRASH, SO LET’S FIND OUT THE PERSON’S NAME. NORMAL PROCEDURE? HE MEANS NOTHING TO YOU.” Jaejoong exploded, spitting down on the police officer with fury and adrenaline flowing through his veins. The police officer seemed taken aback but Jaejoong couldn’t even care less. No way was he going to let a man with a badge prevent him from staying with his best friend.

Jaejoong pushed the police officer back with mighty force and entered the ambulance. With bile working up his throat, he replaced the cloth from Yunho’s head and began sobbing. With a cry, he lay his head on Yunho’s torso and bit his lip, praying to the Heavens above. He could not let this be the end of his friend. He had so much to live for. So much, it was unbearable for Jaejoong to believe that he was gone without so much as a goodbye. No. It was wrong. Unheard of. They were going to die old together.

He pressed his ear against Yunho’s chest in hope and pushed it after realising there was no pulse. He could not allow him to not have a pulse. He wasn’t even allowed to be dead. He touched Yunho’s head and felt how cold and wet he was. Jaejoong covered Yunho’s head with his hands like he was holding a baby and kissed his forehead.

“Yunho, wake up. You’re my best friend, Yunho. You’re the godfather to my future children, Yunho. Oh God, Yunho…” Jaejoong wept with all his heart. No. This just couldn’t be the end of the man that was so powerful in Jaejoong’s eyes. A man with more life value than anyone else in the world. “You have a life, Yunho, live your life, please, I beg of you…” Jaejoong pleaded. He looked up with all his hope gone and wept more. He grabbed Yunho’s hand and squeezed it tight. “I love you Yunho, so much. There is no other person… who can come close to how we were. You’re my best friend, Yunho. I can’t think of drinking on a Saturday night with anyone else… peering on girls, being a knob like me…” Jaejoong cried. Yunho’s life was truly over, truly and utterly over.

Jaejoong gripped on Yunho’s lifeless hand and wept. His eyes burnt up in scepticism whether he was truly gone or not. It was a question that Jaejoong could not answer with money like he usually did. Life. A funny thing. Jaejoong’s eyes flooded with searing tears. Like a hot waterfall, the tears streamed down. Jaejoong didn’t want to leave Yunho’s hands to wipe the salty water away. The taste of his tears reached his mouth. Feeling pathetic and useless Jaejoong just leaned over his best friend, holding his hand as tightly as he could, wishing to never leave him alone.

Jaejoong remembered the past. There were times he had told Yunho he wouldn’t care if he died. He wished he could take those spiteful, lying comments and replace them with happiness and thankfulness of his life. He wished he had a second chance with the one person who never let him down. The past was full of memories he wished he could rewrite with the future. Jaejoong’s heart fell to pieces.

That’s when Yunho’s hand mildly gripped back against Jaejoong’s. Jaejoong eagerly heard for a pulse in Yunho’s wrist. He heard nothing. He placed his ear to Yunho’s chest and waited for a moment until he heard one unmistakable beat. He shot up and ran out to the police officer and ambulance response unit. They were speaking to the public, reassuring them that the roads were safe and that it was rare accidents happened. In the distance Jaejoong saw Yunho’s car land on a truck. He felt a lump form in his throat once more. He tapped the same officer he had rudely pushed away.

“Please hurry to the hospital, I felt a pulse.” Jaejoong urged the officer. The officer scoffed and pulled Jaejoong away from the public’s eyes. He shoved Jaejoong to the side of the ambulance away from witnesses. That’s when Jaejoong experienced a punch in his stomach that knocked him back against the side of the metal van. Jaejoong felt his insides throb in pain and his breath was knocked out. He was not a fighter.

“Yeah, you felt a pulse. What bull. I hear so many ty stories like this. Yours seriously tops it.” The officer smirked with an odd tint of an uncomfortable glare. He pulled out something from his belt. Jaejoong realised he was about to be beaten. He needed to get out of the situation. His mind raced for a solution to the inevitable, impossible situation.

The scene brought about realisations. 1) He was hidden away from witnesses. 2) There was a river right behind the twisted officer. 3) The ambulance was on; he could drive off in an instant the moment he gets out this situation.  The plan formed in his mind. He smirked back at the officer as he walked forward with a baton tightly clutched in his hand.

In the next second, the officer attempted to whack down on his head; attempting to give him concussion enough for him to fall so the officer could proceed to beat him without a fight. Jaejoong swiftly blocked the direct hit from his head by kicking the officer away in a move as fast as lightning. The classes he and Yunho attended in their youth came out as useful, something he didn’t expect. The police officer made a fast recovery as expected and lashed out with the baton against anything he could hit on Jaejoong’s body. Jaejoong managed to dodge them all and went backwards against the railing on the edge of the bridge.

Jaejoong punched the police officer far enough back that he’d come charging relentlessly to actually aim a strong hit on Jaejoong. It was as expected. The police officer dashed forward with a loud growl which was covered by the noise of the people who had gathered to see the crash. Jaejoong moved aside and kicked the police officer the moment he hit the railing to an angle that sent him straight down into the depths Yunho had been. Jaejoong smirked at his sneaky win and walked to the main ambulance. He sat in the front and immediately drove to the hospital. He put on the blaring horn so cars would exit his pathway.

It was just under two minutes by the time Jaejoong managed to reach the hospital. He dashed to the back and pulled out Yunho’s trolley. He then sprinted to the A&E section. The doctors inside who met with him raised their eyebrow in confusion but nevertheless they continued to take Yunho straight away without asking much questions apart from what happened to Jaejoong; an unprofessional-looking man.

***

Taemin walked into the room full of babies with his heart beating fast and walked straight to one that shone out to him. He shakily read the label that read ‘Kwon Boa’. Taemin bit his lip and began sobbing uncontrollably as he looked over to see his healthy baby daughter sleeping soundly. He spotted her without asking. It was a true bond- made by Heaven. Taemin reached down with the nurse’s permission behind him. He held his breath as his baby daughter lay asleep in his arms in moments. The warmth of her body warmed his heart up gently. The baby was beautiful, better than any starry night sky sparkling down on the world. The baby woke up and stared up at him with hazel eyes that shone brighter than the moon. Taemin felt his whole life feel worthwhile once again with joy. This baby was now the meaning of his life- the reason he was alive. He silently and tearfully thanked Boa for the greatest gift of his life.

“I love you so much…” Taemin smiled down at his daughter. He held his baby with one hand and wiped away his tears with another. He felt her warmth over his arm and her eyes stay fixated on him with the same curiosity as Boa’s. She was perfect. Boa was his sweetheart lover that left behind the best gift imaginable. He couldn’t feel more torn at whether he was excited at the birth of his daughter or completely devastated that his beloved was gone from the world. Yet the baby- he knew it- she was the best thing after Boa that could possibly happen to him.

“Congratulations, father.” The nurse celebrated for Taemin. Taemin turned to face the flushing-pink nurse and smiled with an uncountable amount of happiness. He realised how much he loved Boa. He knew he told her he thought of her as a fling, but he knew deep down that he lied to her. He’d spend the rest of his life devoted to his daughter to prove to Boa that he did love her deeply. He loved her too much for him to simply lie.

Taemin lay his daughter back down and watched her sleep again peacefully. He kissed his fingers and placed them down on her forehead. He watched as his silent baby breathed up and down quickly making him feel like a protector. He knew he’d always be there for her no matter what happened. She would always be his- his and Boa’s beautiful baby girl.

“Your mommy and daddy love you so much.” Taemin whispered to her. The baby rest coolly and was already in sleep. She was a quiet baby like he had been according to stories from his mother. She was so beautiful, Taemin couldn’t comprehend her beauty. The song- “Isn’t she lovely” popped into his head and slowly he began singing to her with a bright smile with his tears twinkling under the fluorescent lighting. He lay his precious daughter down and covered her milky-white skin with the shawl. He smiled down at her, in love with his baby girl.

Final after this chapter~~~