351! We're almost there! Row the boat!

Tiffany POV

"Yuri, please! Don't leave me!" I cried my heart out. I kept on tapping his cheek. nudging him. I tried my hardest just to keep him awake. "Don't leave me again, please."

I looked around, trying to find a way to drag him up to the emergency fire hose. I tried to stand up and pulled him myself but, it was no use. The injury on my leg has gotten worse.

"Yuri, please..." I pleaded again.

No use...

I guess I just have to accept this reality.

I gazed at him. He was still staring at me yet, looking so weakly. "Well, at least... at least, I am given a chance to look at you before we leave this world...

"I will always love you..." I uttered. I planted a kiss on his lips, lingered for a few moments. 

The smoke has then started to grow heavier and had me suffocated. I began to lose my consciousness slowly. When I was about to close my eyes, a sudden blinding light bestowed upon us along with the loud chopper sound.

"Stephanie!" It was my father's voice.

It had my hope up. I quickly shouted and in repeat, "Help! We're here! Help!" I kept on screaming. However, the smoke has got me nauseated. My vision became blurry.

The only thing I remember from then on the silhouette of two men coming down from an aerial vehicle.

---

*29-November-2017*

I opened my eyes. I found myself lying on a hospital bed of a private confinement room. I noticed my son, Sunkyu, standing in front of the window and seemed to be immensely staring at the cityscape.

"Sunkyu..." I called weakly.

He finally looked at me and smiled faintly. He sighed loudly then went near to hold my hand. "Glad you're finally awake, umma." He then lifted my hand and kissed it.

"I'm sorry I had you worried."

He smiled again. He sat on the side of my bed and then leaned to caressed my cheek. "I always do wonder why my mother is always this stubborn."

I smiled back, "I'm sorry."

He sighed loudly again, "Alright. Whatever." He removed his hold of me and just went back to staring at the cityscape.

I sat up and scooted near him. I embraced him and rested my chin on his shoulder. "Now, what? No big hug? No crying?"

He looked at me again, "You do realize you're talking to your fifteen-year-old son, right?"

I pouted, "I miss my cutey cute baby boy. Can you please give me back my cutey boy?"

He chuckled, "Yah, umma."

"Please?"

He faked a sigh this time. He then returned my embrace, hugging me so tightly. "I love you, umma. Please don't do this to me ever again. I don't know what will I do without you."

"I'm sorry, Sweetie. I love you, too. So much..."

"I'm not ready to be alone yet, okay?"

"I know... I'm sorry..." We broke away. I cupped his cheeks and kiss him on his forehead. I then asked, "How's your father? Where is he?"

"Appa's still recovering in the ICU." he uttered.

"I see..." I then noticed my leg already cast. I looked back to him, "Can you help me get to your dad?"

---

"Hey." Yoong said as he found me going towards the viewing window of the ICU. Apparently, he was standing there along with Sooyoung.

Sunkyu pushed my wheelchair closer to them. Both of the guys hugged me. "We're glad you're awake now, Fany-yah." Yoong said.

"Do you still remember us?" Soo asked.

"What?" I asked back.

"Well... I was thinking maybe you got amnesia again."

I chuckled, "Silly."

"Enough of the stupid jokes, Soo." Yoong snapped in a serious tone. "This isn't the time to joke around."

"It is the time, you deer-eyed, gay man." Soo uttered back. "Siwon's already dead. No one else is left to antagonize us all so it's all set and done."

"Sooyoung." I called.

He then sighed in defeat, "Alright. Alright. I get it, killjoys."

I looked through the viewing window. Jessica and Aunt Boa, who is still recovering from her wounds from the last encounter at the manor, were at the side of Yuri's bed. They were conversing about something. Aunt Boa looked a little teary and Jessica was soothing her in return.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's still unconscious." Yoong answered. "He lost lots of blood and the doctor noted several fractures on his ribs. He was also deprived by oxygen by the time he passed out when we saw you two at the rooftop so that added up in his condition now."

"I see... Why aren't you inside?"

He was about to answer when Sooyoung cut him out, "It's because Jessica's there so he didn't get inside. You still remember how the situation is, right?" 

"Yah. Sooyoung!" Yoong shouted. "Didn't I say enough of the jokes?"

"That wasn't a joke, dude."

"Shut up."

Sunkyu suddenly snapped, "Umma, I guess you aren't that aware yet, but, Yoong-hyung and Halapoji were the ones who saved you and appa three days ago."

I gazed at Yoong. He was smiling back at me faintly. I held his hand and squeezed it gently. "Thank you so much, Yoong. Thank you so much."

"No worries." He patted my hand. "You do know enough I would do anything for you and hyung, right?"

"Thank you."

"But, don't ing ever do that again, Fany-yah." he said darkly. "You jeopardized our whole plan. If it wasn't for Hyomin who called the police that day, we wouldn't be able to know the real location of your meeting with Siwon. You could have died, you know."

Sooyoung added, "And, conveniently, Hyomin heard all of Siwon's plan while she was being abducted by him. I guess it didn't get into that old man's mind that she will still be able to contact the authorities after he let her go. Tsk, tsk. What a big flaw in his evil plan."

Sunkyu and Yoong looked at him darkly. The former then asked quizzically, "So, you are wishing he shouldn't have, huh?"

"I didn't say that. Stop putting words in my mouth, you little brat."

Jessica and Aunt Boa then came out of the ICU. The latter immediately noticed my presence. "Stephanie." she called then gave me a warm hug. "I am so glad you're awake."

"Hey, bestie." Jessica greeted. She also forwarded and embraced me. 

"Are you feeling better now?" Aunt Boa asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. How's Yuri, Auntie?"

"Well..." She sighed deeply. "He's a bit recovering now. He was in critical condition when you both arrived here, suffered from cardiac arrest but was just subsequently brought back by defibrillation." Tears started to show up from her eyes again. "We thought he'll die that time. God seemed to be really in favor of him, he allowed him to continue his life again." She looked through the viewing window. "I hope I'm right, though. Until now, he's not waking up."

Jessica added, "The doctor said it will take some time for him to wake up since he just resuscitated from cardiac arrest."

Aunt Boa chuckled bitterly. "This has happened before, anyway. Five years ago... it took him 10 months." She suddenly broke down in tears. Jessica attended on her immediately.

I held her hand and squeezed it. "It will be okay, Auntie. Yuri's a very strong person. I'm sure he will survive this."

Sunkyu uttered with his voice a bit cracking up, "Umma... Do you want to go inside?"

"Yes... Let's go..."

---

The others have left and gave me and Sunkyu some time alone with Yuri. Sunkyu pushed my wheelchair at the very side of his father's bed. I held Yuri's hand, caressed it softly for a long while...

"Sunkyu..." I called.

"..."

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? You told me he's already recovering."

"I'm sorry... I..." Tears have fallen from his eyes. "I don't want to stress you out when you just have woken up. What if the bad news will destroy you then? I don't want to lose you too."

I sighed deeply. "Come here."

He complied. As he drew closer, I pulled him for an embrace. "We are not losing your father, okay?"

He looked away, avoiding my gaze.

"Sunkyu. Don't be like this. You have to keep your faith. He will survive this, I am sure."

"I'm sorry, umma... I'm sorry if I'm getting discouraged on this... I just... I just couldn't stand seeing him suffer any longer..."

His words... I felt like I had a huge lump in my throat. I held myself, calmed and controlled my emotion. I don't want him to see me in tears.

Yet, he knew...

"Umma... I'm just gonna... gonna go talk to Yoong-hyung... I..." He sighed deeply as he broke away. "I'm just gonna leave you here for a bit."

"Okay..."

He kissed me on the forehead then left.

I gazed back at Yuri. Tears that I was holding have finally fallen from my eyes.

"Yuri... You are so unfair...

It's all done now. Siwon's gone now...

Please wake up...

Please, don't leave me now..."

For a long while, I held his hand, squeezed it gently from time to time.

From that moment, though, the memories of that day came into my mind.

Siwon's dead. Lots of people died, whether innocent or not... Died either because of Siwon or us...

What will happen now?

If Yuri ever wakes up, will they separate us again because of the wrongful things we did?

What if...? What if because of the events... the law will be the one to separate us again...?

Someone knocked on the already-opened door of the ICU which has caught my attention. It was my mom, smiling gently while tears are already rolling down from her eyes.

I smiled back and moved my wheelchair towards her. She leaned to my level. I hugged her tightly and she returned the same.

"Stephanie, I am so glad you're finally awake." She broke away and cupped my face with her hands. "Are you okay now? Did anywhere else hurt?"

"Yes, mom. I am okay."

She suddenly squeezed my cheeks hard and shouted at me ragingly, "Why did you have to do that?! Do you even know how much you got us worried?!"

I chuckled, "Mom, please. Everything turned out to be okay, anyway."

"You pesky brat!" She pinched both of cheeks. "You are really, really stubborn!" She drew me into her arms again and hugged me even tighter. "Please... Please don't do that again."

"I'm sorry, mom... I didn't mean to get you worried..."

"Don't be so paranoid, Elise." Dad suddenly butted. He was standing behind mom. "We both know Stephanie already survived dozens of horrible things that happened to her. There's nothing to worry about."

Mom broke away again and slapped my dad's upper arm. "What do you mean there's