The three weeks passed much faster than I had expected them to and before I knew it we were back at the hospital for Taeyeon's MRI. We hadn't talked about anything, but there was a certain tension between us since we both knew that my days were numbered. If his test came back and he was fine, then I would be on the next plane to Seoul by the end of the week.

It was Wednesday and officially my fifteenth week of pregnancy. October was drawing to a close and the weather was getting steadily colder. Taeyeon and I walked beside each other in silence, my arms tightly crossed to ward off the chilly afternoon. In his black v-neck sweater and dark-washed jeans, he looked perfect against the Hong Kong backdrop. I was wearing a black three-quarter length peacoat over a light blue long-sleeved blouse and jeans. My simple black boots clicked on the sidewalk.

When we got to the hospital, Taeyeon held the door open for me and then went to the counter to let them know that he had arrived. He hadn't spoken much all day, but I could tell that he was nervous. In fact, I was surprised that he had asked me to come along at all, but when he did I got ready without a word.

"Well hello, Mr. Kim," Dr. Song said after appearing around a corner. Taeyeon smiled at her and then she turned to face me and I could see a bit of surprise in her face, "and Miss Jung."

"Hey, Dr. Song. Nice to see you again."

She nodded and then gestured for us to follow her, "You look well, Mr. Kim." She walked us down the hallway to the elevator. Instead of going up, this time we went down a floor.

"I feel much better," he responded. I began ing my coat when it got too warm, but otherwise stayed to the side since my presence really wasn't necessary.

"How are you ribs?"

"Still a little sore, but I feel almost completely back to normal."

"And your head? Are you still having headaches?"

"Sometimes, but not as often and not nearly as bad as they were when I first left," Taeyeon shrugged, "I haven't needed to take the pain medicine you gave me in weeks."

Dr. Song nodded, jotting something down on the chart I hadn't even realized that she had. I was glad to hear him telling the doctor all of those things; of course I was asking him almost every single day how he was feeling and if things were better, but it wasn't the same as his doctor knowing about it.

The elevator dinged and we got out on a floor that seemed a bit barren. There were a few heavy looking doors and gurneys against the walls, but there were no windows and the walls were stark white. Dr. Song led us to one of those doors, "We're going to do an MRI to make sure everything is going well internally with your ribs and then a CT scan for your head."

We stepped into a dark room with a cylindrical machine that I vaguely recognized from movies. Just looking at it made me claustrophobic and I glanced up at Taeyeon. His face was drawn and I could tell that he wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of being in the machine.

Dr. Song got him set up and then took me to a small room, closing Taeyeon into the area by himself. I watched as she started pressing buttons and loud whirring came from the machine. At the last minute, she turned to me.

"Miss Jung, I'm actually going to need you to step out of the room for a moment while I do these scans," she said calmly. I stared at her with confusion. Why did I need to leave? My eyes went to Taeyeon lying there on the flat bed of the machine and then back to the doctor. Very slowly, she tipped her head and then pointed at a sign on the door.

I glanced up at it, read the words and then my eyes widened. I threw her a startled look and then hastily retreated, suddenly unable to breath. When I shut the door behind me, I stood there staring at the floor for a long moment. The sign had said that women who were nursing or pregnant shouldn't be exposed in any way to the radiation from the machines.

She knew. I ran a shaking hand through my hair, completely shocked. She knew that I was pregnant. I wondered how she had found out; if maybe she had overheard me talking to Taeyeon while he was in the coma... or maybe she could just look at me and tell.

When she told me I could come back into the room, I stared at her warily, unsure of how to proceed. On her part nothing seemed different. She continued to stare at the machines, writing down things here and there on a sheet of paper.

"Are you planning on staying in Hong Kong?" she asked me suddenly. I tore my eyes away from the millions of different buttons in front of us and shook my head slowly.

"No, I'm going back to Seoul if everything goes well here." My voice sounded weak and I cleared my throat to help. There was another long moment of silence between us before she spoke up again.

"I'm assuming you have an OBG-YN back home?" she said her voice quiet.

I stared at her for a minute, trying to figure out if trusting her was the smart thing for me to do. She wasn't my doctor; there was no confidentiality agreement between us. But still, what was the worst she could do. Somehow, I highly doubted that she would run and tell Taeyeon about the baby. She just didn't seem like the type of person to meddle in other's affairs. Warily, I nodded, "Yeah I have someone I've been going to." Then, unable to suppress my curiosity I turned to face her, "How did you know?"

She smiled and looked up from the monitor of the machine, "Miss Jung, I'm a doctor. I'm trained to recognize things like that."

I sighed feeling my shoulders slump, "Is it obvious?"

Her eyes scanned over me and she gathered up the rest of her paperwork, preparing to leave, "Only to a doctor." Then, she winked at me, "Especially one who has been pregnant before."

I looked at her retreating figure, surprised. She definitely didn't seem like the mom type to me. But then again, you could never really know about people. I was evidence of that.

She took Taeyeon and me to an examination room and he sat on the table while I went to a chair off to the side. Then, she took the scans they had gotten from the machines and hung them on a wall with a light behind it to clearly display every nook and cranny of Taeyeon's brain and torso. Slowly and deliberately, she explained to us what we were seeing.

"So, Mr. Kim it seems like everything is in order," she finished warmly. Taeyeon and I both sighed with relief. "You're free to go with a clean bill of health. Just let us know if you have any other problems, though I don't foresee anything coming up."

Taeyeon nodded and shook her hand, thanking her for everything that she had done. Then he got off the table and slid his sweater back over his head. Dr. Song gave me one last knowing look and smile before leaving the room.

He and I stared at each other for a long moment. This was it. We both knew that I had no reason to be in Hong Kong anymore.

"Well," I started, breaking the silence. "Seems like you're all set."

Taeyeon nodded, running a hand through his tightly cropped hair, "Yeah, I guess so."

I didn't know what to say, but the thought of having to try and go through another goodbye was too painful to dwell on. Instead, I forced a smile on my face and without another word we made our way out of the hospital.

A sharp wind blew my hair back off of my shoulders and I hunched my shoulders, shivering. We stood on the sidewalk and waited for a taxi, ignoring all of the other people who rushed by us on cell phones. The silence was killing me, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Suddenly, Taeyeon turned to me.

"Let me take you somewhere," he said, his hands cupping my shoulders warmly.

I stared up at him, "Where?"

He seemed to think for a minute before shrugging, "I don't know. Dinner, maybe?"

My brow furrowed and I pulled out my cell phone to check the time, "Taeyeon it's only three."

"Then we'll go shopping for a little while." When I opened my mouth to protest, he rushed to stop me, "You haven't even gotten to really experience the city since you've been cooped up with me for the last three weeks. Let me take you shopping."

"I don't want to spend your money," I said, shaking my head. I had always felt strongly about letting other people buy me things and this was no different.

He sighed, "I have too much of it as it is. You really can't do any damage."

"Taeyeon—"

"It's the least I can do," he insisted, his hands tightening on me, "You dropped everything to be here with me. You sat in the hospital day after day even when it looked bad and then you stayed even longer so I wouldn't have to be uncomfortable. I just want to thank you."

"By buying me stuff?" I had to fight not to let myself be vulnerable to them. Though it was a nice offer, I still didn't feel comfortable with it.

He grinned, pulling me closer, "Come on; don't think of it like that. You deserve something for putting up with me for so long." The taxi pulled up to the curb and Taeyeon's expression turned pleading. "Just do it for me."

I shook my head again, but it was half-hearted this time. With a sigh, I reluctantly let him pull me into the taxi. He gave the driver directions and we were off, speeding into the late afternoon traffic.

*   *   *
 

After three hours of being dragged all over the city, I sat in an extremely classy Italian restaurant staring at a laminated menu. Soft music played in the background and I distantly recognized the crying of a violin as the dominant instrument. The place had looked impressive from the outside, but that was nothing compared to what it looked like inside. The carpet was grey but the walls were a dark red to match the upholstery in the chairs. Large framed stills of Italian scenes hung on the walls and there were crisp white table clothes on each small table. The lights were dimmed slightly, giving the restaurant a very intimate feel and waiters in button down white shirts and aprons wandered around, serving people here and there.

I stared at the prices of the food, shocked by how much each thing cost. Then again, I couldn't really be too surprised; Taeyeon hadn't been shy at all about his spending. Just thinking about how much he dropped without blinking while we were shopping made me squirm in my seat. Granted, not everything had been for me, but remembering the numbers as they flashed across the registers in all the stores nearly gave me heart palpitations. Of course I knew that he was well off, but it was one thing to know it and another entirely to see it in action. When I had comment lightly on how much he was spending, he just gave me a bland look.

We had needed to stop by the apartment to drop off all of the bags that we had accumulated. It was still hard to believe some of the things that were now in my possession. I had gotten a little souvenir for my parents and even splurged and bought Tiffany a Gucci bag, squeezing my eyes shut when I saw the price tag. Taeyeon just laughed and put it up on the counter, flashing his credit card without hesitation.

"So when are you heading home?" Taeyeon's question startled me and I looked up from my menu to see his eyes on me. He said it very nonchalantly, but I knew him well enough to hear the emotion b behind his words.

I dropped my eyes back to the menu, swallowing hard, "I don't know," I said, "Soon. I'll probably be out of your hair by Friday at the latest."

That gave us almost two more days together. I knew I was being stupid by stalling; it would only make it worse in the end. But for the life of me I couldn't see myself getting on a plane tomorrow.

Taeyeon nodded but before he could say anything else, a waiter came over and took our order. We spent the next few minutes in silence; I stared out the window at all the dark sky, sighing at just how beautiful the city really was. But the bottom line was that it wasn't for me.

"You know," Taeyeon started suddenly, "I don't remember much from the hospital, but I remember you."

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