Sorry for the super late update guys, but here it is. 

Telltale

Chapter 38

The brunette leaned herself on the wall to support her standing. Her legs felt weak as if all her energy had been drained out of her.

Everything that happened in the past hour was so fast. She felt suffocated. She couldn't breathe properly. Her body felt cold and clammy. And all her senses unable to comprehend what happened in front of her as she was clouded with so much bad feeling. Shocked and worry were dominating her, but most of all was fear.

Fear of what happened.

Fear of what had happened.

Fear of what could happen.

When she heard about the news of her father, she didn’t imagine of the situation she faced just a few moments ago. Never had it crossed her mind that she would witness something she only knew from drama or movie.

“Sica.” The touch on her shoulder brought her back to her sense. She turned her head to the person calling her.

“W-what happened to him, Taeng?” she pleaded for explanation.

 Taeng took a hold of her arm before saying, “Let’s sit first.” Jessica let herself being pulled to the nearest chair.

“What happened?” she asked again.

Jessica needed to know.

She wanted to understand why when she arrived at the emergency room, she found her father was lying weakly on the hospital bed, attached with cables here and there, surrounded by doctors and nurses. Time went by fast in that hectic situation. She couldn’t think when doctor came asking for a consent. She was losing focus. Her mind was filled with so much uncertainty. Thankfully Taeng was there to help her.

 The next thing that she knew there was a tube inserted through her father’s mouth that was connected to a machine next to him. The middle-aged man looked weak and pale, nothing like the Jung Yunho she knew.

She had to find the reason on why her father had to be admitted into the ICU. On why, even with her hazy mind, she heard the doctor said that her father had a respiratory failure hence all the procedure taken.

Wasn’t he okay just a couple days ago?

“He has a lung cancer.”

“C-ca-cancer?”

Taeng nodded weakly.

“B-but h-how?”

The black-haired man closed his eyes momentarily before heaving a sigh. He knew he had promised not to tell his daughters about his condition, but now everything had been like this. Jessica deserved to know what her father had gone through.

“Okay, so…”

Finally, Taeng told her what happened.

It was all started last winter when Mr. Jung was brought to the hospital due to his sudden unconsciousness. He did a routine follow up afterwards and the cancer was accidentally found during one of the work ups. After the marriage, the older man had been missing for quite some time from the house and work since then. Even when the rare occurrences where he showed up, he looked bad and sick. It piqued the young man’s curiosity.

It wasn’t easy for Taeng to get to know about her father-in-law’s condition. After a few failed attempts of asking the middle-aged man himself, Taeng decided to find it on his own. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he was worried about him.

It took him awhile to get information of his whereabout. His heart already felt heavy when he knew his father-in-law was staying at the hospital. It bore even more weight after visiting the sick man. Mr. Jung looked unbearably frail. He apparently had the surgery to remove the tumor inside his long and followed by a chemotherapy.

Taeng got no choice when the older man asked - no, begged - him not to tell a single soul about his condition, especially to his daughters.

Because even when not only his sickness but also the treatment tortured him, the first thing on his mind was his daughters. How he needed to survive for them. How he thought there were so many things he still had to do for them. How he didn't want to make them worried about him. How he just wanted to spent the rest of his life as their father and not some sick dying old man.

Taeng could not reject him even if that tormented his conscience.

Yet, his inner voice was getting louder and louder. The young man wanted to help, even if just a bit, to ease his heart. As he watched the sick man went in and out the hospital, got away from his own daughter so not to worry them, yet still try to spend his best time with them, Taeng couldn't hold it any longer.

Although it seems his efforts were not enough. For now, they ended up in this situation.

"I'm sorry."

Jessica shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no, no." She shook her head even more with each word. "It's impossible. You're lying, right?"

"Sica..." Taeng tried to reach his wife's hand but she yanked it away.

"No, Taeng. You must be kidding me. Why would he get a lung cancer? It's impossible. He has always been a health freak. He wouldn't even let me eat burger more than twice a year when I was little. And...and...and...He never smoke. He hates it. It doesn't make sense."

"Sica, please. Don't be like this."

"What, Taeng?" The woman stood up in abrupt. "Why are you siding with him so much? I am your wife."

"It's not like that, Sica."

Taeng got up too to get closer to his wife but the latter walked away from him. She paced back and forth, her hands clasped together in front of her body, breaking the knuckles alternatingly.

"Is he fooling me right now? Does he hate me so much to act like this? Making me all guilty and frightened?" Her voice trembled, shaking even more with each word.

"Sica, stop it."

Only, the response was a laughter. A hysterical one.  "It's good then. Because I hate him so much too." Despite her spiteful remark, the heart couldn't lie as the glistening on her eyes had now streamed down her face.

The tears dam has broken as well as her well-built barrier around her heart.

Her sobbing got stronger when Taeng engulfed her in his arms.

"I hate him, Taeng. I hate him."

"Ssshh, Sica. It's okay."

And the woman kept mumbling how he hated his father as Taeng continued soothing her through her crying.

"Why, Taeng? Why?" She hit his chest weakly multiple times. "Why he always thinks he knows the best? Why?"

"I'm sorry, Sica. I'm sorry."

Jessica buried her face deeper into his chest.

"I hate him. I hate him so much."

***

Tiffany browsed through her phone gallery. She looked at some photos she took that evening. She had a house hunting with her fiancé before. There were some options for them but decided to take it home for a further thinking.

The red headed personally liked two option the best. She was weighing whether to choose the house that a little bit farther but a two-storey with spacious yard or the apartment that overlook the beauty of Han river.

She always dreamed of having her little family living in a house with a big yard. She was a big fan of nature and she used to envy the other children playing in their backyard. She never had the chance herself as it wasn't an easy childhood she had.

On the other hand, she also liked the view of Han river. It always sent a calmness within her.

Just like how it was some years ago.

When she met him.

Tiffany unconsciously tugged her lips upward and went through her cabinet to look for a certain box. She put the box on the bed and took out the items inside it one by one, reminiscing the memory behind it.

The first object immediately reminded her of their first meeting. To be honest she wasn't fond of him at the first sight. Instead, she was annoyed at him.

+++

It was when she was a junior on high school. Her mother passed away in a traffic accident. She also admitted to the hospital. There, even though her body wasn't physically hurt, she for some weird reason wasn't able to walk. Hence, confined to the wheelchair all the time.

Her friends came, get worried about her. Yet, every time she would say 'I'm fine.' Or aunt and uncle. Even her father. Also, all the other people who find her in the hospital. Everyone would get the same answer: 'It's all fine.'

All she could do was telling them that she was fine. And telling them that nothing was wrong, in order to fool herself as well.

Until...

One day, as usual, dressed in her hoodie, she rolled her wheelchair to the hospital garden. Instead of spending her time alone like the other times, there was this young boy started to talk to her.

"You... are you hurt anywhere?"

When she looked up, it was a young boy using the same outfit as the one under her hoodie, meant he was a patient too. He looked at her with his clear honey-like brown eyes, filled with curiosity.

"Ahh. Isn't it a bit boring here? The old ahjumma isn't coming down today. She likes to tell me a lot of story. She promised me a story about her encounter with a big bear when she was young. I can't wait to hear it. But it seems she has something to do today."

Okay, seriously. What is this boy talking about? Why he is sputtering nonsense to me? Who is this old ahjumma? And why is this ahjumma met a big bear?

"Hey, I'm from the 3rd floor. Where are you from?"

Apparently, the boy had no shame and extremely insensitive as he kept talking despite unresponsiveness from Tiffany. He even chuckled in the end after not getting any answer from the girl for minutes talking alone.

"You know what. I should get back now before my umma comes and scold me."

A toothy grin plastered on his face as he put a can of drink on her hand. "Here. You can drink it," said him before walking away.

+++

The boy was really one weird of a kind. He would keep spontaneously appear. He would bring all these weird snacks and drinks and give it to Tiffany.

Every time, she would throw it away.

She was annoyed. That no matter how many times she would tell him she was fine, he would still keep doing it. Also, all the things he brought were nothing but weird too.

The young woman chuckled remembering the turn of event in their relationship. Despite feeling silly how she kept the object in her hand as a memento from that sentimental day, she knew it was that package of her favorite snack that lead him becoming someone she grew fond of day by day.

+++

"Here. Have it."

Tiffany stared at the package of food on her hands. Surprisingly, he brought her something normal today. Also, she liked the snack. She couldn't resist and finally ate the food he gave for the first time. Although, it felt weird because she could feel the intense stare from the weird boy on her.

She looked up and the boy immediately darted his attention away to the flower on his lap. He resumed arranging it.

"What? I'm just eating?"

"Good then. That's pretty tasty too." He talked without looking at her. "Out of all the things that nurse Hong gave me at least."

"Nurse Hong?"

"Yeah. She is a really nice lady. We've met a couple of times and she takes care of me well. She likes to bring me snacks from time to time."

Silence surrounded them both as the usual talkative boy back to focus on his doing. Tiffany in the other hand observed him carefully.

Then all this time all the things he brought were... But, how come this boy have met the nurse a couple of times? What brings him here so often?

The boy sure was a weird one.

"But are you hurt somewhere badly? You're always sitting on a wheelchair?"

"NO! I'm not hurt anywhere. I'm completely fine."

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