Chapter Text
Her pink lips were smiling a tired but warm and happy smile at him for the first time in days and her half-moon, dark eyes staring at him softly was like he was seeing the sun shining for the first time in his entire life. He hadn't realized before just how darkened his life had been, and how nearly pitch black it had become within the past few days after Jiwon's accident without her. But what had Hyunsoo's heart jumping into his throat was the feeling of her warm fingers slightly squeezing his hand back as he clutched desperately onto hers, and then the quiet, sleepy tones of his wife's voice finally speaking. It was something he believed that he may never actually hear again. He wasn't even sure if he would feel her warm touch again, but he was. Jiwon was finally awake.
"Jiwon-ah," Hyunsoo forced her name out, feeling his throat closing up and he smiled a trembling smile. He swallowed hard against the lump building there.
Jiwon hmm'd softly before carefully reaching her hand taped up with an IV, over to rest on top his hands enclosing her other one. "Jagi-ya. Did you really mean all of what you just said to me?"
Hyunsoo's eyes widened at her words, his eyes scanning her face. "What...? You heard all of that? You heard everything I said?"
Despite her paleness and exhaustion, Jiwon gave him a radiant smile and long lashes fluttered as she closed her eyes. "I did. Your voice woke me up. I heard you say how precious I am to you, how much you love me, and that you're getting more memories back. I heard that correctly, right?"
Hyunsoo nodded his dark head and lifted a hand to brush back some of the red fringe that had fallen into Jiwon's eyes as she inclined her head toward her husband. He half-laughed and half-sobbed. "Yes. You did. You heard right."
She drew her eyebrows in with a curious and confused expression. "But... what happened to me? Why am I in the hospital?" She glanced around the room. "Why am I so tired and sore?"
"Jiwon-ah, you were in an accident. Do you remember? You and your team went on a robbery call and the robber stabbed you in the stomach while you were trying to catch him," Hyunsoo responded, concern sounding in his voice. The last thing they needed was for Jiwon to start losing memories.
Jiwon looked thoughtful for a moment before realization dawned on her face. "That's right. I remember now. So, what happened to me? How long have I been in here?"
Hyunsoo sighed in relief and held her hand a little tighter. "You had to have surgery to repair the wound. When the robber stabbed you, he pierced a major artery and they had to operate and stop the bleeding so you wouldn't bleed out internally." Hyunsoo hesitated, his eyes dropping down to Jiwon's bedsheets.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever been through. It was harder than when my mother disappeared. It was harder than when I found out my father was a serial killer, and it was harder than when Noona killed the village foreman. Harder than any of the near-death experiences I've gone through."
He looked back up to Jiwon, their eyes meeting. "I finally understand... I understand how much suffering you went through when I almost died. Jiwon-ah, I can finally share those feelings with you now. I-," his breath hitched and he swallowed hard, his jaw working against the emotion beginning to well in his chest. "I understand you more than anything now."
"Hyunsoo-ssi," Jiwon murmured his name with such an air of love and tenderness in her voice that if Hyunsoo hadn't already been seated, he would've gone to his knees. "It's all going to be okay now."
"Jiwon-ah." Hyunsoo braced himself, but his voice was breaking. "I'm so sorry. I am so sorry for everything. For everything I put you through. For all the suffering you had to endure because of me and my foolishness. I am so very sorry." Hyunsoo hunched over, sinking into the bed. His forehead rested against the coolness of Jiwon's bedsheets, his head lay next to their clutched hands. He felt Jiwon's hand lay gently on the back of his head, her fingers stroking through his dark locks. His eyes are burning now, welling and spilling over as she caressed through his hair, her fingertips raking the back of his neck.
"Jagi-ya, what on earth do you have to be sorry about, hm?" Jiwon's sleepy voice cooed. Ever the gentle attempts she always made at comforting him, even while lying injured in a hospital bed. "What are you talking about? Tell me. Is it your memories?"
"I almost lost you, Jiwon-ah. I watched you almost die right in front of me. You almost left me forever. I had a memory of how I once thought I had truly lost you. I'll never forget the feeling that gave me, and it almost happened again. Only this time, it was almost for real." He couldn't help himself the words just came tumbling out of him, each one carrying its own weight like stones being thrown.
"If I lost you, Jiwon... I couldn't live. I can't keep going without you here." Hyunsoo tried to hold in his cries, but this time, he just couldn't. He lost the ability to speak. He curled in on himself, and he cried heavily into his arms, his shoulders shaking and jerking with every silent sob.
"Shhh. Hyunsoo-ssi. Everything is okay. It's all okay now. I'm right here. You aren't going to lose me. I promise I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be right here with you. Especially now that I know you can feel like I do." Her hand was patting his back now. How was his wife always so consoling?
And at those simple words, and despite his tears, several memories following each other, one after the other, swiftly resurfaced. Memories that placed an iron grip around his heart.
He has his phone in hand and he's sent several text messages to her that have been left on unread. He's leaning back in the driver's seat of his car, unsure of the last time he felt so frustrated and lost, and this new thing, this feeling, that Noona had just explained to him. He's feeling pain because he's realized that Jiwon is precious to him. Not just important, but precious. That's why he feels this kind of pain. A feeling so foreign to him, but most definitely there and existing within him.
Why had she said the things she did? What made her fall out of love with him and hate him? What did he do that was so bad to make her feelings change? The horrible thought that Jiwon might know the truth lifted inside of him like a dark cloud, but he tried to brush it off. That was absurd. He had been so careful... but now, she hated him. And he wanted to fix it. He'd do whatever it would take to make Jiwon happy again. Even if that meant putting his own life in danger and catching the accomplice so she could finally put that cursed case to rest. If this pleased his wife, he'd do it without a second thought.
If it brought her back into his arms again, he'd jump on that chance without a shadow of a doubt. He never wanted to spend another night alone in their bed while she slept out on the couch like she did the previous night. She had fallen asleep holding the case files in her hands, and he remembered the feeling of what he thought to be his heart sinking into his stomach. He didn't want to lose his life, but it wasn't just his life. Jiwon was the biggest part of his life. He didn't want to lose Jiwon or his precious family. There was no warmth of her arms around him that night, nor was she facing him for him to reciprocate holding her. Instead, her words replayed like a bad mantra.
"My feelings for you must have changed. It's been fourteen years since we first met. Things can't be like when we first met forever."
"Did I have a reason for liking you? I didn't. So what reason do I need to start disliking you?
"I don't like you. I've come to dislike you. Everything you do displeases me. I even dislike seeing you try so hard to be good to me."
"I guess love turns to hatred when it cools."
"I hate seeing you sleeping and eating next to me. I can't stand the sight of it."
Hyunsoo is sinking lower into his seat as he looks through the unread messages and begins to type another one.
"Are you feeling okay? You didn't eat breakfast before you left."
"Do you want anything?"
"Should we start exercising together?"
"Did you eat anything?"
"Jiwon-ah."
"Jiwon-ah, I feel so frustrated... I want to talk to you. I want time to go quickly. I want time to pass quickly, so that our memories become the same. So that I can think like you, and feel what you're feeling."
He lets out a sigh, closing his eyes painfully. Even if he wasn't sure he entirely recognized what it was he was feeling, he didn't like it, but his words were honest and true. He wanted to think like his wife and feel what she could feel, and the longing was strangely tugging at his heart.
~
Hyunsoo is out of breath, but there is Jiwon, right in front of him. The warmth of her hands on his cheeks. She has tears building in her big, bright eyes. Now her hands are dropping to clutch at the front of his jacket. Her fingers are folding tightly around the fabric and she seems almost desperate.
"About wanting to break up with you, I didn't mean it. When I said I started disliking you, that wasn't the truth either."
Hyunsoo feels a strange sensation stirring in his heart. He offers Jiwon a small smile. "Yes. I know."
"No, you don't," his wife insists before leaning up to throw her arms around his shoulders and pulling him close to her. "I wish you could live as me for just one day so that you can see and feel how much I love you."
Hyunsoo finds himself feeling confused. Why would Jiwon be saying these things to him? One moment, she said she hated him, and then the next she wanted him to feel how much she loved him. It was like the softest form of mental whiplash if that were even a thing. He blinks and turns his face toward her hair. He can feel the warmth of her tears soaking into his shirt.
"Then I don't think I would feel like it was unfair."
Hyunsoo could recognize his wife's distress, but he just wasn't sure what was causing her to behave so strangely. "There's something going on with you, isn't there?"
Jiwon did not respond. Instead, she just held her husband closer and tighter leaving him even more confused as to why she was reacting in such a manner.
~
He was answering his phone to a wife wondering where he was at. He lied and told her he was on his way to the materials shop.
"Jagi-ya, pick me up later. Let's eat dinner together. Let's go to the restaurant we did last time for spicy cold noodles. I want to eat that."
"Ah, I forgot. I don't think I can come home tonight."
Lie.
"Why?"
"Oh. A funeral. The father of the store's owner."
Another lie.
"Don't go. Don't go! I don't want you to go!"
She sounded so desperate for him to not go. Why? What had gotten into her?
"Jiwon-ah," he tried to soothe her. He heard her breath hitch on the other line.
"To be honest," she began and he could hear the tears in her voice. His wife was starting to cry. This wasn't like her. What was happening? "I had a really bad dream last night."
A bad dream? That's all? Goodness... he smiled and closed his eyes, leaning back against their vehicle. He'd told her before she wasn't getting enough rest. "See? You're having bad dreams because you have not been sleeping well."
"So, you're going?" He tried to ignore the sinking sound in Jiwon's voice.
"Mm, I have to go." If only he could explain to her why. If only he didn't have to hide this.
"Then just do whatever you want. I'm hanging up." Her tone changed, and it wasn't tearful or worried. He could tell she was upset with him now.
"Jiwon-ah," he began as heart started to thump uncomfortably in his chest. "I... want to be a decent person... for you. I want to be a good person." And this he knew, from the bottom of this heart, to be the honest truth. One truth he could tell her. He did want to be a good person for her. He didn't want to hurt her or make her suffer. His wife had been crying far too much as of late because of him. He wanted to be all he could for her and do all he could for her, which was why he had to go, and he knew it. This was not a lie. Not this time.
The memories did nothing to help calm the vicious onslaught of turbulent emotions. Instead, it had the opposite effect, slamming him like anvils of different weights. Jiwon had moved her body a little closer to him as much as she could, with it being worn and sore from the stab wound and surgery, so that she could reach him better. Her hand kept stroking the back of his hair and the other was now rubbing his back.
"Jagi-ya, if you don't stop crying you're going to make me cry," she told him with a sniffle, but he just couldn't seem to help himself. The tears just kept coming.
"I'm sorry," Hyunsoo choked an apology out. Maybe this was his punishment. Maybe after making her suffer for all those months, this was karma getting him back. So he could know what it was like. So he could understand what her months of pain thanks to him felt like. Because now, he was sharing the same memories as she. Now, he could understand how far the depths of her love went for him because his was all the same. He knew now.
Jiwon sighed and continued to rake her fingers through his soft locks of dark hair. "Hyunsoo-ssi, I'm going to tell you a little story. While I was asleep, I had a dream." She paused thoughtfully for a moment and then continued. "Well, I'm not sure if it was a dream or it was actually something real. Maybe it was when I was on the edge of life and death, but I saw my abeoji again."
Hyunsoo's cries calmed significantly as he listened to Jiwon speak, and he slowly lifted his face to look at his wife while she spoke. She reached out to tenderly cup his cheek, her fingers caressing his tear-streaked face.
Jiwon smiled a watery smile at her husband. "Do you want to know what he told me?" Hyunsoo sniffed and nodded his head. "He told me that I had a choice. That I could move on with him or I could stay. If I were to move on with him though, that would mean letting Eomma, Eunha and you go. I didn't want that. Jagi-ya, listen to me. Abeoji told me that if I stayed, I would continue to experience pain and suffering because that's what life brings. It brings us pain, but he also reminded me of another thing. Life always brings us happiness, beauty, and the ability to make new and beautiful memories with all of those things. I chose to stay because I want to continue experiencing life by your side. I want to experience all of the beauty, joy, anger, pain, heartbreak, grief, and love with you."
Hyunsoo closed his eyes. More tears slipped out and Jiwon brushed them back with her fingertips and held her husband's face in her hands. He opened them back up and searched his wife's eyes. There was a look in them that he'd seen before and easily recognized.
"Jagi-ya, I want to keep raising Eunha with you, and I want to give you another child someday. I want nothing more than to keep living and keep creating new memories with you so I keep them all tucked inside of my heart forever. That's why I'm not going anywhere. Now or ever. I love you far too much to leave you behind."
Hyunsoo swallowed hard and blinked back his tears as he continued to be caught in her tender gaze. "Jiwon-ah," he began in a shaky voice, taking her hands in his now. "That's all I want to give you are new memories and lasting happiness. That's all I want to. I will do everything in my power to make sure that our life together is filled with those things. I'll do whatever it takes."
Jiwon smiled as the tears that had welled up in her own eyes finally fell. "But you see, jagi-ya, that's what I've learned. Life, marriage, relationships, friendships, all of it, isn't always just all happiness and joy. It's the hard times, the sadness too, that brings it full circle. Life is made up of all of those things and we can't avoid them. Each memory we make, whether it be happy or heartbreaking, should always remain something beautiful to us. But the happy and beautiful moments far outweigh the bad ones."
This time, it was Hyunsoo who reached out to cup Jiwon's face in his hand, thumbing away her tears, and then tracing over her lips and down to her chin. "Jiwon-ah," he spoke her name in barely above a whisper as he leaned in close to his wife and ever-so-gently, captured his lips with his own, massaging them with a sweet, tender kiss.
They pulled back after a moment and Jiwon's head rested back against her pillows. Hyunsoo took a breath, keeping his hand on his wife's warm, pale face. "I thought I would never get to do that again."
"You don't ever have to fear not doing that again," Jiwon insisted with a reassuring smile as she placed her hand over the top of Hyunsoo's. "Ever."
~
Jiwon had stayed awake for another hour with just the two of them talking after the heartfelt conversation they'd spent having upon her awakening. Hyunsoo had filled her in on the happenings and what went on while she was unconscious. Though he left out going to the police station and getting caught in the rainstorm because the last thing he wanted to do was make her worry. She was still recovering, still injured, and needed to stay as relaxed as possible. He was certain that Jiwon's sunbae would likely regale her with the story upon her return, and only then would he accept his scolding. For now, he just wanted to enjoy spending time with his wife considering she was unconscious for nearly 4 days. It was nothing, he realized, compared to his 10 days, but he still understood now what she went through.
Jiwon had inquired anxiously about her mother and Eunha's whereabouts to which Hyunsoo reassured his wife that their daughter was in good, safe hands as she always was. He told her that Haesoo had also made it back home and that she, Moojin, and Jiwon's mother had really helped him after Jiwon's accident both with his mental state and Eunha. Shyly, he had admitted that, emotionally, he wasn't in the best place while Jiwon was down, and Jiwon had replied in understanding that she knew what he had gone through and what he had felt, and was possibly still feeling. She was pleased and grateful, even curiously asking what all her mother and Hyunsoo had talked about during the time Jiwon was checked out from life.
Hyunsoo told her that it was a story for another time, as Jiwon's eyelids were growing heavy now, and she was sleepily blinking up at him. She had reached for his hand and asked him to please not leave her side, even when she went to sleep because she just wanted the comfort of him nearby. He also promised her that he would call her mother and the family to let them know of her significantly changed condition. Before she had gone back to sleep, the nurses had come in to look over her incision, change her bandages, and give her a dose of pain medication. Hyunsoo did as he was asked, staying at Jiwon's side. He stroked her forehead until she was asleep, and still continued to do so for a long while after his wife was well into her slumber.
His heart felt lighter than it had in a while, and he finally felt as if the weight of the world was slowly lifting off of his shoulders. He knew that there would be a general sense of uneasiness in him while Jiwon still remained in the hospital. Once she would get to come home though, he knew that the feeling would be gone and he could nurse and care for his wife's condition under their own roof and in the comfort of their own home. It was likely Jiwon wouldn't be going back to work for several weeks as is after such extensive surgery, so he would get to be with her and spend as much time with her as possible and doing all he could to care for her wellbeing. He was going to make her homecoming and everything perfect for her. There was no changing his mind on that.
Once Jiwon was good and deep into her sleep, Hyunsoo slipped from the room momentarily to call his mother in law. He could barely hold back his smile as her mother's voice came over the phone.
"Hyunsoo-ya! We've been so worried and waiting to hear from you! Are you okay? How is everything? Are you safe? Where are you at!? I'm waiting for a good explanation from you," she scolded him gently.
Hyunsoo felt a twinge of guilt after what had happened the day prior, he should've expected his mother-in-law to be fussy like this. "I'm so sorry, eomeonim," he apologized over the phone. "I'm safe. I just... got a little lost yesterday. I'm at the hospital right now with Jiwon."
The scolding tone had left her voice and she softened. "Sometimes we all get a little lost, son. How is my daughter's condition today?"
Hyunsoo was struggling to contain his happiness, but he cleared his throat to steady his voice. "Eomeonim, Jiwon-ie is... She woke up. She's... she's finally awake, and she's going to be okay. We've been talking and everything. The doctor said she's well enough to have visitors, but only a small amount at a time as the doctors are still wanting her to keep resting. She'll be under observation for a few more days from my understanding."
"Omo! My daughter! My baby girl is awake! She's going to be okay? Is she finally out of the woods?" The relief in her voice and the way it shook made Hyunsoo's heart shift. It was one thing for a husband to be afraid for his wife's life, but another for a mother that was on the verge of losing their child. Especially after she'd already lost her husband.
"Yes, eomeonim. She's safe. She's finally out of the danger zone. Why don't you go and get Eunha, and you two come up to the hospital and see her? Jiwon was asking about the both of you. She misses you and wants to see you. She's sleeping a lot off and on, but please. I think she would be so happy if two came up to see her."
"Yes, yes of course! I'll close up the store right now and will be there as soon as possible." She hesitated for a moment. "Hyunsoo-ya... thank you."
The line went quiet and Hyunsoo quickly called his sister to inform her that Jiwon was finally awake. He hung up the phone with her with a promise that she and Moojin would be there a little later to visit. Right now, Haesoo had wanted to give Hyunsoo time with his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law. His Noona was always ever the thoughtful individual, but he told her she'd better come up and visit or Jiwon would have his head.
He was back in the hospital room with his wife, who had woken up once more after having a nap for a couple of hours. There was a knock on the hospital door and the door opened. Hyunsoo and Jiwon both turned to look at the door and the first thing they saw was Eunha's small head pop through the opening followed by Jiwon's mother.
"Eomma!!! Appa!!!" the little girl cried as she raced toward her parents. "Eomma! You're awake! Finally!" Hyunsoo stood up and knelt down with his arms open for his daughter and Eunha jumped into his arms.
"Eunha-ya," Jiwon called, her voice warm and she looked up toward her mother. "Eomma."
"Yes, she's awake," he smiled lifting her into the air. "But we have to be very careful with Eomma, okay? She has an injury on her tummy and can't move around too much. Be very gentle."
He carefully sat Eunha on the edge of the bed next to Jiwon who was in a more sitting position now rather than lying flat back, cushioned by pillows.
"Eunha-ya! My precious daughter!" she opened her arms to daughter and Eunha carefully snuggled up into her mother's arms, wrapping her tiny arms around Jiwon's neck. She kissed Eunha on the cheek. "I missed you."
"Eomma, I missed you so so so much," Eunha was starting to cry, and Hyunsoo seated himself on the edge of the bed, hand on the back of his daughter's head in a comforting gesture as he smiled down at his wife. "I finally get to see you. Appa and Halmeoni said I had to wait until you felt better before Eunha could see you." Jiwon pulled back from hugging her daughter and brushed back tears from her little girl's face.
"Eomma is feeling so much better now that I can see my family," she told her little girl.
Jiwon's mother was now on the other side of the bed. "How is our Jiwon-ie feeling?" the older woman asked as she rubbed her hand over the side of Jiwon's face. Hyunsoo could tell that his mother-in-law was doing all she could to hold in her emotions. "Are you doing okay? Are you in any pain? Do you need anything?"
"I'm doing okay, Eomma," Jiwon insisted. "A little sore and tired, but I promise I'm going to be okay. Jiwon's eyebrows drew in as her mother's face contorted into a cry. "Eomma, it's okay. I'm going to be okay. Don't cry."
She tried to laugh, but her mother couldn't help herself. She burst into tears and Jiwon reached her arm out to pull her mother in, holding her crying daughter with one arm and her mother with the other. Hyunsoo watched the three girls hugging and sobbing with a gentle smile. Everything felt like it was finally slowly coming together now.
"Aigoo! Hyunsoo-ya, you get in here too!" Jiwon's mother insisted through tears as she threw out her other arm waving at him, and he found himself chuckling as he was enveloped in a very big family hug.
He put his arm around his mother-in-law, one around his daughter with his hand resting against Jiwon's head as he listened to the sniffles and whimpers of the three girls crying. He listened to the softness of Jiwon's voice insisting she was going to be okay. He listened to Eunha ask if Jiwon remembered her, to which Jiwon was softly reassuring of it all, much to Hyunsoo's appreciation. But he knew they were all tears of happiness and relief that Jiwon was safe, alive, and well on her way to recovery. This was what family felt like. Real family. Not the kind of family he grew up with. No. That was merely a shadow of a family. This was what love felt like.
~
Almost a week later, and Jiwon was now sitting up in the hospital bed waiting anxiously for her husband to come and pick her up. It was finally time for her to be released from the hospital. While signing her discharge papers, she had spoken privately with her doctor and received news that honestly surprised her. She was under very strict restrictions for the next 6-8 weeks. She was absolutely not allowed to do any heavy lifting, she was not allowed to do anything strenuous on her body. No exercising, no running, and absolutely no active police duty in the field, the usual things that anyone after having extensive surgery. She could get up and walk and do smaller things like that, but nothing more than that, much to her frustration, but she understood why.
"Is this something you'd like to discuss with your husband when he arrives?" the doctor questioned her, but Jiwon just shook her head.
"No, I'll tell him everything once we get home and settled. We've all been through a lot here. I'd rather tell him at home."
Several days ago, her team had come to visit her while she was still in the hospital recovering. They had also brought her all the necessary paperwork for a leave of absence while she recovered. They assured her work-aholic self that Jiwon deserved the paid leave and time off after everything she endured.
She wanted to know who the man was that stabbed her, and Sunbae had so graciously, much to Hyunsoo's dismay, told her about how the man was behind bars and that he was being charged for manslaughter, while also telling her that if Hyunsoo had his way about it, the guy would probably either be in the hospital himself or he wouldn't be living right now. Jiwon had just eyed her husband warily, and Hyunsoo looked away. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"What did you do?"
Detective Choi had waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, it's okay, Jiwon-ah. We know how hard this was on him, and how hard it's been for both of you. Just blow it off. It's all water under the bridge." He did his best to try and cover for Hyunsoo with his fast talking, but the man's wife never missed a beat.
We'll be talking about this later," she'd told him as if she were scolding her child and Hyunsoo just sighed while Jaeseob shook his head at both of them.
"You two are giving me more grey hairs than necessary. I hope you know that," he quipped. Hyunsoo chuckled.
Jiwon smiled briefly at the memory of finding out just how far her husband had wanted to go for her as she leaned back against her pillows, resting her hand over her stomach. She had scolded him, but not too harshly after finding out about his visit to the police station. She had also found out when Haesoo had come to visit, just how much of a wreck he had been, especially when she went into cardiac arrest. That was what had sent him over the edge.
She had held Haesoo's hands in her own and thanked her earnestly for taking such good care of Hyunsoo while Jiwon was in the hospital. It crushed her heart hearing what had happened and how Haesoo had found him. She couldn't help but picture him out in the cold rain, terrified, lost, and alone. Her heart ached in an almost maternal manner and twisted with guilt at being unable to comfort him, but from what Haesoo and Moojin both had told her while they were visiting her in the hospital, Jiwon's mother and Haesoo had been Hyunsoo's pillar of strength during her hospital stay. She was grateful to them.
Jiwon was broken from her reverie at Hyunsoo's voice sounding from her door. "Jiwon-ah!" She looked up and his head was peeking through the crack of it with a crooked grin on his face. "Are you ready to come home?" He walked through the door and Jiwon slowly stood up, a smile breaking across her face and she held her arms open for him.
Hyunsoo walked up to his wife and gently wrapped his arms around her. How badly he'd wanted to hug her tightly, but Jiwon was still recovering and he didn't want to do anything that would risk jarring her incision.
"I am more than ready," she told him. "My bag is packed and I'm ready to come home, eat your cooking and sleep in our bed. I've had enough of hospital food and beds to last me a lifetime"
Hyunsoo laughed as he pulled back from his wife and stroked her face. "Well, I'm here now to take you home. Eomeonim and Eunha are ready to have you home as well. It's not been the same in that house without you."
He grabbed Jiwon's bag and placed an arm around his wife as the two looked at each other with a smile and finally, finally, walked out of the hospital. The car trip home felt like it took forever that evening, but Hyunsoo figured it was just because both and his wife were excited to finally get her home and settled. He had a big surprise waiting for her that evening, and he couldn't but feel elated at the fact that things were finally getting back to normal. He held Jiwon's hand in his own as he drove them home, rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb.
"Jagi-ya, what are you smiling about?" Jiwon's voice asked and he glanced over at her.
"Was I smiling?"
"Mm, yes. I don't think I've seen you smile so much during a car ride," she teased him and he just raised her hand to his lips to kiss it.
"It must be because I'm just so happy that you're finally coming home. There for a while, a part of me was terrified that you might never get to come home. It's a reality now. I'm so glad you pulled through, Jiwon-ah," Hyunsoo admitted to her and Jiwon just chuckled a bit.
"Believe me, I understand that. So, jagi, tell me. What memories did you get back while I was in the hospital? I don't think you ever told me."
"Hmm, let's see..." Hyunsoo hummed thoughtfully as he watched the road. "There were a lot of things I remembered. It was like you being in the condition you were triggered a lot of them to come back. Some good, some bad, and some downright unpleasant. I remembered back when I had been in the hospital for 10 days on the brink of death, it was after I woke up, you were angry with me, and you told me that I could never know the hell you went through. I remembered asking Park Kyungchoon what he felt like when his wife died. I remembered the happy times we spent together as a family. I remembered times with you when we had only just started dating. I remembered our first kiss in the rain." He stopped at a stoplight and gazed over at his wife, his voice contrite. "There were so many things I remembered that made me realize a lot too. I will never ever put you through that kind of hurt again, Jiwon-ah. I promise."
Jiwon's expression softened even more, and she squeezed her husband's hand. "I hope that without me to help you through them, getting all of those memories back wasn't too hard on you."
Hyunsoo just smiled at her. "It was alright. I got through it, and I had help. Don't worry." He looked back up at the road. "We're almost home."
Within minutes, Hyunsoo was finally pulling their car up to the house. He quickly turned the engine off and got out of the car, approaching his wife's door, and helped her out of the car. She was still moving a bit slow, treating her incision from surgery and stab wound with care, so Hyunsoo put his arm around his wife and helped her climb the stairs that lead from his shop and up into the living quarters of their home.
"Eomma!!!" The elation in Eunha's voice sounded as Hyunsoo opened up the front door for them. "I'm so happy you're home!" Jiwon's mother and Haesoo stood behind Eunha, giving them both a wide smile as her mother reached over to hug her daughter.
"Welcome home. We're so happy you're finally back," she told her, running a hand through her daughter's hair. Haesoo reached out to hold one of Jiwon's hands in her own, giving her sister-in-law a welcoming smile.
"It's so good to finally be home. I missed my house and my bed," Jiwon said longingly which caused Hyunsoo to chuckle and hold his wife a little closer to him.
"Eunha-ya, why don't you help me get Eomma to the bedroom, hm?" Hyunsoo asked his beaming daughter who instantly grabbed her mother's hand and they helped her walk into their room.
Jiwon sat down on the soft, cushiony mattress with a sigh and laid back against the fluffy pillows that she can tell her husband replaced in her absence. He really did want everything perfect for her. There were even fresh bedclothes on their bed and the room smelled of clean, just out of the wash, linen.
"Now this is heaven. There is nothing like laying down in your very own bed after a long time. I've had enough of those uncomfortable, hard beds at the hospital." She sunk into the pillows with her eyes closed, feeling sleepy. Hyunsoo seated himself on the side of the bed.
"Why don't you get some rest, Jiwon-ah? I have a surprise for you later this evening," he leaned over and kissed her cheek. She looked up at him and gave him a sleepy smile before closing her eyes and quickly drifting off. Everything felt normal again and she was beyond happy to be home wth her family where she belonged.
~
Several hours later, when Jiwon awoke, the sun was setting and she could hear voices of quiet but seemingly exciting chatter somewhere from either the living room or kitchen area of the house. She got up slowly, and walked over to her vanity to sit down, running a brush through her hair and checking over her appearance in the mirror. She remembered her husband telling her he had a surprise for her this evening, so she wanted to look as decent as she could, after only just getting out of the hospital. Hyunsoo wasn't the only one who had a surprise. She did too, but she wasn't sure when she should give it to him, and she pondered over it while looking in the mirror.
She grabbed at her blush, noting that her cheeks looked a bit too sunken in and there were dark circles under her eyes. She couldn't help but grimace at her appearance. The accident, surgery, and hospital stay had done a number on her complexion, so she dabbed a bit of a concealer under her eyes and brushed on a hint of pink to her cheeks, giving her face a fuller look. She made sure her hair lay nicely and stood up to make her way toward the kitchen.
Seated at the table were her mother, Eunha and Haesoo. Hyunsoo was nowhere to be seen. Jiwon approached them, coming up behind her daughter and put her hands on Eunha's face, kissing her daughter on the top of her head, surprising her. Eunha squealed when Jiwon leaned down to peek at her and her heart nearly overflowed when Eunha put her hand on her mother's cheek with a cheesy grin.
"What are you ladies out here talking so excitedly about?" Jiwon questioned as she seated herself next to Eunha. She draped an arm over her daughter's shoulders.
"Just how happy we are to finally have you home!" her mother insisted as she came up to Jiwon and hugged her from the back and Haesoo smiled warmly from across the table.
"Things feel more normal now that you're out of the hospital, Unnie," Haesoo told her sister-in-law softly, reaching a hand out to squeeze Jiwon's fingers. "The house has been filled with a lot of emptiness and sadness, particularly from Hyunsoo-ya, while you were gone. Everything is just right, now."
Jiwon felt herself blushing at Haesoo's words and she smiled back at the younger woman, squeezing her hand in return. "Speaking of Hyunsoo, where is my husband at?" she questioned looking around but didn't miss the looks exchanged between Haesoo and her mother.
"Alright, what are you two not telling me?"
Haesoo giggled. "My brother is currently busy with Moojin-ah, but he will be back in a bit. He figured you'd sleep a little longer than you did." Haesoo glanced at her watch. "Oh! It should be anytime now."
As if on cue, she could hear the deep voice of her husband followed by Moojin's complaining voice as the two men were approaching the front door. They almost sounded as if they were arguing about something, and she strained to listen, sharing matching grins with Haesoo. She shook her head.
"Ya, Hyunsoo. I don't know why you always have to act like such a jerk when-," Moojin's voice trailed off as the two males approached the kitchen, surprised to see all four women seated at the table chattering, laughing, and grinning up at them knowingly.
Hyunsoo's vacantly annoyed expression instantly vanished into a warm and loving smile for Jiwon s he walked up to his wife. She stood up and he reached out to hold her shoulders. "I'm surprised to see you awake already. I thought you might sleep a bit longer."
Jiwon grinned up at him and tapped his nose with her fingertip. "I think I've gotten plenty of sleep. Now, just where have you been, Hyunsoo-ssi?"
Hyunsoo looked over at their daughter who was hiding a giggle behind her hand and gave her a wink. "What do you think, Eunha-ya? Should you come with me and check to see if Eomma's surprise is ready?"
The little girl excitedly jumped up from the table and over to her father's side. He smirked down at his daughter with that trademark, crooked grin of his that always made Jiwon's heart thump in her chest. Even after nearly 15 years. He looked back up at his wife with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "We'll be right back."
The two snuck off together, Hyunsoo acting like an excited child alongside his daughter which made Jiwon laugh at the two of them. She wasn't sure what it was they were so excited about, but if they were behaving this way, it had to be good.
An hour or so later, they were coming back into the house with matching smiles on their faces.
"Eomma, Appa has everything ready! It's time for your surprise!" Eunha's voice was exploding with excitement.
"Alright, Jiwon-ie, you can't look until I say," Hyunsoo stated as he came up behind his wife and covered her eyes with his hands. Jiwon gasped at Hyunsoo who she could hear chuckle from behind her. He held his hands over her eyes while Haesoo held onto one of Jiwon's arms and her mother on the other side. Moojin followed them and they helped Jiwon up the stairs. She could feel the cool evening, fall air brush her skin and realized she was on the terrace. She felt her mother and sister-in-law let go of her arms, and she could hear Eunha's excited giggling in the background.
"Alright, you can look now," Hyunsoo leaned close to her ear and she could feel his breath tickling her face. Her heart swooped with excitement as he removed his hands from her eyes.
What she saw nearly took her breath away. The entire terrace was elaborately decorated, even better than the last time it was when they celebrated their 5th year of living in their home. That wasn't really a memory she particularly liked thinking about, but she could remember all the hard work Hyunsoo had put into it. Now, even more so. There was a large banner hanging across the deck that read:
"WELCOME HOME, JIWON-IE!"
Her family was all seated at the large table, but much to her surprise, her teammates were even there. The smell of food touched her nose and she took a deep breath. There were plates of food all sat at the table, each one filled with some of Jiwon's favorites. The grill was sizzling with more food and everyone at the table threw their hands in the air as Jiwon met all of their faces.
"SURPRISE!!! Welcome home, Jiwon-ie! We missed you!" they all shouted out to her, and Jiwon couldn't help but place her hands over her mouth. This was truly the last thing she expected, and Hyunsoo had really gone out of his way this time to make her homecoming happy. She couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes and Hyunsoo placed a comforting arm around her.
"I... wow. I didn't realize I was missed this badly," Jiwon half-sobbed, half-laughed as everyone clapped at the table.
"I hope those are happy tears," Hyunsoo stated as he tucked his wife into his side a little more and walked her over to her seat.
"Of course they are," Jiwon told him as she swiped them away and then leaned upward to kiss his cheek. "Thank you so much, everyone, for all of this."
"Don't thank us, thank your husband," Hojoon called out as he pointed to the man next to her. "He's the one who put all the hard work into all of this. He just called us and told us to be here waiting for you." Jaeseob and Woocheol both nodded in unison.
Jiwon met the eyes of each of her teammates who gave her a grin and her Sunbae Jaeseob smiled and winked at her. She was unsure of how to express how truly touched she was such an overwhelmingly kind gesture from the people in her life that she loved most, but she had an idea of how she could. She wondered if she should save this for another time, but now seemed as perfect as ever. Jiwon had something she was bursting to tell all of them, but in particular, her husband.
"Before I sit down, I have something for you all too, but most of all for you, jagi-ya," Jiwon stated as she gathered up Hyunsoo's hands in her own. She looked into his dark eyes that were twinkling down at her like twin crescent moons, the smile still on his face. She looked over at the table at all of her family members and felt her heart swell.
"The day that I left the hospital, before Hyunsoo came to pick me up, my doctor came in to talk to me about my condition," she explained. "Considering all I went through, he was truly surprised at how strong my body was to be able to withstand everything that happened. So much so, that he called it a miracle."
She took a deep breath.
"I just wanted to tell you all that...," she paused and looked up to Hyunsoo's eyes once again, her heart beginning to race. "That Hyunsoo and I are going to have another baby."
Hyunsoo's eyes widened at her words, his lips parted. Everyone at the table became incredibly quiet as they all stared at Hyunsoo and Jiwon in shock.
"Wh-what...? Ji... Jiwon-ah... does this, I mean... does this mean what I think it means?" Hyunsoo questioned her, trying to control the stammer in his voice.
"Yes. I'm pregnant. We're going to have another baby. You're going to be a father again, and Eunha is going to have a younger sibling," she told him, her eyes burning with new tears, and the table erupted with yells and cheers from Moojin and her teammates.
"Jiwon-ah!" Hyunsoo pulled his wife gently into his arms as her words were slowly sinking in now. She was pregnant. They were going to have another baby. Eunha was going to be a big sister. They were going to have a baby. His eyes burned and he hid his face in Jiwon's hair, hiding stray tears that had slipped out now and he sniffled. Jiwon's arms were around him, holding him close, her hand on the back of his neck and at the base of his hair. Hyunsoo's breath hitched. "A baby. We're going to have another baby."
"Yes. Yes!" she nodded laughing and smiling between tears. Eunha was now jumping up and down in her seat squealing about how she was going to be either an Unnie or a Noona. Jiwon's mother was approaching them as the couple broke apart from their hug and Hyunsoo was attempting to discreetly dab at his eyes. She threw her arms around her daughter as they both laughed and cried. Haesoo was now hugging her brother tightly.
"Yaaa! Nice job, Hyunsoo-ya!" Moojin quipped while giving Hyunsoo a hardy slap on the back which made them burst out in laughter as everyone was gathering around them all to congratulate them. The team was whooping and hollering with Jaeseob declaring he better be made a godfather of their children and that delcaration made Jiwon burst into laughter. Everyone was hugging, cheering, and smiling.
"Haesoo, we're going to have to catch up to Hyunsoo and Detective Cha one of these days, huh?" Moojin added earning him a playful smack and retort from his girlfriend and a scowl from Hyunsoo. Everyone just started laughing all over again.
"Alright, alright, enough of all this mushy stuff. Let's eat! I'll never say no to Hyunsoo-ssi's cooking," Jaeseob stated as everyone made their way to the table. Jiwon and Hyunsoo sat side by side. Every single person was smiling, laughing, joking, and eating. Hyunsoo was peeling shrimp for his daughter, while the group of family and friends talked, drank, joked, shared stories, and celebrated, not only Jiwon's homecoming but the fact that she and Hyunsoo were going to have another baby. The party went on well into the night. It was the happiest that Hyunsoo could remember feeling in a very very long time.
Later that night, after the celebration died down and people went home, Jiwon and Hyunsoo had just finished tucking their daughter into bed, who'd fallen asleep in her Appa's arms as she normally always did at some point or another. They walked into their room to begin changing into their nightclothes, and Jiwon looked up at her husband beaming. They exchanged glances.
"I remember how you first reacted when I told you I was pregnant with Eunha," she told her husband as she seated herself on the bed. "You were so nervous and unsure of what to say or do, but you tried hard."
Hyunsoo chuckled and sat down next to her, reaching out for her hands. "I was very nervous back then, and even now I'm a little nervous. I had no idea how to care properly for a child or be a father, and I didn't want our child to turn out anything like me or abeoji. I was terrified, but that was before I realized that I was able to feel emotions and now more than ever I can understand them." He kissed his wife tenderly on the back of her hand. "This time I'm more prepared, and I'm so so happy that we are expanding our family."
"I didn't expect you to cry," she admitted with a chuckle, earning a shy grin from him.
"I didn't expect I would either, but I guess that's what happens when you realize the beauty of creating a life with someone you love so much," he told her, still holding her hands in his and rubbing his thumbs over the backs of them.
"Are you sure you're ready for the morning sickness, the mood swings, and the midnight cravings?" Jiwon asked him, looking a bit worried.
"I'm ready to take on anything with you, and I will do everything I can to make this pregnancy as easy as possible for you," he told her, reaching his hand up to brush back the hair from her face. "I want you happy, comfortable, and well-cared for which is exactly what I'm going to do for you, my Jiwon-ie."
Jiwon couldn't help herself as she leaned over to capture her husband's lips with her own in a long, languid kiss.
Both Hyunsoo and Jiwon knew that their lives were going to continue this way. That their life together would be filled with days of happiness, beauty, love, and new beginnings. They both also knew that they wouldn't be without hardships, without struggles, without inevitable loss and the grief that followed, but what they did know as they lay down for bed that night facing one another and Jiwon tucked safely in Hyunsoo's arms, that as long they had each other, and that they could be by each others' sides, that Do Hyunsoo and Cha Jiwon could handle anything at all that life sent their way.
~End
~EPILOGUE~
9 Months Later...
Finally, finally, loud crying resounded after what seemed like hours from Jiwon's hospital room, and Hyunsoo was leaping to his feet. Jiwon's mother was seated next to him, and she raised a hand to rest on his arm, tugging him back into his chair. "Calm down, Hyunsoo-ya. It's all okay," his mother-in-law's voice, surprisingly calm, sounded along with the crying.
"Eomeonim, I'm so sorry. I just can't help it. My child was just born!" he exclaimed as he ran a hand over his face. "I need to be in there with them."
"Now now, you can't go in there and until the doctor says it's alright," Jiwon's mother explained gently. "Sit back down and let's wait for the doctor."
But no sooner had she told him this, the doctor was coming out of Jiwon's room looking a bit frazzled and yet relieved. "Your baby was just born. You can go into the room now. They are cleaning him up and your wife is asking for you."
Hyunsoo gave a polite bow to the doctor before turning toward his sister and then he rushed over to the door and went inside. Jiwon was laying back in the hospital bed, a sheen of sweat and tears covered her face and had dampened her hair. The nurses were gathered around their baby, swaddling the little one up in a blanket and beanie cap. Small newborn cries were echoing in the room all around them.
"Jiwon-ah," Hyunsoo said almost breathless, and he sat on the bed at his wife's side, brushing his hand over her sweaty forehead. "Are you okay? How is our baby?"
"Jagi-ya," Jiwon replied, her voice tired and emotional as she reached out her hands to hold onto one of her husband's hands. "A son. We have a son. It's a boy."
Hyunsoo felt his heart stir, flutter, and jump into his throat at her words. He had a son. He had a little boy. They had a little boy. The nurses smiled at the couple as they carried the baby over to Jiwon and Hyunsoo.
"Would abeoji like to hold his newborn son?" the nurse holding the swaddled child in her arms warmly asked Hyunsoo.
Jiwon nodded with a quivering smile and Hyunsoo held out his arms for the baby. The nurse gently placed the child in his arms still emitting tiny cries, and he remembered back when Eunha had been born. Now, it was so different. All the different feelings and emotions filling him up were nearly overwhelming, and he could feel the familiar sensation welling up in his chest, making his nose burn and his eyes sting. He sniffed.
"Woohyun," Jiwon told him as Hyunsoo gazed down at their new baby boy, awestruck. His fingertips were softly touching their newborn child's tiny, red face and the newborn cries began to settle down at his father's touch. "Let's name him Woohyun."
Hyunsoo sniffled again. "Woohyun. I like that. It means virtuous and shining. Just like Eunha shines like a galaxy, Woohyun will shine next to his sister."
He could feel the warmth of tears brimming his lids as he curiously touched Woohyun's little hands that were curled into fists. Almost instinctively, his newborn son opened his hand to wrap tiny fingers around Hyunsoo's finger, just like Eunha had done when she was born. The tears that were sitting just on the edge of lids slipped out and his breath hitched. Jiwon sat up in bed and lay her head against Hyunsoo's, cradling both him and their newborn baby boy in her arms.
Several hours later, Jiwon's mother and Eunha were now in the hospital room as Jiwon sat up in bed after just finishing nursing Woohyun. Eunha was now up in the bed with Jiwon, and her hand was gently stroking the silkened tuft of black hair on top of his head.
"I promise, I will be the best Noona ever to Woohyun," Eunha told them as she leaned over to press a soft kiss to her brother's forehead. Hyunsoo smiled fondly at his family and seated himself on the other side of Jiwon's bed, reaching out to pat his young daughter on top of her head. Eunha glanced up at her father. "Just like Auntie Haesoo protects you and takes care of you, Appa, I'm going to do the same for my little brother."
"Ya, Auntie Haesoo has taught you a lot about being a good Noona, hasn't she?" Hyunsoo stated as continued to rub his daughter's head. "I'm so proud of you."
Jiwon nodded in agreement and the family of four snuggled in together, Woohyun letting out tiny coos.
For the first time that Hyunsoo could recall, he finally felt like his life was pieced back together, and that the love he had for his family would only grow from this day forward.
~THE END