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The morning starts like any other.
Seungmin rushing, Minhee dragging, and little Yongbok bouncing around the house like a happy golden retriever in pigtails.
“Papa, Papa, PAPAAAA!! My shoelace isn't pretty. Looks like a snake!” Yongbok insists, stomping her foot dramatically.
Seungmin sighs, kneels, fixes the shoelace, kisses her forehead, and then shoots Minhee a look.
“She gets this dramatics from you.”
Minhee, sipping coffee from her World’s best Mom mug, simply shrugs. “At least she’s expressive. Not like you, Mr. ‘I have five feelings and all of them are sarcasm.’”
Seungmin sticks his tongue out at her.
By the time they finally get into the car to drop Yongbok at school, Minhee is still trying to find her lip balm, Seungmin is still trying to stay sane, and Yongbok is singing some made-up song about snakes and spiders.
The morning is chaotic but warm.
Familiar.
Safe.
After dropping Yongbok off, where she waves like she’s boarding a ship to war, the car finally becomes quiet.
Peaceful.
Just Seungmin and Minhee.
They pull out of the school parking lot. Minhee leans back with a sigh. “I’m starving. Let’s pick up something on the way?”
“Sure,” Seungmin replies, adjusting the rear-view mirror.
“I just dropped something!” said the woman, already twisting in her seat. “My phone. I’ll just grab-”
Click.
Her seatbelt unlocks.
Seungmin snaps his head toward her so fast it almost hurts. “Yah! What did I just say about seatbelts?! Lina, sit properly-”
“I’m just reaching!” she says, half-laughing as she stretches her arm between the seats.
“No. No, seriously, Lina- put the belt back.”
“I’ll be one sec, my phone-”
He looks at her.
Not the road.
Her.
Her loose hair falling forward…
Her soft sweater sleeves pushed up…
Her lips pursed as she tries to reach something…
Her eyes sparkling when she found it…
“Lina.” His voice drops, low and deadly serious. “I’m not kidding. Buckle. Up.”
She freezes, blinking at the tone. Then she smiles softly. “Okay, okay… I didn’t mean to stress you-”
She sits back properly, and her fingers fumble for the buckle-
And that’s when it happens.
A horn. A screech. A blur of motion.
Seungmin jerks his head back toward the road, just in time to see a car shooting through the intersection.
There’s no time to think.
He slams the brakes, fast enough.
Seungmin’s seatbelt yanks him back, crushing the breath out of him. Pain flashes across his chest.
Minhee… wasn’t buckled.
He feels the moment her body hits forward, the sound punching through him harder than the impact itself.
“LINA!”
His ears ring. His ribs ache. He can’t breathe. He can’t think.
He only turns toward her. Minhee slumped against the seat, her hair covering her face, arms limp, and she wasn't responding.
His whole world collapses.
“Lina… Lina?” His hands shake violently as he cups her face. “Baby.. hey, look at me… please… Hey…”
No answer.
No movement.
“Please…” his voice breaks completely. “Lina, please look at me…”
He’s trembling so hard he can’t even dial his phone properly. Tears blur everything, his chest burns.
The world feels small.
Too small.
Too dark.
Too quiet.
For the first time in his life, Kim Seungmin is truly, fully terrified.
Terrified of losing the only woman he’s ever truely loved.
Terrified of Yongbok waking up without her mom.
Terrified because he looked away for one second.
And one second was enough to shatter everything.
The hospital room is too white, too bright, too silent. The moment Minhee is wheeled away for scans, Seungmin’s chest feels like it’s been scooped out. He stands by the emergency ward door like someone nailed his feet to the ground, refusing to even blink in case someone comes out with news. His hands are trembling. Subtle, but there.
Jisung gets there first, breathless, hair a mess, still wearing his work cloths.
“Lina is with the best doctors. She’ll be okay,” he says, gripping his brother's shoulders.
Seungmin only shakes his head once, eyes glassy. “She… she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt because- I told her to buckle- I wasn't looking at the road-”
And that’s all it takes for Hyunjin, who arrives just a second later. “Hey. No. Stop that right now,” she says, rubbing circles into his back. “Accidents happen. You didn’t hurt her. You were just trying to keep her safe.”
And yet, despite their presence, Seungmin stays frozen in the hallway, staring at the closed door his wife disappeared through.
The hospital corridor had seen Seungmin pace for so long that even the floor seemed exhausted. He hadn’t sat down since they brought Minhee in. His hands were trembling, his jaw set tight, his eyes red, not from crying, but from holding back everything that threatened to spill out.
He kept replaying it.
The moment she unbuckled.
The second he turned to scold her.
The flash of a truck from the side.
The sound of metal crushing.
He should’ve stopped her. He should’ve checked the road twice. He should’ve taken the hit instead of her.
Every thought he had ended the same way:
This is my fault.
He sat outside the ICU, knees bouncing, hands clasped so tight they hurt. The family sat around him in quiet support, Jisung leaning against the wall beside him, Hyunjin holding hot coffee none of them touched.
Hours passed.
Still Seungmin didn’t move.
Every time a doctor walked by, he flinched. Every footstep made him sit up. Every beep from the ICU made him hold his breath.
Because until his wife was okay, Seungmin didn’t know how to exist.
But he wasn’t alone.
And the quiet, constant presence around him kept him from drowning entirely.
Even when he didn’t speak, didn’t eat, didn’t blink, the family stayed.
His family, waiting for Minhee to open her eyes and bring Seungmin back to life.
The hospital hallway had grown familiar by now, too familiar. The overhead lights hummed faintly, the air conditioner blew a stream of cold air that never seemed to reach Seungmin, and nurses whispered to one another every time they passed him because he’d been sitting in the exact same spot outside Minhee’s room for hours.
Not minutes.
Hours.
When the doctor finally allows him to see her, he walks in like a man walking toward the most fragile piece of glass in the world. Minhee is hooked to monitors, forehead bandaged, but breathing steadily, peacefully.
He doesn’t sit in the chair. He sits on the edge of her bed and takes her hand with such gentle care it looks like he’s holding sunlight.
“You scared me,” he whispers, brushing a thumb over her knuckles. His voice breaks. “I thought-” He could’t finish the sentence.
He presses his forehead to the back of her hand and finally allows one tear to fall.
Jisung and Hyunjin watches quietly from outside the half-open door, and they exchange soft smiles.
Minhee wakes slowly. Her head throbs, her limbs feel heavy, but the very first thing she becomes aware of isn’t the pain. It’s the weight of a hand clasping hers.
Seungmin is sitting right beside her, still in the same clothes from this morning, hair messy, eyes red-rimmed like he hasn’t blinked in hours.
“Hey,” Minhee whispers, squeezing his fingers weakly. “Min…”
Seungmin’s head snaps up instantly. “Lina.” His voice breaks on her name, quiet, relieved, desperate. He cups her cheek with his free hand. “You scared me. You- god, you really scared me.”
She smiles, soft but tired. “You didn’t leave?”
“Leave?” he chokes, eyebrows pulling together. “Do you even know how long I begged the nurse to let me stay? I thought-” He stops before the sentence ends, his throat closing.
Minhee lifts her hand to poke his chest lightly. “You make it sound like I died.”
“You could have,” he says, voice shaking.
“Hey,” she whispers, pulling him closer by his shirt. “Stop. I know that look. It’s not your fault.”
He squeezes her fingers like he’s grounding himself. “I can’t lose you. Not ever. I’m never letting go again. I’m sleeping right here. I’m not moving.”
“You already did sleep here,” Minhee teases, eyeing his slouched posture.
He sniffs. “I didn’t sleep.”
“You did,” she smiles, brushing his hair back gently. “I heard you snore.”
“I don’t snore,” he mutters, instantly defensive, which only makes her laugh softly.
After a moment, she looks at him with a sly glint. “You know… a part of me wishes I got mild memory loss.”
“Absolutely not.” Seungmin glares instantly.
“I’m serious,” she giggles. “Then you’d have to win me over again. All the flirting, all the effort… I’d fall in love with you all over from the beginning.”
“That’s not funny,” he grumbles, but his hand tightens around hers. “Don’t say things like that.”
“Why? You wouldn’t pursue me again?” she teases.
He leans down and kisses her forehead, lingering there, breathing her in like a man who finally found air after drowning.
“Of course I would,” he whispers. “I’d fall in love with you again in a second. But I’m not letting you forget even one moment of us. Not one.”
Minhee smiles softly, eyes damp. “You’re so dramatic.”
“You almost died,” he shoots back.
“Still dramatic,” she replies.
And Seungmin finally laughs, quiet, shaky, but real, then rests his forehead against hers, refusing to let go of her hand even for a heartbeat.
The quiet of the hospital room breaks the moment the door swings open with the force of some villain-like entrance.
Jeongin stands there, hair messy, tote bag slipping off her shoulder, breathing like she just sprinted up all seven floors.
Beside her is Yongbok, small fists planted on her hips, chin wobbling, eyes glossy with determination and leftover tears.
“Minnie…” Jeongin groans, “she bullied me, the cab driver, my apartment security guard, and two nurses on the way here. Please take your child.”
Yongbok ignores her completely. “Mommy!” she squeaks, making a beeline for Minhee’s bedside. Jeongin dives like a goalkeeper, catching her before she can launch herself onto Minhee’s stomach.
“No jumping!” Jeongin hisses. “Your mommy's injured!”
“I’ll be careful!” Yongbok insists, wiggling until Jeongin finally lifts her up so she can sit beside Minhee safely.
The moment she settles, Yongbok cups her mother’s cheeks with both tiny hands, staring at her.
“Mommy, put your shoes. We’re going home now,” she says with absolute certainty.
Minhee, amused and touched, strokes her cheek. “Baby, Mommy can’t go home yet. I need to rest here first.”
“No.” Yongbok’s bottom lip wobbles. “Hospital is scary. And Binnie says people cry too loud here.”
Seungmin, sitting right beside Minhee, sputters offended, “I did not cry.”
“You cried SNUFF SNUFF like this, uncle Han said.” Yongbok demonstrates, aggressively sniffling until her whole head moves.
Minhee laughs softly, and Seungmin hides his face in his hoodie. Jeongin collapses into a chair, throwing her hands in the air.
“She told the nurse that she’ll murder whole doctors, and kidnap her mother if we don’t get permission. Who taught her those type of words?”
Seungmin raises his hand. “Okay, that was your sister, but-”
“And then she told the cab driver she’ll pay him one million if he drives faster,” Jeongin continues.
“Okay, that one… might be me,” Seungmin mumbles.
Minhee sighs fondly at the chaos.
Yongbok climbs into Seungmin’s lap, tugging his hoodie strings like reins. “Papa, we’re taking Mommy home. I'll pack her bag.”
Seungmin smooths her hair gently. “We will, Bokkie. As soon as the doctor says Mommy is safe to go home, we’ll take her. Papa promises.”
Yongbok finally leans her head on Minhee’s arm, small fingers curled around her wrist like she’s afraid to let go.
“Okay… but I’m staying here. I’ll watch you,” she declares.
Jeongin sighs. “Good. Because I am not doing that chase again.”
Minhee smiles, tears gathering in her eyes at the sight of her stubborn, dramatic, fiercely loving daughter and her exhausted but devoted family.
Her heart feels full.
Painful, but in the softest way.
The house feels strangely quiet the moment Seungmin carries Minhee through the front door, quiet in the way a home pauses before flooding someone with love. The lights are warm, the scent of Minhee’s favorite soup lingering in the air.
The entire family was waiting for her.
Hyunjin rushes over with a soft blanket, while Jisung places pillows on the couch like he’s cushioning a porcelain doll, Chan and Changbin, all ready to attend their aunt.
Minhee, still a little pale, still sore, but finally smiling.
Hyunjin hovers protectively. “Lina, sit down. No... don’t move your body like that. Sit. I said sit- Min, help her!”
Seungmin is already there, hand steady on Minhee’s back, guiding her onto the couch like she’s made of glass. He tucks the blanket around her, checks if she’s comfortable, checks again, checks one more time.
Jisung snorts, “Bro, she’s not going to evaporate.”
Minhee laughs weakly. “Let him be. I like it.”
Yongbok climbs onto her lap immediately, gently, surprisingly gently for a always energetic five-year-old, and presses her forehead to Minhee’s.
“Mommy, no more accidents. I’m hate accidents.”
“Good,” Seungmin mutters, kissing Minhee’s temple. “Tell her that.”
Minhee swats him with her free hand. “You’re the reason I have two children.”
“Two?” he blinks.
“You and Yongbok.”
The whole family laughs.
Dinner becomes a soft event, Jeongin and Jisung taking over the kitchen, Hyunjin forcing Minhee to lean on her shoulder whenever she reaches for something, Seungmin circling them like a bee.
When the house quiets down and everyone leaves, Minhee is tucked comfortably in bed. Seungmin slides in beside her, careful, always careful, taking her good hand in his.
“You scared me,” he whispers into the dim room.
“It won't happen again,” she answers just as softly.
“Family cuddle time.” Yongbok squeezes between them, blanket over her head.
Minhee smiles, heart full.
Loved.
Safe.
Home.