Chapter 13~ The Storm is Coming
Waking up in the middle of the darkness, Jaejoong felt unwell. He took a glimpse at the clock and it showed that it was 4.a.m., just right on time for his morning ritual since the past three weeks. He silently jumps off the bed and walks into the bathroom. He can’t resist the urge to spill the contents from his stomach but nothing came out as his stomach was still empty.
‘Jaejoongie? Honey what’s wrong? You’re suddenly early in the morning.’ Yunho softly rubbed his eyes. Jaejoong quickly rinsed his mouth washing it thoroughly hoping that his nausea won’t attack.
‘Nothing…just feeling a bit unwell.’ Jaejoong replied with a bitter smile. He tried to hide the fact that he is feeling very unwell. Yunho starts to get worried after listening to his answer.
‘Jaejoongie, have you consulted it with a doctor? Since when did you start to feel unwell? Why don’t you tell me?’ Yunho slightly panicked.
‘Yun-Yunnie~…I’m fine, I will go check with the doctor today if that would make you feel better.’ -Jaejoong cupped Yunho’s face in his hand, calming the other from panicking more than he already had.
‘Now get ready, today you and uncle Jaewoo will go to the town for fertilizer supply right?’- Jaejoong pushes his husband to get ready.
‘O-okay but promise me, you’ll go to the doctor. Okay?’ Yunho pushed into the bathroom. ‘Yes sir, pinky promises I’ll go to see doctor today for my over-reacting hubby.’ -Jaejoong playfully replied.
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On the Way to town.
Yunho sighed as his eyes focusing on the road. Mr. Han, who is driving caught his sigh.
‘Young man, that was a lot of sighs for one day. What’s the problem?’ -Mr. Han asks while staying focused on the road.
‘I’m worried because of Jae, he had been feeling unwell but I know he’s trying to hide it from me.’- Yunho simply answered.
‘Not well? What are the symptoms?’ Mr. Han asks again.
‘He had been feeling nauseous lately especially early in the morning and he hates fried food, the only thing he eats recently is porridge and vegetable soup.’- Yunho expressed his worries. Mr. Han frowns at first but then suddenly he grinned like the Cheshire cat.
‘Young man, you still have a lot to learn.’- said Mr. Han to him after listening to his story, making Yunho bewildered by the old man’s remarks. ‘You mean…?’- Yunho asks.
‘Your wife is pregnant, you idiot.’- The old man ruffled Yunho’s hair. It took Yunho a long time before he could register the word ‘P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T’. Mr. Han’s grins stop when Yunho froze at his words ‘Yoohoo ~ young man are you okay?’ he waves his hand in front of Yunho’s eyes. Yunho starts mumbling a few words making Mr. Han knit his eyebrows together.
‘Yunho, are you okay?’ -Mr. Han starts to worry and gently pats his shoulder.
‘I’M BECOMING A FATHER!!!!’ Yunho suddenly screamed, Mr. Han lost control of his wheel shocked by Yunho’s cheer.
‘Calm down would you? Are you trying to get both of us killed?’ Mr. Han slightly exclaimed but then he chuckled and shook his head. He could understand Yunho’s feeling… It’s greater than great. No words could describe his happiness when his wife got pregnant of their first child and the feeling continued until their fifth child. Now all of them are working in the city after graduating from universities, they invited their parents to live with them but the two elders refused because there’s not much to do while living in the city especially when you’ve exceeded retiring age.
Yunho wore his stupid grins all the way to the town. Mr. Han parked the truck in front of a flower shop and goes inside to confirm their booked flower supply list while Yunho waited in the truck. His eyes were on the playing kids in the playground, feeling happy while imagining about his little family.
Back to Jaejoong’s side.
‘Congratulations Mr…mrs…’ the doctor stuttered, confused on how he should refer to the beautiful young mother in front of him. ‘Just call me Mr. Kim.’ He solves his problem.
‘Congratulations Mr. Kim, you’re two months pregnant.’ The doctor congratulates him, Jaejoong in other hand, was astonished by his words. Speechless. The doctor’s eyes dance in amazement as he starts scribbling something on a piece of paper, ‘I’m pregnant?’ Jaejoong asked, making sure his ears are not making fun of him. ‘Yes, two months.’ The doctors smiled.
‘Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god, I’m a mommy!’ Jaejoong silently screamed in his head. He gasped, covering his mouth in the process, looking down to his still flat tummy and feeling it with his hand. It’s his and Yunho’s little miracle.
Jaejoong bowed and walks out of the room. Mr. Lee takes little steps to approach him with obvious worry written all over his face. ‘What did the doctor say?’ a smile slowly crept over Jaejoong’s face, he whispered something into Mr. Lee’s ear and then leaving the old man in his frozen state skipping all the way out of the hospital.
‘Young master!!! Don’t jump!~ it’s bad for your baby!’ -Mr. Lee hurriedly follows his young master after recovering from his shocks.
‘I’m not jumping! I’m skipping!’ Jaejoong shouted to his butler. The sight of the dark clouds caught his attention. He gazed upward to the sky. The silent breeze that is usually tame and that caresses his raven hair was now slightly violent than it used to.
‘I hope Yunnie would be back before storm.’ Jaejoong silently prayed in his heart.
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Yunho starts tapping his fingers on the truck seat. ‘What’s taking him so long?’ Yunho thought impatiently, his gaze went back to the shop every 5 minutes, hoping that Mr. Han will come out soon and the sooner they finish the sooner he could cuddle with Jaejoong. If Mr. Han is right about the pregnancy symptoms, then he expecting good news from Jaejoong tonight. Then something caught his attention, a cake shop.
Flashbacks
This morning before he went to work, he caught Jaejoong staring at a magazine. The stare was so strong that Yunho expected it will burn a hole through the magazine. Silently, he creeps from Jaejoong’s back, peeking on what his wife was staring at. Hot models? Luxury car? But then he was taken aback by what his wife was staring at like a hungry lioness… It’s a slice of moist chocolate cake. He mentally slapped himself for his silly thoughts.
End of Flashback
He looks back into the shop again, maybe it would not harm him if he went there and buy his Jaejoongie a few slices of cake. He hops down the truck hoping that Mr. Han wouldn’t be back before he returns with the cake. He ran towards the cake house which only two blocks away from their parking place, across the road. The cake house doorbell rang as Yunho entered the shop. There’s a row of display racks showing trays of delicious and beautifully sliced cakes; strawberry cakes, green tea gateau, crème brulee, moist chocolate cake and lots more.
‘Give me two slices of moist chocolate cake please.’ Yunho pointed his desired cake to the worker. She bowed and gets the cake out from its display and packed it inside a box. Yunho paid for the cake and hurriedly dash back to the truck before Mr. Han decides to cut his salary.
He waited patiently for the traffic, occasionally looking at his ticking watch showing that 10 minutes has gone after he went out of the truck, it took longer than he expected. There, beside him, stands a little girl who was looking around for something. He wasn’t aware of the presence of the little girl whose head was barely over Yunho’s knee. After looking everywhere, she suddenly caught the glimpse of someone that she had been looking for. ‘Mommy!!!’ she shouted, calling her mom from the opposite side of the road. The lady caught the sight of her daughter calling for her at the other side of the road. ‘Yoon-ah!’ her mom calls her name. Feeling happy and relieved at having her mom back, the little girl ran across the road towards her mom right before a transportation van went speeding on its high speed, rushing for the lights. ‘No!!!’ the woman screamed.
Without much thought and due to his good reflexes, Yunho ran towards the little girl and pushed her out of the road toward her mother, but it was too late for him to save himself. His eyes set on the incoming van with screeching sounds from the tires as the driver using all his might stepping on the break but it was too late, it can’t be stopped. Yunho got hit and knocked his head on the van’s front mirror in the process and was thrown 5 feet in the air and 2 meters from his previous place before crash-landing on the tar road. High pitch screams started to resound in the air. Lots of voice shouted, ‘Hurry up call an ambulance!!!’ The pedestrians were trying to help him. One of them tried to move him but was stopped by the others. ‘Don’t move him. He might experience spinal cords injuries, wait for the medic.’ ‘It’s not my fault!!!’ the van driver cried while the other comforts him assuring him that not his fault.
The child’s mother knelt beside him, crying her heart out, bowing and apologizing on her daughter’s behalf. ‘Sorry…I’m really really sorry. It’s our fault. Sorry. Please forgive my daughter.’ She said in between her sobs with her unconscious daughter in her arm. His vision starts spinning, he tried to move his hand but it won’t respond, he groans in pain, bloods staining his vision, he knows it’s his blood judging from the pungent smell of rusty metal and his mouth full of it. ‘Ja…e…joo..ng…’ he tried to say the name of his only love but coughs more blood out… Then he started to feel cold, very cold.
Then the ambulance siren’s wail started to be heard from afar, but it was still too far. He started lose grip on his consciousness, the throbbing pain was no longer felt as he felt numb and cold because the pain was too much for his body to take. The world was spinning around him. No, he doesn’t want to leave…his Jaejoong, his baby, both of them needs him. ‘Jae…joo…ngie…’ His slowly closes his eyes. ‘Hang on sir! Stay with us!’ the medic helps him onto the stretcher, then his world blacked out.
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The disinfectants’ smells annoyed anyone who dislikes it. That’s one way to describe a hospital. People in the emergency room are running here and there and most of them are nurses and doctors that have received emergency calls. Kyuhyun, being the new brain surgeon in the hospital, just moved into the big town’s general hospital with his wife Sungmin, as the hospital physiotherapist. He hurriedly runs to his station the moment he received the calls.
The medic roll in the stretcher, he follows suits checking on his soon-to-be patient. The time seemed to stop the moment he saw the man’s face, even though the blood nearly covered his entire face, the handsome features of the man were still noticeable. Those features that were hard to forget. ‘Yunho…’, he said the name of the person who was supposed to be dead eight months ago. ‘Sir, hurry up…we need to save the patient.’ The nurse calls him, snapping him from his built trance. ‘Yunho-hyung, you have a lot to explain.’ He rushed into the surgery room.
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‘Sorry, I’m late young man… The florist took a long time to decide on the quantity she wants for the supply, I told her decide faster.”, Mr. Han complained, but when he turned to his left side, there’s no one there. He has been talking to himself the moment he entered the truck.
‘Yunho? Where are you?’ He looks around the streets. He hops down the truck, searching for Yunho. But he fails to find him. The only thing he saw was the fresh blood stains in middle of the road. He brushes off his thought and continues searching for him, hoping the young man was safe. Suddenly he heard a few people whispering about what happened about 30 minutes ago. A young man around his twenties was hit by a van when saving a little girl. Starting to get worried, he runs toward them and asks for further information.
He drive fast towards the mentioned hospital, he needs a confirmation that the young man they said is not Yunho. He praying that it’s not Yunho. He’s still too young and he is going have his little family. Jaejoong would have a hard time getting over the shock brought by his husband’s accident, now that he has a baby to keep and nurture.
‘No…Yunho please let it not be you.’ He prayed. Suddenly out of nowhere, a transporter truck lost its control and jumped into the opposite lane. Mr. Han quickly turns his wheels towards the left to avoid the incoming truck. Unfortunately, he hit a tree and lost his consciousness.
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The strong winds blew heavily; Jaejoong stared out of the window. His husband hasn’t come back yet and he was beginning to worry. He had a bad feeling. It feels like back to the day before he saved Yunho from the shore. It was a terrible wind like this too and the next day, he found him stranded on the shore. He cupped the pendant in his hand, praying to Him that everything would be okay and Yunho will be back in any minute.
‘Jaejoongie, dinner’s ready.’ Heechul softly calls him. Eyeing on his uneasy friend, Heechul feels like knocking Yunho’s head in any minute because of making Jaejoong worried and it’s bad for the pregnancy.
Heechul and Siwon were told about the happy news the moment they got back from their outstation in Seoul this afternoon, they were happy for their best friend. Never in their lives since Jaejoong’s mom death, had Jaejoong smiled such brightly like sun in the blue sky. It’s so beautiful and he knows who brought the sunshine back. It was none other than Yunho.
Sad and unsatisfied for unable being the one who cure his best friend’s heart, he admits his defeat to Yunho. But now once again, deep frowns and worries were decorating Jaejoong’s face. He played with his food, rolling the meatballs back and forth in his plate. He put a huge pout on his face.
Suddenly someone pounded on their door in rushing manner. They could hear a woman calling for them. Judging from the weather and the time, she must have important business. Jaejoong stands up to fetch the door but Mr. Lee was faster than him. He opens the door only to meet a soaking wet Mrs. Han.
‘Lady Han, why are you here at this time? Where’s Mr. Han?’ Mr. Lee surprised at her appearance. Jaejoong quickly ran towards the main entrance to see if Mrs. Han has any clue to where his Yunnie has gone to.
With soaking and icy cold body, she catches Mr. Lee’s hand. ‘My husband, he got involved in an accident this afternoon and is now in a coma…’ she said in between her sobs and chatters. Everyone in the room gasped hearing the news. Jaejoong’s body slumped onto the chair as his legs gave up in supporting his weight after listening to the news.
He gulps his saliva and with shaking voice, he braved himself to ask again. ‘How about Yun…ho?’ his questions died there, his body trembling in fear of losing another love ones. Mrs. Han vigorously shook her head. ‘They just found my husband inside the truck during the accidents. There’s no sign of Yunho.’
‘What does that mean?’ Heechul demands for further explanations. ‘What happened to Jung Yunho? Where is he?’ ‘Chullie, stop…’ Jaejoong stops him. They were not in the place to force anything out of Mrs. Han, her husband was involved in an accident too. He can’t be selfish enough to hurt the old lady. With his still wobbly legs, he walks towards her. ‘Mr. Lee, prepare the guest room please, Erika…warm up the soup and prepare herbal tea for our guest.’ He takes her into his embrace. Both of them cried in each other arms, hoping for things to get better.
Jaejoong sat and absent-mindedly stared into space on the little couch in his and Yunho’s shared bedroom. After Mr. Lee brought Mrs. Han into her room for a change of clothes, Jaejoong went upstairs to change his half soaked clothes. His eyes averted to Yunho’s shirts. With trembling hands he reached for one of it. He sniffed for his husband’s scent but sadly there was none. The only thing he could sniff out of the shirts is the scent of detergent. He cried into it, covering his face with the shirts, wetting it with his tears.
It was never like this, Yunho will always contact him if anything happens or if he comes home late. What makes him worry more is Yunho having an amnesia. He doesn’t have a place to go other than Jaejoong’s house. He just suddenly disappeared into thin air just like how he came into his life. His Yunnie was nowhere to be found.
He drags his feet toward the small couch and has been settled there until now, his beautiful porcelain skin tainted with obvious tears stains. The clock was now showing 3.a.m. His tears never dried, his eyes became puffy, red and swollen because of crying throughout the night. He was unable to sleep, afraid that Yunho will be back in anytime and there’s no one to help him to open the door.
‘Yunnie…please…*sobs*…come back Yunnie *sobs* come back please…our…b-baby needs you.’ He caresses his still flat tummy. ‘I-I need you… Yunnie~?’ he continues, softly calling for his husband in his cold empty bedroom with his hands never leaving his baby. He never thought that the bedroom would be so much cold and huge without Yunho.
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Standing in a dark cold place, Yunho blinked his eyes rapidly trying to look through the darkness. There’s nothing except the sounds of water dropping echoing in his mind. He suddenly heard a familiar crying voice, calling for someone’s name.
‘Yu…nnie…please...*sobs* come back Yunnie *sobs* please come back to me…our b-baby needs you.’ The words repeat over and over again. Yunho walks toward the voice. After walking for a long time, he doesn’t even know whether time exists in the mysterious place. He found a tint of light.
No… It’s not a tint of light, but someone who was glowing and wearing a white long sleeved shirt and white trousers. He tries to approach the person but he never reaches him but the sobs continue on and on.
He gasped waking from his dream. His pupil actively scans around the white room with white ceiling. The moment his stimulus interprets the heavy smell of disinfectants, he knows where he is…the hospital. He found himself on a bed. His body is in too much pain, making him unable to move his body. He groaned in pain. He heard a click from the doorknob, indicating that someone was entering his room. He waited for the footsteps to come closer to his bed. ‘Kyuhyun…?’ he calls for the person name.
‘You’re awake, Yunho-hyung.’ The maknae happily greeted him. Suddenly Yunho winced in pain. His head was pounding like someone was playing basketball inside it. ‘Hyung? Are you okay?’ he checks on the man. ‘My head just hurt a bit…’ Yunho softly chuckled.
Kyuhyun took his seat beside Yunho’s bed. Gazing at the elder, he was still alive. His beloved sunbae is still alive and now in front of him. The incident that happened eight months ago caused trauma to all of them especially to Yoochun because it was his idea in the first place to have the cruise party. It’s impossible that nothing happened to Yunho during that eight-month period. He braves himself to ask the question.
‘Yunho-hyung, where have you gone to? Did you know that you have been missing for eight months?’ -Kyuhyun asks with concern and curiosity. Yunho widen his eyes the moment he heard the question. He softly murmured but enough for the other to listen ‘e-eight months?’ he stuttered.
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To Be Continued