Pay With Your Heart

Emergency Room

"How bad is it?" Mrs Lee asked in a croaked voice when Jae-Hyun walked into the room with a depressed look on his face.

"It's not looking good." He bluntly replied, there was no need coating words for her; she already knew her prognosis. He closed the case file in his hand and intently stared at her.

"What happened?" He inquired, his countenance as serious as ever.

Mrs Lee sighed when she heard his question. How was she going to tell him she had been in a fight with her husband? She was the type to shield the children from witnessing the horrors in the family, and she has always seen Jae-Hyun as her child. So she couldn't really tell him what happened, right?

"I was feeling sick, but I stubbornly had a small argument with your uncle. I guess I can't even bicker with him anymore." She faked a chuckle, a weak yet disarming smile etched on her parched lips, but Jae-Hyun caught on to what she wasn't trying to say. He knew her well enough.

Whatever argument she must have had with her husband and was able to land her in a hospital bed must have been truly serious. But he knew better than to pry.

"Mother, you promised to look after yourself," Jae-Hyun said in an accusing tone. She had boldly promised to take good care of her health the last time they met, so what was she doing now?

"I'm sorry, Jae-Hyun," she apologised. "I didn't plan for this."

"Your health is deteriorating, and it's deteriorating fast, and at this rate, I doubt you'd make it to the end of the stipulated three months. You have to stop exhausting yourself." Though Jae-Hyun had fluently said those words, his heart was pained, and it was squeezing him tightly. He didn't think he had ever hated his profession as much as he hated it right now. He hated being the bearer of bad news, especially to a woman he loved, like a mother. But why was she not taking her health serious?

Mrs Lee's face fell the moment she heard those words. It felt like she has been dealt a deadly blow. Yes, she had been preparing for this for a few years now, but one can never be prepared for their death, right? She had always known she would die, but it seems time was passing by too swiftly.

She was going to leave her son and husband behind, and also the other children she had been opportune to be blessed within this lifetime, most especially Eun-sun. She thought she might have more time with her to show her a bit of the love she had been denied, but it seems fate wasn't in her favour.

Her eyes slowly turned red as these thoughts came to mind. Noticing her countenance, Jae-Hyun sighed as he held her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. She lifted her gaze to his face, and she flashed a smile at him, but Jae-Hyun knew better than to believe that smile of hers.

"Mother, I think it's time you tell them."

"Not yet." She abruptly interjected him, making Jae-Hyun look at her in surprise. Why was she still being secretive about this? Wasn't the initial plan about withholding this secret from Dan-Han and her husband till she was sure Dan-Han had a special someone in his life? Now he does, so what else was she waiting for?

"Mother-"

Desperately grabbing Jae-Hyun's hand, she held it between her hands, "Jae-Hyun, please we can't, at least not now," Not now when there was a storm brewing in her house.

"And why?" He asked; clearly, he didn't understand her intentions this time around.

"Because this isn't the right time, and there are some things I must do first."

"Things like what?" Jae-Hyun sounded displeased. He didn't like this at all.

"Many things, like finding that child, the outreach and also Dan-Han might be needing my help." She listed.

Jae-Hyun's face tightened with a frown when she listed all those 'things' she must do. Why was she always thinking about people and never of herself? He asked himself.

"Mother,"

"Please, I want to spend the little time I have left with them." She confessed, her voice lowered and sounding really emotional, making Jae-Hyun sadly look at her.

"Son, I want to spend my last days with my family doing the things I usually do, caring for them like I'm supposed to. I don't want them to spend my last days with me feeling sad and broken or have Dan-Han remembering me as the mother who suffered to death. You know Dan-Han, he might act really strong, but he has a soft heart on the inside. He's my little boy who I must take care of, and also you and In-Ha. I want to spend my last day with all my three sons, and my daughter, and my children on the field." She paused and held his hand even tighter, her eyes tearingly looking at him. "Please, Jae-Hyun, let me die on my own terms. Let me die fulfilled, please, I beg you."

Jae-Hyun felt helpless after hearing her speak. He didn't know what to say or do. His heart broke in a million places for her, and he could only nod. Dan-Han was probably going to hate him for a long time, but he couldn't turn her down. This was her dying wish. What could he do?

Seeing him nod, Mrs Lee felt relieved in her heart. "Thank you." She said appreciatively as she kissed the back of his hand. She understood how difficult it was for him to help her keep such a secret from her family, most especially Dan-Han.

Dan-Han would probably hate him, but she was helpless. She wanted the rest of her days to be filled with happy memories and not being confined to a hospital bed because that was going to be her fate the moment Dan-Han caught a whiff of what was going on.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked vigilantly, looking at the door.

Jae-Hyun also looked at the door behind him. He sighed before looking back at her. "I'll tell them something, but Dan-Han isn't that easy to fool."

"I know, thank you very much." She sweetly smiled.

"Don't thank me, mother. I'll go get them." He told her before turning around to leave. He took another look at her before walking out of the room. And the moment he did, her smile disappeared from her face. Her heart raced when she remembered what her husband had done.

If there was something she must do first, it was protecting her son's love from her husband.