Pay With Your Heart

Eun-Sun felt lonely after Dan-Han left. She wondered what errand he had to run that had made him leave. It must have been important, she thought. 

It was late but sleep was far away from her eyes. She tossed and turned under her quilt, all to no avail. She still couldn't find a proper position to sleep.

A plethora of thoughts had been going through her mind, and it was a huge mess up there. She couldn't keep them in order, and her head was beginning to ache from all the overwhelming pressure.

A sigh of sheer frustration escaped her lips as she pushed off the quilt and sat on the bed. For some odd reason, she has been feeling downcast for hours now.

She rolled out of bed and beelined her way to the window. Cold air gushed up her face the moment she opened it. It was a cold night.

She stared at the dark night sky in an attempt to clear her mind, but something suddenly caught her attention. A frown furrowed her brows when she realized who was sitting out there in the cold.

With a sense of urgency, she picked up two jackets before dashing out of the room.

'What was she doing outside in the cold?' She frowned.

The scowl on her face deepened when she closed in on the woman sitting on a small bench at the side of the hotel.

"Why are you here?" She asked in a displeased voice while she draped the jacket over the woman's shoulder. Mrs Lee looked over her shoulder to see Eun-sun staring at her with angry eyes.

"Nothing." She sighed. "I was just trying to clear my head."

Eun-Sun narrowed her eyes at her with probing intensity, "Do you want to go to the hospital?" She inquired, while Mrs Lee shook her head.

'That was expected' Eun-Sun thought.

Slightly shifting to the side, Mrs Lee patted the seat, indicating for Eun-sun to sit.

"You have to go in. It's quite cold," Eun-Sun told her as she reluctantly took her seat by the woman's side.

She silently gazed at her for a while before looking ahead.

"It's so peaceful." Mrs Lee calmly said, prompting Eun-sun to look at her face. She didn't think Mrs Lee was right with her words. To her, nothing felt peaceful. Her whole life was currently chaotic. She has been trying to suppress all the noisy thoughts and activities in her life, but it seems they were slowly winning against her every day. She paid rapt attention to the woman's face when she didn't say anything else, but all she could see was sadness which she was trying to hide so well.

"I wish it would always stay this way forever." Mrs Lee sighed wearily.

"Mother-"

"Eun-Sun," Mrs Lee shook her head as she looked at her. Her voice was weak and calm.

'Was she crying?' Eun-sun wondered to herself as she moved a bit closer to her.

"I know I have made some unreasonable request from you and the others-" She paused and continued, "I'm sorry." She lowered her head apologetically, surprising Eun-Sun.

"Mother, what are you doing?" She was utterly surprised. What was she even apologizing for? She didn't see the need for her to apologize, especially not to her or anyone else.

She looked into the distance and sighed, "I don't know how to describe how I'm feeling, but I haven't felt this way before..." She paused and looked at her very pale hands, "I feel like I'm fading and the pains are-"

"I'll take you to the hospital." Eun-Sun suddenly said jerking to her feet. "I'll go call Jae-Hyun and fath-"

"No." Mrs Lee stopped her as she desperately grabbed her hands, causing Eun-sun to look at their hands.

"Mother-"

"I don't know what might happen in the few next days or even hours, but Eun-sun, please promise me you must look after Dan-Han." She desperately said making Eun-sun look at her confusedly. Why was she sounding this way?

"Mom-" Eun-sun was feeling overwhelmed by all this. "Nothing will happen to you." She hurriedly told her. She didn't want to make such promises. She was scared if she did, Mrs Lee would....would. No! she didn't even want to think of it.

Mrs Lee sighed when she saw the tears welling up in Eun-sun's eyes.

"I can never say goodbye to my son and husband. But I want to know that you'll be here for them. Please, Eun-sun." She earnestly begged. Eun-Sun felt perplexed. She didn't know what to say but she reluctantly nodded her head. She hated seeing Mrs Lee beg her.

Mrs Lee flashed her a weak smile as she stood to her feet. She hugged Eun-sun and said, "Thank you. I'll forever be grateful to you." planting a kiss on her cheek as her hand brushed through her hair before walking away.

Eun-Sun stood rooted to the ground as she watched the woman leave. A sudden tightness built up in her chest, and she didn't know if she could breathe.

She wasn't ready to lose anyone yet. Where was Dan-Han now? All these emotions were getting too much.

Eun-Sun was still fixated on the ground when she suddenly felt a pair of arms on her shoulder. She slowly turned around to see In-Ha there, staring at her with concerned and worried eyes, and without much consideration, she leapt into his arms as her tears suddenly began to flow.

In-Ha was shocked to see her like this. The Eun-sun he knew was a feisty one, and she hasn't shared a tear before him until now. In-Ha felt worried, and he couldn't help but hug her tightly and let her vent her emotions.

He had caught a glimpse of Mrs Lee silhouette as she walked away, so he had an idea this must be about her health. He sighed.

"It's okay," he said in a comforting tone, his hand gently patting her back.

After a few minutes of hugging and comforting Eun-sun, she sniffled her tears as she slowly lifted her head.

"I'm sorry," She apologized embarrassedly when she realized that she had been crying on In-Ha's shoulder and she had soiled his shirt with her tears.

"It's okay," He replied. His gaze fixed was on her face with high intensity. He could see so much pain in her eyes and that shook his heart to the core.

His hand involuntarily went up to her face and gently began to wipe her tears away.

Eun-Sun couldn't help but look at him. She had a lot of questions swirling through her mind to ask him, but she didn't know if she should ask him now, but thinking about it, Eun-sun couldn't stop herself.

She took a step back and wiped her tears before glancing at In-Ha.

"In-Ha," She called, making him stare into her dark hazel eyes, those eyes that had mesmerized him the first day he saw her at Dan-Han's door.

"Can you please tell me why you've been acting up lately?" She inquired. She watched as he kept staring at her for a while before darting his eyes away.

"It's nothing." He replied making Eun-sun frown.

"Nothing? You've been avoiding me, can you tell me why? I've been pondering about what I could have probably done wrong-"

"You didn't do anything wrong." He suddenly snapped. "It is me who is doing everything wrong." He hissed frustratedly while Eun-sun blinked in confusion.

What did he mean? He was speaking in riddles lately.

"What do you mean?" She asked, but the man suddenly turned to leave again, but Eun-sun gripped his hand before blocking his path.

"What do you mean?" She pressed, intensely staring at him.

In-Ha wanted to withdraw his hand and walk away but Eun-sun held his hand a little tighter. "Tell me, please." Her voice became small and sad.

In-Ha felt his heart being pulled in different directions. He tried not to look at her but his eyes just couldn't.

"I-I" He stuttered as he stared at her. His eyes narrowed at her lips, and the moment he saw her nervously bite her lip as she desperately waited for his answer, he felt his mind go blank, and he suddenly pulled her close, slamming her against his chest.

"I want to kiss you.." He suddenly said before slamming his lips against hers.