Author's Note: This is the second to last chapter. I finally figured out who Soohyun is going to be with and what's going to happen. When you read it, don't get too scared because there is a method for my madness. There always is most of the time. I just have to get everything situated.
As I was getting ready for bed last night, I had a thought. These stories have brought in some good internet friends from all over the world. I like to think of you guys as pen pals. Think about it. I write things about what I am feeling, and you respond with how it made you feel. Some of you even ask how my day was. We are essentially pen pals and I love it! I hope we all can keep in touch this way for a long while.
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Hyun Joon sighed and looked at the clock. Twenty-four hours. It had been twenty-four hours since he had entered the hospital to see what was going on with his sister. Hoon Jin had done the right thing by getting her to the hospital then calling him. He would have done the same thing if Soohyun had been Hoon's sister. It's better ask forgiveness than permission.
Soohyun wasn't hooked up to as many machines as she had been two years ago when she had first been diagnosed. Hoon had recognized the signs that she was in trouble and had reacted. It was better than most could do.
She wasn't dehydrated like she had been last time. This time they had made sure she had eaten at least something every day, and Hoon had kept clear liquids pumping through her every chance he got. Her job had kept her as immobile as possible. She had always been sitting as she worked. She had been so well taken care of it was amazing she was even here.
But it turned out there was something else completely wrong. Her white blood count was way down and her red blood cells were abnormal. She was being attacked on the inside and they hadn't even known. Dr. Kang said it had been dormant much of this time. He hadn't recognized it the first time.
Soohyun was being pumped with chemo. They were trying their hardest to help her fight off what was going on. She had been unconscious since she had arrived at the hospital, which was a good thing. It was giving her body time to heal.
Hoon turned on the TV and the news blared to life about Kim Won and his mysterious woman. The thought made the two men sick. The press had nothing better to do than make up stories that weren't true. Soohyun may have liked Won more than a friend but she had left him. Why weren't they reporting that? Why weren't they reporting that the woman was just a friend now?
Hyun Joon knew the answer even before he asked it. The press didn't care about the truth sometimes. It was about Kim Won, CEO of Jeguk Group which happened to be one of the biggest groups in South Korea. Any news about the Kim family was wonderful to the news outlets. They were greedy for anything they could use to smear the reputations of the family. Kim Tan had already been used, to which Won had threatened anyone who did anything more to his brother. What would he do now that the press was after Soohyun?
The answer was hard to come by. Hyun Joon had only known the man as a good boss who would do anything for his employees. When one of the ladies in the secretarial pool had had a hard time delivering her twins, he had paid all the hospital bills and had given her three months leave to heal. He had even paid for one of the guys' fathers to have lasik surgery. He was a good man, but it seemed like he was doing nothing for Soohyun.
Heart in his throat, Hyun Joon took his sister's hand as Won's face and a digitized version of Soohyun's face appeared on the television. So far no one had identified her, but that wasn't going to last. As far as he knew they had only gotten distorted photos of her when she had been rushed to the hospital. The doctors on call weren't going to let anyone know anything because they really didn't want to lose their jobs.
"Kim Won-ssi has yet to open up about the mysterious woman who has been linked to him romantically. When he was asked about what the woman meant to him, he completely ignored our reporter. Kim Won-ssi has carried on his daily life as if the woman he has been seeing is not in the hospital. Medical personnel has refused to give any information on the woman and her prognosis so you will just have to wait like the rest of us," said the anchor.
"Why can't they just leave us alone?" Hoon asked.
Hyun Joon looked over at him. He had been asleep on the couch across the room this whole time. Like the older brother, he hadn't left, refusing even when the nurses said it would be a long while before Soohyun had woken up. He had been like a child demanding his way. No one was going to say no to him because they had seen his temper at work, especially when he thought his friend wasn't getting fair treatment. He could be downright snarky when he needed to be.
Hyun Joon laid his head on the bed and watched the television to see if anything was going to change. He knew the answer to that even before the next news story about Won came up.
Suddenly the station was changed. He looked up at the man who dared to do the unthinkable. No one changed the television station in Soohyun's room. Not that it mattered at the moment since she was essentially asleep. Dr. Kang walked to the other side of the bed to check the beeping machine.
"It's not good for you to watch something that is just going to make you severely unhappy," he said as he scribbled on his file. "There's a rerun of Music Bank coming on shortly. You can watch NU'EST take on EXO."
"There's no competition on who's going to when. I would rather watch BTS take on VIXX. That's a worthy competition," Hoon said as he shifted on the couch. "That's coming on tonight by the way."
"BTS is doing really well after only debuting for a couple of years. However VIXX has been around longer and have won more First Place awards," Dr. Kang continued. He didn't hear any retorts so he looked around. Both men were looking at him with weird faces. "I have two teenage daughters who actually like both artists. I've been to a couple of concerts. Sue me for having knowledge about KPop."
Hyun Joon snorted. "You don't look a day over fifty."
"Thank you, but I'm fifty-three. Speaking of my daughters, Eun Soo and Eun Ji want to know what kind of bread Soohyun likes. They're making her some as a get well present."
"Strawberry and chocolate," Hoon piped up across the room.
Hyun Joon smiled. Of course the man would know his sister's favorite breads. There wasn't much he didn't know. They had been nearly inseparable since they had returned from France. Hoon was Hyun Joon's first thought of a brother-in-law since he completely adored Soohyun, but it was his sister's choice and so far she hadn't made it.
Dr. Kang folded his file and tucked his pen in his pocket as he took on a serious face. "The press keeps asking for information. We've wiped her name from the database and given her an alias, but it's only a matter of time before they get angry and demand we give them her information. Since it's not a police report or part of an emergency log, they don't have the right to it, but it's becoming an issue for all the staff."
Hoon sat up. "What do they know about her?"
The doctor shook his head. "Nothing too much. Her height probably since Hoon carried her into the hospital. When Hoon called to say he was coming in and was being followed by the press, we got our biggest and broadest CNAs to help shield the two of them, but I think the damage was already done when they took pictures outside of your apartment. It won't be long before they put two and two together."
"What about Zeus Hotel?" Hyun Joon asked. "And Jeguk?"
The older man laughed. "Choi Young Do at Zeus has threatened anyone and every reporter who so much as sets foot on the hotel grounds. He will sue them for defamation of character and trespassing. Jeguk has refused to release any information regarding its employees and employees' families. A couple of hackers have already been imprisoned for violating this civil right. Both companies are standing behind you in their own way."
Hoon looked at his older brother. "I didn't know Noona knew Choi Young Do, Hyung," he said.
Hyun Joon nodded. "Soohyun made a couple of cakes for him. Ever since he has been fond of her. I'm not surprised he's standing up for her. But why is Jeguk going to such lengths?"
"It makes sense," Dr. Kang said. "You are an employee. More specifically, you're the personal assistant of its CEO. Maybe Kim Won-ssi feels bad that he couldn't do much more than this. Speaking of Kim Won-ssi, he said he was going to come in. He's going to use the underground parking garage under the maternity ward."
The younger two men shared a look as the doctor said his goodbyes and went about his daily actions. Won was going to come in and they didn't know how shaken up Soohyun was going to be.
Hoon disappeared to get something to eat from the coffee shop in the maternity ward. No one was going to stop a man in that ward. There were too many people ready to have children for the press to stake out that place. Plus all the noise would be way too hard to edit out.
After Hoon had returned and the two were eating, Soohyun woke up. She sighed and shifted. Uncertain of what was sticking out of her hand, she looked down then groaned as she realized where she was. Neither one of the men said anything as she turned over on her side.
"Hoon," she groaned.
Hyun Joon laughed. "She knows it was you."
"Of course she does," the younger man refused to deny, "I was with her when it happened."
The older brother shook his head. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a truck. What happened?"
"Your blood pressure tanked and you passed out. Dr. Kang says your white blood cells are still low. We're waiting on test results right now."
There was a knock at the door. Kim Won let himself in. The other two men noticed the guards standing just outside the door. They shared a look then looked at Soohyun. She was pushing a pillow between her knees before she settled down again.
Won stood at the foot of the bed and held up a coffee carrier. "I didn't think your brother and friend would get the type of coffee you like so I brought one."
"Are you trying to suck up?" Hoon asked.
"Hoon Jin," Soohyun warned. Her voice was weak but it held enough strength for him to understand she wasn't mad at anyone. "Thank you, Won, but I'm not hungry or anything right now."
Won nodded and pulled up a chair from the table. "I found out who leaked the information about you. It wasn't Kang Da Kyung. She came to me after the news broke that you were in the hospital."
Hyun Joon didn't believe it just yet. "How can you trust her? She broke off your engagement because she was jealous."
"That's correct, but I also checked in to everything. The phone calls and emails the news stations and radio stations received were not from her. It took a few hours to track them, but they went back to a friend of Jeon Hyeon Joo."
Hoon wrinkled his nose. "Your ex did this?"
Won shook his head. "Not my ex, but her friend. Hyeon Joo had gone to Da Kyung to ask her to leave me. Da Kyung argued that she wouldn't, but none of it mattered because I had chosen someone else. She told her everything that was going on with Soohyun. Da Kyung was the initial big mouth, but she didn't tell the press. In fact, she's here with me. She wants to apologize."
Hyun Joon and Hoon looked at Soohyun. She wasn't upset or anything. After a few moments, she nodded. Won motioned to the one guy who was in the room, and he turned to open the door. Da Kyung stepped through the two guys out in the hallway and bowed as soon as she entered the room. Her face changed almost immediately.
"I didn't know it was this bad," she said as she took a seat Won had pulled up for her.
Soohyun shook her head and waved her hand at the same time. "I've been through worse. You should see me when I go through radiation. It's a whole new ball game."
Da Kyung leaned forward. "May I?"
She motioned to the pink beanie Soohyun was wearing. The other woman nodded and Da Kyung gently pulled the beanie off her head. With a trembling hand, she ran her fingers over the smooth flesh that resided there.
"I'm so sorry. I never understood what he was doing. I made you out to be the person who disrupted my marriage plans," she said.
"Maybe if you weren't such a butthead, he wouldn't have reacted that way. He had already made plans to marry you, but in your mind he was being unfaithful when he was just helping a sick friend. I don't blame you though. I would have done the same thing after I made sure the woman wasn't sick," Soohyun said. She gently pushed her hand away and pulled the beanie back on. "What are you going to do about the news?"
"There's not much we can do," Won said.
"Actually there is. You two can reconcile and get the wedding back on track. I won't be here so you won't have to worry about it."
The CEO frowned and looked at the other two men. Their faces were shut down so he wasn't going to get anything from them. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm going back to France. The prognosis is I'm going to have to have a bone marrow transplant. One of my friends I went to culinary school with is a match and she's volunteered to be a donor. It's going to take a few years to recover and Paris has one of the best hospitals. I'll be in good hands."
"When did you make this decision?"
"She made it a while ago," Hoon explained. "She always said that if it came back and she had to have a bone marrow transplant that she would move back. We've always known and we never fought it. One of us will go with her. It's going to be a long road again, but we're all ready for it."
"But you don't even have the prognosis," Da Kyung argued.
Soohyun smiled at her. "I've been doing this a long time that I know. It was the last step. We always thought chemo and radiation would get rid of it then the medication would fight off the rest. But it's much stronger now. Chemo has helped but I'll need a transplant to fight it all together."
"Aren't you afraid?" Soohyun shook her head, and Da Kyung's mouth dropped. "How? How can you not be scared? I would be terrified."
"I'm not scared to die if this doesn't work out. I've had a fun life. Plus I have friends and family who care about me enough to be scared for me. I don't have any regrets. It's the perfect way to live. Although I still want to go to Disney World."
That got a laugh out of everyone. By the time it was all dying down, Dr. Kang returned. He looked at the two guards outside then made an "interesting" face. He looked around the room at the five people. Six if you counted the guard.
"Are you already making plans?" he asked amused.
"I have to. If I don't, they will make the decision for me, and I can't have that," Soohyun said. "When are your daughters coming? Every time I'm in the hospital they always bring me goodies."
Dr. Kang raised an eyebrow. "You don't care about what's coming up next? All you care about is food?"
"I have to have priorities." Her smile mirrored the doctor's. "It's a transplant isn't it?"
The man nodded. "Yes, and I hate how you do that. I've already alerted Dr. Lafayette and your friend. They will see you in two weeks. It will give you time to get everything situated and ready to leave. I have to say, I'm going to miss seeing you every month. Our conversations are always interesting."
Hoon laughed. "Your conversations always center around new recipes for your daughters to try."
"Hush, kid. And I know how you can get there for absolutely nothing."
"We're already on that same thought track," Hyun Joon said. He looked pointedly at his boss. "You, sir, are paying for two first class tickets to Paris. If you argue, I will post your bare ass all over the internet."
Won pointed at his assistant. "I told you to delete that."
"Why would I do that when I knew it would come in handy for me? You get to see my sister off, and I get to watch you squirm as you pay 1, 200, 000 Won for plane tickets (roughly two thousand dollars if Google is correct)." Hyun Joon smiled as Won tsked at him with an attractive scowl.
"I'll pay half," Da Kyung volunteered. She took Soohyun's hand. "It's the least I could do for making a horrible mistake."
"There's more you could do, but I'll take this," Soohyun replied.
Dr. Kang left them once again and they settled into discussing (more like arguing) which airline would be the cheapest.