A/N: Without further adieu, here's installment # 14.

Love Conquers All Ways

Chapter 14

There is a time for every season. Some days have nothing but sunshine while other days see nothing but storms. Still, we can usually handle many of the storms that come our way with some forewarning and preparation. It's those storms that we can't predict that leave an indelible mark on us.

In preparing for a Korean drama, the initial script reading is considered an important, symbolic day for everyone involved. After all, it's an opportunity for actors to meet each other for the first time or get reacquainted. For Ahn Joong Hee, he looked forward to this particular script reading because he knew he'd be working with some of the best actors and actresses Korea had to offer. He could hardly contain his excitement as he kissed his lovely wife goodbye and headed off to the studio. Plus, the weather was simply spectacular.

"It's going to be a great day!" he thought.

While he was stopped at a red light, he pondered how the script for the drama would be. As the traffic light turned green, he couldn't foresee that a speeding car drove through its red light from the perpendicular direction. Within seconds, the two cars collided violently.

As the police and emergency medical personnel made their way to the accident scene, they successfully blocked off the intersection and focused on rescuing both Joong Hee and the other driver. Despite their best efforts, the other driver died instantly. Meanwhile, Joong Hee was alive but in critical condition. Soon, he was rushed into an ambulance and on the way to the nearest hospital.

Mi Young spent the morning browsing online. Her husband had promised to meet her for lunch later to discuss the script reading. Blissfully unaware of what just happened, she was surprised to get a call from Director Choi.

"Oh hello, Director Choi! How are you? Is everything Ok?" she asked.

"Mi Young-shi. Is Joong Hee all right? He hasn't shown up for the reading!" Director Choi responded.

"Really? That's odd. He left about an hour ago!" she said.

"Well, he's not here. I tried calling him but he's not picking up."

"Ok. I'll try to reach him then. Thank you for letting me know. Goodbye!" With that, she made a couple of calls to his phone only to receive no reply. Then, suddenly, she noticed a "Breaking News" scroll on her laptop – "Breaking News – Actor Ahn Joong Hee in critical condition from vehicle accident". As she clicked on the link and read the sudden news, she found that she could no longer sit down. Once she found out which hospital he'd been transported to, she instinctively ran out of the apartment and called for a taxi. As the vehicle arrived, she requested that it head straight for the hospital. Upon arriving, she frantically made her way inside.

As she looked for her ambulatory husband, her anxiety reached its crescendo. Upon asking a nurse where she could found him, she noticed that a group of doctors and nurses were already pushing him on a gurney. As she slowly caught up to them, she could see Joong Hee lying motionless with a mask over his face. Soon, she found herself alongside next to his gurney.

"Joong Hee-shi. Joong Hee-shi! Joong Hee-shi!" she screamed in agony. Soon, the physicians wheeled him into the emergency room. She tried to join them but was stopped from entering by a security guard.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't go in there right now" he said.

"But, I'm his wife. I just want to know if he's going to be Ok!" she pleaded.

"Time is of the essence, miss. The doctor will come out and let you know once they're done." With that, she made her way to a nearby bench and sat down wondering what had just happened.

News tends to travel fast, especially news of this nature. Soon, most of Mi Young's family ran hurriedly to meet her outside of the emergency room. As they did their best to comfort and reassure her, she understandably remained worried about her husband's well-being. After a couple of hours, the head doctor finally made his way out of the room.

"Are all of you related to Mr. Ahn?" the doctor asked.

Mi Young stepped forward and said, "I'm his wife. Is he Ok, doctor?" she asked.

"He suffered quite a few internal injuries including some internal bleeding. The good news is that we were able to stop the bleeding as well as take care of the other injuries. He's actually going to be fine there" he said.

As the family breathed a collective sigh of relief, Mi Young noticed that the doctor still had a concerned expression on his face.

"Is there something else, Doctor?"

"The impact of the car accident he was in also did considerable damage to his head. He never gained consciousness, and our scan shows that . . . that" the doctor seemed to trouble finishing his sentence.

"What is it, doctor? Please tell me!" Mi Young pleaded.

"It appears that he's now in a coma. And from what I've seen, it seems like a very serious coma also." he concluded.

"Coma? Coma?" she asked in disbelief. As the word sank in her heart, she suddenly lost consciousness herself which in turn panicked the rest of the family. As her siblings tried to revive her, Mr. Lee broke his silence.

"Doctor, are you saying there's no chance he'll ever wake up?"

"I'm not saying never. But, right now, it's not looking too good for Mr. Ahn".

"May we go see him at least?" Mrs. Lee asked.

"Yes you may." Soon, the entire family made their way into Room 120 where they saw Joong Hee lying unconscious but at least breathing on his own. Upon seeing him in his current state, Mi Young ran over to the bed, started to shake Joong Hee, and wept bitterly.

"Joong Hee-shi! Joong Hee-shi! Wake up! Please! Please!" she frantically cried. As the rest of the family saw her in such agony, they suddenly felt a sense of hopelessness at the situation. They offered to stay for a few more hours before they finally had to head back home. As each family member said their goodbyes to both Mi Young and Joong Hee, the sadness continued to permeate each of their souls. Finally left alone with her love, she knew that he needed to hear from her at that moment.

"Joong Hee-shi. It's me. I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner. Who would believe that you'd be in an accident? Especially on a day like today?"

"I know that you can hear me. I know that you'll be all right. You have to be. You just have to!"

"Before you came along, I wasn't sure that I'd ever be in love with someone. Then, I met you and my heart had no chance. It may seem obvious now, but I couldn't be with someone else. Because I was waiting for you. My picky heart had you in mind all along! Now, we're finally together!"

"You can't leave me. You just can't leave me now, Joong Hee-shi! There's so much that we still have to do together. So many things to see together. What about our own family? I'm supposed to have your baby – our child. I'm supposed to be a mommy. Don't you want to see our beautiful child? Joong Hee-shi! Please wake up! Please!" As she finally spent her words, she wept uncontrollably at his side. After having dozed off for a while, she spent some more time just keeping watch over him before she reluctantly left to go home.

She felt an acute ache in her heart as she made her way into their apartment. The realization that Joong Hee would not be joining her there created a void that left her feeling chilly. She barely managed to wash up and get changed before she cried at the current situation. She sat silently on the couch trying to figure out what to do next. Although it wouldn't be easy, she remembered her vow to take care of him. While only the doctor could provide medical care, she could provide him with true love that could hopefully help him overcome the seemingly impossible.

Some habits arise from necessity. For Mi Young, she found herself in the throws of a new ritual – visiting the hospital every day. Sometimes, her parents or siblings would also come by to visit, but she made it a point to see him at least once every 24 hours. After all, he wasn't just her husband – he was her soulmate. Even if his condition didn't change from day to day, it was enough that she could be with him. Besides, her presence could be just the spark to resurrect him one day.

As the days turned into weeks and then months, Mi Young found it increasingly difficult to maintain her outer strength. She now avoided going home as much as possible because the loneliness became too hard to bear. It was worse during the nighttime because she missed his warm presence sleeping next to her. Even temporary stays in her parents' home did little to straighten her increasing frailty. Indeed, her family watched with alarm as they saw their daughter/sibling slowly looking haggard by the minute. Still, they had to marvel at her inner strength to be there for Joong Hee no matter what. Then, one day, Mrs. Lee had a heart to heart conversation with her daughter.

"Mi Young-ah. I know how much you love Joong Hee-ah. We all love him dearly too. But, there's really been no change to his condition since the beginning. As much as I hate to think about it, I think it may be time to consider" Before she could finish her thought, Mi Young quickly interrupted.

"Mom, I'm not ready to say goodbye to him! I will never be ready to say that! He's my husband and your son-in-law! How can you think of something like that?" she screamed in disbelief.

"I don't want to think this way. I am saying that we may need to consider the possibility" Mrs. Lee said.

"Never! Joong Hee-shi will make it through! I know he will! And if you can't stay positive, then . . . then please don't come to the hospital anymore! And don't talk to me either! I can't handle this right now!" Mi Young then stormed out of the house and into the outside air. Mrs. Lee could only sigh knowing that there was little she could do to provide solace to her daughter.

Although she felt bad about yelling at her mother, Mi Young also knew that only positive thoughts could get her through this never ending ordeal.

During her next hospital visit, she thought about what her mom said. Despite her insistence on keeping her promise to be there for Joong Hee, she also understood how exhausting this nightmare had become for her. As she momentarily stepped out of his room and sat on a bench, she started to cry. Unbeknownst to her, a man was sitting on the end of that same bench and couldn't help but notice her forlorn figure.

"Excuse me, miss. Are you all right?" the stranger asked.

As she wiped the tears from her eyes, she said, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all"

"I see. Who are you here for?" he asked.

"My husband. He's . . . he's" she started.

"He's what?"

"He's been in a coma – for the last few months"

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. You must be more than tired then. Are you sure you're all right?"

"No, it's just been tough. Even though I need to be there for him, it's just hard when you're not seeing any changes for months at a time. It's really hard to accept"

"I can only imagine. I mean, I'm here to see my sister but she's having a routine operation. Again, I'm really sorry for what you're going through" he offered.

"By the way, I'm Gil Yong. Yoo Gil Yong" he added.

"Lee Mi Young" she introduced herself in return.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mi Young. By the way, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to say a prayer for you and your husband. Would you like that?"

"Yes, I would. Thank you so much!" With that, Gil Yong said a prayer that Joong Hee would not only recover but be able to enjoy a healthy, happy life ahead. As he concluded his prayer, Mi Young felt gratified than someone other than her family would make even a small gesture of support for her husband.

"Thank you for the prayer. I should go and check in on him. It was really nice to meet you though."

"Likewise, Mi Young. I want you to know that I'm truly praying for your husband to come through". She nodded in appreciation to him before reentering Joong Hee's room.

The next couple of days were carbon copies of the previous ones. So, it was understandable that Mi Young would have missed something incredible. Joong Hee slightly moved his head! Although she missed this sudden motion due to her state of mind, the next gesture was impossible to miss. She could hear him quietly moaning. As she moved closer to his face, she could distinctly hear the moaning growing even louder. Then, as proof of a fundamental change to his constitution, he moved his head even more prominently. Upon recognizing that she wasn't hallucinating, she suddenly felt her heart soar.

"Joong Hee-shi. Joong Hee-shi! Are you awake? Can you hear me? Joong Hee-shi!" As he attempted to fully regain consciousness, she started to yell for medical assistance.

"Help! Doctor! Nurse! Anyone, we need help here!" Soon, the head doctor and a nurse made their way into Joong Hee's room upon hearing Mi Young's cry for help. After the doctor fully examined him, he shook his head in clear disbelief.

"What's happened, doctor? Is Joong Hee-shi Ok now?" she asked anxiously.

"I wish I knew myself. I did my usual tests on him. He's fully conscious. He shows no signs of ever having been in a coma. In all my years of practicing medicine, I've never seen someone actually wake up from a coma. This is truly remarkable!"

"So, does this mean he can go home, doctor?" she inquired.

"We'll keep him here overnight for observation. But, barring something really unforeseen, he should be good to go in the morning. Again, I've never seen anything like this!"

"Thank you, doctor! Thank you so much for everything! Thank you!" she said while bowing to him and the nurse profusely. After they left the room, she realized that Joong Hee had gotten his head to the point that he was now staring at her.

"Joong Hee-shi. You're awake! You're really awake!" she said.

"Mi . . . Mi Young-ah. What happened? What am I doing here?" he asked.

"Later. I'll tell you everything later. Right now, I just want to . . . " She immediately ran over to him and gave him the warmest hug that she'd ever given him.

"Mi Young-ah. What's gotten into you? Are you sure everything's all right?"

"Yes. Everything is definitely all right!" With that, she hugged him again for emphasis.

Miracles happen every day in the world. For Mi Young, it took a miracle for her to regain her spirit. While she couldn't begin to understand how it happened, that hardly even mattered. Joong Hee had awakened and come back to himself. She was only beginning to appreciate the gift she'd been given, and she wasn't about to let it go - for anything.

A/N: This chapter was a tough one, I know. As usual, any and all reviews are welcome!