Cha was staying at her condo again for the weekend.
It was late in the afternoon when she felt a sharp, agonizing ache deep in her abdomen. As the hours crept into the evening, the pain intensified—a heavy, throbbing sensation that drained every last bit of her strength. Paralysis set in with the agony; she couldn't think, couldn't move, and had no idea what to do.
If not for Jinho, she wouldn't have survived the night.
He rushed her to the nearest hospital. Going home wasn't an option; her father was stuck at work, and the house was empty.
Panic was etched into every line of Jinho's face as they waited in the emergency room. Cha's body was giving out, racking with violent nausea until she was dry-heaving in the bathroom. Jinho stayed right by her side, rubbing her back and holding her up. He had a weak stomach and couldn't stand the sight of throw-up, but he refused to leave her. Soon enough, the sight had him clutching the sink next to her, nauseous himself, but still refusing to let her go.
Yet, despite her worsening condition, the hospital staff left them waiting. Angered and desperate, Jinho demanded a transfer and brought her straight to a private hospital.
By the time they arrived, Cha was trembling from the unbearable pain. The nurses immediately administered a strong painkiller while the doctor ran urgent blood tests.
Through the thin wall of the consultation room, Cha could hear every word the doctor said to Jinho.
Acute colon infection.
The doctor's voice was grim. The condition was severe, and she needed an emergency transfer to a major medical center for potential surgery. Further scans would determine whether an operation was immediately required or if intensive medication could clear it.
Inside the rushing ambulance, every bump in the road sent excruciating jolts through Cha's body. Jinho couldn't sit still, his hands trembling as he stared at her, overwhelmed by sheer terror. By then, they had already managed to contact Cha's parents, who rushed back home the moment they heard she might need surgery.
At the main hospital, doctors performed a final examination. Cha closed her eyes, praying with everything she had that medication would be enough. But the doctor turned to them with a heavy expression: Prepare her immediately. We need to operate now.
Tears spilled down Cha's cheeks. Fear gripped her chest—the unspoken truth hanging in the air that if they didn't operate right away, she wouldn't make it.
She was wheeled into the Operating Room while Jinho briefly stepped out to run home and gather her things.
The procedure took hours. It was late afternoon by the time they finally rolled her into the recovery ward.
When Jinho returned, his face was pale and exhausted. Seeing the person he loved laid up in a hospital bed broke something inside him, but he forced a bright smile anyway, cracking terrible, cheesy jokes just to hear her laugh. Whenever the nurses came in to inject heavy doses of antibiotics—a process that made Cha wince in agony—Jinho climbed into the narrow hospital bed beside her, pulling her close so she wouldn't have to hurt alone.
He even risked his brand-new job, taking unscheduled leaves just to stay at her bedside.
Epilogue
Jinho walked down the sterile hospital hallway, pushing open the door to Room 201, only to find the bed empty. The sheets were stripped, the IV stand pushed to the side.
Panic spiked in his chest. He rushed to the nursing station. "Nurse, where is the patient from Room 201?"
"She was brought back to the Operating Room," the nurse replied.
The world seemed to tilt. Jinho couldn't sit still; he paced back and forth, sitting down for a second before jumping right back up. Driven by a suffocating tightness in his chest, he headed out to the quiet courtyard behind the hospital, his hands shaking as he lit a cigarette.
He took a slow drag, trying to stop the spiraling thoughts, but the tears leaked out anyway.
What if something goes wrong? What if the operation isn't successful?
He pulled the smoke deep into his lungs, his jaw tightening into a desperate, dangerous line.
I can't lose her, he thought. If that doctor doesn't save her... I swear I'll kill him.
__Chapter4end___
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