[My Everything: Part Two]
-iksong-
The clock was striking exactly at 3 in the morning, right when Ikjun walked inside and carefully clicked the door closed behind him. He quietly took his shoes off and entered the living room. He was bewildered by the glimmering of lights that were turned on everywhere in the house. Songhwa would always turn the lights off during the night. It was very unusual for her to keep the lights on.
'What's wrong? Why are all the lights on?' he mumbled to himself.
Ikjun looked around the kitchen and living room area. No one was there. He walked forward to the hallway and found the restroom door was wide opened.
Ikjun's first instinct was to ran and barged into Uju's bedroom as he knew whenever he's not home at night, Songhwa would always sleep in Uju's room.
Ikjun came in and was appalled at sight in front of him. Not wanting to wake Uju up, he tiptoed and ran quietly towards Songhwa, who was lying limp on the floor.
'Yaa! Songhwa-ya!' Ikjun rushed over to her, holding his wife.
'Ikjun-ah...' Songhwa called weakly. 'Check... on... Uju's temperature.....'
Ikjun slid one arm under her legs. 'Uju is fine. Don't worry. Let's get you up first.'
'Ikjun-ah, I am completely fine.' Songhwa insisted, shaking her head left and right.
Ikjun tried to lift Songhwa's body with his strong arms, yet with all the energy left in her, she pushed away Ikjun's arms. 'Aniyo.. no... jebal, check on Uju's temperature first....'
Songhwa was panting herself. Her face turned pale, almost as white as a clean sheet. As a doctor, thankfully, Ikjun is used and trained to remain calm under such circumstances. He grabbed on the automatic blood pressure monitor and lingered it over Songhwa's arm. Whilst waiting for the machine to count, he moved over to the bed and checked Uju's body temperature.
'Uju is fine. It's 36.1 degrees; he's alright.' Ikjun kissed his son's forehead and fully stirring his attention back to his wife. He slid off the blood pressure monitor and found that her results reading was below 90 mmHg.
Not letting any resistance coming again from Songhwa, Ikjun immediately carried his wife and brought her to the living room. He decided it's best to stay there as Songhwa was nearly in her most acute condition and case if anything bad happens, which Ikjun expects such tragedy wouldn't happen, he could bring her immediately to the car rushing to the hospital.
Ikjun gently lay Songhwa on the sofa as he sprinted his way to the kitchen, making hot water for the tea. Then he rummaged through his bag, carrying a tiny flashlight along with a stethoscope with him.
He clicked the flashlight on, casting light upon Songhwa's eyes. Ikjun could feel his body trembling out of dread. It wasn't the first time he stood alongside a pregnant woman. When Hyejeong was pregnant with Uju, none of these happened. She experienced early pregnancy nausea, but only for a short while, and not as severe as this time. Songhwa is a completely different story. Even so, Ikjun loves her endlessly, and to see her weakened, with almost zero energy scares him to death.
'Chae Songhwa.' Ikjun called again.
Songhwa just hummed in answer.
'Look at me.'
She nonchalantly turned her head to Ikjun; softly smiled when she saw him. 'Y-you got home sa-safe....'
Ikjun kissed her palm, over to her arms, and leaned forward to land on her forehead.
'How frequent? How many times did you vomit throughout the night?' Ikjun squeezed her hand gently, and delicately ran his fingers through her hair.
'I... I... think...' she tried to recall. 'I uh... I lost count.
As the kettle boiled, Ikjun got up and prepared a warm cup of tea for his wife. He made his way back to the sofa and helped her got up to have a sip. Songhwa began to frown at her husband, who pinned his attention on her, and her eyes turned watery. 'I'm sorry, Ikjun-ah, I lost count... I couldn't remember, but I- I think... I...'
Ikjun took the glass and placed it on the table before he opened his arms wide open and tugged her in his embrace, massaging her back, giving her comfort and the affection she needs.
'Aniyo. No. Don't think about it. I'm sorry I even asked that. I was just anxious and, you showed symptoms of low blood pressure and dehydration due to the vomiting.' Ikjun said as he kept on rubbing Songhwa's back. 'I almost went crazy worrying about you.'
Songhwa let out a humble chuckle.
'Ya.. is this all funny to you?' Ikjun slightly raised his tone. 'Ya Chae Songhwa! I'm not joking here. Why didn't you call me? Huh? I told you to press the emergency if anything happens.'
Songhwa stroked Ikjun's arms. 'Y-you... were... at the hospital. A-and then, uh, everyone else was asleep. I- I didn't want... to... cause trouble.'
'Listen.' Ikjun then cupped her face and made her face him again. 'The emergency button will connect to my phone, and if I don't respond within three calls, it will forward your message directly to the boys. One of them should be able to respond to it. Jeongwon was still at the hospital, and if he had known something happened to you while I was in the OR, he would have run all the way here.'
'No... Jeongwon is busy too.' Songhwa sighed in pain. 'A-and... I am fine now.'
Ikjun glared at her. 'You were not a while ago. You were on the floor and imagine if... if something worse happened and- uh, what if you fainted? Who would help you there? Huh?'
'What if you fell on your way to the bathroom? What if the floor is wet? Even if Uju weren't asleep, he wouldn't be able to do much.' Songhwa could hear the concern in each and every word that came out of Ikjun's mouth. 'There is a heavy storm going on outside. I couldn't imagine what possibly could happen if I didn't get here on time.'
Songhwa directed both of her hands to cup Ikjun's face, gazing at him lovingly.
'But you came here just in time.' she smiled sweetly at Ikjun.
Ikjun let out a heavy sigh. Songhwa used her index finger to held and kept his head up.
'I am fine now that you're here, Ikjun-ah.' she reassured him.
'...we. We are fine now that you're here.'
Ikjun was deeply moved by what his wife just said. It's the three of them now, but soon it will be four.
Songhwa took Ikjun's hand and placed it over her stomach.
'Us.' he said.
'...the four of us.'