Fever (#2 of Drunk-Dazed Series)

Chapter 1: Jaeyun

The house was quiet like it was every day.

Before, it was bustling with noise and laughter from everyone that lived there.

But now, silence had taken control.

It seemed like yesterday when I was kissing my husband goodnight. I went to sleep, expecting a kiss on the lips in the morning, but I never got one.

I opened my eyes and saw my husband next to me, but he wasn't breathing. I put two fingers up against his neck, hoping to feel a pulse, but there wasn't one.

I wanted to scream and shout his name, but the twins were still asleep. They had turned thirteen the day before.

So I picked up my phone and dialed 911. I explained what happened in a calm tone, and an ambulance was on the way. 

The sirens had woken the twins up, and they walked out of their rooms, half asleep and wondering what was going on. That's when they saw a stretcher rolled by paramedics out of the house. A white sheet was covering the person on top of it.

I didn't ride in the ambulance; instead, the twins and I got into the car and followed it to the hospital.

We sat in the waiting room for about fifteen minutes before a nurse came to us. "Are you Sim Jaeyun's wife?" she asked me. "Yes, ma'am," I replied. "What happened to him?"

The nurse solemnly sighed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Sim; there was nothing we could do. It appeared that he had a heart attack in his sleep. Again, I'm so sorry."

My daughter, Minji, fell onto the ground and erupted into tears. "How could this happen?" she cried. "He was just fine yesterday!" My son, Mingi, looked at the ground, trying to hide his tears.

I was trying to cry, but I couldn't. I didn't know why.

All of this happened two weeks ago. The atmosphere was still the same as it was after the funeral.

It was Sunday, and I had to go back to work tomorrow. The twins had to go back to school as well.

I was reading a book in my room when Minji walked in. She sat next to me on the bed. "Mom, can I not go to school tomorrow?" she asked. "Minji, you already missed a week of school. You have a lot of work to catch up on." I replied.

"But I'm still grieving! It wouldn't make sense to send a grieving person to school."

"I'm still grieving too, but you still need to go to school, just like Mingi. I need to go to work as well."

"I can stay with Aunt Mimi."

"No means no, and that's final."

Minji jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. I heard her slam the door to her bedroom. I sighed and closed my book.

Out of all the three of us, Minji suffered the most from Jaeyun's death. She was the closest to him.

I reached over to my nightstand and grabbed my laptop. I needed to check my schedule before I went to work tomorrow.

I work as a therapist for children. My whole life, I loved helping people, especially children. It was my passion.

I clicked the calendar and noticed that I had an appointment for tomorrow at 4 p.m. It was for a five-year-old named Lee-Nishimura Riki. Cause for an appointment: loss of a parent.

I sighed; my children lost a parent as well.

I picked up my phone and called my best friend from college, Kim Mimi. After a few rings, she finally answered. "Hey, Y/n,"

"Hey Mimi, how are you?" I asked. "I should be the one asking you that," she stated. "But I'm fine. How are you and the kids holding up?"

"We're all still pretty down. Poor Minji is affected the most; she stays in her room all day."

"Aw, I know how close she was to Jaeyun."

"Anyways, I have an appointment tomorrow. I can't pick up the kids tomorrow from school, so can you do it, please?"

"Of course I will, Y/n. You know two of my kids go to the same school as your kids. They'll all love the company."

"Thank you so much. Talk to you later."

"Bye!"

I hung up the phone. I was glad to have a friend by my side, no matter what.

It reminded me of Jaeyun.

I felt a tear slide down my cheek, and I wiped it with the tip of my thumb. "Mom, are you crying?"

I looked up and saw Mingi standing at the doorway. "No, I'm fine," I said, wiping the rest of the tears off my face. "I didn't know that I was crying. Do you need something?"

Mingi shook his head and sat down on the bed next to me. "No, I just wanted to see you. I hate the life we're living in right now."

"Me too, son. Me too." I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and brought him closer to me. Every time I looked at Mingi, he reminded me of Jaeyun. If you saw those two together, you could tell that they were father and son.

"I won't get off in time from work tomorrow, so Aunt Mimi is picking you and your sister up."

"That's fine," said Mingi. "I don't mind hanging with Jinhwan tomorrow; I just want to get out of this house."

"You checked on Minji?"

"I tried, but I think she fell asleep."

I nodded my head. "Alright then. Well, I'll let you go to bed now since you have school tomorrow." "Okay, Mom," Mingi said, "goodnight,"

"Goodnight," I gave him one last hug, and then he walked out of the room.

Maybe it wasn't going to be hard as I thought it was. Sure, I now had more responsibilities, but I can do this. After all, I'm a therapist; I know how to stay organized.

After I slipped into my pajamas, I climbed under my covers and went to sleep.

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Lol sorry for the sad first chapter. It'll get better, don't worry.
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