Love In Contract | Taekook

Chapter 34

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JUNGKOOK'S POV

I stayed at the hospital until Harin got out of school the next day. Annie picked her up and we're meeting at the house so we can tell her about her father together. He hasn't woken up yet, and we don't want to keep lying to her about where he is. But as I sit in the driveway, staring up at the house, I can't get out of the car.

I spent the majority of the night Googling what to say to children in
situations like this, trying to figure out what I'm going to say to Harin.
The mommy blogs say it's best to tell the truth, in the simplest form. To
leave out your own emotions, so you don't impart them on the child.

Eddie glances at me in the rear-view mirror. "You okay, Mrs. Kim?"
"That kid is going to be devastated." I pause. "She's going to have so many questions, and I don't have answers for her." He heaves a sigh. "Maybe it's not about having the answers. Maybe she just needs you to be there for her." "Thanks, Eddie."

I suck in a long, deep breath, and blow it out through my lips, digging
deep for any courage I might have stored inside me somewhere that I'm
unaware of. Then I get out of the car and head inside.

"Jungkook!" Harin comes running for me before I can shake off my jacket, jumping into my arms. "You're home early. How's the gallery? I force a smile. "It's good. I came home early because I wanted to see you."
"You did?" "I did." Tannie bumps me with his nose, so I reach down and pat his head. He takes his time sniffing me, no doubt trying to figure out the scent of the hospital on me.

"Listen kid, Annie and I need to have a talk with you about something."
"Something important?" I nod. "Let's go sit down on the couch." I set her on the floor and she scampers into the living room to wait for me with Annie. I hang up my coat and toe-off my shoes, taking my time to prolong the inevitable a little longer. Harin sits between me and Annie on the couch, her wide eyes bouncing between us.

I clear my throat and clasp my hands together, one squeezing the other.
"Last night, your dad got hurt at his hockey game. He...fell down on the ice and hit his head."
"He had-ed his helmet on, right?"
"He did, but it got knocked off." Acid climbs up into my throat, and I attempt to swallow it down. "He went to the hospital so they could help him, and that's where he is right now."
"Can we go see him?"

I glance at Annie before returning my gaze to Harin. "We can. But there's something you need to know. Your dad..." I pause, clearing my throat again. "He's asleep. And the doctors don't know when he's going to wake up." "Is he really tired?" she asks.
Tears burn my eyes. "Yes, he's resting because his brain needs to heal."
Annie clasps her tiny hand. "He has a big booboo on his head." Harin stares at us with those big round eyes like she's processing. "We should bring the Elsa band aids to the hos-bit-al. He always puts them on me when I have a booboo." Annie sniffles and turns her head away to conceal it with a cough."That's a great idea." Another fake smile strains my face. "I went to
visit him last night, and he looks a little different right now. He has a
bandage wrapped around his head, and a tube in his mouth so they can feed him while he's sleeping."
"They feed him while he's sleeping?" Her nose scrunches. "That's weird."

I can't help but chuckle. "It is, right?"
She hops off the couch with tannie right behind her. "I'll go pack the
band aids." Then she runs into the hallway, and disappears. I let go of the breath I've been holding. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." "She doesn't understand the magnitude of the situation just yet." Annie reaches over and pats my knee. "You did good." "I don't know what I'm doing. This is..." This is too much. I'm out of my depth. Taehyung should be here. He'd know what to do.

"We have to stay strong for her. She needs us to stay hopeful," Annie
says. Hopeful? I'm no good at that. Taehyung himself told me I was a jaded pessimist when we first met. How am I supposed to stay positive when I saw him hooked up to all those machines with a tube stuffed down his throat?