Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 161

The Tether

The medical team didn't waste a single second.

The gravity of Yoongi's choice hung heavy in the air, but the lead obstetrician's jaw set with absolute, fierce determination.

They were going to save them both.

Every nurse and specialist moved with synchronized, high-stakes precision.

​"Okay, Aen-sshi, I need you to listen to me," Doctor Lee urged, her voice steady and commanding through the ringing chaos of the room.

"We are right at the edge. Your baby is right there. We are going to do this together."

​"Push, Yeobo, push for me," Yoongi begged, his voice cracking as he pressed his forehead against hers, his tears mingling with the cold sweat dampening her skin.

The glowing zero on his wrist burned hot, pulsing erratically as if trying to force every ounce of his remaining strength straight into her veins.

"Just one more time. Look at me, Aen-ah. Please."

​"I can't—Yoon, it hurts—" Aen sobbed, her vision blurring at the edges as her body felt like it was breaking apart.

​"You can. You are the strongest person I know. Push the baby, just one last push," he whispered fiercely, his hands gripping hers so tightly their knuckles fused into white bone.

​The doctor's voice cut through the haze.

"Push, Aen-sshi! Push with everything you have left! Almost there!"

​With a ragged, agonizing cry that ripped from the very depths of her soul, Aen arched up, bearing down with every remaining fragment of her strength.

​And then, cutting sharply through the tense, sterile silence of the room, a loud, healthy, furious wail echoed off the walls.

​A baby's cry.

​Tears broke hot and fast from Aen's eyes, spilling over her lashes in a rush of overwhelming, bone-deep relief.

​"You did it. Oh God, you did it, my brilliant, brave wife, you did it," Yoongi choked out, pressing desperate, shaking kisses all over her damp face, his hands trembling as he stared between her and the tiny, squalling bundle the nurses were instantly lifting up.

"You're amazing, Aen-ah. Look at our boy, he's here..."

​Aen tried to smile, the immense pressure in her chest easing just a fraction, but suddenly, the triumphant warmth of the room began to tilt.

A heavy, suffocating grayness crept rapidly across her vision.

Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy, like lead weights she no longer had the strength to lift.

'​I'm so tired, Yoon...'

Her internal monologue drifted, the thought slipping away as her grip on his hand suddenly went limp, her fingers sliding weakly from his palm.

​The steady, rhythmic beep of the heart monitor abruptly shifted.

​Beep... beep... beep—

[A/N: Please listen to "Breaking Down" by Ailee (from Doom at Your Service)]