"When you get a new heart, will I still be in there?" She says, barely a whisper. "Will I still be in that heart?"
"You're not just in my heart," Jeongguk replies truthfully. "You're in the blood flowing through my veins, you're in my mind, you're u...
"You have been in every way all that anyone could be, if anybody could have saved me it would have been you."
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"Do you love me?"
"Of course I do, Jeongguk-ah. I love you more than anything in the world. Why?"
Jeongguk smiles, squeezing his mother's hand in his own. "Nothing. I just wanted to hear that," he says.
His mother frowns suspiciously. "Is there something bothering you? You seem a little off lately. Is it about the operation? Are you scared?" she asks.
He shakes his head and laughs. "I'm not afraid, mom!"
"Are you sure? You used to be afraid of even horror movies," his mother teases as she strokes the back of his head gently. They're sitting on his bed, his mother and him. It's a warm and homely comfort he feels. And he can never get enough of his mother's embrace.
"Well," he clears his throat awkwardly, recalling the one time he had insisted on watching something scary at the cinema with his mother. He doesn't remember why he even did it, maybe he just wanted the experience. And he was only 12. Well let's just say there's no way he's ever going to try that again. Horror movies will always be off his list. "Horror movies and surgeries are different things."
"True," his mother hums in agreement.
"Only this time, the horror isn't just an act. It's actually happening to me. They're going to cut my chest open, aren't they?" He blinks at her, breathing steady.
The woman gives him a reassuring smile. "You won't even notice it. You'll go to sleep, and snap! When you wake up you'll have a new heart. A better one. You'll be healthy again."
The idea of being healthy like a normal person with a good, beating heart is no doubt appealing to him. But why does he feel a little bit of guilt and regret welling up inside of him?
"That little girl was so brave, Jeongguk. So you're going to have to be brave for her too," His mother then adds.
She's right. Jeongguk smiles and nods. He ends up getting a light pinch on his cheeks by his mother.
"That's my boy."
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
"Woah, woah, woah—wh-what are you doing? Where are you going?" Jeongguk stutters out when he sees Yerim trying to sit up from her bed. She had been tucked underneath her blankets all day with limited movement. Even with that oxygen mask, she barely has enough room to breathe.
"I want to go out," she insists as Jeongguk rushes to help her. Her voice sounds weaker and a lot less steady than before. But it's a contrast to the amount of energy she's displaying through her movements.
