Without You (A Young K FanFiction)

Chapter 13 - I Need Somebody

But whatever happiness I enjoyed had always come with a cost. And that New Year eve was no exception.

It was already two o'clock in the morning when Young Hyun drove me home from Yongsan-gu. I did not sleep immediately as I had to send greetings to my family and friends. I even had a video call with my mother until three-thirty.

So of course, I slept through the morning of January first until a call woke me up. I did not bother to check who the caller was, but I immediately bolted up when I heard my younger sister crying over the phone.

"Ate," (Big sister.) She wailed. "Dinala si Mama sa ospital. Hindi siya nagigising." (Mother was brought to the hospital. She wouldn't wake up."

"Bakit?" (Why?) I asked. I was trying to calm down, but I couldn't. I just talked with her a few hours before! "Anong nangyari?" (What happened?)

"Kasi dapat magsisimba kami, pero hindi namin siya magising." (We were supposed to go to church, but we couldn't wake her up.)

The call was cut short because of the overseas charge. So I rushed to look for a flight back to Manila through the internet. I began to break down when I saw there was none.

A call through my Facebook messenger came. It was from Mara.

"Happy New Year!" She greeted, but she stopped when she heard me crying. "Hey, what happened?"

"Mama's in the hospital and there's no flight to Manila today," I told her in between cries. "I'm really worried. I just talked with her earlier and she seemed fine."

"Okay, okay. I will check out on them. Do you know which hospital she is in?"

I shook my head. "No. The call ended abruptly. I'll send you my sister's number. Please see them for me. I'll see if I can fly back to Manila tomorrow."

I sent her my sister's phone number and I waited for any news. While waiting, I kept on refreshing my browser while praying for a flight to be available. But no miracle happened.

Lunchtime passed, I was still waiting for Mara's update. A call came and I immediately answered it without looking at the screen.

"How is she?" Was my greeting.

"Who?"

I stared at my phone and saw that the caller was Young Hyun. Tears started to well up again from my eyes. I breathed in and out and tried to calm myself, but I could not.

"Hello?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I shook my head and started to cry hard. "N-no. My mother has been brought to the hospital and I still don't have any news from them. What should I do?"

"Hang on." I heard him rummaging around. "I'll go there. Wait for me."

He hanged up and I cried my heart out again. It was distressing.

Not long after, he was already knocking on my door. I quickly opened it for him.

"Jjang..."

My tears came falling again. He pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. I cried and cried to him.

"What should I do? I'm scared for my mom." I muttered.

"Let us calm you first." He ushered me in and guided me to the couch. He left and went back with a glass of water on hand. "Have you eaten?"

I shook my head and emptied the glass.

"What happened?"

I tried my best to explain. "My sister called and she was crying. They were supposed to go to church, but they couldn't wake my mother up." Another sob. "They brought her to the hospital and they are not updating me yet. I wanted to go there, but there is no available flight today."

"Nothing wrong will happen to your mother, okay?" He wiped my tears on my cheeks with his thumb. "The doctors will take good care of her. Your family will call you with good news."

I hoped he was right.

He ordered us food and cleaned around the apartment while I stared at the computer monitor, waiting. I did not even realize that I had fallen asleep until he woke me up when a call from Mara came through my Messenger. I quickly answered it.

"So? Kamusta si Mama?" (How's Mom?)

"She's fine."

Finally, I was able to relax a bit.

"It's a mild stroke. Buti na lang naagapan." (Good thing it was treated immediately.) She explained.

I looked at Young Hyun and smiled at him. I felt tears brimming around my eyes again.

"She has been moved to a private room and is now taking a rest."

"Thank you, Mara. Thank you."

"Do you want to talk to Carmina?" She was referring to my younger sister.

I talked with her, then to my older brother. I told them I would be going home should there already be an available flight. They told me it was alright, but I insisted. I wanted to see that my mom was indeed fine.

After the call, I was relieved.

"Are you feeling better?" Young Hyun asked. I realized that he had been staring at me all that time.

I nodded. "Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am."

He smiled and playfully pinched my nose. "I officially become your white knight, you know."

I laughed at what he said.

"Ya, you should wash up. It's the first day of the new year. You should at least smell nice."