The Sun to my Moon

Chapter 2: Guilt

Gi Tae-ung's surgery lasted fourteen hours. When it was over, he was moved into a private room in the ICU.

When the doctor came to tell them the surgery had gone as well as could be expected, Kim Se-hun released a loud sigh of relief and Kwong Hwa-sook hugged him. Go Hae-ri murmured a short prayer of thanks that Cha Dal-geon was certain was audible only to him. Dal-geon closed his eyes, well aware that though they had cleared the first hurdle, the danger was far from over.

The doctor advised them that it would likely be several more hours at the least before Tae-ung was likely to wake, and Hae-ri sent Se-hun and Hwa-sook home with orders to get some rest. They protested, but she overrode their feeble objections without much effort. They were all exhausted, and as Hae-ri pointed out, at least some of them should get some rest. She, however, stayed.

Dal-geon stayed with her.

She took the visitor chair next to the bed in Tae-ung's new room and collapsed into it, staring at Tae-ung's unconscious form with a lost expression on her face.

Dal-geon tried to think of something reassuring to say, but he was unable to come up with any words that weren't hollow platitudes, so he left in search of more tangible comforts. He went to the hospital cafeteria and managed to acquire a couple of almost edible looking sandwiches, a cup of coffee for Hae-ri, and a cup of the vilest tea he'd ever encountered for himself.

When he returned, Hae-ri was praying. He sat down in the chair behind her and listened. Despite his firm lack of religious beliefs, he found he liked the sound of her praying. Her voice was soft and though he knew from experience that she couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, her words had an almost musical lilt to them as she prayed for Tae-ung's strength and safety.

He'd never realized how poetic prayer could be, before this.

When Hae-ri finished, she sat back in the chair and accepted the coffee that Dal-geon had brought her. "Gomawo, Dal-geonssi," she said tiredly.

He watched her. Her face was pale and drawn. "You should get some rest."

She shook her head. "Andwae gwenchanayo." She looked over at him. "You don't have to stay, though."

He smiled wryly. "I think it's a safe assumption that I wouldn't be able to sleep right now, anyway."

She nodded, and turned back to Tae-ung.

Gi Tae-ung didn't wake up for two days. Go Hae-ri stayed with him. Cha Dal-geon left on occasion, mainly to get food so he could make sure Hae-ri ate something. Once, even he was defeated by exhaustion and left to get a few hours of sleep. When he returned, he found Hae-ri fast asleep in her chair, her body pitched forward and her head resting on Tae-ung's bed. She was gripping his hand with her own in her sleep.

Dal-geon watched her, and he realized with a pang that he was rather jealous.

It was ridiculous, he knew. A clear indication of his own narcissism if ever there was one. It was just-he supposed he'd thought that if Hae-ri was ever going to stage a marathon bedside vigil for someone... well, that it would be for him. He was the one always getting into scrapes, after all. The one who would sworn to give his life to capture Edward Park. The one who always needed rescuing. Not calm, steady Gi Tae-ung.

It would have been better that way, he reflected. He should have been the one to take that bullet. Then Tae-ung would have been spared and he would have reaped his just reward for not listening to Hae-ri in the first place. Plus, Go Hae-ri would have had to forgive him if he'd been shot. As it was, he had no illusions about what she must think of him now that he'd gotten one of her team members shot. Her worry over Gi Tae-ung had granted him a temporary reprieve, but he was certain there would be hell to pay once Hae-ri could be reasonably assured that Tae-ung would be all right.