Hour Before Dawn

Chapter 8

Bin had been in contact with their friends and family through calls and messages since the day of the race. Most of them saw the crash on the news while others heard it from their circle. That morning, he was on the phone with his sister and Ye-jin's dad, giving them quick updates.

They attempted to wean her oxygen down the day before but Ye-jin couldn't sustain a sufficient level of oxygen in her blood. In fact, they had to increase it because her saturation level had gone lower.

After hanging up, he turned around to walk back into her room and saw that Ye-jin was already awake. She was attempting to roll on her side but he could see that she was still struggling with the pain on her back. He saw her take shallow breaths while her eyebrows met.

"Good morning," Bin greeted as he walked towards her. "Why is my Yejie already frowning this early in the morning?"

Ye-jin looked at him with crunched eyebrows and let out a sigh. "I wanted to try and lie on my side on my own."

He gave her a smile and a rub on her hand. "Don't push yourself too much though. Take it easy, okay?"

Ye-jin let out a big sigh with frustration written all over her face.

His one hand held hers while the other reached for her forehead, using his thumb to brush the creases from crunching her eyebrows.

"Slowly but surely, Yej. Remember, it's only day three so we're not expecting you to be doing everything on your own already. Besides, your boyfriend's here to help," he said with a smile while leaning forward to kiss the tip of her nose.

When he sat up again, the frown on her face was gone and it was replaced by a smile.

"You like the sound of that too?" He asked with a bigger smile.

She gave him a nod and a smile. "I love you, Beanie."

"I love you too, Yej," Bin replied with a genuine smile. "Come on, let's get the head of the bed up so you can eat breakfast."

Later that morning, Bin stood back as the physiotherapists sat her up and put the spinal brace on her. He watched her bite her lip and hiss while pushing through the pain as they assisted Ye-jin to stand from a sitting position. She tightened her hold on the walker when she felt lightheaded and her legs wobbled beneath her.

"You're okay, you're okay," the PT assured her when she panicked. "Just relax, don't let go of your walker."

"I feel like my legs are gonna give in," she said to them while taking quick shallow breaths while trying to stay upright. She closed her eyes to slow her breathing down.

"How does it feel standing like this? Do you think you can try walking this morning?"

"I wanna try," she answered with determination.

With her IV pole, the portable oxygen tank and all that were attached to her in tow, Ye-jin took her first step in days, using her walker as support. Bin proudly watched as she stood in the middle of the therapists, pushing through with her walk despite the tremendous discomfort she was having. She would constantly bite her lip and frown in pain but she made it out in the hallway and to the nursing desk before feeling the need to go back.