The car slowed down to a final halt next to the sidewalk.
"I… have a few things to take care of," Yuri hesitated, looking at Jessica from the side. "I'll pick you up later. Call me, okay?"
Jessica nodded without saying a word and unbuckled her seatbelt. She exited the car, ignored Yuri's "Bye!" and shut the door. While walking into the huge main building of the hospital, she rummaged her handbag for her phone. She needed to text Sooyoung, Taeyeon and Tiffany before anything else.
-I just arrived at the hospital. Going to see mom now. Yuri wants me to stay at her place… I'll call later and tell you guys what happened.-
The text was sent, and Jessica put the phone on silent. She entered the building through the revolving door, approaching the reception right away.
"Hello, may I help you?" the receptionist asked her with a friendly smile.
"Yes… I'm here to see my mom. Jung Sanghee, please."
It took the nurse just a few seconds to find out where umma Jung was. "She's in the recovery station, it's in this building. You can take the elevator over there. Her room is on the fourth floor, number 418."
"Thank you."
Jessica made her way to the elevator with fast footsteps, having to pull herself together to not actually run. She couldn't wait to see her mom and Krystal again. After all, it had been almost a month that they were apart. She called and talked to her little sister very often, of course, but that wasn't the case with her mom.
Entering the elevator, she started to ponder on whether or not she should tell her mother about Yuri. She was sure her mom had better judgment than Sooyoung and wouldn't just forbid her from seeing Yuri. Besides that, good advice was something she could almost always count on when telling her mother her problems. She was in need of a good advice, now that Yuri’s engagement was driving their relationship to a possible end. She remembered that her mom did like and trust Yuri. A lot. Just like how she and Krystal both did as well.
Her heart was beating fast in anticipation and she couldn't help but to smile as she exited the elevator and immediately spotted room 418. She walked over quickly and opened the door.
"Unnie!"
Krystal jumped up from her seat as she saw Jessica and ran into the older’s arms. The sisters hugged, and Jessica stroked her sister's back comfortingly.
"What are you doing here?" Jessica asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "Shouldn't you be at school today?"
"My classes start late, unnie. I'm leaving in half an hour. When I don't have school, I'm always here with mom."
Jessica released Krystal's arms and proceeded further into the room. She immediately spotted the woman she was longing to see. It went all against her expectations. Her mom looked so weak, so pale, still so sick.
"Mom…" her voice trembled as she sat down next to the bed, taking the sleeping woman's hand into hers. "Mom…"
"She is recovering, but still weak, unnie" Krystal whispered silently. "Yesterday, when they decided to move her to the recovery station, she still had to struggle real hard just to give me a smile. That's why most of the time, she's asleep. When she's awake, though, she barely speaks anyway." Krystal pulled a chair next to Jessica, heaving a sigh. "If she speaks, she always whispers that she wants to see you, unnie."
Jessica looked at her mom and felt her heart aching. She turned around to her sister and hugged her again. She felt so bad for leaving Krystal alone with their mom like this.
