In My Arms (Hometown Cha Cha Cha fanfiction)

Chapter 46: Shooting Pains

Du Sik's POV

"Yoon Dental Clinic. Assistance is required. Repeat. Assistance required. Yoon Dental Clinic." Eun chul speaks into the walkie talkie. He pins the culprit down with his leg and handcuffs him. More static comes from the walkie talkie. I cough heavily on the thick stench of chlorine gas in the air. It feels like someone has plugged my throat and I can hardly breathe. My eyes sting as I look at Hye Jin in my arms. I start to realise it's not the residual chlorine gas in the air that chokes me but the overwhelming fear as I see my beloved unconscious in my arms.

"Hye Jin ah..." I cry out helplessly. I'm seated on the floor; collapsed onto the ground, with Hye Jin's head nestled in my lap. I bend over her protectively and realise I am crying when I see tears fall onto her cheek. I gently wipe them away with the back of my hand. She feels so cold. She feels so cold against my touch.

I hear the piercing sounds of the ambulance sirens and the medic team soon rushes into the clinic. Static sounds vibrate through the air between the medic team, the police, the hospital...

I gently release Hye Jin to them as the medic team sets a stretcher down and place her onto the stretcher.

"Please be careful. My wife is pregnant." I ask with a shaking voice.

"34 year old female. Unconscious. Pulse rate 74 bpm. Oxygen 86% saturation." The static sounds of the medics make everything sound so clinical and cold.

As I follow closely behind them, the world around me seems to shake. I've only ever really got drunk once or twice in my life where I lost sense of my footing. The world seems to swerve and tip and turn. As I follow the medics, my world shakes as if I were intoxicated with alcohol.

"Hye Jin ah..." I call her name helplessly as we are loaded into the ambulance. The medic places an oxygen mask over her face with her eyes still shut. I hold her hand gently; so careful to even move her slightly. My vision goes blurry from tears. I reach out and touch her forehead gently, feeling the unusual coldness from her skin. Usually she's radiant with warmth and life. I place my other hand over her bump. My baby. I remember that night when I felt him kick, when I felt him move. The feeling was simply unreal. It was as if something had connected directly to my heart and I felt it course throughout my being.

My baby.

My wife.

"Will she be okay?" I ask the medic who looks at us with kind, empathetic eyes.

"We'll have to see." He says kindly.

As the ambulance speeds off, the seconds seem to drag on. It feels like an eternity. Hye Jin's hand starts to feel warmer in mine. But by this point, my hands are too clammy to even tell. I will every frightful thought out of my mind while my chest simmers with anger at the culprit.

"Hye Jin!" I gasp suddenly when I see her eyes flutter open. My world no longer spins. It's like a roller coaster that has come to a stop. I start to breathe properly again.

"Hye Jin ah?" I call again as her eyes shift weakly around. They fall on me and a wealth of warmth swells in her eyes.

"You're okay. Don't worry. We're bringing you to the hospital. You're going to be okay." I whisper to her, leaning over her and stroking her hair. Her hand is still clasped in mine.

Hye Jin's eyes curl up as she smiles weakly at me. Her lips move slowly under the oxygen mask.

"Hm?" I ask, leaning closer to her as I try to listen to what she's saying.

Her lips move again in response.

"Are you okay?" She asks me in a weak voice.

I look at her completely dumbfounded. Another wave of emotion wrecks me. I feel like I've been lifted off my feet and have fallen underwater.

How can she be concerned for me when she's in this state? The extent of her selflessness overcomes me and sends tears falling down my eyes.

As if able to read my thoughts, Hye Jin laughs softly and reaches out to touch my face. Her thumb runs over my cheek, where the tear is and she looks at me reassuringly. Her touch feels paper thin and weak.

"You should worry about yourself..." I cry regrettably. "I'm sorry I didn't come earlier." I whisper to her. Hye Jin shakes her head slightly and smiles at me again. She keeps her hand on my face and I kiss her hand gently.

A protective instinct overcomes me. It's overwhelming. I feel the need to cover Hye Jin; to place myself in between her and anything and everything else that could possibly harm her.

"I'm okay." Hye Jin says faintly. "I-" She doesn't get to finish her sentence as her body suddenly spasms in a fit of pain. It's as if she's been lifted out of gravity as her whole body rises and collapses in a wave of pain.
"HYE JIN!" I cry in shock and the medic snaps into action. "Hye Jin! What's wrong?" I cry out, feeling ridiculously helpless.

Hye Jin cries in pain. Her cry is like a thousand bolts that fly straight into my chest. Her voice sounds raggard from the pain. Fear overtakes me as her hand clutches over her bump, telling us where the pain is coming from.

There's shooting pains from her womb, where our baby is.

With one last cry of pain, Hye Jin suddenly collapses back to an absolutely still state. Her eyes are shut and she's motionless once again.

"HYE JIN!" I cry out in panic. I reach out to hold her but quickly draw back, careful to move her or harm her.

"What happened?" I beg the medic desperately with tears flowing down my face.

The medic doesn't reply. Instead, he relays urgent messages to the hospital.

"Get the OBGYN team on standby." He almost barks into the walkie talkie. The urgency in his voice sends my fear flying to an exponential rate. My stomach falls. It feels like someone has punched me in the gut and knocked all the air out of me.