In My Arms (Hometown Cha Cha Cha fanfiction)

Chapter 48: Offence, Not Defence

Du Sik's POV

My head is throbbing as I head upstairs. I scan the hallways and my eyes fall on the ward with policemen standing at the door.

Cho Young Ha.

The name plate reads.

Anger burns in my chest like a sick acid reflux.

"Chief Hong?" The policemen say when they see me. Surprised, they ask me what I'm doing here. But I don't answer them. Driven by hot molten anger, I push them aside and barge into the ward.

The man in the bed looks up in shock as he sees me. His hand is cuffed to the bed.

The sight of him is like burning lava down my throat.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY WIFE? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" I cry out in anger as I grab him by the collar.

"WHAT DID YOU WANT WITH HER? YOU SICK BA*****!" I swear at him and send my knuckle flying through the air, straight to his face. The impact sends a ringing pain through my arm.

But I don't care.

"WHO IS THIS CRAZY BA*****!" The culprit screams in my face and wipes the blood that drips down his nose.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU!" I hiss at him in incomplete sentences. My eyes are wide with anger. They blaze with rage.

"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?" He hollers at me.

"Chief Hong!" Eun chul bursts into the room with the other policemen. "Chief Hong, let go!" Eun chul asks but I keep an iron grip around his collar.

"You have come after me instead. NOT MY WIFE! Not my wife." I suddenly break down in tears. Worry and trepidation wreck my gut. I shiver in cold chills of fear. My hands go loose, feeling every ounce of strength drain from my body.

Eun chul shifts me away and brings me out of the room.

As the door closes behind us, I can hear the sick culprit throwing out curses at me.

"Don't worry Chief Hong. I'll make sure he gets charged for everything." Eun chul reassures me.

I look down at my knuckle. A hint of purple-black has started to bloom across my knuckle and I suspect a bruise is coming soon.

"He should have attacked me instead... not Hye Jin..." I cry helplessly. Eun chul puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Come on. Let's go." He says comfortingly.

~

"Chief Hong, here." Hwa Jeong says when Eun chul and I return to the waiting area. She hands me a bottle of honey water.

I take it gratefully.

For the rest of the time, we wait in silence. In the silence, my thoughts multiply into a sickening mess of fear. I look at my hands, thinking about how much I longed to hold my baby in my hands. The taste of family is so sweet. I could already see myself and Hye Jin bringing out our boy on boat rides, going on picnics, teaching him how to surf...

Strangely, my mind starts to wander and I think of the people who have gone before me. My parents, my harabeoji, Jeong u, Ms Gam ri...

Why does everyone seem to leave me so quickly?

The thought comes into my mind like a fiery dart. But it sticks in my head and sets my mind ablaze. I'm suddenly overwhelmed with chills.

The thought of a life without Hye Jin...

No.

No. Never.

It's something I could never phantom.

I think of Hye Jin. Suddenly seeing her everywhere as my mind is overwhelmed with thoughts of her. In my mind, I see her smiling at me. Her eyes shine like the brightest star. I almost want to reach out and touch her; to touch my imagination that seems so tangible and real. Her voice plays at the back of my mind, telling me not to worry...

~

"Guardian of Hong Hye Jin?" The nurse calls me again. I leap up to my feet.

"Yes? How is she?" I ask desperately.

"She's in the ward. You can wait there..." The nurse says and suddenly takes note of Hwa Jeong, Nam Suk, Chun jae, Mi Seon and Eun chul. "But only one guardian is allowed with her. I'm sorry." She says.

The rest immediately nod in understanding.

"Let us know when Hye Jin wakes up, hm?" Mi seon asks me and I nod.

"Don't worry, Chief Hong." Eun chul says. Hwa Jeong, Nam Suk and Chun jae say similar words of encouragement. As the rest of them leave, I make my way to Hye Jin's ward.

It's so cold in the ward. I inch closer to her bed, where she lies down. Her chest rises shallowly as she breathes.

I sit beside her, drawing the covers over her.

"It's cold." I whisper as I look at her. She already looks thinner. She looks so fragile that I'm too scared to hold her hand.

Instead, I lean forward carefully and kiss her forehead. The desperate sense of longing spills out of me at an alarming rate. I carefully wipe away the tears that fell from my cheeks onto her face.

"Wake up, please. Wake up soon. Please, I miss you so much." I whisper to her as I stroke her hair lightly. "Please..." I whisper again as I place a hand on her bump where my baby is.

"Please... Hye Jin ah... Hye Jin ah..."

The coolness of the air wraps around me as I whisper her name helplessly in tears.