Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Nodding she darts forward and I have to move to keep up with her. She finds one, and I have my doubts about the car, but Lee gives me no choice when she climbs into the back.
She gives the driver the address of the hospital her mother is in… I think, before she hurriedly says, “Ppalli! Ppalli!” and then she softly adds, “Jebal.”
After a couple of minutes, I’m no longer holding Lee’s hand to offer her support, but holding on for dear life as the cab weaves in and out of lanes.
By the time we stop in front of the hospital, I’m feeling nauseous. Taking out my wallet, I hand it to Lee so she can pay the driver from the Korean won notes I got at the airport.
She hands it back to me, and I first get out of the cab before I tuck it back in my pocket. The second Lee is out of the cab, she runs.
I’m right behind her as we hurry through the entrance and then I hear, “Yeogi! Park Lee-ann, Yeogi! Ppalli!”
“Ajjuma,” Lee calls out as she rushes over to the older woman, and after that, I have no idea what they’re saying.
We follow the older woman, and I’m guessing she’s explaining to Lee what happened to her mother. It feels like I’m moving through a beehive with all the different hallways we walk down and the foreign language filling the air.
When we stop outside a room, Lee takes a couple of deep breaths, and she pats her cheeks. She somehow finds the strength to smile before she walks into the room.
The older woman inclines her head a couple of times in my direction, and I make sure to bow lower than her before I glance inside the room. There are four beds, but only two have curtains pulled around them.
I walk toward the corner where Lee just stands staring at the bed, and when I get closer, I see her mother.
Lee slowly moves closer, and then she reaches out with a trembling hand and brushes her fingers lightly over her mother’s forehead. “Eomma?”
I step closer to the wall and lean my shoulder against it, giving Lee the time she needs. It looks like a million words flow from Lee to her unconscious mother, and I can only imagine how sad they must be.
I don’t know how much time has passed when a doctor comes in, followed by two nurses. When the doctor starts talking to Lee, I wish I brought Preston along so he could translate.
“Andwae,” Lee murmurs, shaking her head.
When a pleading look settles on her face, I walk closer. I place my hand on her lower back and ask, “What are they saying?”
Lee looks up at me with such hopelessness she doesn’t have to say the words.
“H-her lung collapsed.” She takes a deep breath, and a tear rolls over her cheek. Reaching up, I wipe it away while I wrap my arm around her. “They say she won’t wake up and…” her breathing hitches and she whispers, “Andwae.”
The doctor moves toward the machines, which has Lee crying, “Jebal! Jebal!”
She asks something of them to which they seem to agree, and I wait for them to leave before I look at Lee. Before I can ask a question, she says, “They… they gave me time to say goodbye.”
Fuck.
I press a kiss to the side of her head and say, “I’m just moving to the other side of the curtain so you’ll have privacy. If you need me, just call.”
She nods, and as I walk a couple of steps away, I watch her move right to the side of the bed, and then her face crumbles. I bring both my hands up, covering my mouth as my eyes begin to burn.
“Eomma,” she whispers. “Je...bal.”
I hear her start to cry, and I have to close my eyes as tears flood them. Her hitching breaths and sobs cut through me, and it’s the most painful thing I’ve ever felt.
Knowing the person you care for is hurting, and there’s nothing you can do. It’s indescribable torture.
“Salanghaeyo,” she whispers, “Salang…hae…yo.”
I don’t know how long I stand here listening to her talk to her mother, but when the doctor and nurses come back, my heart drops to my stomach. I dart around the curtain, which has Lee’s head snapping up, and she immediately begins to cry harder.
I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly as they say something to her, which has her screaming into my chest.
Her breaths explode harshly over her lips, and she pulls back, taking a step toward her mother, but then she freezes as her eyes land on something by the door.
I turn my head, and when I see Mr. Park standing there, watching his daughter grieve for her mother with no expression on his face, it’s as if something snaps inside of me.