“Let’s go Shin!” You called into the living room so that he could get ready for bed. You turned around from the sink and wiped your hands on the towel that settled on the granite island. You saw him just lying there. You ran over thinking that he was asleep already from the busy day that you both had. He began to cough and you trotted over to him, knelt down, rubbing his back as you tried to comfort him. Your hand lay on his back for a while before you knew something was wrong. You gently picked him up and found that his face was turning into a shade of white almost ghostly. You grabbed a blanket to wrap him in, because his little body was so chilled. You grabbed your phone and purse and literally ran down to your car, you lay him in the back seat as you drove to the hospital, your mind raced hoping that you wouldn’t get to the hospital too late.

What was wrong with him? Is it something that you did? What is going to happen?

You ran into the Emergency entrance with the breathless boy in your arms. A nurse came over and took him from you as a mass of doctors and other residents rushed with her down the long hall. Your thoughts began to clear as you saw him disappear within the white sterile walls of the hospital. You pulled out your phone and called the only person that could comfort you in a time like this.

—

His phone buzzed as he walked down the hall from the recording studio to the dance studio that was only a couple doors down. He gently pulled out the phone from his pocket and he recognized the caller ID. He smiled to himself as it was getting time for his son’s bedtime.

“Annyeoung” He picked up the phone thinking that his son was calling him to wish him a good night.

“I-I need y-you” You whimpered more and more as you waited for his response

 “W-Where are you?” He was a little set back by your crying, obviously wanting to make it better

“The A&E” You paused as you tried to say the next word “Hospital” it burned like salt in a fresh wound as it slipped out of your mouth.

“I will be right there. I will be there” He said as he his heels to face the stairwell that leads out. You hung up and he opened a new call and called his manager.

—

You paced in the entrance, trying to convince yourself to stay calm, that he was coming. You tried to focus on something else like the little pictures that lined the walls, the colorful design on the tile that crisscrossed across the floor. The Emergency doors opened and your attention turned to the outsider that walked through the automatic doors.

“____________” He ran to you as you just froze there, in the middle of the hallway, his arms wrapped around you and that is when you lost it. Your knees buckled, he held you close and tried to keep you on your feet, you silently cried into his strong, warm shoulder. You finally wrapped your arms around his long torso, you dug your fingers into his back, scared of what they would say, scared of what had happened.

“It is ok, I am here now. Everything will be ok. Calm down, shhhhhhh” He calmly whispered in your ear as he caressed your head and held you close. You still cried in his shoulder, breathing in his scent with every breath, bringing back so many memories.

“Seo, it was my fault. It was all, my fault” You said as you cringed in his shoulder for that is all that you could do

“It wasn’t, _________. Don’t say that.” Seo said as he pulled you away from his shoulder. The nurses came over and walked you to a room where you two could talk in private.

“It was all, my fault. He laid there on the floor. I thought he fell asleep, he started to cough and I went and rubbed his back.” Your lip quivered as you recounted the horrific event, “Then I had to pull you out of work and you worked so hard and now you will spend hours here when you should be over there.” You felt like the world was crumbling around you.

“You let him stay up later didn’t you?” Seo asked as he put his hand in yours. You gently nodded staring down at the wood grain that enveloped the table. “It isn’t your fault; you took care of our son. You brought him here. I can take care of my work; you don’t need to worry about that.” He moved beside you and he moved your head onto his shoulder and placed his hand around you rubbing your arm. “I would be more worried if you didn’t call me and let me know, or if he was already to bed and this would have happened. You would have never known, until you went in and checked on him, and then it might have been too late. Everything is going to turn out fine.” He pushed your hair from your tears and you just sat there like a sculpture that couldn’t move.

The door opened and a nurse came in with her hair up in a tight bun, “You can go wait for your son in his room if you want Room 350.” She said as Seo gently nodded at her and she left. He kissed your head and snapped you out of the state that you were in.

“Let’s go wait in his room ok?” He said as he pulled you up from your seat

“Ok, I just wish that I could do more.” You said as he walked towards the door

“I know, I know” He opened the door and you both walked down to the elevator to get to the tenth floor where he was going to stay. You walked down the endless halls with the oak doors lining the walls. Seo found the room and walked you inside. There was an area for a small child’s bed to be wheeled in with all of these machines and tubes surrounding the area. A curtain separated the other small bed which wasn’t occupied. The window was large with the moonlight shone through; he gently slipped off his blazer and put it around you as you sat in the only chair.

“So how was your day?” You said as you looked at him in his light yellow shirt that was tucked into his blue stone washed jeans that hugged his thighs lightly. His hair was blown back and sweaty still.

“Well, I got my exercise in today, buy running to the hospital. I hugged my wife, I sang my heart out, I found out where my priorities lie, I found out that I have the most wonderful wife in the entire world that would do anything for her son, I found out that I would sacrifice everything to be with our little family, I also learned that there is nothing greater than a father’s love.” He started to get misty as he sat on the window seal. You got up and wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him on his soft pink lips. He placed his hands around your waist. His head leaned against yours, “You did everything that you could and I couldn’t ask for anything more.” His warm breath tickled your tear dripped cheeks. He walked you back to the chair, you sat on his lap. You sat there in silence, troubled with your thoughts and the future that awaited you. You leaned into him and held him close as you began to fall asleep, he rested his cheek on your head and thought of what you had gone through in the day and wished that this wouldn’t have happened.

A couple hours later he closes his eyes, the light pierced the darkness of the room as some tires squeaked and woke Seo up from his resting state. He gently shook you as your eyes opened to see your son being wheeled in. The nurses rolled the bed into its spot and hooked all of his tubes up and hooked him up to the nearby monitors.

“Are you Shin Young parent’s?” The doctor removed his mask and walked up to you as you both arose from the chair.

“Yes we are. How is our son?” Seo said intertwining his hand with yours as you looked at your three year old son on the bed.

“He is going to be ok, he has had some trauma though because he stopped breathing for five or so minutes, we will see how he comes out of the medicine that we injected him with. He will be on oxygen and we will watch him very closely. You two were very lucky that you caught it in time. Sometimes these things can go unnoticed and the child can actually die. You two should count your lucky stars tonight. You are welcome to stay here, if you need anything you can go to the floor’s nurses’ station. We will keep a close eye on him.” The doctor said and bowed to both of you as you thanked him for his services.

You looked at you son on the bed. Tubes entering and leaving his little body, trying to keep him alive and stable, you placed your fingers in his hand as Seo pulled the chair up behind you. He pulled you down onto his lap laying his head on your back as you watched Shin’s chest rise and fall with each breath. The hours ticked by, each breath you saw relieved you.

“You saved our son” Seo said as you rested on his chest

“You saved me” You snuggled in his chest still holding your son’s hand in yours.