Pay With Your Heart

Chapter 477: Make Up For Time Lost

“Oh my God! Ki-Jun, you’re awake!” Sena gasped in shock, pulling away from the nurse holding her, and dashed towards Ki-Jun’s side.

She grabbed his hand, which was outstretched to her, and cupped his face with her other hand. “Are you okay? Are you fine?” She hastily asked.

She turned to Dan-Han and Eun-sun standing by the foot of the bed. “Is he alright? How is this possible?” She rapped out in a single breath.

“Hey, honey, take it easy. I’m fine. Just take a deep breath.” Ki-Jun said, drawing her attention back to him.

Sena let go of his hand and cupped his face. “Are you sure? Have they called the doctor?” She asked urgently, staring back at the nurse who had brought her to Ki-Jun’s room.

The moment she regained consciousness, she had insisted on being brought back to Ki-Jun’s room, but who knew she’d find Ki-Jun awake too?

It was a miracle.

.....

“The doctors have checked up on him, and they’ve confirmed he’s fine. So take a breath.” Dan-Han said.

Sena glanced back at Ki-Jun when Dan-Han said that and deeply exhaled. Her eyes glimmered with tears, but they were tears of relief and happiness.

“Oh my God, Ki-Jun. I was scared.” Sena gasped as tears fell from her eyes.

Raising a hand to her face, Ki-Jun caught her tears. “Don’t cry. I heard you passed out. You’re going to fall sick.” Ki-Jun advised, but she stubbornly shook her head as her tears fell even more.

She was overwhelmed with joy and happiness. Seeing Ki-Jun awake was more than a miracle.

She sniffed and wiped her tears. “What happened? How did this happen?” She asked, shuffling her gaze between Dan-Han and her husband but more at Dan-Han. She wanted to know what had happened.

One minute he was unconscious and was about to be taken off life support, but now he was awake and fine? How was this possible?

“You’ll have to ask him,” Ki-Jun said, tipping his chin at Dan-Han, who Sena immediately glanced at.

Dan-Han dismissively sighed. “It’s a long story, Aunt, something we should leave for some other time,” Dan-Han told her, but Sena didn’t think it was unimportant; either way, she agreed with him.

It was something they could talk about later, as there was something else that was more important, and that was her child.

She held Ki-Jun’s hand as she stared at him. “Honey, do you know who she is?” Sena asked, pointing to Eun-sun, who was hinged to Dan-Han’s side.

Ki-Jun glanced at Eun-sun, and without much thought, he knew Sena had found out the truth.

He peered at her and slowly nodded.

“S..she’s really our daughter, isn’t she?” She asked. “She has my eyes and your hair. She’s our-” Sena trailed off when Ki-Jun nodded.

“She’s our child. Yours and mine.” Ki-Jun affirmed, and Sena thoughtlessly nodded as tears streamed from her eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sena asked between sobs. She’d have loved to know the moment he did. She’d have wanted to participate in the journey of finding their child.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but there was so much going on. I didn’t want to overwhelm us.” Ki-Jun explained and firmly held Sena’s hand, which was beginning to tremble.

Sena looked at Eun-sun, and her heart swelled again. She didn’t know the exact emotions that coursed her, but they were countless and overwhelming.

Joy, happiness, gratefulness, and relief were among the many emotions she felt.

“Come here, Honey,” Ki-Jun beckoned to Eun-sun, who had been watching them with a strangling feeling in her heart.

Eun-sun couldn’t describe it, but watching them like this, seeing them stare at her with hands stretched to receive her, made a deluge of emotions overcome her heart.

Her eyes stung with tears as Dan-Han encouraged her with a light hand squeeze.

Eun-sun slowly took a step towards them, and then another, and another which followed after that till her quivering hand slipped into Sena’s, who pulled her into a crushing hug while Ki-Jun held her other hand.

“I still can’t believe it.” Sena whimpered into her ears as she hugged her ever so tightly.

“I can’t believe you’re here with us.” She cried.

These arms that held her now had once held a dead child she believed was her. She had mourned her child, and she had almost felt like dying too.

The death of a child wasn’t something a mother should ever experience, but she had suffered it and carried the pains for twenty-five years. But now, here was another miracle.

Her child was alive and well, and her husband was alive. Her family was complete with two amazing daughters.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to be given such a chance, but I’m most grateful for it.” She said as she cupped Eun-sun’s face, catching her tears with her thumb.

“I’m sorry for giving up, Eun-sun. As a mother, I should have known my baby was out there. I shouldn’t have believed what they said and should have insisted that you were alive. I’m sorry.” Sena apologized with more beads of tears falling out of her eyes uncontrollably.

Eun-sun silently nodded as her throat burned with tears that kept spilling out of her eyes.

“It must have been hard living alone out there. It must have been tough not having your family.” Sena tearfully said. She couldn’t imagine how it had been for Eun-sun without her family.

Eun-sun couldn’t deny it because it had indeed been hard.

It was incredibly hard living with people who didn’t want her. She had to fight for their love and attention, and even when she did all she could, they still didn’t want her.

To Song-Hee, she was a means to keep her family for the years she did, and to her father, she was dispensable. It was hard fighting against being raped and abused and even rejected.

“I’m going to make it up to you. Your dad and I will make up for the years we’ve missed. For every graduation, every child’s day, and moments of happiness and sadness we didn’t get to share in, I’m going to make up for it every day.” Sena vehemently swore.

“Me too.” Ki-Jun supported as he patted Eun-sun’s hand, who stiffly nodded.

Though she was a bit too old for that, she’d still love it. After all, no one was too old to receive and give love and care.

Her lips quivered to say something but nothing could come out.

If she had ever felt a void or the absence of a family and the love they could give, she didn’t think she had felt it as strongly as she did now. Not only did she feel the void, she felt the love that would fill it up.

The love of a family. Something she had only gotten in the earlier years of her life, till her life turned upside down when it was discovered she was a child of deceit taken from a hospital and taken to a home she didn’t belong to.

Eun-sun didn’t know what to say, so she stayed mum and enjoyed every hug and hand-squeeze of love they gave to her.

“We’re going to be a big family. You, me, your dad and Mi-Cha.” Sena told her before snapping around to look for Mi-Cha. It was at this moment that she realized she had missed her absence.

“Where’s Mi-Cha?” She curiously asked, and everyone’s countenance changed.

Sena took note of the change in their disposition, and she frowned.

“Where’s Mi-Cha?” She asked again, slightly nervous even though there was no need to.

Maybe it was the lingering effect of recent events that had her feeling that, but she couldn’t help it.

“Honey, Mi-Cha... she left,” Ki-Jun carefully answered.

“Left where?” She asked confusedly, wondering where she had gone to. “Ki-Jun? Eun-sun? Where’s Mi-Cha?” She asked, feeling more nervous than before.

Ki-Jun sighed when he observed the worry in her eyes. “Sena, it’s not what you think. Nothing happened to her. She’s... just angry.”

Sena furrowed her brows. “Angry? Why would she be angry?” Mi-Cha wasn’t one to get angry, at least not without cause.

“Did something happen?” She inquired. She caught Dan-Han staring at Ki-Jun as if to tell him it was up to him to provide the answer to her question.

She glanced at her husband.

“Ki-Jun, did something happen?” She asked, and he nodded.

“What is it?” She pressed.

“Yong-Gun.” He replied.

“Yong-Gun?” Sena furrowed her brows confusedly as she wondered what his brother had to do with anything. “What did your brother do?”

Ki-Jun hesitated as he thought about telling the truth. He had thought they could leave the talks for later, but it seemed they had to see to it now.

He had to tell Sena what had happened and left Dan-Han to fill in the blanks so they could both get their other daughter back. He wasn’t about to gain one and lose the other. No, he wouldn’t.

“She overheard us saying Yong-Gun was her father, and he was the one-”

“Hold on. You said what? Yong-Gun is what?” Sena asked incredulously.

“Mi-Cha’s father, but I’m yet to believe that. Dan-Han said-”

“Dan-Han.” Sena echoed as she turned to her godson, who seemed to know a lot lately. “You said that? Is it true?” She questioned, and Dan-Han nodded.

“Yes, Aunt. Yong-Gun took Eun-Sun and adopted his daughter to you.”