The doctor bowed in front of her, looking regretful. Doyoung did not reply, too shocked to absorb what had happened. The events of the past few weeks had barely sunk in and now her best friend was gone. She slumped back on the bench, unsure of what to do. Her mind was at a loss, not knowing what was about to happen.
A tiny palm touched her cheek again as if trying to assure her that everything was alright. She looked at the baby who was seemingly consoling her. Babies were supposed to be attached to their mothers but this baby was beginning to bond with her. He was reading her emotions and that too in such a short time.
Her heart tugged at the thought that he was going to be left all alone in the world. Bosung knew her time was up and still fought to protect this tiny life. Who was she running from? And why would anyone hurt this innocent child?
Then she recalled the deeds of her husband Kang Danny. The man who used to be a respectful pediatrician and kept an image of a kind doctor. A merciful healer who loved children.
In fact, he loved his image so much that he killed his own son Shinho for being illegitimate. The monster murdered his own child in cold blood but karma punished Kang Danny when his crimes caught up to him. His reign of terror ended when he was almost caught by the police and had to retort to killing himself by jumping into a burning boiler.
Or that was what Doyoung would have to tell herself for the rest of her life because her husband's death was even more bizarre. No one would believe the truth of how he died. Even Doyoung found it hard to believe. If she had not seen the strange phenomenon of Danny being pulled into the boiler by an unseen force, she would have never believed that Danny was killed by his own karma.
She looked at the little baby in her arms. In many ways, she felt very protective of him already and was determined to save him. She could not save one innocent life and that guilt was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.
But this boy...she would keep him safe. No matter what.
"I'll take care of you," she promised. "You don't have to be scared of anything. You'll have your mother's surname, but you'll be my son and Siwan's brother. Got it? You're now part of my family."
A nurse came to her. "Erm, madam," the nurse gently called her. "It's a bad time but I have to ask this with great difficulty. If you wish, we could arrange a small funeral for the deceased soul at our hospital's funeral parlor. Or would you like her to be cremated? We could help with the arrangements."
"Bosung always wanted to be cremated," Doyoung stated. "I'll sign the forms."
The nurse nodded and was about to leave when Doyoung stopped her.
"Could you also issue me a birth certificate for this child?" she requested. "He is the son of…"
She glanced at the surgery room where Bosung's body was being prepared to be taken to the morgue.
"Understood," the nurse said. "Will you be signing as his guardian?"
"As his mother," Doyoung declared. "He's now my son."
…..
Ten year old Kang Siwan was up all night, waiting for his mother. She had called him up and told him that she was going to be late but he could not help being worried. For the past few days, they had been preparing to move to another town. It was a difficult decision but Doyoung wanted to take Siwan away from all the negative press which was associated with his father. She wanted to give him a proper upbringing and now that she had decided to go back into modeling, she could take Siwan with her wherever she went.
Siwan's father, Kang Danny, was one of the most famous pediatricians in the country and owned several hospitals. Outwardly, he was a model doctor who was kind and efficient. But in reality, the man was a monster who had killed his own illegitimate son and Siwan's half brother, Kang Shinho in cold blood. Moreover, Danny was also responsible for illegal organ transplants on many orphan children. He stole the organs from those children to sell them off to wealthy clients and to cover up his crimes, burnt the bodies of those orphans in the boiler of his hospital.
Soon, Danny's crimes caught up with him and when the police came to arrest him, Danny tried to take the patients in his hospital hostage. At that time Doyoung and Siwan were also at the hospital along with Siwan's friend, Hwang Jina and her family. Jina's mother, who was a detective, stopped Danny and in the scuffle, Danny fell into the boiler and was burned to death. Moreover, the boiler exploded after a while.
Luckily, the police had evacuated everyone from the hospital so other than Danny, no one else was hurt. Seeing his father's true nature, Siwan finally came to terms that he was a monster who deserved a punishment worse than death. Death was too easy for him.
At first Siwan was reluctant to leave but seeing his mother's plight, he gave in. When he broke this news to Jina, she simply looked at him with sorrowful eyes. She was already upset over something for the past week and the news of his departure only saddened her more.
He glanced at the tiny red and orange band she had braided for him.
"This is for luck," Jina had told him. "Don't lose it. It'll bring us together again someday."
Siwan sadly stared at it. He did not take it off and was determined to return to Jina someday. Till then, he would never take it off his wrist.
He heard Doyoung's car honking at the driveway. She had just overseen Bosung's cremation and completed all the formalities. It was a long and tiring night to the point that she did not even get a moment to cry. She had ordered the servants via text to buy all baby essentials for the trip and would purchase more once they reached their new house.
Siwan ran down the stairs to find his mother entering the mansion. In her arms, was a tiny baby.
Siwan frowned and stared at the baby.
"Who's that?" he asked.
Doyoung hesitated. She was not sure how Siwan would react to the news of having a baby brother. Would he accept this boy or reject him?
"This...this is little Hobin," she explained. "Ohm Hobin. He's Aunty Bosung's son."
Siwan stared at the baby who was fast asleep, sucking on his thumb.
"Aunty Bosung is no more," Doyoung revealed. "And this little guy has no one in this world so we'll be taking care of him as his mother and brother."
"Brother?" Siwan echoed and glanced at the baby again. Doyoung was worried about Siwan's reaction. He stood quietly for a while before turning around to go back upstairs.
"Where are you going?" Doyoung asked.
"To bring my toys of course!" Siwan replied. "And a blanket. He'll also need a crib to sleep in. You have my baby crib, right? It's in the storage. I'll help the servants to take it out. After all, I can't let my brother sleep on the floor, can I?"
Upon hearing that, Doyoung's suppressed grief exploded but there was a mix of happiness in it as well. She sat on the lower step of the stair, crying as she clutched the baby in her arms. Siwan hugged her from behind, letting his mother cry her heart out.
They stayed like that for a while, quietly crying while patting the new family member who had already become inseparable from them.