My plane landed in Seoul by 3pm, as I walked briskly to the terminal looking everywhere to see if my mom was in sight. She promised to pick me up at the Airport when my flight landed, finally I saw Aunt instead waiting for me with another lady who dressed quite helpless her fashion taste was poor I guess!, I already concluded that she was a maid and yeah! she was.
"Oh my look how much you've grown child!" Aunt exclaimed immediately she noticed me, I gave her a big warm hug "Hi Aunt, long time no see!"
"very true it has been a while, since your last graduation I guess"
"yup you're right" we chatted as the lady who was standing with Aunt collected my bags and we walked to the car. " how's life with you in NY, last time I checked you were a LV brand model, somebody is getting more classy, I mean look at you your fashion is on point" Aunt said as she examined my outfit from head to toe, the driver ushered us to the back seat of the car and the maid sat in the passenger seat in front, he closed the door and drove.
Our conversation continued in the car "I won't lie aunt, I've been doing lot's of stuffs lately and I never dreamt of coming back to Seoul this year and not even the one after"
"hey, come on don't say that! Don't you care about your parents?"
" I never said I don't care about em"
" you know," she said and paused for a while and stared at me " you look just like your father"
" I don't think I look like any of em Aunt"
" Ae-Cha!"
" Sorry Aunt!, I'm just spilling my mind, actually I guess am the other version of you" I said and we both laughed "How's dad condition?" I asked she then heaved a long sigh and shook her head " Aunt tell me, what really happened?"
"Dad is going to undergo surgery!" she finally said and a tear trickled down from my left eye, she held me and patted my back " surgery for what?, and why" she said nothing and shook her head again, we remained mute for the rest of the journey, but those ;particular words made me pained , even if I disliked my parents I couldn't stand the fact that they were hurt in any way
As we got home, to the house - I mean the the mansion I walked out of when I was 16, my home looked the same nothing changed, still the same well decorated and trimmed flower setting, the sweet smell of flower in the area clouded the air as I walked out of the car, I look behind me and saw my favorite spot, which was our garden in which I did not only plant flowers but also good memories of when my parents were still parents, when they still cared about me and my well-being 100%,
As I walked through the entrance I was still unsure if I wanted to enter the house, Aunt gave me a little push " oh come on!" I said almost laughing " go on in what are you waiting for?". I finally pressed the door knob and entered, the house looked rather empty that was strange, I looked around as walked up the stairs alone slowly " Mom!, Are you home?" I said as I walked into my parents room, I saw my mom sobbing at the side of the bed, tears trickled down her eyes again, she didn't notice my presence " Mom what's going on?!, why are you crying! "
" Oh my child!, when did you get here, have you been you all the while" she said trying to hide her tears and pretend that all was alright with her, I had seen her crying already there was no point in doing that. "Mom what's going on?, talk to me"
" nothing child am fine, am sorry i wasn't able to come pick you up from the airport"
"It's fine mom, I'm used to it", "what do you mean young lady"
" no offense mom " I said and i hugged her, " Mom, Dad is gonna be okay... just relax"
" How's his condition now?" I asked " He's coping, I hope he gets well soon enough" she said, I put her to sit on the bed and held her hands, then i realized my mom was going through a lot, she look all tired and worn-out " You've grown to be a very beautiful young lady, am very proud of you child!"
" You both made that possible" I replied, my hands were still holding hers, she asked about my trip and apologized for not being present at my graduation, we had a little chit-chat, Aunt Se-Wa entered the room, she stood by the door looked at the beautiful bonding I was having with my mom, after a very long while, she smiled " who's hungry, there's pancakes!" she said finally interrupting us, " you're a life saver, I'm starving" my mom said, and we all walked to the dining.
The next day, after breakfast was served at the dining, Mom and i had breakfast together that morning. Thereafter she left for work, she had to manage father's business while he was at the hospital. I retired to my room after eating, I was worried, I wanted to know how my father was faring, I felt uneasy and again it's been a long while I've been indoors like this. Back in NY I was always enjoying the great outdoors and the fresh air of the streets. As I thought about it a bit, I decided to go check on my Dad at the hospital, I picked up my phone and called my mom to inform her I'll be at the hospital to see father that morning, " Uhmmm, Hi mom, you at work yet?" I asked, " Sure honey, is there anything you want?", " Nope am good, I'll be visiting dad this morning", " Sure why not, the driver will drop you off" " Thanks mom,.." I said and i heard her sigh in a sad manner.
I quickly changed my clothes, I was able to unpack and rearrange my wardrobe the night before, so i quickly grabbed a simple outfit out of it. I wore a short red pleated skirt, a black turtle-necked long-sleeve and a burgundy colored fashion nova high-boots, I applied mascara to my false lashes, and lip gloss to my lips to prevent dryness. I grabbed my black coat to compliment my outfit and also due to the cold weather, I walked downstairs, then out the door, the driver Dong-Hyun was waiting for me in the car already, he opened the back seat and i entered, he then entered the driver's seat and drove off.
As we drove to the hospital, I realized that everything i had know had all changed, everywhere looked totally different, " It won't be a bad idea exploring this city for a bit" I thought to myself. In less than twenty-minutes we were at the hospital, the driver drove into the parking lot and did the usual ritual of opening and holding car doors, I didn't care anyway i stepped out and followed behind him. I followed him into the hospital building and just then i realized that multiple pairs of eyes were staring at me, I simply looked away, and followed Dong-Hyun upstairs to my father's ward. Just as my dad had always loved everything of his to be exclusive, he was also given an exclusive ward in the hospital. ''Ward 121, that's it ma'am, I wait here for in the car'' Dong-Hyun said as he pointed to my father's ward " Thanks !" I told him, I took a deep breath then i entered the room,
"Ae-Cha, Ae-Cha.....,, my child" my dad said faintly, " OMG!, Oh Dad how did it happen?" I said in shock as I saw my dad almost paralyzed in bed
" I don't think am ready to be interrogated now, I just had breakfast" he said jokingly
" very true dad, you really need a lot of rest" ,....." where's my wife," he asked "oh Mom, she left for work early this morning"
" how was your flight? he asked " it was wonderful dad"
As I sat closer to the side of the bed which he laid, he patted my back and said, "I promise I'll make it up to you child, I and your mom we'll do our best" My dad sounded weak in the tone of his voice, I wasn't really sure of what was wrong with my father but in his voice it looked like something worse " Just hang in there dad, just hang in there.... be strong for us" I said, I sat up on the chair i had been sitting the whole time, I held his hands and and placed my head on his chest for a while, he stroked my hair gently and we chatted for a while.
I was awoken by a female voice about an hour later, I had fallen asleep in my father's arms, but I notice something, the same chest I laid my head on awhile ago was not producing any heartbeat anymore his hands were cold, I refused to believe what my my mind was saying and what was going on in my head. " Nurse, please check my father..... please!" I panicked as I said that to the nurse that just woke me up," oh no,!.... DOCTOR!!" the nurse screamed also panicking
" what happened, why are you calling the doctor?," the nurse paid no attention to what i was saying, immediately she called the attention of the doctors, a doctor and some other nurses came running into the ward, I was confused, did I just loose my father? that can't be possible
They were trying all they could to save dad's life, but unfortunately he didn't respond, He died!
The nurses were about to do their usual, to cover up the body of my father, immediately i pushed through them and held my father crying profusely " No you can't die now dad!, Abeojiii!!!!!.... wake up I know you're sleeping, " the nurses held me I struggled and cried " he's just sleeping,!..... No my dad's not dead" I kept shouting and telling them to wake him up that he was just having a nap, " relax miss, calm down" a nurse said to me, trying to call me down but I passed out.
I woke up moments later, Aunt Se-Wa sat by my bedside, she held me still and told me to relax that all was okay, I sobbed for hours in her arms, I later picked up my phone to inform my mom because i wasn't sure she had gotten the news yet. Unknown to me that she was already driving down to the hospital, I dialed mom's number... "Umma..." I called her " what happened dear?, why are you crying?"
" Umma!... Father is dead!!!!!!" I said and continued crying, the phone was on speaker on her side, I heard the screeching sound of tires and then followed a loud sound "BOOM!!"