The World Inside Our Dreams: Book One

In Kyung

"Hey. Jongho. Don't you dare say that. You got this, you hear me? You cannot quit now."

My heart skips a beat at the sound of his warm chuckle. "You should be a therapist instead."

"No. I'd grow mad all the time. But don't forget everything we went through. You can do it."

He's quiet and I can almost imagine those peaceful eyes shining at the memories. "I only made it because of you. I wish you were here, In-kyung."

I'm quiet to these genuine words. My heart suddenly reminds me of the kiss we had before he left. It was so soft and gentle. My every thought tells me to run to him, but a piece of my heart holds me back. My sisters come first...

He does a small chuckle at my silence. "I know. Your sisters. I hope they are doing well. I hope you're not pushing yourself too much, In-kyung. Remember to rest, too."

Tears always want to come whenever I talk to him. I realize now that it's because I miss him so much. It's because I do want to go to the States to be with him. If only life were different...

"I will try," I gently say. "I—"

I hear another call coming in from my phone and see that it's In-joo. So I quickly say to Jongho, "My sister is calling. I'll talk to you later."

"Of course! Say hi to her for me."

"Okay!" I smile as I'm left with that peaceful feeling I always get when I hear his voice. But it immediately disappears when I answer my sister's call.

"In-kyung! You need to come to the hospital! It's In-hye!"

My heart drops and I start to get my things. I don't care for the frowns I get at the sudden noise I make with my shoes. The world fades with the frantic voice of my sister telling me In-hye is sick again.

I race to the hospital. I don't care for the police at this point. I've interacted with them so much that they just know me now. So I quickly park at the nearest entrance and run to look for my sister. A nurse stops me and asks me who I'm looking for.

"My sister. Oh In-hye. She just came in."

"Follow me please."

My stomach flips as I follow her through cold hallways. My eyes are like a hawk trying to look for In-hye on any of the hospital beds. But I'm taken to the waiting room and my heart heaves a sigh of relief when I see In-joo. Her eyes are puffy from crying as she runs in my arms.

"In-kyung—"

"What happened? Where is she?"

She pulls away so I can see her eyes create new frantic tears. "She came home early from school and I heard her crying for Mom. So I followed her voice and found her fallen on the steps and—"

In-joo begins to cry and I hold her close again. My mind races from her story. She was doing just fine. What triggered her heart to fail again? What are we doing wrong?

So many questions and no answers. It's always this way as we quietly wait for the unknown. I let In-joo put her head on my shoulder and let out a sad sigh. Worry overwhelms my heart more than sadness. They're taking longer than usual.

Finally, a nurse comes to tell us we can see our sister now. We both quickly get up and eagerly follow the nurse to see our baby sister. When she opens the door to one of the rooms, my heart falls and that's when sadness strikes.

Just like the first time she was here, she has her eyes closed and her face pale. This time, her breathing is more shallow and her brows are slightly furrowed. In-joo is the first to hold her hand. She then runs her hand down the side of her face and says, "Oh, sweetie. What happened?"

I find a seat and sit on the other side of her bed. I take her small hand and my heart is stabbed at the cold feeling of her fingers. I give them a sweet kiss and hold her hand tighter.

The sound of footsteps makes us both turn to look at a doctor enter. He has a solemn face and I swallow down my dry throat for strength.

"Good evening. I'm Dr. Jung and I'm in charge of your sister's case."

We both give the doctor a respectful bow and wait for him to sit at the small couch. He takes off his glasses with a sigh and says, "Your sister's heart stopped when she got here. We brought her back to life twice."

The room suddenly feels heavy with those words. I can't swallow anymore as a lump starts in my throat. I look at In-joo for strength but she, too, has a pale face. The doctor gives us another punch in the gut as he says, "The problem here is that it seems like she hasn't been taking the necessary medicine post-surgery."

"Medicine?" I say with furrowed brows. "We were never told that she needed medicine."

"Not everyone requires anti-arrhythmic drugs after surgery but in the case of your sister's heart, she needs it."

"But she was doing okay," In-joo softly says. "Why does she need those drugs?"

He explains to us that the heart condition doesn't go away even if a defibrillator is implanted in her chest. The heart will still pace faster than normal and that is why the defibrillator should help. But like any machine, overusing it requires extra help.

"Those drugs help her heart from not abnormally pacing too much. It won't tire out her heart or the device like today. It's essential for her survival. Without that medicine, she can be in a lot of pain as she is now."

I turn back to look at my sister and wonder if her furrowed brows mean that she's in pain even in her sleep. If only I can take her pain away. If I knew where it hurts so I could stop this once and for all.

In-joo looks at me and I recognize the shine in her sweet eyes. I give her a nod and she doesn't hesitate to say, "Okay. Let's get that medicine for her. Do I have to buy them at a pharmacy?"

"The hospital will prescribe them for you to pick up at the clinic. Your sister will stay here until her heart soothes out and the device restarts. Please feel free to stay with her as long as you want at any time."

"Thank you, Doctor." I bow with my sister as we watch the doctor walk out with a small nod.

As he slides the door shut behind him, I hear In-joo softly sigh and say, "I may have some money left from my savings. You don't have to worry about it."

"Hey." She looks at me and I take her hand this time. "We'll be okay. I've got some money in my savings, too. Take it all if you have to."

She doesn't fight back at this. She nods and says, "As long as In-hye is okay. That's all that matters..."

Yes. It really is. As long as they're safe, I have nothing to complain about. Being in the States with the man I love does not compare to seeing my sisters safe and healthy at the end of the day.