Hour Before Dawn

Chapter 12

"Do you think you can sit up now to take your meds?"

"I think so," she answered quietly.

"I'll be right back, okay? I'm just gonna get you some water and your pain killer."

Once she heard their bedroom door open and Bin stepped out, Ye-jin finally lifted her arm off her eyes and wiped her tears. She looked up at the dark ceiling and took slow deep breaths, hoping to relieve the tightness in her chest.

More than three weeks have passed since she was discharged from the hospital. While her surgical wound was healing and her pain was well managed, Ye-jin began noticing a change in her everyday activities. As time passes, fatigue and shortness of breath became more apparent to her. As much as she looked forward to going home to California, it also meant that it was time to face the inevitable. Her worries must have been carried on to her sleep, causing her to dream about what she feared the most.

Bin came back with a glass of water and her medication for pain and her muscles, setting them on the night stand before turning the lamp on and helping her sit up. He pulled a chair by the bed and sat facing Ye-jin, watching her take her pills before reaching for her face to caress her cheeks. He stood up and softly kissed just below her eyes, knowing she already dried the tears that wet her face.

"Thank you, Beanie," she whispered while caressing his arm. "And, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Yej?"

"Your arm," Ye-jin answered while looking at him. "I hope you don't get a bruise from it."

He gave her a sweet smile as he held her hand. "Don't worry about it, Yejie. How are you feeling?"

She took a deep breath before answering. "I'm okay now, but I really couldn't take it earlier. The last time it hurt that bad was almost a month ago when I was still in the hospital. I didn't expect to wake up like that."

The pain was still comes and goes but it has become more manageable and bearable with her medications all throughout the three weeks that she was at home. She has been able to do more around the house while making sure that she wasn't pushing her back's limits. It was only from moving a certain way upon waking up that caused her to have pain as bad as it was.

"Your body jolted quite a bit when you woke up, I think that must've caused it to hurt that much," Bin said while reaching for her back to stroke it gently.

Ye-jin nodded and gave him a faint smile. "It was such a sudden move, I started having bad spasms. It's much better now, though."

"What were you dreaming about?"

She looked at him closely before shaking her head. "It's not important," she answered quietly.

He reached for her face to caress it before nodding, knowing it wasn't something she wanted to talk about. "Okay, but if you ever want to talk about it, let me know. You want to lie down again?"

She shook her head. "I think I'm just going to lean on the head board for a while."

Bin helped her sit in front of their head board and lean her back on it, taking the space beside her. She immediately leaned her head on his shoulder while her arm was wrapped around his. He ended up resting his head on hers too.

"How does your back feel, Yej?"

"It's okay," she answered softly.

"You're not just saying that?"

Ye-jin smiled and looked up at Bin, who gave her a kiss on the forehead. "No, I promise."

They sat quietly beside each other for a while, so quiet that they thought the other had already fallen asleep. Ye-jin was wide awake thinking about how she was hoping her medications were helping with her cardiac issues. With just days left before they fly home, she was eager to find out what difference they made over the past month.