The entire week has been bearable for her. Finally getting a hang of how everything works in the office, learning the dos and don'ts, adapting to the new environment and so much more. She has no problem fitting in, considering there are many other internship students around to keep her company. It has been great. But not until she got a call from Dr Kim.
Rushing straight towards the hospital, the first person she saw is Dr Kim standing at the door of Haneul's room. He gave her a weak smile before gesturing to go into the room and managed to mention her mother is already here.
"My mother?"
"Yes, she arrived a few minutes ago. Haneul is unconscious but I think it should be okay for you to see her", Dr Kim pats her shoulder softly. "I'll be back, okay?"
When Dr Kim called her 30 minutes ago informing her there was another complication with Haneul's health and she collapsed mid-way treatment, Haru dropped everything and rushed to the hospital. She texted Taehyung about it and he said he will go to her once his meeting ends. He asked her to text him once she reaches the hospital but when she learned her mother is here, everything goes blank.
They never bumped into each other at the hospital and she always made sure of it. Talking to her mother is the last thing she has in mind. Their last encounter was that night when her mother suddenly called for her and acted like she cares about her wellbeing.
"Oh god", she pressed the side of her face, debating if she should put aside all her hatred for a while and just go inside.
She slides the wooden door open slowly, making least noise possible and peeks. Her mother is seated at the chair beside the bed, eyes glued to Haneul as her hands clasped together on her chest. She looks genuinely worried and Haru wondered if her mother ever felt the same way towards her. Probably not. But this is not the time to be thinking about it.
The sound of the door made her mother looks up, surprised to see Haru there. She gets to her feet, awkwardly offering her a smile on which Haru did not even care to return.
"Haru-ssi"
"I am here to see Haneul. Not to talk to you"
Haru couldn't help but to say that despite knowing how her words might have been a tad too harsh on her mother. But her feelings are all over the place right now and she has no energy to be nice. Heading towards the bed, her heart sank at the sight of Haneul looking completely pale and weak. This has been her utmost fear and she doubts she is ever ready to accept it.
She knows the possibilities of Haneul surviving this stage is unlikely possible. But a little part of her prays a miracle might happen and she gets to live on.
"Dr Kim said she collapsed suddenly", her mother turns to Haneul, her hand gently caressing Haneul's arm. "And he doesn't know—I mean, you know what he means".
"I do"
An uncomfortable silence falls upon them, creating such a heavy tension in the room. Haru continues pretending as if her mother is not in the room while her mother sits there, half in guilt half in fear. There is just too much unspoken things and unresolved conflicts between them.
Seeing the way Haru ignores her sure breaks her heart but she is in no place to blame her for doing so. But nevertheless, she needs to talk to her. She promised herself to talk to her about Haneul whenever she gets the chance to do so. Thus, right now could be the only time to do so.
"Har—"
The slow knock on the door made both of them turn to the door, watching as it slides open and Taehyung walks in. He looks surprised to see Haru's mother but then he quickly greets them with a low whisper, bowing to the mother before turning to Haru.
"Good Evening, madam", he meets her mother's eyes, relieved when she smiles back.
"Are you Haneul's friend?"
Taehyung gulps slightly, not knowing if he should introduce himself as Haru's boyfriend or their relationship is meant to be secret to her mother. So, he turns to Haru, seeing the way her eyes wavers at her mother.
"My boyfriend"
Her mother looks surprise, eyes suddenly gleaming with curiosity. Softening her gaze, she gives Taehyung a very bright welcoming smile.
"Nice to meet you, Madam", he stands beside Haru.
"How should I address you?"
"Oh-I am sorry—My name is Kim Taehyung", he quickly bows again, politely smiling at her.
Her mother watches as Taehyung gently rubs the sides of Haru's arms and realizes the way she leans into the comfort of his side hug. Her heart softens at the sight, wondering what kind of person Taehyung is and how he has won Haru's heart. Haru looks much more relaxed after he arrived and that speaks volume of their closeness.
"Haru-ssi, I need to talk to you about something really important", her eyes dart to Taehyung. "But, I think I want to talk to you in private"
Reading the signs, Taehyung nods knowingly as he steps back. "I can leave you tw—"
"No", Haru caught his arm, stopping him. "He stays".
Not knowing what to say, Taehyung stays silent as Haru's mother gives him a knowing look before she finally nods in agreement.
"Alright then, as you wish", she walks further towards the bed, one hand pressing into the metal railing. "I have something to tell you and before that, I just....."
Haru's eyes flick up at the sound of her mother's soft sigh. Her mother looks conflicted, as if she is hesitating to say whatever she wanted to say.
"Haru, I am sorry....I shouldn't have kept this from you"
Taehyung felt his heart skip a beat as he finally realized what her mother is trying to say. After all, he already knew about Haneul and yet, he said nothing to Haru. He gulps silently, forcing himself to appear composed as he ignores the sudden guilt slowly waving into him. Glancing at Haru, he sees the way she looks completely stoic as she looks at her mother.
And that worries him. Will she be able to take it? How would she take it?
"Haru-ssi", her mother gulps again as she finally looks up to meet Haru's eyes. "Haneul is your sister".
Quiet
It felts like eternity as Taehyung and her mother wait for her reaction, hearts beating heavily but then Haru said nothing as she looks straight into her mother's worried eyes.
"What did you say?"
"Haneul.... she is your sister. She is not your cousin", she paused, glancing at Haneul before turning to Haru. "I gave birth to her but I had to give her to my sister because she couldn't get pregnant after she lost her first child. She is your real elder sister. I adopted Areum to fill in the emptiness before I finally got you. And—I know I shouldn't keep this from you but—"
"What are you saying?", the sudden raise in Haru's voice startled them, making Taehyung holds onto her tighter. "What are you saying?"
"She is your sister", her mother's eyes begin to water as tears start to spill. "I lied to you. Haneul was never your cousin. She is your real blood sister. I thought I had enough time to tell you but...I was wrong. I feel bad for keeping this from your all these years. And I think right now is the right to tell you"
Feeling the slight buzz in her head, she tries to replay her mother words in her head as she struggles to make sense of everything. It feels like a dream and she wishes everything that just happened was just a figment of her imagination. Every inch of her body suddenly feels heavy as her body begins to tremble.
What did her mother just say?
"Don't joke around about things like this", her voice shakes. "Haneul is my sister?"
"Yes", her mother nods with a regretful sigh. "She is"
A soft gasp left her mouth as she froze on her feet, mind swirling into a numbing thought as she looks at her mother. At the back of her head, she can hear the sound of her own heart breaking bit by bit, shattering onto the cold floor of the room but for some reason, it sounds distant. But the ache slowly grows underneath her chest, sending painful shiver all over her skin as her body trembles.
"H-How could you hide this from me?", her voice breaks when she failed to hold her emotions anymore. "Y-You....I-I cant believe you"
She feels Taehyung's hands holding her up, and deep down, she doesn't know what to feel about him hearing this. When she feels his hand gently rubbing her back, she glances at him to look at his reaction to the revelation.
Taehyung gives her a strangely calm look, as if whatever her mother just said did not surprise him at all. He looks too calm and too composed. His hand stroking her back feels like he is trying to comfort her and she is thankful for it. Nevertheless, there is something in his eyes that makes her think. He looks unaffected and if possible, too relaxed even after learning about Haneul. It feels like the news didn't surprise him at all. Not even the slightest.
That is when it hit her.
"You knew?"
Taehyung hand stopped stroking her back, and that fuels the belief that crossed her mind.
"Taehyung, you knew about Haneul?"
The last thing he ever want to do is to lie to her. He wishes he would never have to lie to her in any given circumstances. But right now, the hurt in her eyes and her weak voice make it so difficult. She had enough of people lying to her with the excuse of not wanting to hurt her. If he does that, he will not be of any difference with all the people that have been hurting her.
"Kim Taehyung", she looks at him, hopeful eyes staring right into his wavering ones. "Answer me"
"Yes"
She gasped almost immediately, stepping away from him. Her hand pushes his away when he tries to hold her and that stunned him.
"Haru—"
"Stop", the very last bit of her strength finally shattered, and tears trickle down her face. "You knew? You knew about Haneul but you didn't say anything?"
He searches for the right word to say, anything, just anything to fix the mess he made. It wasn't his intention to keep this from her but he really thought it was better not to say anything. Clearly, he was wrong. Haru trusts him and yet, he hurt her.
He has been furious of all the people who hurted her. And now, he just did the same thing.
"I trusted you"
She said calmly and yet the words stung him to the very core. He feels tongue-tied, too scared to say anything right now fearing it will further make everything worse.
"You knew about this", she scoffs bitterly. "Is this why you have been nice to me? You have been extra nice these days. Is this why? Were you pitying me? Were you? ", she runs one hand in her hair, looking disappointed. "I should have known."
"Haru, no", he tries to get closer only to have her snap at him.
"Don't touch me"
Her tone was harsh, and it made both Taehyung and her mother froze at their spots. This is the first time he had ever heard Haru speaking in such tone and it stunned him. His eyes waver as he watches her standing there, tears streaming down her face and yet he couldn't hold her.
He wants to hold her and comfort her. But he is the one who have hurt this time.
"Oh god, I can't believe I trusted you not to hurt me", she laughs to herself, looking amused at the situation.
"Please, Haru...", he tries again, hands reaching for her only to have her look at him with such anger and disgust.
"I hate liars", she snapped at him, reddened eyes filled with so much disappointment, sadness and anger. "I just.... hate liars. You guys are all the same".
The room falls into an uncomfortable silence as they look at Haru, listening to her soft sobs. Her mother looks taken aback by the sudden burst of her daughter. She turns to Taehyung, feeling for him as she sees the look of hurt apparent in his eyes.
"I-I need to go". Haru quickly wipes the tears on her face as she turns to the door. "I can't look at you"
Taehyung caught her arm but then she harshly pulls her hand, glaring at him. "I said, don't touch me!"
"Haru, please don't go", he caught her hand again. "Just, don't"
"What do you want?", she turns to him. "Did you have fun? Treating me like pathetic fool? I can't believe I thought you were genuinely nice to me all this while. It was all pity, doesn't it? You felt pity for me because my mother—no—everyone lied to my face and you knew".
"No, that's not it"
"I said, don't touch me", she pushed his hand away again but not as harsh at the last time. "J-Just don't"
She looks at him when she said that, her eyes filled with disappointment and sadness, face damp as tears fall endlessly. It breaks him to see her crying and yet she does not want him to hold her. As much as he wants to just pull her into his arms, hold her tightly and let her cry –he could not. Not this time.
He is the person who hurt her and he deserves no chance to be the one comforting her. He disappointed her. He did the only thing he sworn to never do to her—hurt her.
"I need to go"
She turns to the door to leave and Taehyung wanted to catch her again but suddenly, he heard a loud thump from behind him. He turns around to find Haru's mother had collapsed on the floor, and when he turned around to look at the door, she is no longer there.
Torn between going after her or helping Haru's mother, Taehyung had to choose the latter. He ran to her mother's side, gently putting his hands at the side of her arms trying to help her up.
"Kim Taehyung—ssi", she sobs loudly. "I am sorry"
"Madam, are you oka—"
"I caused all of this", she sighs, one hand reaching for his hand. "I am sorry".
~~~~
NOTE
Hello everyone! Here is another update! We finally reached the climax of the story and Im very worried about this chapter tho T_T
I hope it is good and enjoyable. Thank you for reading! Love youu~~