A Promise of Forever Chapter 22
Title: A Promise of Forever
Pairings: Yunjae, Yoosu, Junki/Jaejoong, Changmin/GaIn
Rating: PG-13 (for boy to boy pairing)
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Drama
Chapter 22: Pain
The next day, Yunho went back to his home town to visit his family. It had been a very long time since he last paid a visit. He missed his family very much, and since he’s already in Korea, he might as well take the opportunity to go home. It was not until Friday that he needed to go back to Japan. His recently finished project was a big success and the chairman of GD Motors decided to give him a few days off so that he could relax and rest.
The trip back to his hometown took a few hours, which Yunho spent by focusing on the road and the road alone. He didn’t allow his mind to stray to the weird things that were happening, that his friends accused him of cheating on a man, a man that he only knew by name.
He finally arrived outside their house. He got out of his car and gazed at the house in front of him with his mouth slightly open.
“Wait a minute, has our house always looked like this?” Yunho wondered as he felt that everything was unfamiliar to him. It was the same when he found out that he had a silver Volvo and a silver necklace with a small red gem as a pendant. Ever since that day that Jaejoong burst inside the hotel room and accused him of betraying, things had gone weird. There were many things that he couldn’t explain.
The very first thing that he didn’t have a damn clue about was that everyone seemed to accuse him of a betrayal he wasn’t aware of. They keep on saying that he betrayed Jaejoong which didn’t make sense for him. For Yunho, Jaejoong was just like any stranger.
At first, Yunho was very sure that Jaejoong didn’t have anything to do with him. Because if Jaejoong was someone special to him, someone that he loved, he would surely know about him. But it wasn’t the case for Yunho. He knew Jaejoong’s name and was a little bit familiar with his face, but that was all. He knew nothing more. He felt nothing for Jaejoong, not even a slight beat of the heart.
But after the strange incidences, he was starting to doubt things. He was no longer as convinced as before that Jaejoong was nothing to him. Everything left Yunho very confused.
“Aah!” Yunho winced at the sudden pain in his chest. He grabbed the side of his car to support his weight as he clutched his hand tightly on his chest. After a few seconds, the pain subsided as quickly as it came. That has happened to Yunho a few times, the sudden pain swelling from his chest. The first one happened right after Jaejoong left the hotel room a few days ago and the pain has been repeatedly coming back ever since. And the reason for that, Yunho didn’t know exactly, but he recently came up with a guess.
Observing the instances where he felt the immediate pain, he came up with a hunch that whenever he thought about Jaejoong and the strange incidences, the pain would instantly appear without warning, torturing Yunho everytime. Also, he noticed that the intensity of the pain in his chest increases with each appearance, the very recent one more painful than the last.
“I really shouldn’t think about him.” Yunho reminded himself once more. He put aside his problems and got ready to face his family. He was about to get his bag inside his car when a voice spoke.
“Oppa?” the voice was small and innocent. Yunho looked at the owner of the voice and saw his little sister standing just outside the front door of their house, her face looking hopeful. He smiled sweetly at his sister. Once she was sure that it was really her oppa, the little girl’s face brightened and rushed to her brother. Yunho opened his arms wide and waited for his little sister to be in his arms.
“Oppa!” Yunho’s sister wailed as she cried while embracing her brother tightly.
“There, there. Don’t cry anymore.” Yunho comforted his sister as he gently patted her back.
“It’s just that I missed you so much. You didn’t go home for so long.” his sister said, her eyes and cheeks wet with tears and her nose as red as a tomato.
“Oppa is very sorry.” Yunho apologized, feeling very guilty for making his beloved sister cry. “Now don’t cry anymore, or I will be very sad too.”
“Oppa doesn’t like seeing you crying like that. It breaks my heart so please stop crying, okay?” Yunho said. “And besides, you’ll get ugly if you continue crying.”
As soon as his sister heard, she immediately stopped crying and wiped her tears with the back of her small hand.
“There. No crying anymore okay?” Yunho said and put his hand gently on top his sister’s head.
“Okay!” his sister answered energetically, an angelic smile gracing her face.
“And oppa has a present for you, so close your eyes.” Yunho said.
“Why?” Yunho’s sister said and pouted.
“I want you to be surprised.” Yunho reasoned.
“Okay.” she agreed and closed her eyes and put her small hands to her face to cover her eyes. Yunho quickly opened his car and got his present for his sister.
“Alright, you can open your eyes now.”
His sister removed her hands and opened her eyes, revealing a huge teddy bear in front of her.
“Wow!” Yunho’s sister shouted in delight. She quickly hugged her teddy bear.
“Do you like it?” Yunho asked as he happily watched his sister.
“Yes! Thank you oppa!” his sister answered.
“Now let’s go inside.” Yunho said as he grabbed his sister’s dainty hand and led her inside.
“Yunho oppa’s here!” Yunho’s other sister shouted happily as she saw Yunho enter the house with her little sister. All the other family members stopped whatever they were doing and quickly rushed to the living room to welcome Yunho. Yunho hugged his three other siblings, and then his father, and finally his mother.
“Oh Yunho!” Mrs. Jung said as she embraced her eldest son tightly. She was very happy to see her family complete once again. It was something that every mother wanted for their family.
“Sorry for not being able to visit Umma.” Yunho apologized.
“It’s okay Yunho. What’s important is that you’re here.” Mrs. Jung assured her son.
Yunho gave the gifts that he bought for his family after the heartwarming welcome that he received. It was the least that he could do for not being able to come home for so long. His family were happy with the presents, but they were happier to be with their brother and son.
The Jung family gathered together in their dining area for lunch. Mrs. Jung prepared a very sumptuous meal for everybody.
“Wah! You should come home often hyung! We seldom get to eat like this!” Yunho’s younger brother said as his mouth watered at the abundant food set in front of him.
All of them ate and talked happily like they always did before. They were happy and complete, something that they had always wanted to happen. Yunho and his siblings teased each other as their parents watched them with joy. Mrs. Jung, being so blissful at the rare moment that her family was sharing, couldn’t help but cry. Her husband was very healthy and free from any illness, her children were all happy and healthy. Her family, the most important thing in her life, was complete. She couldn’t ask for more.
Yunho on the other hand felt something else as he sat there with his family. Of course he was very happy to be with them, who wouldn’t be when you had a very loving family? But at the pit of his heart, something was missing and he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Not wanting to ruin that blissful moment with his family, he just dismissed the thought.
“Yunho” Mrs. Jung said for the third time. Yunho looked at his mother with a distracted look.
“Are you alright? You seem to be bothered by something.” Mrs. Jung pointed out, a little bit worried for her son. He saw Yunho a while ago and he had this very serious look and seemed to be thinking hard about something.
“I’m alright Umma. No need to worry. I’m just tired from the long trip from Seoul.” Yunho said as an excuse.
“Okay.” Mrs. Jung said but she was quite sure that there was something wrong.
After lunch, Yunho and his family went to the beach near their house. Mrs. Jung prepared some sandwiches for them and brought it along.
It was a very good day to visit the beach. It wasn’t very sunny for the clouds blocked the sun’s rays. The wind wasn’t strong and the waves of the sea were calm. Yunho’s siblings excitedly hurried towards the water, especially Yunho’s youngest sister. They raced to the shore, removed their slippers, and quickly played in the water.
“Be careful there! Take care of your baby sister!” Mrs. Jung shouted to her children.
“Don’t worry too much.” Mr. Jung said, his face showed peace and contentment, and he put his arm on Mrs. Jung’s shoulders.
“Oppa! Come join us!” Yunho’s sister said and blocked her face with her hand from her brother’s water attack.
“Umma, I’ll just go and join them.” Yunho said and ran towards the water.
“Something isn’t right.” Mrs. Jung said quietly once Yunho was out of earshot.
“I noticed it too.” Mr. Jung responded.
After minutes of playing in the water, Yunho and his siblings were tired and all wet. They walked back to their parents and got a bit of scolding from their mother. They replenished their energy by eating the sandwiches prepared by Mrs. Jung.
“Oppa, why is Jaejoong oppa not with you?” Yunho’s sister asked, remembering the last time they went to the beach with Jaejoong.
“Oppa, didn’t you promise that you’ll bring Jaejoong oppa with you again next time you visit?” Yunho’s youngest sister asked this time.
Once the topic about Jaejoong started, questions started flooding.
“I still have to learn how to cook from Jaejoong oppa.”
Yunho didn’t know how to answer their questions. He comtemplated whether he should tell the truth and raise confusion or lie to avoid further explaining. He decided on lying.
“Uhm, he’s busy.” Yunho answered uncomfortably.
“Hyung, when is the wedding?” it was Yunho’s brother’s turn to ask.
“What wedding?” Yunho asked, bewildered.
“You and Jaejoong hyung.” his brother simply answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Yunho couldn’t believe what he heard. He wasn’t able to respond to his brother as he couldn’t get over the shock. His brother cast him a confused look.
‘Did I hear it right? Me and Jaejoong? Getting married?’ Yunho thought in disbelief. ‘And my whole family knows about him. I even brought him here in this very beach. Why can’t I remember any of this? What the hell is happening?’
“Hyung?”
“Oppa”
“Yunho”
Yunho’s family called out to him but he was too absorbed in his own thoughts to hear them.
‘I love him? That’s the only possible reason for everything. That’s why everyone accused me of betraying him. That’s why my family mentioned about a marriage. That’s it right?’
But the problem was that Yunho couldn’t remember a single thing about Jaejoong. Not even a single memory in his past about him. He couldn’t remember ever bringing Jaejoong to his hometown. He couldn’t remember ever proposing to him. Why would he even do that if he believed Jaejoong had nothing to do with him?
As Yunho tried to make sense about the things that he heard, an immense pain once again shot inside his chest. He screamed and his face was contorted with pain. The pain was much stronger than ever. He fell to the sand as he continued to scream as the pain continued.
“Yunho!” Mr. Jung quickly moved to his son’s side. His face was pale with worry for his son. He didn’t know what just happened. Yunho suddenly screamed in pain.
“What’s happening?” Mrs. Jung asked, panic rising. Watching Yunho writhe in pain scared her. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to her son.
“I don’t know.” Mr. Jung answered. He ordered his son to get their car from the house. They didn’t bring it because they just walked to the beach. Yunho’s brother took the keys from his father and ran as fast as he could back to their house.
“Oppa” Yunho’s youngest sister whispered as tears streaked down her cheeks. Her elder sister hugged her close.
Yunho’s family was by his side, watching him struggle in pain and it broke their heart that they couldn’t do anything. After a few minutes, Yunho stopped screaming and he passed out. At that moment, his brother was back with the car and they hurriedly rushed Yunho to the hospital.
The doctor examined Yunho and made him undergo several tests to check if there was something wrong with his body. When the results came out, he approached Yunho’s family.
“Doctor, how is my son?” Mrs. Jung asked worriedly.
“Yunho is fine. In fact, his body is perfectly healthy.” the doctor answered.
“What? But he definitely was far from fine a while ago. He was screaming and writhing in pain! How could that count as ‘Yunho is fine’?” Mr. Jung demanded, not satisfied with what the doctor said.
“We already performed tests on your son and all of them didn’t show any sign that there is something wrong with his body. His body is in perfect condition.” the doctor explained.
“How would you explain the pain that he felt earlier?” Mr. Jung asked, controlling his anger and worry.
“That’s what I’m puzzled about. There really isn’t anything wrong with his body. Maybe it’s something psychological or emotional.”
“What? Are you implying that my son has some kind of brain damage or whatever the hell it is?” Mr. Jung was all fired up.
“Appa, that’s enough.” Mrs. Jung stopped her husband. “I’m sorry Doctor. Thank you.”
“It’s alright. You can see your son now. He can also be discharged.” the doctor said and bowed. They all bowed back in respect and the doctor left them to attend to the other patients.
When they entered Yunho’s room in the hospital, he was sleeping soundly like nothing happened that afternoon. They silently stayed and watched over him. They didn’t disturb him and made him sleep and rest more.
After a few hours, Yunho opened his eyes with difficulty and he was no longer in the beach. He observed his surroundings and learned that he was inside a hospital room. He glanced at the sleeping person beside his bed. It was his mother.
“Umma” Yunho quietly called out. Mrs. Jung stirred and looked at her son. It took her a moment to realize that Yunho was already awake.
“Yunho! Are you alright? Are you hurting somewhere? What happened back in the beach?” Mrs. Jung bombarded his son with questions.
“Umma, what am I doing here?” Yunho asked.
“You were suddenly in pain earlier and then you passed out. We brought you here because we were worried that something bad happened.” his mother answered.
“I’m okay now. I just want to go home and rest.” Yunho said. He didn’t want to stay any longer in the hospital.
“Alright. Your father is arranging your papers and your siblings are eating in the hospital’s cafeteria. We’ll just wait for them and then we’ll come home.” Mrs. Jung said softly as she lovingly patted her son’s hair.
“Okay.”
‘The pain keeps coming back and this time I already passed out. I should stop thinking about all of the strange things, especially about Jaejoong.’ Yunho mentally reminded himself. Before anything worse happen to him, he was determined to just forget about the things that were confusing him and go on with his life.
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Hi my dear readers! Only a few more chapters to go before this story ends....^-^
And this is something just for fun. Tell me two truths and one lie about yourself and I’ll try to guess which one of the three is a lie. Thanks!
To my fellow Pinays, see you at the kpop convention!