[Yongguk_Victoria] Let Life Do The Rest, PG-13, Part 6/6 [END]
Pairing: Victoria Song Qian x Bang Yongguk
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, AU!, General, Romance
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine but the writing.
Summary: He's got nothing to him but his life and his name. Now he's got a purpose, and she's there to walk him through every step he needs to take towards his very own deathbed.
Warning: Un-beta'd. I don't even know how else to warn you about this chapter, but it's the end! :D
Yongguk’s opportunity to see Victoria is actually a lot closer than either of them had expected because, a few days later, Victoria is delivered into the emergency room. Luhan and Krystal are the ones who brought her in but Luhan is soon called back to the lab and only Krystal remains present.
By the time Himchan informs Yongguk and the two of them head over, Krystal has already left and the only person with Victoria is Nichkhun, who’s pacing back and forth outside of the room door with his cellphone to his ear.
“No, mom, Victoria is not pregnant, don’t start spreading rumors. She’s just a little overworked and they say she is a little malnutrition.” He irritably responds, rolling his eyes.
Nichkhun is a lot taller and more handsome than Himchan had imagined. No one at the lab had met him before, despite knowing he’s stopped by a few times to pick Victoria up over the years, and now, seeing him for the first time, it’s quite a shock.
He’s well built with kind eyes, not the weak kind of kind but the intelligent and wise kind of kind. Nichkhun stands straight with great position, his clothing fitting perfectly with his build, and an air of confidence and masculinity is easily noticeable in him.
They’ve both got to admit, he’s practically a perfect match for Victoria.
“Her parents are both still overseas,” Nichkhun says, “I don’t think either of them will be visiting. The doctors advised to leave her here overnight since her family has had records of terminal diseases; I’m still considering whether or not I should stay over with her. Victoria has told me to go home, though.”
“I’ve got a meeting in the morning and a contract to discuss over a lunch appointment,” he adds. “If anything, I’d just leave early in the morning, before she wakes up.”
One thing’s for sure: both of them can tell that Nichkhun actually cares.
Slowly approaching him, Yongguk tries his best to stand as straight as he can. Although he still needs Himchan to help support him every now and then, he attempts to walk on his own with, what most would see as, pride.
“Mom, I have to go.”
Nichkhun slips his cellphone back into his pocket and turns to greet them.
“Hello, you two must be friends of Victoria’s.” Nichkhun smiles politely.
Awkwardly glancing between each other, Himchan decides to step up and reply. “Yes, we’ve both worked with her in the past. We heard she was sick and decided to visit her. Is this a bad time? I hope we’re not disrupting you.”
Peering over at the room, Nichkhun shakes his head and gestures for them to enter. He leads the way, opening the door wider so that the guests may follow him through.
As Victoria hears the door creak open, she glances towards the entrance. First is her fiancé who enters, whom doesn’t surprise her, but the two people who follow give her a slight shock.
“You two…”
Nichkhun sits down beside her on the bed and checks the IV needle that is probed into her arm. Victoria flinches a little but doesn’t pull away; she simply stares at him, her expression a mixture of emotions.
“You’re friends have come to visit,” he tells her. “I’ll leave the three of you to yourselves then. There’s another call I’ve got to make.”
Victoria looks down into her lap. “Just go home. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow; don’t wear yourself out because of me.”
“Mom wants me to send your health records to her,” Nichkhun mutters. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”
At that, Nichkhun excuses himself from the room and closes the door behind him. Victoria turns her head to look out the window and takes a deep breath before smiling in the direction of her visitors.
“Well, well,” she laughs, “imagine the situation we are in now. I’ve never dreamed of this possibility before.”
“Are you alright?” Himchan asks.
Victoria nods, eyes glimmering. “Of course I am. Just a little overworked, but you know how that goes.”
“Are you trying to impregnate yourself?” Himchan asks bluntly.
She tries her best not to choke on her own saliva. “Excuse me?”
Yongguk elbows Himchan in the ribs. Himchan represses the pain and coughs.
Victoria laughs. “Seems like you’re recovering just fine.”
“He’s not,” Himchan deadpans. “Not at all, actually.”
It’s obvious that she tenses and immediately becomes worried. “Why not?”
“Would you just be quiet?” Yongguk hisses at him. Himchan grins. “I’m doing fine, don’t listen to him.”
“Sure he’s fine; he’s better than he was when he was in your hands, but a lot worse than what he actually should be. I guess that could be considered fine. Better than bad anyhow.”
Yongguk kind of just glares at Himchan until Himchan gets a couple of goose bumps running up his arms. He then proceeds to zip his lips shut and glances at Victoria, who’s a mixture of amused and worried all at the same time.
“Don’t listen to me,” Himchan adds off handedly, “I’m just venting.”
There’s awkward silence.
“Well, I should be out of here by tomorrow. We should do some catching up, shouldn’t we? I would love to know how Junhong is faring.” Victoria says, breaking the ice.
Yongguk smiles and nods. “Yeah, I think he’d like to see you too.”
“You sure Mr. Handsome there will let you?” Himchan asks, thumbing towards the door. “Seems like he’s pretty strict.”
Victoria laughs. “I bet my head on it that he’ll be gone before long,” she says, “he’s worse of a workaholic than any of us are. To him, work will always come first.”
They know it’s true. From Nichkhun’s conversation on the phone earlier, they could both tell he didn’t really plan on staying. “Right,” Himchan agrees. His cellphone suddenly begins buzzing and he excuses himself from the room as well.
Yongguk and Victoria embrace the, surprisingly comfortable, atmosphere. She stares at him, observing every little difference she can find in him from the last time they met-there are a few minor changes here and there but, overall, Yongguk has pretty much remained the same.
For whatever reason, although it has only been a few weeks, it feels as though it’s been months, even years, since the last they’ve seen each other.
She shifts a little in her seat, trying to prevent herself from sliding down further in the bed, and the needle holes in her arms are more revealed than before. Yongguk takes a few steps closer, hoping to get a better look.
Victoria covers her arm out of instinct when she realizes he’s seen her bare arm.
“Have you done a lot of testing?”
How honest should she be? “Sort of.” Honest enough, she supposes.
“Is it because you might be pregnant?”
It takes a lot of effort for Yongguk to ask the question-for one, he isn’t sure he wants to know the answer, second, the answer might hurt when he finds out the truth.
Victoria laughs. “What?” Yongguk wants to know.
“It’s nothing of the sort,” Victoria replies. “I can tell you right now, there is not a single chance that I am pregnant.”
“Your fiancé said the same,” he notes.
She collects her laughter and tries to school her expression. “Yes, I wouldn’t doubt it. There’s only one reason we can be so sure of such a fact, you know,” she explains with a little smile, “we’re… we’re not quite at that stage yet.”
Yongguk lowers his head with a small smile of his own. He lingers around for a little bit longer, until Himchan finishes his phone call, and the two leave for the evening.
Their visit had been a meaningful one, in various different aspects, and the future has much to hold for them in the most unexpected ways.
The next morning, Nichkhun calls Victoria’s room very early in the light of day. He can’t stop laughing on the other end but Victoria doesn’t quite catch the humor.
Finally, after he catches his breath, he asks, “Do you remember the first day my mom met you and how she immediately fell in love with you because, and correct me if I’m wrong, she thought you would be able to produce gorgeous and intelligent babies for our family?”
Victoria furrows her eyebrows, lips thinned. “Yes?”
“She seems to think otherwise now, after seeing your health records that I had sent over to her,” Nichkhun says. “Ironic, isn’t it? My mom had been the one to push us into the places we are in now, but after realizing that your family’s health record isn’t top notch material, she’s backing out.”
She can hear the venom in his tone, the words seething through his teeth. “You sound bitter,” she comments idly, leaning back in her hospital chair. “Isn’t this better for the both of us? Now you can find someone you truly like to marry with.”
“I’ve never said I don’t truly like you,” Nichkhun replies seriously.
Victoria chuckles, nodding, “I know.”
“I don’t know how you’re parents are going to react to this once my mom gets into contact with them,” he sighs, “it could either end up in a peaceful respect, or an explosive manner.”
“I wouldn’t know either,” Victoria agrees, “As you have probably observed over the past few years of our relationship, I don’t exactly get along with them.”
Nichkhun laughs. “Your sister would die to be in your place.”
“She already has,” Victoria jokes; despite the words coming out fluidly, they sink back through her skin and squeeze a weak fragment of her heart so tight it suffocates her momentarily. That’s right; Liyin probably would have died even if only to have received a little bit of love from their parents.
“You don’t tell me much about your past,” Nichkhun accuses, “but from what I’ve learned, either through your slip of mouth or through other portals, I know you’re a lot weaker than you seem. I know, for a fact, that you aren’t simply malnutritioned right now but as long as you’re unwilling to let us know, we’ll always be kept in the dark about it.”
Victoria smiles secretly. “You’re a lot touchier than when we were still officially together, about five minutes ago.”
“My mom’s not going to let me continue seeing you,” Nichkhun states in a matter of fact manner. “You know exactly how my mom is, and I know you’re not going to protest against this decision because, let’s be honest, you were never interested in this relationship to begin with.”
“That’s not entirely true.”
“It is,” Nichkhun deadpans, “and don’t even try denying it for a single moment.”
Victoria doesn’t. “This is what I’ve always hated ever since I reunited with my parents-wealthy people are just so quick to pick things up and then drop them without a care. Things break, quite easily too, but they don’t give it a second thought.”
He doesn’t interrupt her.
“You’ve been so kind and affectionate towards me all this time; it couldn’t have been easy to convince yourself into this ordeal in the first place, but you’re much more brave and accepting than I am.” She continues.
Nichkhun scoffs. “You don’t think I’m any different than my mother, do you?”
“Wel,, you pretty much gave up on me just as quick as you accepted me,” Victoria teases. “Granted, I know it’s mostly because of your mother.”
“No use in holding onto a string that might snap any minute, right?” Nichkhun muses. “If two hearts aren’t in a relationship together, it’s never going to work out.”
She takes a breath, finally somewhat comfortable. “Do you think we would have worked out?”
Nichkhun stalls for a moment, wondering. “I don’t think I’m quite your type.”
“No,” Victoria agrees with a small laugh. “You might not be my type, but you’re an amazing person. I just hope you know that it’s not at all because you’re lacking.”
“I think we’d make better friends than we would lovers,” Nichkhun concludes.
Victoria nods. “Yeah, probably.” She glances at the clock on the wall and quickly excuses herself from their conversation. A nurse approaches her room soon after and checks up on her statistics, releasing her from the needles and wires on the bed.
Getting home was probably the hardest part of her entire venture outside of the hospital room. She tiptoed around the residence, grabbing some clothes from her closet and taking a quick shower. No one was home, she knew that, but she was still nervous-for what reason, she didn’t know.
When she’s done washing up, she searches for a bag that is lying on her bed and unzips a pocket, pulling out two boxes and shoving them into her purse before she rushes over to the hospital where Junhong is now admitted. Himchan is not present but both Yongguk and Junhong are patiently waiting for her inside the room they’ve been assigned.
“Sorry I’m running a little late-“
Junhong is both a heartbreaking and a heartwarming sight. The boy is clad in thin patient clothing, wearing a beanie over a head that Victoria knows must be bald; he looks just like Liyin did when she was still alive.
Smiling, Victoria approaches the bed and gives the boy a kiss on the forehead over the beanie. She wants to apologize, she wants to say sorry; there are so many things that she feels guilty about.
The young boy takes her hand and tells her to sit down beside him. Drawing open the drawer beside his bed, he pulls out a folder of documents and hands them over to Victoria.
“I wrote down everything I’ve been feeling-reactions, results, it’s like a diary, almost-and I thought you’d be able to use it.” Junhong tells her.
Victoria is almost unable to suppress the rush of emotions that tackle her.
“While you were gone,” Junhong continues, “I thought a lot about you, noona. I wish I could be like you and try to help people that are like me. Do you think this will help?”
She smiles, patting Junhong’s hand that is resting over hers. “Definitely.”
After placing the collection of papers into her purse, she sees the two boxes she had packed in there earlier and takes them out. She opens the box on top, taking out a delicately designed white gold bracelet.
Junhong and Yongguk watch as she raises Junhong’s hand and locks it around his wrist.
She says, “I bought my little sister a bracelet when she was sick, too. It wasn’t nearly as nice, but my sister absolutely loved it and would hold it up against the light and stare at it for a long time before giving me a hug. I believe that to my sister, it wasn’t just a bracelet-it was a momentum of the affection and care that I have for her, because I couldn’t always stay by her side.”
“Why not?” Junhong asks.
“I had to work, in order to pay off her hospital bills,” Victoria smiles. “I hope that this bracelet can do the same for you, okay?”
Junhong nods and holds his wrists over his heart, promising in silence that he will treasure the gift.
Then, Victoria turns to Yongguk and walks over to him. She reaches for his hand and pulls it out, placing the second box in his palm. “This one is for you.”
“Why me?” Yongguk asks.
Victoria does not answer; she simply smiles at him, in a way that Yongguk has never seen before, and then joins Junhong at his bedside again.
She tells them stories about Liyin, humorous stories about working at the organization, and many stories about things she finds interesting in life. For instance, she tells the story of the first time she met Yongguk and the first time she read his profile in the lounge.
“There was hardly any information about you at all in your profile,” she says. “I figured it was just because you didn’t have much of a background, but look how wrong I turned out to be.”
In turn, Yongguk tells her about his past, too. At the end, his conclusion is quite direct and to the point.
“I thought there was nothing left in life for me to live for if I couldn’t even save my own brother with my own blood,” Yongguk explains. “Death was something I’ve never feared before; my line of work, the mindset I was brought up with-my own life was never as significant as my goals.”
Victoria listens carefully, occasionally glancing over at Junhong, whose eyes are tearing up slowly.
“There was one girl I loved, but even after being the root of her death, I couldn’t convince myself to fight on for this life of my own. It wasn’t as though I was expecting to join her in the afterlife, but living just wasn’t worthy anymore.”
Yongguk stares into Victoria’s eyes, sincere, deep in thought. He clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly before taking a deep breath and guiding her out of the patient room by the wrist.
The two of them travel down the elevator into a small garden area just outside the back door of the hospital. Yongguk drags her over to a small marble table and urges her to take a seat.
At one point in time, Yongguk made up his mind and decided to live. If he couldn’t save his brother, he’d die trying-that was what he had decided on before meeting Victoria. After all of Victoria’s efforts to keep him alive, he lives in a different light.
“There are too many things in this world that lead me to thoughts of giving up on my life and my dreams, but there is only one reason so far that has led me to think otherwise.”
Victoria feels her heartbeat pulsating everywhere in her body. Her cheeks redden and she cannot bring herself to look Yongguk in the eyes. It’s the first time she’s felt this way, and she isn’t sure she completely hates it.
He leaves his seat and kneels in front of her, gathering her hands that are sitting in her lap into his own. As he peers up into her face and sees the red silks painting her face, he suddenly feels a little relieved.
Looking to his side, he sees a few flowers growing by the root of the tree. He reaches for it and is just about to pull them out of the dirt when Victoria rests a hand over his and tugs on his arm.
“Open the gift I gave you,” Victoria says simply.
Yongguk once again searches into her eyes, which are now finally meeting his with a warm smile.
His hand slowly travels to his back pocket and he holds the box in his palm, glancing between Victoria and the box before eventually tugging the bow loose and opening it.
Inside the box sits a couple pieces of heart shaped chocolate, small but unique in style.
A smile finds its way to his own lips and Yongguk immediately closes the box and pulls Victoria in for a big hug. It’s the type of bear hug that suffocates her, but she doesn’t find it uncomfortable, nor does she want to pull away.
It’s in his arms that she feels safe and, somehow, secure.
“Thank you,” Yongguk whispers into her ear.
Victoria wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face into his shoulder. She shakes her head and takes a deep breath-everything smells like Yongguk, and Yongguk, somehow, smells like home.
“Noona! I’m running late, there’s no time for breakfast!”
Victoria peeks out of the kitchen and frowns when she sees Junhong shoving on his socks and is hopping towards the door. “I’ll drive you to school. You can’t skip breakfast!”
The door to the bathroom creaks open and Yongguk steps out, clad in his work outfit. “You’ll be late to work then,” he mutters. “Let him take his breakfast to school with him.”
Sighing, Victoria finishes packing Junhong’s breakfast and walks it to him at the door. She checks his bag for his medication and makes sure he has enough water on him for the day before permitting him to leave.
Yongguk chuckles to himself, his heart warmed by her motherly actions.
“He’s been fine the past two years,” Yongguk says, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. “You should relax a little.”
It’s been a year and a half since Junhong has been released from the hospital. His cancerous viruses have been shrunken to a minimum and they’ve controlled his situation quite well-they still haven’t been able to get rid of his bad cells completely, but it’s the best they’ve been able to do with modern day technology.
Yet, the fear of it growing or spreading again haunts Victoria more than it really should.
“I try,” Victoria sighs. She lets Yongguk lure her in for a kiss but cuts it off short by retrieving his lunch and handing it over to him. “You’ll probably be late again tonight,” she shrugs. “Don’t forget to get yourself something for dinner.”
“I try not to be late every night,” Yongguk apologizes. “It’s just really hard to control my working hours in the investigation field.”
Victoria laughs. “I understand.”
The two of them leave their house together and walk to the garage hand in hand. Victoria no longer works directly with the organization; she now works with the biggest hospital in Seoul, mainly focused on diseased children who cannot afford expensive treatments.
Every now and then she returns to the organization to help out her old friends. Some have stayed, others have moved on, but there’s one thing they all came have come to agreement with; cancer, like energy, is a disease which cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can change form and be controlled.
As such, these scientists, all of their own specialties, will work together in order to find every which way to control these diseases in order to help those in need.
In Victoria’s journey, now no longer only to find a cure but to also help many others find a way, she thinks as she watches Yongguk enter his car and glance back at her through the window with a sweet and endearing smile, she’s found a way of her own.
Happiness; that is the greatest cure and the greatest encouragement that she can ever find in life, an element she will work hard for in order to help the ill find their own.
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[ Part 5]
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A/N: Yay! I finally finished this~ I know it must, at least a little bit, feel like I cut straight to an ending... but I'm seriously losing the capability to write Yongguk/Victoria seriously as time passes, so I just wanted to conclude this story before I lose interest in it completey ;___;. Thank you for sticking with me throughout this horrible story! Lots of love to all those who have supported me all this time!♥ -Xue
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, AU!, General, Romance
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine but the writing.
Summary: He's got nothing to him but his life and his name. Now he's got a purpose, and she's there to walk him through every step he needs to take towards his very own deathbed.
Warning: Un-beta'd. I don't even know how else to warn you about this chapter, but it's the end! :D
Yongguk’s opportunity to see Victoria is actually a lot closer than either of them had expected because, a few days later, Victoria is delivered into the emergency room. Luhan and Krystal are the ones who brought her in but Luhan is soon called back to the lab and only Krystal remains present.
By the time Himchan informs Yongguk and the two of them head over, Krystal has already left and the only person with Victoria is Nichkhun, who’s pacing back and forth outside of the room door with his cellphone to his ear.
“No, mom, Victoria is not pregnant, don’t start spreading rumors. She’s just a little overworked and they say she is a little malnutrition.” He irritably responds, rolling his eyes.
Nichkhun is a lot taller and more handsome than Himchan had imagined. No one at the lab had met him before, despite knowing he’s stopped by a few times to pick Victoria up over the years, and now, seeing him for the first time, it’s quite a shock.
He’s well built with kind eyes, not the weak kind of kind but the intelligent and wise kind of kind. Nichkhun stands straight with great position, his clothing fitting perfectly with his build, and an air of confidence and masculinity is easily noticeable in him.
They’ve both got to admit, he’s practically a perfect match for Victoria.
“Her parents are both still overseas,” Nichkhun says, “I don’t think either of them will be visiting. The doctors advised to leave her here overnight since her family has had records of terminal diseases; I’m still considering whether or not I should stay over with her. Victoria has told me to go home, though.”
“I’ve got a meeting in the morning and a contract to discuss over a lunch appointment,” he adds. “If anything, I’d just leave early in the morning, before she wakes up.”
One thing’s for sure: both of them can tell that Nichkhun actually cares.
Slowly approaching him, Yongguk tries his best to stand as straight as he can. Although he still needs Himchan to help support him every now and then, he attempts to walk on his own with, what most would see as, pride.
“Mom, I have to go.”
Nichkhun slips his cellphone back into his pocket and turns to greet them.
“Hello, you two must be friends of Victoria’s.” Nichkhun smiles politely.
Awkwardly glancing between each other, Himchan decides to step up and reply. “Yes, we’ve both worked with her in the past. We heard she was sick and decided to visit her. Is this a bad time? I hope we’re not disrupting you.”
Peering over at the room, Nichkhun shakes his head and gestures for them to enter. He leads the way, opening the door wider so that the guests may follow him through.
As Victoria hears the door creak open, she glances towards the entrance. First is her fiancé who enters, whom doesn’t surprise her, but the two people who follow give her a slight shock.
“You two…”
Nichkhun sits down beside her on the bed and checks the IV needle that is probed into her arm. Victoria flinches a little but doesn’t pull away; she simply stares at him, her expression a mixture of emotions.
“You’re friends have come to visit,” he tells her. “I’ll leave the three of you to yourselves then. There’s another call I’ve got to make.”
Victoria looks down into her lap. “Just go home. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow; don’t wear yourself out because of me.”
“Mom wants me to send your health records to her,” Nichkhun mutters. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”
At that, Nichkhun excuses himself from the room and closes the door behind him. Victoria turns her head to look out the window and takes a deep breath before smiling in the direction of her visitors.
“Well, well,” she laughs, “imagine the situation we are in now. I’ve never dreamed of this possibility before.”
“Are you alright?” Himchan asks.
Victoria nods, eyes glimmering. “Of course I am. Just a little overworked, but you know how that goes.”
“Are you trying to impregnate yourself?” Himchan asks bluntly.
She tries her best not to choke on her own saliva. “Excuse me?”
Yongguk elbows Himchan in the ribs. Himchan represses the pain and coughs.
Victoria laughs. “Seems like you’re recovering just fine.”
“He’s not,” Himchan deadpans. “Not at all, actually.”
It’s obvious that she tenses and immediately becomes worried. “Why not?”
“Would you just be quiet?” Yongguk hisses at him. Himchan grins. “I’m doing fine, don’t listen to him.”
“Sure he’s fine; he’s better than he was when he was in your hands, but a lot worse than what he actually should be. I guess that could be considered fine. Better than bad anyhow.”
Yongguk kind of just glares at Himchan until Himchan gets a couple of goose bumps running up his arms. He then proceeds to zip his lips shut and glances at Victoria, who’s a mixture of amused and worried all at the same time.
“Don’t listen to me,” Himchan adds off handedly, “I’m just venting.”
There’s awkward silence.
“Well, I should be out of here by tomorrow. We should do some catching up, shouldn’t we? I would love to know how Junhong is faring.” Victoria says, breaking the ice.
Yongguk smiles and nods. “Yeah, I think he’d like to see you too.”
“You sure Mr. Handsome there will let you?” Himchan asks, thumbing towards the door. “Seems like he’s pretty strict.”
Victoria laughs. “I bet my head on it that he’ll be gone before long,” she says, “he’s worse of a workaholic than any of us are. To him, work will always come first.”
They know it’s true. From Nichkhun’s conversation on the phone earlier, they could both tell he didn’t really plan on staying. “Right,” Himchan agrees. His cellphone suddenly begins buzzing and he excuses himself from the room as well.
Yongguk and Victoria embrace the, surprisingly comfortable, atmosphere. She stares at him, observing every little difference she can find in him from the last time they met-there are a few minor changes here and there but, overall, Yongguk has pretty much remained the same.
For whatever reason, although it has only been a few weeks, it feels as though it’s been months, even years, since the last they’ve seen each other.
She shifts a little in her seat, trying to prevent herself from sliding down further in the bed, and the needle holes in her arms are more revealed than before. Yongguk takes a few steps closer, hoping to get a better look.
Victoria covers her arm out of instinct when she realizes he’s seen her bare arm.
“Have you done a lot of testing?”
How honest should she be? “Sort of.” Honest enough, she supposes.
“Is it because you might be pregnant?”
It takes a lot of effort for Yongguk to ask the question-for one, he isn’t sure he wants to know the answer, second, the answer might hurt when he finds out the truth.
Victoria laughs. “What?” Yongguk wants to know.
“It’s nothing of the sort,” Victoria replies. “I can tell you right now, there is not a single chance that I am pregnant.”
“Your fiancé said the same,” he notes.
She collects her laughter and tries to school her expression. “Yes, I wouldn’t doubt it. There’s only one reason we can be so sure of such a fact, you know,” she explains with a little smile, “we’re… we’re not quite at that stage yet.”
Yongguk lowers his head with a small smile of his own. He lingers around for a little bit longer, until Himchan finishes his phone call, and the two leave for the evening.
Their visit had been a meaningful one, in various different aspects, and the future has much to hold for them in the most unexpected ways.
The next morning, Nichkhun calls Victoria’s room very early in the light of day. He can’t stop laughing on the other end but Victoria doesn’t quite catch the humor.
Finally, after he catches his breath, he asks, “Do you remember the first day my mom met you and how she immediately fell in love with you because, and correct me if I’m wrong, she thought you would be able to produce gorgeous and intelligent babies for our family?”
Victoria furrows her eyebrows, lips thinned. “Yes?”
“She seems to think otherwise now, after seeing your health records that I had sent over to her,” Nichkhun says. “Ironic, isn’t it? My mom had been the one to push us into the places we are in now, but after realizing that your family’s health record isn’t top notch material, she’s backing out.”
She can hear the venom in his tone, the words seething through his teeth. “You sound bitter,” she comments idly, leaning back in her hospital chair. “Isn’t this better for the both of us? Now you can find someone you truly like to marry with.”
“I’ve never said I don’t truly like you,” Nichkhun replies seriously.
Victoria chuckles, nodding, “I know.”
“I don’t know how you’re parents are going to react to this once my mom gets into contact with them,” he sighs, “it could either end up in a peaceful respect, or an explosive manner.”
“I wouldn’t know either,” Victoria agrees, “As you have probably observed over the past few years of our relationship, I don’t exactly get along with them.”
Nichkhun laughs. “Your sister would die to be in your place.”
“She already has,” Victoria jokes; despite the words coming out fluidly, they sink back through her skin and squeeze a weak fragment of her heart so tight it suffocates her momentarily. That’s right; Liyin probably would have died even if only to have received a little bit of love from their parents.
“You don’t tell me much about your past,” Nichkhun accuses, “but from what I’ve learned, either through your slip of mouth or through other portals, I know you’re a lot weaker than you seem. I know, for a fact, that you aren’t simply malnutritioned right now but as long as you’re unwilling to let us know, we’ll always be kept in the dark about it.”
Victoria smiles secretly. “You’re a lot touchier than when we were still officially together, about five minutes ago.”
“My mom’s not going to let me continue seeing you,” Nichkhun states in a matter of fact manner. “You know exactly how my mom is, and I know you’re not going to protest against this decision because, let’s be honest, you were never interested in this relationship to begin with.”
“That’s not entirely true.”
“It is,” Nichkhun deadpans, “and don’t even try denying it for a single moment.”
Victoria doesn’t. “This is what I’ve always hated ever since I reunited with my parents-wealthy people are just so quick to pick things up and then drop them without a care. Things break, quite easily too, but they don’t give it a second thought.”
He doesn’t interrupt her.
“You’ve been so kind and affectionate towards me all this time; it couldn’t have been easy to convince yourself into this ordeal in the first place, but you’re much more brave and accepting than I am.” She continues.
Nichkhun scoffs. “You don’t think I’m any different than my mother, do you?”
“Wel,, you pretty much gave up on me just as quick as you accepted me,” Victoria teases. “Granted, I know it’s mostly because of your mother.”
“No use in holding onto a string that might snap any minute, right?” Nichkhun muses. “If two hearts aren’t in a relationship together, it’s never going to work out.”
She takes a breath, finally somewhat comfortable. “Do you think we would have worked out?”
Nichkhun stalls for a moment, wondering. “I don’t think I’m quite your type.”
“No,” Victoria agrees with a small laugh. “You might not be my type, but you’re an amazing person. I just hope you know that it’s not at all because you’re lacking.”
“I think we’d make better friends than we would lovers,” Nichkhun concludes.
Victoria nods. “Yeah, probably.” She glances at the clock on the wall and quickly excuses herself from their conversation. A nurse approaches her room soon after and checks up on her statistics, releasing her from the needles and wires on the bed.
Getting home was probably the hardest part of her entire venture outside of the hospital room. She tiptoed around the residence, grabbing some clothes from her closet and taking a quick shower. No one was home, she knew that, but she was still nervous-for what reason, she didn’t know.
When she’s done washing up, she searches for a bag that is lying on her bed and unzips a pocket, pulling out two boxes and shoving them into her purse before she rushes over to the hospital where Junhong is now admitted. Himchan is not present but both Yongguk and Junhong are patiently waiting for her inside the room they’ve been assigned.
“Sorry I’m running a little late-“
Junhong is both a heartbreaking and a heartwarming sight. The boy is clad in thin patient clothing, wearing a beanie over a head that Victoria knows must be bald; he looks just like Liyin did when she was still alive.
Smiling, Victoria approaches the bed and gives the boy a kiss on the forehead over the beanie. She wants to apologize, she wants to say sorry; there are so many things that she feels guilty about.
The young boy takes her hand and tells her to sit down beside him. Drawing open the drawer beside his bed, he pulls out a folder of documents and hands them over to Victoria.
“I wrote down everything I’ve been feeling-reactions, results, it’s like a diary, almost-and I thought you’d be able to use it.” Junhong tells her.
Victoria is almost unable to suppress the rush of emotions that tackle her.
“While you were gone,” Junhong continues, “I thought a lot about you, noona. I wish I could be like you and try to help people that are like me. Do you think this will help?”
She smiles, patting Junhong’s hand that is resting over hers. “Definitely.”
After placing the collection of papers into her purse, she sees the two boxes she had packed in there earlier and takes them out. She opens the box on top, taking out a delicately designed white gold bracelet.
Junhong and Yongguk watch as she raises Junhong’s hand and locks it around his wrist.
She says, “I bought my little sister a bracelet when she was sick, too. It wasn’t nearly as nice, but my sister absolutely loved it and would hold it up against the light and stare at it for a long time before giving me a hug. I believe that to my sister, it wasn’t just a bracelet-it was a momentum of the affection and care that I have for her, because I couldn’t always stay by her side.”
“Why not?” Junhong asks.
“I had to work, in order to pay off her hospital bills,” Victoria smiles. “I hope that this bracelet can do the same for you, okay?”
Junhong nods and holds his wrists over his heart, promising in silence that he will treasure the gift.
Then, Victoria turns to Yongguk and walks over to him. She reaches for his hand and pulls it out, placing the second box in his palm. “This one is for you.”
“Why me?” Yongguk asks.
Victoria does not answer; she simply smiles at him, in a way that Yongguk has never seen before, and then joins Junhong at his bedside again.
She tells them stories about Liyin, humorous stories about working at the organization, and many stories about things she finds interesting in life. For instance, she tells the story of the first time she met Yongguk and the first time she read his profile in the lounge.
“There was hardly any information about you at all in your profile,” she says. “I figured it was just because you didn’t have much of a background, but look how wrong I turned out to be.”
In turn, Yongguk tells her about his past, too. At the end, his conclusion is quite direct and to the point.
“I thought there was nothing left in life for me to live for if I couldn’t even save my own brother with my own blood,” Yongguk explains. “Death was something I’ve never feared before; my line of work, the mindset I was brought up with-my own life was never as significant as my goals.”
Victoria listens carefully, occasionally glancing over at Junhong, whose eyes are tearing up slowly.
“There was one girl I loved, but even after being the root of her death, I couldn’t convince myself to fight on for this life of my own. It wasn’t as though I was expecting to join her in the afterlife, but living just wasn’t worthy anymore.”
Yongguk stares into Victoria’s eyes, sincere, deep in thought. He clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly before taking a deep breath and guiding her out of the patient room by the wrist.
The two of them travel down the elevator into a small garden area just outside the back door of the hospital. Yongguk drags her over to a small marble table and urges her to take a seat.
At one point in time, Yongguk made up his mind and decided to live. If he couldn’t save his brother, he’d die trying-that was what he had decided on before meeting Victoria. After all of Victoria’s efforts to keep him alive, he lives in a different light.
“There are too many things in this world that lead me to thoughts of giving up on my life and my dreams, but there is only one reason so far that has led me to think otherwise.”
Victoria feels her heartbeat pulsating everywhere in her body. Her cheeks redden and she cannot bring herself to look Yongguk in the eyes. It’s the first time she’s felt this way, and she isn’t sure she completely hates it.
He leaves his seat and kneels in front of her, gathering her hands that are sitting in her lap into his own. As he peers up into her face and sees the red silks painting her face, he suddenly feels a little relieved.
Looking to his side, he sees a few flowers growing by the root of the tree. He reaches for it and is just about to pull them out of the dirt when Victoria rests a hand over his and tugs on his arm.
“Open the gift I gave you,” Victoria says simply.
Yongguk once again searches into her eyes, which are now finally meeting his with a warm smile.
His hand slowly travels to his back pocket and he holds the box in his palm, glancing between Victoria and the box before eventually tugging the bow loose and opening it.
Inside the box sits a couple pieces of heart shaped chocolate, small but unique in style.
A smile finds its way to his own lips and Yongguk immediately closes the box and pulls Victoria in for a big hug. It’s the type of bear hug that suffocates her, but she doesn’t find it uncomfortable, nor does she want to pull away.
It’s in his arms that she feels safe and, somehow, secure.
“Thank you,” Yongguk whispers into her ear.
Victoria wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face into his shoulder. She shakes her head and takes a deep breath-everything smells like Yongguk, and Yongguk, somehow, smells like home.
“Noona! I’m running late, there’s no time for breakfast!”
Victoria peeks out of the kitchen and frowns when she sees Junhong shoving on his socks and is hopping towards the door. “I’ll drive you to school. You can’t skip breakfast!”
The door to the bathroom creaks open and Yongguk steps out, clad in his work outfit. “You’ll be late to work then,” he mutters. “Let him take his breakfast to school with him.”
Sighing, Victoria finishes packing Junhong’s breakfast and walks it to him at the door. She checks his bag for his medication and makes sure he has enough water on him for the day before permitting him to leave.
Yongguk chuckles to himself, his heart warmed by her motherly actions.
“He’s been fine the past two years,” Yongguk says, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. “You should relax a little.”
It’s been a year and a half since Junhong has been released from the hospital. His cancerous viruses have been shrunken to a minimum and they’ve controlled his situation quite well-they still haven’t been able to get rid of his bad cells completely, but it’s the best they’ve been able to do with modern day technology.
Yet, the fear of it growing or spreading again haunts Victoria more than it really should.
“I try,” Victoria sighs. She lets Yongguk lure her in for a kiss but cuts it off short by retrieving his lunch and handing it over to him. “You’ll probably be late again tonight,” she shrugs. “Don’t forget to get yourself something for dinner.”
“I try not to be late every night,” Yongguk apologizes. “It’s just really hard to control my working hours in the investigation field.”
Victoria laughs. “I understand.”
The two of them leave their house together and walk to the garage hand in hand. Victoria no longer works directly with the organization; she now works with the biggest hospital in Seoul, mainly focused on diseased children who cannot afford expensive treatments.
Every now and then she returns to the organization to help out her old friends. Some have stayed, others have moved on, but there’s one thing they all came have come to agreement with; cancer, like energy, is a disease which cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can change form and be controlled.
As such, these scientists, all of their own specialties, will work together in order to find every which way to control these diseases in order to help those in need.
In Victoria’s journey, now no longer only to find a cure but to also help many others find a way, she thinks as she watches Yongguk enter his car and glance back at her through the window with a sweet and endearing smile, she’s found a way of her own.
Happiness; that is the greatest cure and the greatest encouragement that she can ever find in life, an element she will work hard for in order to help the ill find their own.
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[ Part 5]
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A/N: Yay! I finally finished this~ I know it must, at least a little bit, feel like I cut straight to an ending... but I'm seriously losing the capability to write Yongguk/Victoria seriously as time passes, so I just wanted to conclude this story before I lose interest in it completey ;___;. Thank you for sticking with me throughout this horrible story! Lots of love to all those who have supported me all this time!♥ -Xue