Chapter 15 - Nostalgia (1/2)

”Hi,” Yunjae looked up from the table where she was arranging the bottled medicines and smiled. ”Hey,” she greeted back as she watched her sister-in-law, Hana, approach, bearing a huge grocery bag. ”Whoa, that's a lot!” Yunjae exclaimed as she moved to ȧssist her in putting her burden on the table.

”Yihan told me you already ran out of supplies,” the beaming Hana said, and Yunjae's eyes filled with tears. ”Hey, don't cry,” her sister-in-law cajoled as she came to her side, offering a sympathetic arm around her dainty shoulders.

”S-sorry,” Yunjae said as she sobbed, wiping the tears from her eyes as she smiled gratefully at the kind woman. Lately, she was becoming more and more emotional. ”Thank you,” she told her, and Hana smiled back gently as she gave her arm a squeeze.

”Don't think about it,” Hana said warmly. ”These past few weeks have been hard on you, with Yuan sick and everything. Just think about Yuan, and take care of yourself more. You're losing a lot of weight. You look sick yourself,” she continued as she reached out to give Yunjae's cheek an affectionate pat.

”Thank you,” Yunjae said again as she turned to sort out the groceries. Her sister-in-law then eyed the medicine bottles on the table.

”Are these Yuan's?” she asked and Jae nodded.

”Yes, those are the bronchodilators the doctor asked me to buy. He has a nebulizer now too,” she added wincing, remembering how the latter crippled her bank account.

”I see,” Hana commented with a nod. ”Are they working?” she asked again and Jae smiled.

”They are,” she answered.

This was the reason why in spite of Yuan's medicine costing a lot, she didn't mind. Her baby was well. That's what's important.

”So where is he now?” Hana asked as she tried to look around, searching for that one-year-old nephew of hers. In her bag, she retrieved what appeared to be a violet plushie. ”I have something for him here,” she said excitedly making Jae laugh as she pointed at the living room.

”He's there. Yihan came home early today. They've been playing together for an hour now,” Jae said and watched as Hana's brows rose.

”Aer followed her here.

”That's the most cheerful congratulations I've ever heard,” the amused baritone commented and Yunjae gave him a sharp look before turning away.

”If you're gonna be sarcastic, leave me alone,” she growled, and Kang Jinho gave a hearty laugh, obviously enjoying her annoyance.

”Why? I came here to swim,” Jinho said innocently, and Jae sighed as she turned to leave.

”Fine, I'll go then,” she announced, but the other grabbed her arm and kept her where she was. ”What?” she snapped irritably as she turned to face him. But when their eyes locked, Jae found her annoyance vanishing.

”Stay. I'll try not to annoy you too much,” Jinho promised cheekily, making Yunjae eye him suspiciously for a while before she nodded and turned her attention back into the water.

Silence fell between them for several minutes, the two of them sitting side by side. Glancing at Jinho's profile, Jae broke the silence.