Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 168 – After Story (5)

The hand that rubbed her feet was soft and friendly. The temperature of the water with aroma oil and petals was just right to relieve fatigue. Yuri looked at Tae-jun, who was kneeling at her feet, giving her a foot massage. He always gave her a foot massage the day she wore high heels. At first, it was she who refused because she was unfamiliar and shy, but now she naturally accepted his touch.

“Why?” he asked, feeling her gaze.

She answered with a smile, “I sometimes feel like I became a queen.”

“You’re my queen.”

He kissed her foot without hesitation. Her heart was tickling. He was such a sweet and caring husband that she could hardly remember the cold and arrogant man he used to be. Everything was perfect and they were living a happy life. Except for one thing, they didn’t have a child.

Watching him wiping her feet with a towel, she spoke carefully, “Tae-jun.”

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“Yuri.”

They called each other at the same time. They looked at each other for a while. He gestured telling her to speak first.  “Go first.”

She spoke hesitantly.  “Why don’t we try the IVF procedure again?”

There was a heavy silence. He frowned.

A few years ago, shortly after they got married, they received the IVF procedure, recommended by the Director Seo. When they proceeded to the second step, however, it was Tae-jun who gave up first. The procedure was harder than expected, and he couldn’t stand seeing Yuri suffering. He even had a big argument with the Director Seo who was convincing them to move on to the third step. For Yuri, who remembered that clearly, it was a topic that was hard to bring up.

Tae-jun responded in firmness. “No.”

“I didn’t know how hard it would be at that time, but now, I think I will be able to overcome it. I won’t make you worry.”

“Do you think I’m not taking the procedure because of me? Don’t you remember how your condition was at that time? Are you serious? I already told you that I don’t need a child. All I need is you.”

“But… not me. I want to have a child.”

“If you want to have a child, we can adopt. If you want, I can….”

“Adoption isn’t something you can decide that easily. Besides, I want a child between me and you.” She continued while holding his hand, “Considering our age, I think this will be our last chance. From the last check-up, the doctor told us that there’s a chance that I will become pregnant in my current condition. So, please. Let’s try again.”

“Do you really want to do it?”

“Yes, I want to.”

Tae-jun let out a deep sigh with his face frowned. He could do anything that Yuri asked for but having a child was a different issue. He looked at her silently for a while then opened his mouth.

“Okay. This will be the last time doing this. Let’s try once more. But if it still doesn’t work, we have to give up. You’re more important to me than my child. And… there’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s take the test again.”

Hearing the word ‘test’, she looked at him in confusion. Then, she realized what he meant, seeing his serious face. Her face became pale.

“Why, all of a sudden….”

“Lately, you are sleeping more than usual. Certain areas of the brain that maintain daytime wakefulness may have been damaged by Alzheimer’s-causing proteins.”

She then remembered why he had been so serious lately and the unusual drowsiness she had. She thought of her fluctuating mood and the uncontrollable anger that overwhelmed her once in a while.

“So, what’s going to happen to me next?” Although she said it calmly, her voice was trembling.

“It’s not confirmed yet. I’m just telling you that we’ll have to see. So let’s take the test first.”

Yuri didn’t say anything. He pulled her closer to him and hugged her as he waited for her to open her mouth. She was trembling and he waited until she regain her calmness.

When she stopped, she spoke as if she was about to cry, “I want to be alone for a while.”

He could hear a cry from the bedroom. He stood in front of the closed door for a long time in confusion. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know whether he should respect her choice of wanting to be alone, or open the door and go in to comfort the crying woman. Her crying stopped while he was lost in thoughts. He opened the bedroom door and entered. He hugged the woman crouching on the bedside and stroked her back.

She spoke in a sad voice, “I thought about this kind of situation when I was in New York…. But I think I forgot about it after I started living with you because every day was filled with happiness.

“It’s not confirmed yet. Even so, we can delay the occurrence of symptoms when it’s in the initial state. I will definitely find a way no matter what it takes.”