Si woo 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I saw it happen in slow motion.

Ye Jun was walking away from me, one hand on his big pregnant belly, the other dragging the small duffel bag. He was still so angry, still crying, still shouting at me even as he moved toward the door. I grabbed his wrist, not hard, just trying to stop him. But he yanked his hand free so fast that his whole body twisted the wrong way.

His foot missed the first step.

Everything inside me turned to ice.

"Ye Jun!" I screamed.

His eyes went wide with terror. For one second, I saw pure fear on his face. His free hand flew to his round belly, trying to protect the baby. His body turned awkwardly because the heavy bump threw off his balance. He tried to grab the railing but he was too slow. The weight of the baby pulled him forward.

He fell.

The sound of his body hitting the stairs made my heart stop.

"YE JUN!"

I lunged after him, but I was too late. My fingers brushed the back of his hoodie but couldn’t catch him. He tumbled down hard, rolling once, then sliding on his side. I heard him cry out a short, broken sound full of pain. His face twisted. Even while falling, he tried to curl around his belly, protecting our baby with everything he had.

Not the baby. Please, not the baby.

I could almost hear his thoughts. Even though he hated me right now, even though he had called me every bad name, his first thought was still our child. That made my chest hurt worse than anything.

He landed at the bottom of the stairs on his side, one arm still wrapped around his bump. His eyes were closed. He didn’t move.

"Ye Jun... Ye Jun!" My voice broke.

I ran down the stairs so fast I almost fell myself. My knees hit the floor hard beside him. There was blood on the side of his head. Not too much, but enough to make me feel sick. His face was pale. He looked so small even with that big pregnant belly.

"Baby, wake up. Please wake up." I touched his cheek with shaking hands. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please open your eyes."

He didn’t answer.

The baby. I quickly put my hand on his belly, desperate. I felt a small kick. Weak, but it was there. Tears started running down my face before I could stop them.

"Stay with me, Ye Jun. Please. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean any of those words. I was angry and stupid. Don’t do this to me."

I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers and called emergency services. My voice sounded strange, like it belonged to someone else. "My brother fell down the stairs. He’s pregnant. He’s unconscious. Please hurry!"

The woman on the phone asked questions, but I could barely think. I kept stroking Ye Jun’s hair, whispering sorry over and over. His breathing was shallow. Every few seconds I checked his belly again, praying for another kick.

The ambulance came fast. The paramedics moved quickly, putting a neck brace on him, lifting him carefully onto a stretcher. I followed them like a ghost, holding his hand the whole way even though he couldn’t feel it.

At the hospital, everything became a blur of lights and voices. They took him away from me. I tried to follow but a nurse stopped me.

"You have to wait here, sir."

I sat in the waiting room, my head in my hands. The guilt was eating me alive. All those horrible words I said earlier kept playing in my mind.

"Whore around..."

"You used to whore around..."

How could I say that to him? Ye Jun had only ever been with me. He trusted me enough to let me be the only one who fucked him raw. He carried my baby, and I called him disgusting names because I was jealous and insecure. Now he was hurt because of me.

Hours passed. I couldn’t sit still. I walked up and down the hallway, crying quietly. Every time a doctor walked by, my heart jumped.

Finally, a doctor came out. His face was serious.

"Si Woo?"

I stood up fast. "How is he? How is Ye Jun? Is the baby okay?"

The doctor took a deep breath. "Ye Jun suffered a severe head injury from the fall. There is swelling in his brain. He is in a coma right now. We are doing everything we can to reduce the pressure."

My knees felt weak. "A coma...? No... please..."

"The pregnancy adds complications," the doctor continued. "The trauma has put both Ye Jun and the baby at high risk. Ye Jun’s body is under extreme stress. His blood pressure is unstable, and there are signs of fetal distress."

I couldn’t breathe. "What does that mean?"

The doctor looked at me with sad eyes. "If things get worse, we may have to make a difficult choice. We might only be able to save one either Ye Jun or the baby. We will try our best to save both, but you need to be prepared."

The words hit me like a truck. Only one. Save only one.

I fell back into the chair, my whole body shaking. Tears poured down my face. "No...."

But deep down, I already knew.

If it came to that... I would choose Ye Jun.

He was my everything. Even when we fought, even when he yelled at me and called me names, I loved him more than life. The baby was our child, yes, but Ye Jun was the one who made my world turn. I couldn’t live without him. I wouldn’t survive losing him.

The doctor nodded and left. I sat there alone, spiraling.

What if he never woke up? What if he woke up and hated me forever because I put him and the baby in danger? What if the baby didn’t make it? Would Ye Jun ever forgive me?

I remembered every mean thing I said tonight. How I accused him of sleeping around. How I made him feel dirty and used even though he was carrying my child. He had been in pain for weeks sore back, swollen belly, pelvic pain and I made it worse by questioning if the baby was mine.

"I’m such an idiot," I whispered to myself. "Ye Jun... I’m so sorry."

Time moved so slowly. I kept thinking about the way he tried to protect his bump even while falling. That instinct to save the baby first, even when he was furious with me. It showed how much he already loved our child.

A nurse came and let me see him for a few minutes. Ye Jun lay in the hospital bed, pale and still. Machines beeped around him. His pregnant belly rose and fell slowly under the blanket. There were bruises on his arms and a bandage on his head.

I sat beside him and took his hand. It felt cold.

"Ye Jun... it’s me, Si Woo. I’m here. I’m not leaving you. Please fight. Please come back to me."

My voice broke into sobs. "I didn’t mean it. Any of it. You’re not a whore. You never were. You’re the only one I’ve ever loved like this. You trusted me with your body, with our baby... and I hurt you so badly."

I laid my forehead on the edge of the bed, crying hard.

More hours passed. The doctor returned with worse news.

"Ye Jun’s condition is deteriorating. The swelling in his brain is increasing. We need to perform emergency surgery to relieve the pressure. At the same time, the baby’s heart rate is dropping. During the surgery, if we have to make a choice... we will need your decision."

I felt like the room was spinning. My hands were shaking so much I could barely speak.

"I choose Ye Jun," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Save Ye Jun. Please... save him."

The doctor nodded and left to prepare. I watched them wheel Ye Jun away into the operating room. His big pregnant belly was still so round under the sheet. I stood there in the hallway, feeling completely broken.

As the doors closed behind him, I slid down the wall and cried like a child.

This was my fault. All of it.

If Ye Jun didn’t make it, I didn’t know how I would live with myself. The guilt was crushing me. Every angry word, every accusation, every time I made him feel small it all came back to me now.

I prayed silently. "Please let him live. Let both of them live. I’ll do anything. I’ll never hurt him again. Just give him back to me."

The waiting was torture. Every minute felt like hours. I kept seeing his face when he fell that moment of fear, his hand flying to his belly. "Not the baby. Please, not the baby."

Even in his anger, his love for our child was stronger than his hate for me.

I didn’t deserve him.

Now all I could do was wait. Wait and hope that the doctors could save the boy I loved more than anything. The boy carrying my baby. The boy I had broken with my stupid, jealous words.

I whispered to the empty hallway, voice full of pain:

"Come back to me, Ye Jun. Please... I love you. What am I supposed to when the best part of me was you. "