Chapter 51 - The Cold Locker

Mirae was reading a magazine when suddenly KJ's heartbeat began to fluctuate wildly. The machine began to beep loudly and KJ's unconscious body was shaking in pain. Alarmed, Mirae began to call for the doctor.

"Help! Doctor?" she cried as she burst out through the door. Her cries caused the duty doctor and nurse to rush over.

"What happened, ma'am?" the doctor asked.

"It's KJ...he's…" she pointed frantically at the door. The doctor barged in to find KJ writhing in pain. He was having a cardiac arrest.

"Nurse, get the Cardioversion!" he ordered. The nurse hurried out while the doctor began to thump on KJ's chest.

Mirae was crying outside, trying to reach Ash. He was not answering his phone and she was being redirected to voicemail. 

"Ash!" she sobbed hard. "Ash, KJ is getting a heart attack!"

She was crying uncontrollably, inwardly praying for KJ's safety. The doctor and nurses wheeled him out of the cabin. Mirae stopped one of the nurses.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"We're taking him into surgery again," the nurse informed her. "His condition is deteriorating badly."

"S-surgery?" Mirae stammered. She fell into a daze as KJ was taken back to the operation theater. She sat outside the room in a trance, unaware of her surroundings. It was just like that time again…

….

That night, it was raining hard. A sixteen year old girl with green eyes rushed through the traffic on her feet, staggering on the way. She was completely drenched; her school uniform clung to her body as she ran past the passerby. One of them bumped into her, but she did not bother to apologize. The girl kept on running till she reached the hospital.

Barging through the entrance, she hurried over to the reception desk, panting heavily.

"M-my parents…" she started. "They've been in an accident…"

"What are their names?" the receptionist asked.

"Jung Taewon and Sung Sohee," Mirae replied. "Where are they?"

The receptionist checked her computer, scanning through the names. When the records propped up, her face changed into a solemn look.

"Please follow me, my dear," she said. Her expression alarmed Mirae. She dreaded following the woman, but she must find her parents.

Mirae followed the woman. The woman steered her away from the patients' rooms and led her towards a colder section of the hospital. Unlike the busy and bustling areas, this place was quieter and colder. Mirae felt the silence was choking her. She was shivering, not from the cold but from fear. The secluded area was scaring her.

The lady stopped in front of a door. Before opening it, she turned around and gave Mirae a strange expression.

"My dear, this will be very hard on you," she said in a sad but gentle tone. "But please, remain strong."

"W-what are you talking about?" Mirae demanded. "Where are my parents?"

The lady pursed her lips and opened the door. Mirae entered the room to find large lockers occupying the whole place. It was colder in there; Mirae felt as if she entered Alaska. She could see her white breath and her insides were freezing as the lady led her to the end row.

She stopped in front of a large locker. Taking out the keys, the lady opened two lockers in front of her. As soon as the lockers were opened, Mirae felt the ground below her slip away.

Lying in the two lockers were her mother and father, Sohee and Taewon.

Not believing her eyes, Mirae touched her mom's skin. It was ice cold.

"Mom…" she shook her mom's body. "Mom! Wake up! Mom...it's not funny…"

She turned to her dad and kept on tugging him.

"Dad...dad mom is not waking up…" she shook his body. "Dad...daddy wake her up."

But he was unresponsive. Her dad never ignored her cries. Why was he ignoring her now?

"Dad! Dad, wake up!" she pleaded as tears fell from her eyes. She returned to her mom. "Mom...mom…"

But they would not wake up. Why were they not waking up?

Mirae fell on the floor, crying uncontrollably. Her tears would not stop as she pleaded with her parents to wake up. 

"Wake...up…" that was the last thing  she said before fainting.

She was woken up by a bright light. Mirae woke up to see a strange, white room. Someone changed her dress and an IV drip was attached to her hand.

"Where am I?" she asked herself. Suddenly, the events of the night came rushing to her. 

"Mom…dad…" she realized. A nurse entered her room.

"Who brought me here?" Mirae demanded. "Where are my parents?"

Startled, the nurse replied, "The master of the Kwon family admitted you here when you fainted. He's right outside..."

Kwon family? Her dad worked for them! Do they know something?

Mirae quickly unplugged the IV drip from her hand. Blood gushed out of her hand, but she did not care.

"You can't do that!" the nurse protested and tried to push Mirae back to the bed as she tried to get up. But the latter shoved her aside and made her way outside. 

Kwon Jinhyung was talking to Secretary Lee with a grave expression on her face when the girl, with blood gushing out of her hand, ran towards him.

"Mirae, my dear...what…" he was startled.

"What happened to my parents?" she held his collar. "They were escorting your grandson, weren't they? What happened to them?"

She shook the old man for answers. The old man standing in front of her was her father's mentor, but she did not care. She wanted answers.

"Mirae… your parents are no more…" he informed her. Hearing those words felt like a slap to her face. Kwon Jinhyung looked at the girl he met so many years ago. The bold and straightforward little girl blossomed into a beautiful young woman. He did not expect to meet her again under these circumstances. She broke down completely still holding his collar. The blood coming out of her hand was now staining his suit.

"Mirae, my dear," he hugged the crying girl. The girl was in a devastating state. He ushered the nurse to take her back into the cabin. The nurse gently pulled Mirae away from the old man's embrace and led her back to the room.

Mirae was pushed back to the bed by the nurse. As she lay there, crying her heart out, the nurse cleaned her up and inserted the IV drip back into her. She then injected Mirae with a sleeping medicine as the latter cried herself to sleep.

….

It was almost 13 years ago. The memory of her parents' cold bodies was still fresh in her mind. After she woke up, she was informed that they died in an accident while accompanying the young master of the Kwon family, Kwon Jiwon. But after Kwon Jinhyung died, Secretary Lee told her the truth: they died protecting Jiwon when he was attacked by the Cartel. 

It's ironic, Mirae mused. My parents died protecting him and now after 13 years later, he is hurt while protecting the person I love. 

She closed her eyes, praying for KJ's recovery. Please don't go...she kept on chanting in her head.

….

Back in the astral realm, Jade was frantically pushing more spirit energy into KJ's heart. The revelation of his parents' death greatly altered his spiritual energy. Moreover, his physical body also went into a sudden cardiac arrest. 

The infusion of extra spirit energy was calming KJ down. Finally, he stopped convulsing.

"KJ? KJ!" Jade cried. KJ's body was too still, but not dead. Jade held his breath. Please wake up, he pleaded in his head.

….

Mirae looked up to see the doctors coming out of the operation theater.

"Doctor how is he?" Mirae asked as the head surgeon approached her.

"He is out of danger...for now," the surgeon replied. "But if he gets one more heart attack, he may die."