Daddy Is Here
Daddy Is Here
In the days that followed before their trip to Hongkong, Yeona was left to savor only on their passionate kisses, leaving her hanging... all the time. It was the same for Iseul, but he meant to prove he was serious about her, pregnant or not.
Yanmei, Yeona, together with Iseul and Chun-Ho, they left for Hongkong on a Wednesday evening.
It was Yanmei's turn to attend the meeting with the PacificAStar. Whereas, Anton was left with taking care of JKW, plus be the parent to give the kids their bedtime story.
After sending off Yanmei to the airport, Anton returned home with Minsuh. He went straight to taking a shower before checking on their kids.
"Daddy! Daddy! Nari has a cold!" Said Chan-Mi the second she saw her daddy walk in their room. She was worried about her sister, acting as a doctor, and touching Nari's skin.
He frowned, seeing Nari with a red nose and watery eyes. Her caregiver was helping her blow her nose, making sure she had her airway cleared.
Anton kissed on Chan-Mi first before checking on Nari. He walked up to her and the caregiver to study her. He touched Nari's head, recognizing a mild fever immediately. "How is my baby?"
"Daddy, I have a cold," said Nari before resting herself on her bed.
"Mr. Yeong. I think she got it from Chan-Mi. Chan-Mi was sick with colds last week if you remember. She got it from Mrs. Yeong," suggested the caregiver. "She has been sneezing since yesterday but it was only this afternoon that her secretions became very runny."
Yanmei tried to stay away from the kids when she was sick, almost locking herself inside their room. However, Chan-Mi was always looking for them, finding herself in their bedroom from time to time.
When Chan-Mi caught the cold, they tried to separate her from Nari temporarily. Still, despite the precautions they have taken, Nari still got sick. Anton could only sigh and said, "Be strong, baby, okay?"
That evening, Anton called Nari's doctor and informed him of her condition. Anton was given instructions, plus medications to buy to address Nari's initial cold symptoms.
Despite the busy awaiting him the next day; he was up twice the entire night, just to check on Nari's condition.
After a good sleep in the evening, Nari seemed to be fine in the morning. Thus, Anton left the mansion at six, leaving Nari in the care of her caregivers and with his parents.
In the afternoon, while in the middle of the meeting, Anton received an alarming call from Jae-won. Junsu had to disrupt their discussion, letting him know that his father had been calling him in the past hour.
When Anton finally took out his phone, he answered Jae-won's call. "Dad?"
"Son, we brought Nari to the hospital. She was struggling to breathe earlier, even if we were giving her medication. The doctors here think she has pneumonia. Doctor Jung is still on his way to the hospital."
"Chan-Mi is with Yeong Soon, still at school with Kael," added Ja-won.
"What?!" Anton massaged his forehead. He sighed and said, "Thank you, dad. I'll be there right away."
Anton had to cancel his meeting, worried about his daughter. He went straight to the hospital and into Nari's private suite. There, he found his little girl being carried by Jae-won on the hospital bed.
He could not believe his eyes. Everything at that point seemed like déjà vu from when Nari was born 31 weeks old.
She had oxygen in her nose, an IV on her right hand, and a pulse oximeter on her other hand. Her eyes were puffed and he could tell she was crying hard beforehand.
Nari was resting on Jae-won, facing his chest in a prone position, asleep. Her chest was rising dramatically in each breath she took.
"She was crying really hard when they put her IV and took some blood samples. Even during the chest X-ray," explained Jae-won. "She hasn't eaten anything since this morning and the doctors advised against it. She is breathing too fast that they said she might end up getting food into her lungs - not even milk, Anton."
Jae-won pecked on Nari's forehead and added, "Our poor baby."
"For now, she will just reply on her IV fluids." Jae-won caressed his grandchild before looking at Anton. "Yeong, she doesn't want to lie down. She wants to be carried. I - I think she is not comfortable lying on the bed."
Anton silently sat on the bed. He put his hand on Nari's back and could literally hear her vibrating chest. His heart nearly broke, knowing it meant Nari was struggling to cough out her phlegm.
"We'll let her sleep first son. She is tired." Jae-won checked his watch before saying, "In an hour, I'll head home."
Yanmei was still in a meeting back in Hongkong. Anton decided not to call her. Knowing his wife, she would drop everything for Nari. Anton concluded, for now, it was enough that he was there for Nari.
He simply sent Yanmei a text message, asking her to call him back when the meeting was done and that she must head back home after the meeting for Nari was in the hospital.
After an hour, Jae-won had to leave. Nari had to be awakened, and she cried being disturbed, but after seeing her daddy, she howled even more.
"Dad - dy. Daddy, it hurts," reported Nari, pointing to the needle in her hands. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
Changed into another shirt, Anton accepted his daughter from Jae-won. He hushed her to his arms and said, "Baby, it's okay. It's already over now. Don't touch it, okay. It's medicine. Nari needs medicine. Daddy is here. I'll ask mommy to come home as soon as her work is finish, okay? Don't be sad. You need to be strong."
Anton was left with the caregiver and two of his men watching outside. He wasn't ready for Nari getting sick as it had always been Yanmei who took care of her during such times. However, seeing her daughter struggle, it was natural for him as a father to feel emotional; he needed to be the parent Nari needed the most and give her the comfort she needed.
Just like Jae-won, he let Nari rest on his chest, letting her sleep as he leaned back to the inclined bed.
Once again, Anton was reminded of what happened to Nari and how she ended up this way. How he wished he could kill Maya and Armand all over again.
It was because Nari's lungs and immune system were weak that she would easily get sick. Worse, her lungs were very sensitive, easily reacting to a common infection. A simple cold could mean a serious infection for Nari.
When it was nearly evening, Dr. Jung finally arrived to give his preliminary findings on Nari's condition.
While Nari still rested on Anton's chest, Dr. Jung explained, "Mr. Yeong, Nari has pneumonia on her upper right lung. It's just a little infection, but as you know, her bronchi would easily narrow from an infection or allergy."
"Doctor. She is not eating at all - "
"It's understandable, Mr. Yeong. She is tired. Her breathing must have become very labored before coming her to the hospital. Plus." The doctor studied Nari's breathing rate and added, "I think she is still having a hard time breathing now."
"We will maintain her medications for now - she has nebulizations every six hours and in between, she has steroid nebules. She was already given her loading dose of antibiotics. That should improve her condition soon. For now... we can only wait."