Chapter 18

One Month Later

I woke up and stretched my arms high to the sky as morning light peered into the room.

I rolled over, expecting to roll into Seokjin's arms but instead I felt empty space beside me.

I let out a sigh, remembering that Seokjin now went to work without me.

We had been dating for about a month now, and on top of that, I had finally gotten to my third trimester and my bump was now highly visible.

With that being said, today was also the start of my maternity leave. Of course, me being me and the job position I had, I couldn't exactly not do anything, so I agreed to do a little bit of work here and there.

Lately, I had been dealing with the pregnancy symptoms really badly. In my first and second trimester with a few exceptions, the symptoms weren't too extreme or uncomfortable. But now, third trimester had hit in a whole other way.

Aside from my bump, my feet and ankles had also grown in size and often were hurting when I walked around too much. On top of that, I was experiencing major sleeping problems because of discomfort in my back. Seokjin tried buying me a body pillow but it's not really helping all that much. And coupled with all of that is the constant lightheadedness I feel whenever I do anything.

I was slightly worried because Seokjin had mentioned that he had to go on a week long business trip, and if I was being honest, I wasn't sure how I was going to get by. I had been too spoiled.

Which was why we agreed that I would stay with my parents for the week, but still, I think that might just add to my stress.

Along with everything else happening, my dad's health who had been slightly doing better had gone back to ground zero. And now it was going below that.

I was so scared every time my mom called me crying about what was happening. Since Eunbi was my younger sister, the burden of heavy things had often been put onto me and even into adulthood that stayed true.

And since Eunbi and Chanhyuk were gone on their belated honeymoon, there wasn't any child of my father's to check up on him as often.

So it would be good for me anyway to be there and help her, though I wasn't sure how I would manage.

I groggily crawled out of bed, ignoring the irritation erupting all over my body.

I let out an ocean of pee from my body, sighing at my new reality.

Once I had done my morning routine, I trudged out of Seokjin's lavish room and headed down the stairs.

I was surprised to see a decent spread of food waiting for me on the dining table.

An array of eggs, bacon, smoothies, fruits, and pastries lined the table. And right next to a floral bowl was a neatly written note.

Hey baby~

I'm sorry I couldn't be there for your first day of maternity leave. But I promise after my trip, I'll take my paternity leave and nothing will stop me. Until then, enjoy your day off and don't forget to pack, but make sure you take it easy. I'll help you with the heavy stuff and then I'll drop you off. I wish I could stay the night with your family :(

Love,Your cutest Jinnie <3

I giggled softly, pressing the note to my heart.

It was him so I should've expected as much, but he was always so thoughtful.

I ate his spread to the best of my ability, stopping when my annoying pregnancy habits took over. With anything left over, I took the extra time to pack it all up and put it in the fridge.

My phone began ringing, so once I had a chance, I quickly answered it.

"Y-Yubin."

It was my mom. Her voice sounded so feeble. Panic shot through my body just from blind assumptions.

"Mom...is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah. I-I'm fine."

I sighed, "You wouldn't call me crying if you were fine."

"My sweet girl...I'm okay. I guess all of this is really hitting me."

"I'm sorry mom. You shouldn't have to be experiencing this so young."

"I've made my peace with it. I accepted it a while ago. Life and death is a cycle and it's unbreakable, so I focused more on loving your father each day in the present as hard as I could. What upsets me more is you and your sister. Especially you. I'm just—I'm so sorry Yubin. I'm sorry that for the sake of your younger sister that you gave up on your dreams to give her the best life. And I'm sorry that you were supporting your father and I more than yourself. And now you're pregnant and you're once again dealing with this."

I swiped a stray tear out of my eye, "Mom, it's okay. I'm fine, really. It's not ideal, but my life has given me a lot that I would never ever regret doing."

"You got pregnant for the sake of your father and I. We pressured you into so much selfishly while you were already doing so much for us."

"You know me, mom. If I was opposed to having a kid, I wouldn't have had one. No matter what. I went through thousands just to get inseminated. In the end, I wanted it too. So please don't feel guilty. I'll be over in a few hours. I've just gotta pack."

"You're the most responsible adult I think I'll ever know. And it was just like this even when you were a kid. I'll see you in a bit honey. Are you coming alone?"

I sighed, "Yeah. Seokjin has an early flight tomorrow, so he'll drop me off."

"That's a shame. You know, we live rather close to the airport. And I for one would like to formally meet him. I've always had dinner with your boyfriends."

I blushed, "Mom, this is Kim Seokjin we're talking about."

"Who he is doesn't change the fact that he's dating my baby and I need to make sure he's good for you."

"I'm twenty-seven mom."

"And you're still my baby."

I chuckled, "Okay mom. I'll talk to him about it. I've gotta go pee now but I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye honey."

I hung up the phone and went to go take care of my bladder before returning to my room to pack a suitcase for the week.

It wasn't too much of a struggle, but I often took breaks because my feet would start killing me and I'd get really dizzy.

It took a few hours, but I managed to pack my bag accordingly and flopped on my bed with an exhausted sigh.

It was about three in the afternoon and Seokjin would be back in a few hours, so I decided to take a nap.

I shut my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Time Skip

"Binnie~" a soft voice cooed, stirring me from my slumber.

I felt a hand burrow under my body and latch onto the small of my back.

I felt my body be shifted in the bed and a firm presence clambering in beside me, while very snuggly cuddling in the crook of my neck.

I sleepily looked at Seokjin who was curled into me, radiating a pleasant warmth.

I brushed the scraggly strands of hair out of his face, making way for his gorgeous face. I was mesmerized by his features every time I looked at him.

"How was your day Jinnie?" I hummed.

He groaned, "I was about to punch everyone. They act like this is the first time I've ever dealt with something like this. And now they're all pressuring me to make a statement about you too. I mean seriously, everywhere I go, some reporter shoves a camera in my face and bombards me with questions."

I rubbed his back comfortingly, "But you handle yourself well. I've seen all the TV appearances."

He scoffed, "Yeah, well those make me look like a cold jerk."

"That's who you wanted to be seen as though right? Someone with a strong front," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but how I have you. And I don't want you to think I'm some arrogant, cold guy," he frowned.

He motioned for me to turn on my side so he could spoon me.

"Seokjin...I'll admit, in the beginning, those were the only two words I could associate with you. But I quickly saw the other sides of you. The fun sides. So you're clearly underestimating me if you think the media perspective is going to change anything," I said.

He caressed my bump while his other hand gently massaged my back. I curled myself into him from the sensations, desperately needing a back massage.

"Anyway, let's not talk about it. The fact that I'm going to be away from you for a whole week is hurting my heart," he sniveled.

I intertwined my fingers with his, "Well, in your note you did mention that you wished you could come with me. And my mom did happen to call and say she wanted to have dinner with you..."

Seokjin went stiff, "Wait seriously?"

"Mhm. And...our house is closer to the airport than here. So...maybe you could spend the night?" I asked.

I turned to face him again, fondling with his hair. I gave him a pouty look in the hopes that I could convince him.

I watched in amusement as he tried to keep a straight face but eventually broke. I was known to have that effect on people.

"Okay. I'll tell Driver Son. I'm only doing this because you're too irresistible," he huffed.

I winked as he got off of the bed, "I know."