Ji Hoo was late, something so unlike him. His day had been completely normal. He had gone to work at the hospital then to the clinic because he was behind on paperwork. Nothing was out of the ordinary. His work was moving nicely.
Then he looked at the clock and realized he had worked a little too much over. He called and told he was going to be late, and changed his clothes in the clinic. There was no point in rushing so he took a leisurely ride on his bike.
Things had been peaceful in the last few months. Eri had surprised everyone by her return to Korea after leaving with no word. She had made up with Woo Bin and they had continued living in the apartment next door to his. They didn't argue much, but he attributed that to the fact Eri was still learning how to decipher and explain her emotions. That wasn't to say they didn't get upset with her silence every now and then, but she had spent so much time not speaking about it that it was hard to break the habit.
They spent almost every evening together. Sometimes it was a full house with everyone, but most of the time it was just the three of them. When he had asked why everyone was timid about coming over together, they answered that they didn't want to do anything that would harm Eri's progress. Although if she couldn't talk to Woo Bin and Ji Hoo, she always turned to Yi Jeong, and he always kept his mouth shut about what she told him. It made it easier for her to adjust.
He pulled up in front of Dragon Café and killed the engine. He took his helmet off and carried it into the café. Waving at a few of the regulars, he went to his normal seat and slid in.
"I'm usually the one that's late," Eri said with the gentle smile that hadn't left her face since she had returned.
He smiled in return as he folded his arms on the table. "Well, I wouldn't want you waiting outside in your condition." She shook her head at him as her hand instinctively rubbed her belly.
It hadn't been too long since she'd been back that Eri had started feeling unwell. She had complained of fatigue for a couple of days but had brushed it off as work related. It wasn't until she couldn't eat and remained sick that they all took her to the hospital. And when he said all, he meant all. Woo Bin had called while they were on the way. Luckily Ji Hoo and Jan Di had been at the hospital already so they were ready.
Jan Di had been the doctor to deal with the mini crisis. Against his wishes, she had kept Woo Bin out of the examination room. He had paced the waiting room in a mini panic. No one had any idea what was going on. Was it because of the attack nearly four months ago? Was she having complications that they hadn't foreseen?
It had taken an hour, but Jan Di had returned with an irritated face. Normally she wouldn't show how irritated she was with a patient, but she glared at Eri's exam room door. She had walked over to Woo Bin and explained that nothing was particularly wrong except for malnutrition, dehydration, and the fact that Eri was four months pregnant. That had come as a shock to everyone, especially Woo Bin.
She had been taken to a room where IVs could be administered and they had all ambushed her. Well, that hadn't been a good idea because she had shut down immediately. So Woo Bin, Ga Eul, and Jun Pyo had left to get coffee as Jan Di and Ji Hoo went back to work. Yi Jeong had stayed in the room, even going so far as to lie on the bed beside her and talk nonsense.
After the initial shock, Woo Bin returned and they talked in relative comfort. The night Eri had left him in her bed had been the first night they'd been together sexually. Woo Bin blamed himself because Eri hadn't known any better. She did since she was a doctor, but it had been her first time to ever be with a man in anyway. She didn't have anything in the house to protect herself.
Though tired, Eri hadn't placed blame on anyone. She hadn't said anything, preferring to stay in silence and tucked into Yi Jeong's side. No one had bothered to get mad about that. Yi Jeong had been the silent rock she had needed when times were tough, or when Ji Hoo ticked her off and she couldn't figure out what to do.
That had been the easy part. The hardest part had been telling Woo Bin's family. Woo Bin was an only child so there was a lot of pressure on him to marry into a good family. They didn't know Eri's family that well, but they had heard of them. Ji Hoo had gone with them to disclose the information that could possibly get Woo Bin tossed from his family.
To their credit, Woo Bin's parents were more concerned with Eri's disability than Woo Bin getting a girl pregnant. The word marriage is when they had seen Eri shut down, forcing Woo Bin to say they weren't at the stage to get married. His dad didn't know how emotionally scarred Eri was and kept pushing the issue. His son had put an end to it by asking his friend to escort his girlfriend out so she wouldn't hear the yelling. Woo Bin had said his piece then left without another word.
Since then everyone had settled down. They didn't want the woman to work as much, but they found out Eri was stubborn. She was going to do what she wanted until she just couldn't do it anymore. She didn't argue with them; she just did what she wanted.
Ji Hoo accepted the latte Hoon set before him. "How is everything? I haven't seen you in a couple of days?"
"I haven't been to work. Chief Kim told me to take two days off because I could barely walk. Bo Na laughed at me for rolling around in a wheel chair in the ward. I thought it was fun," she said.
"As long as you haven't had to go into the operating room, I think you'll be fine."
"I had to do a consultation but other than that it's been pretty calm." She took a sip of her coffee then folded her hands in front of her. "I have something to ask you, but I know you too well so I'm kind of reserved about it."
"You've never asked me something before." He was very wary.
"Well, my doctor asked about you the other day. I'm not quite sure how she knows we're neighbors, but she wants to know if she could meet you. I'm not too good at reading emotions of others so I don't really know what she wants. I figured I'd run it by you before I told her anything. It's completely up to you whether or not you want to meet though. I'm not going to push it on you, although I should."
He snorted in laughter and tried to keep coffee from going anywhere but down his throat. She was totally right about all of that. He had pushed her into plenty of things in the past, one of them being the relationship with Woo Bin.
He wiped at his mouth to clear it of coffee before he looked at her. "You wouldn't do that." She shrugged but didn't confirm or deny it. "I'd feel awkward going alone. Why don't we do a double?" There was a slight fluctuation in her expression. "What?"
"If we do that, it'd be a quadruple. Jan Di and Ga Eul will insist on coming as well."
He hadn't thought about that. It would be Ga Eul who did it and Eri, though comfortable with Yi Jeong, wasn't as close to his girlfriend and Jun Pyo sometimes pissed her off. She wouldn't talk much if they came.
"All right. We'll do a dinner at your house. I'll get the ingredients. Why don't we go tonight? What's Woo Bin doing?"
"He had a late meeting then dinner with his parents."
He nodded his head. "Let's go. We can get you something to eat as we shop."
She nodded and they got up. Ji Hoo asked Hoon if he could leave his bike out front for a bit as they shopped, handing his helmet over when he was given the okay. He looped Eri's arm through his and led her down the street to the nearest grocery store. A few older ladies oohed and ahhed at the supposed couple as they walked, something that had Eri tightening her hold on him. She had made leaps and bounds in opening up to them, but public opinion was still new. Ji Hoo shifted until she was slightly behind him and he could cover her.
Deciding on something easy so Eri wouldn't be sick, they shopped for the ingredients for soup and anything else she wanted. There was kimchi in the fridge so they were okay in that aspect.
As they were moving through the aisles, one lady asked if they were happy to have a baby on the way. Eri became stoic again, leaving Ji Hoo to explain that she was just a friend and he was helping her make dinner. The woman wasn't convinced and passed by, leaving the younger woman to stare at her in a confused manner. Ji Hoo had grown up in the Korean way. Eri was French. Those two worlds colliding was an interesting thing to see.
They finished their shopping and walked leisurely down the street. Eri seemed lost in thought as she walked beside him. Ji Hoo was used to it. Since she had returned, she analyzed everything she had learned or seen. Sometimes he heard about it, but mostly she kept it to herself and used it when she thought it was relevant.
He punched in the code and let them into her house. They put the groceries away and Ji Hoo put Eri on the couch as he made dinner. She sat and watched him moving about her kitchen like he lived there. He pretty much had for nearly a year.
Fried rice completed, he joined her on the couch to eat. They were sitting way too comfortably and he could tell she was getting sleepy. So when he finished, he took her bowl, set it on the table, kneeled in front of her and began massaging her feet and ankles.
"Have you told your parents?" he asked. She shook her head.
The response was automatic. Ever since things had gone horribly wrong at dinner, Eri had refused to talk to her parents. Woo Bin had exchanged words with her father one last time before she had left. When she had come back, she had told them that Francesco had been with her every step of the way during the arraignment and subsequent sentencing. He was the only person out of her family she had anything to do with.
He could tell this was hard. Learning about how to deal with emotions and then finding out she was having a baby was taking its toll. She wasn't the best at being completely honest but she knew enough that she told Yi Jeong what was bothering her. If he thought it was dire, he told them but most of the time he kept it to himself.
"My father would assume since I'm hearing impaired that my child would be as well," she said.
"I really hate that man."
She didn't say anything more about her family as he worked his thumbs into the arches of her feet. Somewhere in between the arches and the soles, she fell asleep. Ji Hoo had seen her sleep plenty of times but this was new. When they said pregnant women had a glow, they weren't kidding. The woman's skin before him was even more luminescent than he remembered.
Carefully, he picked her up and carried her to her room. He put her in bed and closed the door with a soft click. He couldn't imagine the nervousness Woo Bin was experiencing.
As he was exiting, the front door opened. Woo Bin rubbed his face as he kicked off his shoes. Spending several hours with his parents was taking a toll on him. There was no doubt they asked many questions about Eri and how she was doing. Woo Bin hated answering questions about her because he never knew what he could and couldn't say.
"Welcome back, Woo Bin," he greeted.
His friend looked up, shock written across his face that turned into panic. "Eri?"
Ji Hoo smiled. "She's fine. I just put her in bed. We met at the café and went shopping. She's tired."
Woo Bin sighed. "I almost had a heart attack."
"She'd stitch you up. I might as well tell you. She's invited her doctor over for dinner tomorrow so don't make plans. I know how your mother can be."
"Why does her doctor want to come over?"
Ji Hoo scratched his neck. "She wants me to meet her." A smile spread across his friend's face. "Don't say a word. I'm going to head home before you spout off some nonsense."
He gathered his belongings and left his friends' place, not at all pleased that his friends were about to invade his personal life even more.