Author's note:

I gave my MC a name I used in Jumin's route - Chika. Enjoy reading :)

This is strange… you think as you throw up into the toilet. Nothing is coming out. Did I eat something wrong?

You return to the bedroom to find your phone on the bedside table ringing. Seeing the name on the screen makes you smile.

"Good morning, my love," Jumin greets you over the phone.

That makes you blush. "Hi. I missed you."

"Me too." He lets out a long sigh. "I'll be home soon," he reassures you. He starts apologizing again for leaving you alone on a business trip. He does it every time he calls for the last three days he's been away. You brush it off with a chuckle, saying it's nothing for him to apologize for. "Are you doing alright on your own?" You hesitate. Should I tell him about my nausea since last night? But it could just be that I am not feeling really well, or I ate something I shouldn't have… "Love? Are you still there?"

"Yes! I am doing fine, honey. Don't worry." It's nothing to fuss about… you decide. You do not want to worry him when he's so far away. Besides… he's coming home tonight. You can just tell him then, if you're not already feeling better.

Jumin does not sound very convinced. He was about to say something else when suddenly you hear someone calling his name on the background. "Oh, I'll be there in a minute," he replies to the person. "I'm sorry, love. I'll call you again when I have the chance."

"It's okay. I'll see you tonight." You wait until the other line disconnects before placing your phone back to the bedside table, letting out a long sigh. It is nice that he actually manages to find a few minutes in his busy schedules to call every day. But moments like this… a few minutes after he hangs up, usually… you would always feel so empty and lonely. You would look around the penthouse – like you are doing now – and your chest pains noticing how empty it is. You are reminded again that he is away and that makes you miss him more than ever.

Cheer up, cheer up! You tell yourself. He is coming home tonight anyway. Now, where did I put the medicine?

Opening the medicine rack, you originally wanted to find some medicine for your nausea. But something else in there reminds you of a different matter. Taking the phone you left earlier, you open the calendar and start counting.

Oh my God… could it be…?

"I'm sorry, Chika," Jaehee replies over the phone. "I think I missed it. Could you please repeat what you just said?"

"Well…" You look at your feet on the floor. "I… I think I'm pregnant."

You can hear her choke on her drink – probably coffee – and you start apologizing for surprising her. "No, no. That was my own fault. But… wow. Did you check already?"

"I don't feel very well to go out, so I just asked Driver Kim to buy some packs for me," you explain, playing with the little white stick on your hand. You decide to sit on the edge of the bed before continuing, "I did. Twice. They all came out positive."

Jaehee gasps. "Congratulations!" Then she lowers her voice, realizing something. "But isn't Mr. Han…?"

"Yeah… he's coming back tonight, though."

"It seems so." She sounds glad. "I am so happy for the two of you. How do you plan to tell him the good news?"

You hesitate a little. "Um… that's exactly why I called you. I want it to be something special… but I can't think of anything." Like you did when she first picked up the phone, you apologize for calling her during working hours, when you are sure she's busy. "Can you give me some ideas?"

Jaehee starts talking. As you listen carefully to her, Elizabeth the 3rd climbs into the bed and sits on your lap. She starts purring comfortably at your touch as you stroke her white hair gently with your free hand. Her eyes are opening and closing; she's falling asleep. You adjust your position, being careful not to disturb her, and think how Jumin would have loved to see this. But you cannot take a picture as you are currently using your phone.

"How does that sound?" Jaehee asks.

"I think I'm gonna do it! Thank you, Jaehee!"

Jaehee says that she is glad to be of help, then apologizes because she has to attend a meeting soon, so she has to hang up. After taking notes of Jaehee's idea, you think it wouldn't be bad to have some backup plans, so you decide to give other members a call as well. As you are waiting for your second call to connect, you can't help but feel bad that your husband can't be the first one to find out about this.

At least his announcement will be the most special. You smile at the thought. At the same time, your second call to Yoosung finally connects. Quite nervously, you tell him the same thing you told Jaehee.

You hear him choke on his food. Then you hear him drinking. "Sorry, I was eating. Oh, wow! I mean… wow!" You giggle at his responses. "Anyways… so you want some ideas on how to tell Jumin-hyung?"

"Yep. Do you have any, Yoosung?"

"You bet I do!" he says before telling you his ideas excitedly.

Your next call is Zen. Surprisingly – or perhaps unsurprisingly – he also chokes on his food and starts cursing under his breath that you are not sure on how to react. You let out an awkward laugh. "Oh… I mean… I'm sorry. I just can't believe that the trust fund kid finally…"—he clears his throat—"anyways, you want to hear my ideas?"

And lastly, Seven. You did hesitate before calling him… Seven's ideas could be a bit… out there. But then you decide that is exactly why you need his creativity. Before breaking the news to him, you carefully ask if he's eating or drinking. "Why are you asking me that?" he replies.

"Um… no, never mind." Here goes…

And then he starts laughing so loudly. His laughter lasts quite a while that you start to doubt your decision calling this man. But as he carefully explains his idea between his laughter, you are glad that he does not disappoint. Although… it does make you wonder what is so funny about that. If anything, it sounds more normal than you expected. You know Jumin would very much love that idea, though. But… just to be safe, you would probably save his as your very last resort. After that, you thank him and hang up.

You carefully stroke your belly, smiling ear to ear. Other than the ideas from everyone, you also have one of your own saved up, something you taught of along the way. You feel excited as you imagine the scene in your head. How would Jumin react, I wonder?

You jump at the sound of the door opening. Nervously, you stay seated on the table, waiting for Jumin.

"I'm home." You hear him walking further inside. You have purposely turned most of the lights off, making it somewhat dark, except for where you are sitting, where there are some candles here and there. Zen's idea – telling Jumin over a candle-lit dinner. But Jumin still can't see the candles from where he is. "Love? Where are you? Are you asleep already?"

"I'm here!" you answer.

"Oh, there you are." He comes in. "Why do you turn off the lights? Oh…" He finally notices the candles, and that you have set up a table for two near the kitchen. You didn't have time to cook, so you left that to the chefs, but you set up the whole thing by yourself. There are food and wine on the table. You decide to mix Zen's and your idea, which involves the wine.

You stand and run into his welcoming arms. His lips quickly find their way to yours. "Welcome home, honey. I wanted to surprise you."

"I am surprised already," he admits, before landing another kiss on your forehead. "You didn't need to do so much…"

"Oh, this is nothing." You smile, telling him to take a seat. You seem calm on the outside, but on the inside, your heart is pounding so hard at what's to come. I better not mess this up! I better not mess this up!

As he adjusts himself on the seat, you proceed to opening the bottle of wine you have prepared and pour it into his glass. He notices that you are not filling your own glass and asks. "Oh, no… I… I don't feel so well," you answer nervously.

Wrong move – that reminds him about the call and your weird response this morning. "Oh, right. Are you unwell, after all? If so, shouldn't you be in bed? Don't worry, I'll make sure to eat these, since you have gone out of your way to prepare it."

Oh God… "N-no! I really am fine, trust me!" You hand the glass to him. "Besides… I want to eat with you."

"Ah… well, if you say so," he replies with a smile, taking the glass from you and sips it. As he does so, he notices the red ribbon and the message card you have tied around the foot of the glass. "Oh, what is this?" Your heart pounds harder as he takes off the ribbon, but it quickly sinks to the ground as you see that he has dropped the message card without noticing. It lies under the table, forgotten… and hence unusable.

First plan failed…

Jumin notices the change of your expression. "What's wrong?"

You try and put up your best smile. There's always tomorrow! "It's nothing! Let's eat!"

"Honey… I thought we agreed to just leave the cooking to the chefs."

"But Jumin…" you reply from the kitchen, sounding disappointed. "I want to cook for you once in a while. Can't I?"

You feel him hugging you from behind. That surprises you and you look up to him as he kisses the top of your head. "Fine, then. Just don't overwork yourself, okay?"

You nod, suddenly at loss for words. He chuckles and walks back to the table to sit down. "Besides…" he murmurs. "I do want to taste my wife's cooking."

"Look forward to it then," you tease him. This time, you are using Yoosung's idea – conveying the message through omurice. Despite omurice being quite a simple dish, you feel a lot of pressure in this one. First of all, this is the first time – gasp – that you actually cook for Jumin. Second, this might be his first time ever eating an omurice. And lastly, you are using this dish to announce something very important.

Reminding yourself to stay calm, you plate the omelette and bring it to the table. Jumin looks surprised. "Isn't that the dish Yoosung cooked before? What was the name again…?"

"It's an omurice," you reply, taking a bottle of ketchup from the cabinet. "Now, before you eat, let me write you a message using some ketchup."

Your husband looks confused. "Message?"

"Well, you can just put the ketchup on top of it like usual, but,"—you take the courage to look at him in the eyes—"I have a special message for you."

To your surprise, that makes him blush. "Well… I can't wait to find out what that is."

Taking a deep breath to prepare yourself, you start pouring the ketchup slowly into the omelette. It makes you even more flustered that you can feel Jumin staring attentively at you and what you're doing. Still, you try your best to stay focus. It's just a short message after all. It shouldn't be that hard. You are already writing 'We' when Jumin's phone somewhere in the living room starts ringing. As a result, your shaky hands splatter the ketchup all over the plate, hiding the first word you have written. Oh, no…

Jumin apologizes and offers to help you, but you tell him not to worry, and that he should hurry and answer the phone. He apologizes once more before leaving the kitchen. You stare blankly at the ketchup mess you called omurice just moments ago. Knowing Jumin… he would probably still eat it, anyway, but that's not the main problem now. You do not have time to make another one, and unless you somehow find a way to clean this up, you can't write the message on this omurice anymore.

Why do I always mess everything up? you bite your lip, holding the tears from falling. Wait… it's too early to give up! You then remind yourself that you still have two backup plans. The most reasonable one to do now, seeing the situation, is Jaehee's. So you quickly take a coffee cup you have prepared beforehand from the cabinet and fixes Jumin a cup of coffee.

You can hear Jumin in the living room as he talks on the phone. Somehow, he doesn't sound very pleased. "What do you mean you haven't sent out the documents I have signed yesterday? Assistant Kang told me that you would send those documents right away yesterday… He was away? I am afraid that is no reason… Gosh, please contact Assistant Kang for now… Yes… Yes, I'll be on my way soon. From now on, please call Assistant Kang first… Yes. Thank you."

"Who was that?" You place the cup next to the plate and takes a seat in front of Jumin's.

"Oh, just someone from work." Jumin raises his eyebrow at the coffee – as he rarely drinks it – but takes a sip anyway, before digging into the omurice. You apologize for the appearance, not even trying to conceal your disappointment. In response, he holds your cheek with one hand. "It's fine, love. I am happy enough that I finally get to eat your cooking." As he eats, you notice that he is not taking his time and eats rather quickly. He repeatedly compliments you for the taste, though.

"Do you need to be in the office early today?" You know his answer, but you ask anyway, preparing yourself for the possibility of Jaehee's plan ending in failure, too. He will not be able to see the message on the bottom of the cup – you intentionally choose a smaller one for this – unless he drinks the coffee clean.

He sounds annoyed. "Yes, unfortunately." Then his tone becomes gentler as he looks your way. "I'll try to finish the omelette, at least. I am so sorry, honey. Do you need anything?"

It is as if there is a big lump on your throat. "Ah, no… no… I was just asking."

"What do you mean, you haven't told him?" Zen sounds pissed.

Maybe I shouldn't have picked up his call, after all… what will I do if I cry now? "Just as it sounds."

Zen keeps talking, but you are not listening. You still catch some words, though. It sounds like he puts all the blame to your husband, as per usual. He also keeps asking you what happened with the idea he gave. Did you manage to have a candle-lit dinner? If you did, what have gone wrong?

"I'm sorry, Zen," you cut him. "I need to go now. Thank you for calling."

He sighs. "Well… there's nothing I can do now. All I can say is… please cheer up. I'm sure you'll find out another way to tell him."

You thank him once again and hang up, letting out a long, long sigh as you throw yourself onto the cold bed. Carefully, you start stroking your belly, before noticing that Elizabeth has once again climbed up to the bed. Looking at her, you notice the collar she's wearing, the one you have modified. She brings the message with her – Seven's idea – and that only reminds you of your failed attempts so far. Elizabeth, not knowing what you're thinking, settles down on the empty space next to you and sleeps.

Maybe I should sleep too… you tell yourself, just as you noticed that you have started crying. You stop holding it in… there's no one to see it anyway. And Jumin probably won't be home until dinner. So you let the tears wet the bed as you sob, burying your face in the soft fabric. For how long… you have no idea. It could be either minutes or hours. By the time you stop crying, your tear-stained cheeks feel sticky. But you don't bother washing your face.

Suddenly, you hear the door opening. You stay at your spot, not sure what to do. It could be the Chief Security… or Driver Kim?

But the panicking voice that you hear next belongs to neither of them. "Honey! What's wrong? Have you been crying?"

"Jumin…?" You sit up. "Why are you here?"

He looks pained and concerned as he strokes your cheeks, as if to wipe your dried tears. "You've been very… restless since last night, so I thought,"—he takes out a banquet of red roses from behind him—"I could do something for you as well."

The sweet smell helps… but also lowers your defenses. Before you can stop yourself, you start crying again in front of him. He doesn't say anything…. He's waiting. "I… I am so sorry!" you say between your sobs. "I… I have planned everything… and… and I want it to be so special for you. But… but I always mess everything up!"

He wipes your tears with his fingers. "What is it, my love? You can tell me."

She's pregnant! Meow~ says a voice neither of you has heard before. It sounds very high-pitched and squeaky. That's what she's been trying to say! Meow~

Both of you look to Elizabeth's direction, where the voice came from. Meow?

Jumin can't contain his surprise. "Elizabeth the 3rd… you can talk?"

"No…" you realize, giggling. "That's Seven."

"Luciel…?"

Oh! I've been caught, meow~ Adios! Meow~

"What… was that?" Jumin turns to look at you again. "But… more importantly… what it said…"

"It didn't turn out the way I want." You wipe your tears with one hand, smiling. "But it is true – I am pregnant, Jumin. That's what I've been trying to say… I'm sorry it turned out like this."

He stares at you blankly for a while. "You… are pregnant…?" he murmurs. You nod. "I… no, we… we're going to be parents?" Another nod. "Am… I… dreaming?" You shake your head.

Finally realizing it is true, and that he's not dreaming, Jumin leans forward and starts showering you with kisses, before landing lastly on your lips. "Thank you…" he says between the kisses, grabbing your waist to close the distance between the two of you. "Thank you… so much. I love you, Chika."

He's crying… you're crying. And you can taste tears in your mouth. But this time, it is happy tears. "I love you, too, Jumin."