Yi-jung, who hasn't left his spot beside Gaeul in hours, with anxious eyes watched even her slight twitch with anticipation. The room was getting dark, but he didn't seem to notice. Jan Di had left several hours ago, as did Gaeul's parents, and the rest of the F4 visited them in and out. Now it was only the two of them. The doctors estimated hours ago that it wouldn't be long until she woke up.
Yi-jung eyed over her newly-acquired bruises all over her arms and legs as he thought back to the revelation from Dr. Park.
"She's a lucky woman. Surviving such an impact, and getting only minor cuts and bruises too..." Dr. Park told him, as he looked at his clipboard. Yi-jung nodded with a small smile.
"It won't be long until she wakes up. Until then, we're looking at the final check-ups of your baby." Dr. Park continued, his eyes still focused on the clipboard as he spoke calmly.
Yi-jung widened his eyes, thinking he misheard. "Who are you still checking up on?"
Dr. Park glanced up at him with a casual expression. "Your baby, sir."
Yi-jung froze completely.
Dr. Park noticed this. He moved closer to him and placed a gentle hand on his rigid shoulder. "Ah... I guess you don't know yet?"
In the present, Yi-jung grinned happily.
"Your girlfriend is approximately 8 weeks pregnant. Congratulations, Mr. So Yi-jung."
The thought of Gaeul pregnant sent excited chills down his spine. He chuckled, he could only imagine Jun-pyo's giddiness when he found out about Jan Di.
He moved his hand towards Gaeul's face and gently touched her small bruises. As he did so, his mind wandered off into deep thoughts.
How much would the baby change their already busy lifestyles?
They both had obligations to their jobs and duties; he had another art exhibition in Paris next week and she was busy with her job as a schoolteacher, amongst other part-time jobs. Add those to the fact that they weren't even married.
His body tensed, as if realization suddenly hit him with full force. They were going to have a baby. His eyes drifted down to Gaeul. He was going to become a father.
Could he do this?
He hasn't yet fully grasped the idea of commitment, with the exception of dating Gaeul. Before Gaeul, he was basically a free man, with no obligations to anything except his friends, and his pottery. Now soon he was going to be this baby's father, and being a father meant being there for his child full-time.
Of course he already loved this baby with all his heart, but was he ready for the challenges?
He didn't notice Gaeul stir slightly in her sleep as he continued thinking.
He thought back to his own father, how much of a bad influence he was on him, shaping his past playboy tendencies, and how that bad influence branched out to affect his whole family. He frowned, if there was one thing he would commit to, it would be to commit himself faithfully as a father; a good father, one with good influence, and one that wouldn't somehow distant his family apart in any way.
He thought about Gaeul.
She was the girl who showed up to his doorstep, (albeit not the only one who did so), while he went on dates with other women. She was the first person to talk to him about the idea of a soulmate. She was the girl who changed his heart, his playboy ways and helped him find true love. With their hands intertwined, he silently remembered and owed it all to her for showing him an important message during sunrise years ago.
"I love you, Yi-jung."
He bit his lip at this bittersweet memory. He knew the message on the billboard had originally been founded by Eun Jae, but in a way was spoken to him by Gaeul. Although the moment he saw the message was undeniably filled with feelings of regret, he realized that he was also thankful to her, Eun Jae, for letting him know that true love could possibly exist. It's just unfortunate he missed the opportunity to realize it with her.
"Wind... once it passes by, it can't come back to the same place."
Eun Jae was the wind, who pushed him and Gaeul to be together.
He smiled softly, as his mind drifted back into reality. He continued observing Gaeul, admiring everything about her. Years passed, and now he felt he finally understood the true meaning of 'soulmate', and felt incredibly blessed that he found his. After a few moments, he leaned forward, gently squeezed her hand, and met it with a long kiss.
Meanwhile, in the Gu mansion, Jan Di was lying down on her and Jun-pyo's bed alone, with the soft glow of the moon providing the only source of light in the dark room. It was a tiring, long, and slow day, and the aches in her body had proven it. She glanced over to her bedside and the clock had teased her by saying that it was barely 9:00 PM. When she glanced to her other side, she could see the silhouette of her growing bump in her shadow on the wall.
She was in bed for the majority of the day, ever since she came back from a check-up with Dr. Kim hours ago. Ji-hoo had accompanied her, as they left the hospital together, while Jun-pyo had to get back to work. But before he left, he stayed for a few minutes to talk to them.
"Yeobo, I'm sorry I can't come with you, but I'll definitely be there when you fall asleep. When I am, tell me how everything is with our baby. Okay?" he spoke gently to her. She nodded in response. Then he turned to Ji-hoo.
"Jihoo-ya, I'm entrusting you to watch for Jan Di. Watch her every move, don't let her walk around too much and don't let her get hurt or into any kind of trouble." Jun-pyo instructed him with a completely serious expression. Ji-hoo nodded then turned to Jan Di expectantly.
It took a moment for it to sink into Jan Di's head, before she finally realized Jun-pyo had addressed Ji-hoo by name. She widened her eyes in confusion. "Jun-pyo... do you remember Ji-hoo now?"
Ji-hoo smiled. He and Jun-pyo shot each other quick glances before Jun-pyo spoke up. "Of course. What's there to forget about him?"
But Jan Di was still confused. "But... how?"
"He was telling us about your pregnancy when he suddenly remembered me. This is what I was trying to tell you earlier." Ji-hoo explained. Jan Di took this into consideration, until she finally smiled. She turned to Jun-pyo.
"Then does that mean you remember Yi-jung and Woo Bin sunbaes as well?" she asked him in a hopeful tone.
Jun-pyo puckered his lips before hesitating. "I know what their names are, and what they look like, I just don't remember having to do anything with them." was his response. "But, at the least, they're not that annoying."
She was thankful Jun-pyo got to remember at least one of the F4. It just looks like her plan with Gaeul to help him remember Yi-jung and Woo Bin is delayed, for the time being.
She thought about Gaeul.
Before she left the hospital, Dr. Park had assured them that it would only be a few more hours until she woke up, and that it seemed like she would be just fine. She should be waking up soon, if she wasn't awake by now. Jan Di felt a little guilty for not being there with her right now, but was comforted by the fact the Yi-jung was there, carefully comforting her and watching her every move. She smiled at how things worked out between them, and was glad Yi-jung had changed his playboy ways for the better.
But she still hasn't gotten over the unexpected news of Gaeul's pregnancy. She smiled; if all went well then they were going to become new mothers together. If there was anything Jan Di wanted in the whole world, it was to become a mother, but sharing the same experience with her best friend was another.
She relaxed a bit, shifting under her blanket slightly, and continued thinking. Her thoughts took her back to her conversation with Jun-pyo.
"Ya, it's not like we're going off for war. We're just going to see Dr. Kim, and her office from here is only about a three minute walk. Why are you worrying so much?"
Jun-pyo walked over to her and placed his hands carefully on her shoulders. "Jan Di-yah, I'm letting my people, the people watching you, off for now. Something came up, and I don't want you going anywhere without me knowing you're completely safe. With you being my wife, and especially since you're carrying the next Shinhwa heir, who knows what kind of publicity you'll get just by walking around?"
"What publicity? People don't treat me any differently." she wrinkled her forehead.
"That's because I've had people watching over you ever since we got married."
"What?"
Ji-hoo felt like an outsider, as he continued watching their conversation.
"I thought you only recently got people to watch me? Since when was it okay for them to watch me without my permission?" Jan Di continued, with a slightly distressed look on her face.
Jun-pyo sighed. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you earlier, since I know you'd get annoyed."
"Jun-pyo! You know I don't like overly extravagant things!"
"Aish, since when was having bodyguards an extravagant thing?" Jun-pyo retorted back before calming down. "I only want what's best for you. And knowing you, you'd definitely need bodyguards anyways." he teased with a slight grin as he lightly tapped her on the head.
"Ya, what's that supposed to mean?" she complained as she calmed down as well, feeling softened at his concern for her.
Jun-pyo smirked and looked back towards Ji-hoo. "So Ji-hoo, promise me, as a friend."
Jan Di couldn't help but smile softly at Jun-pyo's overt and unusual ways of expressing his affection; this was the idiot she fell in love with and married, and still to this day she felt her happiest around him.
Now, her thoughts slowly drifted to her appointment with Dr. Kim. Her face deepened.
"You're at 19 weeks. Always take extra precautions on a day-to-day basis." Dr. Kim instructed her calmly."Have you been under any stress lately?"
Jan Di thought about Dae-hyun, Jun-pyo's memory loss, and Gaeul's accident before nodding hesitantly. "A little."
"As much as possible, you should try to diminish the amount of stress you have everyday. Remember, stress can be detrimental not only to your own health, but also to your baby's."
Then she glanced down at the sonogram she was holding. "Here is your baby," she said with a small smile. "Here is it's head, it's arm, and it's leg." she explained one-by-one, whilst pointing at it's different parts. Jan Di leaned forward a little, and smiled softly as she listened along.
When she finished, Jan Di was slightly taken aback to see Dr. Kim's expression suddenly change as she bit her lip and pondered over something for a second. She glanced at Jan Di for a second, then stood up, dragged a chair from a table and sat down in front of her. Jan Di suddenly felt nervous.
"This is your first pregnancy, correct?"
"Yes."
"Have you had any previous procedures done on your cervix in the past?"
Jan Di shook her head no.
Dr. Kim pondered over something for a second, then picked up a stack of still pictures from her desk. "These are the results of your ultrasound from today."
"Comparing the results from today with the results from the previous weeks, as well as monitoring the length of your cervix... I'm sorry to say, Ms. Jan Di, but I'm afraid you may have cervical insufficiency. The ultrasound taken from today just proves to me that your cervix is becoming slightly weaker than normal, and is slightly decreasing in length. If your cervix opens up too early, there's a chance for premature labor.
"But, I don't want you to get too anxious. There are no signs that your cervix is widening or opening, as of today. Just be sure to come back next week. I'll re-monitor the length of your cervix, and decide whether or not surgery is necessary. But because this is your first pregnancy, I recommend getting plenty of bed-rest for now."
Jan Di couldn't speak.
It wasn't exactly the happiest appointment ever. Jan Di started to feel tears sting her eyes, but quickly wiped them away, and tried to ease her tensed body. After a few minutes of shifting around under the blankets, she sighed when she couldn't find a comfortable position. She remained on her back and buried her face in a pillow in annoyance.
She must have started falling asleep for when she opened her eyes a few minutes later, she felt groggy.
Barely awake, she yawned tiredly and stretched out her arms and legs. She felt slight movement on the bed, but was startled when she suddenly felt an arm wrap around her, gently pulling her closer to the center of the bed. As tired as she was, her curiosity took over. She touched the arm, and slid her fingers up until she felt a shoulder. She leaned in closer and squinted her eyes, trying to see in the scarce light. "Jun-pyo?"
Jun-pyo leaned in and kissed her. He adjusted their position so that his arm wrapped gently around her shoulders, while her head rested comfortably on his chest. She yawned again.
"Of course it's me, dummy. Who else would it be?" he replied softly, then yawned as well. "Sorry I got here a little late. There were a few extra problems I had to take care of tonight."
"Aniya, Jun-pyo. You're okay." she dismissed him calmly.
"Okay." he mumbled, then rested his chin on top of her head. "So how did everything go today at your check-up?"
Jan Di suddenly felt her heart drop. She cleared her throat and after a minute, finally responded. "Everything went..." she let the words hang in the air unfinished, unable to continue speaking.
Jun-pyo waited for her to continue, and spoke up when she did not. "How many weeks..?"
"19."
There was a long silence afterwards. Jun-pyo looked down at her and paused nervously. "If there's anything wrong, you can tell me. We're in this together. Jan Di... gwenchana?" he pushed her gently.
After a few moments, he extended his arm carefully so that he was hugging across her entire body.
He waited patiently for minutes before finally yawning heavily. He kissed the top of her head for an extended period of time before adjusting his body slightly. It wasn't long after that until Jan Di heard soft snoring.
She opened her eyes and left it open. She laid lifelessly. Time continued to pass, and her eyelids eventually began to droop from heaviness. She closed her eyes.
"I'm okay, Jun-pyo. But I'm worried our baby might not be."
She let her body's urges take over, as she finally began to drift back to sleep. For a few moments, the moonlight's glow filled the dark room once again, illuminating the glistening tears on her face.
A/N: School is starting soon. :'( Where did summer even go?
In case you haven't noticed by now, I usually base my stories and chapters after Jan Di/Jun-pyo, so I'm not much of a Soeul writer, so forgive me if my parts for them are off. Also please forgive me if this chapter seems a little too melodramatic, you're always free to offer any suggestions.
Although I'm kind of late, I also need a beta reader! If any of you know someone who is, or how to get one, please tell me.
