Chapter 14. Yuri : Second.

“Omo! Bruce Wayne finally get out of the cave at night.” Gary held up his glass of amber liquid, grinning toward me. “This calls for celebrations.”

I walked pass the few table to the lounge on the corner of the club where we often gathered to drink the night away. Minho was leaning back on the blue velvet couch, waving at me in a knowing smile. Seunggi hunched over the table with an empty glass in her hand, clearly wasted.

“Jessica kicks you out of the house?” Minho slid the bottle of whiskey toward me as I sat down. I grimly nodded, waving at the waitress to get another glass.

“Pretty much why I haven't asked for Jihyo's hand.” Gary gulped his drink. “I can't stand the emotion roller coaster of being tied to a woman.”

“Hey... Marriage is fun most of the time.” Seunggi chimed in, trying to pour the drink to his glass but couldn't even reach the bottle. “Or that what the book told me, because I had no experience on that field. Girls keep ditching me.”

“You'll get the perfect one someday. Go easy on book reading and go out more. ” I patted Seunggi's shoulder, pouring him only a small amount of alcoholic beverage to console him. “And you, Gary. Stop being a chicken and join the ride. Being with a woman who loves you is nothing sort of bad at all. When her hormones speak, things get bumpy for a while. But It's okay, I'm happy calling myself her man.”

Gary snorted. “Then why are you here in weekend at 1 a.m, Mr. Romantic?”

“Yeah.” Minho grinned at me. “What have you done this time?”

“Nothing.” A sigh escaped me. “I came home after the long meeting we had with the bank, eager to spend the weekend with my wife, only to have her screaming and pushing me out of the bedroom.” Rubbing my neck, I take a glass of whiskey in one go.

“Maybe you should have told her that you'll be home late.” Seunggi opened his mouth, trying to grab another chance at drinking but Minho swatted his hand away.

“I already did. Did you guys already order vodka?” I waved at the waitress again but Minho also stopped me.

“Easy on the drink, Yul. You have a pregnant woman to come home to.”

“If and only if she wants Yuri to come home.” Gary snorted. When a waitress passed our table, he placed order for one bottle of Vodka and a lot of ice, completley ignoring Minho's stare of disapproval. “From the look of it, I think you already did something so unforgivable you might as well start searching for a new place.”

“It's not that bad. But I don't think going home tonight will make it better either” I mumbled, trying to figure out if Jessica was really that mad at me. It was hard to guess because event the smallest mishap could trigger world war three in our household these days. Yesterday, I sprayed a zest of new cologne on my shirt before work and she stormed at me like it was the end of the world.

I knew I had to be patient. A lot of things happened in my wife's body and they affect the way she behaved. Not to mention that she was under a lot of stress trying to make sure that our baby grew healthy and safe. I understood all of it and I tried my best not to pick a fight, but things often blew out of control without me knowing witch wire I had cut wrongly.

“Hey! Hey!” Minho tried to stop me as I chugged the vodka straight from the bottle. I ignored him. Jessica wanted me out of the house tonight, and I would do just that. I'd figure out how to patch up with her tomorrow. It had been a while since I drunk with my buddies anyway.

Gary laughed, taking the bottle from me to chug his share of the drink. Seunggi lifted two thumbs up at me before hugging Minho's neck. “You are our designated driver for tonight, Minho-yah. Stay sober!”

“Yeah! Please take care of us, Areum and Daeul's appa.” Gary laughed.

I laughed too then took another chug, feeling my throat burn in a good way. Luckily, despite the alcohol that had started to seep into my blood, I still remembered the incident with Hara from a few years ago. “Minho! After this, lock me in a hotel room and don't let anyone in.”

Gary laughed harder.

The first thing I did upon waking up was checking if I still had my clothes on. Then I closed my eyes again, the ray of light filtered through the blinds felt like knife to my eyes. My head pounded, but I forced my eyes open after a while. The bedroom didn't look like a hotel room at all.

“Morning.” Someone came into the room, a woman, tall and lean, with beautiful bob of brown hair.

I jolted up. God be damned if someone was trying to trap me again.

“Or midday, since it's only fifteen minutes away from twelve.” It was Sooyoung. She set a cup of coffee and a plate of sandwich on the bedside table.

“Ah, Sooyoung. Thank you.” I rubbed my face. “I thought I was in a hotel room or something.”

“I happened to call him when he was driving you to the hotel. I told him to bring you here. It's safer.” She smiled from the door. “There are Minho's clothes and towels ready in the bathroom if you want to freshen up.”

“Thank you. Again.” I took a sip of the coffee. “Where's Minho?”

“He brings the kids to the mall. I have to clock in at work soon. Anything else you need go find it yourself, okay? Make it your own home.”

“Okay.” Another sip of the coffee and I already felt better. “Sooyoung, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

'When you were pregnant, did you get angry at Minho a lot too?”

She chuckled, leaning against the door jamb. “When I was with Areum, I got all clingy and needy, couldn't stand a day without Minho by my side. But when I was with Daeul, it was totally the opposite. I even sent Minho away to his parents' place for a full month during my second pregnancy, twice.”

“Yeah?”

“Every pregnancy is different. But judging from all the mess she is right now, Jessica might be pregnant with a baby boy. Congratulations.”

I grinned, taking a bite of the sandwich. “So, it's completely normal if she looks like she wants to slice me into pieces from time to time?”

Sooyoung laughed. “Bear with it future appa. Just make sure you don't cross the line too often.”

“I can't even see the line most of the time.” I frowned. “A week ago she was mad at me because I watched a football game on TV. Can you imagine? A football game? There was also this time when she insisted that I'm not supposed to go to work despite the important meeting. You know what? It will be very handy if pregnant wife comes with step-by-step manual.”

To my dismay, Sooyoung only laughed harder. “Bring Jessica food and flowers when you go home, also send her and the baby my hugs, Okay? Bye, Yuri.”

“Bye.” I sighed, falling back onto the bed. An hour or two of sleep before facing the war would do me good.

“Hi...” I stepped closer the pool. It was already four in the afternoon. I was clean and fresh now, coming to my wife with a bouquet of pink roses in my right hand. In the kitchen, the maid was preparing the cakes I had bought from Jessica's favorite bakery.

She was floating in the water. Her twenty-weeks-pregnant belly was wrapped tightly in the one-piece bikini. The small bump was visible a little above the water. It was only a day since the last time I hugged her and my baby but I already missed them so much.

She swam to edge of the pool, taking off her sunglasses as she rested her chin on her folded arms. Her feet lazily kicked the water, keeping her body floating. “Where have you been all night?”

I wasn't even tempted to remind her that she was the one who had kicked me