"Wow, I'm fat." 

Dara looked at herself in the large wall mirror of their bedroom sideways while Jiyong sat by the edge of the bed, uncertain what kind of Dara he'll be having a pleasure to endure today. Like her, he was looking at her through the mirror, his reflection also taking a small portion of the glass. Dara's face was unreadable as she continued to scan herself, making it unbelievingly nerve wracking for him. Should he tell her that she looked fine? That she still looked beautiful in his eyes? The last time he told her that, he got the silent treatment and he sure as hell doesn't want to experience that same slow torture again.

It was true though. She still looked very beautiful in his eyes. She was glowing, it was as if there was a halo of light surrounded her. Her face remained innocent and soft like the first time he really saw her back in high school. He still couldn't believe that they were about to spend their lives together in only a couple of months now and that they were going to be a family in no time soon. It felt surreal. He, who thought that Dara was the devil who had come to take his precious chastity and rid him of his chances with his imaginary future wife, was going to spend his entire life with the said messenger of hell. This conniving devil that turned into an angel -- no, into a religion to him. He worshiped her and cared for her as if she was some heavenly being. He relished all the times when she would scrunch her face in a cute way whenever she gets irked and gets shy when she tells him that she loves him while cuddling in each other's arms. He cherished every waking minute with her and he knew that she did too. Actions speaks louder than words after all. 

She never was the type to say what she really felt. Usually she would and it would often indirectly convey what her true feelings are too him. She wasn't good at mushy, romantic 'love whispers' or beautiful serenades like he was. Dara would often initiate physical things like hugs, kisses, and the ever so eloquent 'finger in the hole' but Jiyong was always too eager and always one step faster. She would always fall for how effortlessly he would make her heart flutter and her cheeks blush whenever he went one step ahead. The strong, independent, and proud woman was in fact getting piggybacked by an initially coy, dependent, and sweet man. They were able to mold each other into a better person throughout the years of having to deal with each other. Dara was able to become level-headed, although it still needed lots of work. She grew more confident in her true skin despite the some people's negativity towards it. Though it may seem highly debatable, she turned more mature with Jiyong by her side. His soft-hearted nature and admirable sense of understanding was definitely starting to rub off on her. He on the other hand  grew more comfortable with himself like she did. He was reserved at heart and he never thought that he would get passed that but he did with her help. He became more expressive and that shows whenever he shows his love for her. With her, he started to smile freely while she started to smile genuinely. 

Dara turned her expressionless face to him and he unconsciously mirrored it. They silently stared at each other for god knows how long without blinking. Dara was the first one to break and she let out an inaudible laugh. She sat beside him on the bed and he locked their hands. 

"Don't I look fat?" 

She continued to look at him blankly which unnerved him to no end. Hardcore math calculations that he couldn't understand and a series of thoughts jumbled in his mind as he looked at her as calmly as he could. It couldn't be Deer Dara because she would've taken off her clothes by now while asking him the same question. And yes, he would be very tempted but he couldn't risk it seeing that they would be expecting any time soon. It couldn't be Sauron Dara because she didn't yell the question at him for the 2nd time around. It may either be Mother Dara or Normal Dara for all he knew. She delivered his question calmly enough to be Mother Dara but there was no usual motherly smile that accompanied it. She kind of joked about her weight earlier, a typical Normal Dara move since she was in fact a a bundle of humorous sarcasm, but he wasn't able to hear that familiar sarcasm for the 2nd time.

He tried to take a chance. The two possible types that he would get weren't that bad anyway, so he might as well take a shot. 

"I love you." he caught her off guard, her brows raised in surprise. 

He waited for a response. If it were Mother Dara she would say those three words back and then she would give him either a kiss on the lips, nose, or forehead. If it were Normal Dara---

"Shut up." 

She would tell him to shut up and blush while looking away from him. Jiyong smiled at her obvious attempts to look at everywhere else but him. He kneeled before her to meet her belly and the latter finally looked at him with her cheeks still feeling hot and red. He gazed at her protruding stomach longingly and put his hands over it and caressed it, hoping that the baby inside would feel their father's warmth. Dara put her hands over his and you could see how big the difference was between their hands. His was big and it had a few small tattoos on it. It was soft yet manly as there were some cuts and scars that had yet to fade. Her hands were frail-looking compared to his. They were smaller and there wasn't a trace of anything else on it, no ink, no blemish, no nothing. It looked perfectly new against his that looked like they had went through a lot. These were the hands that would be holding on to another set of hands and those hands would soon tell and show a different kind of story. 

Jiyong grinned when he felt a kick and Dara snickered at his child-like excitement. He continued to roam his hands to feel for the baby while she combed his hair, giving him small pecks on the head whenever she felt like it. 

"You're not fat, you're curvy." he suddenly said earning another round of laughter from her. He looked up with an open-mouthed smile and stood up to sit beside her once again. He held her by the waist and put her head to rest on his shoulder once she calmed down. 

"Yeah tell that to all those shirts and jeans that don't fit me anymore." she shot back

"Don't worry, I'll tell them later." he joked. 

"At least one good thing came out from this aside from the baby." He looked at her inquiringly as she responded with a playful grin. "My s got bigger." 

"Oh believe me, that's not gonna last." Hyori suddenly chimed in. She was leaning on the bedroom's doorway, her arms crossed and her hips sassily popped out. "That baby's going to that out dry and your gonna go back to having your little nubs." 

"OMMA!!"

"I happen to like those little nu---"

"KWON JIYONG!!!!" Dara was smacking his arm while the both of them were joined in laughter. 

Hyori took a month vacation much to her employees delight. She didn't want to miss seeing her future grandchild that they chose not to know the gender of but she did know that they were only having one. You wouldn't believe how much she begged and bribed the people in the hospital to give the of the baby. She even went to the point of giving them all her profits but it was a good thing that her children stopped her. She remembered the first time she had Teddy. How Joongki and her were a mess and easily disoriented since they had no family or friends to seek help from. They were completely on their own and despite not knowing full well about nurturing for a child, they always did their best and made sure that their babies felt loved under their parents arms. She admits that she was unable to give them that last part when Joongki left but now that she's back, she was sure as hell that she was going to make them feel loved. 

"Come on down now, the food is ready." She said then left to go downstairs. 

They could clearly hear the loud chatter of their friends and family from where they were. Almost everyone was downstairs excluding Youngbae's parents since they seemed too busy with their own happenings because Hyori wasn't there. It was Minzy's 8th birthday and she wanted to go to Lotte World and of course, their lovely friends invited themselves to the little girl's birthday party. She didn't mind, in fact she enjoyed it. She didn't have friends of her own at the moment and she was lucky that at least some of her grown-up friends have minds of immature children that she could kind of relate too. Truthfully, Dara wanted to join in on their fun but she was too round and easily tired to move around the same pace as these youngsters and in the end, she just wallowed in the arcade section and the food court with Jiyong and the older crowd. 

Jiyong's parents kept gushing about their experience with Jiyong and how cute and adorable he was, making him embarrassed in his spot. Hyori remembered him like it was yesterday. She remembered how she flinched when she first saw his piercing Kwon eyes but now those intimidating eyes turned soft and it was ironically because of her loudmouth and unladylike daughter. Hyori then told her side of the family and how troublesome squirmy little Dara was. They laughed, and the mother and daughter argued saying that it was the other's fault. The parents gave them all the knowledge that they needed to have for taking care of the baby, to making sure that they're safe, and to handling the time you spend with them. They knew that the couple was going to have it rough seeing that they still haven't finished college but the three knew that they were capable enough for themselves. Even though they were forced to mature fast because of the baby, the youthful playfulness inside them never really left. They were still the same in terms of their personalities and their rather immature humor but they were different in a sense with their decision-making and rationality. The couple was starting to think more realistically and put things into a more sensible perspective. They knew that they will soon have to rely on themselves in the near future and not depend on their parents' fortune. They needed to do things on their own and independently raise their family on their own, but for now they need to count on their parents because a baby was coming on their way. They feel bad for freeloading to such an extent and they promised them that they will repay them someday. But what they don't know is was that they had already paid them with how dramatically the both of them had changed for the better. 

"Jiyong-ah, I don't mean to be the bad guy here but if you're still planning to work for the company, you have to work as soon as you finish school." Mr. Kwon solemnly. "You will have a long way to go up until you reach Hyori's position." 

Hyori nodded in agreement. "It will take a huge toll on you. I believe it took my around 10 years or maybe even more to get where I am now. But I'm doing way better with my stocks than this job." she said smugly and Mrs. Kwon jokingly scowled at her. 

Dara and Jiyong looked at each other for a minute, mentally strategizing their plans. After some time of silence, the young couple looked at their parents with determination in their eyes. 

"We still have 2 years left and we could always just Skype." Jiyong held on Dara's hand tightly as he carefully examined their parents' faces. "I think I'll have enough time for the baby to know that he has a father." 

Dara smiled at him and pinched his cheek. "I could take care of the baby on my own. I took care of three toddlers almost my whole life, I think I could take care of one baby." Hyori's face fell hearing what she wasn't able to do when she was alone with them but when she saw the grin on her daughter's face, she quickly shooed away all her worries and felt a sense of relief because of the conviction in her face. She didn't want her grandchild to go through the same thing, knowing that Dara and Jiyong would have to work thus leaving their child in the care of another, but it didn't look like Dara wasn't going to have that