~Chapter Four~

After a week, it was almost as though everything had returned back to normal, as if there were no pregnant women infiltrating the Bangtan headquarters, which made me considerably happy and more comfortable being there with them.

Except one thing so obvious I couldn’t help but notice; the boys were being very cautious with me. When we were playing Wii sports, Taehyung and Namjoon were battling in a merciless one on one tennis match. And given the leader’s constant clumsiness, he tripped over Jin’s damn Mario plushy and barreled right towards the couch I was sitting on. Normally, I’d catch him—trust me, this isn’t the first time this has happened—and the boys knew that. But this time, Kookie, who had been sitting next to me, leapt up and tackled his hyung before that occurred. I was honored by his heroic actions, though I know I could’ve taken on Rapmon myself.

Even during meals, they had smaller portions on their plates, which I easily caught on to. I said nothing, though, smally smiling through the meal every time I caught one of them looking my way, considerate eyes gauging the status of my plate filling. Expressing symptoms of pregnancy was a long ways away, as it had only been a scuff into the 9 months before me, but the boys acted as though I was prepared to drop and plop a kid out any moment. I truly owed them. It warmed me in ways I was unsure of how to express or retaliate. So I always remained silent, thanking them when they weren’t listening or looking.

At eight o’ clock one Tuesday morning, I was about three weeks in, I woke up to prep for breakfast. It helped that I did some time at a kimchi joint; I managed to pick up some culinary knowledge in the end of it, so eh, I suppose being a pig for several months did its justice. Before I had joined the family, Jin was responsible for most meals in the dorm. Then I tagged along, and ended up doing a lot of it myself. Since it was early—well, early for the boys on break—I crept out of my bedroom. Most were heavy sleepers, but I never wanted to take the risk, especially when they needed sleep. I noiselessly padded along the hall and towards the kitchen, where I made a shocking discovery. The light was on and Jin was rummaging through the fridge, balancing some items in the crook of his elbow. I curiously watched, unnoticed, as he passed an opened jar of an unknown substance under his nose, immediately revolted by the smell. I couldn’t help my laugh, and the pretty boy jumped at the sound of it.

“Who knows how old that is,” I giggled after he shot me an accusatory look.

“I thought you were the one keeping tabs on the kitchen inventory, Rei.” He had a point. I shrugged, moving next to him to help collect the jars and containers he was holding. “Are these all bad?”

“Nope. I just wanted to cook something this morning.” My eyes widened slightly, my mouth forming an ‘o’ shape. It had been quite a while since he’s cooked for us. Without responding, I pulled the Mario apron from the cupboard and hung it off his shoulder.

“By all means; I’ve missed mother’s food.” His lip quirked at that, and after setting the remainder of the items down, he reached into the same cupboard and revealed a plain white apron. “Well, now the kids have two mothers to cook for them.” We laughed. I helped him tie the strings securely around his broad back, and he did the same for me, car