Kourtney leaned against the stall as another wave of nausea hit her. She was out with her sister-in-law at a restaurant. Kourtney had called her brother, but as expected, he was busy practicing for an upcoming swimming competition. While she loved his dedication, she was sometimes irritated by his busy schedule. Kourtney then decided to call her sister-in-law, Gi Hye, to see if she was up for celebrating. Gi Hye knew about their tradition and eagerly accepted Kourtney’s invitation. Despite Yongguk not being there, Kourtney still had a nice time. She attended church and heard a nice sermon. She skipped out on the Mother’s Day celebration they had, and went to meet up with Gi Hye instead. They chatted it up as usual and enjoyed each other’s company. Unfortunately, food poisoning had ruined it.

 The two agreed to go out today to her favorite Italian restaurant. Kourtney had happily been eating her favorite pasta and shrimp dish when she suddenly felt sick. She rushed to the bathroom, her sister-in-law, Gi Hye, behind her.

Nothing had come up yet, but Kourtney felt as though it would. Gi Hye rubbed her back soothingly.

“They better not have given you food poisoning. I won’t hesitate to meet the chef in the back alley.”

Kourtney could only moan and shake her head in response. While she appreciated, Gi Hye’s support, Kourtney knew the woman was a fire cracker, and that her temper could easily be set off by anyone who wronged her or her family.

Kourtney sighed and stood up. She turned to face Gi Hye and shook her head.

“Nothing’s coming out, but I don’t want to chance it. I think I should go home. I’m so sorry for ruining our afternoon.”

“Don’t apologize! If anyone should be apologizing it should be that disgusting chef. How dare he serve you food that’s undercooked. Come on sis, I’ll follow you home.”

Gi Hye allowed Kourtney to lean on her as they walked out of the bathroom and to their table. They retrieved their jackets before heading towards the front desk. Gi Hye made a fuss about not paying the full price since it made her sister sick. At first the man standing behind the counter wouldn’t budge, but when Gi Hye threatened to sue him, he cut the bill by 40%.

When they finally reached Kourtney’s house, Gi Hye helped her upstairs. She gave Kourtney a glass of water and told her to rest. She left Kourtney in the bedroom before heading down the hall towards the bathroom. She passed by the nursery and paused. She peeked in and saw the beautiful green apple walls and the light blue ceiling covered with puffy white clouds. She looked at the rocking chair that sat next to the crib and cute plastic boxes made to look like trucks filled with toys.

The story behind this room was bittersweet. Gi Hye remembered how excited she was when Kourtney and Yongguk told her they were finally having a baby. She remembered coming over to help decorate the nursery and going shopping with Kourtney for baby supplies. Yongguk would often ask for her help whenever Kourtney got sick. The girl would take a couple bites of food and get sick, especially after eating pasta.

Gi Hye laughed at the memory before halting as realization dawned on her.  Suddenly she had an epiphany. As she raced to the bathroom, she made it up in her mind that she would call in a favor from a friend.

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“Honestly Gi Hye, I don’t think going to the doctor is necessary. It’s food poisoning. It usually goes away in a day.” Kourtney was sitting in the passenger of Gi Hye’s car. She had woken up from her nap a couple hours ago and threw up. She was still tired and leaned on the car door frame for support. Gi Hye insisted that Kourtney go to the hospital. Kourtney didn’t think it was necessary, but Gi Hye was forceful.

“They say that if symptoms last for a while, you should visit a doctor. What if they need to pump your stomach or something? This is necessary!”

Kourtney rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. She didn’t feel nauseous anymore, but her stomach still hurt a bit.

They pulled into the parking lot and Gi Hye parked near the entrance. She got out first and went around to Kourtney’s side to help her get out. Kourtney leaned on her as they walked through the parking lot to the sliding doors. When they were inside, Gi Hye went over to the front desk and asked the clerk if she could let Doctor Andrews know that she and her friend had arrived. The clerk nodded and proceeded to make a phone call. Gi Hye walked Kourtney over to the nearby waiting area and helped her to sit down.

“I didn’t know you could make direct requests for doctors. Do you see Doctor Andrews whenever you get sick?” Kourtney asked.

“I’ve only ever gone to see her once.”

“Just once? The way you requested to specifically see her makes it sound like you know her.”

“I do know her. She and I went to college together. We stayed in the same dorm suite.”

“Oh okay.” Kourtney was still thrown off as to why Gi Hye had only seen Doctor Andrews once. If she had a friend who was doctor, she would see her all the time. But, she was too tired to probe further, so she dropped the issue.

“I wonder if she can prescribe any medicine for this.”

Gi Hye nodded. “She might –“

A nurse had walked to where they were sitting and motioned for them to follow her. “Doctor Andrews will see you now.”

Gi Hye assisted Kourtney down the hall to the Doctor’s room, which thankfully wasn’t too far away. When they reached the room, Kourtney couldn’t help but stop by the door.

“Why am I going to see an obstetrician? Doctor Andrews is an OB/GYN?”

Gi Hye bit her lip. She faced Kourtney and grabbed her hands. “Kourtney, please don’t hate me for this, but I don’t think this is food poisoning.”

Kourtney blinked and waited for Gi Hye to continue.

“Remember when you got pregnant some time ago and how your favorite dish, pasta, would always make you sick? I think that’s what’s happening now. I think you might be pregnant.”

A flurry of emotions passed over Kourtney. She was shocked, scared, hopeful, and still a bit tired.

“Y-you think I might b-be pregnant?” Kourtney stuttered.

“I think it’s possible darling. But we won’t know until Doctor Andrews takes a look at you.”

Kourtney stared ahead blankly. Could she be pregnant? Was that the cause of her sudden sickness? What if it was just food poisoning? She hoped that she wasn’t getting excited for nothing. She really wanted to be pregnant. Kourtney slowly nodded and allowed Gi Hye to walk her into the hospital room.

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Kourtney stared at the results in front of her. She blinked twice, looked away, and then returned her eyes back to the test results. She was pregnant. Oh God, she was pregnant! The paper started to tremble in her hands and little droplets of water started to appear. Kourtney couldn’t contain it. The dam broke and a flood of tears released themselves. She cried because she was happy, she cried because her and Yongguk’s prayers were finally answered. She was just so thankful that she didn’t know what else to do except cry.

Doctor Andrews patted her knee while Gi Hye rubbed Kourtney’s back soothingly.

“I know sis. You can let it out hun. It’s been a long journey to this moment.” Gi Hye said smoothly.

Kourtney could barely speak the next few words. “We have our baby! We have our beautiful little baby! Thank You God, thank You so much! I have to call Yongguk! I want to tell him.”

Kourtney grabbed her purse and reached for her cell phone. She had Gi Hye to unlock it and place the call since her hands were shaking too much from the excitement. The phone rang twice before the other end picked up.

“Hey babe, how are you? Did you and Gi Hye go out like I recommended?”

Gi Hye answered for her. “Hey bro. Yeah, we went out, but we had to cut the festivities short.”

There was a pause, and Kourtney could imagine Yongguk’s eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “Why? What happened?”

“Your lovely wife here got sick after eating some pasta. I took her home to get some rest and she threw up.”

“Is she okay? Is she feeling better? Babe, are you feeling better?”

Kourtney leaned closer to the phone to respond. “I’m a bit tired, but my stomach has finally settled.”

“Thank God. Was it food poisoning? Maybe we should consider suing the restaurant you both went to. Gi Hye you didn’t get sick too, did you?”

“No, no I’m fine. We thought it was food poisoning too, but we just learned that it was caused by something else?”

“Something else? It’s not something worse, is it?” Yongguk’s voice was laden with concern.

“Well, for some people it would be worse, but in your case, it’s really great!” Gi Hye had to stifle a laugh. She could just imagine how confused her brother must be.

“I don’t understand. How could the cause of her getting sick be good? Is this some kind of joke?”

Gi Hye covered as laughter threatened to spill out. She then handed the phone to the Doctor.

“Hi Mr. Bang, this is Doctor Andrews. How are you today?”

“I’m alright Doctor Andrews. How are you? Are you with my wife? Is she okay?”

“I’m good and yes I’m with her. You have no need to worry Mr. Bang. Your wife is doing great.”

“So what caused her sickness?”

“Before I answer that, let me explain why your wife is in my office instead of seeing a regular doctor. Your sister, who’s also an old friend of mine, had a suspicion that the cause of Mrs. Bang’s vomiting was not food poisoning. She called me and asked if I could run some tests on your wife. I’m an OB/GYN, which as you may already know, is a doctor for pregnant women.” The doctor paused and smiled before continuing.  “Congratulations Mr. Bang! Your wife had a case of morning sickness because she’s pregnant!”

There was a brief pause and Kourtney heard Yongguk gasp. “Y-you’re pregnant, babe? We have a baby on the way. I’m a Dad…”

Kourtney heard emotion take over when he stated the last few words. Doctor Andrews handed her the phone. Kourtney still had tears flowing from her eyes. “Yeah honey, you’re a Dad.”

“Oh my God……..Wow! Babe, we have a baby. Wow! Thank You God!”

Kourtney giggled at his response. He sounded just as overwhelmed as she felt. “We do! We have a baby!”

“I’m coming home! I’ll finish up here, and I’ll head home. I can’t wait to see you. I love you so much babe and I love our little one! I’m so grateful! This is great! I have to come home soon; I have to buy diapers!”

Kourtney could tell that he was excited. His sentences weren’t making sense anymore and he kept repeating himself. “Yeah, come home soon my love! The baby and I will greet you!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be back ASAP. Tell Doctor Andrews I said thank you and tell Gi Hye to take care of you until I get back.”

“You’re on speaker, so we can hear you. I’ll make sure to take care of her until you get home.” Gi Hye said.

“Your welcome Mr. Bang, and congratulations again!” Doctor Andrews added.

“Thank you. Thank you both. Babe, I love you.”

Kourtney smiled. “I love you too honey. I will see you soon.”