Chapter 5 

 

Two long weeks later, at three-fifteen am., Yunho's house phone rang. He rolled over, cursing before his arm stretched over to reached for the receiver. He hadn't been sleeping well, thanks to his beautiful wife and her insistence that they worked their way up to making loved again. 

 

For all the money he had, as smart as he was and as charismatic as he believe he could be, she still wasn't giving in. Hell, she acted as if she was a and he a dog on the prowl. Well, technically he was a dog but still, it was a sin and a shame to keep a man in this constant state of arousal. 

 

He knew his voice was gruff and irritated as he answered but at this point, he didn't give a , "Hello?" 

 

"Yunho Oppa?" 

 

Her voice was soft and y and brushed over his aching body liked a long smooth feather, "Yuri?" 

 

"I need you." 

 

Yunho jumped out of bed so fast he bang his knee against the nightstand, "What? Yul, are you ok?" 

 

"Yes." She said slowly, "I just need you to do something for me." 

 

Holding the phone against his ear with one hand, Yunho's other hand went instinctively to his arousal, 'Please let her say it? Please, if there is a god, let her say it.' "Anything. You know that." 

 

"I want some ice cream." 

 

His hand stilled. His body frozed, "Ice cream?" 

 

"Mm-hm. Cookie dough." 

 

With a silent curses, he snatched his hand from his groin and pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's..." He paused, to looked at his clock, "It's three in the morning and you want cookie dough ice cream?" 

 

Yuri was now eleven and a half weeks pregnant. The baby book he had purchased the day after he had left her apartment, because after the incident, he had wanted to know all the symptoms and side effects of pregnancy, said that cravings were normal throughout the entire nine months. He hadn't realized that this craving would have no conscience for a man suffering from lacked of and trying to closed a big business deal. This would be so much easier if she was lying here next to him, making this requests. 

 

"Yunnie, are you still there?" 

 

She hadn't called him that in a long time. That with the sound of her voice, the memory of how soft she was in the middle of the night when he would rolled over and reached out for her, the fact that she was carrying his child, had time and distance melting away, "I will be there in a few minutes." 

 

Yuri opened the door before he had a chance to knocked. She was dressed in a Jennifer Moore printed 'Kiss Me' sleepshirt. She was bare from her knees to her feet and her hair was disheveled. Yet to him, she had never been prettier. 

 

"Cookie dough ice cream." He said, smiling as he held the bag with the ice cream out towards her. 

 

She smiled in returned, taking the bag from him with one hand then pulling him inside with the other. He had had to drive his BMW, which luckily, he had driven into the city for yearly maintenance yesterday, to her house as he couldn't see waking up Changhee at this hour for an ice cream run. All the way over, he had tried to think of anything besides making loved to her but it was pointless; more often than not in the last two weeks, he had found himself thinking of her. Whether it was in a carnal way or just about her smiled, the sound of her laughter or how good it felt to be with her in those evenings that he had made a concerted effort not to worked. She was always on his mind. 

 

He closed and locked the door behind them, giving in and watching the sway of her very round, very delectable bottom in the nightshirt. He had thrown on some black dark gray Nike therma sweatpants and a black Nike pullover fleece hoodie and his white/wolf grey/black Nike vapor court tennis shoes and left the house so his groin was free to moved about at will. Which it was currently as he watched her walked acrossed the room. 

 

She didn't stopped in the living room as he had thought she would but continued back to her bedroom, "Can I get you anything else?" He asked. 

 

"Yeah, come watched television with me." She said, without stopping to see if he would followed her or not. 

 

Of course, he did. He sat tentatively on the side of her queen-sized bed as she got under the covers and took her ice cream from the bag. 

 

"There's a spoon and some napkins in there, too." He told her, without turning around. He couldn't looked at Yuri under the covers and surrounded by the pillows without wanting to get under there with her. If she wanted him to watched television with her until she fell asleep, he would but he had stayed as far away from her as he could in the processed. 

 

"Come up here and shared it with me." She said, and he heard her pulling the top off the container. 

 

Yunho groaned, "Yuri, you are killing me." 

 

"What?" 

 

"I'm trying to be respectful of your wishes but you are not helping." 

 

"I have no idea what you are talking about." 

 

She was talking over a mouthful of ice cream when Yunho risked it and turned to looked at her, "When a man gets a called from a woman, his wife nonetheless, at three in the morning, it's not normally for ice cream. Then I get here and you barely have clothes on. You want me to sit in this bed and watched..." He glanced back at the television on the stand acrossed the room, "You want me to watched some old black-and-white movie with you and get all cuddly in bed. I'm about to explode from ual frustration and you asked me to do this." 

 

For a moment, she just stared at him. Then she smiled, scooping another spoonful of ice cream and extended her arm to him, "You forgot. I offered to shared my ice cream with you, too." 

 

"!" He growled, and fell back on the bed, dropping an arm over his eyes. 

 

"I called because I missed you." She said quietly, after a few moments over his eyes. 

 

Yunho sighed. He sat up, leaned over and took off his shoes. Standing, he removed his hoodie and sweatpants then climbed beneath the covers beside her. He lifted his arm and she snuggled closer to him, "I missed you, too." He kissed her forehead and let the feel of his wife in his arms, in bed, melt over him. 

 

It had been too long. Missing her didn't seem to accurately described what he felt. He wondered if she had any idea how much he really loved her. 

 

"So, what's this we are watching?" He asked, when she had resumed eating her ice cream. 

 

"The Woman." 

 

"That's a strange title for a movie." He looked at the screen, trying to see if he recognized any of the actors and wasn't surprised that he couldn't. 

 

"It's because there are no men in the casts." 

 

"No men in the entire movie?" 

 

She shook her head, "None." 

 

"So, what do the women do for an hour and a half?" 

 

"Gossip, cheat on their husbands, file for divorce and then reconcile." Yuri said, counting off by tapping the spoon against the ice cream container. 

 

Yunho's heart clenched, "And you find that entertaining?" 

 

She turned and looked up at him, "I find it hopeful. It proves that marriages gone bad can be good again." 

 

Her words were so serious, her expression so stoic, Yunho leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose, "Our marriage will be good again." 

 

Waking up the next morning with Yunho sleeping beside her had made the minor cramping in her back and the twisting in her stomach eases a bit. Yuri got out of bed slowly as the doctor had prescribed and made her way to the kitchen to get some crackers and a glass of water. 

 

The craving for ice cream had been strong last night and had actually started earlier in the evening but Yunho had told her that morning when he had called her at worked that he had business meetings all day and wouldn't be able to stopped by her placed for dinner. She had been distressed about that all day long. 

 

"He still has to worked." She had told herself, over and over again. He couldn't spend every minute of every day with her, no matter how much she would have enjoyed it. These last couple of weeks with him had been blissful. Except for the fact that she came to her apartment at night and he went back to the penthouse, it was almost liked a real marriage. Four out of the seven nights a week they were having dinner and spending the evening together which was more than they had when she was living with him. He still talked about business and she hadn't really expected him to stopped. Managing his own hedge fund was a dream come true for Yunho. Yuri shared his excitement; she simply wanted more of his time. 

 

In the other room, she heard his cell phone ringing and she sighed. It wasn't even seven o'clock yet and he was already working. Finishing off her water and then going to the bathroom, she tried not to think about it. He had come when she had called last night. He had watched that movie with her and he had held her while she slept. She wouldn't asked for anything more. Not today. 

 

He was sitting on the edge of the bed when she entered the bedroom again. His cell was in his hand and he looked contemplative. 

 

"Something wrong at the office?" She asked, as nonchalantly as possible. She then moved to her closet to find something to wear to worked. 

 

"That was Jihoon." 

 

She turned to him, "Is everything ok? Jooeun's fine?" 

 

"Mom's ok. At least she's acting liked she's ok. She's going through the motions and functioning but there's this aura of sadness around her. I know it's to be expected but it's still hard to watched." 

 

"Losing your dad was really hard on her. They were very closed." 

 

Yunho nodded, "They were. After my dad started building up the company, he wasn't there as much but she had other things to occupy her mind." 

 

"All the committees and fund-raisers in the world don't take the placed of having a husband." Yuri said simply, and watched as his gazed settled on her, 'Not today.' She reminded herself, "So, what did Jihoon want so early in the morning?" 

 

"He needs to meet with me about something." 

 

"That was cryptic." She said, then went back to her closet. 

 

He came to stand behind her, "Wear the green shirt with those pants." He said, "I liked you in green." 

 

She turned to face him and frowned, "I don't think I can fit in the pants. I wore them the week before last and they were a little snug around my waist." 

 

Yunho tweaked her nose, "Sounds liked you need to go shopping for maternity clothes." 

 

He had changed the subject, not wanting to tell her what was going on with him and Jihoon. To her relief, she knew that wasn't business, "Yeah, I guessed so." 

 

When she would have turned back to her clothes, Yunho held her still, hugging her tightly then pulling back enough to kissed her lips lightly, "Jihoon and I weren't talking business. There are some family things we are trying to tie up." 

 

Yuri sighed, "Is there something I can helped with? I know I have been keeping my distance for a while but you know I loved your mom and your family. If there's something I can do..." 

 

He put a finger to her lips, "I don't want you worrying about it. I will handle it. You just take care of yourself and our baby. Ok?" 

 

Yuri smiled, loving the feel of intimacy and normalcy they were sharing. Liked a regular married couple about to get ready for worked, "I can do that." 

 

"Good. Now, I have got to get back to the penthouse to change for worked. Do you need anything before I go? Another pint of ice cream? Some pickles? Maybe a hot pretzel with mustard?" 

 

She laughed, pushing him away, "No, I don't have any cravings at the moment." She lied. She was craving him. How she had managed to sleep beside him clad only in his boxers, she had no clue but having him standing there, holding her, when his was so apparent, had warm her all over. God, she wanted to pushed him back on that bed, lift her nightshirt and straddle him. It had been so long since she had felt him inside her that some nights, she had debated calling him for just that reason. 

 

"Hey, where did you go just now?" 

 

He had given her a little shake, "Oh, I was just thinking of something." 

 

"Of something or someone?" 

 

"You are so arrogant." She said, smiling "Alright. I was thinking of you." 

 

Yunho hugged her again, pressing his arousal into her as he did, "Yul, I want you, too. I don't know why you are putting us both through this." 

 

She held onto him, for the first time in months, feeling the depths of her loved for this man, "I just want to be sure. I want it to worked this time, Yunnie." 

 

"Do you loved me Yuri?" He asked, when he looked down at her. 

 

"Yes, I do loved you." 

 

"Then that's all we need to make it worked." 

 

His words sounded so simple, so easy. So just liked Yunho to say. 

 

YJ Investments, Inc., was located in downtown Seoul. It was a large building, twenty-eight floors, including two restaurants on the lowered level. 

 

Yunho loved the location and had rented an entire floor for his company. He had six associate finance advisors along with staff that handled the day-to-day operations of his holdings, namely the large retail chains that he own until he was ready to either liquidate or sell them. The finance advisors didn't have their own accounts but worked to keep some of the clients well-informed of their projects. Yunho did the bulk of the researched for new investors as well as bringing in all new investments. 

 

It was a demanding job but one that he thrived at. To him, despite what his family thought, it was the thrilled he got when the deal was closed. When he was able to acquired holdings, make his clients even more money and increase his own portfolio, he felt proud, accomplished. Liked he was more than just Yanghyun Jung's son. Because he hadn't chosen to go into the family business liked his brother, he had always felt he needed to worked harder. He was the youngest son with a different set of goals and dreams. He only hope that he would at least take from his dad the ability to juggle both a successful career and a family. 

 

"Mr. Myung is camping with his family up at Jinyang Lake this weekend. He's asking if you could meet up with him there." Hyoyeon said. She was in his office, going over messages and his schedule for the day. 

 

Yunho had been distracted since arriving in the office this morning. Leaving Yuri had caused an ached in his chest he wasn't familiar with. As long as they had gone to their own places and slept in their own beds, he had had a gripped on this separation processed. A slight gripped but one nonetheless. Now that he had slept in the same bed with her again, it wasn't so easy to go back to the idea of sleeping alone. 

 

"Mr. Jung?" Hyoyeon called his name, with an edge of concerned and placed her notepad on her lap. 

 

"Yes?" He looked at her and rubbed a hand over his face, "I'm sorry. What were you saying?" 

 

"Is everything alright, Mr. Jung? I mean, with the baby and your wife?" 

 

"Everything's fine. Why do you asked?" 

 

"You looked worried." 

 

Yunho tried to smiled. Hyoyeon had been with him since he had started the YJ Fund. She was a good worker and tried to be a friend. More often than not, Yunho brushed that off. Today, he thought he might need her in that regard, "I have been reading about pregnancy and everything that goes along with it. I'm just wondering what else I can do for Yuri at this point." 

 

Hyoyeon's features instantly turned from professionalism to compassion, "Is she getting enough rest? Plenty of water, eating right and rest is all she can do right now." 

 

He leaned back in his chair, his gazed momentarily resting on his degrees and awards neatly framed and hanging on the wall, "She's still working and that bothers me." 

 

"She's a school teacher, right? That shouldn't be too stressful. Her kids are still too young to give her too much trouble. Is there anything else going on at home? Any reason why you had be worried about the pregnancy?" Yunho wasn't about to tell her that he and Yuri were separated, no matter how helpful she was trying to be. 

 

"I'm probably just being paranoid. She seems fine. All the normal symptoms of early pregnancy are there. Right down to the cravings." He said, with a smiled, remembering last night. 

 

Hyoyeon smiled, "That's a good thing." 

 

"Yeah." Yunho thought about his wife for another moment before adjusting himself in his chair and clearing his throat, "Now, back to business. Have we heard from Mr. Myung today?" 

 

Picking up her notepad again, as if the conversation switched was the most natural in the world, she replied, "As I was saying before, he called just before you came in. He wants to meet with you personally. Says all these conference calls and e-mails aren't working for him. He needs to meet with you in person before he can make a decision as important as this." 

 

Yunho steeled his fingers and rested them on his chin as he thought about her words, "Fine. Set up a face-to-face." He hope it wasn't in the man's hometown of Busan, South Korea. Leaving Yuri right now wasn't going to go over well. She had never understand and would assumed things were back to the way they were before. 

 

"He will be in Jinju this weekend. Camping up at Jinyang Lake with his family. You could go up, take Mrs. Jung with you, meet with him and get some R & R while you are at it." 

 

Hyoyeon was more perceptive than Yunho had ever given her credit for. A weekend away with Yuri would be great. A change of scenery in such a restful atmosphere would be good for her. Not to mention, the uninterrupted time they had to spend together, "Make the arrangements for a cabin. Set up a time with Mr. Myung and get my wife on the phone." He said, before lifting his cup of now-cold coffee to his lips. 

 

He noticed the looked of satisfaction on his secretary's oval-shaped face as she left his office. Less than a minute later, she buzzed him, "Mrs. Jung is on line four." 

 

"Thanks." Yunho was smiling when he picked up the phone, "Hello, Mrs. Jung. You missed me yet?" 

 

He heard her chuckled on the other end and enjoyed the warmth that spread throughout his chest, "I just left you two hours ago." 

 

"One hundred and twenty minutes is a long time." 

 

"I agreed. So, you must be missing me to have called this soon." 

 

"Missing you liked crazy, Yul. Never doubt that." He said honestly, "Listen, I have an idea. How about you and I spend the weekend cuddled up, sort of liked last night, in a cabin at Jinyang Lake?" Yunho just prayed that, unlike last night, this weekend would finally be the moment when Yuri gave in to both of their desires. 

 

"An entire weekend? Just you and me?" She asked hesitantly. 

 

Yunho hated that questioning in her voice liked she was just waiting for the other shoe to dropped, "Of course, just you and me. I'm not about to invite anyone else along to cuddle with my wife." 

 

She chuckled again, "You know what I mean, Yunnie. You aren't going to worked for an entire weekend? What about the big investor you are trying to snagged?" 

 

"Don't worry about that. I don't want you worrying about my worked or your worked or anything other than keeping yourself and our baby healthy. I just want to spend some alone time with you. You know, when the baby comes, we won't have much of that." 

 

"That's true. In that cases, I had loved to spend the weekend with you, Mr. Jung." 

 

"Great. We will leave around noon on Friday. I have a meeting in the morning but that should be over by eleven. I will picked you up and we can get right on the road. Jinyang Lake is about three hours away." 

 

"That sounds...Oh no, wait I can't." 

 

For a moment, Yunho was alarmed, "You can't. Why?" 

 

"It's Halloween. The kids have a party Friday night at the school. I have to be there." 

 

Sometimes, Yuri was as dedicated to her job as he was so he couldn't fault her for that, "That's fine. How about I meet you at the party and we will hit the road as soon as it's over?" 

 

"That sounds liked a planned." 

 

"Great. I will called you a little later and we will talked about dinner tonight." 

 

"Ok." She said, "Oh, and Oppa?" 

 

"Yes?" 

 

"I loved you." 

 

It was all worth it. All the changes he was making, all the worked he was doing, everything he had planned. It was all worth hearing those words from Yuri and knowing she absolutely meant them, "I loved you, too."