He stood watching her from the doorway. She has finally fallen asleep a few hours after they got back home. The hospital stay was brief and fortunately uneventful; she remained fever free which encouraged her doctor to facilitate her discharge.

After Dr. Kim Nari left yesterday, he sat down in the bed and they faced each other, eyes showing their shock, happiness, relief, trepidation. She had burst into tears in his arms and his eyes filled as well with the realization. He hugged her tightly, feeling both their hearts pounding, and whispered softly, “I love you. I love you so very much.” She looked up at him, misted eyes aglow; he searched her eyes to find the same look of love reflected there. He cupped her face tenderly, tangling his long fingers in her hair and gently kissed her tears away. She reached up to bring his lips down to hers, her heart filled to bursting with the thought of their love physically manifested—his child, no, theirs—their little blessing from above she’s carrying inside her.

She called her eomma, voice tremulous, to share the news. And as he looked on while pacing the room, his thoughts jumped way ahead to the future of their life together to their dreams of a family they had been wanting to create for themselves. He smiled hearing the shriek of joy from his jangmonim, his mother in law, as her anxieties were replaced with exclamations reverberating over the phone. Later, his own conversation with his eomma was just as poignant. He had passed the phone over to Bo Young after a brief sentence or two, and let the females continue their conversation. She had blushed and looked at him, reaching out to him for his strength. He came and sat next to her and held her hands in his. Every now and then he would caress her cheeks, while she continued her conversation with his eomma, his eyes unable to move away from her face, and he marveled anew how lucky he was to have her in his life.

His phone vibrated, shaking him out of his reverie. It was his jangmonim calling to check on Bo Young once more. He stepped away from the room to avoid waking her.

“She’s finally sleeping,” he said. “We got home a few hours ago.”

“Is she feeling better? Did the doctor say anything else?”

He went on to appease her worries. “She just needed some rest, Dr. Kim said. I will keep her home for the rest of the week. I’ll call PDnim when she wakes and we’ll figure out her work schedule.”

“Do you need anything? Any food? I can bring some of mu doenjang guk (soybean paste radish soup) which she likes to eat when she’s feeling poorly.”

“Jangmonim, please do not tire yourself, but just come and visit. You are welcome to stay with us. I’m sure she would love to see you.”

His mother in law was pleased to hear this for she had been wanting to see her daughter since yesterday. “I will. Thank you, son. Please expect me tomorrow.”

He went back to their room to check on her. He gingerly laid down next to her as she continued her deep slumber. Her face had lost some of its pallor, though her eyes still bore traces of her exhaustion from the faint circles he glimpsed under her lashes. His Bo Young is a frail little thing, though her nature is resilient. He recalls how she had often grieved her lack of physical strength. She is hardly helpless, little though she may be. She is one of the strongest woman I’ve ever known. He remembered how she had learned to be tough before, when her life had turned chaotic from the past misdeeds of her associates. How she had remained independent and continued on alone, even during their estrangement. She may not have the physical strength she wished for, but her strength lies in her character, in her integrity and moral compass. She will never be alone again, he vowed to himself. He looked on, this woman who has given herself fully to him, who loved him effortlessly, flaws and all, and who has never failed to be his staunchest supporter in anything and everything he does. And now, she is carrying my child, the thought flashed in his mind. He could not stop the tears that threatened to spill from the surge of emotion that welled up inside him. He could not imagine his life without her now that she has been in it; she, a piece that completes his whole.

She stirred and moved to nuzzle into his ams closer. Even in her sleep her arms reach for him. And he held her, nestled her closer to his heart where she belongs.

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