Epilogue
The Nine Year Itch3½ MONTHS LATER
SUNDAY
Jongin drums his fingers on the tabletop, nerves buzzing as he stares at the front door without blinking. To his right, he hears Sehun finishing up his phone call with Jungah.
Sehun hangs up a second later. "She promised to come straight home," he says, ruffling Jongin's hair. "She's getting a ride, so it shouldn't take too long."
Nodding, Jongin tries not to fall off his seat in excitement. Despite being on the verge of bouncing off the walls any second, all he can do is wait for Jungah to arrive home from her riding lesson. He's just glad that they managed to call before she could head off to the mall with Lisa.
Jongin's eyes trail to his briefcase. He tries not to think about the five reports he has to hand in next week as Sehun kisses his cheekbone. Despite the doubled workload after just one month, switching to the sales department was probably one of the best decisions Jongin has ever made in his life. With Baekhyun's old cubicle vacant, Jongin jumped at the opportunity to take over it, since he knew that it would come with minimized overtime and working right next to Sehun. While he's still trying to grow accustomed to all the different types of assignments, Jongin knows that he would rather deal with it than Minseok and Luhan's bickering any day.
Monggu abandons his chew toy when the front door opens five minutes later, and he goes on to attack Jungah's legs with wet kisses after she crosses the threshold. The added inch to her growth in the past few months is starting to become more and more noticeable, given that her jeans seem to be becoming shorter by each passing day.
"I made Lisa's mother drive way faster than the speed limit so I could get here quicker," Jungah says, forehead damp from the helmet she's been wearing at training. She fixes her ponytail, all while her gaze flickers between Sehun and Jongin. "What did you want to tell me?"
With Monggu yapping away by their feet, and the whole apartment reeking of hay and a horse's mane, Jongin looks at Sehun. "We have a belated birthday present for you," he says, barely able to stifle a grin. "Remember the one thing you always wanted?"
Jongin figures that all the horseback riding must have made Jungah drop dead exhausted, since she only blinks. However, her eyes light up when she notices the white pregnancy test on the tabletop. "What's this thing?" she asks.
"That's something people use to tell if they're going to have children or not," Jongin chuckles. "Two lines for yes and one for no."
Jungah eyes the object with a wondrous expression. "There's two lines here," she hums. "Does that...does that mean you're going to have a baby?" Her entire face lights up when Jongin nods.
"That's right," Jongin says while Sehun drapes his arms over his shoulders. He doesn't get to continue before Jungah rushes over and gently presses her ear against his stomach.
"I think I can hear him!" Jungah squees with stars in her eyes. "When's he gonna be here? What are we gonna name him? He's gonna sleep in my room, right? Can we feed him those cute animal cookies you always used to give me when I was a baby?" She wipes a bead of sweat from her hairline when Jongin and Sehun exchange looks.
"Since you're a big girl now and no longer playing with your teddies, we were planning on getting rid of your toys and placing a crib and a few other things in its place, if it's alright with you," Jongin says, thankful that Jungah decided to ditch her entire Rilakkuma collection mere days after they got Monggu.
Jungah nods so vigorously that her pigtails nearly fall off. "That's fine!" she squees.
Jongin blinks when something suddenly hits him. "Wait, what do you mean, 'him'?" he asks, not knowing if he should tell Jungah that the gender of their unborn child has yet to be revealed.
Jungah stands up. "I wanted a brother, remember?" she says with a wide grin. "So it must be a he!"
"You don't know that, though," Sehun chuckles. "For all we know, it could be a girl, right?"
"Lisa's mother said there are some things you can feel in your soul, and I can feel in mine that it's a boy," Jungah says, poking Jongin's stomach. "I already want to watch cartoons and go to the zoo with him," she hums, mostly to herself. "Man, I wish he were here already."
Jongin smooths out Jungah's hair, most of which she decided to chop off after her first riding lesson. "You'll only have to wait five months or so," he says, kissing the top of her head. "It'll go by fast, I promise."
"Is that why you've been so annoying lately?" Jungah asks, making Jongin blink. "Like when you cried in the middle of the night last week because we didn't have any chocolate milk left in the fridge? Was that because you were gonna have a baby?"
Jongin internally screams. He was wholly convinced that Jungah was sound asleep at that moment. "I...guess, yeah," he mutters.
"That was the night Monggu and I slept with you and Sehun to make you feel better!" Jungah asks and pulls out her smartphone, which is slightly too large for her tiny hands. "You were sleeping so you didn't know I took a picture, but Monggu looked cute so I did it anyway!"
Jongin squints as his eyes trail across the screen. "That's great, honey," he says, ruffling Jungah's hair.
"If it's a boy, what name would you choose for him?" Sehun softly asks.
Jungah looks contemplative for a moment. "Jonghun!" she squeals. "After my favorite TV actor!" She looks at Jongin. "Did you tell Nana yet?"
"I wanted you to be the first to know, so I haven't told her yet," Jongin responds and pulls his pink sweater down to cover his slightly noticeable baby bump. "I'm assuming you're already on it?" he chuckles after Jungah pulls out her phone.
"I'll tell her for you!" Jungah says, hands trembling with excitement as she dials her grandmother's number. She says something about calling Lisa, too, before Sehun pats her head.
"This is exciting, isn't it?" Sehun hums. "Being a big sister is a huge accomplishment, you know."
Jungah hums something in response before she puts the phone to her ear. "I think I have a big box in my closet that I used to keep my jewelry kit in, is it okay if I put my toys in there so we can make space for Jonghun's stuff?" she asks. Jongin doesn't get a chance to nod in agreement before she rushes upstairs, seconds before her grandmother's voice comes through on the other end.
Jongin can only listen as Jungah can be heard throwing her bedroom door open, seconds before loud shuffling noises are heard. In her excited state, he sort of worries that she might hurt herself on all the random junk in her closet. "We should probably give her a hand," he says, standing up.
"If she's as clumsy as you are, then we definitely should," Sehun chuckles, which rightfully earns him a slap on the shoulder before they make their way upstairs hand in hand.
♡
Comments