Round Ninety-Seven

“Taetae…” Tiffany cooed, “I’m sorry.” But Taeng didn’t turn around. So, she walked around to face him. He looked absolutely adorable with the upset pout on his face but she didn’t think that he’d appreciate compliments at the moment.

“Taetae…” She used her gentlest voice but he turned around to face her with his back yet again and she had to move to face him. “I’m really, really sorry…will you pleaseee forgive meee?” She put on her puppy eyes and cutest pout for added effect but Taeng still wasn’t appeased.

“Peas, let’s not talk to Fany. I’m still angry with her. How could she put you in her…in her… …hmph!”

She could see Taeng holding his peas close to him but she couldn’t see his face. She was sure that the adorable pout was still there though. And from the looks of it, it seemed as though a cute apology wasn’t going to work on him.

Tiffany sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. Seducing him was a little out of the question while her father was still close by since she didn’t want it to escalate into something that they couldn’t control. So, while that would’ve been the best solution to the problem, she’d no choice but to try something else. Fortunately, the door was locked. That meant that she could try something different. Something extreme.

And she knew what to do. She wore her sweetest smile and began on the countdown ofthree…two…one…

Ildeohagi ileun gwiyomi

Eeldeohagi eeneun gwiyomi

Samdeohagi sameun gwiyomi

Gwigwi gwiyomi gwigwi gwiyomi

Sadeohagi sado gwiyomi

Ohdeohagi ohdo gwiyomi

Yukdeohagi yukeun jjokjjokjjokjjokjjokjjok gwiyomi nan gwiyomi

She did the cutest moves and expressions she’d ever done in her entire life, hoping that it would be enough but it didn’t seem to be working either. Soon, the song ended and she stopped. Taeng was staring at her unblinkingly and hugging his peas close to him as though he never wanted to let them go so she couldn’t really tell if he was still angry or not, but she wasn’t about to give up.

“Taetae…I’m really, really sorry. I know that I was wrong. But really, I did all that because I care. You’ve been acting really weird, Taetae. Really, really weird. And I care enough to want to find out why.” She reached for his hand and was relieved when he didn’t push her away.

But he surprised her when he asked, “Could you please never do that again?”

“You don’t want me to do that again?”

Taeng nodded. “You made my toes curl so much that they’re cramping right now.”

Tiffany pouted. “Why don’t you like it?”

“I don’t like these kinds of cute things. They give me the chills.”

“You don’t like cute things? But what about your peas?”

“My peas aren’t trying to be cute! They just are!”

“So you saying that I’m trying to be cute and you don’t like it?”

Taeng nodded solemnly and it set her off.

“This is part of your act, isn’t it? You’re pretending that you don’t like it. Just like how you wouldn’t get the coffee for me.”

“I’m not acting this time!”

“AH HAH! That means you were acting earlier today!”

“No! I wasn’t! I was only trying not to be nice to you! I wasn’t acting! I was trying!”

“Why! Why were you trying not to be nice!”

“Because your brother said that you like strong, confident men! He said that I shouldn’t let you get your way all the time!”

“WHAT!!!”

“He told me not to be nice to you. I thought it’s a good idea.”

“OH MY GOSH! TAENG! YOU’LL BE THE DEATH OF ME!!!” Tiffany was in disbelief. “WHY ARE YOU LISTENING TO MY BROTHER?”

“You talk to him often. I think he would know you very well.”

“Well, yes. I used to like strong, confident men. But that’s before I met you. I chose you over Siwon, remember? And I chose you over Dennis too. I’ve always thought that you know that I love you for you. I don’t want you to be somebody else.”

“I’m not trying to be somebody else. I’m just trying to become better. For you.” Taeng pouted and Tiffany couldn’t handle it anymore. He was too adorable for words.

“Taetae…I love you just the way you are. You’re perfect to me. Do you understand that?”

“You don’t want me to become better?”

“You’re already the best, Kim Taengoo. And you don’t even have to try.”

Taeng looked stunned. “I’m the best?”

“For me.”

“For you.”

“Yes, for me.”

“Fany ah…”

“You silly boy, you.” Tiffany smiled and gave him the biggest hug of her life. The peas were trapped between Taeng and her, most probably suffocated by them but neither of them noticed. They were too immersed in their feelings for each other just then.

~~~~~

“OH MY GAWD! I DID IT! I SURVIVED THE WEEK!!!” Yoong cheered all by himself in his apartment. “YES!!! SUNNY!!! COME BACK TO ME!!!” He was a picture of glee, exhilaration and just pure bliss. He’d done it. The week was over and he could have Sunny back in his apartment again.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Instinctively, he knew. He knew who it was. So, he dashed to open the door and opened his arms wide to welcome her. Sure enough, a warm little body rammed into him and hugged him tight. He inhaled deeply. Ah, the scent that he missed so badly was now just a breath away.

“Sunny…”

“I came over to make breakfast with you.”

“I miss making breakfast with you.”

“Me too.”

“And lunch. And dinner.”

“Yoongie…”

Yoong leaned back and smiled at his adorable girlfriend. He loved it when she called his name in that cute little voice of hers. It made his insides squishy and gooey. In a very good way.

“Let’s make omelettes.”

“Okay.”

Yoong grinned and planted a kiss on her lips before letting her go. “Let’s do it. I’m starving.”

And her giggle tickled his ears.

~~~~~

After breakfast was done and eaten, they settled down on his couch and snuggled together against the cushions.

“Yoongie, I’m not staying over tonight,” Sunny began.

Yoong stiffened immediately. “What? Why?”

“I’m going out with Hyoyeon till late.”

“Where are you going?”

“We’re going to sing the night away.”

“Just the two of you?”

“No, we are going with some friends.”

Yoong hung his head sadly. He had planned a romantic night to welcome her back but it looked as though he wasn’t going to get a chance to surprise her at all.

“Aww, Yoongie, I’ll stay over tomorrow night, alright?”

“Okay…”

Sunny squeezed him and kissed his cheek. “Yoongie, thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“For being a wonderful boyfriend.”

Yoong couldn’t help but grin. It was really nice to hear praises from Sunny. It was alright. He’d just have to wait for tomorrow night then.

~~~~~

Sunny found herself at Yoong’s doorstep after spending half the night out with Hyoyeon. She wasn’t sure why, but she had given the taxi driver the address to Yoong’s place without realizing it until the taxi was turning into the car park. Did she really miss him that much?

Perhaps, she did. She found herself thinking of him quite often. Whether it was food that she wanted to share with him or little things like a nice-looking shirt on a mannequin in the window display of a store, they simply made her think of him. And now, this. She could’ve asked the taxi to turn around and go back to her own home. It wasn’t that far away. Yet, here she was, standing at his doorstep. Perhaps, she missed him a little more than she’d realized.

She let herself into his apartment with the keys that he had given to her sometime after he gave her the ring. The ring that came with her car. The ring that was on the necklace she wore. The ring that she cherished because it was their promise to each other. And it was that very ring that her fingers were fiddling with as she stepped into his apartment and saw the jaw dropping sight.

She was surprised to see what looked like more than a hundred balloons of various colours all over the ceiling of his apartment. hung open in astonishment as she walked through the apartment and into his bedroom. And she froze upon looking into the room. If she was astonished before, then she was astounded now. For in his bedroom were candles arranged in the shaped of a big heart on the floor.

Was he expecting her tonight? She’d already told him that she wasn’t staying over. But her thoughts were corrected by the sight of him fast asleep on his bed. No. He hadn’t been expecting her. Then it hit her. Was this the reason why he’d hung his head when she said that she wasn’t staying over? And the more she thought about it, the more sense it made to her. Yoong had planned to surprise her tonight. And she was sorry that she had ruined it.

Well, perhaps, she could surprise him instead. She had to stifle her giggle as she tiptoed to his bed and stood at the side that Yoong had left unoccupied. It was heart-warming to see the space he’d left for her even when she wasn’t there. It was a minute detail but spoke volumes of the extent of the importance she played in Yoong’s life.

She then tiptoed to the bathroom and washed up briefly before heading to his wardrobe to get changed. She changed into a t-shirt of his that hung loosely over her shoulders and down to her before climbing into bed with Yoong. He must have been sound asleep for he barely moved the entire time.

Perfect. Now all that’s left was for him to wake up and be surprised.

~~~~~

Everything had returned to normal after the quarrel with Taeng. She’d kicked her brother’s shin really hard and left a bruise on him for telling Taeng not to be nice to her. Also, her father had officially approved of Taeng and accepted him as family-to-be in a rather heart-warming moment. All in all, she was very happy about everything.

Well, she was happy about everything but one.

Tiffany did not know what to think of Taeng and her father. It was too strange for her to watch on while Taeng bonded with her father over their ‘best friends’. Her father had taken his bear out from the box it was kept in for the past years and now, Pooky was talking to Happy, Happier and Happiest.

“Hi, I’m Pooky. It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve been so lonely in my little box. But now, I have three friends to play with.”

“Yay! We’re very pleased to meet you too. Let’s play!”

“Okay!”

And now, Tiffany could only groan mentally as Pooky tried to give each pea a bear hug. It was too bizarre. It was out of this world. Her own father and boyfriend had hit it off in the strangest of ways. Yet, she supposed that she ought to feel blessed. After all, it was a good thing. Having a husband who would be close to her father was something that she believed to be important and Taeng definitely fitted the bill well. So looking on the bright side, that was one less wall to obstruct them from a future of happiness.

~~~~~

“Miss Jung, there’s mail for you. I left it on the coffee table,” said the Jung family’s butler as she came home from work.

“Okay.”

Jessica strolled to the coffee table and picked up the letter. It bore the logo of the gynaecologist’s clinic and the sight of it set her heart off on a race. She was on the verge of opening it when she stopped. No, she couldn’t open it without Yul. She wanted to be excited with him. She wanted to read the report with him and share the experience with him. So she would wait till he got home.

~~~~~

She was lazing on her bed when he returned.

“Baby, I’m home.”

She smiled, spread her arms open and waited for him to hug her. He hugged and kissed her and she was happy. She looked forward to this every single day.

“Yul, there’s a letter from the clinic.”

“Really?” Yul was excited instantly and he looked around eagerly. “Where is it?”

“I’m sitting on it.” Jessica giggled.

“Why are you sitting on it? Come on, let’s open it. I want to know what it says.” Yul nudged her impatiently and tried to hoist her up to get to the letter.

Jessica pouted and refused to budge. “I’m sitting on it because I didn’t want to open it without you.”

Yul stopped hoisting her and looked into her eyes. “Baby, you’re the sweetest wifey ever.”

Jessica smiled shyly and felt a bolt of love striking her from above. She loved it when Yul called her ‘wifey’. She thought of cotton candy and cute cuddly puppies when he called her that. It was such a lovely feeling. But the feeling left the building rather abruptly when he continued saying, “But now that I’m here, you can get your off the letter. Come on, let’s read it.”

He frowned when Jessica stubbornly shook her head. “I want a kiss first,” she demanded. But she was not satisfied with the brief peck on the cheek that he gave her. “I want a real kiss,” she huffed.

“Sica, why are you behaving this way?” Yul asked the frown on his face deepened.

“This is what it’s going to be like, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“This. You. Not caring about me anymore. Now that I’m your wife, you can just throw me aside and give all your love to the baby.” Jessica was ready to cry. She should have seen it coming. She should have known that Yul would love the baby more than her.

“Jessica, can you stop acting like a baby? You know that I won’t throw you aside. How can you even accuse me of something like that?”

“You will! You will love the baby more. All you will want is the baby. You won’t want me anymore.” And with that, tears spilt down her cheeks as her lips trembled.

“Baby, baby,” Yul’s frown disappeared instantly as he cooed and wrapped his arms around her gently. “I love you. I won’t love the baby more. I’ll love the two of you equally. Don’t cry, baby. Don’t cry.” He patted her back lightly and rubbed it up and down. That made her feel a little better and she calmed down after a little while.

Yul remained silent until she stopped crying. When her cries were reduced to sniffs, he finally spoke. “Baby, when we said our wedding vows, we promised to love each other forever, didn’t we?”

Jessica sniffed and nodded.

“So that means I’ll love you forever. And my love for you won’t be any lesser when our baby is born. If anything, I’ll love you even more because loving the baby is the same as loving you.”

“It’s not the same.” Jessica pouted.

“It is. Baby, you’re our baby’s mother. We made our baby together. You, and I. And when I look at our baby, I’ll see us. So when I love the baby, it’s the same as loving us.”

Jessica stopped pouting and looked at Yul instead. That…that was the most touching thing she’d ever heard. Why hadn’t she thought of it like that? Yes, Yul was right. He was so right. He seemed to sense that she was no longer upset and smiled handsomely. Oh, Yul. She could look at him a million times and never be able to resist how good-looking he was.

He leaned in and planted a sweet kiss on her lips. And it wasn’t brief. It was a real kiss. One that resonated on her lips even after he stopped. So with that, she was happy again.

“Baby, let’s read the report together.”

“Okay.” Jessica reached under her and pulled the letter out. It was a little crumpled and she looked at Yul apologetically but he didn’t seem to notice. He took it from her and opened the envelope in a hurry. Then, he took the papers out and began reading them with her.

The report was good. Everything was proceeding well and the foetus was growing well. She was reported to be in good condition as well. And she was glad. She’d been careful with her diet and lifestyle after her gynaecologist advised her on them so getting a good report made the sacrifice worthwhile.

“Baby, I’m so happy that you’re both healthy.” Yul hugged her and kissed her forehead tenderly.

Her smile widened at that. Of course, nothing made the sacrifice more worthwhile than receiving his hugs and kisses. And she was suddenly surprised by herself. Wow, it didn’t seem likely but she was actually doing well as a mother-to-be! And in that moment, she was incredibly proud of herself. Well done, Sooyeon ah, she thought to herself, You’re doing well!

~~~~~

Yoong yawned and stretched. And kicked something as he did. He froze in his stretched pose and wriggled his toes. What was it that he just kicked? He opened his eyes just a tiny bit. A fluff of blonde. Blonde. Fluff. What?

Then it hit him. Sunny! He sprang upright and stared at her as she scrunched her face up, unhappy about being awakened. She squinted at him for a moment before breaking out into a smile.

“Good morning, Yoongie.”

He blinked in confusion and rubbed his eyes before looking again. “Okay. I’m definitely not dreaming. Sunny, did you sleep here the whole night?”

Sunny giggled and nodded. Yoong simply gaped. “Why?” he managed to ask, finally.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know how.”

“You don’t know how? Were you drunk?”

She giggled. “Maybe. Just a little.”

“Did you drive?”

“Of course not. I took a taxi.”

“Oh. Okay.” Yoong calmed down but panicked when he turned around and saw the candles that he’d arranged on the floor the night before.

“I saw them last night.” Sunny spoke before he could even think of the question and he turned around in dismay.

“But that’s supposed to be a surprise for you.”

“It did surprise me. Last night.”

Yoong pouted. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be romantic and a complete surprise…”

“Aww…Yoongie, I was surprised. Really. I stared at it for a while minute when I saw it.”

“Only a minute?” Yoong whined.

“Maybe two minutes.”

Yoong’s shoulders drooped even lower. He’d put in so much hard work into arranging the candles! And Sunny only spent two minutes looking at it before falling asleep?! She should have been too happy to even fall asleep! “Do you know that I spent an hour trying to make the candles form the shape of a heart? An hour. That’s sixty minutes. And you’re saying that you only looked at it for two minutes?!”

Sunny hugged him and whispered, “I only looked at it for a little while because I wanted to sleep as soon as possible.”

“Why?”

“So that tomorrow would come faster and I can kiss you while standing in the middle of the amazing heart shape that you made.”

Oh, hearing that perked him up immediately and he grinned. “We’ll have to wait for night time though. The candles will look nicer when we light them up in the dark.”

Sunny pecked him on the lips and smiled. “Okay! I can’t wait for tonight.”

“Me too.”

~~~~~

Young rubbed his hands in glee. He was going to pick Krystal up from her university and they were going to head off on a hot date. Things had been picking up ever since they had that with each other. They’d finally come to a mutual understanding and agreement and things were going great.

“Krys!” he called her from a distance, unable to contain his excitement in seeing her. Seeing her was always fantastic. He recalled how he had his first crush in school and how excited he’d been every single time he saw his crush and thought that it was pretty similar to how he felt now. Only, he wasn’t just excited. He was also in bliss. He was in absolute bliss because he knew that she was just as excited to see him. They were on the same page.

“Young!” Krystal chirped as she ran down the stairs and into his wide, open arms.

“There goes our Cinderella!” yelled Jonghyun.

“Remember to go home at twelve! BE GOOD!” shouted Key.

Young laughed but it faded when he caught sight of Taemin’s slightly downcast expression. He’d always found Taemin a little fishy, unlike the other guys. The other two were able to joke freely about Krystal and him but Taemin’s teasing had always seemed a little forced. Was he wrong? Or not?

He hoped he was wrong.

~~~~~