The dull throbbing at his temples had persisted the entire night. When the alarm sounded, his head’s pounding intensified. Sitting at the side of the bed, Minho rubbed his forehead, hoping to ease the pain.

Through the open door, he could hear the sound of Amber pottering around in the kitchen. The morning sounds that were accompanied by the aroma of fresh coffee and sometimes pastries had greeted him the moment he awoke since they had moved into the apartment. Minho had signed his first individual endorsement deal with an athletic wear brand – the real estate agent had taken him on a tour of available apartments and when the footballer stepped into this one, with the light streaming into the living room through the full-length windows, he knew he had found Amber and his future home.

Peeking into the kitchen area, Minho stood quietly in the hallway, despite his headache, eyes following his wife’s every move. His usual cup of coffee sat on the kitchen counter with a slice of the red velvet cake from yesterday. Through the years, Amber had honed her baking skills, an amazing feat for a girl who didn’t even know how to boil water in university.

The soccer ball flew out of the field and towards the basketball courts. One of the soccer boys ran to retrieve it. There was someone short amidst the basketball team training – this sight intrigued Minho, the basketball boys were so tall that anyone of average height looked like a midget next to them. “The bballers recruited a dwarf?” he asked his teammate, the midget in question arched his arm and the basketball made a looping arch to enter the net neatly – an effortless three-pointer.

“Didn’t you hear? There’s a female freshman who’s so brilliant that they let her on the boy’s varsity team.”

Amber’s hair was so short in university – on court, some opponents forgot she was a girl and didn’t pull any punches. Minho went to all the basketball varsity games of course, just like she had cheered for him at every football match, Jonghyun had to hold the boy from running onto the court to hit the basketballer who gave the girl a bloody nose.

But the girl never fussed over her injuries and in fact, compared war scars with her teammates and the other soccer boys. She was so different and that was why Minho fell head over heels in love with Amber.

The same nightmare had haunted her again last night. The recurring dream started right after the miscarriage – there would be a child crying but she couldn’t find the child or the source of the wails – as though her lost baby was blaming her for what happened. Recently, Minho had been returning home late and when she woke up, panicky from the nightmare in the wee hours of the morning, she was alone at home. It wasn’t as though Amber had actually told her husband about these nightmares – only one person should suffer.

In a lapse of concentration, the cup she was holding fell. It had no chance against the hard tiled floor and split into pieces. Bending down to clear the mess, Amber cursed herself for her carelessness. The cup was part of a pair and together with the other one, formed a heart. It was awfully corny. Minho had insisted on buying it, it was one of the first things they had got after they got married. Who would have thought that the boy who always appeared so aloof and cool would care for these mushy knick knacks?

“Minho, what are you doing here?” Amber asked her boyfriend who was standing right outside the lecture hall, waiting for her – they had not made any plans that day. Exuberantly, Minho picked her up easily and gave her a big bear hug, ignoring the students streaming out of the hall talking about them.

“Amber! They signed me up!” He just had a meeting with the FC Seoul – her scouts had been doing their rounds in the varsity circuit and the tall forward had caught their eye. It was a dream come true to have a shot at the professional field.

His excitement was contagious and the girl laid a kiss on her boyfriend’s cheek despite being in the middle of the campus, “I am so proud of you!”

As suddenly as he had lifted her, Minho set her down abruptly. “I had made plans to do this, if I got the spot,” Bending down on one knee, he whipped out a small box from his pocket, “Amber, will you marry me?”

She had never thought that she would get married so young, right after she graduated, and especially to a man like Minho – not only was he handsome, he was dubbed the next big thing in Korean football when he debuted. But they did, walk down the aisle, full of love and hope for their future.

Her wedding dress had been a simple, lace sheath. At first, Minho wasn’t sure whether he could convince her to wear a dress. However, she had been the most stunning bride he had laid eyes on – Minho was reminded of this with the picture of their wedding day on the wall.

Instinctively, he ran out to the kitchen. Grabbing the dustpan and broom, he shooed Amber away, “Be careful, you will hurt yourself.” He swept the broken pieces up.

“Honey, you were flawless out there yesterday,” Her wife spoke for the first time that morning, looking straight into Minho’s tired face.

She was shocked by Minho’s request. “You want me to quit my job and stay home?” Amber had been working at the basketball association after graduation.

He nodded, earnestly.

“Then what am I going to do?”

“You don’t need the money, I can well afford to support you,” A professional footballer got paid handsomely. “I need your support. All I want most is for you to be there when I get home after training.” He pouted and hugged her tightly, knowing that he would get his way when he acted like a spoilt child.

He knew he was being selfish. But his job put him under great pressure – something he didn’t want to share with his wife and worry her – all Minho wanted was the love of his life to be there for him after hard day on the field.

Amber had not expected to be a lady of leisure at the ripe age of 22. Besides keeping the house tidy and working out, she didn’t know what else to do with her free time. All her friends had nine to five jobs. So she set out to learn everything she needed to be a perfect homemaker since she didn’t enjoy shopping. Baking, cooking, decorating - pastimes she had never imagined picking up.

Soon, she was losing herself however whenever Minho finished his day and burst through that door, greeting her with a wide smile, the woman reminded herself that everything was worth it. When she learnt that she was pregnant, she had envisioned building a happy, complete family with her husband. Only to realise now that everything was falling apart.

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I'm sorry I took so long to update this story, especially after interrupting it with the Seungber story. I've just realised after typing this that this particular story is more mature, in the sense that it's not all puppy love and none of that soap opera drama, it can be quite boring. But this is the story I wanted to write with this short story series so hopefully people will enjoy it. :)