Chapter 23 - Of Confusions And Jealousy

Several weeks have passed since Yongguk’s unexpected reunion with his ex-girlfriend and things have surprisingly been quite normal after that. He had tried to contact Jihye several times, hoping that they could talk and resolve whatever it is that needed to be resolved for once and for all, but it was always to no avail. His calls would either be rejected or directed straight to voicemails. After some time, he just did not give a damn anymore. She would call him if she really needed to talk to him, he figured. At least, he had done his part so there should probably be nothing to worry about.

Minzy, on the other hand, has been visiting her father more often now – at least, once every week. Although she is still not quite ready to see him face to face just yet, she always makes sure that her dad is well taken care of. She would check up on him from time to time via phone calls with Mrs. Song and she would always cook for him whenever she comes to visit. And to her relief, Mr. Gong has been eating well and is starting to recover slowly. And he seems to appear happier, too. Little does she know, it is all because of her. Her father is happy all because of her.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” announces Minzy as soon as she enters the restaurant; her voice, however, came out a bit too loud that it gained not only Yongguk’s attention, but also the other diners’ present.

The room suddenly falls silent, as all eyes are fixated on the girl, who seems to be panting really hard trying to catch her breath. Some of them give her a rather blank look, genuinely surprised by her sudden entrance, while some of them are judging her with menacing eyes, probably annoyed that their peaceful dinner has been interrupted. Minzy lets out a chuckle as her lips curve into an awkward smile once she notices all the attention she gets. She gives them a ninety-degree bow, muttering a soft yet, awkward apology over and over and over again until one of the diners actually stops her. The old man just shakes his head in amusement and gives her a small smile before resuming his conversation with his friends. The other diners then follow suit and continue doing whatever they were doing before her arrival like nothing ever happened.

Yongguk, who has witnessed the rather funny incident unfolds from a corner of the restaurant, can only chuckle to himself. The bewildered look on her face is both cute and hilarious at the same time. “Over here,” he finally calls out, stifling a laugh.

Minzy immediately rushes towards the table in the right-end corner of the restaurant where Yongguk is seated, looking at her with a very amused grin on his face. She plops down on the seat in front of him with a huff, holding in the urge to just slam her face on the wooden table to hide her embarrassment. Instead, she just pouts in displeasure with her arms folded under her chin. And once again, Yongguk cannot help but giggle at the adorable sight before his eyes.

“Long day?” he asks; his voice laced with concern.

Feeling a bit tired, Minzy simply nods as a response before letting out another heavy sigh. This time, the smile on Yongguk’s face vanishes and is replaced by a worried expression instead. The guy studies his girlfriend’s face for a moment, then reaches to place a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. Phewh! He is relieved to know that she does not feel warm at all. No fever, thank goodness!

“I’m fine, Gukkie,” Minzy smacks his hand away gently, “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

And tired, she is.

That girl has practically been running around Seoul non-stop for the past week – jumping between classes and rehearsals for the university’s annual end of year concert, as well as helping Mina with some wedding errands. And today was not an exception. She had a two-hour lecture in the morning and then she had an hour rehearsals with a few others right after that. Lunch went by pretty quickly, with her only grabbing a tuna sandwich from a nearby minimart, and the next thing she knew, she was tasting a dozen different flavours of cake at some high-end bakery and sneezing non-stop inside a florist shop.

It has, indeed, been a very, very long day.

“You girls must have done a lot of shopping then,” Yongguk chuckles.

“Tell me about it!” Minzy lets out another sigh as she leans back on her seat to relax, “And you mister, you better not tire me out like this for our wedding!”

“Oh you’ll be tired alright! But for a whole different reason.”

Yongguk can no longer control himself and laughs out loud upon seeing a really, really flabbergasted expression on his girlfriend’s face. Her eyes are as big as a dinner plate and is ajar, yet no sound seems to be coming out of it. The girl is obviously taken aback by his rather bold and suggestive remark. Before Minzy can even properly respond, however, a waiter suddenly comes over to their table with a tray full of food in his hands.

Her eyes then grow larger than they already are and her jaws drop even lower, if that is even possible, greatly astonished. These are all her favourite dishes! But wait a minute, she has only got here like a few minutes ago. She has not even got the chance to read the menu just yet, let alone order something. So, this could only mean that…

“Yes, I’ve ordered for you,” Yongguk chuckles, confirming her thought, “I figured that you would be dead tired with all the errands so I ordered your favourites just for my babygirl.”

“Aww, Gukkie~” Minzy coos, stretching her arms out to hug him from across the table.

“Hey, hey, hey, be careful, young lady. I know that I’m awesome but you’re gonna spill some food and make a mess here.”

“Aish! You’re no fun!”

Looking at her pouting like a cute little girl, Yongguk can only shake his head and smiles sweetly at her. The girl can be too cute for her own good, sometimes. “You can hug me for as long as you want later, baby girl. But first, you gotta eat up. My Mulan needs more energy in her body so she can save the world!”

A really delighted smile adorns Minzy’s face as she stares at and mentally drools over the varieties of delicious food on the table, Yongguk’s seductive statement from a couple minutes ago is now long forgotten and buried deep at the back of her mind. She has only eaten half of a sandwich today so she cannot be more than happy and grateful that her boyfriend has prepared this little surprise for her. It may not be as big as a candle-lit dinner by the beach or a lunchbox filled with homemade food, but this is more than enough for her.

This is actually one of Yongguk’s traits that she really, really adores. Not only he is a man full of surprises, he is also very caring towards the people he loves. And that not only includes herself, but also Eunmi, Himchan, his family and even his employees. Minzy still remembers how he took care of Daehyun when the younger male got a very high fever one day. Daehyun has been living alone after he moved to Seoul to work for their company so Yongguk did not even hesitate to wake up in the middle of the night just to go to his apartment and drive him to the hospital. He even stayed there for the whole two days Daehyun was admitted just to make sure he was okay.

That’s just how Yongguk is – kind, loving and caring.

“You do know that the food’s not gonna get into your mouth by itself if you keep on staring at it like that, right?” Yongguk questions with a slight sarcasm in his tone.

“Hee, sorry,” Minzy replies with a sheepish smile, “I was just thinking of something.”

“Oh yeah? May I know what’s been occupying my girlfriend’s mind that she kept on staring at the food with a creepy smile?”

“Hey! I wasn’t smiling like that!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever makes you happy,” Yongguk chuckles, shaking his head in amusement, “Come on, babygirl. You better eat up, the food’s not getting any warmer.”

“I was thinking about you! There, you happy now?”

“Aww, I’m very flattered.”

“Aish! Whataver! Thank you for the food, by the way,” Minzy huffs, slightly annoyed by his constant teasing.

“Anything for my babygirl!”

He watches on as Minzy devours the food happily and almost too rapidly. Yongguk is really amazed by how big her appetite can be. For someone as petite as her, she surely eats a lot. But he is not complaining, of course, not at all. In fact, he is quite happy with it. All the food that she has consumed has definitely ended up in all the right places. Hey, Yongguk is a man, after all, and he likes his woman curvy and full, all right?

Yongguk continues to observe his rather hungry girlfriend, letting out a few chuckles here and there every now and then as he stares at her gobbling down some kimchi fried rice and a fried chicken wing with a pair of amused eyes. For a moment, he feels quite disappointed that Minzy focuses mostly on the food and very less on him. Only for a short moment, though. Her health is more important – much, much more important – to him than anything else so, it’s all good.

For a long ten minutes, Yongguk just remains silent and lets Minzy literally stuffs her face with everything that is on the table all by herself. It is not until the latter forces a piece of rice roll into his mouth that he finally starts to eat something, himself. “Stop staring at me like a creep and eat,” says Minzy with a very commanding tone but yet, all she gets as a reply is an amused chuckle, much to her annoyance.

Their dinner continues with laughter, talking about different things – ranging from work to the most random things ever, like ‘how many wrinkles do you think are there on the restaurant manager’s forehead?’ – and bickering over silly things in between jokes. All in all, they both have a very good time. That, and definitely a great company, too. They are going to end their short yet, delightful date by treating themselves to a good dessert, and Yongguk knows just a place to go. Their plan, however, is halted halfway when Yongguk receives a rather unexpected phone call.  

Instead of the ice-cream parlour where he has promised to bring her to, they are heading to S Hospital instead. Minzy is quite confused, at first, as Yongguk has not told her the whole story, yet. Well, how could he, when he, himself, is confused beyond words. There are so many questions going through both of their minds at the moment, but they have decided to spare all of those for later.

They both immediately approach the receptionist upon arriving at the hospital. “We’re here for Park Jihye,” Yongguk manages to say in between heavy breaths.

“Oh, Miss Park has just been transferred to the maternity ward on the second floor, and she’s in Room 14,” reveals the receptionist with a polite tone.

Maternity ward? Did he just hear that right? The maternity ward?

A pang of unknown emotions suddenly hits his heart as they head for the elevator. For some reason, he cannot help but to feel so betrayed, so irritated. His blood is boiling with anger as the second passes by. He needs answers, he needs explanations. Pronto! Yongguk is quite unsure, himself, why he is feeling the way he does at the moment. Even if his guess was right, it isn’t like they are still together anyways. They have gone their separate ways and he’s definitely moved on. Even still, he just cannot help feeling betrayed.

“Hey,” Minzy grabs his hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze when she notices the disturbed look on her boyfriend’s face, “Everything’s gonna be alright, okay? Jihye-ssi is going to be alright.”

Yongguk’s nerves immediately calm down upon hearing her sweet voice; guilt suddenly engulfs his whole body. How could he be so stupid to be feeling in such a way when he already has such a perfect woman in front of him? And how could he be so stupid to have dragged her all the way here just to see his ex-girlfriend, whom is, most probably, pregnant? He mentally curses at himself for being so inconsiderate of her feelings before tightening the hold on her hand, pulling Minzy closer.

“Thank you, babygirl, and I’m really sorry that you had to come with me,” he sighs, making a mental note to apologise properly and make up to her later.

“It’s okay, I understand,” she replies calmly with a small smile.

Can Minzy be any more perfect? Man, sometimes he wonders what on earth did he do exactly in his past life to deserve such a wonderful woman like her. He is such a lucky man, indeed. If he could, he really would give God a big, bear hug as a gratitude for granting him the chance to meet such an amazing woman like Minzy. But for now, saying a little prayer would suffice.

The elevator stops on the second floor several seconds later. Heaving a deep breath, Yongguk then steps out to look for a door with ‘Room 14’ written on it; his hand still holding Minzy’s rather tightly. The two walk along the brightly lit hallway, their eyes scanning every door that they have passed by. A few doors and frustrated groans from Yongguk later, they finally reach their destination. Both Yongguk and Minzy stop in front of the door, just staring at it blankly. The latter notices how her boyfriend is suddenly all tensed up beside her. He is probably quite nervous right now.

To be honest, Yongguk is not quite sure what to do. He does not even know what to expect exactly once he steps inside that room. Jihye would probably be shocked as hell to see him, that’s for sure. Considering how the girl has been avoiding his calls for the past few weeks, he is probably the last person that she wants to see. Their last meeting was not exactly that great, either. And this makes it all the more awkward for him. What should he even say to her?

‘Hi, I’m sorry for being a jerk last time and I’m sorry to hear that you’re pregnant.’

No, that would totally be so stupid and not to mention, very, very insensitive.

Before he could dwell more into his thoughts, however, a doctor comes out of the room, almost bumping into the couple. The doctor lets out a small shriek before placing a hand on his chest, just above where his heart is. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was standing here,” he apologises as soon as he recollected himself.

“No, we’re sorry. We shouldn’t have been standing in front of the door like this, anyway,” Minzy replies with a slight bow of her head.

“Well then, I guess we’re even,” the doctor chuckles, quite oblivious to the death glare Yongguk is shooting at him, “Anyways, how may I help you?”

Several seconds go by and none of them has said a word. Confused, Minzy tilts her head up to look at her boyfriend, only to see him glaring at the innocent doctor. It takes her one long second to decipher the true meaning behind the intense glare. Yongguk is jealous! She is both touched and annoyed at the same time. As much as she finds it cute, this really is not the right time to be jealous of anyone. So, with a slight shake of her head, she then decided to be the first to speak up.

“We’re here to see Park Jihye-ssi,” Minzy says softly and only then, Yongguk comes back to his senses.

“Oh, may I know what relationship do you have with the said name?” inquires the doctor.

“I’m his friend,” Yongguk replies with a firm tone, “And apparently, I’m the only one in her contact list. Is that good enough for you?”

Minzy can only gasp at his rudeness. This is so unlike him at all. Even Yongguk, himself, is quite stunned by his own action. He really did not mean to come off as rude, no. He is, in fact, a very polite person and he really, really appreciates some good manners. But he just does not like the way the doctor was talking to his girlfriend just a moment ago. The doctor was definitely flirting with her, he is a hundred percent sure of it, and what makes it even more frustrating is that Minzy is so oblivious to it.

“I’m sorry, he’s just in a lot of shock at the moment,” Minzy apologises in her boyfriend’s behalf, irritating the latter even more.

“It’s okay, I understand,” chuckles the doctor understandingly.

There he goes again, flirting with my girlfriend! Yongguk frowns as he punches the man in the face and kicks his over and over again in his head. “Well, how is Park Jihye doing?” he then mutters under gritted teeth.

“Oh, right. The patient is doing alright, thank God. She is just a bit exhausted but she’s fine now. It’s actually quite normal for an expecting woman to feel tired every once in a while.”

“E- Expecting?”

“Yes, expecting,” repeats the doctor, with a tint of mockery in his voice, as if to annoy Yongguk as a revenge for his rude behaviour, “The patient is six weeks into her pregnancy and I suggest that you take a good care of her. The first stage of pregnancy is the most vulnerable period, especially when it’s the first pregnancy. So make sure that she doesn’t skip her meals and definitely make sure that she doesn’t do any heavy work load or anything that would cause her a great stress, for that matter, understood?”

As much as he hates the tone he is using with him, Yongguk manages to hold his anger in. This is a hospital and he is still sane enough to remember his place and boundaries, unlike a certain someone, who is being rather unprofessional at the moment. “Yes, I understand, sir,” he replies simply.

“The patient is currently sleeping but you can still see her,” the doctor continues to explain while looking at his wrist watch, “It’s passed the visiting hours but I’ll let this one slide. So, if there’s nothing else, I would like to be excused.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Thank you for your time, doctor,” Minzy once again bows at him politely, earning a satisfied smile from him.

“My pleasure, beautiful,” he winks before sauntering back into his office.

Minzy watches on as his figure becomes smaller and smaller before disappearing completely into the blue door at the end of the hallway. Yongguk, who silently observes his girlfriend staring at that annoying doctor, cannot help but rolls his eyes in irritation as he, once again, murders the doctor in his head in the most sadistic way possible. The oblivious girl finally turns back to him a few seconds later, only to receive the most deadliest glare ever. “What?” she asks with innocent eyes.

How can this girl be so naïve, Yongguk is unsure, himself. And it really irks him to bits and pieces that she is unaware of the little flirtatious gestures the doctor gave her all the while he was talking to him. Oh, he would be dead wrong if he thought that Yongguk did not catch the side-glances he took every few seconds. That man was literally drooling over his girlfriend for crying out loud!

“Nothing,” Yongguk huffs in annoyance before finally getting inside the room, leaving Minzy outside alone, a bit dumbfounded.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note: Uh-oh! Jihye is pregnant! Who do you think the father is? D: Let me just warn you, there'll be a huge drama coming up! So be prepared! >:P And lol, the doctor was flirting with Minzy and she didn't even realise it! Oh well, our Minzy is just so beautiful to resist. ;p Yongguk, you better watch out! You might have a lot of competitions out there!

ps: I was planning to update the next chapter next weekend but i might just change my mind and update it earlier IF (yes, there's an if) you can guess my age right, how's that sound? :P

pps: Please vote for which story you would like to read after this one is finished here if you haven't! Thanks! :)

ppps: Subscribe, upvote and comment! X) Love ya!

Story by: afagyel | Poster and background by: Tomoe Graphic Shop