“You didn’t even finish half bowl of your rice during dinner last night. You better eat more now.” Lee Min Ho said with a sigh as he put another piece of sausage onto her plate.

Shin Hye looked at him helplessly. “You know I don’t have much appetite. I can’t eat that much especially during breakfast.”

Min Ho stared at her with a firm gaze. “Haven’t you heard that before? Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. Breakfast is the most important meal. Eat more, please.” He said with the last word almost begging.

Shin Hye sighed deeply as she looked down on her plate. Not that she don’t want to eat but she really doesn’t have the appetite to eat.

“Eomma, you have to listen to appa. You eat too little. Even So Won eat more than you. So Won will be stronger than you soon.” So Won said as she spooned the food into her tiny mouth.

Shin Hye smiled instantly upon hearing her voice. She turned to her and her hair gently. “Okay, I’ll eat more so that eomma can always be stronger than So Won.”

So Won giggled and before she could say anything, someone’s voice startled them from behind.

“I heard So Won calling eomma.”

Shin Hye and So Won turned around and saw Yoon Suh walking towards the dining table. Min Ho’s face immediately darkened when he saw her.

Yoon Suh took a seat in front of Shin Hye and smiled at all of them. “Good morning.” She then turned to So Won. “You look for me?”

So Won held her head down and dare not to look at her mother. Shin Hye saw the fear expression on her face and sighed silently. She turned to ahjuhma who was standing at the side.

“Ahjuhma, it’s almost time that So Won need to go. Bring her up to change. Don’t be late to school.” Shin Hye said.

Ahjuhma nodded politely as she brought So Won to upstairs.

Yoon Suh smiled slightly as she poured a glass of orange juice in front of her. “You look so much like a lady owner in this house now. Everyone seems listen to you.”

Shin Hye was taken aback with what she said. She looked at her with an uncomfortable expression. “Please don’t get me wrong. So Won wake up slightly late today. I thought she should…” Shin Hye stopped mid-sentence when she heard Yoon Suh laughed softly.

“It’s okay. Don’t be over sensitive. That’s not what I mean. I was actually glad that you help me to take care of So Won when I was not around. Thank you.” She said with a smile.

Min Ho could feel his blood started to boil when he saw Shin Hye’s face turning pale. This was the weirdest breakfast he ever had. Sitting here with a wife and a girlfriend that have the same face, it was totally strange and unbelievable. He inhaled a deep breath before turning to Yoon Suh. “Did I see the clock wrongly? It’s only 7.30am now. If I remember correctly, you never wake up earlier than 10am. Have a date this early?” He asked sarcastically.

Without getting affected by his sarcasm words, Yoon Suh smiled. “I have a prenatal check-up appointment at 9am.”

Shin Hye looked up at her. “It’s the baby alright?” She asked in concern.

“It’s just a normal regular check-up. We are alright.” Yoon Suh replied.

Shin Hye nodded. “Do you… want me to go with you? I mean you are heavily pregnant now and I thought it would be better if someone could take care of you and...”

“You better take care of yourself first.” Min Ho cut her off sternly. He looked at Shin Hye with a sharp gaze. “You need people to take care of you more than anybody else.”

Yoon Suh glanced at both of them as the sour feeling rushed through her body. His protectiveness over Shin Hye angered her. She chuckled and looked at Shin Hye again. “He is right. You should stay at home.” She paused and turned to Min Ho. “You should go with me instead. You are the father of the baby, remember?” She smirked.

Shin Hye’s chest tightened as she bit her lip. The words she directed towards Min Ho were like needles poking into her ears. She sighed silently.

Min Ho clenched his jaw as he forced a smile at Yoon Suh. “It’s my pleasure and you are right. It’s about time I should go to see my baby and listen to his heartbeat. I missed that moment.”

Yoon Suh’s smiled slowly faded as she didn’t think that Min Ho would agree to go with her. He doesn’t believe that this was his baby and the way he said it was challenging her.

Shin Hye inhaled another deep breath as she took a sip of her orange juice. The awkwardness between three of them was unbearable. She felt like an outsider in a sudden.

Min Ho turned to the side where the driver was standing. “Get ready of the car. After sending So Won to school, we will go to the hospital.”

The driver nodded politely. “Yes, doryeonnim.”

Yoon Suh glanced at Shin Hye and then back at Min Ho before she smiled slightly. “I’m glad you are willing to go with me. Just give me 10 minutes. I’m going to change now.” She said as she stood up and walked upstairs.

Min Ho turned to look at Shin Hye who was now facing down at her plate. He sighed deeply before he grasped her hand and squeezed it softly. He smiled at her when their eyes met. “I’m sorry to put you in such awkward situation.” He took her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly. “Don’t be jealous. All of this means nothing. You just need to trust me.”

Shin Hye sighed silently. “I’m not jealous. I’m just…” She sighed again. “Don’t worry. Just do whatever you need to do. I trust you.” She smiled slightly at him. It was actually good that he is going off with Yoon Suh. She needs to go somewhere that she can’t let him know about it.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Min Ho and Yoon Suh were waiting outside the doctor consultation room as both of them remained silence.

It just felt weird to sit here again with Yoon Suh pregnant beside him. All this reminds him about the first time when he accompanied her to the hospital for her first prenatal check-up 9 years ago. At that time, he was so happy and excited that Yoon Suh was pregnant with his baby. But now, everything has changed. He knows it was heartless to think like that but even if the baby inside her stomach now is really his, he couldn’t feel the happiness anymore. It was too late. Everything was too late now.

“I didn’t think that you will come with me.” Yoon Suh finally broke the awkward silence. “Didn’t you see Shin Hye’s face just now? She was not happy.” She then laughed softly. “It’s so funny. Technically, I’m still your legal wife but the position we have at home now is so awkward. It just felt like the mistress has finally got her throne.”

Min Ho turned to her with his eyes daggered at her. “You better watch your mouth. You wouldn’t be my legal wife for long. And don’t you ever dare to say like that about her. You have no idea what I will do just to protect her.”

Yoon Suh smirked but the disappointment was written all over her face. “You are so protective over her. You must really love her very much. I can’t deny that I felt jealous watching the way you treat her.” She smiled slightly as she looked away. “I wonder why you didn’t treat me like that in the past. Everything wouldn’t be the same now if you did.”

Min Ho heaved a deep sigh as he averted his gaze. “I tried to make it work between us but you were the one who didn’t appreciate the chance I gave you. You betrayed me, betrayed our marriage, not one time but twice.” He chuckled. “My heart was dead.”

Yoon Suh smiled. “But it was reborn now because of my sister. Or should I say your heart have never been alive for me before?” She slowly turned back to him. “I loved you. You were the one who never try to understand my need and feeling. You are selfish and only think of yourself.”

“It’s too late so anything now.” Min Ho said coldly.

Yoon Suh bit her lip as she looked back to the front. “Yes, it’s too late.”

Just then, the nurse came out and called both of them in.     

The doctor looked at the file for a while before looking up at Min Ho and Yoon Suh. “Mrs Lee, the baby is healthy but you are slightly underweight and your blood pressure is slightly low. It’s not a good sign and I think you should eat more.”

Min Ho glanced at Yoon Suh before looking at the doctor. “Do you think there is anything wrong with her? It will affect the baby, right? Do you need to do some test to make sure she is okay? I mean she is only at her sixth month and you just did an ultrasound. The baby might be healthy but it doesn’t mean the mother is healthy too.”

The doctor looked at him for a second before he nodded. “It would be better to take a simple test if both of you is worried about it. We just need to do a blood test.”

Min Ho turned to Yoon Suh. “What do you think?”

Yoon Suh smiled slightly. “I’m okay. If it’s safer this way then just take a blood test.”

Min Ho nodded before looking back at the doctor. “Please help her to do the blood test then.” His lips slowly curled up into a soft smile.

----------

Jo In Sung put a file in front of Min Ho and sat down on the chair. “This is the information you requested.”

Min Ho looked at him and nodded. “I’m sorry that you have to come all the way to my office. I don’t want Shin Hye to know anything about this.”

In Sung smiled. “I understand. I will not say a word to her.”

“Thank you.” Min Ho said as he opened the file.

“I’ve checked all Choi Yoon Suh’s bank accounts and for the past few months when she was still in Europe, she doesn’t spend a lot and there was no record of her using any credit cards. I guess that was the reason why your people couldn’t track her.” In Sung started to brief him what he got.

“But there is one thing I find it strange.” In Sung continued.

Min Ho looked at him. “What strange?”

“There was a fix deposit under Choi Yoon Suh’s name that was transferred to Jang Geun Seuk four months ago.” In Sung said.

Min Ho’s brows furrowed. “That was the money I gave her for her saving. It’s not a small amount.”

In Sung nodded. “Indeed a big amount of money. Jang Geun Suk’s company was facing a serious financial problem and I guess she was helping him with the money.”

Min Ho sighed. “I guess so.”

“There was a record of Jang Geun Suk in Europe three months ago. He didn’t check-in to any hotel but he was seen staying in the same hotel with Choi Yoon Suh. The night before he flies back to Seoul, it seems like they have a huge fight in a restaurant.” He said as he flipped the file to next page where there was a CCTV photo of Jang Geun Suk and Choi Yoon Suh in a restaurant. It looked like they were fighting and Yoon Suh was crying.

Min Ho exhaled sharply. “That was why Jang Geun Suk said he had broken up with Yoon Suh. But what was the reason?”

“I’m not sure whether these two incidents are related or not. But according to what I got, after Jang Geun Suk was gone, she went to Rome and stayed there for a month. There was a record of her in a hospital in Rome.” In Sung said.

Min Ho raised his brows in confusion. “Hospital? What is she doing there?”

“She was planning to do an abortion.” In Sung replied.

“What?” He asked in shock.

“Yes. But according to the doctor, she changed her mind in the last minute.” In Sung continued, looking straight at Min Ho. “There are two possibilities. First, Jang Geun Suk found out that the baby is not his and it’s yours. Or second, if he is the father, he doesn’t want the baby. So that might be the reason why Choi Yoon Suh wanted to do an abortion.”

Min Ho heaved another deep breath. “But all this doesn’t tell me her real motive of coming back and why she doesn’t want to sign the divorce paper. And as long as I can’t proof that the baby is not mine, Shin Hye will not agree to do her treatment.” He said in frustration.

In Sung smiled. “DNA.”

Min Ho looked at him helplessly. “But how? She wouldn’t agree to do it willingly. She wants to use the baby to threaten me. And I don’t want to bring all this to the court. It will drag even longer by doing so.” Most importantly, he doesn’t want to drag Shin Hye and So Won into this mess.

“You don’t need her to do it willingly. As long as you have a way to make her to do a blood test, I have my way to check the DNA for you.” In Sung said.

Min Ho leaned forward and looked at him expectantly. “How? I can’t just force her to do a blood test in a sudden. And how can you check the DNA? The baby is not even born yet.”

In Sung smiled again. “By using NIPP, non-invasive prenatal paternity. NIPP is the most accurate non-invasive way to establish paternity before the baby is born. The process is state-of-the-art, combining the latest technology and proprietary methods of preserving and analysing the baby’s DNA found naturally in the mother’s bloodstream. This test requires only a simple blood collection from the mother and alleged father. The test is 99.9% accurate.”

Min Ho’s eyes were glistened with hope. “This is great but how can I get the blood from her?”

In Sung flipped the file again to another page. “Choi Yoon Suh is having a prenatal check-up 2 days later. I will suggest you to go with her. Try your best to make the doctor do a blood test for her to check her health or whatsoever. Once the doctor gets her blood, I have my way to do the rest.”

Min Ho leaned back against his chair and smiled softly. “I was really amazed. Shin Hye was right. You are really a good in your job.”

In Sung chuckled. “I was shocked that you called me that day. I still can remember the killing stare you gave me when you saw us hugging together in your garden.”

Min Ho smiled embarrassedly. “I’m sorry for my rudeness that day. Shin Hye told me about your girlfriend.”

In Sung laughed. “No wonder.”

After a long second of silence, the smile on Min Ho’s face slowly faded. He looked at In Sung seriously. “I can’t let her delay her treatment any longer. She is very stubborn. She insists to wait until the baby is born.” He sighed helplessly. “Every passing second is like a ticking time bomb to her.”

In Sung looked at him with sympathy. “She is indeed the most stubborn person I have ever met. But in a way, I actually understand why she has such a decision.”

Min Ho’s gaze met his, waiting for him to continue.

“She is a very strong and brave woman. She never gives up on every single thing she did in the past.” In Sung smiled as he continued. “Her cold expression, her harsh attitude, everybody working under her will shiver whenever they heard her high heels sounds in the office.” He paused again. “Everything changed when she met you. When I saw her in your house, when I saw her expression talking about you, when I saw the way she treated your daughter, I know she is no longer the woman I know 10 years ago. Her frozen heart melted because of you. She did everything because of you.”

Min Ho bit his lip and sighed. “But I’m hopelessly useless. I couldn’t do anything for her and she even sacrifices her own health because of my problem. Because she doesn’t want to add in more burdens to me, she delays her treatment until my problem is solved.”

In Sung sighed too. “You might think that she is weak or stupid for doing so but you should understand that the guilt was actually eating her up.”

Min Ho’s brows creased, looking at him.

“You are her sister’s husband. Although she was the one that you love from the very beginning but it still doesn’t stop her from feeling like a third party. She felt like she was the one who destroy her sister’s marriage.” In Sung said.

“This marriage was already destroyed before she appears. Even without her, this marriage can never be salvage anymore. It has nothing to do with her.” Min Ho replied. “She shouldn’t delay the treatment just because of me and Yoon Suh.”

“She is scared. She is deeply in fear. She saw how her mother suffered during the chemotherapy and how her father being helpless and sad because he couldn’t help his wife. She has to witness how her mother ended her life to stop her father’s pain. She was only 12 years old at that time. And now the same thing happened to her.” In Sung took a deep breath. “From the very beginning when she knows about her sickness, she never plans to go for any treatment. She is doing it for you now. Because she love you and doesn’t want to see you being sad of losing her, she forced herself to be strong once again, to do something that she fears the most.”

Min Ho exhaled deeply. “I know. That was why it hurt me even more knowing that I was the reason why she has to endure so much pain. I’m willing to give Yoon Suh anything as long as she agrees to sign the paper.”

“I will help you. You don’t even need to pay her a single penny if we find out that the baby is not yours. You can file for divorce straightaway.” In Sung said.

Min Ho sighed again without knowing how to explain to him. It was not as simple as he thinks.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Shin Hye sighed heavily as her best friend Jin Se Yeon was almost crying her eyes out. “Se Yeon-ah, please don’t cry, okay? I’m okay. I’m still here.” She said as she wiped her tears with tissue.

Se Yeon sniffed as she looked up at Shin Hye sadly. “How can you be okay? Seung Heon oppa said you have kidney cancer and you are dying.”

Song Seung Heon turned to Shin Hye and quickly shook his head. “Nope, I didn’t say that. I told her that you will die if you don’t do the treatment as soon as possible.”

Se Yeon continued to cry and held onto Shin Hye’s hand tightly. “Why are you delaying your treatment? Do you want to die? Was it because of your mother? You won’t be like your mother. You have me, Seung Heon oppa and In Sung oppa. We all will take care of you and won’t let you die.” She said in between heavy sobs.

Shin Hye smiled looking at her best friend. She squeezed her hand softly. “I know. That was why I asked you to come here with me. I’m not delaying the treatment. I’m here now.”

Seung Heon looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean? You told me you want to wait for 3 months. You changed your mind now?”

Shin Hye turned to him and sighed again. “That was because he was there that day. I don’t want to let him know everything.”

Seung Heon raised his brows. “I still don’t understand.”

Shin Hye looked at him. “He have a lot of issues going on at the moment. He has a lot of things to settle and I don’t want to add in another burden to him.”

Seong Heon kept quiet and waiting patiently for her to continue.

Shin Hye inhaled a deep breath. “Since you said the drugs you are giving me have fewer side effects, I will secretly start the therapy first without his knowledge.”

Seong Heon widened his eyes slightly. “You mean, you agree to start the therapy now?”

Shin Hye nodded slowly. “Yes but you have to promise me that you won’t let him know about it.” She looked down and breathed softly. “I’ll let him know myself when I think it