Hues of magenta and gold streaked the sky when Dara opened the door to see Jiyong on her doorstep, his car still running, at five thirty in the morning. They had to be at the airport by six to make their flight, so she didn't invite him in. She let him take the garment bag and small suitcase she set by the door to his car while she gathered up her school books. Studying was hardly the type of pastime she'd choose on her wedding day, even though this wasn't a real wedding, but time was short.

"I'm glad to see you haven't gotten cold feet." Jiyong said as she shoved her backpack in the trunk where he'd put her other luggage. She then climbed into the passenger seat and smoothed her long denim skirt she was wearing with a short sleeved sweater. She crossed her legs and watched him from the side-view mirrors and waited for him to climb into the car.

A soft song on low volume played over the radio. The heater hummed, taking out the chill of the early spring morning air, but Dara shivered despite the warn interior.

In a matter of hours she was going to marry a man who was going to pay her to have his baby. This man, a stranger she met by appointment. How crazy was that? Somehow she couldn't believe she let this wedding farce go this far. But when she looked over the events of the past two weeks, somehow it all made sense.

Dara didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. She'd been through a lot in the past year; perhaps all the stress was affecting her thinking.

"My feet are cold."

She said as he backed the car out of her driveway. He was wearing maong pants and a polo shirt that fit him almost as well as the tailored suits she was used to seeing him in. He looked good, maybe even better, but Dara tried not to think about it.

"I'm terrified that we're making a huge mistake, but…"

Jiyong paused, glancing at her for a moment before shifting the car into drive.

"But?"

Dara looking into his soft lavender eyes, fringed with coppery-brown lashes.

"I don't want to tell you, no." She admitted.

His eyebrows darted up and he rocked back as if she tried to take a swing at him.

"That must be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, that it is."

"Well, no isn't your favorite word." She swallowed, was dry.

"Right."

"Well I'm just trying to be accommodating."

She was embarrassed now so she pretended to smooth her skirt, noticing that the slit cut into it to allow for leg movement was a bit higher than she thought. She smoothed the two sides together until his hand closed over hers, warm and sure. A little flutter in her stomach told her she liked it. She knew she would like it even more if he would take her hand and lift it to his mouth and place a kiss on it again. But the devilish grin on his face told her that he was thinking of something else.

"Would this be a good time to ask about coming to the birth?"

Pulling back, Dara punched him in the arm for principle's sake. She needed to be careful or she was going to go all soft and gooey as taffy that's been left in the sun. This whole time Jiyong had been perusing his agenda.

"At this rate, I'm not even going to tell you when I go into labor."

“With the amount of luggage you brought. I thought we were going to be gone the whole nine months." He chuckled as he drove down the street.

"What all did you bring anyways? Did you forget we're coming back tonight?"

"No." Dara turned her attention to her passenger window and watched the houses flittering by.

"CL bought me a dress to wear for the wedding, so I brought it. My uncle will be there so I thought we should keep up appearances. I don't think I can tell him what I'm really doing. He'll think I've finally lost it."

He glanced over at her. "I brought a suit."

Jiyong slowed the car to a stop at an intersection. He turned to glance at Dara.

"Do you want to stop by the hospital and see Sanghyun before we head to the airport?"

"Do you think we have time?" She asked. Part of her wanted to include Sanghyun and pretend this was a joyous occasion. She knew how much it would please her brother, and there'd been so little to be happy about in the past year.

The other part of her insisted that the less Sanghyun saw her and Jiyong together, the better.

Jiyong glanced at his watch and turned left.

"I think so, I was wondering how I could make him feel like part of the wedding, in some small way, So I bought him a boutonniere. It's in the back seat if you want to take a look at it."

Surprised, Dara turned and lifted the lid of what resembled a cardboard hatbox. Inside she found a beautiful bouquet of white roses and two boutonnieres all carefully tucked with tissue paper. The distinctive smell of fresh-cut flowers wafted through the car and Dara smiled.

"How thoughtful of you." She said, genuinely impressed.

Jiyong winked at her.

"I have my moments."

Sanghyun wasn't awake when they arrived. Dara kissed his forehead to wake him and her brother started to blink and then stretched.

"Eww, sister-germs."

The boy scrubbed his forehead with his palm even though he was still trying to blink the sleep from his eyes.

"Hey Sanghyun. Jiyong and I just stopped in to say goodbye. We're on our way-"

"To get married?" Sanghyun sat up on his elbows despite the IV's.

"It's today?"

Jiyong leaned on the railing of his bed.

“And because you're the best man, at least in spirit, we bought you something every good-looking man must wear at a wedding."

His brown eyes grew. "What?"

"A boutonniere, of course. So everyone can tell that you are a part of today's big event."

He presented the small white rose and sprig of baby's breath with a flourish. Dara marked his incredible sales ability. It could have been a drawing of a flower stuck on a toothpick and Sanghyun would have felt special wearing it. Sanghyun smiled brightly as Jiyong pined it to his hospital gown with a safety pin, making sure the red ribbon that held it together was perfect.

‘Had she been fooled by an act too?’

For a moment, fear grasped Dara hard. She was passing one of those milestones in life that would wither leave her immeasurably glad or filled with regret. Which was it? Would the operation cure Sanghyun? Would she be able to walk away from the baby when it came? There was no way to answer those questions, but as she watched Jiyong with her brother, she knew she was going to take a leap of faith.

She smiled as she watched Sanghyun. He was wearing the flower as proudly as a badge of honor and he puffed out his chest.

"I'll get a picture of the two of you." Jiyong suggested, stepping back to use the disposable camera he brought with him.

"No, you too!"

Sanghyun insisted until he finally went for the nurse to take a picture of all three of them.

"Is there anything I should know before I meet your uncle?" Jiyong asked. They'd been on the plane for nearly forty-five minutes and would be arriving very soon. Dara had studied the entire way, first delving into a thick textbook entitled, The Science of Medicine.

Then leafed through another on pharmacology. Just reading the titles was enough to bore Jiyong to tears. He hadn't thought to bring some work from home, so he'd read everything shoved into the pocket of the seat in front of him, including the emergency-procedure card. That had taken him all of ten minutes. The last thirty-five had passed at a snail's pace.

"Did you hear me?" He poked Dara with his elbow when she didn't answer right away.

Dara glanced up and then reached up to turn of the overhead air-vent that was making the same racket as Darth Vader's breathing apparatus.

"Okay what did you say?" She asked as her eyes went back to her book.

"I asked if there was anything I needed to know before I meet your uncle."

"Like?"

She glanced up at him through her eyelashes and tucked her hair behind her ears. It came across as very cute and something tightened in Jiyong's chest. Something he didn't want to acknowledge, let alone explain.

But then he caught a glimpse of the page she was studying and his sto