\\\\\

Kai didn’t know how Namjoo was able to sleep. Hours had passed and the night only grew darker. Still, here he was wide awake.

Turning he found Namjoo lying on her back with her head propped on his pillow turned toward him. He would have never imagined that a time would come when he would experience this. Watching Namjoo sleep. Having her beside him.

Reaching out he adjusted the blanket over her and to his side to watch her. The desire to capture and keep the view in front of him for as long as possible had him up majority of the night.

When he awoke the next morning Namjoo was already gone. He was content and filled with happiness. Extending his hand out he let his fingers settle onto the spot Namjoo had lain on, and felt a smile creep onto his lips.

Heading downstairs after washing up he found Namjoo in the kitchen with his parents, entertaining them with something she’d made without the help of Nanny Jung.

“Kai! Finally awake!” his mother urged him over. “Look at this. Aren’t you one lucky man to have Choonhee around?”

“It’s delicious, thank you,” his father thanked her.

Namjoo nodded delightfully across from him before glancing at him then back toward the elders. Sitting down Kai stared down at the main dish of beef rice on the table, listening as his parents continued their overly exicted praise, and looked up when Namjoo scooped some food up into his plate. And here he was, feeling as warm as last night.

Once his parents finally left he found Namjoo up in her room rearranging everything and changing her bed sheets.

“Get dressed,” Kai knocked on her door for her attention. “We’re going to head out.”

“To where? You’re not going to work?”

“No, I took the day off. Come down when you're ready,” he told then walked out.

\\\\\

Doing as told Namjoo pulled on some fresh clothes and found Kai waiting for her downstairs. She was perturbed about where they were headed. Without a word he headed outside and she followed. A few minutes later they were down the road, arriving at the hospital half an hour later.

Namjoo turned to look at Kai before unstrapping her seatbelt and quickly got out after him. “What are we doing here?”

Taking her hand he led her in. Namjoo looked around confused before they were at a counter and she heard Kai telling the nurse behind it, “Yes. We’re here for an appointment. A monthly checkup.”

“Ah…your prenatal visit?” the nurse asked. “And your name?”

“My wife’s name is Lee Choonhee.”

“If you can take a seat over there we’ll call you up in a few minutes,” the nurse kindly directed.

Nodding, Kai led her over to a seat and sliding his hand out of hers sat down. A slight warmth of thankfulness slithered through her before sitting down silently with him. The sounds of footsteps and conversations flowed throughout the air while endless thoughts ceased to flow through her head. After almost twenty minutes of waiting they were called up.

She was led into an office where she sat in front of a desk after being weighed. The woman behind it was an elderly lady in her late forties who smiled motherly.

“How are you feeling today?”

“I’m good,” Namjoo nervously replied then looked at Kai for assurance.

“I hear that this is your first time here,” the woman greeted. “Is this your first child?”

Namjoo nodded silently as her heart ached.

“Isn’t that exciting,” the doctor exclaimed smiling before asking her about anything she’d been experiencing physically and emotionally.

Namjoo found those questions the toughest and quietly shook her head. How could she say anything in front of Kai?

“I think she’s been stressed lately,” Kai chirped up.

“It’s important that the mother doesn’t become too stressed as there can be negative effects on the fetus, especially in development. The father should also help take part in helping the mother relax,” the doctor explained and continued on with the importance of stress management. After a short inquiry the doctor asked, “Would you like to see the baby?”

An uncertainty hovered over Namjoo like a dark ominous cloud. She kind of wanted to and didn’t. She was scared. Again, she turned to look at Kai who nodded.

“Come on to the back.”

They were led into the back room where Namjoo was laid down on a bed uncomfortably. “This is going to feel cool but only for a brief moment,” the doctor explained lifting Namjoo’s shirt over her belly before rubbing some gel on it.

As she lay there she only felt like crying. She was more than scared. She lacked confidence, she felt sad, and miserable. Everything rushed at her all at once, burying her underneath its weight. Sehun, his love for her, his desperation, and her misery. 

“Do you hear that?” the doctor asked. Namjoo felt her ears twitch upon catching a soft pounding thud in the room. “It’s the baby’s heartbeat. The embryo doesn’t look any more than the size of a tadpole right now, but at five weeks the fetus is starting to develop organs. This includes the heart, stomach, liver, and kidney. It looks like the baby is doing just fine.”

Turning away from the screen Namjoo fought to hold back tears.

“Now, the mother seems a little undernourished. It would help if she gains some weight before the next checkup. There's really nothing to be concerned about. Don’t forget to take vitamins and eat healthily,” the doctor explained to Kai who listened intently. 

Half an hour later when they walked out with the ultrasound scans in her hands Namjoo first sat quietly in the passenger’s seat reveling in what she just went through. Growing emotional for no certain reason she felt tears run down her cheeks and wiped them away.

From her side Kai asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“I’m not hungry,” she muttered then after a sniff, “I want to eat meat.”

"Put your seatbelt on," he shortly laughed from the side at her silliness, "I'll take you somewhere good." 

\\\\\

The mail addressed to the police station Sehun had tossed onto the table last night in a druken stupor was gone when he woke up.

It was really over. Him and Namjoo.

Now, all he was left with was anger and emptiness. He didn’t know how many tears he had shed for Namjoo last night, but it was the last of them. If he could not have her he would make her go through the pain she had made him go through. It was only fair that way. Turning her back on him had been the last straw. He didn’t want to plead anymore, not after she’d stabbed his chest and pulled out his heart.

Right now, there were no emotions but a running rage to make her pay.

When he walked up to Hayoung sitting at her desk that morning he rudely tossed a velvety box onto her desk. When she looked up he said, “Lets get married.”

“What?” her face stricken with surprise.

“You don’t want to?” he asked stiffly. “What a pity because I thought you’d want to.”

Hayoung glanced at the box then taking it she opened it to see the diamond ring inside. Looking up shocked she breathed, “Sehun…”

“I don’t have the energy to plan an event for you, so lets just do it this way,” Sehun icily explained. With no emotion in his voice, “I love you Hayoung. Lets get married.” Pivoting on his heels he walked into the office and slammed the door after him.

\\\\\

Hayoung’s eyes zoomed in on the glinting diamond ring and scoffed before plucking it out of its case and slipped it on her finger. Holding her hand up under the light she immediately admired how the genuine diamond shone in the light.

It was going to be the greatest news she would bear to her own family. She had waited so long for this. The smile growing on her face only grew wider with the passing seconds. She had to let someone know.

\\\\\

Namjoo had sent Nanny Jung out on an errand to buy a pizza. Whatever came to mind, Kai had told her, she should eat. Today she wanted pizza.

When the doorbell ring she assumed it was Nanny Jung who needed her to open the door. Without a second thought she pulled the door open to find Hayoung standing on the other side b with a blinding smile.

“Good afternoon,” Hayoung greeted.

Immediately bitter, Namjoo asked, “What are you doing here?”

Looking past her Hayoung commented, “You have a nice home. No wonder you don’t come to work anymore.”

Namjoo pressed her lips together suddenly impatient. “Why are you here?”

Firmly smiling in the gentlest way possible she held her left hand up to show off the gold diamond ring. “I’m getting married. I wanted to share the news with you since well, we are kind of friends after all. I helped you get your happy ending and you helped me get mine.”

Namjoo’s eyes hovered over the ring then to her face, watching her smile all so confidently; that even if a meteor crashed onto earth she would survive.

“Do you want to know who my husband is?”

“No,” her breath came out quietly.

“Oh Sehun.”

A stab to the heart. Namjoo felt her entire whole shatter and fought to keep a straight face. “Is that so? Congrats.”

“So you’ll come to our wedding?”

“I should,” Namjoo replied trying not to let her voice break. “Oh…I was washing some clothes. I should go check on them. Goodbye.”

Closing the door in her face Namjoo immediately locked it and let herself fall to the ground, fighting not to sob. While driving Sehun away she’d completely forgotten that he too, could put a ring on someone else’s finger.

It hurt…immensely.

Pressing a hand up to her forehead she fought to calm herself. The doctor had said emotional strain wasn’t good for the baby, so she shouldn't be too emotional but she couldn't help it. Each passing day just felt like a heavier burden while trying to survive. Even as Kim Namjoo she was starting to feel exhausted.

\\\\\

Kai looked up when the door abruptly opened and watched Sehun walk in. Tension swarmed in the air and he watched the man walk toward his desk before dropping a card down.

“What is it?” Kai asked without glancing at it.

“My wedding invitation.” Sehun replied.

Frowning, Kai made a grab for the piece of paper and looked through it. At the sound of Sehun’s voice he looked up, “We’re going to get married in a few weeks. You and Namjoo, no wait," he slyly smiled, "Choonhee will come, right?”

The doctor had said stress was bad for Namjoo, especially in times of pregnancy. If he told Namjoo he knew she would get even more depressed. Lying he said, “We will.”

The smile he’d pulled on disappeared when the door closed. Snagging the card into his hand he crumbled it up and tossed it into the bin.

That evening as Sehun brought Hayoung home to officially meet his parents, Kai returned to his. Nanny Jung was in the kitchen, looking sad and shaking her head. The pizza she’d come back with was untouched – the food gone cold.

“Namjoo hasn’t eaten anything,” she told him. “I’m not sure what happened, but I’m worried. She’s been in her room all day and hasn’t come out since I returned. She locked the door too.”

“Alright. I’ll go and see what's wrong.” Kai nodded, keeping his calm before walking out and broke out into a run. He paused at the top of the stairs hesitating then literally forced himself to head towards Namjoo’s bedroom.

Quietly trying for the lock he discovered that Nanny Jung was right. Namjoo had locked it. A sudden feeling crept up on him that maybe someone had already told Namjoo about the news. Pressing his ear against the door he listened carefully to Namjoo’s muffled cries. His heart ached. 

\\\\\

“Wedding dresses are so pretty nowadays compared to back in my days,” his mother spoke beside him.

They had gone to a wedding dress shop to try on wedding dress for Hayoung, but Sehun’s mind was not where it was supposed to be. Right after entering the shop he’d found his seat on the couch provided for customers and started zooming out. From his right his mother muttered about the expenses of weddings these days. He wasn’t aware even when the curtains drew open and Hayoung appeared in the wedding dress she’d picked.

He thought about Namjoo in the wedding photo shoot she’d taken with Kai he’d seen plastered over the paper, imagining that it was he she was marrying. At the altar he would read to her his vows while watching her face break out into tears of happiness. She too, would share with him her vows deep from her heart then they’d exchange rings and he’d kiss her, making her his bride. And he would hear her tell him she loved him.

The image in his head turned him empty inside out. He longed for her but he was angry Namjoo had married someone else. He was angry she had betrayed him, his feelings, and her feelings when she knew she loved him; when she could have made it right.

And he grew angry again.

“Sehun, look…” his mother called but he stood up.

“I’ll be outside when you’re done,” he muttered before walking out.

If Namjoo loved him, she would hurt when she learned he was marrying Hayoung. That pain would be as great as his when she married Kai. He wanted her to go through that excruciating pain, so that she would return to where she belonged with him. He would put her back in her place.

\\\\\

Hayoung glanced up at Sehun while cutting the steak on her plate bitterly. They'd gone out for dinner after splitting up with his mother once she found the dress she liked, but Sehun hadn't given a damn. The situation had gone awkward in front of the shop owner and now he was embarrassing her again. Earlier, the waitress had complimented that they were a very cute couple upon arriving with their food. Instead, Sehun had outrightly ignored them and started eating without waiting for her. 

He’d been silent all evening, dark and gloomy, acting as if she was the one who’d wronged him. It was starting to annoy her that as the days passed he was becoming more ignorant with her. If he wanted to marry her he might as well put in some consideration for her feelings.

Sighing, having enough of it she put the utensils in hand down. “What is it? Why are you in such a bad mood?”

“Never said I was,” he chewed busily while answering her, even appeared as if he didn’t want to talk at all.

“Then what is with you?” Hayoung demanded, her tone laced with steel. “Why are you being this way to me?”

“Are you going to eat that?” he reached over for her plate and slid her food onto his. Stabbing the piece of steak he tossed it into his mouth without even looking at her. It made her feel invisible, unimportant. 

Scoffing, offended by him, she said, “If you want to marry me, I at least deserve some respect from you! I have dignity as a human being, Sehun!”

“You did?” Sehun raised his brows still not looking up. “I wasn’t aware.”

Hayoung’s brows twitched. “Don’t insult me.”

His hands moved busily until his plate was clear and he set down his utensils, grabbed the napkin to gently wipe his lips, and then grabbed his cup of water. “A person like you can be insulted, too? I learn something new each day.”

“What are you on about?” Hayoung hissed.

“You know well, why I chose to marry you,” Sehun muttered, swirling the water in his glass then finally looked at her.

Hayoung felt her hands shake out of anger before quickly hiding them on her lap. Of course. She knew. 

“Anyway, all we have to do is get married. The end of it,” Sehun simply said with a shrug.

“You’re willing to go that far just to get at Namjoo?” Hayoung asked.

“I can go even farther,” Sehun mumbled, staring coolly at his empty plate. “Maybe we can even buy a baby and say it’s ours. That I married you because I got drunk and did a one night with you.”

Hayoung bit her lower lip in disbelief.

“Why? You don’t like it?” Sehun darkly teased. 

***And just when it was going good for KaiJoo :\ He's being so good to her ;; Well I won't lie that I didn't cry while writing the hospital part. The way that Namjoo kept looking at Kai for reassurance just means she is starting to trust him /clutches my heart/

***Guess what it was that Sehun sent to the police when he was drunk? It's going to cause a very big downfall next chapter and he's going to be so sorry later. That's why you don't do things when you're drunk. 

***Isn't it funny that Sehun is getting back at Hayoung this way? It's like instead of having him working around her finger, he now has her wrapped around his finger. Obviously he knew she'd go brag about the ring to Namjoo. His proposal though, it's so cold. I can totally hear the "I love you, Hayoung. Lets get married." in my head without any emotion 

***5 Chapters to go!