“Hey you.”

 

“Hey,” Joohyun smiled at her wife on the phone screen. Seulgi was currently away in LA for a business trip and the 16-hour time difference was making life difficult for the two of them. Seulgi had purposely woken up at 5am so that she could talk to Joohyun. While she was exhausted herself, the last thing she wanted was for her wife to sleep late, especially since she had been taking care of their three-year-old daughter the whole day.

 

“I miss you so much,” Seulgi sighed into the phone, resting her chin on the pillow. Joohyun’s heart broke slightly seeing the dark eyebags under her wife’s eyes. She was obviously exhausted and Joohyun wished she could be there to cook for her wife and made sure she was well-taken care of. It didn’t help that Seulgi had insisted on calling her at 5am from LA when she herself was working non-stop the whole day.

 

“I miss you too,” Joohyun replied, her thumb running over her wife’s face. “Have you been resting properly, baby?”

 

“I need to secure this contract, babe,” Seulgi replied, obviously avoiding the question asked.

 

“And I want you to stay safe and healthy,” Joohyun scolded gently. “How will you secure the contract if you’re running a fever and sound terrible during your sales pitch?”

 

“I know, I know. I just…I just can’t help it you know; I can’t allow any mistakes or slip-ups.”

 

“I know,” Joohyun smiled at her wife, reminiscing the days they had spent planning their wedding. Seulgi micro-managed everything down to the smallest detail. It was frustrating at times, but she had proven time and time again that the result was worth it. “But please, take care of yourself.”

 

“I will,” Seulgi stifled a yawn. Joohyun didn’t know whether to laugh at how cute she was or worry thinking about the lack of sleep Seulgi had been getting. “How’s Yeri?”

 

“She’s asleep. She had a fun time playing with Chaeyoung today and was out like a light before we even got home,” Joohyun reached for the camera sitting at her bedside. “Look! They built a sandcastle together.”

 

“That’s impressive!” Seulgi squinted at her screen, trying to get a better view of what Joohyun was showing her. Joohyun quickly showed Seulgi a couple of other photos taken, animatedly describing each one in detail. Seulgi simply sat and listened and grinned at her beautiful wife getting so excited.

 

“Despite all the fun… she’s been asking for you everyday since you’ve left,” Joohyun sighed, not wanting to guilt trip Seulgi further by mentioning how much she missed her as well. “She was so terrible to me last night, telling me that I couldn’t tell bedtime stories as good as you do!”

 

“Hahaha!” Seulgi broke out in laughter as Joohyun puffed her cheeks in mock anger. “Damn, that kid is gonna grow up to be a savage one day.”

 

“Don’t mention it,” Joohyun huffed in reply.

 

“I’ll tell her to have more manners when I come home next week,” Seulgi chuckled, imagining the horror on Joohyun’s face when Yeri told her that. “And I’ll tell the rest of the firm I don’t want to go on a long overseas business trips anymore, especially since we’re trying for a second child.”

 

Joohyun’s heart was full at Seulgi’s words. It was just like her wife to know how tough IVF was and she was glad that Seulgi wanted to be with her every step of the way. She glanced downwards and smiled.

 

“Focus on your work babe. We can always talk about this later.”

 

“I’ll call you tomorrow, same time.”

 

“I’ll be waiting. Always.”

 

+

 

“MOMMA!!!”

 

“Yeri! Don’t shout and stop running!” Joohyun chased after her hyperactive three-year-old daughter and grabbed her shoulder tightly. She bowed her head apologetically at the stares Yeri had attracted and got down on one knee to look at her daughter straight in the eyes.

 

“Kang Yeri. What did we agree on in the car before we arrived?”

 

“No rahnning, no shauting,” Yeri hung her head low, knowing her mother was upset at her.

 

“And why?”

 

“Yeri small. People can’t see Yeri. Yeri may get hurt.”

 

“And do you want momma to see you hurt?” Yeri shook her head. “Good. Let’s wait for momma over there okay?” Yeri nodded her head. Joohyun her hair as her way of telling her that she wasn’t mad as long as Yeri had learnt her lesson.

 

The toughest part about having a child was disciplining them.

 

Joohyun checked the flight schedule. Seulgi’s plane had landed about half an hour ago, so she should be out anytime soon.

 

Right on cue, her wife walked through the arrival doors looking like a model on a runway. Shades on, crisp white blouse and skinny jeans…Joohyun gulped at the sight.

 

She couldn’t wait to get home.

 

“Momma!” Yeri waved her hands in Seulgi’s direction and Seulgi immediately took her shades off, a bright smile gracing her face as she saw her daughter and wife in the crowd. Joohyun nudged her daughter gently in Seulgi’s direction once Seulgi was near enough, giving her the signal that it was fine to let loose now. She was silently proud of how her daughter was patient enough not to start running when Seulgi had walked through the arrival doors.

 

“Yerim!!!” Seulgi immediately got on one knee and opened her arms, allowing her daughter to run into them.

 

“Momma Yeri can’t breathe!” Yeri squealed as Seulgi gave her a bone-crushing hug. Joohyun smiled at the sight and walked over to join her family. Seulgi carried Yeri up in one arm and opened her other arm wide to finally greet her wife after her two-week long business trip. Joohyun naturally stepped into the space Seulgi had offered and wrapped her arms around her wife’s waist, feeling Seulgi’s hand go around her back to pull her into a long, tight hug. She nuzzled into Seulgi’s neck and felt her wife give her a kiss on the forehead before inhaling a deep breath of her scent.

 

“Oh god. I missed you so much.”

 

“I missed you too,” Joohyun looked up into Seulgi’s eyes. Two weeks had been far too long and all she wanted to do now was just stay in Seulgi’s arms.

 

Obviously Yeri had other plans.

 

“Can we go home? I wanna bubble bath with momma!”

 

“Okay, okay we’ll go home now,” Seulgi gave in, not before planting a kiss on her daughter’s cheek and leaning in for a quick one on the lips with her wife.

 

+

 

Joohyun finished up with the laundry before heading to the bedroom, eager to finally spend some quality time in Seulgi’s arms.

 

“She’s asleep?”

 

“Yep. She immediately started dozing off after her bubble bath. I barely got through the first page of her picture book before she hit the sack.”

 

“That’s good,” Joohyun sat on Seulgi’s lap, finally able to get some skin-on-skin contact and examine her wife’s exhausted face up close. “You look so tired, baby.”

 

“I am,” Seulgi pulled Joohyun into her arms. “Can I-can I just hold you like that for a while?”

 

“Seul?” Joohyun sensed something was wrong when her wife’s voice quavered and pulled away. “Is something-“

 

She could barely complete her sentence before tears began making their way down Seulgi’s face. Seulgi buried her face in Joohyun’s shoulder, not wanting her wife to see her cry. She was supposed to be the strong one in the relationship, but this time round, their situations were reversed. All she wanted was for Joohyun to hold her right now, which was what she did.

 

“Oh baby,” Joohyun cooed, her wife’s back tenderly. “Let it out, let it out.”

 

Joohyun didn’t care if her shirt was getting damp from Seulgi’s tears. All she wanted to be right now was Seulgi’s rock. It was heartbreaking to hear her wife cry, but she knew it would be better for Seulgi to let the tears flow rather than keep them in.

 

After a few minutes, Seulgi’s sobs turned into soft sniffles.

 

“We lost the deal.”

 

Joohyun stayed silent. Deep down she knew how much this hurt Seulgi. This deal would have propelled Seulgi’s firm to the international stage and her wife had worked so hard for the past two weeks knowing that. But her hard work had not been rewarded with the deal she was hoping to close. All the time and effort put into it was just like that – wasted.

 

“It’s okay to be disappointed,” Joohyun whispered into her wife’s ear. “It’s okay to be upset. But let’s just be disappointed and upset for tonight and wake up tomorrow morning feeling better okay?”

 

Seulgi nodded against Joohyun’s shoulder. At times like this she was so grateful for such an understanding wife, a wife who was willing to share her emotional baggage and tell her it was okay not to be okay.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Hey, look at me,” Joohyun cupped Seulgi’s face and gazed at her lovingly. “We’re in this together. Everything, all your ups and downs, I want to share it with you. This is what we vowed on the day this happened, right?” Joohyun held her right hand up, allowing her wedding ring to glimmer in the light. “So don’t apologise, don’t thank me for all these things I need to do as your wife. I promised I will always be here for you. I love you, Seul.”

 

“I love you too,” Seulgi kissed the ring on Joohyun’s fourth finger. “And everything you said to me, I say it right back. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Kang Joohyun.”

 

“And you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Kang Seulgi.”

 

They say that love isn’t about watching the sunrises and shooting stars together.

 

It’s about holding an umbrella over the person you love when it’s raining.

 

+

 

It had been two months since Seulgi had returned from her business trip and the couple had agreed that it would be the best time to try for a second child, since Seulgi wasn’t going to go on any international business trips anytime soon. It was a tough first couple of weeks but Seulgi was prepared since Joohyun and her had done it before.

 

Yeri wasn’t though.

 

It was tough when Seulgi needed to discipline their child, knowing that Joohyun was becoming sensitive to many things due to the side effects of the medication. The last thing she wanted was for Joohyun to snap at Yeri so that called for her to step in on multiple occasions before Yeri could effectively piss Joohyun off. She wanted to protect both her wife and her child from getting hurt by each other.

 

It was one of those days where the meds were making Joohyun nauseous and hence, very irritable. Seulgi made sure Joohyun was resting well before heading downstairs to deal with the three-year-old that was kicking up a fuss.

 

“Yeri, stop.”

 

“But momma, I wanna go and play!”  

 

“Mommy’s not feeling well today and I need to take care of her so both of us can’t bring you out. I’m sorry kiddo, but that’s just how it is today. I’ll bring you out when mommy’s feeling better okay?”

 

Seulgi let out an exasperated sigh the moment Yeri started bawling her eyes out. She knew how sensitive Joohyun was to high pitched sounds and all Yeri was going to do was cause Joohyun to combust and lose her temper.

 

“Kang Yeri. I’m gonna give you five seconds to stop crying. Five, four, three, two, one.”

 

The tears didn’t stop and the screams were getting louder.

 

“Okay that’s it,” Seulgi picked her daughter off the floor and opened the front door, bringing her daughter out of the house with her. She sat Yeri down on the bench in front of the house and simply waited, knowing Yeri was smart enough to notice that her silence meant that she was angry.

 

Just as she expected, the crying ceased after a couple of minutes and Yeri looked up at Seulgi, who had a hardened expression on her face.

 

“Momma angreh?”

 

“Yes, Yeri. I’m angry.”

 

“Momma no angreh,” Yeri hugged Seulgi’s neck. “Yeri sorry.”

 

“Look buddy,” Seulgi gently pulled Yeri’s arms around her neck and looked at her. “I know you wanna play but Mommy’s not feeling well. How would you feel if you were sick and Mommy and I left you alone?”

 

“Yeri sad. Want hug Momma and Mommy when Yeri sick.”

 

“Yes. So now Mommy’s sick, do you still think it’s fair for me to bring you out to play?”  

 

Yeri shook her head. Seulgi smiled and pressed a kiss on her child’s nose. “Thank you for understanding, kiddo. I promise we’ll go out and play once Mommy is feeling better okay?”

 

“Pinky prowmise?”

 

“Pinky promise,” Seulgi agreed. “Now, do you want to help me make some ice-cream for Mommy so she can feel better soon?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Seulgi laughed as she picked her daughter up and sat her on her shoulders.

 

As insane as her daughter drove her sometimes, she still loved her so much.

 

+

 

“Boss. Mr Lawrence is here to see you.”

 

“Hello Seulgi,” Mr Lawrence extended a hand to Seulgi, who shook it firmly. “Mr Lawrence, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

“Do you remember the sales pitch you made to our company in LA three months ago?”

 

“Definitely.”

 

“Well, turns out your competitor we awarded the deal to screwed up and their company is now bankrupt. So we came together to discuss the pitches made and our company decided that we liked your idea the best. As such, we would like to ask you if we can put your plan into motion soon?”

 

“Wait so-“

 

“That’s right. Kang Industries is going to build the new sports stadium in LA.”

 

Seulgi’s jaw dropped. This was what she had wanted so badly previously but she knew, if she were to say yes, it meant she would need to move to LA for at least five months to ensure the initial crucial stages were done properly before sending someone to oversee it in her stead.

 

It meant leaving Joohyun for five months, and now was a terrible time to do so.

 

Choosing between Joohyun and her job? It was an easy decision.

 

“Mr Lawrence, thanks for the offer but I’m not in a position to leave my wife at the moment.”

 

“I see…”

 

+

 

Joohyun gasped as she lifted the stick up. It was the third one and the double lines confirmed it.

 

It was positive.

 

She gazed down at her still flat stomach, heart pounding at the knowledge that she and Seulgi were about to have another child.

 

“Hyun! Hyun!” Seulgi’s voice called out as the front door slammed open. It didn’t take a genius to know that Seulgi was excited about something.

 

Joohyun quickly tucked the stick into her pocket and made her way to the living room, where Seulgi was already engaging in a happy dance with Yeri.

 

“What’s going on?” Joohyun asked, bewildered at the whole situation.

 

“Guess what!” Seulgi pulled Joohyun into her arms. “The company in LA gave our firm the job! The previous company screwed up so they re-discussed it and decided to give the offer to us instead!”

 

“Seul that’s fantastic news!” Joohyun kissed her wife on the cheek but deep down, she was worried. She knew how much the deal meant to Seulgi but it also meant that Seulgi needed to be away from her for quite a period of time. With the newfound knowledge of the life inside of her, the last thing she wanted was for Seulgi to be in another country.

 

“You don’t sound too happy,” Seulgi commented, noting the dull tone in Joohyun’s voice. “Yeri, buddy, can you go to your room? Momma wants to talk to Mommy for a while.”

 

Yeri skipped to her room, oblivious to all the good news that was happening around her. Once the door closed, Seulgi turned to look at her wife.

 

“Are you worried that I have to be away now that we’ve got the deal?” Seulgi asked, managing to read her wife’s mind. Joohyun turned away and nodded, knowing it was selfish to say yes. This was what Seulgi dreamt of and she was standing in the way of it.

 

“You see Hyun,” Seulgi took her wife’s hands and guided her to the couch where they both took a seat. “I haven’t told you the second part of the good news yet.”

 

“What do you mean?” Joohyun raised her eyebrow. “Don’t you need to be there-“

 

“I do. But they only need the stadium up 2 years from now. I talked to Sooyoung and she said she’ll be fine heading to LA to handle the paperwork and stuff since she wants to spend time with Wendy there anyway. So I only need to be over in the latter half of next year. I negotiated with the company and they said it’s fine for me to bring you and Yeri along. But this is where I’m gonna be a bit selfish…” Seulgi trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing. “If we can’t conceive by this month, perhaps it’ll be better to put it off till we come back from LA? I don’t want you travelling around when you’re heavily pregnant.”

 

“Seul…” Joohyun felt the tears falling from her eyes and Seulgi panicked at the sight.

 

“Oh no, Hyun I’m so sorry! I should have known how much this means to you! ! I’m gonna tell them the deal is off! Lemme just-“

 

“Seul, stop,” Joohyun grabbed onto Seulgi’s wrist and uncurled her fingers. Reaching into her own pocket, she grabbed the stick and, fingers trembling, placed the stick into Seulgi’s palm. Seulgi glanced down at the stick for a moment and realisation graced her features.

 

“Hyun, is this what I think it is?”

 

Joohyun nodded and Seulgi immediately wrapped her arms around her wife, her own tears of joy beginning to fall as well. “Oh my god, Hyun. This is amazing. You’re amazing.”

 

The couple simply basked in each other’s embrace for a few long minutes, allowing the tears and laughter to mix before Seulgi finally pulled away and bent down to kiss Joohyun’s lower stomach.

 

“Hey baby, what do you think of travelling to LA first class?”  

 

HOLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED.

 

Lemme tell you what happened. Coronavirus happened and I’m bat bored at home and contrary to popular belief, I do read comments and hence, this chapter was born, back by popular demand LOL.

 

4 years in the making so show this chapter some love or I may never write again.

 

Ok I’m just kidding I’m not one for empty threats anyway. But also I am working on another Seulrene fic called ‘finding each other’ and it would make me happy if you guys could check that out. Overall reader feedback is that Seulgi’s a in that story tho lol. But if you like angst and fluff (and some ) that ’s for you.

 

But yes, present for everyone dying of boredom at home cos of corona BUT BUT BUT PLEASE STAY HOME. My friends work in healthcare and it’s so tough seeing them go through all the they do so please, help them by staying home guys.

 

So if you’re a healthcare worker reading this, this chapter is dedicated to you. I hope it made your day a little better. Thanks for your dedication and service.

 

Stay home, stay safe, and stay healthy guys.