Chaerin started to feel a little bit of pain in her abdomen. The pain had started by around 11:30 PM and with every hour passing by, it had gotten worse. Chaerin tried to have a nice hot shower but the pain did not go away. She had tried every possible way to get rid of the pain but it didn't go away. Finally, she decided to wake Jiyong up. 

"What's wrong, baby?" Jiyong asked groggily as he yawned. 

"I have contractions." Chaerin said. Jiyong quirked up at that and he began to worry. 

"Is it bad? Should we call the hospital?" He was starting to sweat. 

"It's horrible and it's too early to call the hospital." Chaerin said. 

"Did you get some sleep? Why is it too early? You're about to be in labor." Jiyong jumped out of his bed and grabbed their hospital bag. He didn't need to change because he was already prepared for this to happen any moment. 

"I can't sleep. The pain is too much and I'm so worried." Chaerin said. She moved towards the big bouncy ball that she was supposed to move on. She went on her knees, moving up and down on the ball, hoping it would relieve this pain she felt. The labor felt like the worst menstrual cramp or gas pain that she'd ever had, combined with someone stabbing her in the stomach! The pain waslike having her insides twisted, pulled, and squeezed. If she fought it, the pain became worse. Once she surrendered to and accepted the pain, it was more bearable. It is like getting caught in the undertow of a wave. Being trapped under water is scary -- you can fight it and get more scared or you can just let go and wait until the wave releases you. Also, there was an intense searing pain in her lower back, which was helped when Jiyong applied pressure to it.

Chaerin considered labor pains as menstrual cramps multiplied by a million. It felt like her abdomen was trying to squeeze out all its contents, not just the baby. They come in waves and varying intensity throughout the laboring process. She would go from a pretty tolerable one to an extremely intense one the next time. She had a pretty high tolerance for pain and it is definitely the hardest thing she'd had ever done.

"You should rest, baby. We have a long day ahead of us." Jiyong tried to sound calming to her. 

"I . . . I can't." Chaerin gasped.

"You need to or else you won't have enough energy to push." Jiyong said, leading her to their bed. "How many minutes apart are they?" 

"About, I'd say 40 to 30." Chaerin said.

"We have enough time. Now, just relax." Jiyong said.

"Why don't you relax?" Chaerin asked sharply. 

'Maybe because I'm not the one about to give birth?' Jiyong was going to say but he kept his trap shut for his own safety. If he had said that, who knows what Chaerin would've done. 

They were both nervous, with Chaerin being the most nervous. This was their first time being parents so it was nerve-wracking. Jiyong looked back at Chaerin and she was already fast asleep. 

"Just rest okay?" Jiyong whispered, kissing her forehead. 

"Mm-hmm." Chaerin murmured.

"I love you." Jiyong pecked her lips. Chaerin made a sound of pain that startled Jiyong. "What did I do? Are you okay? Do you need something?"

Chaerin didn't reply, she was taking deep breaths.

1:30 AM

For the past hour and a half, Jiyong had tried to comfort Chaerin but she didn't want him anywhere near her. Not that he minded. He understood why she felt like that and he wanted to do everything to help her, including staying away. She had told him the contraction were about 3 to 4 minutes apart and he wasn't sure about what he should do. He called Bom's husband, his friend, who'd had a bunch of babies because he would probably know about this stuff. Jiyong opened the door to their room and tried to talk to her.

"Want to go on a walk today, outside, for fresh air?" 

"No, I want to go to the hospital." Chaerin whimpered. 

Jiyong wanted to grant her wish but his friend who had had a bunch of babies, Seunghyun, had told him that they should wait until her water breaks before going to the hospital.

"I was told that once your water breaks, that's when you're going to give birth. Your doctor also said to wait till you have the contractions for a few hours." Jiyong didn't want to sound bossy but he had to do it. He knew she wanted to go to the hospital but that couldn't happen. 

Chaerin was in too much pain to put up a fight. 

2:30 AM 

They were finally at the hospital and Chaerin was feeling confident that they got to be there. They got checked in and were told what room to go to. Chaerin was having contractions then. She had told Jiyong that she was going to go natural, maning no epidurals. 

"Practice your breathing," Jiyong ordered causing Chaerin to smile. She would've slapped him right there but he was caring for her so she'd give him that. 

"I can't think right now," Chaerin giggled.

3:00 AM 

"I love you!" Jiyong said. He was attempting to cheer her up and try to get her mind away from the pain.

"I love you too." Chaerin said. "I'm more than half way,"

"More than half way?" Jiyong questioned.

"More than half way dilated." Chaerin repeated. 

"We're close . . ." Jiyong smiled.

Chaerin returned his smile. "Very close,"

"You can do this. You're going to be strong. I know you are." Jiyong encouraged her. Chaerin simply nodded her head. "Hey, baby, children in the backseat can cause accidents, accidents in the backseat can cause children."

Chaerin took a deep breath and laid her head against the soft pillow. 

"No? Too late for jokes?" Jiyong asked, disappointed. He ran his hand through his light brown hair. If he had to be honest, he was drained. He looked like a ghost. His skin was pale, he had bags under his dark eyes, he didn't shave the bits of facial hair showed on his face (he doesn't have a beard or moustache but some hairs do grow), it was hard for him to open his eyes and he wished he had also slept before coming. Overall his handsome trita and figures, his face that made people stop in their tracks, his face that shows he can look after his woman and his face that shows care and comfort, his slender but not too muscular body, just enough where he can pack a punch, were all down the toilet. But Chaerin didn't look any better than he did. She also had bags under her eyes, her golden hair wasn't glowing anymore, her tan skin was becoming paler, and her cat like eyes were movin everywhere. 

Jiyong started to massage Chaerin on her back and later he started to fan her because she had told him she was too hot. 

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