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Namjoo didn’t lay down. Instead they cuddled together on the couch under a blanket with the TV blaring. Except they weren’t really watching television either. They just needed some noise to filter out the gloom.

Ideally, maybe they would still be at his mother’s. They’d be stealing turns holding the ultrasound picture. Coming up with names for their daughter. Sharing baby stories. Laughing and chattering away.

Realistically, he and Namjoo were sitting together indulging in the heavy silence. Knowing they still had problems needed fixing.

“Mina never liked my mom,” Jongin confessed playing with her hair.

“I can understand why,” Namjoo sympathized with her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t think Mina was interested in having kids,” Jongin went on, “and it’s all my mom talks about.”

“I’ve noticed,” Namjoo said further curling up against him. Wrapping her hand around his arm she sank in the warmth he provided. The stealth of his body and the comfort of his shoulder. Letting all of him be her source of strength. “I’m not mad, Jongin.”

“But it’s frustrating.”

“Ok, I admit. It is,” Namjoo gave in. “She just…she just grew up in a different time. When values were different, you know. I understand where she’s coming from. I thought about marriage the same way; that it should be the start of everything. It’s respectable, sacred. Important. I used to think marriage should be the end of the journey. That…that there’s a system to follow. You date, fall in love, get engaged, then marriage. But we didn’t do that, so I understand why she’s upset. We messed it up.”

“That does sound like something she would have wanted,” Jongin agreed. He hesitated then said, “Are you saying I should be ashamed?”

“What?!” she exclaimed lifting her head up to look at him. Then giggling, “Maybe.”

Jongin playfully pinched her making her squirm. Scooting back, she snatched the couch pillow and tossed it at him in retaliation. Instead of lifting his arms to block it he let it hit him full on and laughed amused. Making a face at him Namjoo threw over the blanket and stalked off to the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Jongin called out.

“I’m going to take a nap. And don’t follow me!”

Quickly turning the television off he quickly jogged after her. Racing past her and jumping onto the bed, like a child. Flipping onto his side he patted the empty spot beside him with a flirty grin.

“Come, come,” he urged impishly.

Making a haughty expression Namjoo climbed onto the bed and laid down with her back to him. Listening to him whine, “Really?”

A frisky grin slid across her lips as he scooted closer wrapping his arm around her. Several minutes of peace wafted throughout the room. Closing her eyes Namjoo awaited sleep. Thought Jongin would have fallen asleep, but then his hand shifted over her belly and her eyes opened.

“Did you feel that?” he asked. He laughed cheerily. “The baby kicked.”

Smiling widely, she said, “I did.”

Jongin let out another excited yelp upon another thump. “She did it again!”

“Thanks you two, now I can’t sleep,” Namjoo grumbled.

“Just wait and see how horrible we can be when she gets here,” Jongin cheekily teased.

“You are going to be such a bad father,” Namjoo muttered only to receive his happy laugh.

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Day one passed. Then day two. Before it became a few days. She hadn’t heard anything from Seojun. No lunch visits. She wondered if she had hurt him more than pissed him off. There wasn’t even a phone call from him.

She and Jongin spent their regular evenings together. Eating and relaxing for the evening. Sometimes they’d just go lay in bed and talk about future maybes. Move from here for a bigger, better place. Somewhere safe where a baby could grow up. Where there were friendly parent neighbors who would gather at the nearby playground to chat. Help watch each other’s kids. It was always helpful to have another eye since neither she or Jongin had any siblings.

They talked about working hard. Saving up. To make the best of their future. Like they were doing now. Making the best of their present. Then that was that.

Jongin called his mom several times. They only ended up bickering over the phone. She was still upset. Still didn’t want to see them. Days turned into a week.

Then finally one day after work Namjoo went shopping. Her next doctor appointment was coming up. Before the next ultrasound she wanted to see Jongin’s mother. She was worried about her.

Old or young, everyone got upset. It didn’t matter if it was about the pettiest thing. What mattered now was that Jongin’s mother was the only family member he had left. If he wanted to protect her over the expense of their promise over an impulsive marriage, she didn’t want to be the cause of their sour relationship.

She may not be the inclusive daughter-in-law to be as she had been to Seojun’s mother, but from what she’d gathered from the moments shared with Jongin’s mother Namjoo saw that she doted on her son. Her only child. The only one she had left. Namjoo thought she would feel the same way towards her daughter.

It was silly. This thing about humans to do the right thing. That there was an order in life. Getting an education, going to college, getting a degree, and landing a nice job. Starting a job at entry level and climbing the way up the ladder to a high position. From people meeting, dating, breaking up. To dating again, getting engaged, and then married. Having children, watching them grow, and then fly away.

It was silly that there had to be an order at all but yet it made sense. Probable sense.

She and Jongin were having a baby. Without the marriage part included. It wasn’t what Jongin’s mother had wanted. The thing with Seojun had more than likely thrown her off her guard even more. Thinking there was a possible chance that she would walk away with Jongin’s baby, but then Jongin’s mother didn’t know.

She didn’t know that neither she or her son had even dated. Known 1% about each other before deciding to screw up the entire rest of their lives with one night in a motel. It would break her heart that her son had done something like that, but that tail end of the story belonged to her and Jongin.

That because of this pregnancy she and Jongin had been forced to know each other. Though now Namjoo didn’t think there was much to regret.

Thanks to Jongin, thanks to Seojun Namjoo now knew she had looked upon marriage too lightly. Marriage wasn’t the end of a journey. Beyond that were more problems. Even more to learn about her partner, her partner’s family. Marriage wasn’t the equivalent of two people’s love. Marriage was more of a promise to strike future problems head on, whether it be inside or outside a union. For better or for worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health. Not happily ever afters.

Marriage wasn’t the true end game.

No, it did not end there.

What it was was putting her life in Jongin’s hands, Jongin’s life in her hands. To love and to cherish. Until death do they part.

So she had said they shouldn’t be impulsive. About trusting each other with their lives.

That was then.

When she barely knew him.

This was now.

When she loved Jongin. Not because of her high school fantasy of him.

Namjoo rang the bell.

Waited.

She was almost at the end of her second trimester. In some 21 weeks or less the baby would arrive. They had written a list of possible names together. Now the options were narrowed down to 10. Jongin had bought some extra set of clothes. A stack of diaper boxes was piled up in the corner of the living room almost towering over her. It was Jongin’s work of course.

“Surprise!” he had exclaimed with arms spread out when she walked into the apartment one late afternoon.

Namjoo had looked him dead on, because they were still in the process of moving her belongings from upstairs into his place. These days it felt like she was squeezing her cow size body around the house. Knocking into things.

Namjoo thought about telling his mother when she opened the door. Tell her that her son was excessively preparing for this baby. Why don’t you tell him to slow down?

Instead, Namjoo lifted the grocery bag in her hand and said, “I brought some food.”

“Come in,” his mother held the door for her. Namjoo immediately smelled food when she stepped in. The baby instinctively woke up, kicking her.

“Sorry, I came unannounced,” Namjoo started slipping out of her shoes. “Jongin is still at work, so I thought I would just drop by.”

“Come eat,” she said walking into the kitchen. Following Namjoo spotted a stewing pot of food on the stove. Felt her stomach gurgle again. Going to the bathroom later would be twice the work later. Damn baby.

Setting the grocery bag onto the table Namjoo watched his mother scoop up the soup into a bowl for her. Wondering if she had been lonely these days. More worried about what to call her. She had so comfortably called Seojun’s mom mother from the moment Seojun introduced her. From the start Namjoo had been immediately homey with Seojun’s parents. To impress them. To look good because she wanted to marry into the perfect family.

To Jongin’s mother she didn’t want to impress. Namjoo wanted to show she could, would be good. To her son. To her.

Wasn’t that what it was about? Joining a new family? Becoming a part of them? Proving yourself. Being respectable.

When the bowl landed on the table Namjoo, surprisingly, did not sit down to take a bite. Touching Jongin’s mother’s arm, she beckoned, “Sit down.”

Pulling the nearest chair out the woman settled on it. Pulling the ultrasound picture she’d come with she pulled over a chair to sit close by.

Grabbing her tiny wrinkled hands from years of hard-edged work, Namjoo placed the picture in her palms. “It’s a girl.”

Her eyes trickled down to the black and white photo longingly. Proud. Touched.

“Mother, if I can call you that,” Namjoo timidly said, “I love Jongin.”

She smiled when Jongin’s mother looked back at her still clinging tightly onto the picture.

“I was supposed to get married. I remember you knew that,” Namjoo carefully trotted on memory, “but then I met Jongin and we’re having a baby. I was rushing to get married before and I don’t want to make the same mistake. It hurt everyone and there were a lot of problems that I had to sort through.

“I know marriage is important to you. Jongin is your only son. I understand you’d want him to get married, have his own family, so that he looks good in the eyes of others. I’m sorry we didn’t do that. Things…happened, but when I think about marriage I really think it’s better not to rush it just because there is a baby on the way. I really want to make sure Jongin and I will be happy so that our daughter can grow up laughing instead of artificially smiling because of us.”

Namjoo folded her fingers around his mother’s. In hopes of showing a little more strength. Some more trust.

“I’ll marry Jongin,” Namjoo promised. “I do want to marry him. I want to be with him, but right now I want to focus on the baby. She’s almost here, you know? And it’s stressful and exciting getting ready for her that marriage is the last thing on our minds. That’s how I feel. I hope you can understand that.”

Smiling again, Namjoo said, “You can keep the picture, mother.”

֎֎֎֎֎

His phone rang. Without letting him answer his mother immediately said, “Lets go see your father next month. Pack your bags and extra food. Bring an extra pillow for Namjoo.”

“Next month?” Jongin repeated bewildered. He was in the checkout line at the grocery store and trying to dig out his wallet to pay.

“I’ll come over this weekend, so don’t go anywhere. Has Namjoo been drinking her tonic?”

“What tonic? Wait mom, I’m busy. I’ll call you back.” Jongin hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. Finally fishing out his card and handing it over with a sheepish smile.

The house was silent when he returned home. Carefully kicking the door close he placed the grocery bags onto the table and looked around for Namjoo. Further walking in he peered over the back of the couch to see her curled up under a blanket. God, he loved the sight of her. She made the world stop spinning underneath his feet righting everything into balance.

Stepping around the furniture he knelt in front of her. Adjusting the blanket over her. She slept more often these days. Closing her eyes wherever she sat and dozing off a second later. He thought it was so cute. Giving her a gentle peck he returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and if he was in the mood he’d make her do dishes afterwards.

As he got things going at the stove he thought about his mom. She had sounded quite calm through the phone but to suggest they go see his father meant she was no longer upset. He about peered behind him at Namjoo but then felt her arms glide around his body and press her head against his back.

“You’re noisy.” She drowsily told.

“I believe that’s the vent,” Jongin said and could imagine her smiling into his shirt.

“I went to see your mom.” She said.

“I realized,” Jongin said. “She called. Looks like you’ll be meeting the entire family next month.”

Namjoo lifted her head a little. “What?”

“She said to go see my dad next month,” Jongin further explained.

“Oh,” Namjoo settled her head against his back again. Laughing, she said, “I thought you meant everyone in your family.”

“Wake up, Namjoo,” he teased. He was even more elated when she laughed again.

He had heard that some pregnancies were horrible all throughout, so he was thankful Namjoo was taking it in happy little strides. They were lucky he felt, because Namjoo was still able to laugh and be herself. Despite the troubling times when she had needed to go to the hospital due to pain and bleeding. But they were making it. Their daughter was fighting through the difficult times and she’d be here in a few months.

They were lucky in so many ways.

֎֎֎֎֎

“Looks like you may have to keep cooking even when she comes,” Namjoo said stuffing herself after they set the table and sat down to enjoy the meal. He wasn’t surprised. There were less leftovers these days. Sometimes Namjoo woke up in the middle of the night to dig through the kitchen for something to eat. He’d wake up to her cooking an omelet or a grilled cheese sandwich. He was hardly surprised anymore with how much she ate.

“If you keep doing the dishes,” Jongin bargained placing more food onto her plate.

“If you want to feed.” She reached over to pinch his .

Jongin yelped. Placing a hand over his chest he looked at her bewildered. “I have nothing!”

Gleefully giggling, Namjoo continued chewing her food. Quickly slapping his hand away when he reached over to . Shrieking again when she reached over to pinch him in the same spot and not very gently either.

Jongin gathered the dishes to the sink as Namjoo finished the rest of dinner. They could end the night by showering together, but these days Namjoo didn’t want him in the bathroom with her anymore.

“Anyway, what did you talk about with my mom?” Jongin was curious. Grabbing an empty bowl from the table he set it into the sink.

“Not much.”

“What does ‘not much’ equate to?” Jongin turned around to look at her.

Setting her food down Namjoo picked up her plate and walked over. Looking up at him as she walked by. Saying nonchalantly, “Well, I said I love you.”

His head turned to follow her. “You what?” Befuddled he gasped, “You’re not lying? You really said that to her? Shouldn’t I be the first to hear that?”

Looking at him with a tiny smirk she gestured with her hand, “Your mother’s face lit up and…”

His fingers sunk into her soft hair as his palm settled into the back of her head. Jongin kissed her softly before letting her go. Listening to her gasp while his blood rushed, his heart hurdled and flew through the air like a circus acrobat. Not sure when he would be able to hear those words from her.

“You don’t have to be that emotional, do you?” Namjoo asked.

“I’m not emotional,” Jongin said, “I’m over the moon right now.”

Namjoo playfully hit him softly before they burst into laughter together.

***Sorry for the late update!!!!! I believe the next chapter will be the last of Mina and then I shall bring the story to a close finally!  

*** but see, Namjoo did the same thing Jongin did earlier ;))) she promised his mother she'd marry him and Jongin promised her father he'd marry her :D