The July/August rain season in South Korea had hit hard and fast. The air was thick and hot, and the humidity was next to unbearable. The rain had been constant for six straight days, but finally the sun had shown itself, peeking out from behind the heavy curtain of clouds.

 

Most members of the group had individual schedules—Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung had spent most of the day in the studio, while Momo, Sana, Mina and Tzuyu were at an event representing the foreign members of the group—but Dahyun had stayed behind at the dorm.

 

12355. had just entered her eighth month of pregnancy, and she was having a difficult time staying on her feet for any length of time. The thought of being hounded by Dispatch and various paparazzi as soon as she stepped out of the house was not exactly enticing her to get out and face the world outside of the condominium.

 

The company had done a good enough job of protecting her privacy the best they could, but they couldn’t stop everyone.

 

Jeongyeon, ever the worried unnie, decided to leave the studio early, wanting to check on the younger member, making sure she wasn’t alone at the dorm for too long. She walked inside, pulling her hair back into a sweaty ponytail. "Hey, it’s me,” She called out, surprised to see the front room empty. “You still here, Dahyunie?"

 

"I'm back here!" A familiar voice called out from the bedroom at the end of the hall.

 

Jeongyeon made her way to the room, opening the door to find Dahyun, sitting teary eyed in front of the circulating fan.

 

"Hey unnie," Dahyun said, quickly wiping her eyes and forcing a smile. “How was recording?”

 

"What's wrong?" Jeongyeon asked, ignoring Dahyun’s question and sitting beside her on the bed.

 

"You're going to laugh at me." Dahyun replied, hoping that Jeongyeon would leave the issue alone.

 

"No," Jeongyeon said, "just tell me. I promise I won't laugh."

 

"It's stupid," Dahyun sighed, warm tears running down her cheek despite her best efforts to maintain composure. "It's probably just hormones. It's not a big deal. I’ll be okay, I promise, unnie."

 

"If it matters to you it isn't stupid. Just tell me Dahyunie," Jeongyeon says, linking her fingers with Dahyun’s.

 

"Eomma and appa sent me a picture from their trip," Dahyun answered—her parents were away on a two week vacation to Bangkok. "And it made me start craving chicken skewers."

 

Jeongyeon stifled a chuckle.

 

"I told you you would laugh." Dahyun said, pushing Jeongyeon’s arm with force.

 

"I’m sorry. I’m not laughing because it’s stupid, I promise," Jeongyeon replied in defense. "It's just that we can call Momo and have them pick some up on their way home from their event today. I’ve never seen you cry over a craving before though," Jeongyeon’s smile widened as she tried to lighten the mood.

 

"I mean, I know that they can pick up food for me," Dahyun rolled her eyes. "It’s not that. It’s just...I can't go out and get them for myself. Not without everyone staring and taking pictures. I'm the biggest scandal in Korean pop music, didn't you know? I just want to be able to go out, stand in line and get a fresh, hot, chicken skewer from a street vendor without it being a trending topic."

 

"Who cares if it’s a trending topic?" Jeongyeon replied. "Ignore all of that. Let's go. Me and you."

 

"Very funny, unnie," Dahyun forced a smile, but there was still an underlying sadness in her tone.

 

"I'm not kidding," Jeongyeon stands up, holding her hand out to help Dahyun get up from her seated position. "Come on, I'll drive. JeongDah chicken skewer adventure."

 

...

 

The streets weren’t terribly busy on this Friday afternoon, and Jeongyeon and Dahyun were both thankful for that.

 

Unfortunately, the heat was still an issue.

 

"It's nice to see the sun out at least," Dahyun noted as she pulled her dark locks of hair into a messy bun. "It would be a lot nicer without having to carry all of this around." She gestured to herself, resting a hand on her bump.

 

"Just think though," Jeongyeon walked along side of Dahyun, linking arms with the younger girl. "When she's older we can have pool parties for her birthday. She’ll love it. I always wanted to have a summer birthday."

 

(Throwing birthday parties for her daughter.

 

That concept somehow didn’t seem real yet, even though it was quite obvious that she didn’t have much longer before the girl made her way into the world.)

 

"I hadn't even thought about birthday parties." Dahyun sighed, leaning her head on Jeongyeon's arm as they walked down the street.

 

When they finally made it to the food district, Jeongyeon couldn't help but notice the familiar clicking sound of cameras shuttering around them.

 

"Ignore them," Jeongyeon said, noticing Dahyun shrink slightly, trying to make herself less of an easy target for their photos. "We are here on a mission, remember? Eye on the prize, Dubu."

 

Dahyun smiled slightly, a protective hand lingering over her abdomen.

 

Jeongyeon hated seeing how distressed Dahyun looked, knowing that people were speculating and talking about a deeply personal situation that they knew nothing about, especially because Dahyun had been quite the ham in front of the camera before the assault happened.

 

Making a statement, Jeongyeon squatted down in front of the younger girl, placing both hands on either side of the bump.

 

"You are very popular, you know?" She wasn't expecting an answer of course, but she started a conversation nonetheless. She looked up to Dahyun, "Let them take pictures. I'm not ashamed of spending time with my sister and my niece." She placed a quick kiss on the stretched fabric of Dahyun's t-shirt and stood back up. "Now then, I believe we have some skewers to eat."

 

The two of them walked arm and arm to the street vendors stand.

 

"Two dakkochi please." The delicious smell of grilled chicken was almost overwhelming as Jeongyeon handed the woman payment.

 

The tiny, older woman handed them back three skewers, smiling.

 

"Oh, we only ordered two." Dahyun held up her finger in a V shape.

 

"Yes, I know. The third one is for a growing baby." The women's kind smile reached the edges of her cheeks, her eyes almost disappearing in a squint.

 

"Kamsahamnida." The two of them bowed in thanks as they walked away from the stand.

 

Dahyun took a bite of the meat, laughing as the sauce managed to make its way across her chin.

 

"Daebak," a small moan of pleasure escaped , before it turned into a small groan of pain. She placed her free hand on her bump, rubbing comforting circles.

 

"What's wrong? Don't tell me she doesn't like the chicken?" A cheeky grin crossed Jeongyeon's face.

 

"Mm-mm." Dahyun shook her head back and forth, exhaling. "Contraction."

 

Jeongyeon's eyes must have turned big as dinner plates, because Dahyun quickly amended her statement.

 

"They aren't real contractions, just Braxton Hicks. Don't worry unnie, she has to stay put at least until me and Momo finish choreographing for the single." Dahyun chuckled, taking another large bite of the chicken. "She really does like the chicken though. It’s exactly what we were wanting. We should get a few more for the ride home."

 

Jeongyeon smiled, obliging as she walked back to the food cart, money in hand.

 

After this, they went home, sweaty, tired, and very much satisfied. It was safe to say that JeongDah’s chicken skewer adventure was a success.