February 2016

Her beauty was still evident despite exhaustion. Chae Won searched for the tiny figure she had been carrying in her womb for thirty nine months. She became tearful once he saw her little one being carried towards her. He was wonderful.

Few hours after giving birth, she woke up in her ward. She could barely remember what happened. After they took her child she probably passed out from exhaustion.

"Do you have a name for him?"

She searched for the owner of the voice. "Jung Soo" she said once she found him, "Moon Jung Soo."

Seung Joon smiled remembering something. "Jung Soo, wonderful name."

"He is."

"Congratulations~" Geun Young greeted lively but toned down her energy when she saw that Chae Won was not alone. Of course she knew she wouldn't.

She sat on the side of her bed after setting her things down on the sofa and the fruit basket on top of the table. The fruit basket had all the fruits Chae Won liked. It was decorated neatly and with a touch of baby breath flowers on random spots.

Geun Young automatically took Chae Won's hand on hers, rubbing it softly. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you," she said in tears.

"What's there to cry about when you just gave birth to a wonderful and strong child?"

"I'm just happy. I didn't know I could make it through..." there was a short pause before she continued, "especially knowing how bad I did all the time he was inside me."

"Yah!" Geun Young half-shouted at her. "You know you did better, you could've done worse but you didn't."

"Thanks to you guys."

"Come here," Geun Young pulled her gently for a hug as she soothed her back helping her calm down.

The morning after, her brother came to visit and they were the only ones in her ward. Her parents had gone back to her place after getting her all that she needed. It was her brother's turn to look after her.

"So, what now?" He asked earnestly. His voice sounded stern.

Chae Won crinkled.

"What about the father?"

She sighed heavily. "Can we not talk about this now? Giving birth is already draining enough."

"Noona, you know you can't keep pushing this topic aside."

A silent knock interrupted their conversation. Both of them turned their eyes to the door that slowly opened.

"Did I come in the wrong time?"

"No it's okay," said her brother.

Seung Joon neared Chae Won and checked for her IV. "I just came to check on you, do you need anything?"

Chae Won pressed a thin smile as she shook her head no.

There was silence.

"The registration form will be here soon."

"Who's family name are you letting Jung Soo use?" Asked her brother.

There was a pregnant silence. They could see she was re-evaluating her decision.

Seung Joon looked at her sincerely, "I've said this already, you know you could use mine."

May 2021

Bright lights were flashing from the group of crowds on each side of the red c