Entering the room, Seong Kyung spotted her sister, who was lying on her bed to rest. With an enormous smile plastered on her face, Ji Hyo had her eyes fixated on her phone screen that displayed the following message:

From: Gary Oppa

Ji Hyo-yah, thank you for the birthday wish! I can't believe that you still remember my birthday after all this while! Is the news that you're getting married to Jong Kook hyung true? If it is so, congratulations!

Realising that her sister had paid no attention to her presence in the room due to her lack of reaction, Seong Kyung exclaimed, “Unnie, breakfast is ready!”, in which she received a half-hearted comment from her sister, “That’s fast.”

Impishly, Seong Kyung pried, “Unnie, why are you smiling so widely?”, where Ji Hyo shifted to set her gaze on her.

Thinking that her sister prompted her to continue, Seong Kyung guessed, “Did Jong Kook oppa texted you on how to resolve the news together?”

Hearing the mentioned name, Ji Hyo felt as if an added weight was placed on her chest, causing her shoulders to paralyse on its spot. Feeling cornered, hesitating, she averted her gaze with her sister. When she had successfully mustered her courage by overcoming her momentarily hesitation, instead of lying down, she sat on her bed.

“No, it’s not that,” she denied, yet an evident smile escaped her lips when she questioned, “Do you remember Kang Gary?”

“Who wouldn’t? He was the other half of Running Man’s Monday Couple with Unnie. Besides, he had recently returned to the television industry!” Seong Kyung exclaimed enthusiastically.

Synchronising to her sister’s enthusiasm, with a wide smile on her face, Ji Hyo nodded vigorously, “Yes, That’s right! And, guess what?”

“What?”

Not bothering to guess, Seong Kyung prompted her sister, in which her sister beamed heartily, “Gary oppa had finally texted me after all these years!”

“Oh, right! After getting married, he had disappeared by cutting his contact with all of you. But why would he suddenly text you though?” Seong Kyung asked.

Being caught off guard by her sister’s question, Ji Hyo explained, “It’s his birthday today and I had wished him happy birthday at midnight.”

“I see… But unnie, shouldn’t you say that he had finally replied to your message after all these years?” Seong Kyung corrected.

“It’s just a change of a word, is there any difference?” Ji Hyo asked.

“There is!” Seong Kyung insisted, “So, what did he reply you on?”

“Other than thanking me for wishing him a happy birthday, like everyone else, he asked if Jong Kook oppa and I are really getting married or not,” Ji Hyo struggled to keep her pitch together so that her sister would not realise the sudden deflation of her voice.

“You’re really getting married, right? You have to visit my wedding boutique with Jong Kook oppa soon! I will provide you with the best package we ever offer! When are you getting married anyway?”

Biting her lower lip, Ji Hyo couldn’t believe that her sister was extremely excited about her marriage, that she was defeated by her sister’s overwhelming enthusiasm.

Not wanting to burst the younger woman’s bubble, Ji Hyo shrugged, “We have yet to pick a date,” swiftly changing the topic, she asked, “What’s for breakfast anyway?”

“You should pick the date soon! I will pass you a calendar later for you to choose an auspicious date!” Seong Kyung flashed her gummy smile as she nudged her sister to leave her bed.

With that, the sisters headed to their dining area, hand-in-hand.

“Noona, are you feeling better now?” Seong Moon asked in concern as they take their seats respectively by the dining table, in which Ji Hyo nodded.

Before the family started digging in their meal, the overpowering scent of the food caused Ji Hyo to feel nauseated yet again. Ignoring the concerned looks that her family members cast on her, with a hand cupping , she dashed to the nearest toilet to vomit.

Realising that her family members were exchanging quizzical looks with each other, on behalf of Ji Hyo, Seong Kyung filled in her sister’s condition to the rest of the family, “Unnie is not feeling well. She had been vomiting since last night.”

Concerned, Father Cheon asked, “Seong Kyung, what happened to your unnie?”

“She suspected that she is suffering from food poisoning,” Seong Kyung answered.

“What did she even eat?” Seong Moon asked curiously.

“She suspected that it may be due to some of the food that she had with Jong Kook oppa yesterday,” Seong Kyung replied.

“This is ridiculous! Is she suffering from an occupational disease? I can’t believe that she’s even acting at home,” Mother Cheon remarked, in which garnered sceptical looks from the family.

Returning to her seat, Ji Hyo couldn’t believe that she had overheard the ridiculous accusation her mother had uttered. Taking her seat, she raised her voice at her mother, “Omma!”

“What?!” As if it doesn’t concern her, Mother Cheon shrugged before continuing the fire of her sarcastic remarks, “Are you even sick? Are you sure that you are not vomiting because you had drunk too much last night?”

Unable to stand her mother’s overboard behaviour, taking her sister’s side, Seong Kyung defended, “Omma, unnie hadn’t been feeling well since yesterday. She didn’t even join us to drink. Only Seong Moon and I drank last night!”

Knowing that his involvement would help her eldest sister, Seong Moon nodded his head instantly at the mention of his name.

“Seong Kyung, you don’t have to side your unnie just because she is older than you! She’s an actress! For all you know, she is acting that she’s sick to gain sympathy from us. By doing so, she thinks that she wouldn’t need to explain to us with regards on why she kept us in the dark with her marriage news!” Mother Cheon retorted.

Despite hearing her mother’s sarcastic remarks since young, the accusation that her mother labelled her with, still hurt her heart, nevertheless. Like a sword which is capable of causing harm, the words that were uttered by her mother seemed to stab deep into the depths of her heart, paralysing her. Being an actress maybe her occupation, but she wouldn’t act or pretend to people whom she called her family.

“Quiet!”

Her father’s booming voice echoed through the walls of the apartment. Following the call of attention, a pin drop silence invaded thereafter.

After the successful attempt in getting the attention of everyone by the dining table, he broke the silence with an instruction, “Seong Kyung, bring your sister to the clinic after breakfast. We have to know what caused her to be sick.”

Abiding by his instructions, Seong Kyung nodded, “Yes Appa.”

“Good. Now, let’s eat,” He commanded, shifting himself to cast a firm gaze at his wife’s direction to emphasize his point, “Let’s eat this breakfast quietly,” in which she could reluctantly nod.

Hearing her father’s instructions, Ji Hyo was relieved that her father aided her from the stabbing remarks made by her mother. As such during the long-awaited quiet breakfast that the Cheon family had, Ji Hyo was blessed to be in the centre of her father’s protection.

If it wasn’t for that protection, she swore that her mother would relentlessly continue to nag at her with her stinging comments. After knowing her mother for forty years, she knew that her mother had no sympathy for her, be it due to her lack of appetite or her battle with her nausea, throughout the meal, her mother had persistently sent her threatening glares.

When Ji Hyo observed that Seong Kyung had finally finished her meal in the dreadful atmosphere, she couldn’t be happier. Instantly, she used her sister to bail her out of the house.

-

In a nearby clinic, the Cheon sisters were seated while waiting for Ji Hyo’s name to be called to notify that it is her turn for the doctor’s consultation.

Glancing at the clinic’s clock to tell the time, she realised that it was time that her sister should leave for work, Ji Hyo nudged, “Kyung, you should go to work soon! You don’t have to accompany me to wait for the doctor, I can manage!”

“Unnie, before I am the owner of my wedding boutique, I am your sister. Doesn’t that mean that I have to be here for you? Until I ensure that I have safely sent you back home to rest after visiting the doctor, there’s no way I’m going to work!” Seong Kyung persuaded.

“Kyung,” Ji Hyo called out firmly at her sister’s stubbornness.

“Unnie, please! Besides, I have to be accountable to Appa’s instructions! If I don’t do as what he had instructed, you know how Appa is and I would be in trouble! You wouldn’t want me to be in trouble because of you, right?” Seong Kyung explained, in which Ji Hyo surrendered by nodding her head reluctantly.

“Cheon Soo Yeon,” The nurse called out.

Ji Hyo ears perked when she heard her name being called, in which she tugged her sister’s wrist, “Kyung-ah let’s go!”

“Oh, I almost forgot that you have changed your legal name, Soo Yeon-ssi,” Seong Kyung commented, teasingly.

“Come on Kyung-ah,” Ji Hyo nudged her sister yet again, in which Seong Kyung willingly trailed behind her.

After the exchange of greetings with the doctor, by the doctor’s request, Ji Hyo sat down on the empty seat before him while Seong Kyung stood behind Ji Hyo.

“Cheon Soo Yeon-ssi, what can I help you with today?” Calling out the name as reflected from his computer screen, the doctor queried.

Before Ji Hyo could even answer, her sister beat her to answer, “Unnie hadn’t been feeling well!”

After taking a quick glance at Seong Kyung, in which he nodded at, the doctor turned back to Ji Hyo and prompted, “What symptoms are you suffering from?”

“I have been feeling nauseous and vomiting since yesterday. I believe that I’m suffering from food poisoning,” Ji Hyo recounted.

“Yeah, unnie didn’t even join us to drink soju last night. She felt nauseous just from the scent of it!” Seong Kyung whined.

Upon hearing Seong Kyung’s whining, in embarrassment, shaking her head, Ji Hyo covered her face with her palm.

Raising a brow, the doctor questioned as he fidgeted by spinning his pen with his nimble fingers, “What other symptoms do you experience? Do you feel more fatigue recently?”

Being pulled out of her trance, Ji Hyo nodded her head and explained, “I tend to require a lot of sleep. But recently, no matter how much I sleep, I still feel lethargic.”

Still spinning his pen around his fingers as he listened to her, he was deep in thought. As if he had found the possible missing puzzle piece, with his lighted up eyes, he asked, “May I ask when your last period was?”

Furrowing her brows at the seemingly irrelevant question, Ji Hyo replied, “Last week, why?”

“Was there anything unusual about it?”

“The period was much lighter than usual.”

“As in the blood is only present when you wipe it, right?”

Covering her ajar mouth with her hand, she nodded her head.

Passing her a urine test kit, he instructed, “I would require you to do a urine test to confirm my diagnosis.”

After a while, Ji Hyo returned to the doctor and passed the sealed transparent bag that contained the test stick.

Taking a quick glance at the stick, with an unreadable face, he announced, “Congratulations, you’re pregnant!”

Despite feeling that the doctor was professional, Ji Hyo couldn’t believe her ears on the words that he had uttered.

Was there a mistake in the diagnosis?

At that moment, time seemed like it had suddenly come to a halt. With her raised brows, her eyes were trembling as her jaw hung in mid-air. As a wave of giddiness hit her, she brought her shaky hand over to her forehead as she enabled a trembling gasp escaped her lips, “What?!”

“What!?”

If it wasn’t for her ears which had perked up by the other, all-too-familiar voice, that echoed within the doctor’s room, Ji Hyo had almost forgotten the fact that she wasn’t alone with the doctor.

Due to her belated realisation, she found her eyes widened in dread.

Why is Seong Kyung here to witness this news? What am I supposed to do?!

-

Due to the revelation of the astonishing news by the doctor, instead of heading home directly, Ji Hyo found herself settled in a café with her sister. As her sister volunteered to order drinks for them, Ji Hyo was left alone seated in the café’s armchair.

With her back arched forward, she placed her left palm on her forehead, which she set the weight of her head. Her right palm s its way to rub her nape, hoping to relieve some form of the tension of her intensely burdened mind. Not only was she becoming burdened by stress, she felt sicker than ever as waves after waves of giddiness hit her again and again, while her stomach felt like it was flipping around, causing her to feel queasier than ever. Clotted with infinite thoughts, the accidental harsh placement of the café mugs caused Ji Hyo to jump out slightly in her seat pulling her back to reality.

Biting her lips at her mistake for causing her elder sister to flinch, Seong Kyung struck a conversation, “Unnie, I got hot chocolate for you! It should be warm enough to soothe your emotions.”

Disheartened that her sister failed to remember her favourite café drink, she questioned, “Why didn’t you get me my favourite iced americano instead?”

“Unnie, you should really cut down your caffeine intake from today onwards! You’re pregnant,” Seong Kyung reminded exasperatedly, crossing both her arms and legs together.

“Ah… Right,” Frowning at the reminder, Ji Hyo pulled the mug of hot chocolate towards her.

Despite having her sister seated before her, her mind was still kept occupied by the bombardment of her thoughts. Rather than drinking her hot chocolate, she was mindless stirring her drink.

Realising that her sister was still lost in her own world, after taking a sip of her caramel macchiato, Seong Kyung called out, grabbing her sister’s attention, “Unnie!”

While keeping her head still, her eyes sent a sidelong glance at her sister. Raising her head slightly, Ji Hyo prompted her sister to continue.

Rather than drawing to random conclusions by mere assumptions, like their mother, Seong Kyung had learnt the hard way and preferred to ask instead. After taking in a deep breath, Seong Kyung phrased her question cautiously, “The child is Jong Kook oppa’s, right?”

Cornered by the question, Ji Hyo felt a shivering sensation trembled down her spine, which caused froze her in her seat. Averting her gaze from her sister’s orbs, in which she stared at the café’s ceiling lights instead, she shifted around her seat uneasily. Frustrated that her sister’s question was so direct, her left hand pushed her hair backwards while her right hand pinched her thigh as discretely as possible.

Do I tell her the truth?

her parched lips slightly, she squeezed her brows together. Her chest tightened upon the realisation that she was trapped. She had no way out. After much hesitation, she bit her lower lip slightly as she nodded. Pressing her lips so hard that they became almost a thin line, she glanced at her sister’s reaction uneasily.

Clasping her hands together, Seong Kyung squealed, “I knew it!”, in which Ji Hyo forced a smile.

After all these years of being with her sister, Seong Kyung could easily see through the forged façade put on by her sister, in which she questioned, “Unnie, are you not happy that you are pregnant? Now that Jong Kook oppa had already proposed to you and you are expecting his child, why are you in a distress?”

“Kyung, it’s not that,” Ji Hyo paused, taking a sip of her hot chocolate as she attempted to find words to explain her stance, “It’s just that… I didn’t expect this…” her words trailed off along with her gaze.

“It sure is unexpected! Earlier this morning, I just found out that you will be getting married and I was so excited to plan your wedding! But now, with the baby on the way, I couldn’t be more excited to wait for his or her arrival already!” Seong Kyung beamed.

“Kyung-ah, now with this baby on the way, I’m stressed. What will happen to my career? I have accepted a drama that would start filming very soon, I couldn’t withdraw from it this last minute! And, what if the world thinks that Jong Kook oppa and I got married due to a