I sighed heavily as I closed my eyes and leaned back on my chair. I’ve been working on my computer for hours now. Byul and Hyejin didn’t need my help in the bar yet so I’ve been stuck in my office since this lunch. I’m still halfway done with work but I’m already exhausted. Also, I’m very distracted lately, which slowed down my pace in working.

I pushed myself off my chair and turned off the lights. Then I headed to the couch, kicked off my shoes, and laid down before I closed my eyes. I curled up on the couch and made myself comfortable. After a few minutes, I laid on my back and stared at the ceiling of my office, unable to sleep because of the running thoughts in my head.

There’s the thing about Yongsun and her attraction to men only. It’s in my head but right now, it’s actually the thought that doesn’t linger much. There’s also the thought of Yongsun thinking that I’m the most kind and selfless person she has ever met.

I closed my eyes and groaned, feeling guilty about it. I’m not kind. I’m not selfless. In fact, I’m probably the most selfish person she’d ever met.

What lingers the most in my head was when she told me about the kind of treatment she received and the kind of words she’d hear because she’s pregnant and the father of her baby is not around. The look of that guy when he shook his head disapprovingly at Yongsun. The way he looked at her like she disgusted him so much. Yongsun never did anything wrong. She wasn’t reckless and immoral. She wasn’t all of those things that the people say around her.

I closed my eyes and groaned loudly as I rubbed my palms on the sides of my face, calming myself down. She looked so devastated when she said that to me and I don’t like how she felt so hopeless that time. I sighed heavily as I cupped my own cheeks and pouted at the ceiling. At least she has friends with her at work. They’d help her and be her emotional support there.

I sat up and grabbed my phone on the table when an idea struck me. I dialled a number and bit my bottom lip as I listened to the ringing on the other end of the call. It didn’t even reach up to three rings when the call connected right away.

“Sweetie, hello!”

I smiled as I closed my eyes and leaned back when I heard the excited voice of my Mom. “Hello, Mom. How are you?”

“I’m doing good, Whee. What do you need?”

I pouted and furrowed my eyebrows even when she couldn't see me right now. “Why do you sound like I only called you because I needed something?” I whined at her while I heard her soft chuckles, making me smile right away.

“Don’t you need something from me?”

I sighed heavily before I mumbled, “I do…”

Mom laughed out loud. As much as I wanted to be grumpy, her laugh and mine are so similar. They’re both contagious and loud. I couldn’t help but smile and laughed softly when I heard her laugh.

Suddenly, I heard the faint voice of Dad, making me smile even wider.

“Yeah… Come here. She called me just now” Mom said, her voice sounded farther than earlier like she pulled the phone away from to talk to Dad.

I laid back down again and relaxed as I heard shuffling on their end. I smiled and waited for them while I could hear them trying to figure out which one’s the loudspeaker button. Both of them might not have been wearing their glasses right now. I chuckled softly when I could hear them arguing softly when they got confused about the loudspeaker and mute button.

“Wheein, are you still there?” Mom asked after a few seconds.

“Sweetie! Hi!” Dad’s excited voice boomed in my ear next, making me flinch as I pulled the phone away from my ear because of how loud his voice was.

I chuckled softly as I whispered, “Hi, Dad. You don’t need to shout at me. You almost made me deaf from that one.

“I just miss you”

“I missed you too. I missed you both. Am I on loudspeaker now? Can you hear me both?”

“Yes” the both said at the same time, making me smile so wide.

“How are you? I’m sorry I couldn’t visit as much as I can” I whispered softly, slightly pouting as I fidgeted with a button on my shirt.

“It’s okay… We know how busy you are. Your sister doesn’t even call or visit us here” Dad complained while I laughed when he sounded like a kid from that.

“She’s definitely way busier than I am. She could barely drop me a text these days”

“She drops you a text? She never even sent us a text. I have to talk with that woman after this” Dad complained some more.

“Give her some break. You know how she doesn’t want to be disturbed when she’s dealing with a case. I’m sure she’s just busy” Mom scolded Dad, making me laugh at them again.

“A simple dot will do. At least I know she’s alive”

“We can see her on TV sometimes. However, this young woman here only calls us when she needs something. We couldn’t see her on TV. We don’t know how she’s doing. She doesn’t even check on us anymore” Mom said, scolding me this time while I stopped laughing and pouted again.

My older sister is a famous defense attorney, which explains why Mom and Dad could see her on TV sometimes. She’d be featured on TV with some of her cases that involved people with high profiles or even famous celebrities. She doesn’t defend the celebrities and those with high profiles though. She defends those who are victims of those people who are wrongly accused. She’s always busy because of how many clients would line up to have her defend them and are willing to pay a lot so she’ll represent them.

“I’m sorry… I’m also busy too. At least I called you, right?”

“That’s not an excuse, Jung Wheein”

“Mom…” I whined before I silently groaned. This would have been much easier if they’re in front of me. My dimple and my pout could easily win her heart. With just my whines, it’s ineffective against my mother.

“Don’t scold her, honey. At least she called us”

I heard Dad whisper, making me instantly smile. Dad would always be on my side and Mom would always be on my older sister’s side, which is kind of ironic but that’s how they roll. Dad is a er for my whines and Mom is a er for my older sister’s frustrated stomps and sighs.

“Fine…” Mom sighed, making me silently chuckle. “What do you need?”

“Can I talk alone with you for this one? Is that okay, Dad?” I softly whispered.

“Yup!” Dad answered right away, making me smile again. “Call us more frequently, Wheein. A visit couldn’t hurt you. Tell your sister to visit us too. You can convince her more than her own parents”

“I’ll tell her. I’ll try to visit and call you two more often. I’m just really busy these days”

“It’s okay, sweetie. Old people understood you”

“We’re not that old yet!” Mom argued before I heard what seemed to be a hand smacking an arm.

“Oww… I was just joking” Dad whispered but still laughing out loud. “I love you, Wheein. Call us soon”

“I love you too, Dad”

I heard shuffling on their end and waited for Mom to turn the loudspeaker off. There’s more shuffling and movements on her end before I heard a door opening and closing. More movements on her end again before they all faded.

“What’s wrong?” Mom whispered softly, sounding different than earlier from her worry.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted you to ask a question”

“Well… This must have been bothering you so much that you called me”

“It does…” I sighed heavily before I sat up. I lifted my legs on the couch and hugged them before I leaned my chin on my knees. “When you were pregnant with me…”

“Are you pregnant?!”

“What?! No!” I denied right away, shaking my head vigorously while I frowned at the floor since I couldn’t look at her.

She sighed heavily on her end before she whispered, “I thought I’ll be having my own grandchild soon”

“What? I thought you were worried that I was… I guess I misinterpreted your exclaims with worry”

Mom chuckled before she sighed heavily. “Your Dad and I just missed you and your sister being so young. Now look at you both, managing your own careers. Old people missed those times when their kids are still so young”

“I thought you’re not yet old” I said teasingly.

“Don’t tell your Dad about that” she whispered, sighing heavily while I laughed softly.

“Is that why you spent so much time with us when we were young?”

“Of course. If we didn’t, we would have regretted it now.” She took a pause before she whispered, “Is Yong pregnant?”

Yong is how I referred to Yongsun and Yongkeey when I talk to my parents. They don’t know that one of the Yongs I told them is a dog and one is a grown up woman. When I talked about Yongkeey, I’ll just tell them that she’s excited or that she makes me feel excited. There’s really no reference about a dog when I talked about Yongkeey to them. They also somehow figured out that there’s more than one person I referred to as Yong. They just don’t know that I have loved one of the Yongs for a long time now. I think they figured out that I have deep affections to Yong but they don’t know it exactly.

I sighed heavily again before I whispered, “When you got pregnant with me, was it difficult that my biological father wasn’t around? Were people being mean to you?”

“I see…” she whispered before she sighed heavily. “Is the father not around?”

“No…” I whispered. Like Hyejin, Mom knows that I’m consulting these things with her because it has something to do with me or with Yong. “They got engaged but they broke it off and he married a different person. Now, she’s carrying their child by herself”

“But you’re helping?”

“I am. I just couldn’t fill in the role of the father. It’s different”

“It is…” Mom whispered before she sighed heavily.

She’s surprisingly cool about this compared to Hyejin. My sister would definitely not like this. She knows about Yongsun and that I have fallen in love with her. That I have loved her from afar for years now. She doesn’t like it and would surely be mad if she’d hear about me helping Yongsun with her pregnancy.

“I have your grandmother’s help while you were still in my womb and when I gave birth to you. But it’s totally different if a husband or a father is there. There’s this stigma about single mothers back then…”

“Until now too…”

“She experienced that as well?”

“She does…” I whispered softly.

“There are names that the society places on women who are single mothers, but the thing that probably hurts the most is when they call you reckless and immoral. Maybe some are but not every single mother is reckless and immoral. Of course, not everyone thinks that way. Take your stepfather for example and your step sister too”

“But the general public thought you were reckless and immoral even when my biological father was the one that left you”

“They did…”

“How did you get over it?”

“Your Dad helped me a lot. He married me and became a father to you. He accepted us and I’m glad his own daughter accepted us too”

“Is that the only solution?” I whispered defeatedly.

“I think… You either find someone that would completely fill in that gap or fight those rumors with your head held high”

“Hmm…” I hummed in response as I nodded absentmindedly.

I couldn’t fill in that gap for Yongsun. I’m really desperate to do it but there are just things that I couldn’t do even if I exert my full capacity. I think Yongsun was fighting those rumors by herself, but she could get tired about it too. I won’t be able to help her if she suddenly chooses to give up.

“Whee…” Mom whispered softly. “You don’t need to be a father or a husband to fill in that gap. You can learn how to take care of a baby as well if you really wanted to help. You might not be able to completely fill that gap but having someone that will help her during the pregnancy and raising her child is sometimes enough too. I had your grandmother with me. I’m just very lucky that I met your Dad”

“Okay…” I whispered as I nodded my head.

“Having a baby is such a great responsibility. You have to learn a lot before the baby is born and learn along the way as well”

“Okay. Thank you, Mom. That helped a lot” I whispered as I moved out of the couch to sit behind my computer again. I guess I have to read and educate myself about dealing with a baby to help Yongsun.

“Wheein…”

I gulped hard when I heard her serious tone. I knew she was impossibly too cool about this. She was reserving the serious talk after all her advice and help.

“Mom…”

“Are you aware of what you are getting into if you’re getting involved in this?”

“I’m not getting involved, Mom. I’m just helping. Why do you always say that I’m getting involved?” I mumbled as I pouted at my computer.

“Did Hyejin say this to you too?”

“She did…”

“Well, she’s right. You’re getting involved already. Offering help is giving your service or resources to the ones in need”

“That’s what I’m doing” I whined softly.

“Getting involved means you are already taking part in the situation. You’re starting to have a deep connection with it. If your question has been bothering you for a long time now, then that alone tells you that you’re already getting involved with this”

“Is it wrong to do that?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it for as long as she allows you. I just want you to be fully aware of how serious this is. There’s a lot of things that a baby needs. It’s basically dependent on an adult so the baby needs to be watched over all the time. Are you aware of this?”

I gulped hard and shook my head, but she couldn’t see right now. She didn’t know about it. “I could learn this, right?”

“Wheein…”

“Mom… The baby we’ll be fine. I still have days to educate myself”

“I’m not worried about the baby. I’m worried about you”

“Why are you worried about me? Shouldn’t you be worried about the baby?”

She sighed heavily before she softly whispered, “What will happen to you if you get attached to the baby? What will happen to you if you have loved this baby already but you can’t see them anymore? This is not your son or daughter, Whee…”

“Mom…” I whispered defeatedly before I shut my mouth.

I have no answer to that. Mom knows I don’t know what to say next and she also knows I’m not backing away. We were both silent after that thought was left hanging in between us.

“Be careful, okay?” Mom said, not knowing what else to say.

“I will” I sighed, closing my eyes as I nodded my head.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“No. Not anymore. Thank you. I’ll call you and Dad again soon”

“Okay. I love you, sweetie”

“I love you too, Mom” I whispered before we ended the call.

I placed my phone on the table and searched for books I could get a hold with that would help me during Yongsun’s labor and when she has the baby. She’s already in the first month of her third trimester. In less than two months, we could now see her baby. It seemed so soon already just by thinking about the numbers.

Then I searched for the things that she needs when the baby is here already. My eyes widened as I gasped by the amount of things a baby needed. I closed my mouth and gulped hard, starting to panic because I don’t think I’d be able to handle this. I don’t even know how to use these items. I could buy them all but I have to learn how to use them as well.

My eyes were pulled away from my computer when I heard a knock on my door. My eyes squinted to focus on who it was because my office was still dark before I finally recognized Byul. She the lights in my office before she glanced at me.

“Aren’t you going to pick up Yongsun today?”

My eyes widened as I checked the time on my computer. It’s ten minutes before Yongsun will come out from work. I hurriedly grabbed my phone and keys before I rushed out of my office, only to run back to my table when I forgot about my wallet.

“Thank you for reminding me” I whispered to Byul as I passed by her. I waved at her and Hyejin as I moved out of the bar and said, “I’ll see you later. Call me if you need anything”

“Drive safely,” Hyejin reminded me as I jogged out of the café.

“Yes, Mom” I said teasingly as I glanced at Hyejin and saw her glaring at me. I smiled and winked at her before I moved out of the café to get to my car.

“Did you know that a baby could have a flat spot?” I asked Hyejin and Byul as I leaned on the kitchen door frame while scrolling through my phone to read more about having a newborn baby.

“No,” Hy