It was such a rare sight to see the sleeping queen Song Ji Hyo busying herself already in the kitchen when it was only 7 in the morning. The kitchen, which was almost never used since they mainly always ordered takeout or ate outside rather than cooking now, could be said currently in a mess. She had been hustling in this kitchen for about an hour, but a frown was still shown on her face as the galbitang that she was cooking was not turning out to be what her mother-in-law said.

The ultimate reason why she made a fuss so early in the morning was that she wanted to surprise her birthday husband. She had received so many surprises from him, starting from the sweet one up to the annoying one on her birthday for five years long of their marriage, but she just realized days ago that she did not even once successfully surprise him on his birthday. Such a shame, was not it?

She felt like she was a bad wife for not putting much effort into her husband's birthday, therefore, this year, she had planned everything, starting from serving galbitang since he extremely loved it as breakfast on the bed.

She wondered what could be wrong. She had followed the recipe as her mother-in-law had told her, but it did not seem like the one she received last night. In fact, it was far from what she had expected it to be.

She glanced at the big black refrigerator, tempted just to reheat the one that eomeoni made yesterday and packed for both of them to be brought home, while also whispering to Ji Hyo just to use this in case hers turned out not quite good. She scoffed; perhaps eomeoni had been predicting or probably had a hunch that her galbitang would fail.

"Aish, jinjja! What person eats galbitang for breakfast anyway!" She threw a kitchen cloth far to the sofa, angered by the fact that she was indeed failed. She could have asked her own mother to make it, but she knew her husband only liked the one that his mother specially made for him. How she wished that her husband would like some light breakfast like a sandwich or just bacon and eggs, instead. He always went for heavy breakfast since—quoting him, it was needed for the fuel of his workout.

Shaking her head, she then decided to just make a simple kimchi fried rice for him. That she could do, but the matter now was, would it be finished before he woke up, considering that he was definitely a morning person?

Sighing, she rushed to prepare the ingredients and once again, began cooking the dish. Just one step left, which was plating it neatly into his favorite black plate and serving it to him, but it was all over when she jumped from the sound she heard at the back.

"Yeobo, what are you—oh, what happened to our kitchen?"

She turned her head at him with a terrorized expression and stopped doing what she was doing as if she was caught doing something illegal. "Yah, oppa, go back to the bedroom and wait for me there!"

"What? Why is it so messy here? Are you cooking something just now?" He tried to take a peek at the stove but of course, was blocked by her.

He then ended up being pushed back inside their room with a loud nag from her that he swore was worse than her singing voice. In only a few minutes after that, his wife then finally opened the bedroom door while holding a tray that consisted of a small black cake with one bright silver candle, two plates of kimchi fried rice, and two glasses of water, plus a warm smile on her face, much different and better from the first view of her that he saw earlier.

"Saengil chukahamnida! Saengil chukahamnida! Saranghaneun Jong Kook oppa nae nampyeon, saengil chukahamnida!"

He made a wish for about a minute and sealed it by blowing the candle out. Without much anticipation from Ji Hyo, he took the tray away from her hands and put it on the bed before then pulling her body closer to him, which made her end up being on top of him.

He placed a peck on her lips. "Why are you going through that fuss this early, yeobo? I've told you not to do anything. What if our baby's sleep gets bothered? What if something happens to you while you're doing something hard?"

"Baby also wants to celebrate her appa's birthday, so she won't mind." She said while yawning at the same time.

"See? Just take a rest after this, okay? You have to save your energy because the baby can come anytime by now." He then took a look at the dishes on the tray. "Let's eat first for now. Thank you for making this, yeobo."

He was so ready to dig the food in since it had been almost 12 hours already since the last time he consumed food last night, but then was stopped when he saw her did not do the same thing and only lowered her head.

"What's wrong, Ji Hyo-yah? Are you feeling something? Does it hurt somewhere?"

Freaking pregnancy hormone! Ji Hyo cursed silently. She was not supposed to cry over it, and consciously, she knew it was totally normal to fail your first time cooking; that was why practice makes perfect. Though she could not help but let tears stream down her cheeks as she realized that her first surprise was failed.

She then shook her head to at least calm him down a bit since her husband had been extremely panicky and a little bit paranoid ever since he discovered that she was pregnant.

"I'm sorry, oppa. I've tried making your favorite galbitang, but it doesn't turn out as good as your mother's. In the end, I can only make kimchi fried rice that we usually eat, and there's nothing special in it even though it's your birthday."

This was not the first time Ji Hyo got emotional over something that was supposed to be unemotional. He once forgot to bring her the extra spicy tteokbokki she ordered while he was on his way home. It got him to deal with a very gloomy Ji Hyo for almost three days straight. Not to mention the forgotten kiss before he went out could make her sob hard as if she had just lost her favorite toy.

As he had been dealing with it for nine months, he knew exactly how to deal with it perfectly. He brought her into his embrace while her hair, along with planting some kisses on the top of her head, and told her the magic words.

"It's okay, Ji Hyo-yah. I also love your kimchi fried rice and your cooked food is always special because it's you who made it. I'll ask eomeoni later to teach you how to make it, okay? It's my birthday, so don't cry anymore, love."

As easy as that, she nodded her head and started putting some rice into , then munched it with a smile on her face as she saw him eating it happily. Had he known how to deal with those strange situations months ago, he would not have had to sleep on the sofa for two nights or even sleep alone at their apartment because she wanted to sleep at her parent's house.

"Ah, I almost forget." She jumped off the bed—making Jong Kook lose his ability to breathe for some seconds because of how shocked he was upon seeing her suddenly doing such a forbidden act for a 9-month pregnant woman. But before he could even scold and nag at her, she came back instantly with a medium size of shopping bag. "Your birthday present."

Still, with his serious yet shocked face, he received the gift stiffly and revealed that it was a black T-shirt with the words Appa on the front.

"Do you like it, oppa? I bought it for you, me, and also the baby so we can all wear it together later on. Oh! I can even imagine it now, it's so cute! Try it, oppa, come on!"

Of course, to fulfill her excitement—as that was a duty of being the good husband he had always been, he stopped eating and immediately did what she demanded. He took off his sleeveless top and tried putting the T-shirt in, and to their surprise, the first attempt was a failure.

He looked into her face, which was an unreadable expression, more like a shocked one or even something unbelievable. Well, how could he have the heart to outspeak the unfortunate fact about the T-shirt? Unacknowledging the truth, as if it was something that he could easily undo, he took the next attempt by putting it into his body again.

The second also resulted in failure. He took a glance at her face again. This time, she had both her eyebrows frowned and her lips pouted.

Please, let this be fit just for once. He silently prayed as if the angel would grant his unimportant wish. Again, he tried for the third time, but then when he was about to force it to fit in his arm, she snatched it away and threw it far across the room, leaving him shirtless with his mouth gaped open.

"Why are you still trying to put it in? You know it doesn't fit you, so don't act like it suddenly fits you." She said, with an icy tone of voice. Cold enough to slightly made him shiver a bit in this warm bedroom of theirs.

"Mianhae, Ji Hyo-yah. I shouldn't have worked on my upper body more these past two weeks. It could've been fit since you definitely bought my size."

"You know what, it is my fault. So Min told me just to buy a bigger size than this, but I was so confident that this must've fit you perfectly. Me and my stubbornness..." She sighed before retrieving the T-shirt and putting it back inside the shopping bag. "I'm really sorry, oppa, I failed again."

When she was just about to move her way to the bathroom, leaving the kimchi fried rice unfinished, he then pulled her and cuddled her for some time while hoping that this one attempt to console her would be a success.

Having Ji Hyo in a bad mood state all day during his birthday was the last thing he hoped for. No, actually, he never even wanted to wish for it. Not that he was not grateful to her—her presence actually turned out to be the best gift he received throughout his life. Still, just for a day, he really wanted a leisurely day without having to deal with mood swings and some other pregnant things that sometimes almost made him lose his mind.

The cuddle then lasted longer than he thought; she even welcomed it way warmer than he expected, although still with a sour face and nothing much to say before she then finally broke herself free to take a shower and also pushed him to clean himself too.

She had planned and invited his family and friends to a birthday party on a hotel rooftop without him knowing about it, that was for sure. With So Min making sure of everything on behalf of her at the venue, she had complete confidence that this time, the probability of flopping would be around less than ten percent, hopefully. It was the perk of making some other surprises rather than just one big surprise, so when the other ones failed, this one would surely save everything.

Some of his family had arrived when Ji Hyo and the birthday boy were just starting to drive after that coaxing him that his mother wanted to have lunch there, not that she was arranging a party or something. Well, the older he was, the better his nose was; Ji Hyo was certain of it. It was strangely hard to hide something from him since he always found a way to discover it first. She had failed on the first surprise, but this one, she would not let even an inch of possible failure get in her way.

"Are you sure that we're going to eat lunch here? I know the restaurant in this hotel isn't on the rooftop." Though he managed to still show his smile at her, his eyes eyed her in the whole suspicion.

"Aish, why can't you just shut your mouth, oppa?"

Another thing to deal with pregnant Ji Hyo was a wave of sudden anger and rage as if she had been holding it for years and just got the chance to throw it out every single time he flawed. He knew it was just the hormones doing it, but he was still human after all, and sometimes, it brought frustration and confusion to him.

Taking a deep breath, the rest of the journey up inside the elevator was filled with silence until the sound ding broke that silence, indicating that they had arrived at the very top of the building.

"Eomma?" He unconsciously made sure that he had seen the right person, that the older woman standing right in front of him as the elevator opened its door was indeed his mother with a cake in her hands.

"Saengil chukahae, uri adeul." Again, it was as if he had been going through a deja vu; his mother hinted to him to blow out the candles. This time, there was more than one candle on his small black cake from Ji Hyo earlier.

He blew out all the candles effortlessly, and suddenly the shout of happy birthday from everyone defeated the crowded sound of vehicles below. The cheering, claps, and excited jumps by all the guests as the song Happy Birthday to You from Turbo was being played with the confetti being popped triggered Ji Hyo even more to join the excitement within the crowd. Seeing how energetic his wife was worried Jong Kook even more, making him wonder about some things that he surely would text their ob-gyn doctor just to ensure that every daredevil thing she did today would not harm herself and the baby in any way.

"Ppali, oppa! Sing with me!" She did some little jumps and dances in front of him, not minding her big protruding belly now covered in a casual black dress.

How could a heavily pregnant woman be this active? Was this a normal thing to do for a 9-month pregnant woman? Did it happen because the baby told her to do like what she always told him? Did it cause anything to the baby?

Those were just a tiny peek at what he would ask later. As the minutes rolled, he continued taking some mental notes of questions and even added some more questions that could probably reach up to almost 20. Even she was actually a lot more active when she was pregnant rather than when she was not.

"Oh!" She exclaimed loudly as her body suddenly stopped moving.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a very serious tone. There was not even a smile on his face even when everyone was cheering happy birthday to him along with the song.

She looked at him with her eyes widened, making him double—even triple the panic. He asked her again, "Yah, answer me! What's wrong, yeobo?"

"O-oppa." She reached his hand and squeezed it tightly. "I think it's time."

He frowned. "W-what time? T-time for what?"

In such a chaotic and critical moment like this, she somehow still managed to smack his shoulder in annoyance. "Time for the baby to come out, of course! Aish!"

"What's going on, Jong Kook-ah, Ji Hyo-yah?" His mother finally took the signal of the tense look on Jong Kook's face.

"Eomeoni, what should I do now? Huh? What do you think I should do? The baby will come out now!" Putting aside some true moments when he appeared to be the calmest one above everyone in some episodes of his shows, he was shaking like hell this time and even almost shook his mother's body in an attempt to calm himself.

So long he had waited for this moment forever, but how could he calm his heart when his love from heaven was just about to come right in front of his face on his birthday?

Wait, so that means he got to share the same birthday together with his firstborn?

Oh, just imagine how annoyed Ji Hyo would be when he and their firstborn could crave some memories of celebrating his birthday together throughout his life was enough to calm himself.

"Yah, what are you talking about? Hurry, drive your wife to the hospital! Grow up, Jong Kook-ah, you're going to be an appa soon!"

He had watched the delivery process once or twice in the movies, but it was nothing at all compared to the live view he just had hours ago. Seeing how hurtful and dangerous it was for his darling wife made him thinking not even twice but a million times about demanding her to have another child again since he could not stand seeing her in such a horrible condition. Nonetheless, he knew his wife was a strong woman, and honestly, it all paid off when the loud roar of their little tigress filled the room, triggering both of the new parents to shed tears then as their long patient wait was now over.

"Ah Reum-ah, annyeong! This is eomma, and the big man right here is appa." Ji Hyo whispered to the small-fragile creature inside her embrace.

Ah Reum simply had a meaning of beautiful. By beautiful they wanted their firstborn daughter to be a beautiful one in heart, physical, personality, and basically everything. However, most of all, they just wanted her to know that no matter how she was later on in the future, she would always be the most beautiful one in her parent's eyes.

Although thankfully, the name synced with the fact that she definitely inherited the best features of her parents. With a very outstanding feature being inherited, as in Ji Hyo's eyes and Jong Kook's nose, even the doctor had predicted that she would definitely become the prettiest one when she grows up later.

His wife then looked at him with a smile on her face. "Do you want to carry her, oppa?"

"Ani, she looks so fragile. I'm afraid I'll hurt her if I carry her."

Before she could disprove his statement, Ah Reum started roaring again. They said the newborn was the most challenging stage throughout the childhood phase. Perhaps it was right since her cry was almost as loud with a high tone as his voice when singing such a high melody. Never mind, Jong Kook already planned to make Ah Reum cry as his daily alarm every morning so that at least he could help Ji Hyo to take care of her before getting onto his workout routine.

"Come on, oppa. Maybe she will stop crying if you hold her." She coaxed him well because he was now preparing his hand to take her into his embrace.

As if Ah Reum was really asking to be in her appa's embrace, the cry then stopped, and she continued sleeping soundly as if nothing had happened, as if she knew she was safe from everything when she was in his arms.

"Ah Reum-ah, this is appa." He snuggled closer to the baby.

Getting a child was never on his life plan, actually, as well as getting married because he was so content with his bachelor life for 42 years long. It all changed when he then married his best friend, Song Ji Hyo, and then finally had a very beautiful child, Kim Ah Reum. He knew a lot of things would also change, their lifestyle, their routines, their images, but none of those really mattered when he saw his baby for the very first time, which caused every single iceberg in his heart to melt instantly.

"It appears we have the same birthday, so let's have a deal. You have to thank your eomma first for giving birth to you rather than saying happy birthday to appa, okay? If you don't do that, then you can't get your present."

He could hear her chuckle and throw a complaint. "Mwoya, oppa? Why are you being strict with her even now? She doesn't understand what you're talking about."

"Don't worry, I'll remind you every year on our birthday, Ah Reum-ah. Also, as you can see, the world seems pretty when it's just you, appa, and eomma, but it could be a lot unexpected when you grow up later. Don't be afraid of everything because appa will always protect you, and that's my promise to you as long as I shall live."

No matter how scary he looked in front of everyone, only the closest ones knew—including Ji Hyo, that the mighty Kim Jong Kook was such a loving person. Hearing him declaring his eternal promise to their daughter and sealing it with a forehead kiss on Ah Reum's small head surely brought Ji Hyo to tears. The moment she saw him babysitting his cousins during their date at his house back then, she already knew that he definitely would be such a perfect father for her child. And it was the ultimate reason why she finally dropped her stubbornness of not going to marry anyone when Jong Kook finally proposed to her.

She knew her life was going to be beyond perfect with him.

"Oh, Ji Hyo-yah, look, she's smiling!"

The small smile indeed brought Jong Kook into such a weird state. He felt like he could smile so wide that his jaw would surely hurt after that, but he also felt like he could cry happy tears all day long. This was a new thing, a new experience, something that he had never felt before, yet it felt so calming and wholesome at the same time.

Above all, this was it. This was the ultimate best birthday gift that he could ever receive. He thought he was all content years ago with his bachelor life, but damn, the bachelor version of him back then did not know how perfect his life felt to have his own daughter smiling inside his embrace. With Ah Reum still sleeping soundly inside his embrace, he kissed the top of her head, wide forehead, nose, and lips before squeezing her into his embrace too.

"Oppa, I'm sorry I ruined your birthday party at the hotel. I'll promise I'll make everything up to you later."

He shook his head and kissed her forehead once more. "You know what, this surprise from you can't be defeated with any surprise I've made or I'm going to make later in the future. You're the sole winner in everything, including my heart, nae anae."

The smile on their faces looked extremely warm in this cool spring breeze season, with their eyes staring intensely into each other as if they shared words through the gaze.

"Thank you for giving me the best birthday gift I've ever received and making this year's birthday the best one. Thank you for making my life perfect now by bringing Ah Reum here, Ji Hyo-yah."