“Good morning, Vietnam!” A rather irritatingly sweet voice brings Jongin back from his train of thought, especially when the door to his office slams shut.

Startled, he looks up, only to find himself gazing at a huge mouth and two dimples, making the man seem as if he were the Cheshire Cat.

“’Morning!” Yixing cheerfully exclaims as he occupies the leather chair from Jongin’s office.

The latter follows with a lost look.

“Don’t people usually knock, when they enter a room?” The ashy eyed man eventually asks, as he clasps his hands and supports his chin in them.

The doctor shrugs casually, placing a plastic cup filled with coffee on the desk. “I did knock. Twice. And so hard, that I bet even the Chewbacca heard it.” He shakes his head. “No, wait. You didn’t. Which is why, I entered.”

The younger rolls his eyes. He doesn’t need Yixing, not really.

He’s woken up feeling bad, irritated and tasting something sour in his mouth. Knowing his self better, he’d say he has morning sickness. Even though he is a man, and it is way past noon.

“Coffee? Your vending machine is a fraud. It took my money twice. Oh, and the coffee tastes awful.”

And nothing new is said, nothing Jongin isn’t aware of. But he is just too tired to relate with others. He’s such a sociopath all the time. But right now, he’s suffering of social anxiety.

“What are you doing here, Yixing?” He asks, as he massages his temples.

The doctor sneers at him and lies back against his chair. “Let’s reformulate it, shall we?” Yixing then adds with a fixed glare. “I came here with the intention of finding out where you live, so I could visit you and also check on Taehee. But what does your front desk lady tell me? Mr. Kim is in the building.” He says vengefully.

And Jongin doesn’t understand. What is wrong with him being at work? He should be working. How else is he supposed to live?

“What do you mean, Yixing? Don’t play games. I already feel bad enough.”

The doctor rolls his eyes instead. “Last time I checked, you had a pregnant…” And he trails off, not sure how to put it. “Well, you live with a pregnant woman, carrying your child. Her situation is unstable enough, but you also damage her mentally, by not supporting her. The first trimester of pregnancy is very important for any woman! And instead of being with her, you sit here and vegetate. Way to go, Kim!”

“Save it.” And as he says it, he feels like throwing up the croissant and Viennese coffee he’s had for breakfast.

His friend never seems to outlook the change of color in his face. “Oh. Morning sickness, am I wrong?”

And Jongin looks at him with the most puzzled face, filled with anger and disgust.

“You do hear what you’ve just said, right?”

Yixing simply shrugs and then gets to his feet. “Men also have morning sickness. And it’s not mandatory for it to occur in the morning. Imagine how poor Taehee must feel, every morning she wakes up.” A curt shake of his head. “But you wouldn’t know, now would you, Casanova?”

And with those accusations thrown, Yixing marches out of his office, leaving behind annoyance and stubbornness from Jongin’s side.

Well, for him to feel nausea, like women usually do, it’s not unheard of. He only thought it would never occur to him, of all people.

Turning in his leather armchair, as to face the glass wall, thoughts of Taehee invade his mind. Indeed, every morning he wakes up earlier than usually, just so he can have a pretext not to run into her. Even though something tells him she needs more rest, he cannot bear himself to watch her feel sick, or leaned over the toilet seat. Just thinking about it makes his mouth run dry.

Kim Jongin, the most selfish man you will ever know. He doesn’t even have the balls to push back her hair as she throws up, every single morning. No, because it would only cause him to blame himself further, for making her be this pathetic.

Unblocking his phone, he holds it in his hand for a whole minute, before he decides to call her.

He has to stop running away. Now and for all!

✢

Taehee cannot put into words how much she hates the changes her body goes through. Her stomach barely shows signs of growing, she cannot sleep well, doesn’t have an appetite, her hair and nails are growing faster, she is more irritable, and, her current worry – no bra fits her anymore.

The growth of her s is the most alarming factor. She’s never had big s, just the usual perky ones, but now, with the evolution of her pregnancy, her s are growing too. Which is a problem, of course, given the fact that none of her bras fit anymore.

“Okay, fine. I’ll just go out without wearing a bra. I will buy myself some and then that’s it.” She says to her reflection in the mirror, grimacing as she watches her body.

She’s changed so much, and it’s irritating her. Well, everything is irritating her lately.

Taehee puts on her jacket and boots, takes her bag and leaves Jongin’s apartment. She is still doubtful about calling it ‘home’, since it doesn’t give off the right feeling. She feels like she’s a tenant of a sort, though always by herself. Jongin is gone first thing in the morning, returns home late at night, and this happens ever since the Haeun incident, weeks ago. The only things they’ve said to each other were when Taehee woke up and told him what’s for dinner, or him asking what he should buy.

That’s not a healthy relationship. It’s not healthy. And definitely not a relationship.

Getting off the bus, she steps into a magazine, from where she buys a couple of bras. She is aware of the fact that her s will go through more changes, so it’d be a shame to spend so much money on bras now. Later, she will need more.

It’s barely past noon, and since she has so much free time, Taehee decides to walk around the shopping arcade, munching on some Oreo biscuits and getting lost in the mass. Just then, her phone starts ringing, and, without checking the caller, she answers.

“Hey…” His awkward voice makes her stop on her tracks.

Dumbfounded, Taehee stares at the Kim Jongin appearing on her  mobile phone’s screen, unable to process the fact that he has actually taken his time to call.

“What is it?” She asks, trying to mask her interest, and walks further, with no destination.

“Hmm… Nothing. I just wanted to see how do you do. What are you up to?” Jongin’s voice is nothing but awkward, and Taehee rolls her eyes.

Well, at least he tries.

“Are you out?” He must’ve noticed due to the noise.

“Yeah,” comes her curt reply.

“Where?”

Suddenly, she feels like playing a game. And Taehee has the feeling that Jongin will try to be interested.