Hoon woke up slowly that April morning. He had the morning off for some miraculous reason, and he was firmly set on enjoying it with Serin. He could feel her next to him, the warmth from her body radiating from her and warming him. Her birthday had been nearly two weeks ago, but the opportunity for celebrating then had been limited. She had seen her father and brothers, as well as Hoon’s parents, but he had really only had the opportunity to whisper “Happy birthday” to her in bed, between kisses and low moans. He’d made a point to make love to her that evening despite his exhaustion, and he’d not gotten a chance since, passing out immediately upon arriving home every night.

Now that he was awake, with a free morning, lying with her asleep next to him, he was aware that it had been a few days. She was still asleep though, so he simply rolled so his chest was against her back and cuddled against her. Her scent flooded his nostrils as he pressed his nose near the back of her neck. Her hair was growing out now, and he almost wished she’d cut it. He’d grown fond of the short hairstyle she’d worn since he met her.

 When he put his arm around her waist, she slowly woke up. She didn’t roll over or look at him. He could simply tell because her breathing had changed, and she was moving around more. He didn’t move or encourage her to wake up faster. Eventually, she stretched her arms in front of her, curling her back against him. “’Morning,” she slurred, still half asleep.

“Good morning,” he whispered, taking the opportunity to kiss the back of her neck. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Tired,” she said.

“Do you want me to make you breakfast?”

“Just stay here with me. Spending a morning with you is rare enough without you rushing to leave bed on me.”

“I could stay in bed all morning, if you want,” he propositioned, sliding himself away from her so she rolled onto her back. She didn’t have any complaints regarding that suggestion.

--

Hoon was out of bed and making her breakfast as she slept. He was hoping she’d get up soon because he had to leave immediately after breakfast in order to make it to practice on time. Starting to get a bit worried over the fact that she was still sleeping, something a bit unusual for her, he went in to wake her up. She climbed out of bed reluctantly, trudging with him to the kitchen. He had made her an omelet, something she enjoyed but didn’t eat often. She sat down across from him and stared at her food picking at it disinterestedly.

“What’s up?” he asked, a bit concerned.

“I’m just not all that hungry right now,” she said. “I’m thankful for the effort, but I just don’t feel like eating.”

“Oh,” Hoon said, taken aback. “Is everything all right? This isn’t like you.”

“Maybe I’m getting sick,” she said. “I don’t feel all that great, and I’m not really very hungry. I’ll just go back to bed once you leave. No big deal.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Hoon told her. “I worry about you when you’re not feeling well.”

“I know,” she said, setting her chopsticks down and placing her hand on his free hand while he ate. “I appreciate your concern. It’s probably just a bit of a bug. I’ll be better in a couple of days. I’ll rest up this weekend and be good to go on Monday.”

“Alright,” he agreed. “Still, if you need anything, let me know. I’ll bring you home whatever you want.”

She found that agreeable, and she sat with him while he finished eating his and a good bit of her omelet before he stood up to get ready to leave. She, as she had mentioned, went back to bed, overwhelmed by a feeling of nausea and exhaustion.

--

Serin looked at the plastic item in her hands with dismay. She was shocked and displeased. Mostly with herself. This was not a good time for this to be happening. But the “+” was visible, clear as day. She was, according to the test she’d just taken, pregnant.

In a sort of hazy disbelief, she took another test to be sure. Sometimes they got the results incorrect. When the result was still “pregnant”, the send of dread and panic started to rise in . She’d missed her period a week ago. She’d been on birth control for a long time, and a few times before she’d missed her period, so that wasn’t what had concerned her. It was the missed period along with the nauseous churning of her stomach every morning, her aversion to certain foods, and the overwhelming need to sleep at all times that had convinced her that maybe there was something worth looking more deeply into.

She fumbled for the phone in her pocket. Unsure of who to call, she scanned through her contacts. Hoon? No. He was filming for a program all day. And this news would be better left shared in person. The doctor? At this time of evening on a Saturday, there would be no one in the office. And a pregnancy wasn’t exactly a good reason to go to the hospital. It certainly wasn’t an emergency. So then she decided to call the next best person she could think of. Her mother-in-law.

Jungsook answered after two rings, being her usual bright and happy self. “My darling Serin! How are you?”

Serin took a deep breath. “I’m… not so okay,” she admitted.

On the other end, Jungsook audibly got worried. “Oh no! What’s wrong?”

“I am… I’m pregnant.”

Hoon’s mom was silent. “Oh, my dear. This is good news though. Why aren’t you okay? Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, exactly. It’s just… I don’t know what’s going to happen now, and we’re going to have to make the relationship public, and it’s just a really terrible time for it right now with them preparing for their comeback and everything.”

“Serin,” she said, commanding respect while also sounding compassionate. “There will never be a good time for it. You need to talk to Hoonmin and see a doctor. I’ll come over if you want me to.”

“Would you please?” Serin said, desperation creeping into her voice. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“I’ll be over before long,” she said. Serin hung up the phone after saying goodbye, and just sat on the couch staring blankly at the walls. She wasn’t sure how much time passed between the time she hung up the phone and when Hoon’s mom arrived, but she opened the door for her and welcomed her in.

“Feeling any better?”

Serin shook her head. “I’m terrified,” she admitted.

“That’s not good. I’ll make you dinner, okay? Just relax for now. I’ll stay with you until Hoonmin gets home.”

Serin nodded, and sat back against the couch, flipping on the TV to find something to maybe distract her brain from the thoughts racing through it. Hoon’s mother brought her porridge to eat, not asking her to move from the couch to sit at the table. Upon finishing the meal, she felt heavy. The time she spent stressed out and worrying over the course of the day and the food sitting heavy in her belly made her sleepy. It did not take Serin long to fall into a comfortable sleep.

Jungsook sat in the kitchen and watched her. The young woman that she considered to be the daughter she never had. She was so kind and understanding, with Hoonmin and her entire family. She was respectful and thoughtful. Not only that, but because she had lost her own mother, and had been without any female family members to confide in for several years, she treated Jungsook as though she were her own mother. Serin didn’t treat her like she was a meddling mother-in-law. Serin treated her like she was her own, treasured mother, and for that, Jungsook was eternally thankful. Serin didn’t monopolize Hoon’s time either. His marriage to her had actually increased the amount of time she got to see her beloved maknae, as she often pushed him to go visit his family more often than he had felt the need to when he was on his own.

Jungsook was also a bit nervous for the two of them at the news of Serin’s pregnancy. She was aware that Serin had told her first. She had no one else to tell, and she was lost and alone without her own mother there to help her through. Jungsook worried. This threw a very serious complication in the needing to keep the marriage secret. It would be unfair to ask Hoon to keep as much distance from his child as he was asked to keep from Serin. She, and she didn’t believe any one of them, would stand for such unfair treatment of a child. But there was the company and fans to consider. It wasn’t going to be pretty. She worried for them. Her son and daughter and the future grandchild that had just made his or her presence known today.

--

At about 10 pm, while Serin was still sleeping on the couch, Jungsook decided it would be best to have Serin move to her bed. She gently touched the young woman on the shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open. “Serin, go on to bed, then. I’ll wait up for Hoonmin and have him wake you up when he gets here.”

Serin nodded, before saying goodnight and trudging into her bedroom. Jungsook took a seat on the now vacant couch, and turned her attention to the TV. She waited about an hour there before Hoonmin got home. He walked in, sliding his shoes off in the doorway, and upon hearing the TV still on, said, “I’m home.” He walked into the living area and did a double take when he saw his mom sitting on the couch. “What are you doing here at this hour?” he asked, still a bit surprised at her even being there at all.

“Serin asked me to come over. You should go on in and wake her up. She’s got something important to tell you.”

Hoon felt a sense of dread and worry come over him because of his mother’s vagueness. “Okay,” he said quickly. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Here, I’m going to head home. Give Mom a hug before I go.”

He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him tightly in return, patting his in her usual way.

“Ah, eomma! Stop that. It hurts.”

She didn’t stop though, and simply smiled at his protests. “No, it doesn’t. I made some dinner for you, so make sure you eat after you’ve talked to your wife.”

“Okay,” he replied.

She kissed his cheek, before finally letting him free of the hug. She walked out of the door then, leaving Hoon on his own. The feeling of anxiety continued to gnaw at him as he walked to their bedroom. He opened the door and found Serin sleeping on the bed, her hair spread around her in the semblance of a halo. He leaned over her and whispered in her ear, “Time to wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered open again, and her gaze locked on to him. She stretched and sat up, sliding back to lean against the headboard. “Sit down next to me.” He did as she asked. “I have something important I need to tell you.”

He looked at her, feeling uneasy. “What’s up?”

“Well… Today, I took a test. And… well, the short version of this story is that I’m pregnant.” He sat in silence, not really sure what to say. She continued. “I’m not one hundred percent sure yet. I have to go to the doctor to get it completely confirmed, but the tests are usually reasonably accurate.”

“I…” he started. “I thought you were doing stuff to keep from getting pregnant.”

“I was. I can’t really believe that it failed. But I do know that sometimes it can fail.”

The two sat in silence for a bit, unsure of what else to say to each other while they thought through the reality of the situation. “So,” he finally asked, ”I might be a father, then?” When she nodded, he said, with a wistful smile on his face, “Didn’t think I’d be the first.”

“What should we do? I mean, as long as the doctor says that I’m definitely pregnant.”

“Hmm… We’ll have to reveal the marriage. That will be a media nightmare. I’ll lose fans, and you will get crazy antis. The members will support us. We can all get through this together, just like we’ve gotten through every other difficult time.”

But it was obvious that he wasn’t nearly as confident in what he was saying as he seemed to be. “I’ll see the doctor as early as I can on Monday,” Serin told him.

“I’m going to go have the dinner Mom made for me. I’m starving. I’ll be back before too long,” Hoon told her.

He stood up, and she followed him, grabbing his hand, which caused him to turn around. She wrapped her arms under his, encircling his torso, and he pulled her closer to his chest in response. Her nose pressed against his neck, she breathed in his scent mixed with cologne and dried sweat. “I love you,” she whispered to him.

He kissed her forehead, “I love you, too. We will get through this. Together.” She looked up to meet his eyes, and his lips caught hers. After several moments, she pulled away.

“Goodnight,” she told him. “Enjoy your dinner. It was very good. Take a shower and get some sleep. Sunday mornings always seem to sneak up on you faster than other days of the week.”

He nodded his head, said, “Goodnight,” and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Serin climbed back into bed, and fell back asleep the instant her head touched the pillow.