6 years ago…

Park Shin Hye never thought that time could fly by so quickly. Eight months has passed since… since the night he came home, the night when the same ‘accident’ happened again for the second time.

After what happened that night and after he found out that someone had put aphrodisiac ingredients into the soup that she gave him, he was very angry and assumed everything was a trap to make him sleep with her. What hurt and humiliate Shin Hye the most was when he found out that she was not a . At that moment, she wanted to explain and tell him that everything was just a misunderstanding. She was the one who sent him to the hotel when he was drunk two years ago and he was her first man, the only man that she ever had.

But listening to his hurtful accusation, would he believe her? No, he won’t. From the very beginning, from the very first time when they met, he had already hated her and had formed some sort of prejudice against her. No matter what she said and what she does, for him, it will only be a lie, be an excuse. So, she decided not to say anything and just let the misunderstanding continued.

After that night, Han Jae Eun told her that Min Ho went home and have a big fight with them. He blamed his parents for ruining his life, blamed them for taking his happiness away. They forced him to marry a woman that he doesn’t love and now since their plan has succeeded, he already married her and slept with her, he hoped they could give him what he want now. He want some time apart, some time that no one would disturb him and let him completely be alone. He will come back once his mind is calm and will then accept his destiny that they had arranged for him.

Knowing that there is no point arguing with him since he had made up his mind, Lee Ki Jung and Han Jae Eun promised him and let him go. They believe that he will use the time apart to think and slowly understand that everything they have planned for him is for his own advantage.

And just like that, Min Ho has gone for eight months, not a single word left for Shin Hye and just… gone.

People said time flies over us, but leaves it shadows behind. Although it’s true but fortunately, besides the sadness he leaves behind for her, he also leaves something very precious to her.

Shin Hye slowly glanced down and moved her hand to her huge, rounded stomach at the same time. A smile of happiness curved up onto her lips as she caressed her stomach, feeling the love of her life.

Yes, she is no longer alone. She is pregnant, pregnant with Min Ho’s baby. She never thought the ‘accident’ that her mother in-law created for them would bring her such a big and precious surprise.

“I’m glad that both the baby and you are fine.” Han Jae Eun said as she took a seat on the couch beside Shin Hye in her apartment. They just came back from Shin Hye’s pregnancy check-up and she sent her home after that.

Shin Hye smiled and nodded her head. She was glad too that her baby is fine and growing healthily inside of her. Even though the past eight months was not easy for her, but because of the baby, she will continue to be strong.

Han Jae Eun stared at her and later let out a deep sigh. Looking at her huge stomach, she felt the cold pang of guilt slipping into her chest. Shin Hye is only 21 years old this year. She should be enjoying her happy and most beautiful teenage life like the other girls at her age. But instead of that, she was stuck in this painful marriage, suffering the cold shoulder from the man who supposed to love her, to make her happy and stay by her side at this moment.

“Shin Hye-ah… have you consider the suggestion I told you the other day?” Han Jae Eun asked.

Shin Hye turned to look at her and understood right away what she was asking about. Han Jae Eun wanted her to move into Lee mansion so that they could take care of her. She can’t remember how many times Han Jae Eun has been trying to convince her to move in since she was pregnant. But no matter how hard they tried, how many times they tried, she still insists to stay in this apartment.

One of the conditions that Min Ho asked from his parents before agreeing to marry her was to move out and stay in this apartment with her. Although she knows the reason for him to move out is because he want to get his freedom back and not letting his parents to keep an eye on them, but she still treat this place as her home, their home.

“Eomeoni... I know you are worried about me… but I’m fine. I have already used to stay here alone and ahjuhma will take care of me.” Shin Hye said, rejecting the older woman again.

“But ahjuhma only stay here until dinner everyday. It’s very dangerous to stay alone at night. And moreover, next month is already your due date. In case your water breaks and there is no one at home, then how…”

“The doctor said it wouldn’t be so fast for first pregnancy.” Shin Hye cut her off with a warm smile. “If it really happens when there is no one at home, I’ll call you or ahjuhma.” She paused and smiled again. “Eomeoni… I’ll be a doctor in the future and I’m going to be a mother soon. I’ll know how to take care of myself. Don’t worry.” She assured her.

Han Jae Eun continued to stare at her before letting out another deep sigh. She slowly shook her head, admitting her defeat. She knows she will never win her in this conversation. “You are very stubborn.”

Shin Hye smiled again. “I’m not stubborn. I just want to learn to be more independent. As I said, I’m going to be a mother soon. In order to take care of my baby, I have to know how to take care of myself first.”

Another pain strikes Han Jae Eun’s heart upon hearing what Shin Hye said. Reaching out her hand to hold hers, she looked at Shin Hye apologetically. “I’m sorry. It was our fault that you have to suffer all this. If we didn’t force both of you to marry, you will definitely be happier now. We didn’t stop Min Ho and let him act so recklessly. And we know… he hurt you in the process.”

Shin Hye shook her head when she saw tears starting to pool in Han Jae Eun’s eyes. “I’m very happy now. Although this home…” She paused and glanced around the quiet apartment. “… is not complete but… I have her.” She placed their hands against her rounded stomach. “This little angel will bring a lot of love and happiness to me and to all of us. Without this marriage, I won’t be able to bring her to this world. I’m blessed to have her.”

‘Her’… Han Jae Eun smiled and slowly nodded. Yes, the baby is a girl. The doctor already told them during the pregnancy check-up two months ago.

Taking a deep breath, Han Jae Eun squeezed Shin Hye’s hand and looked at her with a smile. “Since ahjuhma is not here today, I’ll stay here and have dinner with you.” She changed the sensitive topic. “Quickly go to take a shower.” She urged Shin Hye. “I’ll prepare the dinner.”

Shin Hye nodded obediently before she carefully get up from the couch and made her way back to her room.

“Shin Hye-ah…”

She stopped and turned back to Han Jae Eun when she heard her voice again. “Yes, eomeoni?”

“Do you have a nail clipper? I need to cut my nails short before I cook.” Han Jae Eun asked as she glanced down at her long nails.

“Yes. I have one in my room. Let me take for you.” She replied as she resumed walking back to her room.

“I’ll go in with you.” Han Jae Eun followed closely behind her. She doesn’t want her daughter in-law to walk too much with the huge stomach.

When they entered the room, Shin Hye walked to her dressing table and tried to search for the nail clipper. “Where did I put it? I remember using it few days ago.” She mumbled as she opened the drawer and checked inside.

Han Jae Eun helped her to search and when she saw a wooden box on the dressing table, she reached for it and opened the box. It was a jewellery box and all the jewelleries were neatly placed in the box. The nail clipper is obviously not inside and just when she wanted to close it, something caught her eyes and froze her action. It was a very eye-catchy, beautiful rose gold plated heart shaped earring. But the strange part is… the earring is not in a pair. It was just a single piece sitting in the box.

“This earring is very beautiful.” Han Jae Eun said as she picked it up with her fingers.

Shin Hye turned to her and smiled when she saw the stud. “Yes. It was a birthday present from my father on my 16 years old birthday. He bought it in Paris when he went there for a business trip. The design is very unique and beautiful.” She paused and inhaled a soft breath. “But too bad. I lost the other piece and couldn’t find it.” She said and then continued to find the nail clipper for her mother in-law.

It has been quite some time since the earring got missing and she doesn’t even remember where and when she lost it. If not because Han Jae Eun asked her about it, she has already forgotten about the earring.

Han Jae Eun put the earring back into the box before closing it.

“Ah… it’s here.” Shin Hye finally found the nail clipper and passed it to her.

Han Jae Eun took it and thanks her before she went out of the room to let Shin Hye to take her shower.

After Han Jae Eun cut all her nails with the nail clipper, she headed to the kitchen and took all the ingredients that she needed out from the refrigerator to prepare dinner for both of them.

Thirty minutes has passed and as Han Jae Eun was busy preparing the food, suddenly the sound of the door opened filled the silent room and startled her. She furrowed her brows, curious about who will come to this apartment and the person even knows the passcode. She quickly washed her hands and walked out from the kitchen to check.

The moment she stepped into the living room, she was absolutely stunned and froze in place to see the familiar face that was standing right in front of her.

“Eomma?” Min Ho was surprised too to see his mother in his apartment. “What are you doing here?”

“Min Ho…” Han Jae Eun rushed to her son and grabbed his arms, looking at him in disbelief. “You came back.” It has been eight months since the last time she saw him. Although her face was smiling but her eyes were already covered with tears.

But even though she is happy, the happiness doesn’t stay for long before a sudden anger rushed up inside of her. She hit his arm hard and glared at him. “You unfilial son!”

Min Ho was shocked by her sudden change of behaviour and quickly pulled away from her when she wanted to hit him again. “Eomma… what are you doing?”

“What am I doing?!” Han Jae Eun raised her voice and inhaled a sharp breath. “I’m very angry and wanted to kill you! Is this how I taught you to be a man? How can you be so heartless and just leave your family behind without a word?”

Min Ho cleared his throat and looked at his mother. “What without a word? I already told you and abeoji that I need some time apart and you agreed.” He said defensively.

“Even so, you should at least let us know where you are and make sure you are contactable. Where is your responsibility as a son, as a husband and as a…” Han Jae Eun paused and breathed deeply, remembered that he still doesn’t know about it yet. “Do you know what happened to Shin Hye when…”

“Eomeoni… did someone came? I heard...”

Shin Hye’s voice suddenly filled the room and cut Han Jae Eun’s sentence off. She came out from her room after her shower and slowly walking towards the living room.

The smile on her face immediately vanished as her eyes widened in shock. “Op-Oppa…”

He is back. Her… husband is back.

But among the three of them, the one who was deeply in shock was Min Ho. His lips were parted in a small ‘O’ the moment she saw Shin Hye. His eyes slowly went down from her face to her huge swollen stomach. This is obviously not how she looked the last time he saw her.

He suddenly felt suffocated, his heartbeat raced incredibly fast that he thought it would stop beating. She looked different now; there was a huge curvature on her normally flat belly. He continued to watch, couldn’t take his eyes off her as she her stomach.

“Y-You…” He finally found his voice back but the words got stuck again in his throat.

There was a long moment of silence and both of them were just standing there, staring at each other and unable to react.

Eight months… he left for eight months and this happened. Looking at the size of her stomach and with a quick calculation in his mind, he was obviously the cause of this to happen.

Shin Hye continued to her stomach nervously as their eyes locked together. She never thought he will come back in a sudden and she has to face him without any emotion preparation. Shock was evident on his expression and she couldn’t imagine what he would think in his mind. After the fight they had eight months ago, he already stubbornly believe that she is not a ‘clean’ woman and with her pregnant now, he might think the baby is not his.

“Hmmm…” Han Jae Eun was the one who broke the intense silence first. She turned to Shin Hye and cleared . “Shin Hye-ah… your… your hair is still wet. You will catch a cold. Go in and dry it.”

“Eo…” Shin Hye tore her eyes away from Min Ho and turned to Han Jae Eun. “I… I’ll go in and dry my hair.” She nodded before she turned around and walked back into her room. She knows it was just an excuse that her mother in-law wanted her to leave them alone.

After Shin Hye was out of sight, Han Jae Eun looked back at her son again. “See what you did?”

Min Ho took as deep a breath as he could manage, struggling to calm his calm his thundering heart. “S-She… she is pregnant.”

“Yes, she is.” Han Jae Eun said coldly. “And you left her alone when she was having a hard time to face all this. She is just a young girl who doesn’t have any experience. She even fainted in the campus and someone has to send her to the hospital. We rushed over and when the doctor told us that she was pregnant, all I see on her face was… fear. But I have to admit that she is a very strong woman. I witnessed how she deal with all this mess alone. It was not easy. The morning sickness was killing her. She was thrilled and scared at the same time when she felt the baby kicking her for the first time. We were very worried about her. We tried very hard to convince her to move in with us but… she refused. She was staying alone in this apartment all these months. Although she didn’t say anything but we all know she was waiting for you to come back.”

Han Jae Eun paused as she stepped closer to Min Ho, who was listened to her quietly. His face grew paler with each passing second.

“Son…” She spoke again in a deep sigh. “That night… that soup… it was me, not her. I heard from your father that you have to entertain some Chinese clients on that night and will surely get drunk. I know… you never touch her and… I wanted to help. So… I brought the soup here and passed to her, lying that it was some sort of healthy soup that could help hangover. She didn’t know I put something in it. You shouldn’t blame her for what happened that night.”

Min Ho pressed his lips firmly together, his chest heaving with every breath.

“Although you don’t love her…” His mother said again. “… she is already your wife, the mother of your baby. You have to be responsible to this marriage and to her.” She paused again and breathed deeply. “I know you have a girl that you love. Choi Soo Young, right?”

Min Ho raised his brows, surprised at what she just said.

“But she was married. She was married to your best friend and they have a son. She already has her own family and you have yours. You should forget about her and move on. She is not…”

“This has nothing to do with her.” Min Ho cut his mother off, staring sternly at his mother. “And I don’t hate Park Shin Hye either. I just don’t like how you and abeoji control my life. I’m not a puppet. I have flesh and blood and I have feelings. I don’t like being forced to do something against my will. Can you understand?”

“I know. I admit that we are selfish.” Han Jae Eun heaved a deep sigh as she reached out to grasp his hand. “But it’s too late to change anything now. You are not the only victim. Shin Hye… she is innocent too.”

Min Ho looked away and didn’t say another word anymore.

~~~~~

An hour has passed since Shin Hye came back into her room. After drying her hair, she just sat on her bed, holding her gaze down as her hand her stomach continuously. She couldn’t hear anything that Han Jae Eun was talking outside but she can clearly hear her voice. But the strange part is… Min Ho’s voice was not heard. He was very quiet throughout the whole conversation. He must be very angry to know that she is pregnant.

The door of her room suddenly burst open and heavy footsteps fell on the slick tile. Shin Hye looked up and let out a soft gasp upon seeing Min Ho entered the room, closing the door behind him.

She wanted to stand up but was stopped by him.

“Sit down.” He said, his voice was still as cold as she could remember.

He slowly strolled towards the bed and took a seat on the mattress, beside Shin Hye. It took him a moment before he tore his eyes away from her stomach and looked up at her. “How are you doing?”

“G-Good.” Shin Hye replied in a soft whisper, biting her lower lip.

“Eomma said… both of you just came back from the hospital just now.” He paused and pursed his lips. “Is… is the baby okay?”

“Hmmm…” Shin Hye nodded her head. “She is fine.”

“She?” Min Ho raised his brows.

Shin Hye nodded again. “The doctor did an ultrasound for me two months ago. She told us… the baby is a girl.”

There was a faint smile uncontrollably flickered on his lips but vanished very quickly before Shin Hye could see it.

“So… I guess I’m going to be a father soon.” He said, his voice was still calm and unchanging.

Shin Hye looked at him, there was a mixture of shock and surprise in her eyes. He… he didn’t dou