The Fib - In Betweens

Good Day

It was an ordinary Wednesday morning when Boo Yongju and Oh Myungsim decided to register their marriage. They decided to not tell anyone at work yet, even their plan to celebrate a few weeks from today.

The only person they told about their marriage was Boo Ye-rin, hoping she could join them for lunch or dinner on the day itself. Unfortunately, the woman couldn't travel to Korea because of a work commitment she couldn't postpone. She did promise, however, to be there during the bigger celebration with everyone else. She also mentioned that she already made plans of visiting every couple of months from there on, not passing up the chance to see Myungsim's pregnancy glow in person.

Yongju and Myungsim laughed, though equally touched at the woman's excitement. Sometimes, Myungsim felt the older woman was far more excited than her.

Today, they woke up early, not by any means due to excitement or anticipation but because Myungsim's morning sickness was in full swing these days.

The nurse usually felt nauseated before dawn broke, and it was almost perplexing how her body really woke her up at almost the exact same time everyday, only for her to throw up the meager contents of her stomach.

If Yongju was at home, he would also get up and try his best to comfort Myungsim the best way he could. Which if he was being honest, there wasn't a lot he could do. He had never felt more useless than when he watched his fiancée hug the toilet bowl as she coughed and dry heaved the content of her stomach. He would usually just sit there quietly as he gently rubbed her back. He would also usually bring her cold water, hoping it would calm her vagus nerve. There were days when it worked, but the majority of the time, it didn't.

Myungsim finally realized it was one thing to watch actors play pregnant on screen, thinking it can't be that bad and they were just overacting. Now, she knew it was a totally different experience actually going through it, feeling all the symptoms herself. The movies didn't even tell her that her breasts would be sore for days on end, she would sometimes cry when she's in bed and Yongju's arm or hands accidentally nudged it. It was crazy the things her body was going through for this pregnancy. She reached a point where she had asked her doctor whether her symptoms were normal, or was it because of her age? She didn't remember studying all these symptoms when she was in college.

Today, she managed to finally fix herself and calm her stomach at about quarter past nine. Yongju was home and finally finished taking a shower. She wanted to make him breakfast,or at least his coffee, thinking her duties as his wife were going official today, but she just couldn't find the energy to do so. Instead, she was lying sideways on the sofa, clutching a warm compress towards her middle. She couldn't count anymore the number of times she thought she was too old to be feeling like shit because she's pregnant. Who in their right mind would get pregnant at forty five?

She took a deep breath hoping the dizziness and all the other weird feelings and symptoms she had today would dissipate, at least before they head to the city registrar.

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The day went well, thankfully, and they managed to officially become husband and wife. Coming from the city registrar, they went downtown to a local hotel to have late lunch and celebrate this momentous day. It was a good thing that Myungsim finally felt better as the day progressed.

That evening, Myungsim sat at their kitchen table, surrounded by stacks of wedding magazines, pamphlets, and a notebook filled with potential venues and decoration ideas. The excitement of planning their wedding celebration filled the air, but Myungsim couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of preparations ahead.

Sighing, she looked towards her right and noticed her husband watching a recording of heart transplant surgery while taking notes. Even at his level of knowledge and skills, Boo Yongju always thought he could still learn new techniques to better help his patients.

She knew he was busy but she needed his input now, feeling overwhelmed from learning about all the intricacies of planning a wedding.

"Yeobo, do you ever feel like maybe we should just simplify things?" she asked, hoping she got his attention.

"Hmm?" Yongju glanced at her, but was unsure what Myungsim was referring to. Knowing how sensitive his wife could be these days, he decided to pause the video he was watching. "What do you mean?"

He stood up from the sofa and walked towards the kitchen.

"All this planning is starting to feel a bit too much," she mumbled, feeling a little bit embarrassed because she was the one who actually wanted this.

Boo Yongju, ever the gentleman that he was, agreed to everything she wanted. It's not like the celebration would be too elaborate since they would just invite the staff at Doldam and a few friends from the city. Still, Yongju didn't need or want any of that. He was already content to call her his wife, and he could always share a few bottles of soju with his close friends and residents from Doldam and call it his wedding celebration.

His eyes scanned the papers and magazines that covered almost their entire dining table. And then he finally looked at his wife, his eyes filled with love and understanding.

"I think you might be onto something. We don't have to go through all the stress and pressure–it can't be good for you anyway," he remarked, hoping his wife wouldn't be too offended.

Myungsim's eyes widened, a mix of surprise and relief washing over her. "Jinjja? You're okay with not having that party? What about eonni?"

"Yes, I could live peacefully without that party–and noona can still visit. We'll have dinner and call it our celebration. I can invite a few staff and we could drink–"

"But I won't be able to drink," Myungsim pouted, remembering she's pregnant.

"Then we all will not drink, if you don't want us to–I'm sure there's plenty of tea and water or soda we could have instead of soju." He said, dead serious.

Myungsim couldn't help but chuckle at how easily Yongju pivoted his drinking plans when she complained.

"Of course you can drink–just don't drink too much. I won't be able to help and carry you home,"

Yongju laughed out loud, imagining how funny it would be. "It's settled then–please stop worrying about it and join me on the sofa–the surgery technique is really interesting."

He stepped closer to his Myungsim and reached for her hand. His gaze instantly noticed the wedding band on his wife's ring finger and he couldn't quite explain the immense joy that surged within him, knowing today, he married the love of his life. 

fin.