TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER
"DO YOU NEED ANY HELP?"
Jeong Yeonwoo glared at the hand that was offered to her, choosing to respond in an icy voice, "I've got it, thanks."
Han Seojun laughed; he found her callousness amusing, and that only made her expression all the more grumpy. But he kept his hand held out, and sang, "I think you're going to need all the help you can get."
She groaned, "Ugh, fine," and took his hand, letting him pull her further up the hill. "How much longer?"
"Patience, Yeonwoo-ah. Look, we're already here!" They walked towards the headstone with the numerous number of plants and flowers surrounding it. Along with the first Yeonwoo had planted, she had grown more. Magnolia and wisteria, hyacinth and honeysuckle adorned the space surrounding Seyeon's headstone, as well as the pictures Suho and Seyeon had set up over the years.
Yeonwoo groaned, "Gosh, I've just been terrible to you lately, haven't I?"
But Seojun just massaged her shoulders and said understandingly, "I understand honey, it's the hormones."
"Or it's the fact that I've been married to you for barely a year, and yet here we are."
"It's not just my fault!" Seojun burst out.
At this, Yeonwoo had the grace to blush. "Alright, fine. Now are you going to be the one to break the news to Seyeon, or am I?"
He thought about it for a moment. "How about we do it together? On the count of three, one, two, three!"
"We're going to be parents!" They shouted together, their jubilant voices echoing over and down the hillside.
"We wanted you to be the first to know that I'm pregnant, Seyeon-ah," Yeonwoo said, her eyes glinting with tears that were a mixture of joy, yet sorrow that he wasn't here in person.
(But she swore in that moment, she could feel a warm presence that could only be described as a hug. She decided to tell Seojun tonight, just before they slept, as was their routine of telling each other all about their day).
Her husband put an affectionate arm around her shoulder. "We miss you a lot, buddy. But we hope you'll watch over us, and protect our little bun."
"I'll tell our baby all about you. I'll tell her all about her amazing uncle, my brother, all our happy memories. And especially how you're now a star shining brightly in the sky." She patted her stomach, which wasn't even showing the slightest sign of a bump yet.
"How are you sure our baby is going to be a girl?"
"Guess!"
"Another guessing game?"
Yeonwoo shrugged. "It's part of the fun."
"But I always end up being wrong!" Seojun whined.
"Just try!"
"Alright, fine. Uhh, you had some sort of epiphany?"
Yeonwoo gasped. "That's right! Well ... it was more of a dream. It all started when I found myself in a flower field, and then ... "
As she described her dream to Seojun, they began the slow descent down the hill. Yeonwoo then mentioned to Seojun, "Remember, we're having lunch at my grandmother's after this. We're telling her right when dessert is being served, okay?"
"And don't forget we're having dinner with both our families at that fancy Chinese restaurant you love so much tonight to tell them the news. Gowoon's arriving this afternoon and Juyeong's picking her up, so he's coming too. I set it all up, you see." He looked very proud of himself.
The summer in which Yeonwoo and Seojun started dating, Gowoon was offered a job at the prestigious Shiki Theatre Company in Japan. She wanted nothing more than to go, seeing as she was such an avid fan of manga and Japanese culture. Thinking they couldn't handle the long distance, she broke up with Juyeong and broke his little heart.
The time in which Gowoon was absent had enabled Juyeong and Seojun to bond, surprisingly. Now, there was no-one who wanted them back together more than him.
"Don't worry, they'll eventually find their way back to each other, she loves him too much. Also, Jugyeong and Suho want to reschedule lunch tomorrow because their twins have a playdate with some kid from their preschool."
"Jeez, how do they deal with kids let alone twin boys?!" Seojun said, looking very frazzled for a moment. His wife bit back a smile as she turned to face him.
"Are you getting cold feet now?" she teased.
Seojun scratched the back of his neck. "Kinda. What if I'm not going to be a good father?"
"You will. I just know it. You're going to be the most doting, supportive father that ever was. When our baby turns out to be a girl, I'm worried I'm going to have to be the bad cop because you'll always be taking her side. You're going to spoil her way too much."
"That won't happen, you'll always be my favourite girl," He said nonchalantly, putting an arm around her and hugging her close to him.
Yeonwoo gave him an are-you-serious look. "You wanna have a bet?"
"You always end up being right," he chuckled.
"By the way, how's that new boy group going?"
The band had been taking an indefinite hiatus ever since most of the members had started getting married. Therefore, Seojun was focusing most of his energy into composing projects, a few reality shows here and now, and training budding new artists. There was even talk of him joining a boy group survival show as a trainer. His current project was working with a new boy group that was debuting under Move Entertainment, which Heekyung had just recently become CEO of.
"Not bad. They're a hardworking bunch, and they remind me a lot of me and my band when we were younger."
Yeonwoo laughed. "Sure, honey. And don't forget, Sua would really like an autograph."
"I can't believe that woman is still stanning boy groups!"
"She has two daughters and Taehoon, who simply spoils them rotten, while she has to be the bad guy. So she's going to need an outlet. I'm planning to FaceTime Sujin tonight after dinner, since she and Youngsoo are only returning from their UNICEF trip in South America around my due date."
"When does your maternity leave start? Maybe once my current project ends, we could take a little holiday in Jeju Island?"
"I haven't talked to my colleagues or told my students yet, but in two months when I'm four months pregnant, I can apply for leave so that they can find a suitable replacement."
"I'm sure they won't find a better cello professor at Seoryeong than you."
Ever since Yeonwoo had received her PhD at Seoryeong, she had started teaching there. She had already built herself a good foundation as a graduate student, so she was proving herself to be a very popular member among the faculty and students alike—also, it slightly helped that she was the girlfriend-turned-wife of Han Seojun, the handsome lead singer and guitarist of the legendary band.
"You're such a sweet-talker."
"But you love me."
Yeonwoo rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Whatever. Now, let's get to my grandmother's house."
They got into their car, and started the drive to Yeonwoo's grandmother's house. He turned on the radio and miraculously, a song that Seojun had produced a few months ago with Suho for another boy band had just begun to play.
"Come on, sing along!" Seojun cheered, tapping the wheel.
"I'm a loser, I'm a loser!" Yeonwoo sang. "Lover with a dollar sign—"
"IS A LO$ER!" They both screamed at the top of their lungs.
Yeonwoo looked over to Seojun as he sang in his hypnotising, sweet-as-honey voice; to her, he was her particular shade of yellow. To her, he was the brightest shade of yellow, encompassing joy and sunshine, comfort and warmth. He had brought the light back into her life she had long thought lost. She was lucky to be with him, and he lucky to be with her.
And so, with laughter and love, they drove off together into the sunset, ready for whatever was to come their way.
FINIS
started: February 15th 2021
finished: August 24th 2021
published: August 29th 2021