"Hey! Stop right there, Ri Jeong Hyeok!" Seo Dan bellowed, blocking Jeong Hyeok's angry charge towards the labour and delivery department. He was on a single-minded mission and he was in no mood for anyone standing in his way.
"Move, Dan."
"There are women pushing bowling ball-sized people out in there. You're not going in and making a scene. Don't make call security." Seo Dan stood, hands on her hips, looking as threatening as ever.
"I'm having a baby, I have a right--"
"No, you don't." Seo Dan cut him off.
"Excuse me?"
"The baby is still inside of her and quite honestly, as far as anyone concerned, the father is some nameless geek. So until Se Ri gives you the right, or until the baby is here and a DNA test proves you are the father, you have no right. Now stand down."
"Jeong Hyeok," Hye Jin broke in, her voice impassive. She took his hand and turned him towards her. "You're angry. You have every reason to be. But storming in there right now and yelling at her while she's in labour can't be good for anyone."
"Listen to the step mum, Jeong Hyeok. She is smart."
The righteous indignation that accompanied the revelation of his soon-to-be fatherhood had cause tunnel vision, but fear and guilt were pushing their way into Jeong Hyeok's head now. There was more to think about than him and Se Ri and the immediate obstacle between him and her.
Hye Jin.
She had been exceedingly understanding about the fact that he'd had an affair, but this was a whole different ballgame. And yet she was still here. If he were in her shoes, he'd be halfway to Incheon by now.
"Oh god, Hye Jin. I am so sorry."
"Don't," she said coldly, holding a hand up between them. "Now is not the time or place. We have to deal with the reality in front of us. We can talk about ramifications later."
He looked back and forth between Hye Jin and the swinging doors between him and Se Ri-- and his baby. God, he was having a baby. And there was no doubt in his mind this baby was his.
"Look," Seo Dan stated in an uncharacteristically compassionate tenor, "We'll figure this out, but you going in there right now is only make things worse. Stress can affect the baby. We don't want a complicated delivery. Once she's born, I'll talk to Se Ri."
Jeong Hyeok's eyes shot up to meet Seo Dan, "She?"
Seo Dan nodded, "It's a girl."
He felt a flicker of warmth in his gut at the image, a daughter.
"Your sister probably wondering where we are," Hye Jin said. "I am going to head back to the waiting room."
"Yes, go along and sit in the waiting room." Seo Dan added.
Jeong Hyeok reached Hye Jin's hand but she pulled it away. And action which obviously didn't go unnoticed to Seo Dan.
"You'll tell me when... when she's here?" he asked, his voice choked with emotions.
"You'll be my first call," Seo Dan replied with a roll of her eyes.
Despite her sarcasm, he knew Seo Dan would follow through. That had to be enough for now. Jeong Hyeok nodded in acceptance. "I'll be in the third floor waiting room."
Jeong Hyeok and Hye Jin turned and made their way back towards the elevator that would take them to Young Ae and her husband. The distance between them was only a few inches, but it felt like a continent. There were no comforting touches, no soothing words. Hye Jin's face remained completely emotionless.
Jeong Hyeok was still simmering with rage, but there was also shame and compunction. A lot of lives had just been upended and the fallout was only to keep growing. All because he had been powerless to draw off one Yoon Se Ri.
"Oh my god, where have you been? You left for coffee and a banana 45 minutes ago and you are banana-less! I need some freaking potassium, kids." Young Ae screeched as they made their way back to the waiting room.
"We got a little sidetracked," Jeong Hyeok replied cautiously.
"Oh yes, instead of a banana, we brought you a niece," Hye Jin snarked. "Congratulations, Auntie."
Young Ae looked back and forth between the pair, her eyes going wide with excitement. "You're pregnant?"
"No. Not me," Hye Jin turned to Jeong Hyeok. "Do you want to tell her about your mistress or should I?" Hye Jin spat.
Young Ae's mouth dropped into a tight 'o' of shock. She obviously didn't expect that word to come from Hye Jin's mouth. She turned her attention to her brother who had the decency to look ashamed. "What happened?"
Jeong Hyeok took a deep breath, pressing his eyes shut for a moment to gather his strength, "We ran into Seo Dan... Se Ri's old roommate..."
"Yoon Se Ri?" Young Ae asked, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "But you haven't seen her in ten years."
"Actually, I haven't seen her in nine months. Exactly nine months." His gaze flitted to Hye Jin's. She needed to understand that he didn't know about this and he had been truthful when he told her it was over. He didn't know if it would help him at all, but he needed her to know.
"You had an affair with your ex?!" Young Ae screeched. She reached up and smacked Jeong Hyeok upside the back of his head. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"A lot, apparently," he admitted shamefaced.
"You are an asshole," Hye Jin mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest defensively and slumping into a seat.
"Wait! How 'exactly'?" Young Ae asked,
"How exactly what?"
"You said 'nine months exactly'. How exactly?"
Jeong Hyeok inhaled deeply, letting the air whoosh out through his teeth as he spoke. "She's in labour as we speak."
"Here?"
Jeong Hyeok nodded.
"So, fate brought you here to this very hospital at the moment your baby is being born-- a baby you didn't even know about and--"
"It's not fate," Jeong Hyeok interrupted his sister. He turned to Hye Jin, "It's not fate!" he insisted. Great. Even now, after everything Se Ri did, his sister was pushing her on him, right in front of Hye Jin. Did this woman have no filter? If she loved Se Ri so much, she could go on and marry her. But Jeong Hyeok was never going to forgive her for this.
Hye Jin scoffed.
Young Ae rolled her eyes, "I mean the baby, Jeong Hyeok. It's a fate for you to be in your daughter's life."
"And the fact that your mind totally jumped right to Se Ri is totally meaningless." Hye Jin added acerbically.
"It is!" Jeong Hyeok insisted. "I meant it when I told you it was over. And even if I hadn't meant it before I am sure as hell do now. I hate her. I want nothing to do with her."
"Whether you want anything to do or not is irrelevant. She is the mother of your child, Jeong Hyeok, She'll be in your life forever."
"No, she won't." Jeong Hyeok insisted, pacing back and forth.
"So, what? You're just going to sign away your parental rights and pretend this never happened?"
"No," Jeong Hyeok said, stopping his pacing, looking up suddenly as though he had the most brilliant idea. "I am going to sue for full custody." Se Ri lived with her parents and was jobless. The woman couldn't even take care of herself. She spent the entire day looking for her underwear for god's sake. And she thought she could raise a child on her own? What kind of life would that be for their daughter? And if it meant Se Ri got to experience the very pain that she was inflicting on him, well that was just an added bonus.
Hye Jin's jaw visibly dropped, her eyes wide with incredulity. "You are insane!" she barked. She turned her attention to Young Ae, "Your brother is officially insane."
"Jeong Hyeok, this is the anger speaking," Young Ae tried to placate him, "Just calm down and think about this."
"No, she is in no place to provide a life for this baby."
"This is ridiculous." Hye Jin roared in an uncharacteristic outburst. She was always calm and collected. "You are not taking a newborn infant from her mother. And if you think for even a moment that I am going to raise your love child as my own, you are completely out of your mind."
Jeong Hyeok shrunk back repentantly. She was right. It was a ridiculous idea. It was spite and anger talking. And he obviously hadn't given a lot of thought to how it would affect Hye Jin. He was a terrible person. "You're right. I am sorry."
"Sorry doesn't cut it, Jeong Hyeok. Not this time. An apology can't make things go back to how they were. Nothing can make things go back to how they were. Nothing is ever going to be the same," She stood up suddenly. "I can't be here. I need to go for a walk."
"Please, Hye Jin. Stay. We need to talk about this."
"No!" she held up her hand to stop his approach. "I need to think, and so do you. Meet your daughter. Talk to Se Ri. And decided what you want in your life from here." She pivoted on her heel and headed back towards the elevator.
"Hye Jin!" Jeong Hyeok called after her.
"Let her go," He felt a warmth of Young Ae's hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles. "You owe her a little space right now."
Jeong Hyeok sighed defeatedly. "I am really screwed up."
"I would classify that as an understatement." Young Ae replied in a typical sisterly fashion. "Sit," she instructed, pointing towards the plastic waiting room seats.
"Shouldn't you go to be with your husband?" Jeong Hyeok asked. Partly because it was true, but mostly to avoid the talk he knew was coming.
Young Ae shook her head. "His parents are visiting him right now and he's totally gorked on pain meds. Which gives me plenty of time to be here, where I am really needed."
Jeong Hyeok sat, arms crossed over his chest and head hung low, refusing to make eye contact with his sister.
Young Ae took a seat next to him, placing a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "You want to explain Se Ri to me?" she asked.
"What's to explain? It's Se Ri. She makes me stupid."
"Really? Because I always thought she made you pretty smart," she replied sincerely.
"I jumped a cliff and almost killed myself because she was mad at me."
"You have performed many idiotic life-threatening stunts while you drunk off your ass. Both before and after Se Ri."
"I quit the company."
"Which was the smartest move you ever made," Young Ae replied sagely. "I still have no idea why you came back."
"So you think I should dump Hye Jin and go whisk Se Ri into my arms, forgiving everything she did? There's a reason we didn't work out."
"I am not saying that. You're the only one who can make the decision. But you need to take some responsibility here. Se Ri isn't some mythical siren. You made a conscious decision to sleep with her despite the fact that you're engaged to Hye Jin." Young Ae prodded.
"Two years," Jeong Hyeok admitted.
"Two years what?"
"We were seeing each other for two years,"
"What?" Young Ae hissed out in astonishment.
"We ran into each other in Hamburg one day and before I knew it, we were tumbling into bed. Hye Jin was still in Paris and I hardly ever saw her. Se Ri was travelling to London a lot for work, so she would stay with me. After Hye Jin moved in, Se Ri called it off, but I didn't like the way we ended thing things, so I flew out here and we said some more.. proper good-byes." Jeong Hyeok's mind flitted back to the first night he and Se Ri had ever spent together. He had shown up at her door, claiming he had wanted to say a proper good night. There had been nothing proper about either of those evenings.
"So she called it off?"
"I know she's not a siren, but she was an addiction. And I fell off the wagon. Hard."
"Oh, baby brother," Young Ae breathed out sympathetically, resting her head on his shoulder, "You are in quite the pickle," she paused for a moment. "But I've got to say, a little baby with your dimple and Se Ri's eyes..."
Jeong Hyeok glared at her for just a moment before letting out a single snicker and relaxing slightly. "Hey! My daughter is going to be more than beauty. Between Se Ri and me, that kid is going to be one smart cookie."
Young Ae laughed, "Waaaayy too smart for you," she agreed.
****
Three hours later, Jeong Hyeok was sitting alone in the waiting room. Hye Jin had yet to return and Young Ae had gone sit with her husband while her in-laws stepped out for lunch. He had thought about grabbing something to eat himself, he hadn't had a bite of food since he and Hye Jin left the restaurant last night, and that had been almost a full 24 hours ago.
But the anxiety was turning his stomach in knots. Besides, he was afraid to step away from the place he told Seo Dan he would be. What if he went back to the cafeteria and Seo Dan showed up and couldn't find him?
He pulled out his phone, which was on the last 10% of its battery life, and opened up a game of Candy Crush. He hadn't had time to waste on phone games in years, but he needed something mindless to divert his attention to.
"If you move that orange one over there, you can make a striped candy which then you can swap with the wrapped one and the explosion will clear all that chocolate."
Jeong Hyeok looked up and was startled by the sound of the nearby voice. "Mrs Han!" he yelped.
"Hi," Se Ri's mother replied cautiously.
"Is she..." Jeong Hyeok started to croak out, but his eyes were filled with tears as the emotion bubbled up within him, cutting off any further words.
"She has arrived," she smiled wistfully, "Congratulations, Appa. You have a beautiful. healthy, baby girl."
"I need to see her," He moved to stand, but Han Jeong Yeon sat down next to him, patting him on the knee.
"Let's talk for a minute first."
Jeong Hyeok tensed suspiciously, "You can't keep her from me," he replied lowly.
Han Jeong Yeon shook her head, "That's not what I am here for. I am going to take you to see her. I just think we need to lay down a few guidelines."
"The only guideline is that I see my daughter."
"I promise," she nodded. "But I imagine you're angry."
"Damn straight I am angry."
"And there's probably going to be yelling."
"It's a safe bet," he agreed,
"And that is your right, I would expect no less. But there's to be no yelling in front of Eun Jung..."
"Eun Jung?"
"It's the name Se Ri settled on."
"Eun Jung," he repeated the name rolling off his tongue easily, "I like it."
"So, you agree?"
Jeong Hyeok nodded in assent.
"Do you need to see her away from Se Ri first? Or can you contain yourself?"
Jeong Hyeok thought for a moment. He didn't want to meet his daughter for the first time in some hallway or waiting room surrounded by a bunch o strangers. And he could already feel the love and joy bubbling up inside him, drowning out the anger. He would focus that positive energy on his daughter long enough to be in the same room as Se Ri without flying off the handle.
"Okay. When you're ready to have words with Se Ri, let me know and I'll take Eun Jung and give you two some space."
Jeong Hyeok stood up hastily, eager to not waste another minute. He was going to meet his daughter. He wasn't sure how it was possible to love someone he'd never met, whose existence he wasn't even aware of until a few hours ago. Nevertheless, his heart was overflowing with some emotion. He had a daughter, and he was in love.
He and Han Jeong Yeon made their way down the hall in silence, waiting wordlessly for the elevators to arrive. It wasn't until they entered the lift and the door slid shut behind them that Jeong Hyeok spoke again.
"Did you know?" he asked quietly, looking straight and not the woman standing beside him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her tense up. "Yes," she admitted. "And I know you probably don't believe me, but I thought she should tell you."
"I believe you," Han Jeong Yeon was never his biggest fan. And she probably hated the idea of her granddaughter growing up in Jeong Hyeok's world.
"She is my daughter, Jeong Hyeok. I will always be on her side, even when she's wrong. You'll see."
He did see and he couldn't fault her for that. "Did anyone else know?"
"No."
Jeong Hyeok winced involuntarily. He wasn't sure if it was the thought of Se Ri having a one-night stand with some guy she picked at the convention or the idea that his daughter would have been raised to believe that she had been the product of such an unholy union that offended him the most.
The metal doors in front of them slid open, and they stepped out of the elevator. Han Jeong Yeon began her trek across the lobby, Jeong Hyeok followed closely behind. They walked through a set of swinging doors and he continued to follow her around the corner and past the nurses' station. She stopped just outside a closed door, room 136. The whiteboard outside the room labelled "Yoon Se Ri"
Han Jeong Yeon turned to face him, "Ready?"
Jeong Hyeok squeezed his eyes shut, trying to still the pounding on his chest. he nodded wordlessly, then turned the knob, and entered.
*****
Baby girl is Jeong Hyeok's daughter! 🎉
And just want to warn you about the incoming angst and perhaps some flashback. God, I miss those feelings! 😂
You probably still have tons of questions. Why did these two break up in the first place? And what hell happened two years ago? I'll be back in a few days! ❤
Votes and comments are deeply appreciated! 💋