Sorry for not updating yesterday, got busy with life yknow. So I'll do a double update for you guys😊😊
7 months later...
Jimin looked down at her baby bump and smiled softly.
Even though she was almost 9 months already, she was lucky enough that she didn't have a super swollen belly like most women have so her back didn't hurt as much as it did to other women. But yes, she had to admit that it did hurt a lot sometimes.
She touched it carefully, hoping she could feel her baby moving around.
After some seconds and, if as in cue, she could feel her baby kicking her tummy.
"Hello there, Jeongwoo ah..."
It had been seven months since Minjeong had passed away.
At the beginning, it was hell. She didn't know how she was supposed to deal with it, or what she should do. She felt lost most times, but she, somehow, always managed to find peace.
She had heard so many hurtful comments coming from her very own family. Their looks of disgust towards when they discovered she was pregnant. And not even her family; but also the whole country. Netizens commented how much of a slut she was for living alone with her girlfriend and for getting pregnant out of wedlock.
But those didn't affect her anymore.
What hurt her the most in the pit of her chest, was the impossibility of seeing Minjeong ever again.
Everything was so hard without her. Before she had died, she knew she was attached to her. But now, having to deal with a pregnancy and a life without her, she could truly feel how much she needed her.
Minjeong knew how to cheer her up, despite the occasion. She was not afraid of telling and showing her how much she loved her. She was so sincere with her...She was one of these few people one could trust blindly in.
She breathed in and rubbed her tummy softly, looking at it with a faint grin.
"...I'm sorry."
The baby kicked again and she nodded, "I know. I miss mommy too."
She looked outside, smiling as she noticed those bright yellow, red, orange and blue tones painting the sky in such delicate ways. Although it was quite cold outside, despite it being five in the afternoon; she just decided to collect her things on the table and get up.
Jimin, although pregnant, revised her biology appointments every single day. Giselle had bought her a small tank and a couple goldfish, with the purpose of cheering her up. What Giselle triggered was Jimin's incentive to revise everything she had learned in Zurich.
She would stare at the fish for some time, and write the changes in their behavior or any little change she noticed.
It was fun to revive those nice times.
She got up from her chair and sighed, pausing her hands on her hips as she walked towards the door of her bedroom. She took her knee-length jacket from the hanger and wore it, preparing herself for the cold day outside; before she eventually exited her bedroom.
"...Going somewhere, Miss Jimin?"
She turned around softly and smiled at the butler.
"... I'm going to observe the sunset outside."
The older man smiled back at her.
"Keep yourself warm, miss. And don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."
"Thank you, Suho shii."
She breathed out deeply and smiled, rubbing her belly with her hands as she walked down the stairs slowly.
"Alright, baby, let's go outside and watch the sun setting~"
...
"Are you planning on showing him the ultrasound?"
Giselle's whisper made Jimin look at her best friend.
Jimin wanted so much to show that ultrasound to her father, in hopes he would finally recognize the baby as his grandson. Now that she knew she was having a boy, she hoped he would finally accept her condition happily.
The older female sighed and breathed in deeply, holding the envelope tightly in her hands.
"...I'm not sure."
Giselle sighed and took her friend's hand in hers, "Hey," She muttered, hoping Jimin would look at her again. As soon as she regained her friend's attention back, she smiled faintly.
"You don't have to do it alone, Rina."
Jimin stared at her best friend's eyes intensely, before gazing back at the envelope.
She took a deep breath.
"Dong Han shii, can you please go to the headquarters?"
The driver looked at her through the rearview.
"Of course, Miss Yu."
Jimin slumped back in her seat and breathed in, biting her lip in nervousness. She looked outside, looking at the busy landscape of Seoul. The hospital wasn't that far away from the bank's headquarters, so she knew they would be there in no time.
Giselle gripped her friend's hand tighter and gave her a slight smile, even though Jimin wasn't looking at her.
"Are you sure of this, Jimin ah?"
"We're here, miss."
Jimin looked at the driver as he parked the car, just in front of the large building that was the headquarters of Yu Banks.
"Thank you," Giselle said, just before the driver got out of the car and went to Jimin's side and opened up her door. He helped Jimin get out of the car, even though she said she didn't need any help.
Jimin walked up the stairs in front of the building, closely followed by Giselle.
Once inside the building, she walked towards the reception in one of the corners of the huge wall.
"Miss Yu," The receptionist said, as she bowed down, "Is there anything you desire?"
Jimin smiled, "Yes, Mi Yu unnie. Do you know where my father is?"
The woman looked at the screen of the computer, and typed some things on her keyboard.
"Mr. Yu is getting out of a meeting in five minutes...or maybe even sooner."
Jimin smiled, "Thank you~"
Giselle looked around and gasped softly in surprise.
"Jimin?"
Jimin turned around at the mention of her name, looking serious. She looked at her father and the variety of foreign investors and businessmen around him, all of them staring at her.
"Who's she?" An Australian investor asked him, in his clear Australian accent.
"My daughter," He answered in his heavily-accented English, before he turned to look at her.
Jimin cleared her throat and bowed down in respect, before introducing herself in her perfect english.
"Hello, my name is Yu Jimin. I'm Yu Sooman's daughter."
One of the European investors approached her and shook hands with her, "Very pleased to meet you, Miss Yu," He laughed softly and looked back at Jimin's father, "You have a really beautiful young lady whom many males would wish having as their wife, Mr. Yu, " He smiled, looking down at her belly, smiling, "But I see she's already been taken."
He nodded and smiled, before looking back at the other businessmen.
"You can go ahead. I'll be with you in no time."
The investor bid his farewells to Jimin and left with the other men.
Sooman approached his daughter, and stopped on his tracks.
"Why did you-"
She showed him the envelope and gave it to him.
"You can keep it, I have a copy."
...
Jimin smiled sadly, sitting down on a bench swing in the garden just by the entrance to her house. She breathed out, her warm breath coming out as if it were a small cloud of white smoke in the air.
She leaned her head against one of the chains that held the swing, and rubbed her belly slowly, her eyes set on the bright, vibrant colors displaying just in front of her, to be seen by everyone. Her fingers were cold because of the freezing March air, but something just couldn't move her away from her spot.
"...Mommy kissed me for the first time on a day like this," She whispered quietly, her body swinging softly with the bench's movements.
She breathed out a sad smile, a tear rolling down her right cheek. She gulped down silently and took a shaky breath, her eyes filling up with tears.
She just missed her so much.
She missed everything about her.
Her voice.
Her face.
Her smile.
Her embrace.
Her lips tightly pressing against hers.
"...You miss her too, don't you? Hmm?"
She looked down at her swollen belly, rubbing it gently with her hands. Those last months had been so hard...Going through a pregnancy without anyone's support was way harder than what she had previously thought.
But everytime she thought she was only one week away from becoming a mother, it just made her realize that she wasn't alone.
Yes, maybe everyone had left her behind. Including her very own family.
Maybe Minjeong wasn't there anymore to hug her during a rough time.
But she still had her baby.
And that little creature wasn't going to judge her off of her name. He would love her for who she was. For being his mother.
"...I love you," She muttered, one of her tears falling off of her chin, a soft smile gracing her lips, "I love you so much."
She sighed and stared back at the sky, her lips curving up as she softly hummed to one of her favorite songs. She could feel her son's insistent kicks, and she just smiled at it; feeling blessed for feeling her moving and growing up inside of her, knowing that was a sign that he was okay.
"...Aigoo, you're really-"
She was going to say something; but her words were soon cut as she felt a strong pain in her lower abdomen. Her lips parted and her eyes blinked quickly, as she leaned her head down to feel what was possibly going on.
"Ah-!"
It wasn't until it hit her again that she finally realized what was happening to her body right in that moment.
She was in labor.
She grabbed her belly tightly, getting up from the swing with all the strength she had, supporting her weight on her arms just in case her legs gave in. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, taking a moment to take in a deep breath. However, a strong contraction hit her and she yelped in pain.
"Miss-!"
She looked around, gulping down hardly as the butler came to her running, holding her up on his arms.
"H-hospital, n-now!"
_
"How's my daughter, doctor? Anything new?"
A middle aged woman asked the doctor, hoping that he would tell her that her daughter had improved and that she was going to wake up soon.
"Nothing, she's still the same...It's been 7 months already."
"But, not even a little sign? Nothing?"
"Ms. Kim, you need to understand that her condition is very severe. Another person with the same kind of accident would have died that same day."
"But doctor, is she going to wake up?"
The doctor could see the desperation in the woman's eyes as they teared up. Every single day, her daughter was on the verge of death. With that situation going on for seven months already, it was expected that, one day, she was going to let everything out of her chest.
"We'll do all we can to make her stay alive."
She held on the doctor's coat sleeve, feeling desperate.
"She's having a baby this month...What if she doesn't even have a chance to meet her son..? She loved that baby so much..."
The doctor held on her shoulders and breathed in, "I'm going to be sincere with you, Ms. Kim. There's less than 10% probability she'll even wake up."
"If something goes wrong...Make sure you'll give your grandson a great image of his mother."
Taeyeon sighed and let go of the doctor, nodding quietly.
It had been seven months since her daughter had "died" but she still didn't show any sign of getting better. Absolutely nothing. She was alive, but still sleeping and laying on a bed as if she was a corpse.
The doctor bowed to Taeyeon and she bowed as well, then entered her daughter's bedroom. Everyday would be an adventure so she could get out of home to check up on her daughter without her other children suspecting anything. Her husband would come later so things didn't get too suspicious.
She carefully closed the door behind her.
The beep from the heart monitor echoed in the room, and the breathing machine also made a small noise to be added.
Taeyeon sat on a chair at the side of her daughter's bed, and stared at her. Her black hair covered her front slightly, but she still had that oxygen mask placed above her nose and mouth, because her lungs still had a long way to be fully recovered.
"...Minjeong ah."
It was with a heavy heart that she stared at her.
Would she ever wake up?
She caressed her cheek carefully, smiling tenderly.
"Due date is so close, Minjeong ah," She breathed in, "I hope you can meet Jeongwoo."
Not even 10 minutes had gone by since she had arrived at the clinic and she received a call. It was from Giselle, Jimin's best friend. Although her daughter was "dead" she still contacted Jimin, and helped her in every single way she could.
"Yes, Giselle shii?" She had gotten out of the room and moved to a nearby bathroom to answer the call, because she didn't want Giselle to realize that she was in a hospital.
"Mrs. Kim! Come to Seoul Hospital as soon as you can!"
Taeyeon's heart jumped a bit. Could it be...
"...Don't tell me-"
"-Jimin entered labor some hours ago, she's in the dilation room for some time. Your grandson is coming on the way!"
Taeyeon covered her mouth and smiled, "Of course, I'll be there right away, don't worry."
She happily hung up the phone and just rushed to her daughter's bedroom.
"Minjeong ah, your baby...you're going to be a mother..."
She knew that she wouldn't move or do anything like that, not even speak, but she had to give her the news despite the situation they were facing.
______________________________________________________________________
"No Jimin ah, I told you to watch out!" Giselle scolded her, holding her arm tightly. Jimin tried to wiggle free from her friend, but the brunette hottie wasn't giving in.
"How do you want me to watch out if-SHIT!" Jimin yelped in pain, holding the bed sheets tightly. Going into labor wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. It had already been 3 hours since she had been admitted to the hospital and the pain only kept getting worse.
Giselle sighed deeply and looked at Jimin. "C'mon Rina. I told you already. It's going to be better if you don't move too much and keep quiet" She whispered, caressing Jimin's face. She looked well into her friend's watery eyes. She was enduring so much pain for herself.
"Gi...it hurts." Jimin muttered, her voice shaky "...I feel like I'm dying..." She muttered, trying to regain her composure.
"No! There's absolutely no way you're going to die!" Giselle retorted back, mad and fired up, "Don't you ever dare to repeat that again!"
"But if that happens...It means I can see Minjeong, right?" Jimin asked her friend, trying to find an answer, "...She's waiting for me in heaven, right...?"
Giselle stared at her emotionlessly, as if Jimin had told her something that had shaken her mind up. Minjeong's mother entered inside of the room in that moment, looking at her daughter's girlfriend, while holding the cup of coffee she had picked down at the bar seconds before.
"Jimin ah..."
Jimin looked at Taeyeon and smiled faintly, as the middle aged woman rushed to her side, leaving the coffee in Giselle's hands. She kissed the girl's forehead and caressed her hair, trying to calm Jimin down.
"Breathe in, Jimin ah. More contractions are coming."
Taeyeon wanted to be like a mother to Jimin at this moment. Jimin needed her mother so much right in that moment. Although Jimin didn't have a mother anymore, Taeyeon had promised herself she would be next to her at this moment.
She wanted so much to tell Jimin that, hours before, she had been holding Minjeong's hand with the same hand that was holding her hand right in that very same moment.
But, of course she couldn't tell anything about it.
Taeyeon reached for a small towel and wiped the sweat out of Jimin's forehead, then looked at Giselle, "When you are in the delivery room with her, try doing this and say things that will calm her down. It'll make our Jimin feel better," She added at the end, with a soft smile.
______________________________________________________________________
Sooman sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead, and pulled another load of paperwork aside. He heard some knocks on the door; which, at the beginning, he tried to ignore; but, eventually, he just looked at the door and sighed.
"Enter."
His secretary entered inside of his office, and bowed down in respect as soon as he saw him.
"Are you because of the negotiations with the Singaporean Bank?"
"No, sir-"
"Oh, must be with the American one-"
"Your daughter's in labor."
Sooman sighed and resumed back to his work.
"So?"
"Sir, it's your grandson we're talking about-"
"He's not my grandson."
"Sir, I must differ in that, your daughter's the one who conceived that baby-"
"Anything else, Young Do?" He asked his secretary, somewhat irritated.
Seeing it wouldn't take anywhere and the man's coldness when talking about that baby, he just decided to give up.
"No, sir."