"We have three gestational sacs, Which means, you're having three babies in one go." Minjeong grinned from ear to ear. She was happy to deliver the joyful news to the couple.
"Oh God," Hanni gasped in shock.
"Three babies? I'm having triplets?!"
"Holy shh—"
"Min, don't swear in front of the babies!"
"Sugar..." Minji changed her cursed word right away." Three?!"
The universe precisely knew how to mess with Minji. The three oval patterns on the screen were clear evidence of what kind of live she'd be living for the next nine months ahead. She was not an obstetrician but she had enough knowledge about this matter.
"Babe, triplets! Oh my God! They're going to be so cute!" Hanni squeezed Minji's hand excitedly. Her eyes formed the perfect crescent shape indicating how ecstatic she was by Sana's statement. She shortened their distance then gave Minji a soft kiss on her lips.
"I love you."
"I love you." Minji returned the kiss.
Minjeong let the couple to hear their babies' heartbeat. It wasn't that strong since they were still so tiny but it was enough to make the parents to be incredibly happy. Minji had listened so many types of heartbeats in her live but nothing could beat those that she was listening now.
They were beyond beautiful.
And she didn't dare to imagine if one of those hearts stop beating.
Hanni was busy talking animatedly to Minjeong to notice the forceful smile Minji had on her face. Multiple pregnancies associated with a higher rate of neonatal morbidity and mortality, paralleling the increased risk of preterm delivery, low birth weight, and other associated high-risk morbidities. So frankly, Minji was far from relieved at the moment.
Minjeong made a DVD and printed the paper as documentary for a couple. She prescribed all supplements Hanni needed and informed them about what to do and not to do and every signs that they had to be aware. After the consultation session was done, Hanni excused herself to the toilet inside Sana's practice room.
"Minji Unnie, try to be more relax. If I don't know you very well, I'd say you're not happy about this." Minjeong spoke lowly even though Hanni couldn't hear their conversation.
"Minjeong, you know exactly how dangerous multiple pregnancy is. I can end up losing them all." Minji sighed wearily. All of sudden her energy oozed out of her.
"Hey, I'll be with you guys in every step of the way, okay? If something happen, we'll figure something out." The obstetrician patted Minji's arm supportively.
"Now show her some blissful spirit otherwise you'll end up sleeping on the couch for being an ungrateful partner." Minjeong whispered the last part at the same time Hanni walked out of the toilet.
"What are you guys talking about?" Hanni cheerfully linked her arm to Minji's.
"Oh nothing, just work stuff." Minjeong replied smoothly.
"Anything else I can help?"
"As the matter of fact, yes. Come to our house for dinner this weekend, I want to thank you properly. I'll ask Karina personally to accompany you. What do you say?"
"But you're not cooking, tough. No heavy physical activity, remember?" Minji interjected.
"Cooking is not heavy at all."
"Yes it is, Babe."
"But-"
"It's a no." Minji stated calmly but the determined voice was loud enough for Hanni to understand that she wasn't down to any argument.
"We'll order something nice, then. How's that sound?"
"I'll definitely come." Minjeong smiled amusedly.
"Oh! Let's go picnic on Sunday!" The pregnant lady suddenly voiced her idea.
"All of us! I'll call Ryujin first." She rummaged her bag to get her phone and dialed the Doctor's number right away.
Minji and Minjeong exchanged a delicate glance.
"Just do whatever she wants." Minjeong mouthed slowly earning a weak nod from Minji.
"Ryujin's in." Hanni declared.
"I'm in too."
"Well, me too. Whatever make you happy, Baby." Minji set a quick peck on Hanni's temple.
"We shouldn't keep Minjeong any longer. She has other patients."
They bid their goodbye with a warm hug. Before parted from Minji, Minjeong managed to whisper "Don't argue with pregnant lady. It gets you nowhere." Minji was certain as hell that advice would come in handy in the future.
******
Huh Yunjin sucked at feeling. Personally for her, there was a reason why she preferred alone. She was that kind of person who got easily bored with the same old love. Love was exciting at the beginning.
Correction: only at the beginning.
"She was the Casanova in this hospital."
"Oh?"
"She probably had banged half of female population here."
"Really?"
A nod confirmed her question.
"They just willingly gave it to her?"
"Have you seen her?" The other resident shook her head.
"No human in their right mind would reject her at all cost. She's too attractive to pass on."
"Did she make a move on you?"
"Surgical resident is a big no for her. Maybe it's her way to keep her dignity. But she changed after she got married. Her wife is ridiculously pretty and sexy, I tell you. She's smart, a lawyer. Perfect."
Yunjin didn't reply. She was engaged with her mind. It had been a while since this powerful feeling came by. Maybe, it was just a silly crush — a harmless crush, so she claimed — or she hoped so. To her defense, it wasn't just her who felt that way towards Kim Minji.
Oh yes, she observed her attending very well. Physically speaking, Minji was flawless, she's tall, very pretty and she was cute. In intelligence aspect, she was brilliant at what she did. Yunjin believed that the firm unbreakable look on the outside was just a mask to hide her true soft soul inside.
"Chae, you go ahead to the cafeteria. I have to give my case to Dr. Kim first."
"Oh? Sure."
Yunjin turned to the right wing where Minji's office was located.
Honestly, her feeling started as a crush but whom was she kidding? The more she worked with Minji, the more her feeling grew. It started to worry her. She caught herself thinking about Minji every hour of every day, imagining them together having a good time.
Her infatuation developed in no time.
She was well aware to the fact that Kim Minji was a married women — to her old friend, no less.
She breathed in and out a few times to calm her nerves down. She had to get whatever feeling she felt to Minji as fast as possible. It was getting out of hands and it drove her nuts.
She knocked on Dr. Kim's door. She thought the person she was looking for wasn't there, but she heard a soft voice asking her to come in instead. She carefully pushed the wooden door. She felt her heart dropped when she saw Hanni in there.
The universe was obviously trying to warn her.
"Yunjin!"
"H-hey, Han." She welcomed the other girl in an awkward hug.
"What are you doing here?"
"Minji needs to recheck her patient before we go home so I wait for her here." She cheerfully spoke.
"Are you looking for her?"
"Not exactly," She chuckled dryly.
"I just stop by to put this on her desk." She mentioned the thick paper she was holding.
"Okay. Hey, so... we're going on picnic this Sunday. Do you want to join us?" Hanni pulled Yunjin to sit on the couch.
And pour more salt to my bleeding wound? No, thanks.
"Ryujin, Haerin, Minjeong, Karina, Yujin and her husband also my friends Yeji and Danielle will be there too." Hanni continued her blabber.
"They're all my attending, Han." Yunjin rolled her eyes.
"It's going to be really awkward. I'm sorry but I don't think I can go."
"Well, how about coffee sometime?"
"Sure."
"Wait, I don't think coffee is good for my babies. Let's just meet at normal diner."
"Excuse me? Babies?" Yunjin increased her brows.
"Yeah," Hanni blushed sheepishly.
"I'm pregnant."
"Oh," for some vague and crazy reason, her heart sank deeper.
"With Minji?"
"Of course with her, silly! We're having three babies!"
"C-congratulations."
"Thanks!" Hanni's mood was unbelievably high and nothing smack it down. Not even Yunjin's fake, unenthusiastic, halfhearted respond.
"Baby, I'm done. Let's go home." Minji bargained into the room as she put her phone inside her pocket.
"Dr. Kim." Yunjin quickly stood up and bowed at her attending.
"Dr. Huh?"
"I just my paper—you," she rambled incoherently.
"Give it to me," Minji reached out as Nancy handed her case report to her.
"Prepare it well, Dr. Huh. This is your last join case. Don't mess it up."
"Of course, Doc. I better take my leave," She bowed again to Minji and hesitantly hugged Hanni goodbye.
"Call me!" Hanni shouted right after she was out of the office. Yunjin was grateful she managed to hide her red eyes.
Well, there was a reason why a crush called a crush. It was the most painful thing you could ever endure in your life other than someone breaking your heart.
******
Hanni enjoyed her pregnancy wholeheartedly.
In the first trimester she had to endure terrible morning sickness, light headed, not to mention her nose became very sensitive to every smell. The only food she desired was pizza with a lot of Tobasco sauce. That was quite contradicted with her sensitive nose but that was the truth. Although her stomach size was bigger than the usual single gestation since she had three babies developing inside her, she was far from healthy. Hanni said she was fine but her wife didn't buy it. So Minji took Hanni to Minjeong to hear her opinion about this.
"Please don't take it personally, okay? This Dr. Kim speaking and what you're going to hear is a professional suggestion."
Hanni's grip on Minji's hand hardened.
"For you and your babies better health, I suggest terminating one of them." The stillness in the quiet room was deafening. Minji's shoulder slumped hopelessly at Minjeong's advice. Her heart was breaking into pieces. The world seemed to stop spinning at the moment.
"No." Hanni said with tears overflowed on her cheeks.
"No! I'm not giving up my babies!" She shook her head fiercely, refusing the idea.
"Minji, I'm not giving up my babies! No!"
Minji quickly enveloped Hanni and shoothed her back softly. She let her wife sobbed in her arms and desperately held back her own tears. She stared at Minjeong with unreadable expression. Her opinion was not unreasonable, Minji knew that. Hanni's weight didn't increase accordingly due to the constant vomit and loss of appetite. She forced herself to eat but it was useless because ended up throwing it all out.
"Baby—"
"This is not open for discussion." Hanni wiped away her tears. Her voice was weak but firm.
"I'm not going to give them up for whatever reason."
They settled with more drugs and multivitamin to support Hanni's pregnancy. Minji poured all her attention to Hanni only. She took a leave from work to take care of her better. A week after their appointment with Minjeong, Hanni's parents came for a visit. Magically, Hanni's physical condition increased steadily. Minji wasn't sure what exactly her mother in law was doing but Hanni became more relax and her frequency of vomiting decreased.
"What do you mean?"
"It's only been two weeks since your Mom arrived and you're already getting better. I can't help but wonder if I didn't do the right thing."
"Don't say that." Hanni frowned.
"You've done everything for me, Babe. Can we just be grateful?"
"Alright."
Hanni dared to say her strength improved when she entered the fifteenth weeks. The perpetual nausea gradually stopped. She could eat everything she desired. In fact, she ate a lot. She was hungry all the time, especially in the middle of the night. It caused Minji to run back and forth to the twenty-four hours diner at their apartment complex to buy food. Sometimes she desired the specific sweet and sour pork at the certain Chinese restaurant that located an hour away from their house.
Out of question, her body was changing drastically. Her super model figure turned to be an overweight elephant, in her own words. Despite of that, Hanni never really complained. The memory of hearing her babies' tiny heartbeat was enough for her to carry on.
"I want them, I beg for them. Why would I make a fuss about it? This is nothing to compare to what I will get." She said when her friends in pregnancy club asking about her experience. Most of those pregnant ladies expressed their annoyance over the uncomfortable feeling because everything about them was changing.
Minji tried her best to maintain her behavior since Hanni's boundary to deal with her was naturally decreased. Hanni already had a lot on her plate at the moment, the least Minji could do was minimalizing her irritating habits. There were nights when Minji had to sleep on the couch because Hanni needed all the bed for herself or Minji was just being really annoying and Hanni just couldn't stand her.
******
Minji put her car key on its place as she proceeded her way to the living room. The TV was on but there was no sign of Hanni.
"Baby?" She called her wife.
"Hey, you're home already?" Hanni walked out from the kitchen with a small coconut on her hand. She sucked the liquid from straws, enjoying every drops of it.
"Yeah, I'm done for the day." She pecked Hanni's lips softly.
"You drink a lot of that coconut recently."
Hanni silently offered the fruit to Minji. She actually didn't fancy coconut water in cold weather. It made her pee a lot. But well, don't argue with pregnant lady and just do whatever she wants.
"Taste good." Minji smiled.
"So, how's your day?" She put her arms around Hanni's shoulder.
"Let's see... I bought the additional bed and I visited the wallpaper store, they gave me the booklet. We can go through that later." She paused a bit.
"That's it."
"You brought the additional bed?" Minji increased her brow.
"Yes. Like I said, they're not going to sleep on babies bunks before they at least one year old." Hanni took Minji's hand and led her to the spare bedroom.
"I thought you agree with that."
"Yeah, I agree. But I also thought that we agree to wait on buying the bed." Minji subtly reminded her wife.
"The bed is nice, okay? It's on sale and this one is the only one left. I have to fight with this lady to get it and of course as you can see yourself, I won. So it's double win for me." Hanni opened the door and let Minji in to take a look at the brand new single bed she just bought.
"See? Nice, right?"
"Um... yes." Minji answered hesitantly. Despite the well-known brand printed on it, the color of mattress was pink and who the hell would sleep on a pink bed?
Hanni sighed at the unenthusiastic respond. "We can return it if you don't like. Or I can sell it again or whatever."
"Okay... I don't like it." She eyed her wife for a moment before a smug smirk formed upon the latter's lips.
"You'll get used to it. I like it." Hanni shrugged easily then walked out of the room.
Minji suppressed a groan then followed her wife. She was probably overreacted. The mattress will be covered by sheet anyway so she won't see its pink color. But still... since she was the one who'd be sleeping on that additional bed for a year, she thought she could choose it by herself.
"Guess not." She mumbled quietly.
Hanni wasn't keen to be apart from their newborns in early age. She didn't feel safe. Besides, she wanted both Minji and her to bond with the babies in every way possible. Minji, of course, agreed with the idea. That was why she gave her consent to add more bed in their bedroom.
But not a pink bed.
That night, they busied themselves choosing the right color for the babies' room. Yes, they'd sleep with them but playroom was a must.
"No pink, Babe. We don't know their gender yet and we won't know till they're born, remember?"
"It's just too pretty." Hanni looked at the 'pale violet red' it was what written on the paper but obviously Minji only acknowledged it as pink.
"Boys don't like pink."
"Who says our babies will be boys?" Hanni looked at her accusingly.
"Did you ask Minjeong about it?"
"No." Minji shook her head.
"I want it to be surprise as much as you want. I'm just stating a fact; boys don't like pink."
"You can't generalize them, Min. It's just you who doesn't like it. My babies will love pink whether they're boys or girls."
"But-"
"But we can't decide it yet because that's up to them so we can settle to the neutral color for now." Hanni finished her sentence first before Minji argued.
"Thank you." Minji sighed, relieved. She kissed Hanni's temple then focused on the booklet back.
Babies' necessity shopping was tiring but very much fun. Since they decided to wait regarding their gender, they had to buy everything in neutral color. Needless to say, there were soft pink goods simply because Hanni couldn't resist and Minji couldn't disagree, but thankfully it wasn't that many.
Minji rested her chin on Hanni's shoulder. She back hugged her wife at the doorway, both were staring at the decorated playing room.
"They're going to be here soon," Hanni said dreamily.
"Our perfect little family."
"Yeah, our perfect little family." She plated a kiss on Hanni's neck lovingly.