Chapter 29

[Sierra’s POV]

Dae In and I were walking up the path with Sung Jin in his stroller when we saw a figure sitting on the doorstep.

“Jun Su oppa!” Dae In exclaimed.

He looked up and his expression just pierced through my heart. He looked tired and defeated, even as he gave us a weak smile.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him.

“Waiting for you,” he replied softly.

“I’ll be inside,” Dae In said as she walked in with Sung Jin.

“What do you want?” I asked him, as soon as Dae In went in.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“Don’t be silly. I feel like a whale now,” I replied.

I’m 8 months pregnant, and Hee Jin is due anytime soon. How can I look beautiful?

“Yes you do. Don’t you know that pregnant women have a special glow about them?” he said as he walked towards me.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you here?” I said.

“Let’s go home,” he said.

“What for?”

“I miss you, Sierra. Please come home with me.”

“Why now? What made you change your mind?”

“My mother spoke to me again yesterday. She told me that if I don’t treasure you now, if you really leave me for good, I was going to hate myself forever. I realized that she’s right.”

“So you’re here because you don’t want to have to hate yourself?”

“No. Because I want to make the most of the time we have together, no matter how little of it is left.”

“It took you all these months to realize that was all I wanted from you. For us to just treasure the time we have together,” I said, and I could feel tears coming.

“Mianhae,” he whispered, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. “Mianhae, Sierra. I was such a fool.”

I lifted my hand to touch the mark that the tear made on his cheek.

“I love you,” I said, and he hugged me.

We stood there and cried in each other’s arms. They were tears of relief; relief that we were finally reunited, and they were tears of fear; the fear that we may not have much time left together.

I moved back to our apartment that day, and Dae In seemed so happy to see me go.

“Bye onni,” she waved happily to me.

“You’re so happy to see me go?” I asked her.

“Of course,” she laughed. “I’m happy that you’re back with Jun Su oppa. The both of you are meant to be.”

“Just like you and Yoo Chun?” I teased, and she blushed.

Living with them confirmed to me that Yoo Chun was indeed devoted to Dae In. I was really happy that everything has worked out for all of us.

Jun Su decided to stay home with me until the day Hee Jin was due.

“You don’t need to,” I protested. “I can take care of myself.”

“I want to. I want to spend more time with you,” he insisted.

When he heard that I wanted to name our baby, Hee Jin, he had some comments to make about the name.

“Why Hee Jin?” he asked me.

“I like Hee Jin.”

“Why not some cute name like Hye Bin or Min Ah?” he asked.

“I like Hee Jin,” I insisted.

“Fine, fine. I get to name the next one,” he smiled.

Hee Jin arrived on a rainy autumn day. We were relaxing in the living room when my water suddenly broke. We’d actually scheduled a C-section delivery so that the process of labour wouldn’t strain me, but I guess Hee Jin couldn’t wait.

“It’s time Jun Su,” I told him, and he just got up from the sofa and calmly collected the stuff we needed to take along to the hospital.

He held my hand all the way to the hospital. His other hand gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were almost turning white.

“Jun Su,” I said as I stroked his hand gently, “relax.”

He turned to me and looked at me for a long time when we stopped at a traffic light. I grimaced when I felt a contraction, and then I smiled at him.

“I love you, Sierra,” he said, and he lifted my hand to kiss it.