[Moonsun] Motherhood

Ch.9

Rays of sunlight sneaked through the loosely closed curtains, dancing and jumping on the burgundy blanket covering the two sleeping figures, which was partly true. Yongsun had woken up for a while but chose to lay still on their bed, silently admiring the serene features on the person beside her. If what happened last night had been a dream, then she prayed whoever up there to never pull her out of this bliss.

Suddenly remembering something, Yongsun sneaked into the blanket, face to face with Byulyi's clothed belly. She placed her hand on it and cooed:

- Hi sweetie. I should probably do this later since I may wake your mother up but I really can't wait. I think I have introduced myself to you as auntie right? Due to unexpected circumstances I have now upgraded to become your second mother, yay! - Yongsun slightly giggled at her own childlike-ness. - My words still stand, except that I will love you to the moon and back, like how I will always love your mama, from now on till forever.

- Promise? - Said a sleepy Byulyi, and she shuddered a little because the younger's morning voice sounded incredibly sexy.

- No. - She joked. The brown-haired woman cracked an eye open, looking at her in confusion. Yongsun lied down again beside Byulyi.

- I don't like promises. I only promise to do responsibilities I'm forced to fulfill. Loving and being there for you is my privilege that I wouldn't trade for the world. - Yongsun smiled gently, reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Byulyi's ear. The lawyer sighed in content.

- I still can't believe I'm now your woman.

- Neither can I.

- So... are we now, uh, lovers?

- If you want to. - Yongsun grinned.

She returned the smile, hugged Yongsun's face and caressed her cheeks. The chubby cheeks she never ceased to adore.

- Do you think we could have confessed to each other sooner? Like, everyone else noticed there're something between us before we even realized ourselves.

- Don't you see that we were never single at the same time until like, a year ago? - answered Yongsun matter-of-factly. - Now that I think again, indeed there have been some subtle signs, but this moment is the most suitable one. You start to embark on a new journey, I'm welcomed in your life with something more special than what we have ever had with each other. An interesting start for a new chapter, isn't it?

Byulyi didn't say anything else, instead reached out her hand with a blissful smile. Yongsun immediately rested her head on her arm, moving a little so as not to touch her belly, and the two enjoyed the warmth radiating from each other as they cuddled tightly.

***

Byulyi started having fascinating dreams, so fascinating it sometimes became a little bizarre. Almost every breakfast, after gulping down a glass of the green smoothie that she had learned to make and - to her own amazement - started to like, she would ramble on and on about what she remembered to Yongsun. She wouldn't know how her animated talk made her girlfriend even begin waiting for mornings to come despite having to go to work after that, but that was a different story.

The dream that stood out the most to both of them was one that they considered Byulyi's contraception dream, which had a beautiful winged small girl with a halo smiling at the younger woman before flying up against the clouds. Both women didn't understand what it really meant, but they decided that until the baby had a name, they were going to call it their angel.

Today, she no longer had to wait until the next morning to hear her stories about her dreams. Yongsun was abruptly awoken by a loud scream in the middle of the night, and she sprung up to find Byulyi panting and sobbing into her hands, her body violently shaking. Panicked, she turned the night lamp on and quickly pulled her in for a gentle embrace.

- Byul? What happened? Are you okay?

No coherent answers; responded to her were nonstop tears and sniffles. It took the pregnant woman a while to calm down a little, her voice was still shaking as she spoke:

- I-... It.... give me a second. - She tried to control her breaths. Yongsun didn't push her. - I just had a nightmare. It's too lively to not be frightened about it. To be honest, the mere thought of it is enough to make me bawl my eyes out again.

- Do you want to talk? - Yongsun had always been like that, caring and considerate, trying her best to make sure that she was comfortable before having to be open about something in her mind.

- Well... I dreamt of a miscarriage... - Byulyi trailed off. - I don't remember why, but there's blood. A lot of it, dripping down nonstop from between my legs. I just stood there, frozen as my baby's precious life started disappearing. It's scary. I don't want to think about it anymore.

- Then we won't have to think about it anymore, okay? - She quickly answered, fearing that her lover might be triggered by painful thoughts. - It's just a dream, Byul-ah. It's going to be alright. Your pregnancy is still very healthy. Nothing bad will happen, really.

- How do you know? - She knew she might sound a little childish but all she needed right now was some reassurance.

- I just know. I'll be by your side whatever challenge you have to face. Have a rest, it must be very tiring for you. - Yongsun gently laid her down. She snaked her arms around the younger woman's waist while Byul buried her head in her neck as they once again entered the dreamland.

***

- W-wait for me, jebal*!

Byulyi had to stop to catch her breath every few steps. Entering the final trimester, the baby developed rapidly, pressing on the pregnant woman's internal organs and needed a ton of nutritions from its mother. As a result, Byulyi was constantly hungry, out of breath and dizzy due to mild anemia. As usual, Yongsun would pamper her with all kinds of supplement and healthy diet to ensure that the mother and baby were in the best state.

The lawyer started to be picky and she particularly and only wanted to eat food cooked by her partner, and so the psychiatrist had to wake up and arrive home on time to prepare the meals for them. It wasn't to Byulyi's liking either - she didn't want to be a burden to Yongsun, it was just that she could no longer handle any other source of food. The only exception might be bibimbap*, which was gladly delivered by Hyejin - an authentic Jeonju citizen, the city that was most known for this specialty.

However, Yongsun's will to take care of the brown-haired woman was not always possible. Her workload at Asan was a thing to consider; the biggest problem, though, lied in whether the lawyer wanted to be taken care of. A typical feature of pregnancy was sudden mood swings, and when Byulyi thought she wouldn't have to suffer from it, the twenty-fifth week came and suddenly she became another person.

Yongsun almost could not hold back her laugh seeing the other cry while watching... Mr. Bean. Observing someone who was otherwise cold and composed expressing so diverse emotions became a little pastime for the brunette, although from time to time it wasn't that fun, like when Byulyi became grumpy for absolutely no reason. It might be the increase in hormone level; it might be the fact that their angel seemed to be a potential athlete. It kicked more frequently and harder, sometimes making Byulyi wince in slight pain, and was especially active during night, leaving the pregnant woman sleepless.

She made every effort to understand, but sometimes it was very sensitive for her to touch her. A glare from Byulyi was enough for Yongsun to try to remember whether she accidentally poured a little too much salt in her soup two days ago. Her irritability in general just left her bewildered. Oh, and don't even get Yongsun started on that one time she suddenly landed on the ground from the bed in her deep slumber and the reason given by Byulyi was "I can't sleep, so you should not either."

Every day was a new day though, and Byulyi and Yongsun were just content to be able to experience such interesting and exciting changes in their life. With each other.

_____

jebal (Korean): please

bibimbap: Korean mixed rice