January 30, 2021
Jake’s last day of the mandatory fourteen-day quarantine ended yesterday.
Today, he woke up in bed beside Bella and turned to look at her. She was breathing softly and her mouth was hanging open ever so slightly.
Looking at her now, Jake remembered the conversation he had with his mother after Bella had delivered the twins.
She told him that Bella went through fifteen (15) hours of labor and was able to deliver Kija normally. It was a tough delivery that had taken all her strength and Kira had to be delivered via caesarean section.
It wasn’t too long ago when he saw this petite lady struggling to right a tripod that just would not stay strong against the blowing wind. Now, she was sleeping in bed beside him, the mother to his twins.
He was constantly in awe of this woman. Her strength of character was unmatched, as far as he was concerned. He knew she had been through so much but never once had she complained about all these challenges that life had thrown at her.
Instead, she kept looking at the positive side of things and she kept looking forward. She had carried two living human beings inside her against all odds and successfully brought them out into the world at great risk to herself.
In the months when his parents had not been able to come to Cebu yet, she had quietly dealt with the struggles that her pregnancy presented to her. While he was fulfilling his dream, performing for an audience, doing interviews, making other people happy, here she was, silently growing his children for him.
Whenever they would talk, she always had a smile on her face but Jake could see the exhaustion in her big beautiful eyes. And yet, she had not had any complaints.
To him, she was already the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid his eyes on. She grew even more attractive once he got to know her personality. Day by day, she became even more irresistible because of her humor. Now, she was irreplaceable because of how important she was to him.
Jake kissed Bella’s forehead and got up to take a peek at the twins. The two little Jeons were in their separate cribs in the room, near the foot of his and Bella’s bed.
His parents and Bella had chosen to buy both in brown and had lined one crib with light green sheets and the other with purple sheets.
Kija, the boy, was in the crib with green sheets. He had his little baby pillows surrounding him. Kira, the girl, was in the crib with purple sheets. She, too, had her little baby pillows surrounding her. Just like their mother, they were both sleeping soundly.
Jake took as many pictures of them as he could. The first time he had seen them last night, he felt so much pride in being their father. They looked absolutely perfect.
Kija looked exactly like him when he was a baby and Kira was a carbon copy of her mother.
Here, now, Jake felt very contented. He was a global superstar and loved by many but this right here, his Bella and his twins, this was what life was really about. And to share these children with a woman such as Bella, it was almost a dream.
Jake was not religious, neither were his parents but Bella was spiritual and as she would tell him, always be grateful for every little thing. Currently, he said a silent prayer to the Supreme Being and added a small request for a long, healthy and happy life not only for him and Bella but for the twins as well.
A soft knock came on the door and Jake turned to look. It was his mom.
“Joeun Achimieyo (Good morning), Geukie.” She greeted.
“Good morning, Eomma (mom)!” Jake greeted back and ran to his mom to hug her.
She was surprised but hugged him back. “You’re going to be a great father, Geukie. Being away from the twins and keeping them hidden from the world will not make you a bad father.”
Jake nodded against his mother’s smaller frame. “Kamsahamnida, Eomma (Thank you, mom!) You always know what I’m thinking.”
“But, of course, I raised you!” She chuckled. “Breakfast is ready in the dining room. I made Enoki (Mushroom pancakes) and mushroom soup.”
“I think I’ll wait to eat with Bella if that’s alright, Eomma (mom).”
“Alright.” She nodded. “But while I got you for a moment, I’ll need your signature on a few legal documents.”
“Igeo Mwoyeyo (What is it)?”
“It’s an Admission of Paternity and an Affidavit to use the Surname of the Father. Basically, it means you are acknowledging that the twins are your children.” Mrs Jeon sighed. “Like it or not, Kija and Kira are technically illegitimate, Geuk.”
It was Jake’s turn to sigh. “Algo itseumnida, Eomma (I know, mom). I’ve always known that Bella’s the one for me. But I know that she does not want to get married just because we got pregnant. When I look at how quickly things unfolded for us, I kind of feel like it was destiny. I mean, we knew each other for three months before we got together and then two weeks later, we got pregnant. But for Bella, she’s more the type who just takes things one day at a time. She doesn’t want to rush. So maybe when the time is right, all these things will fall into place.” He pointed to the twins. “I actually think it already has.”
Jake’s mother nodded. “You know her best, Geukie. I’ll be right back with the papers.”
Five minutes later, Jake affixed his signature on the documents and had written the required documentation by the Philippine courts. “I’ll get this to the lawyer.” His mom said, waving the brown envelope where they had stashed the papers in. “We have to request him to have these papers sealed.”
“Okay, Eomma(mom). Kamsahamnida (Thank you).” Jake closed the door behind her and walked back to the twins. They were still sleeping soundly.
Jake gently pushed Kija’s crib to one side and he stood in between the sleeping twins. Taking a picture of him with them, he added a text, ‘My two little angels, hyungs’ and sent it to the Seokjin’s 7 babies GC.
He closed the app and returned Kija’s crib beside his sister’s. Jake crawled back into bed and wrapped his arm around Bella, kissing her forehead.
“Thank you for this life, baby.” Bella gently whispered.
“You’re awake?”
“Barely.” Bella giggled. “Your children have your set of pipes, lungs and stamina.”
“I’m glad that you find that amusing, baby.” Jake kissed her softly on the lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here for two weeks. I’ll take care of them most of the time while I’m here.”
Bella smiled. “Thank you, baby.”
“Byeol malsseom eolyo. (You’re welcome)."
"What about your schedules and commitments?"
"It's all been arranged, princess. Namjoon-hyung made sure I had some time off for the twins. The hyungs got me covered."
Bella nodded. "Which means you'll have to play catch up when you return."
"Could have been a longer time with you and the twins if I didn't have to complete quarantine on both ports, though. Either way, I'm still grateful for this time with you."
The new mom smiled at him.
"So, shall we talk about their christening?”
Jake continued.
Bella stretched carefully. “The twins are six weeks old now. In my culture, that’s a little late actually. We usually have it done at the one-month mark. But you know, my kids’ dad has a super tight schedule so the circumstances are special.”
Jake laughed at her jab. “Oh baby, I was already here at their one-month mark but you know, quarantine.”
Bella made a face. “Anyway, I think we should make it just us, the twins and your parents aside from the priest.”
Jake seemed surprised. “What about your friends?”
“Baby, they will understand. At least I hope that they will, when they find out eventually.”
“You mean about the pandemic?”
“I mean about the twins’ father being Jeon Jungkook.”
“We can keep calling me Jake Park, if it helps.'' Jake suggested. “We will be wearing face masks anyway and the world still doesn’t know that it's not only Namjoon-hyung who speaks English.”
Bella chuckled. “Baby, your eyes are a dead ass giveaway. Your tattooed right hand is a dead giveaway. Even your voice is a dead giveaway. Kija looks like you but thankfully he looks like the baby you. Not too many people have seen those pictures yet.”
Jake nodded slowly. “Okay, baby. But is it okay that the twins won’t have godmothers?”
“When your hyungs find their partners, they will be honorary godmothers to the twins.”
“What about the documentation?”
“They already have three sets of godfathers. That should be enough.”
“And the reception?”
“Here, at home?”
Jake chuckled. “I swear, woman, here I am trying to give you the best of everything and you…”
“And I appreciate it all, baby, but it’s a pandemic and we have two babies. We can’t risk it.”
“When they turn one, I don’t know if I’ll be here for their birthday party. December is so jam packed with awards shows and BTS activities. If this fourteen-day quarantine is still here by that time, I won’t have time to get back to Seoul for our recordings. That’s why, since I’m here now for the christening, I thought we should go all out.”
Bella kissed Jake softly on the lips. “Baby, I get where you are coming from. I understand that you want the best of everything for them. But look at them, they are babies. They won’t know what’s going on yet. If you really want to throw them parties, save the plans and the budget for when they’re older and able to appreciate it. It shouldn’t be about us. It should be about them and what’s best for them.”
Jake caressed Bella’s right cheek and looked into her beautiful big round eyes. “How am I this lucky?”
“You must have saved a deity in your past life to get good karma in this one.” Bella teased.
Jake kissed Bella’s soft lips one more time. “Did you want breakfast, baby? Eomma (Mom) made Enoki (mushroom pancakes) and mushroom soup. Should I go get them for you?”
Bella grinned. “I can stand up now, baby. It’s been six weeks.”
“Yes, but allow me to spoil you please. We don’t get many chances to do this.”
“Alright then, Mr Jeon. I’ll be waiting here.”
Jake kissed Bella on the forehead and went to get their breakfast.
