Jin's Mistake • KSJ

Twenty Four ꕥ

Three years later

~

You were exhausted, another fifteen hour workday dragging on you. You tugged the tight calf skin gloves from your hands and dropped them with your purse onto the console table in the foyer of your apartment.

"That will be all Ji Hoon, we'll leave at six am tomorrow." You motioned toward the tall muscular man who'd followed you into the apartment silently.

He nodded with a slight smile and disappeared down the hall toward his rooms. Even after almost three years by your side, he was professional and rarely wasted time on pleasantries. He'd shown up exactly when you'd needed him, your ultimate protector, your body guard.

You'd not expected the gift from your family, and they never brought it up. Discussing it would have meant they would have had to acknowledge their guilt, and that wasn't going to happen.

Your heels clicked stiffly against the tile, creamy beige and gray natural stone that you'd argued about with Seungho for weeks before he relented and let the builders install. Something about the harsh noise it made even on slippered feet comforted you, no one would sneak up on you anyway. Eighteen months in the Yoo family home had made you anxious, when you'd finally moved out you'd wanted everything to be perfect.

Halfway down the long hall you stopped and slipped your heels off carrying them in your fingers. It was after ten and you weren't sure if your husband was asleep. Your door was ajar and you saw the light on as you approached indicating he probably was not. You took a deep breath letting it out slowing before entering the space.

"Aein." Seungho looked up from the script he was reading, sprawled across the bed. One of his pant legs was shoved up his shin, his tshirt riding high exposing a glimpse of his stomach, his hair a rumpled mess.

"My love." You dropped your shoes and leapt onto the bed crawling toward him. He let the script fall to the floor, his hands wrapping around your waist when you reached him.

You kissed him, or he kissed you, it wasn't clear when you collided together. In those first few seconds all thoughts of your wretched day melted away and the only thing in the entire world was the two of you.

After a moment you laid beside him, the heat of the moment not boiling over into anything further. The comfort with which you shared space now didn't require kissing to mean anything more than wanting to be close.

His hands trailed down your body and then he moved, laying his head below your breasts, his fingers dragging your blouse from your pants to reveal your tummy. Seungho rested his palm on it and you heard his long sigh.

"Go on Jagi, say it." Your voice held humor and affectionate teasing.

"I want to put our baby in there Yeobo." He turned his head looking at you with resignation, before returning to his original position and kissing above your belly button.

"We agreed one more year." You grazed your fingernails through his hair, gently scratching his scalp.

The truth was you wanted his baby growing inside your body as much as he did. The problem was things with your family had progressed much more quickly than either of you'd expected. You'd gathered dozens of names, damning documents, and had even been able to prevent some harm from coming to innocent people. Stepping back from that to give birth and care for a newborn just seemed an impossibility.

"When we're thirty, I know. Jaeminie's daughter is just giving me serious baby fever." He laughed, a sound you loved, and kissed your belly again.

You went quiet, thinking about Jae always made you sad, neither you nor Seungho had been able to prevent Chinhae from marrying her off at twenty four. A business colleague, twice her age, who spoke only rudimentary Korean and lived in Chicago had come to dinner one evening and they were married within the month.