She was feeling hot.
So hot that she had spent most of the afternoon lying under the air conditioning, swallowing ice cubes, hoping to be a little relieved from the heat.
She had the feeling that she had become a kind of molten boiler, about to explode, both literally and figuratively. Hormones were playing tricks on her, her friends had told her it was normal, both her mood swings and feeling out of breath and burning all the time. Her body was working for two now, and the idea was as unsettling as it was fascinating.
She tied her hair in a bun for the umpteenth time, huffing and sighing, and groaned when she lay down and couldn't put her head down properly. She let out a little cry of frustration that caught Kitty's attention and sat up, frowning, more annoyed than ever.
And when her bun, less tight than usual because with her baby bump she wasn't as efficient as usual, collapsed, releasing strands of hair, she blew hard and closed her eyes to try. not to cry out of irritation.
Her decision was made in a split second.
******
She turned her head to the right then to the left, biting her lip and smiling with satisfaction.
She felt lighter, freer, prettier too. She considered herself so lucky that her hairdressers were also her friends and that they had arrived at her house within minutes. She felt a strange joy in seeing her hair floating above her shoulders, a feeling of nostalgia mixed with the immense happiness of knowing where she stood today.
She could never forget his expression when he saw her with short hair for the first time, years ago, and how much he had tortured his mind to invest himself as much as her in their movie. She had gently laughed at him, but in reality, it had been the beginning of their friendship, and of what would be the most beautiful and most unexpected adventure of her life.
She heard the front door open and recognized his step. He called her, looking for her in the house, taking Kitty in his arms as always, and, as always, anywhere, anytime, he found her.
And he froze, blinking several times in amazement.
She felt oddly nervous.
She knew he found her pretty, he didn't hide it, he wanted her like he had never wanted anything or anyone, and he had never made her doubt for a moment what he felt for her. But her decision had been impulsive, even if she didn't regret it.
She turned away from the mirror to face him and smiled almost shyly. He put Kitty back on the ground and approached her, his gaze never leaving hers, as if hypnotized.
When he stopped, she could almost feel his breath in her hair and feel the heat emanating from his body. He lifted a hand and ran it furtively through her hair, before wrapping it around the back of her neck, his fingers caressing her cheek gently.
"You are beautiful..."
His voice was slightly hoarse, and she wanted to snuggle into his arms.
Instead he turned her around and they faced the mirror together, his arms finding immediately their place around her, one of his hands resting on her baby bump. His cheek was against her temple and she felt him smile before she even saw him.
"Back in the past..."
She knew what he meant. He had let his hair grow longer lately, for various reasons and above all, for her greatest pleasure, but to see them like this 4 years later, him with long hair, her with short hair, was like a flashback from the past, and put in perspective how much a few years had changed everything.
Her best friend had become her husband and the father of her baby.
And the love they had for each other kept growing, which she never thought possible, not until him.
"I wonder what Min Tae Gu and Ha Chae Yoon would think of us..." he said with a laugh.
"Min Tae Gu would surely be on the other side of the world after seeing the pregnancy test..." she replied.
"Have a little faith in him, he loved his sister, and remember, you yourself said that he was a man who had suffered and who could seem cute sometimes...."
She burst out laughing.
"You will never forget that, will you?"
"Neither do your fans, he laughs, who uses the word cute to describe a criminal?"
"You know very well that I wasn't talking about Min Tae Gu..."
She turned to face him and he looked at her, staring at her with such intensity that she felt her knees go weak.
"What do you think Chae Yoon would do?" he asked.
She thought for a moment.
"She would freak out first. But then she would be the most protective mother there is."
He nodded and a soft smile tugged at his lips.
"Your fans will be so happy on Thursday..."
"I am too... In every way... It's just a shame that this takes place at a distance..."
"But it's safer..."
She had said that with him she felt warm and protected, and she hadn't lied. His priority, since the beginning of their relationship, had always been her well-being. He watched over her health, protected her, and took care of her in every aspect.
He had even asked to not do face-to-face interviews to limit exposure to Covid. She had felt embarrassed, she was aware that he had always done everything not to contaminate her, but she knew that for him, refusing this kind of interview in the middle of a movie promotion was unprecedented. But it was so him. His family came first, no matter what.
"I know, and then we... Oh."
She froze in his arms and his gaze immediately scanned her from head to toe.
"What? What's wrong ? Are you okay?"
She took his hand and placed it on her stomach with a smile so beaming it took his breath away.
"Our baby wants to say Hi…
As if to confirm her words, he felt a blow against the palm of his hand, and the surge of emotion he felt then was beyond what words could describe. He had to swallow the lump in his throat as his eyes welled with tears.
He remembered years ago, this tiny but so pretty actress who was so famous but whom he had never really known personally despite the industry being a small world. How she took him by surprise with her eyesmile and humor, and who had come to the shoot one day with her new haircut, crossing the set as if nothing had happened.
And he looked at his wife, her hair bobbing and caressing her cheeks and her chin, her small hand on his as he felt their baby move.
This epilogue was the beginning of a new life for them, which he wanted to live fully by her side.
He brought his free hand to the back of her neck, feeling a few strands brush against his fingers, and he kissed her.
Min Tae Gu, Ha Chae Yoon, it didn't matter in the end.
What mattered was that Kim Tae Pyung and Son Eon Jin had found each other, now and forever.
