Lilly in the grey

Hardship amid mirth

Jisoo had marked the 7th month of her pregnancy, no their pregnancy—a term she used to refer to the course she and Namjoon shared. Day by day, he grew overprotective, earning occasional scowls from the vexed woman. But the way he relinquished to most of her demands and accepted with a straight face even didn't he fancy, touched her more. 

One night, Jisoo sneaked downstairs and jumped on the largest bucket of ice cream Namjoon could find. Normal would lick the sweet cream alone, but Kim Jisoo found no satisfaction in doing so. Sometimes she would douse on mustard, mayonnaise and even rice. And she proclaimed that it tasted better when it was no more edible. While Namjoon worked on his laptop, her consecutive digging was emptying the bucket. Suddenly, footsteps stuck the silence. Jisoo sprang by the echo, cream smeared on her lips. 

Namjoon stared at her, his eyes questioning as his arms crossed over his chest. Jisoo gulped the remnants down and plastered a dumfound smile, having no other option of escape. "You will get a cold. Soya, seriously...." he groaned, inching at her. 

"It's so gooood. You try some and you will understand." she excitedly scrambled the cup at his face. Her complexion glinted in anticipation, eyes twinkling. He couldn't resist falling for that adorable smile. Huffing in defeat, he inserted a mouthful of her so-called tasty ice cream and immediately regretted. Neither could he swallow nor throw up. Her puppy gaze and pout insisted him gobble down with a straight face. "This....is soo..good," he rasped by the tongue which suffered like this. 

"You want some more?" she laughed, unbeknownst of his champ. 

"No, no, it's enough." he stepped back in terror. 

Little did she know the awe in his profile was not what she presumed but the contrary. She moved another spoonful of ice cream towards his mouth. "Ahh, see, baby? Appa likes it," 

"No, no, Jisoo, no," he beckoned, backing in trauma. Before he uttered anything, she pushed the spoon inside his mouth and his tongue sulked again. He knew pregnancy meant a period of affection and bonding anew but not the troubles it attracted. 

He swallowed the mixture, plastering a smile. Jisoo squeaked to his response and tasted her invention. "Mhhm," she moaned, lost in her own world. Namjoon would have huddled her in arms if not preoccupied by panic.   

Besides these, he would lull the little one and soon-to-be mother to slumber every night. He would play with the waves swelling her stomach, rubbing those tiny feet and hands. A diligent kiss was a habit of him to plant on her bump. 

They would scan each shop and buy baby dresses as many as possible and still, think it is too little an amount. During ultrasound sessions, they proudly looked at their little joy of a boy and delighted his heartbeats. The echo of the steady beats obscured their eyes with tears. They slept entangled around one another's frames, shielding their little one in warmth each night passing.

Though Jisoo cherished this time, she also felt insecure about her enlargened appearance. One day, she intended to fit in a dress of 2 years earlier and as predicted, it stuck on her belly. "I look like a pregnant whale, fat as this house. You don't love me anymore, do you?" she murmured in a baby tone, teary-eyed. 

"Aigoo, why?" Namjoon pulled her closer, banding her waist by his arms. 

"No, you don't tell me pretty, beautiful anymore. You tell things like teddy bear, softie plushie, dumpling......" she nibbled his chest, exchanging hopeful glances, likely in demand of a compliment. 

"Yeobo, you have always been beautiful. And does calling you teddy bear or plushie hurt you?" 

"No, I mean....I thought you see me expanding like this and things.....you know," she fiddled with his collar.