Plus One

一 ㅣ blooming surprise.

Two positive red lines...

Jennie blinks her eyes rapidly, her heart pounding as she stares at the two red lines that start off blurry but quickly become blaringly clear. The intensity of the colored lines feels overwhelming, almost deafening, as if the world around her has faded away, leaving her alone with this monumental revelation.

Her mind is spinning, and her throat feels so dry.

Jennie is sitting on the tiled floor of their restroom, but she doesn't even mind the coldness of it because all she can feel is the sweat and uncomfortable heat seeping through her body as time passes. The chilly feeling of the tiles against her skin is a distant sensation, barely registering through the haze of anxiety and anticipation.

Her breath comes in shallow, uneven gasps as she tries to process the gravity of the situation. The seconds stretch into eternity, each tick of the clock amplifying the tension coursing through her veins. Jennie's clothes cling to her damp skin, the discomfort adding to the growing sense of unease. She wipes her clammy palms on her thighs, but the action does little to alleviate the stickiness.

She hastily pulled out the boxㅡthe tenth and probably the last box of pregnancy tests she had bought earlier. She had picked it up right after stepping out of her own floral shop, unable to wait another moment. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tore open the packaging, fingers fumbling slightly in her urgency.

Jennie spread out the contents on the cold, tiled floor, her eyes darting over the instructions and manual with meticulous care. She had memorized these steps by now, but anxiety compelled her to read them again, ensuring she followed each direction perfectly. It was just like it had been with the first nine sticks: hold the absorbent tip in her urine stream for five seconds, lay it flat, and wait for the lines to appear.

Positive.

She visibly sees how her hands shake when she places the stick on the nine out of ten pregnancy sticks she just used. They're from three different brands, but they all scream the same result.

She's fucking pregnant.

Jennie is pregnant.

Jennie lets out a shaky breath when it finally registers to her. Her heart feels like it's about to explode, and her mind can't stop racing with questionsㅡwhy, when, and how she got pregnant. She continues to stare at the pregnancy test sticks lined up in front of her, each displaying the same undeniable result.

As she sits there, memories from the past few weeks flood her mind. She recalls the sudden waves of dizziness that left her feeling off-balance, the persistent nausea that came in unpredictable spurts, and the overwhelming fatigue that had her yearning for naps at odd hours. She had shrugged it all off, attributing these symptoms to the stress and exhaustion of managing her floral shop during its peak season. It had been a busy time, with endless orders and long hours, and Jennie had assumed her body was simply reacting to the workload.

But now, everything made sense. The dizziness, the nausea, the sleepiness; it was all because she was pregnant. Jennie felt a mixture of relief and disbelief, her mind struggling to reconcile the reality of her situation. She thought back to the moments when Lisa had expressed concern, gently suggesting she take it easy and get more rest. Jennie had brushed off Lisa's worries, confident that she was just overworked and nothing more.

Now, with the truth staring back at her in the form of those two red lines, Jennie felt a surge of emotions. Her initial shock was giving way to a deeper, more profound sense of wonder and anticipation. She placed a hand on her still-flat stomach, the realization that a new life was growing inside her slowly sinking in.