DREAM [JaeRi]

twenty three

Three weeks passed, and Yerim finally broke down seeing the fifth negative test. Jaehyun carried her up and took her to bed, cuddling her into his chest like a baby herself.

"Wh- what's wrong with me..."

"Shh." he whispered into her hair, holding her hand tight in one hand, the other cradling her. "It's not your fault. Nothing's wrong with you."

"Then why!" Yerim cried. "Why can't I conceive!"

Jaehyun felt bad, and a little guilty for being the one who influenced her into this. He tried his best to calm her, whispering to her that it wasn't her fault. But Yerim still cried, for an hour and half until she felt exhausted. Jaehyun laid down on his side with her in his arms, snuggling into his chest as he thought.

"You know, it may be me, not you..." he whispered. Yerim sniffled and grasped onto his arm tight, when he kissed her forehead. "Let's go see the doctor tomorrow. Maybe then we'll find out if there really is anything wrong with us."

"And..." she whimpered at just the thought. "What if there is?"

Jaehyun thought hard, even though he already knew the answer for him. He lifted her face up to his own and cupped her cheeks.

"If there's something wrong with you, I wouldn't love you any less. If it's with me..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Yerim held his hands tight in reassurance.

"If it's with you, I'd still love you Jaehyun. If it's with me, I'm sorry..."

Jaehyun kissed her and hugged her tight. "Don't apologise. We don't even know yet. Go to sleep, we'll go tomorrow morning."

Yerim hugged Jaehyun tight, feeling as if there was a weight on her heart pressing down. Jaehyun stroked her hair, humming in hopes of helping her sleep calmly.

Though he felt the pressure inside too.

«•»

"There's nothing wrong with either of you."

The couple let out sighs of relief hearing the doctor's results of them two. Jaehyun took Yerim's hand and kissed it, then holding it between his two. "Then, why can't my wife conceive?"

The doctor read through some papers humming softly to herself. "I'm not sure, it could be she's taking some time, or her menstruation is a little off. But I can assure you there's nothing wrong with either of you. According to her submission, her period should be next week, maybe if you try by then you might conceive."

They went home with light hearts, thankful they were both OK. But Yerim was a little distraught and tired. She looked at Jaehyun as he drove, catching his attention. He took her hand and rubbed his thumb over it.

"Why?" he asked.

Yerim sighed. "I don't want to try again now... I just feel tired, I'm sorry."

Jaehyun understood her feelings. She was tired and didn't want to put false hope again. A break was definitely needed, especially for her. He kissed the back of her hand as they reached the building, and he parked the car.

"It's OK." he turned to her and pulled her closer to hug. "Whenever you're ready. It's your body, not mine. Don't apologise."

Yerim smiled and kissed his cheek in appreciation. They went up to their apartment, and started to change into more comfortable clothes. Jaehyun watched as she started to unbutton her blouse, coming up with a sudden idea. He walked up behind her and suddenly hugged her tight, holding her hands.

Yerim flinched in surprise, then giggled at him. "What is it?" she asked holding his hands above her torso. Jaehyun started swinging them side to side, kissing into her neck and hair.

"Let's go into the hot tub, together."

Yerim hummed, then turned her head towards him. "OK, but nothing touchy." she ruled out, making him chuckle. He lifted her up bridal style, causing her to squeal and laugh, and walked into their bathroom.

They stripped off their clothes, Yerim first washed her face, and got into the tub together. She sat on his lap facing him, and laid with her head on his shoulder. Jaehyun leaned back against the tub, his fingers tracing across her back humming songs.

"Jaehyun..." she suddenly called softly, her hand going up to hold his bicep.

"Hmm..."

"I love you." she spoke softer than ever. Jaehyun looked at her as she faced him, tracing his facial features. She kissed his cheek, and hugged around his neck instead. "I really love you."

He smiled at her and started leaving kissed all over her face, shoulder, arm until her finger tips, intertwining their hands in the process. "I love you too."

Yerim smiled back before snuggling into him, closing her eyes. Jaehyun kissed her forehead once more before laying his head back and closing his eyes as well.

«•»

Mr Kim was tired of hearing about his daughter through a middle man. Even when Jungkook said something, he didn't like it. He wanted to see her for himself. He wanted to see how she had become.

But what could he do?

He still blames himself for what happened to Yerim, despite how he tried to help her, he knew his efforts weren't enough. All he could do now at the mall with his wife, was watch his daughter as she walked around the same store, arms wrapped around a man's hand as they picked out a tie.

It was completely coincidental, he came for his wife to get a new dress & himself a new suit, but suddenly sees his daughter and who he supposed was her husband pick out a tie, already having a belt in hand. He wondered who she was shopping for as he could tell she was the one picking out the items, and moved closer to eavesdrop.

"Honey you need to calm down, it's just dad's birthday. All he wants is a family dinner." he heard the man sigh.

"I know, but last time I wasn't really a nice person. I want to apologise for coming late, giving him a lame gift, and leaving early. That's not how I should behave with your dad."

The man chuckled. "Come one Yerim, he could care less how you behaved at a big formal party. Let's be real, even I hated being there, I was just there for show. But all dad really wants is for us to be happy."

The elderly man peeked a little, and saw how his daughter now simply looked through the item, thinking deeply before she spoke. "You know what... You're right. It's still three weeks away. I think it's better if I give him something a bit more personal. Maybe I can sow a tie myself!"

Her husband shook his head chuckling at her, pecking her lips. "You're impossible. Let's go. I'll get him that watch we saw, then we'll buy fabric for you to make a suite. Good?"

"Good." she replied kissing his cheek, and the couple finally left the store. The elderly man could only stand and sigh. She definitely changed a lot, but he only wished her views towards them changed as well.

Now that he knows which one of Jungkook's friends was her husband, he hoped he could finally set something up.

«•»

edit: OMG I accidentally edited & unpublished this... Then fixed it back & republished it... This sis ain't getting enough sleep... Sorry for the mishap