Mark's POV
"Tuan Yi En!" my mother's voice boomed through the speaker and that only meant one thing. I'm in trouble. I hurriedly grabbed my phone off the bedside table and held it within arm distance while trying to sit up properly. "Are you still in bed?" her voice was laced with disappointment and she clucked her tongue when she saw my disheveled hair.
"I'm on holiday, practically, so I'm entitled to wake up late," I reasoned.
"Hmmpphh," she huffed a short breath, "How could you swim and sunbathe with your friends leisurely while your wife works hard?" she muttered before continuing, "Anyway, did you talk to your wife yet?"
I frowned, "Yes, I called her yesterday, why? Is there something wrong?"
"Is it a voice call or a video call?" she inquired.
"Voice call. She was working last night when I called so she put my call through bluetooth earphone so she could keep working while talking to me. Why? What's wrong?" I repetead my question. After a short pause on her end, my mother finally answered me.
"I think she's pregnant, but she refused to get tested." That made me sit up straight, all sleepiness that i felt before went straight out of the window.
"What?" I calculated in my head silently. I left her about a month ago, plus ten days if I wanted to be precise, and we've been careful. Except... My mind went to the last night before I left for Korea. I ran up of protection so I persuaded her to forgo it for once. Besides, she has agreed to try for kids this time. After Jackson and Jinyoung's wives got pregnant, I managed to persuade her to change her mind.
"She thought it was exhaustion, but I knew the signs better," my mom continued. Well, she might be right. After all, she's been through 4 pregnancies, so she might notice the signs better than Mae, even though she had medical background.
I ran my finger through my hair, "Okay, okay, I'll give her a call, a VIDEO CALL," I added quickly, interrupting her before she could say something, "but not tonight. It's late already there, so I'll call her when it's morning there," I checked my phone for the time difference and my mother seemed satisfied with my answer so she let me go and ended the call.
Your POV
"Good morning!" your husband's face appeared on your screen, looking very bright and cheerful despite it was already night time there. Your husband was in Phuket right now, after finishing his fan meeting and all his magazine shooting's jobs in Bangkok and was enjoying his short holiday before going back to LA.
"What's up with you?" you raised an eyebrow at his overly cheerful attitude.
"What? Can't I be cheerful for once?" he pretended to look hurt and you shook your head in response.
"To what do I owe you the call?" you asked as he usually called you late at night, and not early in the morning. Mark was never a morning person, so it was suspicious that he called you this early.
"What? Can't I see my beautiful wife's face? If I call you late at night again, you'd probably still at work again and refuse to accept my video call. I miss you, you know.. ," he put on my best puppy face but it didn't work on you. You were busy preparing your breakfast and lunch and just propped your phone on the kitchen island, so he couldn't see your face properly. "Mae.. ," he called out. "I call you to see your face, can you at least pick up the phone so I can see your face properly for 5 minutes?"
You sighed and checked your watch. You could spare 5 minutes so you picked up your phone and did what he asked for. "Happy now?" you asked when his face was right in front of you.
"Very," he gave you his big smile. But that smile didn't last as he could finally see your whole face. The dark circles under your eyes. The exhaustion all over your face. Your gaunt cheek. You definitely has lost some weight.
"I only left you for a months and how many kilos have you lost this time?" It didn't take long for him to scold you. "Do you eat on time? Do you even eat regularly? How long did you sleep last night? I swear, if this keep on going, I'd file a formal complaint to Yoojin," he threatened you with his usual threat.
"Geez Mark, isn't it time for you to get pass it already? Don't worry, I eat. I never skip a meal, but work has been crazy for the last 2 weeks. But it will pass soon. And I sleep just as much as you do," you replied and gave the last blow back to him, as you knew that he only slept 3-4 hours a day, 5 hours max. "Now, will you just cut the crap and tell me why do you call me this morning?" you glared back at him and he smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as well.
"My mom called me yesterday," he started and you groaned, fully understood the direction of the conversation.
"I'm not pregnant," you quickly denied.
"Then why don't you get tested? It doesn't hurt to pee on a stick right?" he challenged you.
You rolled your eyes and was about to say something else to refuse his request when you remembered that you missed your period. Mark was quick to notice the change in your expression even though it was only a fraction of seconds. "What is it? And don't try to fool me, Mae," his voice was full of warning.
"I – I," you stuttered, "I just remembered I missed my period."
"Geez!" he shouted, "Then get yourself tested. And I mean it, Mae!" his voice was getting louder. "Get it today and I'll check it later." And that was the end of his call. You had no choice but to obey his command and cursed yourself for not remembering to check your period apps regularly. Your period wasn't a regular one so you never thought the possibility of being pregnant, especially after just one unprotected sex.
You stared at the closed envelope in your hand. Since you didn't have the heart to pee on a stick, you decided to test your hCG level instead. It's been a week since you missed your period so whatever the result would be, it must've been accurate.
"So, what's the result?" Mark kept his promise and called you again that night.
You raised the envelope in your hand and showed it to him, "I haven't opened it yet."
Mark's gaze softened when he saw your tense face, "You can open it and show it to me, if you're afraid to check it yourself," he kindly offered and you took it. Your mind ran a thousand miles at this time, thinking that if the result really showed that you were pregnant, then you were guilty for leading such a careless life. You didn't eat on time, you skipped meals sometimes, you didn't even eat healthy and sometimes just cooked ramen. And the lack of sleep. How come you missed the signs if you were really pregnant? You just blamed the exhaustion because of work and never thought the possibility of being pregnant could result in exhaustion as well. There were so many 'what ifs' in your head right now that you didn't have the heart to see the result. You propped your phone so you could use both your hands to rip open the envelope, took out the paper and then turned it around so Mark could read the result. You closed your eyes and waited for him to say something, but he didn't. You peeked and saw Mark was talking to his friends/colleague instead.
"Mark," you called him out. "What is it?" His face was serious and even his friends look serious as well. They were talking about something before his friend was gone from the screen with his phone in his hand. You had to call him once again to gain his attention.
"Sorry," his face was still serious before breaking a big smile. "I'm flying back tomorrow. Or earlier than that if possible," he announced.
"What? But you're not supposed to be back until next month. What about your schedule in Korea?" you knew he was supposed to go back to Korea first before going back to LA, so why did he suddenly change his plan? Unless... You turned the paper in your hand and saw the result.
"Because you're pregnant. I don't want to be halfway across the world from you when you need me the most," he answered and you couldn't reply. "Hey," he called you out as you felt tears gathering in your eyes. "You're gonna be okay.. We're gonna be okay. You, me and the baby," he assured you. And you believed him. "Until then, take care of yourself better okay?" And you promised him that you would.
