Life in Switzerland

Heartbeat

Oops, I did it again 🙈❤️

*******

He remembered the sound, mesmerizing, of her laugh, that day during The Negotiation promotion tour. He had cracked a joke, and when most of the time, people usually only smiled politely, she had laughed hard, her eyes closing, throwing her head, her whole body swaying with the power of her hilarity. 

You're so funny, she had said, with the most genuine and happiest smile. 

Wow, he had thought, I want to make her laugh forever… 

The sound, adorable, of her delight the first time he bought her tteokbokki. She had clapped her hands and looked at the rice cakes with so much love that he had almost felt jealous. 

The sound, familiar, of her light footsteps, he was able to recognize her walk anywhere. 

The sound of her happiness when he had come home with a tiny puppy for her. And the mischief in her voice when she had decided to name her Kitty. 

The sound of her shaky and teary voice when she had said yes to a forever with him. 

He would never forget any of these sounds, they were imprinted in his memory forever and he would often revisit them whenever he wasn't home and missed her. 

But this one. Nothing could have prepared him for this one. 

His hand was gripping hers, as she laid here, in the darkness of the ultrasound room. She looked tiny and even more fragile than usual and he wanted to protect her from the world. Even from this first ultrasound they had waited for with a mixture of feverishness, excitement and impatience. Nothing was ever taken for granted in a pregnancy, they knew that, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. He had always been resilient, but when it came to Yejin... He wished he could control everything to make sure she was safe and sound. 

But he couldn't, so there he was, watching her every step, never taking his eyes off her, and now holding her hand, his other hand stroking her hair, their eyes fixed on the screen. 

The silence was deafening, and so heavy with questions that they almost jumped when the doctor finally spoke. 

"There it is... Say hello to your baby..." 

It was a tiny form, already very active, jumping all around, and the reality of what was happening hit them again. 

This little being was their child, their baby, it was indeed real, they were not dreaming… But before they could even realize, a sound rose in the room. 

A rapid, regular beat.

"The heart is beating perfectly.. Congratulations!" commented the doctor. 

The emotion that seized them was visceral. A desire to protect. An indescribable love. A nameless joy. 

"Tae Pyung..." she breathed. 

She was smiling through her tears and she had never been so beautiful. The lump in his throat didn't allow him to talk right now, so he leaned down and placed a kiss in her hair, closing his eyes and thanking fate for putting this amazing, wonderful, smart, gorgeous woman in his path.  

"Thank you. Thank you. I love you, I love you so much…" he finally whispered, his forehead against hers. 

He felt her fingers on his cheeks and realized he was crying too. He leaned down again and placed a kiss, light but lingering, on her bare stomach, him usually so private, completely indifferent to the doctor's presence. 

His child, his flesh and his blood was there, carried by the woman of his life, his best friend, the one he loved more than anything in the world. 

"I saved you everything on this usb key .." said the doctor with a smile. 

Hyun Bin heard Yejin thank him, but he just smiled and listened. This sound, he would never forget it. 

The sound of a new life, the sound of their new life.