Work Text:
Finding Out
Having children was something Dong-eun DEFINITELY did not either planned on or wanted when she was younger. She wasn’t sure how a mother was supposed to truly act since her own mother didn’t set a good example. Besides all of that, she felt like there wasn't a point in them. What was the point of bringing a child into a world where they’ll only be hurt and broken. Dong-eun believed it to be useless, but then something changed her mind.
Ha Ye-sol, a smart, kind, and innocent little girl who can see her colors; she made the woman realize the reason. Such a kind soul only the best and while her biological parents were shit people, her father was. He cared for Ye-sol like he was her actual blood, and did anything to protect her and make her happy. The day she quit her job as Ye-Sol’s homeroom teacher, she told the poor girl that if she wanted, she'd apologize to her for the rest of her days on earth. She knows she’s part of the reason why she suffered so much, went through a lot of unfortunate things all to get back at her awful mother for the pain she caused when they were younger.
Thanks to that little girl, she promised herself that when given the chance, she’ll become the mother that she deserved when she was a little girl. She’ll treat her child better than she was when she was younger. She’ll do everything for them, give them almost everything, and love them unconditionally. Nobody will ever get away with harming their child and she’ll work better to become an amazing person, somebody her child can look up to.
She was seven weeks along when she found out she was expecting. She's been nauseous for a couple weeks, sensitivities to smells, sore breasts, and even fatigueness. Some were hard to hide from Yeo-Jeong since every time she gets out of bed, she struggles to stand up straight. While it’s a blessing her husband is a doctor, it’s also sometimes a curse. His over caring nature can be a bit overwhelming to the point, she wants to snap at him to sit down and stay calm. Of course, she never does that to him, but sometimes she wants to.
Yeo-Jeong, with Dong-eun’s permission, drove her to the hospital to get some tests done. In his own mind, he already anticipated pregnancy, but just to be on the safe side he went to let Dong-eun get officially tested. It’ll also give them both peace of mind too. The drive wasn’t too long and Yeo-Jeong kept an eye on her as they walked in together. Dong-eun never liked hospitals, in fact, doctor offices in general make her nervous on the inside, but she’s very good at hiding that fact.
Fastfoward to now, she got the results back. Yeo-Jeong was at work when the director, or her mother-in-law, called her phone to confirm their suspicion all along. “From the look of it, you’re probably around seven weeks in. Your symptoms should relieve once you’re in the second trimester, so just rest and let your hormones settle. It’s best to tell Yeo-Jeong as soon as possible too.”
After asking some more questions, she gets off the phone and takes a deep breath. She was sitting at the dining table early in the morning. It was raining outside pretty heavily. Yoe-Jeong mentions he’s more busy on these kinds of days, but this was something she felt couldn’t wait. She’ll just have to hope he’s not busy.
Dressed in a button-up blouse, long straight black pants and some heels, she makes a quick trip over to Joo General Hospital first to grab some files and paperwork from her test, getting them in front of the director herself.
Stepping out her car with the envelope and umbrella in hand, she walks into the building. She’s welcome by the smell of cleaning supplies, already making the fumes in her nose go off. She closes her umbrella and places it on the rack, before walking going forward to the front desk.
“Good to see you Mrs. Moon. Mr. Joo is in his office.” the receptionist tells her. “You can go straight in.”
Dong-eun bows slightly and walks her way over. The married couple talked about having children only a couple times from the count on her hands, but it never went that deep. He was ready for them anytime she was, since after all, she’s the one who will carry it. She personally didn’t want any at first, thanks to her own trauma with having a parental figure in her life. One day a couple months back, she told him that they could try anytime for a baby. Yeo-Jeong asked her many times if she really was okay with it, and each time, she’d told him she was okay. She was ready to try and have a normal life like she originally planned.
Still, that doesn’t change how nervous she was feeling at the moment. She would have thought her body was too old or damaged to conceive a child, but here she was now.
She knocks on his door and waits patiently for her to come inside. Yeo-Jeong on the other side of the door was looking at a patient file when he heard it. He’d assume it’s one of the nurses when Dong-eun opens the door, so he didn’t immediately look away from his screen.
“Hard at work?” She questions, closing the door behind herself. Her voice made him snap away from the screen, shocked. She never comes to his work, at least his office if she bought him take out lunch. “Not really. What brings you here? You usually text it to me or call.”
Dong-eun looks down and gulps the saliva in her mouth. She takes a seat in front of him and holds the envelope in her mouth. “Just something important to tell you, but can I take you out to dinner tonight?” She needed to ease her mind first. Yeo-Jeong was a little confused by the question, since it’s new behavior from her. “Uhm, yeah sure. But are you okay? Did something happen?”
‘I don’t think I ever am Yeo-Jeong. Especially now.’ Breathing a shaky breath, she gently places the envelope on his desk and slides it forward. “Open it.” She says simply.
The doctor looks at his wife before he looks down at the manilla package. Possibilities ran through his head for what she could show him, but then it clicked. He begins to open it in a rush. He worried that his suspicions were incorrect but with how straightforward the symptoms were, there was no way she couldn’t be.
Dong-eun folds her hands in her lap and begins to talk as her husband as he opens it up. “Your mother was the one who gave me the files. I think it’s sweet of her wanting to be involved. Of course, she has yet to tell me what her unprofessional response is, but I assume she must be excited.” She smiles softly and watches Yeo-Jeong’s face. His eyes were scanning through the files, and his mouth was open. She slowly stands up and gives him the room to talk while she rounds the table. Yeo-Jeong’s hands were shaking and his heart was racing. He already confirmed she was pregnant, but he was reading further in to see the results of her tests to make sure she was okay psychically.
Dong-eun rubs his back gently as she stands next to him, soon watching him break down into a joyous laugh with tears to follow. “Are you okay?” she questioned.
Yoe-Jeong turns his head and quickly wipes his tears. “Am I okay? I should be the one to ask you that. Are…are you feeling okay?” As a doctor, the symptoms were too obvious for him, so he was more worried about her health in all of this. She’s still small and her body has been through so much mistreatment and harm, Yeo-Jeong prays in the back of his mind she’ll make it to full term.
“Yeah, I…I’m about as okay as I can be during this phase…” she rubs his head and kneels down closer to his face “Are you happy? This is what…we wanted for a while.”
Yeo-Jeong reads her face, something he’s always good at doing. “Am I happy? I’m overjoyed.” He cups her cheek, using his other hand to wipe his tears that were trying to fall from his eyes “We can be a normal, happy, family. You’re having an actual dream after so long…”
Dong-eun chuckles, shaking her head “We…are making a dream come true. More than anything, I’m also happy about this…I want us to be able to raise a child together. Somebody we can be proud of..” she ruffles his hair and grabs his wrist “One hundred percent.”
Yeo-Jeong’s heart skips a beat. He lost control of himself and pulled them both up so he could hug her firmly. His grip was never too harsh or too soft, but had a steady grip on her. Dong-eun is a little shocked by his sudden hug, but she doesn’t hesitate too long to hug him back.
“One Hundred Percent…” he mutters in her shoulder.
With each day, she’ll take a closer step to faith, trust, and love. With each day, he’ll take a closer step to beautiful, care, and love. Together, they’ll grow to become healing human beings together.
Yeo-Jeong rubs her back and holds her like she’s the most fragile thing that could be broken at any time. He will have to worry about body in the future. For now, he just wants to be there for her.
And until the very end.
The very end of a dark tunnel, he becomes her light and guide.