Chapter Text
Somewhat around Youngwoo's second trimester with Kang Yi's pregnancy
They are curled up on the couch, watching a remake of The Little Mermaid. Youngwoo is half asleep. It seems she is always deeply exhausted in these first months of her pregnancy. Her head is resting on Junho's chest, and his arm envelopes her to him, the warmth of their bodies keeping them cozy and comfortable along with the duvet.
"Junho", she whispers, not wanting to disturb him, but, at the same time, with her mouth watering for something she has never tested before.
"Yes?"
"I think I want to have pepperoni pizza", she continues, voice low and hands curling in front of her chest, hidden under the duvet. "My mind keeps going back to it"
She senses him glancing at the clock. She knows it's past midnight and on top of that it is raining. She shouldn't have said anything. She's thinking only about herself again. "Ah," he exclaims. "I'll be back soon", and before she can prevent him, he is already going through the door, car keys in hand, leaving her alone with the TV on and the duvet that smells like him.
---
Junho is growing increasingly frustrated. They live in Seoul, for fucks sake, and not some country house where everybody knows everybody and gossip ensues. They live in Seoul, and yet, this is the fourth pizzeria he has been to with a ridiculous waiting queue. He sighs as he gets in the car again, takes his phone out, and scrolls on his Maps for other pizza places. He is not going home empty-handed. This is the first time Youngwoo has requested something other than gimbap to eat, and he is not going to disappoint her and their child. His thumb drags and pauses on the screen. He decides to call ahead.
“Hello. This is Napoli Palace Pizzeria. How can I help?”, an older male answers on the other end of the line.
“Ah, hello. Would it be possible to have one pepperoni pizza to go, please?”, there’s silence on the other end, and Junho stares at the clock again. He knows what long pauses mean. He is going to get turned down. “I know your kitchen might be closing soon, if not already, but it is for my wife. She is expecting and I’d hate not to fulfill her simple wish…” he sighs. “You don’t need to deliver it, I’m gonna pick it up”, he continues.
“You’re right”, the man finally says. “Our kitchen is closed, but our pizzaiolo hasn’t left yet, so I’m gonna help you out”
“Ah, really? Thank you very much”, he says, relieved.
“What’s your name, customer?”
“I’m Lee Junho”, he turns on the engine and sets the address as his destination on his phone. “Thank you very much again”. He sends Youngwoo a message to tell her he is going to pick up her pizza, and also sends a link for his location, just in case she is wondering which pizzeria he is going to, so she can check the menu from home and, hopefully, like what they have to offer.
It is a short drive. He doesn’t have any trouble finding a parking space and confidently gets out of the car and locks it, taking long strides towards the restaurant. There’s not a queue to access this one, and he supposes it is because it looks more like the place families went to instead of youth. He goes straight to the cashier, which is located right next to the bar. He gives his name and the man informs him his order is not ready, so he sits on the stool to wait.
Junho: it’s taking a while for the pizza to get ready, yeobo. but as soon as it is am going straight home, ok?
He is about to send the message, but thinks better and deletes everything. It’d make Youngwoo anxious and he doesn’t want that. He does want time to go faster, so he can go back to her and their baby. And maybe he’ll also be able to get a decent amount of sleep tonight. He taps his fingers on the wooden counter as if to will time to pass faster.
“Do you mind if I sit here?”, says someone to his right, sliding a long leg to sit on the stool next to his. He honestly couldn’t care less, so he just nods his head, focusing on time on his phone. Faster, faster, please. He wants to go home to his wife. “I’ve never seen you around”, continues the voice next to him. He raises his eyes and sees the woman who is shaking back her long, auburn hair. Her perfume gets to his nostrils and he fights the urge to gag. It’s too fruity, too sweet. Too much. “Who are you here with?”
“I’m alone”, he answers, and the woman seems to lean in his direction, hand extending to touch his watch, on his left wrist, which makes her extend her arm over the counter, in his personal space. She gives him a giggle, a spark in her eyes as she looks directly at him.
“Really?”, she seems surprised but recovers quickly to extend her finger and caress the surface of his watch. Her fingertips brush faintly on his skin. “I’m Ha Ye Jin”, she says, her lips moving and closing as she presses them together.
“Ah, yes”, he glances at the clock again. How is it possible nearly half an hour has gone by since he ordered and one damn pepperoni pizza is not ready? “Excuse me,” he focuses his attention back on the cashier “do you know how long is it going to take?”
“I’ll check again, one moment”, the man tells him as he disappears inside the kitchen. Junho sifts uncomfortably on the stool. This Ha Ye Jin woman is still leaning in and doesn’t appear to be bothered by his lack of action whatsoever, so he decides it is wise to make clear he doesn’t have any intention of initiating anything with her as he is faithfully married to the most amazing woman of the universe.
He opens his mouth to tell her he is married, but closes it again, given that he is wearing his wedding ring and that doesn’t seem to faze the long-haired woman. “Ha Ye Jin-ssi”, he starts, deliberately slow, touching her shoulders to push her back away from him, so she sits upright on her stool.
“Ha Ye Jin-ssi”, he hears behind him. The woman in front of him turns her attention to the person who has just spoken, taking in the figure that speaks back to her. “I’d thank you to keep your distance from Junho-ssi”, his blood boils and goes cold in mere seconds. He has never heard his wife sound like that as if her words are knives she is throwing into the open air. She sounds calm and collected, but her tongue is sharp and he thinks she is practicing target shooting. The target, he believes, would be Ha Ye Jin’s head.
“Who are you?”, asks the woman, batting her lashes back at Youngwoo. Junho turns slowly, getting up to walk towards her, hands extended in disbelief. He runs his eyes through her, checking if this is not perhaps a very elaborated prank of his tired mind on him, but as he touches her, she feels solid and very real under his fingertips.
Youngwoo has her lips pressed, hands curling into fists on her sides. He puts himself behind her, hands going to her shoulder and back. “My wife”, he declares. Youngwoo moves one of her hands to caress her bump, and he strokes her arm very gently, angling his body to protect her from the chilly night air.
“It’s okay, truly, Ha Ye Jin-ssi. My husband is really handsome, I understand”, she continues. Ha Ye Jin looks back at her as if she is speaking some language other than Korean because she doesn’t quite understand how this woman, dressed in whale pajamas, wearing whale slippers and an oversized knitted beige coat is married to such a handsome man who goes to a bar in the middle of the night. “But I’d really appreciate it if you keep your hands to yourself, as it is a crime to touch someone without their consent”
“I wasn’t touching him without his consent!”, she exclaims. Youngwoo gives her an unamused laugh at that.
“Funny, the way you say that. My husband never leans back when I’m the one touching him. And, I don’t know if you got the memorandum, but consent is sexy”, she emphasizes as the woman’s face drops and she turns and goes past the man who finally shows back with their pizza in hand.
“Here it is, Mr. Lee”, says the man, extending the box to him.
“Oh, my pepperoni pizza!”, squeals Youngwoo, grabbing the box from his hands to go sit on the stool where he had previously been as her husband pays for the food. "It smells so good!", she takes the box close to her nose and inhales.
"Thank you very much again", Junho slightly bows to the cashier, who offers him a smile.
"You're welcome. When my wife was expecting, she wanted to have the Brazilian Stew we had when we traveled there for business"
"Could you find it here in Korea?"
"Ah, no. I had to look up recipes and cook it from scratch, but it was worth it", the man smiles fondly "Do you know what you're having?"
"Well, I'm having pepperoni pizza very soon", comments Youngwoo, as she turns on the stool to get to her feet.
The man laughs as Junho answers: "It's still early for us to know"
"Ah, right. As your wife is craving savory foods, I'd say you're having a boy"
"It's not possible to know the sex of a baby just by the food their mother consumes", states the lawyer.
The cashier chuckles at that. "You're right, ma'am, but I dare say there must be some sense into it, given that my wife and I had a boy after all the stew she ate"
"Thank you very much once again", Junho says, taking the box for Youngwoo and standing behind her as she makes her way to their car. Once inside, he feels a wave of relief wash over him - for being able to fulfill her wish, for getting rid of the woman at the bar, for Youngwoo being safe and sound after getting to the pizzeria God knows how in the middle of the night. "Yeobo," he starts as he is choosing his following words very carefully. He turns on the engine and sets the heater on. "How did you get here?"
"I took a taxi", she says. His eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. "The taxi driver was amiable and careful when he noticed I'm pregnant", he starts getting them home, no cars in front of them on the street.
"You could have told me you wanted to come along", he tells her. "I'd feel better if you were with me"
"Oh, but I didn't", she retorts. "I only came because you were taking an awful lot of time to get me a pizza, so I thought something had happened"
"Ah, no. I had to go to five different ones…" he is saying, but then he thinks he hears sniffing.
"Is that why you were taking so long?", her voice goes up a few octaves, and as he is driving he can't turn fully to her, but he sees the tears going down her face.
"That what?", he asks back, confused.
"I know I'm walking like a penguin because I'm pregnant, but it's your child here, Junho-ssi", she gestures to her stomach. "Is it because I gained weight?", she continues questioning, and it makes him confused by the second. She pauses for a second, opening the glove compartment of the car to get a handkerchief they keep there. She blows her nose, folding it and turning it on a clean side to dry her eyes.
"What?", he utters a moment later, her words finally connecting in his tired mind. "What are you talking about, yeobo?"
"Is that why you were flirting with Ha Ye Jin-ssi?", she accuses, tears overflowing again. "Because I'm round and being even weirder when I walk?"
"I wasn't flirting with her!", he complains, voice rising and fast. He takes a turn to their street, parking the car in their designated spot.
"So you do think I'm fat then?", she presses on.
"I- what? Yeobo, no. No!", he unbuckles his seatbelt to lean into her.
"You even smell like her!", Youngwoo complains, turning to push the car door open and throwing up on the street. She shoves the pizza box at him as he jumps out of the car, and goes around it to squat by her side. “You’re stinking, Junho”
“I know, love, I’m sorry”, he says. “Let’s get you inside, right? So I can shower to get rid of this cheap perfume and you can have your pizza”, he opens his arms to help her get out of the car and jump the yellowish substance that now tarns the pavement, but she shakes her head.
“Go ahead, I can manage”, she tells him, extending her fingers so she can have the car keys. He goes inside and she is left alone in the car. She leans back in her seat. What is happening to her? What is this strange mixture of feelings that keeps building up inside her? Why did she feel all hot and bothered when another woman was leaning in her husband’s personal space when he was clearly leaning away from her? Her heart is pounding in her chest and she feels she is nearly exploding from the tears that keep coming to her eyes. “Get a grip, Youngwoo. You know, you know Junho would never do something like that. Never”
She sighs as her eyes water again, jumping out of the car in a way her husband would die if he were ever to see her doing so. She closes the door, locks the car, and heads inside their apartment. She throws the used handkerchief on the washing machine, washes her hands, and sits down on the table to get to her pizza. It makes her giddy and excited, so she gets one slice and bites at the tip, waiting for the urge to spit it out, but it doesn’t come. She should be used by now, she thinks. Eating things other than gimbap for the sake of their baby, as she had done in the restaurant with Junho’s parents, but it still weirds her out, how the explosion of cheese and pepperoni makes her feel warm and happy as they touch her tongue. The pepperoni is strong and she thinks she wouldn’t like to eat it ever in her life, but as it makes its way into her mouth and touches different taste points on her tongue, she finds herself moaning at the explosion of flavor that runs through her body. The texture is strange, but not bad, she reflects, crunch dough and soft cheese with strong pepperoni and soon she is grabbing another bite, making her way through the slice as if her life depends on it.
As she gets done with the first slice, she licks her orange-stained fingers, refusing to lose a drop of whatever pepperoni is made of. It is so delicious she closes her eyes for a second to savor the moment. Youngwoo grabs a second slice. The urge is stronger than her. There’s nothing on Earth she wouldn’t do to assure their baby is well nourished and satisfied and it seemed their baby unquestionably enjoyed pepperoni pizza, so if that’s the menu for the rest of her pregnancy, she is down to it. She gets a bigger bite this time, and, sure enough, as she is inundated with the flavor explosion, as warm cheese gets to her, another moan escapes her in appreciation.
Junho emerges from their bathroom after making sure there are no traces of perfume anywhere on him. He puts on his pajama pants and dries his hair with the towel he leaves on his shoulder as he goes to the kitchen. Youngwoo is seated at the table there, his back to him, a slice of pizza high in the air as she angles her head to bite it. A warm smile spreads on his face. He had been furious when she showed up at the restaurant. He had been terrified. What if something had happened to her on the way over? What if someone had taken advantage of her condition and he was not there to keep her safe? A million different thoughts had run through his mind - and he had intended on voicing them on the way over their home but as Youngwoo had started crying as he was driving, he was taken aback. He recalls her accusations: “Is that why you were taking so long? Is it because I gained weight? Is that why you were flirting with Ha Ye Jin-ssi? Do you think I'm fat then?”. His chest tightens.
“No way”, he exclaims, a smug smile getting to his lips. Is it possible Youngwoo was jealous? His wife was jealous? He wants to scream and jump and fist-bump someone, but his celebration never happens because, as he stands there, mere steps from her in the kitchen, a moan cuts through the air and sends his brain on a short circuit. He crashes.
It takes all his determination to grab the chair in front of his wife in the kitchen and sit down. She has her eyes closed as she swallows the food, a pleased smile on her face. He thinks he would go to the end of the world to make sure she feels like this and he understands now, the man who waited on him at the bar. The willingness to cook a difficult dish for his wife. If Youngwoo ever wanted something not available in Korea, he knows he would spend hours perfecting the dish just to get this expression on her face again. Even if it took him weeks to make it perfect, he would.
“Is this the pepperoni pizza you couldn’t get out of your mind, yeobo?”, he whispers, announcing his presence. He is sure she hasn’t heard him, too lost in her moment.
She nods before opening her eyes to look at him for a second. “Yes, thank you”
He watches as he licks her fingers, one by one - which gets him hot for a different reason but he ignores it (there is nothing sexual about his wife licking her fingers clean from leftover pepperoni, he chants in his mind, weakly trying to convince himself he is not bothered by it) -, before she pushes the open pizza box his way.
“You should have some too. Aren’t you hungry?”, she asks. He is hungry for an entirely different thing, but his principles would hate to take the object of her first ever craving away from her. The gesture doesn’t go unappreciated, though. It fills him with happiness that she remembers to share with him.
“I’m fine, thanks. Have it all to your heart's content”, he smiles tenderly at her. He waits as she finishes her third slice - he counts from what is left on the box. "Yeobo"
"Yes?"
"Were you jealous?"
"Hm?", she asks, closing the pizza box and getting up to put it in the refrigerator. "Frankly, Junho, that woman was just…" she turns back to him, stopping beside his chair, one hand on the top of the table to support herself. "The way she was all over you"
"The way she was all over me?", he echoes, pretending he doesn't understand what she means. Her face twists in anger.
"She was almost jumping you!", Youngwoo declares.
"If you hadn't arrived, yeobo, I suspect she would've tried to"
"You wouldn't let her, though, right?"
"The only person allowed to do so is you, darling. You are the only one I want"
She raises her leg to sit on him, her weight resting on his lap, arms going around to circle his neck. "You are the only one I want too", she says, leaning in to him. "Junho," she breathes. "I'm sorry I got jealous. I don't know what is happening to me"
"Don't apologize", he says, lips almost touching hers. She hums in agreement. Her tongue travels to his mouth, and he lets her do some exploring of her own, circling her waist to pull her closer to him. "Shall I take you to bed?"
"It would be disappointing if you didn't", she smiles as he gets them up, her legs closing around his midsection as he carries them to their bedroom suite.
"Maybe I should go into bars more often", he chuckles as he lays her down on the bed and crawls on top of her to get her pajama shirt open.
"Aniyo!", she complains, grabbing his towel to pull him in to her. "I don't want to feel jealous again! It's not a good feeling for our baby", she reasons.
"For the sake of the baby, then, love, I'm gonna keep to our bed during the night, unless you have another craving that makes me go to bars in the middle of the night again"
"I'll come along with you"
"Yes", he agrees, hands traveling to help her out of her shirt and mouth going down on her neck to make her moan for a reason other than pepperoni pizza.