caught in the middle

“I just hate how pregnant women are portrayed everywhere so I’m decided to show to the world that pregnancy doesn’t have to change things” And of course their lives would change with a baby, but pregnancy didn’t need to be bad, at all. “Twins, yes, two little aliens growing in here” She tapped her belly, where two little babies were growing up. She hugged Jinah back, smiling widely.  “Of course I’m excited! I mean, I was excited with just one, now everything is double, including happiness. It was so hard for us to get pregnant that having twins feels like a blessing” One baby was a blessing, two were a gift from the universe.  “Yes, we can wait for this babe, don’t worry, I mean, I’m excited for getting some practice but I’ll have two babies for the rest of my life so yeah, not really hurried” She laughed, excited. “Jae is working on their room, we haven’t thought about names. I’m decided to have Korean names but I don’t think Jae is too interested on keeping his heritage present? Which makes me think that I’m giving it too much importance when I shouldn’t, so yeah, no names yet, just little aliens”

“I hate how women are portrayed in general. Can you imagine men having to be pregnant?” It seemed like enough of them whined for no reason, Jinah couldn’t picture those same men having to carry a baby for nine months. There were a lot of things that sort of ventured down that path that infuriated Jinah, like men in politics thinking they had any right to control what a woman did with her body, and she didn’t want to go there. “Okay, good! Ahh, I’m so happy for you guys!” She couldn’t help squeezing Amelia a little tighter before breaking away. “I always thought having twins would be super adorable. You will definitely have your hands full, but it won’t be so bad.” The first few months would probably be the worst. Jinah didn’t doubt Amelia and Jaehyun would have everything under control, though. “Oh? If he isn’t interested, I wouldn’t worry about keeping it present then. But if he’s undecided? You could always settle for a name that could work in Korean that’s also Westernized? That’s what Seok and I did for our little ones.”

“I think it’s kind of what I’ve always hear people talk about pregnant women? How they get hormonal and sensitive and start reacting so much over little things. I’m scared to become like that” She knew it was a cliché, that it didn’t happen to everyone, but it was something that worried her and that’s why she tried her best to live her life as normal as she could. “It’s not one alien, it’s two. We are expecting twins so I’m going to get huuuuuge” She confessed with a laughter. Jae and her had been ecstatic at the sonogram, but they were going to have two babies, that was double everything.  “It will help is practice, if we can manage your two kids, with Sean being older, then we might be able to survive having twin aliens”

“Oh, you won’t be like that. Shush. Your body will go through changes and you might be a bit more emotional, but honestly? Everyone is different. You certainly won’t become some raging bitch like some people like to make pregnant women out to be.” If anyone tried to pull that card on Jinah, she swore she’d snap someone’s finger. People who tried to drag women down in general. “—wait, what? Twins?” Jinah’s eyes went wide before she clamped a hand over her mouth and jumped to her feet, moving to pull Amelia into a hug. “Ah! I’m so excited for you guys! Congratulations! You’re excited, right?” After all, she knew how much her friend had been trying for a baby and wanted one for so long. Getting twins after all of that only felt... right. Like, the balance was restored, in some odd way. “Yes! I’ll talk to Seok and we can all work out a time that works for everyone. Only once this one gets more comfortable with a bottle.” Jinah went back to her daughter’s side, sitting on the floor and giving her tummy another small tickle. “Do you guys have anything ready for the twins? Do you have names?”

“That’s a very nice comment to make” Amelia said happily because if that was the secret, then she wouldn’t have to worry too much. Jaehyun was not only the most amazing man ever but he also just knew exactly what to say to Amelia in every single moment, no one got her as much as he did so she thought they had that part covered. “I don’t want him to feel like his wife is turning into a monster, I think that’s what worries me the most” Even if she was allowed to be emotional, she didn’t want Jae to deal with an awful person by his side. “Oh but I call it alien in a loving way I promise!” She exclaimed with a laughter, since she was probably the only weirdo calling her baby an alien. “Should I tell you a secret?” She whispered, pretty sure that Jinah would not expect what she had to say. “Well, we do have the rest of our lives to sleep, right?” She was glad to hear Jinah was managing so well being mother of two kids. “She’s adorable though, so pretty, I’d love to stay with her whenever you need, it will help me and Jae practice so not just today, but any day, you just call me and we’ll be there”

“You’re not turning into a monster. Why would you be a monster? You guys have already witnessed yourselves at your worst and lowest points. You’re not going to scare him off.” Jinah smiled, rolling her eyes at her friend’s sense of humor. A loving alien. “You know I love secrets. What is it?” She laced her fingers together, leaning forward with amusement. “Plenty of time for sleeping, yes. Of course! I haven’t had any luck getting her to take a bottle just yet but once I do, I’ll let you know. Seok and I might have to put both of you on babysitting duties so we can have a date night, and we’ll return the favor for you guys down the road.” They might need to ease into it though. Having Sean and Sara could be a handful.

“Oh please do tell me what your secret was. Because I really don’t want anyone to say anything about me being pregnant and calling me out blaming hormones when I’ve always been a controlling freak, so if you have any secret to distress share it with me” Amelia requested because yes, at times she felt like breaking things only to feel like crying a second later so if she could avoid that it would be amazing.  Amelia looked at her friend and her lovely daughter with a smile, happy to see them like this and also excited by the knowledge that it would be her in that position soon. “Well, there’s no much to say, the alien here is changing our lives but I love it” She shared, chuckling. “You know, you can nap if you want, I’d love to stay with Sara while you rest”

“A really good emotional support system.” Jinah didn’t even have to give that any thought, but the fact that that was her answer did make her laugh a little. “It’s not a direct solution but honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to get through it without Seok. Just try to hold back and tell yourself that you can vent to Jae once you’re home. I had my bitter moments but I also started sobbing over socks at one point too, so...” She shrugged. Clothes shopping for Sara had her in tears over all the tiny, and the realization that she’d be coming soon. “It’s an exciting time, though. You’re allowed to be emotional in all the ways you want to be. Alien? Babe... you have got to settle on a name if you’re going to call your baby an alien. They didn’t just magically get in there.” Jinah smiled. As much as she appreciated the offer, Jinah had to turn it down. “Thank you, but I’m okay. I promise. I’d rather be able to feel a little normalcy again than catch up on sleep. I’m not working right now and Sean will be going back to school soon. I’ll catch up then.” Plus, she wanted to spend as much time with Sara (and Sean) as she could because they grew up way too fast. Something else that triggered Jinah to end up crying previously when Sara was first born—it was a good thing Seok loved her and felt the same way about their children. “Say, I may not be able to do much yet but I have the cutest smile! Don’t you?” Jinah tickled at Sara’s feet, getting a couple little kicks and a gurgling grin. “You can still stay with her, though. I don’t have to nap for that. But I do have to pee and I’ll check in on my boys to see how they’re holding up.”

“You’d think people would know how to follow instructions by now” Amelia complained. She was really trying her best not to become obsessed with people doing things her way, but it was hard not to feel this upset when she had literally written down everything and they still managed to screw things up. “But enough of me and my adventures at work, how’s everything with you?”

Jinah tried to keep a straight face while her friend complained, trying to be nothing but supportive. But it felt like it had been so long since she had a normal conversation outside of child talk with Seok that she couldn’t help smiling. “I understand the feeling. Part of me liked to think it was hormones too, though. If you reach the point of wanting to tear someone’s hair out, call me. We’ll get everything sorted.” Jinah had already made herself comfortable, having spread out a blanket on the living room floor, letting Sara grasp her finger while tickling her belly with her other hand. “No, please, I want to hear everything. I feel like all I’ve talked about the last few weeks were misplaced items or wanting to sleep.” And poor Sean. He still had so much energy while his parents were always exhausted. “But everything’s been good. Thanks for inviting us over.”

Was he already late? This was the first thing that worried him as soon as he ran out of his building, still brushing his ink stained cheek with the back of his hand and putting on his black jumper. His phone was out of battery because he had fallen asleep on his desk the night before, one of his canvas still fresh only a few centimeters away from where he was. Did he still have ink on his face? Woojin actually wasn’t sure but this also didn’t matter now because he was supposed to meet someone at the café down the street and he didn’t even set an alarm. Running inside as soon as he arrived, he spotted the table with a relieved smile, rushing toward him. “Sorry! I’m late.” But was he really? His watch was always a few minutes early. Whatever.

As Woojin came rushing through the door of the cafe, Jinah knew from that moment that she wanted to tease him. She crossed her arms over her chest once he spotted her and started to make his way over. “I tried texting you. I didn’t think you were coming.” Sean ended up asking if they could get food now, which played perfectly with the teasing, she ended up laughing. “You’re fine, we just got here not too long ago ourselves. And you have a little...” Jinah pointed to her own face with a smile. “Is that ink?”

“진짜?세 살?” Taemin leaned down, to match the little boy’s eye level, holding up three years as well. Now it made sense for Jinah to have all those toys scattered around her apartment. “내 이름은 태민이야.” He noticed Jinah moving to a table closer to his and hesitated for a second, before getting up from his seat and motioning to the empty chairs at his table. “You guys can join me, if you want.” People could say anything about him, but if there was something his mother had taught him, was manners. He saw Sian asking for a dinosaur friend, which made him a little curious and before he knew it, the toddler was handing him one of them. “Kid, you know all of these names…” And then he looked up at the woman, lowering his voice so that Sean wouldn’t hear it. “I’m almost tempted to joke and ask if he’s not mine.” Granted, the timelines didn’t match so obviously, Taemin and Jinah would know he was joking. “But I didn’t want to offend you or anything.” He then shrugged. “I don’t mind it though… I’m just—not used to being around kids, that’s all.” Where have he seen this kid, though? He was sure he’d seen him somewhere and it was eating him alive. “Do you guys live nearby? Can I buy you something?”

He chuckled and nodded “I know, but if we are being honest, I’m tired of working at nights. I’m getting older and I’m starting to get tired of the loud music that most of the time they all sound the same, and the people these days are just more and more annoying, not everyone, but you know.” Denver was actually a people’s person, but bartending drunk people was not really his idea of helping others. “Sounds like a plan, not that I don’t think I can’t handle something more elaborate, but I want to be great at it, so simple will work just fine.” 

“Aw, come on. You’re not that old.” She gave him a playful nudge. But she nodded in understanding. Bartending had to get exhausting. Obviously not on the same level as his other job, but the two combined? Definitely. “Why don’t you quit? That way you can just focus on being a firefighter. And not have to worry about when you’re going to sleep between the two jobs. Take care of yourself.” Realizing how she must have sounded hearing his words, Jinah covered her mouth and shook her head with a light laugh. “Oh! I didn’t mean anything by that. You are very capable of handling more elaborate recipes.” She gave a firm nod.

“We’re moving relatively fast—” Rory confessed, but she didn’t look like she was regretting her decision either. “Not fast enough to make any of us uncomfortable with what we’ve been doing, but fast enough to cause the ones around us to have a saying in our lives.” She then rolled her eyes. Some folks at the hospital found out that they were seeing each other—not just that, but that they had also moved in together, so it was definitely not interesting to hear gossip in the hallways, but Rory had confronted them whenever she heard them talking about her and people had seemed to understand they should stick to their businesses. “Things are going pretty good with me, yes. Andrew and I decided to move in together a little before Christmas, so it’s been a funny adjusting game.” Mostly because of their working hours, but Rory figured they would handle it just fine. “Oh no… The little guy must’ve been so sad when he woke up the next day… How is he doing? But most importantly, how are you doing?”

Jinah folded her fingers together, resting her chin against her knuckles with a hint of a smile. She knew Rory wasn’t one to make a big deal out of relationships and guys in general, there were bigger and better things to focus on, but she did seem comfortable with this one. And it was nice to see. “The ones around you...? At work?” At first, Jinah thought she had meant friends and family but since she hadn’t heard that much details of their relationship, she figured she must have meant coworkers. “People will just say and do anything to make their week seem more interesting. It’s like school all over again. Some just never learn to grow up.” Jinah raised her brow a bit at the mention of them having moved in together as well. She didn’t want to say they were moving too quickly because she couldn’t be the judge of their relationship but she was happy for her. “That’s great, though. And I know you can take care of yourself, obviously, but I’ll kick his ass if he doesn’t treat you right.” She was aware how ridiculous she probably sounded any time those words left her lips but hell, even though she was tiny, and now pregnant, she wasn’t one to back down. “He was, but he’s doing okay. He’s been a little under the weather lately so trying to get him to eat and take medicine is a struggle. He’s starting to catch onto the tricks.” Jinah gave a small pout before smiling. “I’ve been good. And this one,” she placed a hand on her stomach, “has been going easier on me than when I was pregnant with Sean. I don’t think the morning sickness has been quite as bad.”

“Mm… come to think of it, it was mostly celebratory drinks. There could have been a hint of misery involved, but mostly celebration.” Neela laughed softly, waving her hand in the air before taking a sip of her green smoothie to swallow down the lump in her throat as she thought of Hyde for a moment there. “You’ve never been that much of a drinker, as far as I remember… but humor me–why can’t you drink?”

“Ah, and why was there a hint of mystery, hm?” Jinah twirled her finger in the air a bit before pointing playfully in her direction, keeping with the humorous tone it felt like Neela was putting down since she managed to laugh at her own words. “I haven’t been, no. But I’m pregnant.” She smiled. “Which is a very happy reason to not drink.”

Feeling Jinah’s weight on top of him, her fingers through his hair and her lips on him almost made Seok forget that Sean was awake and running around their house, dying to open his Christmas presents, but it didn’t take long for the toddler to make his presence known again, thus ruining Seok’s plans of spending extra minutes in bed with his fiancée. After he got Sean to brush his teeth alongside him, Seok made his way to the living area, to help the little one unwrap his presents, showing him the things people had sent them (especially Sean). When Jinah handed Sean the small box, saying he’d need Seok’s help with it, it prompted Seok closer and the older man picked him up to place Sean on his lap. “Dinosaur!” Sean beamed, raising the ornament to show his dad. “It’s a stegosaurus!” Seok couldn’t help but laugh a little, because even he had trouble remembering all of these names. “Yeah? Two stegos—” He stopped mid-word, holding the ornament, as soon as he saw what was written on it. “You’re—” He turned his face, his gaze finding Jinah’s and then landing on her stomach. “Are you sure?” There was a smile beginning to spread across his lips. “Are you really? You’re pregnant? We’re going to be parents again?”

Jinah placed her hands on her cheeks in the anticipation, smiling and nodding as the gift was unwrapped and Sean recognized the dinosaur on it. A tiny laughed bubbled out of her and then Seok froze mid-sentence, his eyes falling to her. And there was this rush. For a split second, she wasn’t sure if this was the right way to tell them. Or maybe they weren’t ready for this. But there was a smile on Seok’s lips as he asked if she was sure, and that was all that mattered in that moment. That smile. Jinah nodded, her hands resting on her stomach. “When I was talking to Rory the other day, I realized I was late. And with everything that’s been going on lately, it just... didn’t even cross my mind.” They’d been enjoying their time alone, to say the least. Especially since Seok had proposed. So, was it really any surprise? “We’re gonna be parents again,” Jinah practically squeaked, covering her mouth to stop from laughing. She had taken a few different tests, even trying again a couple days later in case it was a false positive, because that could happen, right? And they were all positive. Jinah scooped Sean up and kissed his cheek, playfully smothering him with love and making him giggle as she sat in Seok’s lap with Sean almost trapped between them. “Merry Christmas?”

Friend was not the word he would use to describe his connection to Jinah, but for obvious reasons, he wasn’t going to say anything. The mother was the one who should make those decisions, but before either Jinah or him could have any saying on the matter, the little one was already going towards him, which made him slightly uncomfortable. “Um…예, 저는 친구입니다.” He offered the kid a small smile, glancing up at Jinah, then continued. “안녕, 당신 이름이 뭐니?” He remembered some toys on the floor the night he slept in, but obviously there were more things he was interested in than the toys. “A Triceratops, right? That’s a pretty complicated name. How come you already know that sort of stuff, kid?” Taemin chuckled again and he was about to reach down and  ruffle the kid’s hair, like he did Joon’s but he didn’t know this kid—hell, he barely knew Jinah, so he stopped midway and retrieved his hand. He’d seen this kid before, hadn’t he? “Dinosaurs are cool, though. He’s a really smart kid…”

Jinah wondered if she should maybe find an excuse to leave as she watched Sean try to talk with Taemin. Especially since Taemin seemed a bit hesitant. She didn’t really know him, but she figured the interaction was harmless. By what she could remember, he was... well, he had charming qualities. And if he was uncomfortable, he was more than welcome to find an excuse to leave himself. “시안. 너 이름이 뭐니?” Sean nodded and Jinah could see him hold up three fingers at Taemin’s question. “I’m three.” As if that answered it. She couldn’t help smiling; it was almost like he was trying to throw shade. Since the place was pretty vacant, Jinah moved from her table to one that was across from where Taemin was seated. “We like to name everything,” she chimed in. “And it makes grocery shopping a much more exciting experience. But... thank you?” Jinah smiled with a tilt of her head. “Eomma, do we have her friend?” Sean rejoined her side, placing a hand on her leg while hugging the triceratops to his chest with his other arm. “I think we do.” Jinah pulled a backup dinosaur from her purse and handed it to Sean. And in no time at all, he took the dinosaurs back to Taemin’s side with a smile and offered him the one he just got. “You can play with the stegosaurus.” While it was cute, Jinah shook her head. “Sean... He may not want to play right now, okay? — You don’t have to,” she offered Taemin a way out, along with a small smile.

“Oh she totally is, she’s just the sweetest.” He smiled to himself just by even thinking about Dal, he was realizing just how hard he was falling for the girl. “You could say we have, I mean it’s mostly at nights, cause well, she got a new job and my jobs are hard to go out, but we are working on it, by having sleepovers and very late dinners, so that’s why I want to surprise her with some food from her homeland.”

He laughed “I’m sorry, I will bring her here, so you can approve her, but I’m pretty sure you will love Dal. She’s a lovely person.” He smiled and nodded, Jinah was not only a neighbor but she was a close friend to him, he actually cared to hear her opinion on the girls he could date, and even if he was pretty sure she will like her, he wanted them to meet her for how important both of them were. “Actually she made the first move, I meet her at the bar, she came from time to time and we always ended up talking.”  

“Good. As long as she’s a good person and she’s putting a smile on your face, I’ll approve.” Jinah could have sworn that name sounded familiar but she wasn’t sure if she might have heard it somewhere or if she might have already met the other woman herself. “Aw. She was the one to make the first move? Look at you. That’s adorable. And you guys have been out a few times? Things are going well?”

He chuckled and blushed a little “Okay I met this girl and we are kind of well dating and she loves food just as much as I do but she’s quite a chef and I doubt I would ever reach her level cause she is just wonderful…” He cleared his throat “Anyway, the point is I want to surprise her by cooking a Korean dish one that I can go save with, cause I really don’t know much, I just know is great because you give me great food.” Denver chuckled and scratch the back of his head a little embarrassed.

Jinah tried to hold back but she couldn’t stop the smile reaching her lips. Even the second she could notice a slight blush creep its way across his face. “Aww, you’re dating? How come I’m just now hearing about this, hm?” She poked him in the shoulder, looking up at him before folding her arms in front of her chest. “I would be more than happy to show you how to make some Korean food. That’s so cute though—why are you getting all embarrassed? Tell me about her. How’d you guys meet?”