Reading Between the...Clay

Yi Jeong was utterly exhausted. Only two days into this hellish week, and the demands of his upcoming art exhibition were already taking a physical and mental toll on his body. On top of that, he, quite frankly, missed his wife.

He barely saw her these past two days since he left for work early in the morning while she was still sleeping and came home in the wee hours of the night to find her already passed out on the couch in their bedroom (neither of them slept on their big comfy bed while the other was absent). Their only exchange of words were those sleepily whispered "I love you's" to each other after Yi Jeong gently transferred his slumbering wife to their bed. It was cute, really, but Yi Jeong already found himself missing everything else: their actual conversations about nothing in particular, their random drives around town, her squash porridge, watching those tacky dramas (though he secretly held a guilty pleasure for them), their small arguments (even though he always lost to the damn country bumpkin), and, above all, the sex. Boy, did he miss having sex (or "making love" as she likes to call it) with his wife.

Fortunately, he was coming home early today and wanted to surprise her. Despite his clear fatigue, he was excited as he practically jumped out of his small, flashy orange car with a dozen roses and an ice cream cake (her favorite kind) in hand. He made his way up the wooden walkway to their home, passing his—or rather their—pottery studio on the way. He softly smiled as he reminisced about all the memories they had created there during their teenage years. It all seemed so long ago.

Upon entering the house, he immediately noticed the note sitting on the usually clear dining room table. His name graced the folded piece of paper in Ga Eul's impeccably neat handwriting, and he smiled at the cute heart drawn at the top right-hand corner. Still a childish country bumpkin at heart, I see.

After placing the flowers on the table and the cake in the freezer, he went back to the table, quickly unfolded the letter, and read:

Yah Yi Jeong,

I hope the exhibit is going well. You must be exhausted, but it's almost here. So aja, keep fighting, okay? I miss you, and I'm sorry I'm already asleep when you get home and still sleeping when you get up to leave. It's not my fault that you can sneak out like some sort of ninja…I can't even feel the bed move! But anyways, I hope this letter is cheering you up a bit. I don't know what time it is right now as you read this, but you won't find me inside the house…

At that, Yi Jeong felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. What was going on? Did she leave him? His breath caught in his throat.

…Pabo, don't worry, I didn't leave you...

Yi Jeong let out a heavy sigh of relief. He made a mental note to punish her for scaring him like that.

…I'm in the studio working on something, and I'll be waiting for you until you come home. If I'm sleeping, please don't carry me to bed (you're surprisingly sneaky at that too) but wake me up. I need to tell you something important. I'm waiting, so hurry up, araso?

I love you!

- Your Ga Eul

A genuine smile grazing his tired features, Yi Jeong carefully refolded the letter and placed it in the inside of his suit's front pocket for safe-keeping. Retrieving the flowers from the table, he headed directly outside for the studio. Upon arrival, he quietly pulled the wooden doors open and found her back facing him. She was working on something at the potter's wheel, apparently unaware and undisturbed from his sudden entrance. She clearly did not hear or notice his slow footsteps toward her either. From his towering view behind her, he watched her beautiful hands work on something that looked vaguely like a horse and smiled again.

"Yah, you're still putting too much pressure on your wrist."

With her hands still on the wet clay, Ga Eul immediately looked up from the wheel and smiled, unsurprised.

"Old habits die hard, Sunbae." She giggled as she heard him hiss at his former nickname.

"Yah, Ga Eul-ah, you're gonna pay for that later," He retorted jokingly as he walked to the closet to retrieve an apron. He hastily put it on and rolled up his sleeves, ready to work. He took a seat directly behind his wife and presented her with the bouquet of roses he bought for her earlier.

"For you. Mianhe, I'm sorry for the past two days. It's been hectic. I missed you so much," He shamelessly admitted and kissed her on the cheek. Satisfied with the usual blush that crept up her cheeks whenever he made some sort of endearment, he scooted closer to her back so that she was further between his two legs and carefully took hold of her smaller hands.

"Komawoyo. I know, it's okay, and I missed you too," She replied and nodded her head as she felt him get closer behind her. She instinctively closed her eyes to relish the moment. She truly missed him, his touch, and his kisses. This was where she always wanted to be ever since they were mere teenagers, and she was finally back in his embrace after what felt like two extremely long days. She forgot how much she needed it. She felt his chin rest on her shoulder and allowed him to control her hands in molding the wet mound of clay before her.

After a few minutes of peaceful silence, Yi Jeong remembered her letter and finally asked, "What is it you wanted to tell me?" He felt Ga Eul's back stiffen and soften again almost immediately. He got worried.

"Yi Jeong-ah, does this look like a horse?"

Why is she trying to change the subject? Ga Eul-ah, what's going on? Yi Jeong tried to push his anxious thoughts aside as he glanced at the horse-like clay formation.

"A horse? More like a pony from the size of it," he answered and continued, "but Ga Eul-ah, what do you need to tell me?"

"That's good. I want it to look like a pony at the end. A cute baby horse."

"Okay, we'll make it look like a pony. I'll make sure of it. But Ga Eul, don't change the subject. What's up?" He tightened his grip slightly on her soft hands.

"Should I tell you the bad news or the good news first?" Ga Eul teasingly asked and continued to mold the clay. Yi Jeong chuckled at the sudden role reversal. He was usually the one with the good and bad news, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear her bad news. Was this evidence that he was finally turning into someone like her? A person that loves happy endings too? Clearly. He remained quiet and waited impatiently.

Another bout of silence passed before Ga Eul broke it with another peculiar question. "Yah husband, do you think this pony looks gender neutral?"

What the hell kind of question was that?He was getting even more anxious. She has never acted this way before. And while I'm a nervous wreck here, why does she have to act all calm and collected? She's too calm and collected. Ga Eul-ah, stop acting like me…I don't like it.

"Sure it does. I mean, if you want it to look that way, I'll look at it that way." He paused and shook his head before pressing on. "But Ga Eul-ah, wha…"

"I want you to like it, araso?" Ga Eul suddenly interrupted. At this point, Yi Jeong was too confused and too scared to notice when Ga Eul slipped one of her hands from his grip and placed it on her apron-covered stomach. Little did Yi Jeong know that this question was not directed quite at him.

"Of course, I'll like it. You made it. But Ga Eul, please tell me what's so impor…"

"You're the most important person in my life now, you know," Ga Eul interrupted again in a dream-like voice, right hand still softly pressed against her small stomach and a lazy smile on her face that Yi Jeong still could not see from his position behind her.

"I know. The rings on our fingers kind of indicate that," Yi Jeong softly replied and glanced at the matching rings on their currently muddy left ring fingers.

"Ga Eul-ah, are you okay? You're acting really strange. Are you sick? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Yi Jeong asked worriedly, a hint of desperation in his voice. With his patience running thin, he needed some answers and fast.

"No, Yi Jeong-ah, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just excited, that's all."

"What? Excited about what?" Yi Jeong asked and abruptly stood up from his seat. Backing away from his wife, he urgently grabbed her shoulders and spun her chair around so that they were finally face to face. Immediately dropping down to his knees, he grabbed both of her hands in his, and held them both to his heart.

"Yah Ga Eul-ah, I love you so much. You know that right?" Despite being on the verge of tears, he looked his wife straight in the eye and remained confident and unfazed.

Ga Eul's expression softened as she saw the absolute concern etched all over her husband's handsome face, but she nevertheless remained silent. Yi Jeong was panicking now but continued on, "Whatever you have to tell me, I'm still going to love you. You also know that, right?"

Silence.

"So Ga Eul, just tell me. I love you. Please, just te…"

"I'm pregnant."

Silence.

"You're…"

"…pregnant. Yes."

"With…"

"…your baby...yeah."

"So I'm going to be…"

"…a great father." Ga Eul finished off this last statement reassuringly and watched as the shock slowly took over her husband's features.

"Yi Jeong-ah, I know we weren't actively trying to become pregnant, but I think we're ready to start a family of our own. I'm sorry that I got you so worried, but I honestly didn't know how you were going to react to the news. And I know you've been really busy with the art exhibit coming up, and I'm sorry that I had to break the news to you now while you're still so swamped with work, but I honestly couldn't wait any longer. Anyways, I'm really happy and totally okay about this…and I really just want…no...I really NEED you to be okay with this too…" Ga Eul trailed off worriedly and waited for everything to register between them. She looked down at her hands in her lap and waited with bated breath.

"I'm…okay with this," Yi Jeong finally responded after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "…I'm actually more than okay with this." At that, Ga Eul quickly looked up from her lap into his surprisingly calm face and fell in love all over again. She smiled and jumped up to hug him tightly.

"I love you too," she whispered into his ear, kissed him quickly on the lips, and turned back to finish up her masterpiece—the clay rocking horse (or, rather, rocking pony) that she was making for their unborn child.

With a new sense of pride and love instilled in him, Yi Jeong was able to smile once again and shook his head in disappointment at his previous anxiety-driven behavior. After silently reprimanding himself over and over again for his rather un-cool performance a minute ago, he happily rejoined his wife at the potter's wheel and placed both of his hands on her stomach as she continued to work diligently. His baby was growing inside there, and he couldn't be more excited. He was going to be a father…and a great one at that. He was finally at peace...for today anyway.

But after a short while, he suddenly remembered something else…

"I'm assuming that was the good news. So what was the bad news then?"

"Oh, well…you're going to have to get rid of your orange car for a while."

Silence.

THE END!