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Chapter 37: Butterflies – November 11, 2025

Yunseong stood in the kitchen washing dishes.  And reminiscing about the past.  About the long journey to wholeness that she had taken with Tae.  And without him.  And now with him once more.

She had once believed that all was lost.  That every single dream of hers had burned up.  Leaving only piles of ashes to surround her.  No one’s loving embrace.  But…

…Tae.

The odd thing about life was that there was room for redemption after all.  Yunseong’s appa had never walked her down the aisle towards Tae.  But her wonderful stepfather had.  And she had been wrong.  She had taken Tae’s hand and stepped into a glorious future with him.  She had given birth to one of his babies. 

As she dried her hands off and bent to pick her son up out of his highchair, she acknowledged that she was, in fact, even now swinging high a child with a boxy grin.  Tae’s child.  Tae’s son. 

She often watched Tae giving their son a piggyback ride on his shoulders.  And not even Seulgi reminded her of the man who had forsaken them both.  It was the strangest thing, but Seulgi’s eyes looked exactly like Tae’s.  Intense.  Dark chocolate.  Their precious daughter now reminded her only of Tae’s faithfulness. Not another man’s perfidy.

Today was Himchan’s first birthday.  And her third sonogram.  Tae hadn’t given her only one child.  Now he had gifted her another.

He was the most wonderful of appas.  He was already carrying Seulgi around on his shoulders.  Yunseong had no doubt that one of these days he would take on any bullies that dared to mess with his daughter.  And when Seulgi finally went off to school, Tae would be there to greet her each day when she came home.  He was a man who kept his promises.

Yunseong spent the day preparing for their son’s birthday party.  In the early afternoon, she left her children with her sister while she headed to the doctor’s office with Tae.

Two hours later, they stood on their old pier staring out at the cold water.  Today was a chilly day.  But their unexpected news was warming them.  Neither of them had said much yet.  They were both still absorbing the shock.

“Did you have any idea?” Tae abruptly asked as he reached for her.

She was shivering.  So he pulled her close to him and gazed down into her face.

“No.  I’m astounded.  Though, this does explain a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that I couldn’t run anymore at thirteen weeks.  And I’ve already gained twenty pounds!  I was so disappointed in myself.  I thought I was just eating like a pig.”

“No,” Tae laughed.  “You’re just eating for three!”

“Four, you mean.”  Yunseong stared up into his eyes.  “Tae, how on earth can I be pregnant with triplets?”

“Well, I guess you’re just your eomma’s daughter!” he laughed.

“Are you really happy about this?”  She sounded distressed.

His face broke forth with tenderness.  “I am delighted, Yun!”  This time he did pick her up and twirl her around. 

As he set her back down on the ground, he hugged her close.  “Yun, do I still give you butterflies?”

“Yes, you most certainly do.”

“What about your butterflies?  Do I still give them butterflies?”

“Yes.  They’re flocking to my stomach in droves.  Especially now that I know I’m carrying three little girls!”

Tae was beaming at her.  He couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face.  Yun was going to have triplets!  Three more girls!

Suddenly, she began to laugh. 

“What is it?”

“I’ve just had the most marvelous idea,” she gasped. 

He stared down at her.

“Tae, you give me butterflies…And you’ve given me three little girls.  How about we name them all after butterflies?”

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Then I could tell people that you still give me butterflies.”  She was giggling.

He suddenly barked with laugher.  “So…what?  You want to name them Blue Admiral.  And Monarch.  And…”

“No.  What about Nabi for the oldest one?”

“Sure.  But that’s the only word that means butterfly.”

“In Korean, yes.  But we could name the second one Cho.  It’s the Japanese name that means butterfly.”

“Hmm.  But what about the youngest one?”

Yunseong pulled her phone from her pocket and did a little research.  “What about the Chinese name, Húdié?”

“Hmm.  Nabi, Cho, and Húdié?  You don’t think it’ll be a little strange to give them each a name from a different language?”

“Not any weirder than being triplets already is,” she commented dryly.  “And now I can tell people that you give me butterflies.”

Tae chuckled.  “How about we think about it?”

She sighed.  “All right.  I suppose that’s fair.”

“I mean, you might just be in shock, Yun.  In a couple weeks, you might decide you want to name them after your favorite teas.”

“What?  Tae, that is the stupidest idea I have ever heard of!”

He just looked at her.  Until she burst out laughing again.  Then she groaned.

“Oh, Tae!  I’m going to get so fat!  Will you still love me when I’m fat?”

“Fat with my three babies?  Absolutely, Yun.  I will adore you fat!”  Then he grinned.  “Just think.  Now you can eat all the turtle ice cream you want!”

Her face brightened.  “Let’s go get some right now.  I’m starving.”

“Okay.  We have just enough time before Himchan’s party.”

She beamed at him.  “Where we’ll get to tell everyone that we are having…TRIPLETS!”

“You know what this means, Yun?”

“Hmm?”

“We’re going to have three more little cutie pies!”