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Logan and Yoon Cheol settled into a booth at one of their favorite restaurants, breathing a collective sigh of relief that their long work day was done. It was the first Saturday in March, and both doctors had just started a new rotation at the hospital. Learning the ropes in a new area of concentration was always a challenge, but the new assignments brought them another step closer to completion of their junior residency training. They ordered drinks and made small talk as they waited, and Logan's eyes kept darting towards the entrance. When Logan's mouth widened into a goofy grin, Yoon Cheol knew that the women had arrived. As Yoon Hee and Soo Ryeon spotted them and approached, Logan slid out of his seat to greet his wife with a warm hug and a lingering kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted with a smile. "How did the shopping go?"

Soo Ryeon grinned at Yoon Hee as they settled into their seats. "Well, since these two changed their venue and hired a wedding consultant, our 'To Do' list is considerably shorter."

"So it's official, then?" Logan asked with a wink across the table. "You're really getting married in Hawaii?"

"We were already planning to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and since we couldn't agree on where we wanted to get married, we thought this would be a good compromise," Yoon Cheol explained.

"We're keeping our reservation at the Seoul Design Center, and we'll have our reception there when we get back," Yoon Hee added. "So we're actually having the wedding a week early, on June 10th, and then we'll fly back to Seoul on the 15th for the reception on the 16th."

"How many guests do you think will be able to make it to Hawaii?" Logan asked.

"We've gotten the green light from our families," Yoon Cheol answered. "The reception here is for everyone else who doesn't want to make the trip."

"Wait," Soo Ryeon interrupted. "I thought you weren't going to decide for sure until Logan…" She trailed off, looking back and forth between the two men. Logan was making a weak attempt to hide his smile, and she hit his arm playfully. "You got that weekend off? We're going to Hawaii for the wedding?"

"We're going to Hawaii," Logan confirmed with a chuckle. "Dr. Kim gave me the stamp of approval today."

"Yay!" Soo Ryeon exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. "It'll be like a second honeymoon!" Logan laughed at her enthusiasm, and she blushed as she suddenly remembered that they were not alone. "Um, I mean..." she stammered, "Logan and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon…"

Logan's hand squeezed her thigh under the table, and he spoke up to rescue her. "We went to Maui for our honeymoon. You guys are getting married in Oahu, right?"

"Yep, that's right," Yoon Cheol nodded, slinging his arm around his fiancée's shoulders. "We'll split our time between Oahu and the Big Island for our honeymoon."

"The wedding coordinator in Hawaii is taking care of all the wedding plans down there," Yoon Hee added. "There will be a small reception after the ceremony, but everything will be wrapped up by around 3:00… Plenty of time for you guys to fly home and make it in to work on Monday."

"I'm so glad you were able to make this work," Soo Ryeon told them. "It'll be good to go back, even if it is just for a couple of days."

"Don't worry, Soo Ryeon, we'll definitely have some beach and spa time worked into the schedule while we're there," Yoon Hee said. "And I'm sure Logan and Yoon Cheol will be more than happy to keep themselves occupied with their surfboards."

"All right!" Logan exclaimed, high-fiving Yoon Cheol across the table.

"Ha Yoon Cheol, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were more excited about surfing in Hawaii than marrying me," Yoon Hee sulked teasingly.

"Aww, babe, the surfing is just an added bonus," he charmed. "Without you, I wouldn't even want to go on the trip to begin with."

"Good save," Yoon Hee teased, poking him in the ribs as the server approached to take their orders.

After their orders were turned in and their drinks were refilled, Logan slid his arm around his wife, and she nestled into his side, gazing up at him lovingly.

"Good lord, I'd better cancel my food order if I'm going to have to watch the lovey-dovey stuff all evening," Yoon Cheol announced, pretending to gag. "Geez, Logan Lee, you've only been away for her for, like, ten hours!"

Logan tightened his grip and grinned defiantly at his friend. "Yeah, but I'm going to be away from her for three days, so I have to soak up my time with her before she leaves."

Yoon Cheol's gaze swung to Soo Ryeon. "So you finally decided to dump this washed-up jock doc, huh?"

"Not a chance," she assured him. "Korea University is on Spring Break this week, so I'm going to visit my mom in New York for a few days."

"Aww, Logan, you're not going with her?" Yoon Hee asked.

He shook his head with disappointment. "No, since we just started our new rotations, I couldn't get the time off. But I'm glad she gets the chance to spend a few days with mom."

"We have some friends from high school who live in New York as well," Soo Ryeon added. "I might try to look them up and pop in for a visit."

"Good for you," Yoon Cheol said approvingly. "And while you're gone, we'll keep an eye on your man here. I'm sure he'll be doing his mopey, 'I-miss-my-wife' thing like he did when we went to that medical conference last year."

"I did not mope," Logan argued, glancing around the table. "Well, maybe a little bit…"

"It's okay, sweetie," Soo Ryeon assured him with a pat on his thigh. "Truth be told, I did some moping of my own while you were gone."

"True story," Yoon Hee agreed. "Even the standard 'retail therapy' didn't work on her. Believe me, I tried! In fact, I think I spent enough for both of us!"

"Ah, the truth comes out!" Yoon Cheol declared before raising his glass. "Let's toast to spending time with loved ones, both far and near."

...~«ώ»~...

Late the next evening, Soo Ryeon's flight landed in New York City. Yeo Hee met her at the airport, and after settling into a taxi and giving the driver directions to her apartment, she eased her daughter's phone out of her hand and dialed Logan's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Hey, sweetheart," he began. "How was your flight?"

"Hi, Logan, it's your mother-in-law," she told him.

"What's wrong? Is she okay?" He asked anxiously.

"She's okay, but she's looking pretty green right now," Yeo Hee told him, stroking a hand through her daughter's sweat-soaked hair. Soo Ryeon rested weakly against her mother in the back seat of the cab. "She said she got sick several times on the plane."

Logan sighed, and Yeo Hee could picture him running his hand through his hair. "I was afraid that might happen," he remarked. "Long flights really take a toll on her."

"They have since she was little," Yeo Hee reported. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that she arrived safely. I'll have her call you when we get back to my place and get her stomach settled down."

"Thanks, mom," he answered. "Take good care of her for me, okay? And tell her that I miss her and I love her."

"I will, Logan," she assured him. "We'll talk again soon. Bye."

...~«ώ»~...

Soo Ryeon didn't call back that evening, and Logan did his best not to think about her discomfort and his inability to help her when she was so far away. The next day, during a break at work, he ducked into the doctors' locker room and dialed her number.

"Hey, baby, how are you feeling?" he asked warmly when she answered the phone.

"Better," she responded softly. Logan noticed that her voice lacked its usually cheer.

"No more nausea?" he tried again, hoping to draw her out.

"No, not since last night," she told him.

"Headache?" he persisted.

"I'm fine, Logan," she muttered.

"Soo Ryeon, come on, talk to me," he pleaded. "I know something's wrong. Tell me what's going on."

She sighed heavily into the phone. "My cycle started this morning," she mumbled.

Logan rubbed his hand over his face, carefully considering his next words. Soo Ryeon's cycles had been very unpredictable since she'd stopped taking birth control, and she hadn't had one in nearly six weeks. They'd both hoped she was pregnant, even though her most recent pregnancy test said otherwise.

"Is it light, or normal?" he asked. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having with his wife when she was on the other side of the world, but as a doctor, he knew that light bleeding was common in the early stages of pregnancy. Maybe there was still hope…

"Heavy," she replied dejectedly. "Really heavy. I'm sorry, Logan."

His protective instincts surged forward, shoving aside his disappointment. "There's no need to apologize, sweetheart. It'll happen when the time is right." His sincere words were met with silence on the other end of the line. "Honey, are you okay?" The choked cry that tumbled down the line broke his heart. "Soo Ryeon, please don't cry. I know you're disappointed, but we'll keep trying." She still didn't respond, so he changed his tack in an effort to distract her. "Have you talked to your mom about it? What are you two doing today?"

"I haven't talked to her," her soft voice answered. "She had to go in to work for a little while."

Logan had to bite his tongue hard to stop the angry retort that nearly surged out of his mouth. Soo Ryeon had traveled across the globe to see her mom, and was sitting alone in a strange apartment with no one to comfort her when she needed it. He measured his words carefully. "I'm so sorry, baby. I wish I was there, or you were here, so I could hold you and make you feel better. I miss you so much. You don't deserve to be alone right now."

"I miss you too," she nearly whispered. "I hate being so far away from you. Maybe this trip wasn't such a good idea."

As much as Logan wanted to hop on the next flight to New York to bring her home, he knew she would ultimately regret cutting her trip short. "Come on, sweetie, you've been looking forward to spending this time with you mom. It'll be several months before you get another chance to see her."

"Exactly," she replied, her voice strengthened with frustration. "I came here to spend time with her, but she can't seem to pull herself away from the office long enough to see me." She sighed heavily. "I don't know why I thought this time would be different."

"Because you love your mom, and you're an eternal optimist," he answered. "It's one of the many things I love about you." Her soft laugh made him smile.

"Well, I guess the trip's not a total loss," Soo Ryeon commented. "I called Sang Ah to tell her that I was in town, and she invited me to the show that she and Gyu Jin are working on."

Logan felt a brief flicker of the old jealousy that he'd felt in high school regarding Soo Ryeon's friendship with Gyu Jin Lee. Just as quickly, though, he pushed it aside. There was no reason feel threatened, and if the thought of seeing her old friends cheered Soo Ryeon up, then he wouldn't say anything to dampen her spirits. "So the Lee-Go writing team is still lighting up marquees on musical, huh?" he asked lightly.

"Well, musical theatre," she corrected. "This show could be the launching point for them, though, according to Sang Ah. They got a really good review in the News when the show opened."

"Wow, that's cool," he replied. "Just promise me that you won't fall in love with the bright lights of the big city and forget to come home to me."

"Never," she answered. "You know what they say... 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.'" Her soft voice was back, and he heard another sigh slip out to punctuate her statement.

"I love you, Soo Ryeon," he told her. "Two more days, and then you'll be back here with me, where you belong. In the meantime, have fun, and tell Gyu Jin and Sang Ah I said hello."

"I will," she murmured. "I love you."

...~«ώ»~...

When Yeo Hee called that afternoon to tell Soo Ryeon that she had to stay late at the office for an overseas conference call, Soo Ryeon decided that she'd been cooped up alone in Yeo Hee's luxury apartment long enough. She dialed Sang Ah's number, and smiled when the composer's cheerful voice came across the line.

"Soo Ryeon! Wow, two calls in one day… I feel so honored!" Sang Ah teased.

"I'm the one that should be honored, keeping company with two of the hottest rising stars in New York City theatre," Soo Ryeon laughed.

"Well, in that case, what can this 'rising star' do for you?" Sang Ah giggled.

"My mom's working late, and I was wondering if you and Gyu Jin might be free for dinner," Soo Ryeon responded. "Unless you have a show tonight…"

"Not on Mondays," Sang Ah replied. "Let me make a couple calls, and then I'll get back to you. I know a great restaurant that I'm sure you'll love."

As promised, Sang Ah called back a few minutes later with plans set. She gave Soo Ryeon directions from Battery Park City to Greenwich Village, explaining that the restaurant was within walking distance of their townhouse.

When Soo Ryeon stepped out of the cab a few hours later, she glanced up at the building that Sang Ah had directed her to, searching for the correct house number. Two small heads bounced around in the window, and Soo Ryeon heard excited shrieks as she rang the bell. Moments later the door opened, and she stood face to face with Gyu Jin Lee. Like Logan, he'd grown and filled out since high school, but his beaming smile was exactly the same.

"Soo Ryeon!" he exclaimed as he pulled her into a warm hug. "Wow, you look great! It's so good to see you!"

As soon as he released her, Sang Ah grabbed her and hugged her just as fiercely. Like Soo Ryeon, she hadn't grown since high school, although she was a bit pudgier than before. That, Soo Ryeon guessed, had a lot to do with the towheaded sprites she'd spotted in the front window. As if on cue, they bounded into the room, two small bundles of energy with curls and matching pink dresses.

"Girls," Gyu Jin called, taking their hands as they approached their guest. "This is aunt Soo Ryeon. She went to school with your mommy and me, but she lives far away, so we don't get to see her very often. Can you tell her hello?"

The older of the two girls stepped forward bravely, extending her hand. "My name is Mina . I'm four and a half."

Charmed, Soo Ryeon took the little girl's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Mina. That's a very pretty dress… It reminds me a lot of your Aunt Gyo Jin."

Mina's eyes widened. "You know Aunt Gyo Jin?"

Soo Ryeon laughed. "Yes, although I haven't seen her for a long time." She turned her attention to the little girl who was peeking out from behind her father's legs. "And who's this little cutie?"

"This is Ah Ri," Gyu Jin told her, swinging the child up into his arms. "She just turned two."

"Hi, Ah Ri," Soo Ryeon smiled. "Oh, Gyu Jin, Sang Ah, they're just beautiful!"

Gyu Jin nodded proudly toward his wife. "They clearly take after their mother." Sang Ah dipped her head, both pleased and embarrassed.

"Daddy, Aunt Gyo Jin said we're pretty because we look like her," Mina reported.

"I'm sure she did," Gyu Jin mumbled.

Mina turned her attention back to Soo Ryeon. "Do you have any kids?"

Soo Ryeon flinched inwardly, but pasted a smile on her face. "No, not yet," she answered.

"When are you gonna?" the little girl persisted. "Aunt 'Gyo Jin says…"

"Okay, honey, that's enough," Sang Ah mercifully interrupted. "Now that you've met aunt Soo Ryeon, we need to get your pajamas on. Sammy will be here in a few minutes, and she'll fix a snack for you and read your bedtime story."

Mina bounded down the hall toward her bedroom, obviously anxious to get ready before the babysitter arrived. Sang Ah followed her, and Gyu Jin bounced Ah Ri in his arms. "Make yourself at home, Soo Ryeon," he told her, motioning towards the living room. "We'll be back in a minute." He turned toward the bedrooms, laughing as Ah Ri squealed and squirmed.

In the quiet room, Soo Ryeon was enveloped in the painful reality of her difficulty conceiving a child. Instead of sitting on the plush sofa, she stood in front of the large window and stared at the street below. Her arms wrapped self-consciously around her waist, and she became so lost in her thoughts that she jumped when Sang Ah touched her arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sang Ah asked gently. "I'm sorry if Mina's questions upset you."

"It's okay," Soo Ryeon told her. "I was just thinking about… wishing… that Logan and I… never mind."

"You want to have a baby," Sang Ah filled in for her. It was a statement, not a question, and Soo Ryeon turned in surprise. Sang Ah shrugged. "Call it mother's intuition."

"We've been trying to get pregnant for almost four months now," Soo Ryeon confessed. "We waited until we were settled in our careers, and… I guess I took for granted that it would happen right away once we were ready."

"Four months isn't that long," Sang Ah pointed out. "I got pregnant with Mina right away, but it took eight months with Ah Ri."

"Really?" Soo Ryeon asked hopefully.

"Really," Sang Ah nodded. "Whenever it happens, though, one thing's for sure. You and Logan are going to be amazing parents."

Soo Ryeon couldn't speak as tears burned her eyes, so she pulled Sang Ah into a hug. The doorbell rang, and Gyu Jin strode through the room to answer it. Moments later he was back, followed by their babysitter. She waved at Sang Ah and dutifully made her way toward the girls' bedrooms.

Gyu Jin circled an arm around each woman's shoulders and squeezed. "Everything okay?" he asked. They both nodded, and he turned them toward the entryway. "Great, because I'm starving!" Laughing, they followed him out the door.

...~«ώ»~...

Ten minutes later, they made their way into a charming restaurant a few blocks away. The maître d' greeted Gyu Jin and Sang Ah and immediately seated them at their "usual table."

"Wow, you guys must come here a lot to get such personal attention," Soo Ryeon observed.

Gyu Jin winked across the table at his wife. "You'll soon see why."

The waitress arrived with menus, chatting warmly with Gyu Jin and Sang Ah before naming off the specials of the day. She concluded with the chef's special-recipe crème brûlée for dessert, proclaiming that it was the best concoction she'd ever tasted. Soo Ryeon was listening so intently that she didn't notice Gyu Jin and Sang Ah chuckling behind their menus.

"Crème brûlée," Soo Ryeon mused aloud. "It would have to be amazing to beat the recipe Dong Pil used to make…"

At that moment, a large figure stepped out of the kitchen, and Soo Ryeon rubbed her eyes to assure herself that she wasn't hallucinating. It couldn't possibly be…

"Did I hear someone mention my name?" he asked jovially.

"Dong Pil!" Soo Ryeon shouted, leaping to her feet to throw her arms around him. "What on earth are you doing here?"

He laughed. "I work here... I'm the sous chef. Sang Ah told me you were in town, so I whipped up a special batch of crème brûlée just for you."

"I didn't know you lived in New York!" Soo Ryeon exclaimed, still in shock.

"I went to University in Upstate New York to study Food Science," he explained. "After I graduated, I worked my way through every greasy spoon and hole-in-the-wall until I ended up in New York City. Then, about a year ago, Sang Ah called to tell me that there was an opening at her favorite restaurant." He gestured around the dining room. "And the rest, as they say, is history!"

"That's amazing!" Soo Ryeon replied. "My mom moved to New York last month, so I came to visit her while I'm on Spring Break."

"How's my man Logan doing?" Dong Pil questioned. "Why isn't he with you?"

"He just started a new rotation at the hospital, so he couldn't get time off," she explained. "He's a second-year resident, training for sports medicine and orthopedics."

"Wow, Logan, a doctor?" Dong Pil replied. "That's pretty cool!" His gaze returned to Soo Ryeon. "Wait, Spring Break? You're still in school? How many degrees are you planning to get?"

Soo Ryeon laughed. "I'm a law professor, not a student. I teach at Korea University School of Law in Seoul."

A crash came from the kitchen, and Dong Pil turned regretfully. "Sorry, I guess I'd better get back to work before they burn the place down. Order whatever you like… It's on the house. It's great to see you again. Tell Logan I said hi." With that, he turned on his heel and headed back to the kitchen.

Soo Ryeon sat back down and glared playfully at her friends. "Okay, great set-up, you two. Should I expect any more surprises? Is Gyo Jin going to pop out and sing some show tunes for us?"

"No more surprises," Gyu Jin assured her. "Besides, Gyo Jin doesn't live in New York."

"She doesn't?" Soo Ryeon asked incredulously. "With all the success you two are having, I'm surprised she isn't here, demanding the lead roles in all of your productions."

"She was, and she did," Gyu Jin said cautiously, glancing at Sang Ah, who was chewing on her bottom lip.

"Uh oh." Too late, Soo Ryeon sensed tension. "What happened?"

"We didn't cast her for one of our shows, and she didn't speak to us for nearly a year," Gyu Jin told her as he reached over to grasp his wife's hand. "Sang Ah thinks it was her fault, but really, it was a confrontation that was long overdue."

"I'm sorry," Soo Ryeon murmured. "I had no idea."

"It's okay," Sang Ah spoke up. "We've mended fences, and she comes to visit a lot now that we have the girls."

"Speaking of visits, are you two planning to come to the Daegu high school reunion in May?" Soo Ryeon asked, hoping to steer the conversation back to neutral ground.

"Yes, we are," Gyu Jin answered enthusiastically. "In fact, we were going to talk to you about an idea we had. Ms. Da Mi is retiring at the end of the school year, and since our class was, as she always said, 'the best thespians in Daegu high school history,' we thought it would be fitting to put on a show in her honor the weekend of the reunion. Sang Ah and I can put it together, and we'll use material from the shows we did when we were students there, so nobody has to learn new stuff."

"That's a great idea!" Soo Ryeon exclaimed. "Wow, that'll be so much fun! Have you talked to Seo Jin about it?"

"No, we were hoping that you would," Gyu Jin admitted. "Principal Ma Dong agreed to let us use the school's auditorium for the weekend. We can put the show together on Saturday morning, go to the reunion Saturday night, and then present the show on Sunday afternoon. It's perfect."

"You really think we can put a show together that fast?" Soo Ryeon worried.

"Not a problem for two of New York's hottest rising stars," Sang Ah teased, echoing Soo Ryeon's earlier description. "Number one on the personnel list is a duet by Daegu high school's golden couple. What do you think?"

"I'm game, but you'll have a tough time convincing Logan," Soo Ryeon predicted.

"Well, we figured if anyone could convince him, it'd be you," Gyu Jin told her with a smile, and Soo Ryeon nodded. That sounded just about right.

...~«ώ»~...

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday, Kim Yeo Hee awoke to hear her daughter moving around in the apartment. Pulling on a robe, she went in search of Soo Ryeon and found her huddled miserably on the sofa, her arms wrapped around her middle.

"Ryeonie, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Menstrual cramps," Soo Ryeon answered, trying to sound casual. The tension in her voice, however, told Yeo Hee that her daughter was in a considerable amount of pain.

"Have you taken anything?" Yeo Hee asked.

"Yeah, I took some aspirin about an hour ago," Soo Ryeon reported. "It's not helping much."

"Maybe you should call Logan," Yeo Hee suggested.

Soo Ryeon shook her head determinedly. "No. He can't do anything about it, and if I call him, he'll be up all night worrying."

"But he may be able to suggest some other medicine or treatment," Yeo Hee persisted.

Soo Ryeon sighed. "Mom, women have been dealing with this kind of thing for thousands of years. It's not a big deal."

"When's the last time you dealt with this kind of pain?" Yeo Hee asked pointedly. "I don't recall you mentioning it when you were a teenager."

"It's probably just another stupid symptom from quitting birth control," Soo Ryeon reasoned. "My cycles have been all over the place for the past few months—light, heavy, cramps, backaches, headaches, nausea—all this stuff that I haven't had to deal with before. I'm due to go back to my OB/GYN next month for more tests."

"I'm glad of that," Yeo Hee assented, "but what about right now?"

"I'll be fine, Mom," she insisted. "Go back to bed. You need your rest for our adventures tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Yeo Hee pushed to her feet. "Well, if you're sure…"

"I am," Soo Ryeon nodded. "Good night."

"Good night, Ryeonie."

...~«ώ»~...

By morning, Soo Ryeon was feeling better, and she and her mom spent the day shopping and sightseeing. That evening they went to see Gyu Jin and Sang Ah's show at the Cherry Lane Theatre, and afterwards they stopped by Dong Pil's restaurant for dessert. On Wednesday morning they packed a picnic and enjoyed brunch in Central Park before heading for the airport.

It was evening by the time Soo Ryeon stepped off the plane in Seoul, tired, nauseous, and happy to be home. As she waited at baggage claim, she pulled out her phone to call Logan to come pick her up. It went straight to his voice mail, and she left a message, sighing as she hung up. The baggage carousel started up, and she hypnotically watched the bags circle. A hand suddenly squeezed her shoulder, and she turned to look up into the face of the man she loved.

"Logan," she breathed as his arms circled her and he bent to lift her off the ground.

"Welcome home, baby," he murmured in her ear. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she told him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's good to be home."

"It's good to have you home, right where you belong," he answered, his voice husky. He gave her one more squeeze before lowering her feet back to the ground.

Unwilling to relinquish his hold on her, he took her hand, lacing their fingers together. Spotting her suitcase, he strode forward and grabbed it from the conveyor before guiding her toward the parking lot. They chatted as they walked, and Soo Ryeon updated him on her mom and their friends. She told him about the show Gyu Jin and Sang Ah were putting together for Ms. Da Mi, and to her surprise, he thought it was a great idea.

"Sang Ah suggested that we should do a duet," she told him hesitantly. "I didn't know if you'd want to…"

"Do you want to do it?" he interrupted.

She looked up at him, wide-eyed. "Yeah, I do."

He nodded decisively. "Then I'm in." He laughed as her jaw dropped. "Don't act so surprised, sweetheart. I'd never pass up an opportunity to sing with my favorite girl. It's been too long."

"It has been a long time," she agreed. "Thank you, Logan. I can't think of a better way to wrap up our reunion weekend than being on that stage with you."

"Yeah." He squeezed her hand. "My partner in song, in love, and in life. Sounds pretty perfect to me."