Mental and physical exhaustion filled the past three weeks. Jimin and I had spent the time wracking our brains trying to come up with a way to fake a pregnancy. We needed to find a way for me to appear pregnant as a way to fool everybody. It seemed easy on paper; although with each idea, we had met roadblocks. Either it wouldn't fool the doctors, or the Oracle would be able to see through our ruse easily. Jimin and I tried to keep our hope alive because of the realisation that he'd had. It had become the driving force for us both.

Along with our pregnancy scheming, both of us had been busy packing for our trip. Since the 100-day anniversary was also a big deal here, all of the summer Seed Bearers and their assigned females were gathering for a big get-together. The only issue was that it was to be held in Daejeon, about 140km away.

Back in my universe, 100-day celebrations were commonplace in South Korea. 100 days after giving birth, 100 days with a newborn, 100 days of dating etcetera. Jimin had told me that here in the Greater Kingdom of Korea, they celebrated 100 days of the union between a Seed Bearer and his assigned female. There was a superstition about this celebration. I learned that people believe that if the first 100 days of a Seed Bearers' unions are rejoiced with others, then it would supposedly appease the gods to bestow good luck and fertile loins unto those who participated. In our summer Allocation Rotation, six other cities were also participating. They were the people we were to celebrate with, and Daejeon was selected as the city for it to take place since it was central to everyone.

If we were in my universe with cars, it would have taken less than two hours to drive the 140km. However, because we had to go by horse and carriage, the trip had taken five days. I was thankful that like the others from Seoul, we'd taken the comfy carriage. I wasn't sure my bum could handle being in one of the others for that long. It was also far more comfortable for Him-Chan and Do-Yun, who had come with us.

To me, it seemed ridiculous to travel 10 days just for a weekend trip. But Jimin had told me that this was just as big as the Allocation and Dissolution Ceremonies. I did have to admit, it was nice being on holiday with the man I loved. We had explored the cities and towns that we'd stopped in along the way.

I loved the time that we had spent at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, where we were lucky enough to stay overnight. Jimin and I had pretended that we'd both been transported back in time. The 14 of us had been instructed to choose a hanbok each from the many racks laden with garments. While everyone else went to choose their clothes, Jimin suggested that we swap—he would select what I wore, and I'd choose his. There were so many options for men that it was difficult to pick one for my boyfriend. Blue with gold accents, many shades of rich jewel tones, black and white, purples and greys. I was having a hard time choosing, but there on the last rack, was the one. When I pulled it out, my heart raced as I grew eager to see my Seed Bearer's body draped in the fine fabric. When he came out of the changing room, I saw that I was right; Jimin looked so handsome in the baby pink and white hanbok. The soft colours suited his blonde hair perfectly and made him look like an angel on earth. I had to giggle when he sauntered over, my dress in his arms; it appeared that we had both shared the same thought.

I didn't know if it was the change of scenery or something in the water at the Folk Village. But, it was there that I had a solution for our infertility. When I'd suggested having a surrogate, Jimin was confused since it was a concept that was as alien to him as this world was to me. But even he had to admit that having another woman carry our baby while I pretended to be pregnant with a fake belly was the solution we were looking for. There was only one problem standing in our way: who would be the woman we trusted with my life and our baby?

୧‿︵‿๑︵‿୨💜୧‿︵‿୨💜୧‿︵๑‿︵‿୨

I hadn't been nervous earlier in our hotel room, nor on the carriage ride over to the large hall. However, standing in the hall and surrounded by other couples who were gawking at me had made my anxiety skyrocket. The only thing that helped me calm down was when his thumb rubbed against the ring that he'd given me this morning.

While we were lying in bed basking in the afterglow of our morning lovemaking, Jimin presented me with a stunning ring, which turned out to be one half of a 'his & her' set. I'd held my breath as he slid the white gold and diamond piece onto the fourth finger of my right hand. After a few kisses, Jimin told me how he wanted to have a physical sign to show everyone that I was his... and he was mine.

"I'm the one who should be worried," he whispered, looking out into the crowd of people staring at us. "With all these other men eyeing up my girlfriend, I'm worried they'll steal you away from me."

I smoothed the non-existent wrinkles from my hanbok. Unlike most of the other Seoul couples, Jimin and I had donned matching outfits. My blonde Seed Bearer had looked so proud when he'd presented me with the couple outfit back at the palace. Jimin had told me that he'd personally designed both garments and that the norigae decorations had been passed down through his family. It was purely a coincidence that the hanboks we wore at the Folk Village were in similar colours.

I looked out into the crowd of people gathered. If they were just ordinary people, I'd have been fine. But they weren't. Standing in groups around the room were some of the biggest K-POP groups from my universe. ATEEZ, Stray Kids, Oneus, Seventeen, Monsta X and Astro were here. I freaked out over the fact that three of my favourite groups, besides BTS of course, were breathing the same air as me. But what affected me most was seeing the face of someone I never thought I'd see again.

I was distracted from my gawking when I heard my name being called moments before I was wrapped up in a warm hug. "It's so good to see you again, Nell," Dan-Bi said excitedly as she pulled away.

I was about to greet her when I was pulled into another hug, this one from her handsome Seed Bearer. I didn't get to relish much in Hongjoong's embrace because Jimin's jealousy had reared its head as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

Hongjoong simply smiled. With the way that his shoulders were moving, I could tell he was having a fit of silent giggles. Clearing his throat, the blonde rapper who was not currently cuddling into me introduced the rest of the Suwon Seed Bearers group—aka the rest of his ATEEZ members and their assigned females.

"Hongjoong. Dan-Bi. "It's great to see you both again," Jimin said with a warm smile, speaking on behalf of both of us. "And it's very nice to meet the rest of you too."

As I was chatting with Seonghwa and Mingi, I learned that the Seoul group was the last to arrive. It felt so weird to be conversing with these men who I looked up to back in my universe; even though they were still 'celebrities' here because of their hair colours, I came to see that none of the ATEEZ members, like those from BTS, had let their Seed Bearer status go to their heads.

The sound of a gong filled the air and pulled everyone's attention towards the front of the room. There, I noticed, stood seven men with seven women behind them. There was no mistaking the group. Monsta X's Love Killa was one of my favourite songs from 2020. Esther and I both had it on our Spotify playlists and neither of us was unable to stop saying 'I want you eat me like a main dish' any time we saw a guy doing something sexy. I hadn't really gotten into the group; the songs I had heard, however, I had to admit they were catchy.

After a brief introduction to themselves, my eyes bulged when I saw one particular face—Wonho, who was no longer part of the group in my universe. I'd been shocked when it was announced that he was leaving. There were a lot of scandals that had surrounded him at the same time, so it wasn't that much of a surprise for many. It's hard to come back from a drug accusation, which was only one of the scandals that Wonho had.

The commencement of the 100-day celebration was announced by Shownu. We were all directed into yet another room, this one with seven large tables spread out. Jimin and I followed the rest of the Seoul group to a table that was seated in the middle.

When I'd asked why we were given the best spot, Namjoon answered as he pulled out a seat for his assigned female. "It's the luck of the draw. It started that the host city would take the central spot. Several decades ago, it changed to having the names drawn out of a hat. Looks like we were the lucky ones this year." The way his dimples pierced his cheeks as he smiled reminded me of why he was called 'The Majestic One'. His orange hair made him seem like some mystical creature on earth.

As I sat in the seat that Jimin had pulled out for me, I looked around the room. On the left side of the room at the front table, I spied the ATEEZ members beginning to sit. The table beside them was for Seventeen; Woozi's unmistakable smile had caught my eye. As I looked at the group, it looked like there was not the usual number of men there as the Idol group.

I had gotten to know Seventeen a little thanks to my florist friend, Madelief. Like many people, I had gotten confused as to why their name was Seventeen if there were 13 members. However, here in this universe, there were 11. While it confused me for a moment, I realised that Jun and The8 were not here because they were not Korean.

Jimin saw who I was looking at and whispered in my ear, "They are the Seed Bearers for Gwangju."

The last table on the left side was for Oneus. The six guys seated looked so young and innocent; I giggled because the job they had this year was anything but. I had grown to enjoy their music, especially Come Back Home. It was my favourite of their songs as I was captivated by the high note that spanned several octaves. Plus, the MV was incredible and so epic as it reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings with the orcs.

Seeing Ravn at the table was another reminder that these two universes were not connected. He'd not been in the group since cheating and sexual misconduct allegations were levelled against him. Even though it turned out he was innocent of those allegations, the damage had been done to his reputation. What happened to Ravn was a reminder of the dark side of K-Pop fans.

Out of all the groups here, the guys of Oneus had the most colourful hair. My eyes were drawn to Leedo's seamless ombré transition from green to blue, along with Hwanwoong's bright bubble-gum pink locks. I smiled when I thought how cute their Seed Bearer sons would look sharing the same hair as their fathers.

On the right-hand side, the middle table was taken by Monsta X, while the one at the front was for Stray Kids. I had been a Stay for many years, so I knew each of the members well. I knew how tongue-tied I would get if any of them came to talk to me; I was okay with Seungmin because he was just one man.

A thought popped into my head—'When Bang Chan and Felix spoke, would they have an Australian accent?'—and I found myself needing to know if it was correct. I was shocked to see that Woojin was here, especially because he had left the group in my universe. It made me wonder whether these were parallel universes that were connected somehow... or were they completely separate worlds?

It was the last table where my gaze lingered the longest. All six members of Astro were seated at the table, Moonbin included. The day I had learned of his suicide had been one of the saddest days I had in a long time, and just the thought had my eyes misting.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Jimin whispered when he saw my glistening eyes with tears welling. "Do you want to go get some air?" As I nodded, Jimin made an excuse for the two of us and led me into the ballroom we'd previously been in. "Talk to me, My Love. What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

It was at this time that I was thankful Jimin knew of my universe-traversing secret. "You know how I told you that Hoseok was my favourite BTS member?"

"Yes," he said whilst grumbling and pouting cutely, "Don't remind me."

"While I like J-Hope, I love only you, Park Jimin," I murmured reassuringly before planting a soft kiss to ease his pouty lips. "Did you see the man at that last table on the right? The one with the soft periwinkle hair? Well, his name is Moonbin and I liked him the same way as J-Hope. That table is another idol group called Astro, and Moonbin was my favourite member."

I could tell he picked up on the emphasis I had put on one word. "Was?"

A tear slid down my cheek as I uttered the words that broke my heart all over again. "A few months ago, he took his own life. It shook not only South Korea but fans from all over the world. I was a mess. The world lost a bright spark the day heaven gained another angel."

We had a clear line of sight through the open decorative doors, so Jimin whirled around and looked at the man we were talking about. In this universe, Moonbin was alive and well. He was kissing the pretty Korean woman seated beside him. "But..."

I read between the lines of his unsaid words—but he's alive here in this universe. As I saw Moonbin chatting with the three other men who I wouldn't have thought would be here too (Ravn, Wonho and Woojin), an insight came to mind.

"Do you know what this means, Jiminie?" He looked at me and shook his head with a confused look in his eyes. "It means that our universes aren't connected. Bubba, three Seed Bearers here aren't in their idol groups anymore in my universe. Along with Moonbin being here, I am beginning to think that there's not a direct link between our worlds.

"So, if someone dies in my universe, Jiminie, they might be alive still in yours. And vice versa."