Breakfast was filled with stress and worry. I could see that Binna had not decided yet about whether she'd be our surrogate or not. Lunch wasn't any better either and it felt like my nerves were at wit's end. I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh, cry, throw up or sit huddled in a corner and rock myself back and forth. Jimin wasn't much better, which was a consolation. I was thankful in a way though. It seemed like she was taking her time to actually mull over our proposal instead of turning us down outright.

As a way to keep ourselves from thinking of the elephant in the room, the three of us were in the kitchen. Binna had been fascinated with the fancy cake Jimin and I had taken to Seokjin's last weekend. This morning, she had asked if I could teach her to make something similar. Seeing as it was the middle of autumn and the apples growing in the orchard had been particularly delicious, I decided to make apple cinnamon rolls.

I walked the two others through how to peel, core and dice the apples. The three of us made light work of the fruit preparation, while we were talking, joking and laughing. As Jimin took the reins of cooking the apples in the butter, sugar and spices, Binna and I were making the bread dough. I was happy that all the ingredients used to make the delicious hotteok treats I loved also were needed for this one. There had been a couple of recipes I'd had to alter because one or more ingredients were not available in the Greater Kingdom of Korea. Difficulty in trading was one of the downfalls of not having fast travel between countries.

Binna was amazed at how I kneaded a large amount of dough with such ease. We were making a triple batch, enough to have some to go back to Seokjin's, as well as for the rest of the Parks to enjoy. I did feel a bit out of practice with kneading. It wasn't something I had done much since coming to this universe, so I was thankful that my biceps and triceps could keep up with this exercise.

While the dough was proofing, I showed my new friend some of the cake designs I had drawn. I laughed when she dropped onto bent knees and begged for me to make a cake covered in flowers for her birthday. I bit my tongue to keep from telling her that I'd make her one each week if she accepted our proposal.

Once the dough had risen and was ready, I separated it into three. With a ball in front of us each and armed with rolling pins, I showed the others how to roll it out. Both of them were able to make it a large rectangle with even thickness. I was pleased that both Jimin and Binna found the rolling of the dough easy, and I only had to make minor adjustments so they were even the whole way across.

We moved onto spreading the surface with a generous layer of softened butter. One by one, we sprinkled over the sugar and spice mixture I had made up, along with the prepared apples. When I asked Jimin to grab dental floss or a fresh roll of fishing twine, he looked at me like I had grown two heads. He didn't believe me when I said it was my trick for a smoother cut until I had proved it.

It didn't take too much longer until the rolls were all laid out in the trays and put into the oven. The hardest part for Binna, it seemed, was waiting. I couldn't blame her, though, since the smell of our goodies baking permeated the kitchen and much of the lower level of the palace. Even the rest of the Park family had been drawn out of their hiding places—the smell called them like a Pied Piper.

It didn't take long until the sounds of celebration rang out through the kitchen when I declared the cinnamon rolls were ready. Binna proceeded to dance while clapping in glee as Jimin's brothers fought over who would get a piece first. I was reminded of the pure innocence that Caleb had whenever he saw I had been baking. I would normally allow my cinnamon rolls to cool down a bit before tucking in. But I knew that I wouldn't survive the day if I didn't allow the hungry horde of people at least one of the baked treats. I was never a fan of Americanised cinnamon rolls with frosting on them. Instead, I used a bit more sugar in the filling. When they baked, a natural caramel sauce formed at the bottom of each roll and when turned over, they looked incredible.

꧁♥💜♥꧂

"I think this is the best thing I have ever put into my mouth," Binna declared with a mouthful of the sweet treat as we sat outside in the courtyard with a pot of tea. "I now see why we made so many. I hope some will be left for me to take back to Seokjin and Soon-Bok later."

Her innocent statement sent a wave of dread through my body. Our time together was coming to an end, and we had not yet received an answer. I was in the process of thinking of a diplomatic way of asking if she had come to a decision when Jimin piped up and asked what had been on our minds for the past 18 hours.

"Knowing Nell. I'm sure she will be happy to make plenty of delicious treats for you any time." When he looked at me, I nodded and uttered an affirmative response. "I don't mean to push you along, Binna, but have you thought any more about what we asked last night?"

"I have," she replied with a sigh. Was that a sigh of relief or one of rejection? "I'm not saying no... but I'm not saying yes either. There are things that I need to know first."

My respect for the younger woman increased upon hearing her answer. As someone who is prone to overthinking, I appreciated Binna not jumping into an answer. Even if it did drive me crazy not knowing.

"How about we talk through everything together?" I suggested as I looked at both Jimin and Binna. When they both nodded, I relaxed a bit. I knew then that I was not in this alone. "What is concerning you most, Binna?"

I watched her place another piece of the sweet roll into her mouth, which she followed with a sip of tea. "So... How is this going to work? I mean, there are far more women than Seed Bearers in our kingdom. Not once have I heard of a Seed Bearer settling down with a woman that he wasn't assigned to so they could reproduce. I mean, like everyone, I have heard of the stories passed down about women seducing Seed Bearers but I'm not sure whether they were real or just precautionary tales to stop women from throwing themselves at virile men."

Since I was trying to piece together the gist of Binna's nervous rambling, Jimin jumped in. "First off, let me start by saying that I will protect you if you decide to do this. You will not be sent home and left on your own devices while pregnant. Neither Nell nor I, want that to happen." He looked at me and I nodded. This had been something we had spoken about at length when we decided to look for a surrogate.

"Jiminie is right, you won't be alone in this. We are still trying to work out how I will disguise the fact that I am not pregnant. I am happy to say that Jimin and I have sorted out the 'where' of our plan." I smiled, remembering how Jimin's mother had inadvertently assisted with that part. "Jimin's family is well aware of how much stress I am under with trying to fall pregnant. It was suggested that he and I move somewhere quieter to help with the conception. We plan to live in a cottage that Jimin's grandmother's family used to own. It is isolated enough in the forest to give complete privacy. Yet, it's close to the palace so we can get supplies and other necessary goods."

"If you say yes, then we would like to bring you there with us, Binna," Jimin added. His warm smile was directed at our potential surrogate. I could see from the way her shoulders relaxed that she felt more at ease in knowing that we weren't going to leave her to fend for herself.

"What about my family and my gi— friends?" Binna asked with a slight stutter. "What would I say to them about why I'd be leaving my home?"

Inside, I was grinning like a Cheshire cat when I heard that she had not added on 'if I choose to do this'. "Jimin and I can say that you are with us as a companion for me if that makes it easier for you to explain why you'd be moving. Plus, since you're an artist, there would be plenty of space in the shed beside the cottage for you to paint and sculpt. That could be part of the reason too."

That had been one of the things that had brought Binna and me closer together yesterday—our shared love of art. I said I wanted to see some of the landscape paintings that she produced. It was amusing to think that if we were in my universe, she would have photographs of her entire collection of work in the palm of her hand.

"I have been looking for somewhere that had ample space for my studio, so that would work well," she said with a smile before she began to blush like crazy. "But that just leaves one very big question... How would we go about getting me pregnant? Do I have to have sex with Jimin or is there another way so that I don't have to come between the two of you?"

"T-that's still something we have to talk about," Jimin said with a slight stutter and bright pink cheeks. "Nell and I don't want to do anything that will make any of us uncomfortable."

Jimin was firmly in the 'sex is the best way to fall pregnant' camp. He was also concerned about this approach. He believed that sleeping with another woman even with my permission was the same as cheating. For me, I didn't know what to think about the whole insemination thing. Part of me wondered whether I would be triggered knowing that the love of my life was fucking another woman. Or would the reality that it was only a means to an end trump all my fears? Hell, I had even considered telling him about the whole turkey baster method. That was a moot point though, since during our trips to various cooking shops, not once had I seen a baster.

Binna nodded, and I could practically see the cogs turning in her head. "And you'll pay me? That is what you said last night, correct?"

Jimin hummed in affirmation as he sipped from his now-cold tea. "Yeah. Is 1 trillion won okay? It is conditional on a successful pregnancy. I want to give you enough so that you don't have to worry about your future. I know money doesn't buy happiness but it's my way of thanking you for allowing me to keep my Nell and our future."

I almost spat out the sip of tea that I had taken when I heard the amount of money. Jimin said the number so casually as if it meant nothing. I did a quick mental calculation, and if the exchange rate was the same as in my universe, Binna would be paid over a million Australian dollars. I looked over at the other woman and saw that her jaw had dropped.

'Yeah, I'd look the same if I was in your shoes.'

Binna shook her head to pull herself out of her dazed stupor and then nodded slowly. I could see this amount of money came nowhere near what she had initially been thinking—it far exceeded it.

"I don't need that much money," she tried to counter but Jimin was taking no mind. In the end, he said he would not settle for less. Binna took a deep breath before she agreed.

Once again, I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh or cry. This time though, it wasn't from nerves but rather jubilant elation. Jimin smiled at me, his eye smile blinding with how bright it was. He pulled me close to him and placed a soft celebratory kiss on my lips. As soon as we pulled apart, he jumped up and engulfed Binna in a tight hug as he chanted 'Thank you' over and over again.