A/N: I decided to make drabbles set in the same universe. Chapters may not be in chronological order but ages of the children may be stated if necessary. I hope you like the first one!

Joonmyeon was seven months pregnant. In normal circumstances, she won’t be allowed to fly but having your own plane at your disposal had its perks. Yifan made sure there’s a team of doctors and nurses on board just in case she gave birth during the hundred and ninety-five minute flight to Incheon.

She was really big. She can’t even see her toes anymore and Yifan had to buckle her sandals for her. She had removed her engagement and wedding rings long ago because they won’t fit anymore and not even her husband’s largest pajama tops would button properly. She was always in despair and won’t really come out for their regular date nights even if Yifan still stared at her like she was the most beautiful woman alive.

“You’re expecting twins, Joonie-ah! You’re expected to be even bigger.”

“You just admitted I’m big, you moron!”

She was staring out the window, marveling at the feather-like clouds while munching on a bowl of grapes. “What are we doing there exactly?” She asked. She had been in Korea before. Yixing dragged her there for shopping a few times. Sometimes, they would just binge on Korean street food the whole night and fly back in the morning. It wasn’t a big deal. It was a place she didn’t even remember so she felt nothing of the typical nostalgia. At the back of her mind, she knew her parents might be there somewhere but not knowing if they’re still alive or if they will recognize her didn’t make it all enticing.

“I told you it’s a surprise.” Yifan had been nothing but a perfect husband. After their small albeit extravagant destination wedding, they visited Turkey, Peru, France, Denmark, Russia and Palau. They were on their way to Australia when Joonmyeon had a fainting spell. The trip was cut short but they were happy when the doctor announced that she was six weeks pregnant. And few more weeks after that, they were informed they were expecting not one but two cute little angels. Even Luhan and Shixun were very excited for the arrival of the new addition to the family.

Eventually, the pregnancy got too difficult for Joonmyeon to even go to work. She had to stay at home and rest. On the sixth month however, the morning sickness finally relented and she was able to do menial house work and walk around the village (followed by Ruozhen, the driver slash bodyguard). On her seventh month, Yifan said he’ll be on an important meeting and he wanted her to be there.

Two nondescript Range Rovers were waiting for them at the tarmac when they arrived. They were brought straight to the Wu vacation house in the outskirts of Seoul. It had all the convenience of the city but it didn’t have the noise and pollution that came with it. It was enough to sleep at least ten people comfortably although it was a lot smaller compared to Yifan’s other properties.

It was summer and the air conditioner was in full blast. The wood paneled walls and huge slabs of shiny teak floors made the Korean summer heat bearable. The master bedroom opened to floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking well-trimmed vegetation and a wrap-around patio. A huge bathroom fitted with a hot tub had sun ceilings that felt like taking a bath outdoors.

“How does this work during the winters?” She had read somewhere that winters in Korea were harsh and the house was made of practically wood, glass and steel.

“Thermal mass was sandwiched between slabs of wood. Besides, here in Korea, the heaters come from under the floor so your feet can stay toasty even in the most rigid of temperatures. The glasses were all weather-proof. We can all go back during the winter break so you can watch the snow from the bed.”

“I’ll baptize the wonderful bathroom and take a nap. We don’t have anything until dinner, do we?” She asked, already stripping off her dress.

 Joonmyeon was undeniably bigger (please don’t tell her that) but it didn’t make her less beautiful. And the fact that she was carrying his flesh and blood made her all the more attractive in Yifan’s eyes. He was eyeing her hungrily that he unconsciously blurted out, “Can I join you?”

“No.” Was the flat reply. “Wu Yifan, just keep it in your pants! I’m seven months pregnant for Christ’s sake!”

“Okay, okay. Just asking.” He grumbled.

Joonmyeon slept for the whole afternoon. It was dusk when her husband woke her up to get ready for a special dinner. She was worried about what to wear but it turned out it wasn’t necessary because a beautiful cream Jun Takahashi shift dress was waiting for her on the bed when she came out of the shower. The hems and sleeves were embroidered with royal blue patterns akin to Ming Dynasty hand-painted pottery. It was paired with elegant but comfortable navy blue kitten heels. She blushed at her husband’s thoughtfulness.

She was thankful her skin didn’t suffer from the pregnancy. If possible, hers was even more supple and smooth. She applied very light make up (thanks to Boxian who trained her) and left her natural waves down. Yifan whistled when she came out of the room.

“Catcalling isn’t nice. Do you want Shixun to pick that habit from you?” She chastised to hide her embarrassment.

“I’m only appreciating my wife.” He kissed her on the temple lest they won’t make it to their appointment.

They arrived at the restaurant soon after. They were guided to a table where a middle-aged couple was sat. She can’t see the man but judging from the graying hair she can spot, he was about the same age as the beautiful older lady facing their way. The woman spotted them from a few feet away and her eyes widened, prompting the man to look their way.

And what she saw took her breath away.

Though his face was a lot angular than Joonmyeon’s, their resemblance was uncanny. He stood up, he was very tall and nicely built despite the age. Yifan gave the small of her back a tentative push when she remained in her spot.

“J-Joon—myeon?” The man croaked. His small, unsure tone didn’t suit his rather intimidating aura. The woman looked like she would break down any moment.  

“I—“ She looked at her husband then at the couple, not meeting the eyes of the man she suspected to be a very important piece of puzzle she was trying to complete. “I need a minute.” Immediately excusing herself from them. She found herself outside, at the restaurant’s patio. Were they who she thought they were? She heard a loud sigh of relief from behind her and she knew right away it was her husband. “I’d rather you told me first before you brought me here unprepared.” She spoke before he could.

“I’m sorry.” He said in a small voice, clearly understanding the mistake he made. What if something happened to Joonmyeon? Shock can be harmful to anyone, especially pregnant women.

“When?”

Yifan gulped audibly. “The search started months before I proposed to you. I wanted it be a wedding gift but we found nothing. But last month, someone approached me. They looked for you, baby. They looked for you all over but Sister Yoojin changed your name to her late sister’s name. Then she brought you along wherever diocese she was assigned to so it became very difficult. But they chanced upon a short article about us when we were touring Paris.”

“And you believed them, why?” She asked after mulling over the information for a long time. She tried to assess if she hated the two people they left inside. She always thought she was not capable of hating anyone. But there were a lot of questions swimming in her head right now. Questions left unanswered over the years.

“We got DNA test results to prove it. I did that to protect you, of course. Don’t be mad, please, baby.”

She let out a heavy sigh. She knew her husband meant well. She had been vocal that she wanted to meet her biological parents one day—for what reason, she didn’t know. But now that they were possibly just a few feet away, she didn’t know what to feel. “I’m not mad. I’m just—shocked I guess.” And scared. Yifan hugged her and they stayed immobile for a few minutes.

“We can do this some other time if you’re not up to it, you know?” He murmured to her hair.

“N-No. It’s fine. I want to do this now.”

The couple looked antsy even from afar. The woman was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Joonmyeon took a few deep breaths before finally facing them again. They both stood up when they came over. Her father gave her a tight smile and pulled a chair for her, trapping her between him and her mother.

“H-How—how far along are y-you?” The woman spoke for the first time, in Cantonese no less.

“Seven months.” The woman’s eyes watered again and she looked like she wanted to touch Joonmyeon but was afraid to be rejected. She pulled her hands to her lap instead. Almost like seeing them for the very first time, she can see that they looked like they were doing very well. She wasn’t an expert but she knew her jewelries were real and expensive. Not to mention the very obvious designer clothing they were both wearing.

Yifan cleared his throat. “Let’s order first, shall we?”

“Why?” She said in small voice, breaking the relative silence of clinking cutlery. “I was told I was left in a passenger ferry set to Hong Kong. I don’t remember anything so please tell me.” Both of them stopped eating to give her their full attention.

“It’s true. I bought both of us tickets to Hong Kong with our last money so I can board the ship with you. I left you in a place where you won’t be seen but I made sure someone will find you. You were almost three then.” Then she was younger than she thought. Her adoption papers said she was four when she was found. “You told me you were hungry and—“ His voice cracked. “I—I told you I’m going to get you something to eat but I disembarked before the ship sailed.”

“Sekyung-ah,” It was her mother. The name was foreign and she wanted to say she didn’t know who that was but kept quiet. “We want you to know that we didn’t want to do what we did but we didn’t have a choice. Your father and I were on a run. There were people after us and we wanted you to live. Our future together was so bleak that we’d rather be away from you than see you get killed. Now that you’re about to become a parent, you’ll soon realize that parents only put their children on a boat when the water is safer than the land.”

“You said you were running away from someone. Why? Who were they? Why did they want us dead?” God forbid if her parents turned out to be criminals.

It was first day of training when Choi Siwon met Han Kyung for the first time. Straight from different police academies from the world over, the twelve people lined up were considered crème de la crème of the next generation police officers. While their classmates were immediately assigned to their respective precincts, these young officers were asked to report for another training.

It was a whole new ballgame. They didn’t even carry badges and all records of their identity were erased and they disappeared from the face of the earth. They underwent rigorous physical training, advanced language classes, bomb-making, counter-terrorism, aviation, watercraft navigation, code-cracking, counter-intelligence and all other odds and ends they would need for their duty. After almost two years of toiling blood and sweat, they were reintegrated into the society.

Siwon was a budding businessman and Han Kyung continued on to law school. With perfectly-timed and orchestrated events, they were both approached by an organization. It was an organization so big they didn’t realize how far its clout can reach until it was too late.

Carrying out assignments and closing deals together for the crime lord, it was not too impossible to fall for each other. And living a double life with blurry lines in between, their feelings for each other were the only thing they could recognize to be real.

Keeping his legitimate business and her day job, the crime lord even tolerated the wedding that took place a couple of years after their recruitment. Han Kyung even got pregnant months later and whatever suspicions the authorities had with what they do were dismissed. For everyone, Choi Siwon was living a charmed life with his beautiful and intelligent wife.

Their daughter Sekyung was three when an order from their real boss came about. Despite their assessment that it wasn’t the right time to wipe out the organization, they were only trained to obey first and ask questions later.

Their cover were blown and they found themselves in a pointless run. These people wanted them to bleed, every drop of life squeezed out of them completely before they stop. Worrying for the life of their daughter, Siwon bought two ferry tickets to Hong Kong. Han Kyung had surrendered everything to Him at this point. If they will live, they will do everything to find her again. If not, she’ll be able to lead a happy life else where—away from danger.

After making sure they won’t find her until they’re too far to return to the Port of Busan, he left her alone to find his wife. With the newfound determination to stay alive for their poor daughter and with the help of the Seoul’s Finest, it took almost three years to finally bring the organization down. It operated in seven countries and had  stakes in illegal drugs, smuggling, underground gambling, human trafficking and arms manufacturing.

After they were cleared off their charges and were given the opportunity to go private, they started rebuilding their lives and looking for Sekyung. The search had been futile. For the next twenty-six years, they suffered the loss even after having two other children. Until one day in Paris where they chose to retire, in one of Han Kyung’s visit to the salon, she was leafing through a gossip magazine idly when she caught sight of one photo that will change their lives forever.

“We both left the police force after that. We rebuilt our business, it was not easy. But it was peaceful. We looked for you. We even lived in Hong Kong for two years to search every nook and cranny.”

“I—spent grade school in Singapore and Guandong after settling permanently back in Hong Kong. The nun who adopted me became a headmistress of a private school for girls.” This time, Han Kyung didn’t care anymore; she lunged at Joonmyeon and hugged her tightly.

“My daughter, my baby. You suffered a lot. Please forgive Mama!” She was wailing loudly, getting the attention of other diners but nobody in their table cared. Siwon joined his wife and daughter, feeling surreal to be holding his daughter for the first time in twenty-six years.

Joonmyeon looked at Yifan from over their shoulders and with her eyes b with tears, she mouthed, “Thank you.”