Location: Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s House
Time: 8 years later, 2046

“Are you ready for this?” Sehun asked, offering a soft smile to Lì An. Lì An took in a deep breath and nodded, “yeah,” he said, “Just…please protect me from them.” Sehun chuckled at his son’s pleading face, reaching out to pat his knee gently. “Don’t worry, they’re all bark, no bite. Let’s get in there.” Sehun and Lì An got out of the car and walked up to the familiar front door. Sehun placed his hand on his son’s shoulder, “Do you have everything you need?” he checked softly, his subtle meaning all too clear. Lì An blushed and shrugged his hand off, “Dad,” he whined, “you promised.”

Sehun offered his son a concerning glare as Lì An sighed, “Yes, okay, I have everything.” Sehun smiled, turning to walk inside Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s house. “Hello?” he called out. “Uncle Sehun!” Dohyun replied happily, “Oh, hello Lì An,” he added. Grinning, he shouted, “Dad! Uncle Sehun and Lì An are here!” “Kitchen!” Baekhyun called back. Sehun had to grab Lì An by the arm and practically drag him into the kitchen. Baekhyun was sitting on top of the table spoon feeding Minkyu. In the highchair next to him was Eun, dribbling on a soggy cracker. Her eyes lit up when she saw Sehun come in, shouting out at him in incoherent words. Sehun grinned and swooped down to press a kiss to her temple, “And how is my favorite baby niece?” he cooed.

Baekhyun snickered before looking up and offering a cocky smile to Lì An, “Hello Lì An, are you excited about tonight?” Lì An blushed, looking down in embarrassment, “Ye…yes, thank you.” Baekhyun offered him a smile, trying to not laugh at Lì An’s obvious expressions of being uncomfortable. “Where’s Chanyeol?” Sehun asked. “Upstairs with Jia and Hayoon,” Baekhyun replied, looking up at Lì An again. Lì An had gone pale and shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Chanyeol’s name. No doubt he had high hopes that Chanyeol wasn’t going to be home.

Sehun cocked his head and smirked at his son, fully amused at his son’s expense. “If you want to make yourself useful Sehun,” Baekhyun said, interrupting his thoughts, “You can clean up your favorite niece for me.” “Sure!” Sehun said, reaching down and lifting Eun up into his arms. Suddenly, a loud squeal came from upstairs, “Dad kill it!” There was a thud of feet on the stairs as Chanyeol materialized into the kitchen, carrying a jar with a spider inside. Chanyeol looked tired, Sehun noticed in mild concern, really tired and a little drawn.

“I’m not going to kill it Hayoon, it didn’t do anything wrong.” “Yes it did!” Hayoon yelled back, “It exists!” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, opening the back door to release the spider. “No! Further dad or it will come back in!” Chanyeol offered a long glare at Hayoon before walking to the back of the yard. He came back inside and shut the door. It was then that he narrowed his eyes, noticing Sehun and Lì An. Lì An saw him glaring and slid behind Sehun trying to hide.

Chanyeol finally broke his gaze, turning to his daughter, “Hayoon, will you please go upstairs and see how much longer Jia will be? And make sure to tell her that Lì An is here.” Hayoon huffed, “Fine,” she pouted, walking upstairs. Chanyeol turned back to Lì An, “So, what time does this event end tonight?” Lì An swallowed hard, “Um…ele..eleven o’clock,” he stuttered. “I see, and how will you be getting home?” Lì An peeked around Sehun’s shoulder, “a group of our friends are sharing a limo.” “A limo,” Chanyeol repeated harshly.

“Chan-” Baekhyun warned. Baekhyun offered a comforting smile to Lì An, “What time should we expect you back?” Lì An bit his lip, “Around 1:00 AM, with your permission.” “That’s fine. Please call us if you plan to be later. We know how high school proms can be. There’s always an after party somewhere. You can stay out as late as you would like as long as we know that you both are okay.” Sehun could tell by Chanyeol’s pinched expression that it was far from fine with him. Baekhyun obviously had a stern talk with him earlier about being over-protective.

“She’s ready!” Hayoon hollered from the top of the stairs. Everyone’s faces lit up as they gathered around the bottom of the stairs. Sehun pushed Lì An right to the front. Yoora came downstairs first, obviously pleased with her handywork. Hayoon winked teasingly at Lì An as she passed behind Yoora. “Okay Jia!” Yoora called out, lifting her camera up. Everyone held their breath as Jia rounded the corner and began walking down the stairs. “Wow..” Sehun sighed in amazement at how stunning Jia looked.

Her hair was pulled up into a braided bun with her bangs curled, cupping each side of her face. Her dress was a full length gown with a white lace top and pink bottom. The whole look was completed with a diamond headband. Sehun felt a lump grow in his throat that doubled when he saw the look on Lì An’s face. I wish you could be here to see this Luhan, he thought. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol were close to tears as Jia elegantly came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. Lì An extended his arm to Jia outside, “You look breathtaking,” he complimented her. “You look beautiful baby girl,” Chanyeol said, placing a kiss on her left cheek. “Thank you dad,” she said with glowing eyes.

“We got you something,” Baekhyun said as a look of surprise melted onto Jia’s face. Baekhyun pulled a black box out of the kitchen drawer and handed it to Jia. She opened it and gasped, “Daddy, it’s beautiful!” “We know how much the necklace means to you so we thought that we would get you your own.” Jia held back tears as she pulled out a diamond encrusted music note necklace. Baekhyun smiled and offered to help Jia put it on. Jia looked down at the necklace, smiling, before bringing her father hard against her chest for a hug.

Everyone followed Lì An and Jia out to the limo as Baekhyun held onto Chanyeol’s arm to keep him calm. Lì An was holding Jia’s hand and Baekhyun knew Chanyeol was not happy about it. He loved Chanyeol more than anything but sometimes his protectiveness was painful. Lì An opened the limo door but before Jia got in she stopped and turned to look at Chanyeol. He as biting is lip, desperately trying to not say anything. Jia offered him a heartfelt smile before running back into his arms, “I love you dad,” she whispered. “I love you too baby,” he croaked, pulling her in even tighter before she broke away and got into the limo.

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“You should have seen him Luhan,” Sehun said quietly, “he was in such awe. And Jia was gorgeous of course – almost a splitting image of Chanyeol. They look good together – Lì An and Jia. To be honest, I think they’re going to get married one day; I just have that feeling. I hope that he does so that he will have Chanyeol and Baekhyun when…you know…I’m not around anymore.” Sehun sighed, toughing the cold headstone and running his hand over the far too familiar engraving. “It’s been too long Luhan. I can’t wait – it’s only getting harder. Lì An is an adult now and is starting to pull away. I’m so tired of pretending all of the time for him and when all of the members get together. All I want more than anything is to be with you. I want to be happy but most of the time I feel like I’m drowning.” Sehun sighed, “Why do I have to suffer so that others can be happy? Why can’t I be happy too? I tried Luhan. I really did try but I always come back to you. I know I promised you that I would try to find someone else and move on but I don’t want to be with anyone else. I am miserable without you and if 15 years hasn’t changed my mind, another 30 won’t either.”

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The symptoms came so slowly that no one really knew when Luhan first got sick. The first time Luhan recalled any issues was right after they had had . He tried to go to the bathroom but his urinary stream was so weak that it took him almost 30 minutes to pee. Another time, Luhan spent three weeks on bed rest due to severe pain in his hips and lower back. By the time he started getting blood in his urine, the discomfort had become such a regular part of his life that Luhan stopped talking about it and never went back to the doctor.

By the time the twins were born, they had their hands full with taking care of Lì An and mourning the death of Kunwoo. Kunwoo’s death came completely out of left field. No one was prepared for the shock and devastation that would come. The members were in the studio recording when they received the call that Jiyeon was being rushed to the hospital in pain. Everything in between leaving the studio and arriving at the hospital was a complete blur. When they arrived, a nurse informed them that Jiyeon was having an emergency c-section. The doctor finally came to see them several hours later with a soft look of sympathy. He broke the news to them that while Lì An was stable, Kunwoo was slipping away quickly and there was nothing else that they could do to save him. The doctor led Sehun and Luhan to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit so that they could say goodbye. They each got three minutes to hold Kunwoo before he silently passed away in Sehun’s arms. “Code 543,” the nurse whispered. Through the blur of his tears, Sehun tried to memorize every line and curve of his son. He was so tiny that he fit perfectly in one of Sehun’s hands and like his brother, who was a few feet away in an incubator, he had wisps of dark hair. Behind him, Luhan’s arms were tightly wrapped around his waist as he cried silently into his back, “We will always love you Kunwoo,” Sehun choked out, “We will never forget you dear son.” Sehun slowly leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his son’s forehead after the nurse disconnected him from the monitor, “Never,” he whispered.

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Lì An was only five months old when Luhan started getting the severe pain and swellings again. Sehun was finally able to convince Luhan to go back to the doctor. Luhan went to his primary care doctor, Dr. Minjae, where he underwent multiple routine tests and blood work. Before he left, Dr. Minjae sat him down and asked him a series of questions. After Luhan answered 'yes' to most of the questions, Dr. Minjae sat back and rubbed his eyes, “Luhan, I am only saying this based off of a tentative diagnosis but I think perhaps we should send you to an oncologist.” “Oncologist?” Luhan asked in confusion, “Aren’t they doctors for people with cancer?” “Yes,” Dr. Minjae nodded.

Luhan didn’t tell Sehun what Dr. Minjae had said; only that he was being sent to a specialist. He purposely scheduled his first appointment during Lì An’s pediatric appointment so that Sehun couldn’t go with him. After the appointment, Luhan was very quiet about the details of the appointment, only mentioning more tests and x-rays. During his next appointment the following week, Luhan told Sehun that he wanted to go alone. It was only a few days later that Sehun found out that Suho had actually gone with him.

A few days later, Baekhyun came to pick Lì An up and agreed to keep him for the weekend. Luhan and Suho sat down on the couch with Sehun and finally admitted the news to him as he sat there in tears. That was the day that Sehun found out that his husband had terminal cancer. The cancer had originated in his prostate but was now at the stage where it was spreading into his bones and lymph nodes. The doctors said that he had a maximum of two years left to live – but he never made it that far.

Sehun couldn’t remember much from his last few months with Luhan. He remembered crying a lot and being incredibly angry. In the moment that he found out, it was like a part of him had died. He remembered the beanies Luhan used to wear when his hair started falling out. And he could never forget the look on Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s faces when he told them the news. Through everyone crying, Luhan still managed to be the one trying to comfort everyone. All of the members played down the seriousness of Luhan’s condition when they were in public. Luhan didn’t want the fans to worry – he wanted to spend his last few months happy. Against everyone’s hopes, Luhan started going downhill quickly. All of the members spent as much time as they could by his bedside. Everyone was struggling to control their anger and hurt but Suho – Suho was their rock. He kept Luhan comfortable right up to the end and in the moment when they needed him the most, he pulled through and gave them exactly what they needed. They were all there when Luhan passed away. No one said anything – no one could even look at each other. All Sehun remembered from that day was Baekhyun and Chanyeol holding onto him as the nurse looked at him with a sad expression and said, “Code 543.”

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Sehun was thumbing his video game when he heard the front door open. A short while later, his bedroom door opened slowly, “Dad,” Lì An whispered, “Are you still awake?” “You bet,” Sehun said with a smile, motioning for Lì An to come inside, “So, how was prom?” “Incredible!” Lì An gushed, hopping up onto the bed with a smile. “Before you tell me anymore I need to ask you one question.” Lì An looked at his dad with confusion. “How much is Chanyeol going to want to kill you tomorrow?” Lì An blushed and gave him a sheepish look.

Sehun chuckled, “Ahh, so I should keep the doors locked?” Lì An offered him a soft smile. “So, are you and Jia dating now?” Lì An blushed even harder, “Yeah..I…I kissed her goodnight.” “That’s my boy!” Sehun said, reaching up to hive five his son. “I asked her to go on a date with me next week.” “Very nice,” Sehun said in amusement. As if the walls had ears, Sehun’s phone started beeping repeatedly. He picked it up and read his two newest text messages:

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Sehun snickered, pressing a kiss to Lì An’s forehead, “I love that you’re happy.” He stood up and headed towards the kitchen to make them a snack. With his back turned, he missed Li An’s sad expression as he whispered, “I wish you were happy too.”