Mark woke up early morning to the sensation of Jinyoung shifting around in bed beside him. He cracked open an eye sleepily. Jinyoung was gnawing on his lip and squirming just slightly from side to side, something he generally only did when he was worrying about something. To top it off, his expression was somewhat disheartened, a far cry from how blissfully happy he'd looked before Mark had gone to sleep just a few hours ago. Mark felt a wave of anxiety. What could have possibly happened to upset him between then and now?

He propped himself up in bed. “Jinyoung, what is it?”

Jinyoung jolted, unaware that Mark had woken up while he'd been thinking. When he recovered, he gave him a pained look. “Please don't hate me. But there may be something that could get in the way of us getting married, after all.”

Mark looked at him blankly. “What do you mean? You don't have some secret childhood engagement arrangement, do you?”

He shook his head. “It's just...I can't get married without telling my parents. And the thing about that is...they don't know about us. They don't even know about me...why I left Korea in the first place. I never knew how to tell them.”

“They don't know? I thought since Sangyoon knew, they would, too.”

“Uncle Sangyoon lived with me during most of the years when I was working through it. He would know since he saw my struggling with it firsthand, but I never attempted to discuss it with my parents. Where I was from, it wasn't something you talked about.” He shifted again. “I know I have to tell them. But I don't know how I can drop several bombs on them all at once. How could I call them and say 'Mom, Dad, I'm gay and engaged to the guy I've been dating for the past three years and four months without telling you. Plus, I'm going to be step-father'? They'll...they really might have a heart attack.” Jinyoung buried his head in his hands. “I'm so sorry, Mark. I should have just told them, and now it's going to mess things up.”

Mark rubbed his thigh. “If you need the time to break it all to them slowly, I can wait, Jinyoung. We're living together and practically married to begin with. It's fine if it doesn't become a technical fact until you settle things.”

Jinyoung shook his head. “I've been waiting for this for so long, and it's important to Lou, too, so I don't want to just say we should stop, either. I'll think of something. I'll call them tonight after work and tell them as much as I can without overwhelming them. I'll just hope Uncle Sangyoon has been dropping hints over the years.”

“If you need me to help with anything, just let me know.” Mark bent over and kissed Jinyoung's forehead. “Since we're up, we should probably get dressed for work. Are you fine?”

Jinyoung smiled slightly. “I will be. Can't let any innocent children know what I was up to last night, can I?”

“Let them hang on to the innocence a little while longer.”

“I will.” He pulled Mark in for a quick kiss before getting out of bed. “If I make some progress with my parents, let's tell Lou the news as soon as we can. And get that ring you owe me.”

“How about shopping this weekend?”

“Sounds good.” Jinyoung's expression became a little less somber. “It will be fine. I'm sure of it.”

Jinyoung so rarely talked about his life back in Korea that Mark didn't have the faintest clue how Jinyoung's parents would react when he told them about his uality and engagement. It had been an uncertain time in Jinyoung's life, one marked by a lot of emotional conflicts, so he didn't really make a point on dwelling on his unhappier memories. “I've sorted through it, and I'm not going to keep looking back on when I didn't know how to deal with myself,” Jinyoung always said. But it wasn't as if that time in his life wasn't still a part of him. He couldn't go back to it, but he couldn't turn his back on it either—his parents still lived there, so there were ties he still didn't want to sever.

But what if his parents couldn't accept it? Where would that leave the two of them? Jinyoung's parents could completely cut off contact with him, which Mark would never forgive himself or them for, or they could try to force him to come back. But Jinyoung was an adult, and they couldn't do that, could they? Either way, Mark didn't want there to be tension between Jinyoung and his family for whatever reason. Even if he knew he shouldn't blame himself for whatever division their news caused since Jinyoung had been aware of his uality long before meeting him, he still would feel somehow at fault for driving a rift through the family.

He hoped with all his heart that they were the kind of family who would accept it, or at least allow it even if they didn't necessarily approve. They'd been through enough, Jinyoung especially, and Mark didn't want him to suffer during what would otherwise be a happy time for them. No matter what happened, Mark was fully intending to stand by Jinyoung's side, but it would be so much better if they weren't standing together in the middle of a battlefield.

That's what this engagement is for, he reminded himself. So we both always know that we have each other's back and aren't planning on going anywhere no matter what comes. His smile returned. Even though the issue with Jinyoung's parents was an unexpected setback, he really was so happy to have successfully proposed to Jinyoung. A few years ago, he'd been anxious of the idea of getting married again, considering he hadn't done such a stellar job with his first marriage to Allison, but now the idea thrilled him again. He wanted to give being a husband a more earnest chance than he had the first time. Maybe he'd still make a few mistakes here and there, but he thought overall that he'd be able to make Jinyoung happy.

And no matter what happened, Jinyoung would always have a family. Mark would make sure of that. He and Lou and even Allison and Jackson wouldn't turn their backs on him for anything, even if his other family did.

After work, Mark swung by the school to pick up Lou. “How did your art project go?” he asked. Judging by the fact that Mrs. Sheffield hadn't called him at work, he assumed that there was no further drama on the “three daddy” issue.

“I think it was good,” Lou said. “Everyone's jealous of me because I'm getting a baby sister. But...” Lou trailed off.

“But...?” Had there been some sort of an issue after all?

Lou looked at Mark earnestly. “I thought about it, and I want a baby brother instead. Can't Mommy change her mind and make a brother?”

Mark coughed. “Um, that's not exactly how it works, Lou. The baby is your mommy's tummy is a girl, and Mommy can't change that.”

“When you had a baby with Mommy, it was a boy. So if you have a baby with Jinny, won't it be a boy, too?”

Mark full on started choking. “I can't have a baby with Jinyoung!”

Lou looked at him confusedly. “Why not? I want a baby brother!”

“Only the mommies can have babies in their tummy, Lou. Didn't Mommy explain that to you?”

“Yeah, but how are you and Jinny going to get a baby?”

“Ummm... how about we all worry about that later, okay?” Mark inwardly groaned. If they were going to tell Lou they were getting married tonight, he had the feeling they'd be spending the evening explaining the miracle of life to him.

When they arrived to the apartment, Mark could hear Jinyoung inside their room, talking on the phone in rapid-fire Korean. It would be early morning over there, so Mark could only hope they were morning people and in an incredibly good mood for their son's news.

Lou made a beeline for his Hot Wheels play bin as Mark went into the kitchen to get dinner started. He'd make Jinyoung's favorite apple-cinnamon muffins in case he needed cheering up later. Easy on the cinnamon, though.

As he worked, he listened to the muffled sound of Jinyoung's voice through the walls. He rarely got to hear him speaking Korean, but he liked listening to the unfamiliar words and how fitting they sounded when Jinyoung spoke them. He was such a seasoned English speaker by now that it was hard to remember sometimes that he'd lived in an entirely different country until he was fourteen years old. And harder still to remember that if he hadn't confessed to his neighbor and been rejected, he may not have even come at all.

That never failed to amaze Mark, the way circumstances lined up. If Jinyoung hadn't been rejected, if Mark hadn't met Allison, if they hadn't had Lou, if Jinyoung hadn't applied for the mother-helper job, if Allison had chosen to hire someone else, what were even the odds that two people of such different backgrounds would be able to find each other? It had to be incredibly low. So perhaps even something as difficult as Jinyoung's first heartbreak had been a blessing in disguise.

After getting the muffins ready to bake and putting some stew on the stove, Mark popped his head into the bedroom to check on Jinyoung. He wasn't crying, which was always a good sign. He just seemed to be concentrating hard on whatever his parents were saying to him. When he saw Mark, he smiled thinly. Mark listened awhile longer, but couldn't really pick up the vibe of the conversation, so he wandered back to check on Lou.

“Jinny's speaking another language,” Lou said sagely, pausing his Hot Wheels races. “I can't understand.”

“That's because he's from Korea. Remember how we showed you on the map?”

Lou nodded. “Does he have to go back?”

Mark shook his head. “I don't think so. He's just talking to his Mommy and Daddy.”

“I want to meet Jinny's Mommy and Daddy.”

“Maybe you'll get to someday.”

Around the time Mark was putting dinner on the table, Jinyoung came out of their bedroom. “They have some concerns,” he said. “Or a lot of concerns. But they want us to come see them.”

“Us?”

Jinyoung nodded. “You, me, and Lou. They want to see us firsthand before they'll give their blessing.”

Mark blinked. “All the way to Korea? Even Lou?”

“They've got airplane anxiety. That's why they don't come to visit me a lot in the first place.” Jinyoung sighed. “I did tell them that Lou is only six, but they said they'll make sure he's very comfortable staying with them. I told them I'd have to talk to you. If we came during the summer, maybe we could make it a vacation, but I don't know if Allison would even be okay with us taking Lou out of the country. Especially when she's expecting the baby...”

“I don't think she's due until the end of August or beginning of September.”

“Still. I don't want to give her anything more to worry about.” Jinyoung paused. “What do you think?”

“Were they upset with you?”

Jinyoung shrugged. “I was right about Sangyoon dropping hints. They had an idea of what was going on, and they knew I hadn't dated any girls in America, so they thought it was either that or I was non-ual. Still, they had to ask me several times if I was absolutely sure. They also didn't seem to think I was responsible enough to be engaged to someone with an almost seven-year-old kid.”

“They probably still think of you as a kid a little bit yourself, still, since you were so young when you left Korea.”

“Are we going on vacation, Daddy?” Lou asked. That was the only part of the conversation he seemed to have picked up on.

Mark leaned into him. “Lou, you know how Jinyoung is from Korea, right?”

Lou nodded.

“That's where his Mommy and Daddy live. Do you think you might like to go there to meet Jinyoung's Mommy and Daddy?”

Lou considered. “It's far. I'd have to fly, right, Daddy?”

“Yes. We'd have to take a plane.”

“Just like when we visit Grandmama and Grandpapa Tuan?”

“Just like that.”

Lou smiled. “I like airplanes. Clouds are so pretty, and the pilot is so cool.”

God, kids were far too easy to please sometimes.

“There's something else,” Jinyoung said to Lou. “Your Daddy and I have decided we're going to get married, like your Mommy and Jackson did. That means I'll be your daddy, for real this time. And my Mommy and Daddy... they'll become your grandparents just like Grandma and Grandpa Wang did.”

Lou's eyes widened instantaneously. “Jinny's my daddy for real now?”

“Not yet,” Mark corrected him. “But very soon.”

“Yay!!!!” Lou cheered. “Now you'll HAVE to figure out how to get me a baby brother!”

Jinyoung glanced at Mark with a raised eyebrow. “Ummm....?”

“He really wants a baby brother,” Mark explained. “I told him already that you can't give birth, but he says we need to figure out another way.”

“Well, I sure hope you'll give us plenty of time to figure this out, Lou,” Jinyoung said. “Your Daddy and I have other stuff we need to do first. Would you like to go ring shopping with us?”

Lou sniffed. “Jewelry is boring.”

“But all the good jewelry stores are in the mall, and the mall also has a really big toy store we could go to when we're done.”

“....I'll go.”

Jinyoung turned back to Mark. “We should also drop by Allison and Jackson's to see what they think of us taking Lou to Korea with us. If it's no good, I'll just bring you. If they see I'm serious about you and you're serious about me, I think they'll understand the rest of it.” Jinyoung shifted in his seat. “As it is now, they don't think you're really in love with me.”

“And they can judge that without meeting me, how...?”

“The fact that you had a kid with a woman. Biuals are even more of legendary unicorns in Korea than they are here. People don't get it—if you can love both men and women, why is it so hard for you just to make the convenient choice and go with the socially acceptable opposite gender?”

“And there's the fact that I don't even know if I'm bi or just a messed up question mark who's only really sure that he's in love with you.”

“Ha. Question Mark.”

“Har har.”

“Anyways, they don't get why you're dating me, or why you'd want your son to be raised by another man. And then the whole divorce thing...”

“That's a no-no, too, huh?”

“It's...complicated.”

“Guess I have a lot to prove, then.” He Jinyoung's hair. “But I love you, so I will.”

“It's going to be extra fun since you'll be doing that proving to people who don't exactly speak English well. Guess I'm going to be a translator this summer.” Jinyoung took a big bite of his apple muffin to recharge. “This is going to be rough, but if you still want to marry me at the end of it, it'll be worth it.”

“Don't worry. I will.”

“Daddy has to,” Lou said firmly. “Because I say so.”

“Well then. That's that.” Jinyoung patted Lou's head. “I really can't wait to be your daddy, Lou. You've always been my favorite student.”

“I have the world's best daddies!” Lou frowned all of a sudden. “I said in my picture that Jinny should be my daddy, and he will be. And that I want to get a baby sister. I need to fix it to say baby brother, too! That way you'll have to get me a baby brother.”

Jinyoung and Mark exchanged a glance. “We're still not off the hook for that then, I guess,” Mark sighed.

“At least someone's on board with us getting married, 100%.” Jinyoung reached for Mark's hand under the table. “Let's hope my parents can become just as easily convinced.”