“Hyukjae seems to really loves children.”

Ryeowook compliments as he sips onto his drink, watching in amusement as Hyukjae chase the kids around in the mini playground located outside the restaurant. They’ve decided to drop by a restaurant after the trip to the zoo. Kyuhyun had left an hour ago while Ryeowook stayed back since Henry still wanted to hang out with Jeno and Amber. After eating, the kids jumped off their chairs and ran over to the playground and Hyukjae volunteered to keep an eye on them while Donghae and Ryeowook finished off their meals.

Donghae nods as he confirms, “Hyukjae really loves children.”

“You mentioned that he’s a dance instructor once, didn’t you?” Ryeowook asked, curious.“Do you work as well?”

“Ah yes, I work as a barista at a café on weekdays and a bartender on weekends.” Donghae tells Ryeowook, “Hyukjae sometimes work as well at the bar I work at when I’m not working.”

Ryeowook finds this surprising. So both Donghae and Hyukjae work two jobs each? Why would they do that? Were they financially unstable? But it didn’t look like it at all. Ryeowook didn’t mean to but he guessed that his features showed that he’s more than surprised and curious and even Donghae noticed that. Donghae chuckled softly and grin at Ryeowook’s apologetic look for being caught.

“I’m sorry,” Ryeowook apologizes softly, “I didn’t… That was unexpected.”

“Yeah, we get that a lot.” Donghae waves his hand absentmindedly, “But it’s alright.”

Ryeowook then questions out of curiosity, “So who looks after the children when the both of you go to work?”

“Usually, we send the kids to preschool and our parents take turns picking them up and looking after them for a couple of hours before Hyukjae ends work. He picks them up and looks after them and leave for the bar once I get home.” Donghae explains to Ryeowook, “On weekdays, we spend time with them and when they’re finally asleep, I head off to work while Hyukjae looks after them.”

“What about you?” Donghae questions this time, “Do you work?”

“I don’t.” Ryeowook admits, “Kyuhyun’s the only one who works in our family. He’s-”

“A very very successful businessman, the heir of Cho Label.”.” Donghae cuts Ryeowook off with a teasing smile, “We know. After our first meeting, we wondered why he looked so familiar. It wasn’t until I realized that I’ve read about him a couple of times on some magazines.”

Ryeowook doesn’t know how to respond to that and only nods. Even after years, Ryeowook doesn’t know how to respond when someone tells him about having read about his husband online or on magazines. Of course, he feels a great sense of pride and respect for his husband. But another part of him feels upset because these people… They don’t know and they’ll never know that although Kyuhyun’s the heir of one of the most successful businessman in Korea, he’s also sacrificed a great deal to be the person he is today.

In all honestly, in all his life, Kyuhyun’s never wanted to be a businessman. He had never wanted to follow his father’s footsteps. Unlike his father whose interests are in economics, investment opportunities, statistical data and all that boring stuff, Kyuhyun’s interest had been solely on aircraft operation and engineering. Ryeowook knows that all Kyuhyun ever wants to be is a pilot. His dreams of becoming a pilot was however crushed when he met Ryeowook and to this day, Ryeowook still doesn’t know how he should feel knowing that the love of his life sacrificed his dreams just for him.

“Henry seems to really like Amber,” Donghae points out, chuckling as he watches Henry and Amber running together through the playground, “He’d make a good brother one day.”

Ryeowook glances at Henry and Amber with a yearning feeling in his heart that he knows will never be satisfied. He sighs and returns a disheartened gaze to Donghae, “I’m not sure if it’s possible.”

Donghae’s features soften as he quietly apologizes for bringing up such a sensitive topic. Ryeowook dismisses him with a shake of his head, telling Donghae that it’s alright and then tells him, “I had a few complications while giving birth to Hen- I mean… Jeno.”

At this moment, Donghae’s eyes widens. He doesn’t know why he’s surprised. He knows that Ryeowook’s the one who gave birth to Jeno, it isn’t supposed to be surprising but hearing it from Ryeowook’s own mouth still sends a shiver down his spine, making him realize that this is the reality – That Jeno isn’t the one he had given birth to.

“I… I wasn’t able to hold my baby after I gave birth to him. I remembered hearing his soft cries and then… I passed out. They had to wheel me straight to surgery because I was losing too much blood.” Ryeowook whispers, swallowing emotionally, “I passed out right after I gave birth to him and woke up only a few days later. When I saw… Henry for the first time… I thought that… He was different.”

A sudden tear escapes Ryeowook’s eyes and he quickly wipes it away, “I… I don’t know why… I had a strange feeling about Henry. He was active… And.. His cries sounded different from Jeno’s when I first gave birth to him. And… I don’t know. I just had a feeling, you know? But once Henry’s small fingers gripped mine, all those silly thoughts vanished. I…stopped questioning the weird feeling I had in my gut and told myself that I’d love him no matter what.”

Donghae doesn’t respond, only choosing to listen because he’s able to relate to Ryeowook. The only difference is that Ryeowook had passed out after giving birth to his baby while Donghae had stayed conscious and he had even welcomed his baby into the world. He remembered giving his baby a kiss on his forehead. Henry had been active from the day he was born – Struggling as best as he could despite being wrapped in the hospital blankets. When they brought him away, Donghae had felt it – The feeling of dread and that something is bound to happen. The next day, after getting the rest he needs, Donghae had requested the nurse to bring him his baby and when the nurse returns with a little boy all wrapped in thick blue blankets and placed the baby in Donghae’s arm, Donghae couldn’t help but feel that something isn’t right, that his baby somehow felt and looked different. He was too quiet and calm even when he’s awake. Donghae blamed it on his exhaustion after the birth that he can't exactly pinpoint why his baby felt and looked different but still, his heart had felt unusually uneasy. He ignored it however not wanting it to ruin such a happy occasion of the birth of his newborn. 

“Anyway,” Ryeowook wipes away the rest of his tears, chuckling at how emotional he suddenly got, “I… Uh… Yeah. The doctor told me that my chances for a second pregnancy is slim because of the surgery.”

“But it’s still possible, isn’t it?”

“Kyuhyun and I have been trying but…”