“Your cervix is dilated to 4cm now. The contractions will feel longer and stronger. Some massages and breathing techniques can help endure the pain.” The nurse said calmly. “You should relax. It still takes quite a lot of time until the baby is born.” She gave a sympathy smile to Yongsun, who was sitting like a statue beside Byulyi and holding her hand tightly, before leaving the room.

Hyejin let out a long yawn as soon as the nurse left. It was 3 in the morning and they were in the hospital. Sleepiness was easy to be seen on their face.

“Yongsun-unnie, you forget to breathe again.” Hyejin tapped on her oldest unnie’s shoulder lightly between her yawn to remind her. Yongsun did as she had been told like a robot while keeping staring at the monitor screen with the serious yet nervous look on her face.

“Come on Yong. The nurse also said you should relax.” Byulyi chuckled at her wife, who was still stunned after what had happened.

“I have told you I could be a doula too.” Hyejin said proudly. “I have done a good job supporting your partner Byulyi-unnie.”

“My water just broke.”

Yongsun hummed calmly as a respond. Byulyi started counting down in her head and covered one of her ears.

‘3,2,1’

“WHAT!!!!!!” The room was filled with the former main vocal’s high pitch scream. The maknaes, who were sleeping peacefully while cuddling, got startled by the sudden scream and sat straight up .Unfortunately, their faces were so close at this time that their foreheads accidentally bumped to each other.

“What’s wrong unnie?” Wheein asked while rubbing her forehead. She was fully awake thanks to the pain.

“My water just broke.” Byulyi replied calmly while her wife beside her was chanting ‘What should we do? What should we do?’ in panic.

Wheein nodded lightly before turning to her wife. They had been training for this moment for a long time.

“Hyejin-ah, you take care of Yongsun-unnie. I will take care of Byulyi-unnie.”

As soon as she received the mission, Hyejin walked to her panicked unnie and took her away so Wheein could take care of Byulyi easier.     

“Okay unnie. I need you to breathe as my instruction. Inhale and exhale. That’s right.”

“I don’t know this breathing technique can be used for the partner too.” Wheein was amazed by seeing her wife helping their oldest unnie to calm down. She wondered who was the real person going into labor now.

“I’m surprised that she hasn’t fainted yet.” Byulyi was still able to make fun of her overdramatic wife when Wheein helped her to change into new clothes.

“I will get the car ready.” Yongsun announced and stood up confidently after receiving Hyejin’s special breath technique guide. On her way, she grabbed a bag and walked to the main door.

“Unnie, you got the wrong one. The hospital bag is over there.”

“Yongsun-unnie, why are you wearing two left shoes?”

“Unnie, our garage is on your right.”

“Unnie, don’t break the car’s door. Your key is here.”

“Wait unnie, where are you going? Byulyi-unnie and Wheeinie haven’t got in the car yet.”

“Hyejin seems busier than me.” Wheein joked while helping Byulyi put her shoes on. They were having so much fun by watching their clumsy Yongsun.

“Let’s go unnie. Let’s bring our Mansaengi to this world.” 

“I’m glad that she could still drive us to the right hospital without creating any accidents.” Byulyi faked a relieved sigh, which made the maknaes burst out laughing.

“You all make fun of me again.” Yongsun pouted sulkily while the others were busy laughing at her.  

“What if our Mansaengi takes after this clumsy side of Yongsun-unnie?” Wheein teased.

“It will be bad.” Hyejin put a serious look on her face before laughing with Wheein again.

“It will be okay. There will be someone like me loving her no matter how clumsy she is.” Byulyi said with her greasy voice before pulling her grumpy wife into a kiss. “Right my Yeba? You should smile. That expression doesn’t suit my baby.”

“Oh please. There’s a kid here.” Wheein’s laugh turned into a groan because of the lovey-dovey scene in front of her. Hyejin had already turned her back to face the wall, shielding herself from the butter attack.

“She has heard worse.” Yongsun said with a playful smirk, which gained a slight slap on her arm from Byulyi. Finally a smile could be seen on the oldest girl’s face.

“Let’s play some card games unnie.” Hyejin took out what she had prepared from the hospital bag. It was one of the ways to provide distractions from labor, which helped both the mother and her partner feel more comfortable.

Before dawn that day, a hospital corridor was filled with laughter and exciting shouting sounds coming from a small delivery waiting room, which caught the attention of everyone passing by. 

.

However, since the moment the nurse came in and announced that Byulyi’s cervix had been dilated to 7 cm, all the laughs had gone, replaced by Byulyi’s whimpers and painful groans.

It was the first time in 35 years of living, Yongsun felt herself so useless.

She couldn’t do anything than watching her wife struggling to handle the pain of the contractions. Contractions now were very strong, coming every two and a half to three minutes and lasting more than a minute. Yongsun could no longer feel her left hand, which was gripped tightly by her wife each time the contractions came. All she could do was murmuring encourage words repeatedly beside her wife while Wheein was helping her wife with breathing technique and massages.

The moment Yongsun saw tears escaping from her wife’s shutting eyes, she felt like her heart had broken into millions of pieces. The towel she used to wipe Byulyi’s sweats in her right hand was gripped tightly until her veins appeared.

Even though Byulyi was always known as a crybaby among them, she was super stubborn when it came to her getting sick or hurt. She could easily tear up because of a fans’ surprise event but never let out a single whine or complain when she was sick or hurt during work. Her stubborn wife usually tried to pretend to be strong in order not to make the others worry. But now, seeing her broken down in tears with painful groans, Yongsun knew that the pain was too much for her.

“Yongsun-unnie.”

“Yongsun-unnie.”

“Yongsun-unnie.”

Yongsun was startled when someone grabbed her gripping right hand lightly. She looked up and found it was Hyejin.

“Unnie, the nurse said that you must go to the counter to fill some papers now.”

Yongsun was hesitant for a while. She didn’t want to leave her wife’s side now. At this moment, the grip on her left hand was loosened. Byulyi nodded lightly at her with a tired smile, the contraction had passed.

“Don’t worry unnie, I will take care of Byulyi-unnie.” Wheein sent her a smile. Everyone acknowledged the oldest girl’s worry.

“Let’s go unnie. I will go with you.” Hyejin caressed Yongsun’s back lightly to encourage her.

“I will be right back.” Yongsun bent down and put a light kiss on Byulyi’s damp forehead before leaving the room with Hyejin. She still turned to look back several times.

“Wheein-ah, what can we do without you?” Byulyi mumbled tiredly with a smile while Wheein helped her change position to lie on her left side. “We’re so lucky to have the best doula here, a beautiful doula.”

“How can you still be greasy in this condition?” Wheein chuckled. “Save your energy unnie. You will need it later.” She said as she brought the straw to Byulyi’s mouth to help her drink some water.

It was also painful for her to see her unnie suffering from so much pain. Sometimes she just wanted to pull Byulyi into a tight hug to comfort her, like what Byulyi had done to her before.

Wheein lied back to her bed after ending the call with her mom.

She sighed.

Her mom was saying sorry again, a thousand times.

But it wasn’t her mom’s fault. It had never been her mom’s fault.

It was all that man’s fault, or should she say ‘her father’?

No she couldn’t. After everything he had done to her mom and her, she couldn’t.

Why couldn’t he stop hurting her mom and her? Why couldn’t he just disappear from their lives like what he had done 6 years ago?

Her eyes glued on the ceiling, waiting for her tears to come out but there was nothing.

She no longer had tears to cry anymore. She had cried too much already.

‘I’m such a trouble maker.’ She smiled sarcastically. ‘I have ruined our group’s name again.’

‘Maybe I should leave for their sakes….’

*ping pong*

The door’s bell cut her thought. She slowly got out of her bed and walked to the door. She wondered who was coming this early.

As soon as Wheein opened the door, she was attacked by a group hug. She was covered by her members’ secure embraces.

They stayed like this for minutes before Yongsun and Hyejin broke the hug and went to her kitchen with several bags in their hands. She hadn’t eaten anything since last night.

There was only one person still hugging her.

“Byulie-unnie?”

There was no reply back but Byulyi began to lead her to the couch in her living room. It was awkward because they were walking while still hugging.

“Unnie, I..” Wheein spoke up but got cut by Byulyi.

“Sshhh. I know. You don’t have to say anything.” Byulyi mumbled as she started caressing the younger girl’s back.

Wheein could feel her eyes getting hot again. She lowered her head and buried it in the older girl’s shoulder.

“Thank you unnie.” She murmured.

“Don’t say it. We’re family, aren’t we?” Byulyi replied with a sweet smile.

She was there with the other members to help her going through her tough time.

“Thank