"That's great girls, now, just a little more force on the kick, you need to make it look powerful, remember," Taeyong said, demonstrating the move for the class behind him. He nodded at their improvement, smiling as they all nailed the move. "That was great! Now, let's do one run-through from the beginning to the second verse. If you're all clean, you can leave early, it's Friday after all." He started the song again, making sure to carefully observe how they moved. He smiled widely as they finished. "That was perfect! Okay, now, off you go, I'll see you on Monday!"

 

The excited chatter as they left made him smile. He loved the way the kids were able to train, and learn how the entertainment business worked, but still be able to thrive and grow and be kids, knowing they would find not only instruction and discipline but also support in NCTEnt.

 

Taeyong knew first hand most other entertainment business were nothing like NCTEnt. He was glad the company was not like others were.

 

"Are you ready to go home?" He turned around, smiling widely as he heard Johnny's voice.

 

"Yup, classes are done for the day. The girls have improved so much, Johnny. I'm so proud of them." Taeyong put his jacket on before bouncing towards Johnny, who caught him in his arms, kissing him softly, smiling at how both their lips turned pink at the contact. "Can we have chicken for dinner?"

 

"Is this your way of telling me you don't want to cook?" Taeyong pushed him to the side and Johnny laughed, dropping a kiss onto his head. "Fine, let's pick some half and half chicken."

 

"Have I told you I love you today?"

 

"Only like fifteen times, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again."

 

"I love you."

 

"I love you."

 

---

 

 

Taeyong's head was somewhere else, Johnny noticed.

 

He spent hours sitting on the heated floor by the window, staring at the city lights that made up Seoul underneath them. Taeyong had loved the view from the penthouse from the very beginning. That had been the main reason they chose the apartment in the first place: he had taken one look out of the huge glass windows and known this was their home.

 

But Taeyong spent hours staring out, but not looking at anything, deep in thought, hugging a plush pillow against his chest. And if the silence didn't make Johnny realise something was wrong, the stillness did.

 

Taeyong was the very essence of movement, always tapping his fingers, moving his feet in patterns only he knew, moving his head and humming to himself. But most of his moments were now spent completely still and quiet, fingers buried in the soft pillow, head leaning against the glass.

 

Johnny was concerned. He had never seen his soulmate like that, not in the years they'd been together, not since they had gotten married, not in the four years they'd been living together.

 

Everything had been going nicely in their lives: The company was thriving, both the trainees and artists happy and comfortable with their workload, their friends were always close by, they had the most adorable nephews in the world, they fell in love in new ways every single day, and their bond was stronger than ever.

 

He was at a loss. He had no idea what was bothering his soulmate so much.

 

"Johnny," he was startled out of his worries by Taeyong, who was standing in front of him, head cocked to the side in confusion, "are you okay? I've been calling your name for a full minute."

 

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Come here," Taeyong smiled, sitting in his lap and lacing his hands behind Johnny's neck. "You know I love you more than anything in the world, don't you?" Taeyong nodded, leaning in to drop a small kiss on his lips. "Yongie, what's wrong? You've been quiet and withdrawn for almost a week now? I'm concerned."

 

Taeyong bit his lip, lifting himself off Johnny's lap and sitting next to him on the sofa.

 

"I... remember how we babysat Mark, Jeno and Renjunnie last Saturday?" Johnny nodded. "Well... I've been thinking... I want kids. With you. I want us to start a family." Taeyong rushed the words out as if forcing himself to say them before he lost his courage.

 

Johnny felt all the air leave his lungs. He remembered how happy Taeyong had looked playing with the kids, how he had jumped at the opportunity of having a full day with Jeno and Renjun while Jaehyun and Doyoung took a deserved break from parenting and spent the day together, and how he had instantly agreed to look after Mark that same day the second Yuta and Sicheng told them they needed an emergency babysitter after learning they would be going through an exhaustive home inspection, a necessary step for the adoption process they were going through, how he had offered to let Yangyang, Dejun and Guanheng stay over for an entire weekend when Ten had come up with the worst case of stomach flu known to mankind and Kun had been desperate to get the children out of the house before they caught it as well.

 

And suddenly, Johnny could see their future. He could see Taeyong chasing a toddler around the apartment, giggles filling the air and soft toys all over the sofa. He could see one of the two spare rooms being transformed into a nursery, bright yellow walls and Winnie the Pooh plushies all over the place.

 

"Johnny..." Taeyong looked seconds away from an anxiety attack, hand twitching and biting his lower lip, trying to remain calm. "Please say something before I start panicking."

 

Oh. Johnny had spent minutes in silence and hadn't even realised.

 

"Yes." Taeyong's face lit up. "Yes. We've been married for a few years, we have stable incomes, we can manipulate our work schedules to care for a child, we have a nice home with plenty of space," He could see the tears on his soulmate's eyes, threatening to fall, "and you'd be the best father ever, Taeyong. I've seen you with our nephews and it takes my breath away just how dedicated and nurturing you can be. I think we have more than enough love to share it with a child."

 

"You'll be a great father too, Johnny. You're great with the kids as well. I mean, look at how much Mark idolises you, love." Johnny laughed. He had helped Yuta and Sicheng when Mark had first been adopted. He had been placed in their home as a foster child, but Yuta, having fallen in love with him the second he held him in his arms, had instantly known that Mark was destined to be their child, and so they had proceeded to fight for the adoption to go through. Mark had been in transit homes for a really brief amount of time after being found abandoned in front of a police station with a letter, written in English explaining how they couldn't take care of the child and a soft blue blanket wrapped around him. The social worker had warned them the child did not understand Korean at all, and so Yuta and Sicheng had instantly asked Johnny for help communicating with Mark, and so Johnny had become the official translator for the tiny child, who barely babbled out a few words at the time he was given to them, until he stopped looking confused by the strange language everyone around him talked. Mark had developed a really strong bond with his favourite uncle, following him around like a little duckling and wanting to be like him. Yuta was extremely jealous of the way Mark seemed to forget everyone the second he saw Johnny, but agreed to have Johnny talk to Mark in English as a tribute to whoever it had been that had given them their child. Taeyong always wondered how it was even possible for the child to switch between Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese so easily depending on who he was talking to, but he still snickered as he remembered the way Mark had mixed all four languages together when he had first started talking.

 

"Let's do this. Let's adopt a child." Taeyong threw himself at Johnny, hugging him tightly and letting his tears of happiness disappear into Johnny's soft sweater.

 

"Let's do it."

 

---

 

 

Thus, they began the process of applying for adoption.

 

They spent hours upon hours filling endless pages of paperwork: personal information, citizenship -that in Johnny's case meant going to the government to get a Korean passport, something he could get from being a son of Korean emigrants and having lived in Seoul since he was 15, and that would make things easier than trying to do it with his American citizenship-, education, employment, medical history -Johnny had been extremely surprised to know Taeyong had had rheumatic fever as a child and had spent the better part of his life as a toddler going in and out of the hospital from both the condition and medication side effects-, financial and criminal background, and other information about their family life and their lifestyle in general.

 

They had had to write down the type of children they were open to adopting.

 

"Any child." Taeyong had instantly said. "We can deal with medical conditions if need be, we have the money to pay for medical treatments and all the love to give them."

 

"I don't care if it's a boy or a girl," Johnny stated, "you don't get to pick a biological child's , why would we choose in this case anyway."

 

They had had to gather both of their birth certificates -Johnny's had been hard to get, as his mother had had to request a copy and then mail it to them-, their marriage certificate, IDs, soulmate bond certificate, University diplomas, income and financial status certificates, physical exam certificates, and background check reports from the police -Johnny, once again, had to ask his parents to get him an American background check report and that too had been mailed to them.

 

They had undergone multiple home visits by a social worker, who had evaluated how well they would adapt to adopting a child, and that had interviewed most of their close friends as well.

 

After months of hard work, they had received the approval from the government and had been told they would either be matched with a child that was legally available for adoption or that if they knew of a child that needed to be adopted they could apply for adoption for that particular child. They were warned getting a match could take months, sometimes even years. Taeyong and Johnny didn't mind. They would get their child when the universe decided it was time for them to get them.

 

---

 

 

 

"Taeyongie, are you free?" Taeyong looked away from the table, abandoning the water bottles he was using to plan formations for Dream's next comeback, and smiled at the sight of his soulmate.

 

"Hi, Johnny! I was just planning choreos, but I don't have any classes for the rest of the day. Why?"

 

"Well, Jaehyun scheduled a visit to Jeno and Renjun's orphanage to bring presents and play with the kids for Red Velvet, and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

 

Taeyong instantly understood.

 

"Let me grab my jacket and I'll be right there with you."

 

---

 

 

The building the orphanage occupied was small but clean and well taken care of, and the children gathered around the girls as they gave out presents and chatted with them.

 

Taeyong and Johnny had decided to separate for the time being and promised to find the other if there was a child they had a particularly strong hunch about.

 

Johnny had gone to play with the smaller children, instantly drawn to the ruckus he was used to because of their nephews, while Taeyong decided to go out to the small garden located on the back of the building, looking at the children playing around outside.

 

"Somi would be a good choice." He almost jumped at the sudden words and looked to his right to find a small boy, older than the other children he had seen so far, sitting down in front of a table, markers and a colouring book in front of him.

 

"Sorry?"

 

"You were looking at them like you didn't know who to approach. Somi would be a good choice." He pointed at a small girl that was playing in the sandbox with a younger boy. "You'd like Minhyuk as well, he's really nice and loves to play around."

 

Taeyong hesitated for a second, before taking a few steps towards the table.

 

"Can I sit here?" The boy shrugged, nodding a few times before grabbing a marker and carefully painting another bit of his mandala. "Thanks. I'm Taeyong."

 

"Jungwoo."

 

"It's nice to meet you. How old are you, Jungwoo?"

 

"I'm 11. Somi's 5, and Minhyuk is 3. They're really good kids, they deserve a family." Taeyong stared at Jungwoo, feeling as if his heart was being squeezed painfully.

 

"What about you? How long have you been here?"

 

"Since I was a baby. I've been to a few foster homes, but I always came back. You should really go talk to them, they'd be happy to have a family."

 

"Maybe in a little bit. What do you like to do?" Taeyong saw Johnny come out, instantly locking eyes and Taeyong looked down at Jungwoo and back at Johnny. He nodded, staying where he was and not making a sound.

 

"I like to paint mandalas, the younger kids don't have the patience to finish them so they don't touch them and I can work by myself. I like to clean, and sing."

 

"You sing?"

 

"Yes, I really like it. I sing a lot in school. I don't sing here because we're not allowed to be loud, and I can't bother the younger kids." Jungwoo looked up for the first time since he had first spoken, and oh. He was so cute, with big dark eyes, plump lips, soft pale skin and dark brown hair that was far too short to look nice but that did look soft and shiny. "Sir, I'm sorry, but the kids really do deserve a family."

 

"And don't you, Jungwoo?" Jungwoo bit his lip and looked back down.

 

"I'm too old to be adopted. That's what all the families that visit the home say. Everyone wants babies or young kids, no one wants older kids." The way he said it as if it were a statement as simple as 'the water is wet'; as if it were a scientifically demonstrated hypothesis broke Taeyong's heart and, looking up, he could see the same pain he himself felt mirrored in Johnny's eyes.

 

"Taeyong," Johnny said, voice clear. "We should get going." Taeyong nodded, getting up.

 

"It was really nice talking to you, Jungwoo. You're a really nice kid."

 

"Nice to meet you too, Taeyong-ssi," Jungwoo answered, giving him a small bow before going back to his mandala.

 

Taeyong and Johnny made it back to their car, and Johnny opened the backseat door, allowing Taeyong to go in first before climbing in and closing the door.

 

Once they were completely locked away from privy eyes, Taeyong broke down in tears, sobbing loudly. Johnny dragged him into a hug, running one hand up and down the side of his face, painting it with the pink of their soulbond.

 

"Johnny..." Taeyong gasped out between tears.

 

"Shhh... I know."

 

"That poor child. He... Johnny, you didn't hear him at first. The first thing he did was to tell me good things about the other kids." Taeyong tried to breathe between sobs, and Johnny held him tighter against his body. "Johnny, he genuinely believes the other kids deserve a family and he doesn't. He genuinely believes he doesn't deserve to be adopted because he's older. What kind of monster tells a kid they don't deserve a family because they're not a toddler." Johnny stayed quiet, letting him rant against his shoulder, softly caressing his back to calm him down. Taeyong breathed, trying to stop crying, and leaned back, looking at Johnny straight in the eye. "I want him."

 

Johnny smiled.

 

"I know."

 

"I want to adopt him."

 

"I know." Johnny combed a hand through Taeyong's blond hair and nodded. "Let's do it. Let's apply for Jungwoo."

 

Taeyong let out a relieved sigh, dropping his head down to rest his forehead against Johnny's chest.

 

"I love you so much."

 

"I love you, Yongie. And we'll do our best to get that kid to be ours."

 

---

 

They had filled the application with Jungwoo's information that Johnny had requested from the orphanage and given it to the social worker managing their case, who had told them there was a high chance the application would go through, as not many people wanted to adopt children older than 10.

 

And then, they waited.

 

They had been told they couldn't have personal contact with Jungwoo before they got approved and the adoption went through, but they did get permission to send Jungwoo packages, so once a week, Taeyong sent Jungwoo a small package full of healthy snacks, mandala colouring books, pictures of the two of them, their friends and their nephews, and small notes wishing for him to have a nice week. Johnny always added an American sweet or two from his stash, because 'your snacks are lacking sugar and he's a kid, Yongie, let him have a sweet once in a while'.

 

The first week of December, they were notified the application had gone through. They were now in the final stretch of the adoption process.

 

They had gotten the news in the middle of a family get-together, so there had been 19 people screaming and cheering and celebrating at the same time. The kids didn't really understand what was going on, but they screamed and giggled in glee all the same. Taeil struggled to calm Jaemin down after the adults had sat back down to keep talking. While Jisung had instantly fallen asleep in his baby carrier, Jaemin had joined Jeno and Renjun in the noisy toddler corner. Yuta kept laughing at Mark acting like the grown-up, and Sicheng kept scolding him. Mark was a full year older than the terrible trio, and thus felt like he needed to take care of them and boss them around. The fact that the three actually listened to him kept surprising everyone; one word from Mark, and the trio followed him around like little ducklings.

 

Taeyong was holding a sleepy-looking Chenle as his parents got Mark ready to go back home. Yuta and Sicheng's family being the only people left in the apartment, as it had gotten pretty late and no one had wanted to deal with 6 grumpy sleepy toddlers and three grumpy and not so sleepy elementary school kids at the same time.

 

"Look at you," Taeyong cooed at the one-year-old. "You're so tired, Lele, aren't you?" Chenle nuzzled his cheek against his collarbone and closed his eyes, falling asleep as Taeyong bounced him around gently.

 

"He's extremely cute." Johnny said, looking at Taeyong carrying the baby around.

 

"He really is. He's even cuter when he's sleeping, isn't he?" Yuta said, taking him from Taeyong's arms and carefully wrapping him in a blanket to keep him warm as they headed home.

 

"He's cute all the time." Taeyong protested, and everyone laughed.

 

"This one's pretty cute too." Sicheng said, carrying a half asleep Mark.

 

"The cutest, aren't you, Markie?" Mark was more asleep than awake, but still nodded at his favourite uncle's words, making everyone chuckle.

 

"Thanks for hosting this month, guys."

 

"Don't mention it, we love having everyone around."

 

"Well, see you on Monday, guys!"

 

---

 

"Johnny..."

 

"Hmm?"

 

"Are you awake?"

 

"Yeah, I am."

 

"We're getting Jungwoo. He's actually going to be our son."

 

"He is. I'm so happy."

 

"Me too. It's like all this time I had a Jungwoo shaped hole in my heart that I didn't know existed until I met him."

 

"We'll try to be the family he deserves. He deserves the world."

 

"He really does."

 

"I love you so much. Thank you for living life by my side."

 

"I'm always going to be here. I love you to the end of the world and back. Now go to sleep."

 

"G'night."

 

"Sweet dreams love."

 

---

 

They took apart one of the spare rooms, emptying it and painting it a nice green colour, leaving the ceiling white for contrast, and bought brand new furniture that they put together, bickering as they messed up and had to take it apart and start all over.

 

"Now I know why they say Ikea can make or break a relationship."

 

"Johnny, shut up and give me the screws or we'll never get this done."

 

They had hoped they would get to spend Christmas with Jungwoo, but sadly, the adoption was still not finalised.

 

And it still wasn't finalised for New Year's Eve, so they welcomed the new year without their son.

 

But then, they got the call.

 

The bureaucratic process had been completed. All that was missing to make it official was their signature, and Jungwoo's, and then they would be a family.

 

 

---

 

The day they were supposed to pick Jungwoo up from the orphanage was sunny, and without a cloud in sight.

 

They asked Taeil, their least emotional friend to be their cameraman and be there to record the entire process, knowing they were going to want to have footage of the day in the future, to watch over and over again as Jungwoo grew up.

 

They drove to the orphanage with their hearts on their throat, nervous smiles on their faces and sweaty hands, and met Taeil in front of the building.

 

"Ready?" Their friend smiled at them, getting the camera ready.

 

"As ready as we'll ever be."

 

They were guided inside by a young employee, who told them Jungwoo had gotten up so early, he had been ready and waiting for hours because the nerves hadn't let him sleep at all. She opened a door, letting them in.

 

And there was Jungwoo, anxiously biting his lip, wearing the warm green sweater Taeyong had sent him for Christmas, looking at them with a hesitant yet yearning look.

 

Taeyong kneeled down in front of where Jungwoo was sitting, leaving a small space between them to avoid making Jungwoo uncomfortable.

 

"Hi, Jungwoo."

 

"Hi, Taeyong-ssi. Hello, Johnny-ssi." Johnny smiled warmly at him.

 

"Hello, Jungwoo."

 

"Do I..." Jungwoo stuttered for a moment, before taking a deep breath. "Do I really get to go with you? And stay there?"

 

"If you'll have us, we'd love to be your parents," Johnny answered gently.

 

Jungwoo's eyes filled with tears, and he threw himself into Taeyong's arms, stealing a surprised gasp from him before he wrapped his arms around Jungwoo tightly, Jungwoo's tears triggering his own. Johnny bit back his own tears and knelt down, hugging both of them close.

 

---

 

 

They signed the papers -Taeyong had started sobbing when Jungwoo hadn't even allowed the worker to finish asking if he wanted to be adopted before screaming yes-, and put all of Jungwoo's belongings, one backpack and one suitcase, in the boot of the car. They thanked the social worker, who told them they would have the adoption certificate and appropriate paperwork sent to them as soon as it was filed, and wished them the best of luck.

 

They said goodbye to Taeil, who wished them a nice day, and gave his new nephew a goodbye hug, and then left for home.

 

Jungwoo was silent as they drove the long way to the apartment, but they both could see he was relaxed against the leather seat, a small smile on his lips.

 

---

 

"This is it. Welcome home, Jungwoo." Johnny opened the door, letting everyone in before carrying the suitcase inside.

 

Taeyong saw the way Jungwoo's eyes misted as he found three pairs of obnoxiously pink house slippers waiting for them in the hallway. He looked at Taeyong for confirmation, and Taeyong nodded, squeezing his shoulder, and Jungwoo slipped his feet inside the smallest pair. They both followed suit.

 

"Everything in the house is yours to explore and discover. Don't be afraid to touch, or ask for anything if you don't know how something works, okay?" Johnny explained, and Jungwoo nodded.

 

"This is your room." Taeyong stopped in front of the black door. "Go ahead."

 

Jungwoo took a few steps forward and opened the door. His mouth fell open as he took in the green walls, the black furniture and the matching green duvet.

 

"It's mine?" He whispered, swallowing around the obvious knot around his throat.

 

"All yours, Jungwoo." Johnny rubbed his shoulder. "Welcome home son."

 

Jungwoo bit his lip, turning around to stare at them both, and breaking into a bright smile stepping forward to hug them softly, shyly. Taeyong instantly wrapped his arms around his shoulders, and Johnny ran his fingers through Jungwoo's hair.

 

They looked at each other.

 

Their entire beings were full of love for their son.

 

The Jungwoo-shaped hole in their hearts was now full of love.

 

My whole heart

Will be yours forever

This is a beautiful start

To a lifelong love letter

 

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose you