(A few days later)

It was a Thursday morning, Ilhoon was at school, and Hyunseung was sleeping peacefully. Junhyung had approached a few entertainment companies over the past few days, giving them samples of works that he’d written before. The bigger labels had rejected him, claiming that his composing style wasn’t suitable for their artistes. However, CUBE Entertainment had been rather impressed and asked him to compose another sample title track for BEAST’s next comeback. If they liked it, it would be used in the album.

That’s why, at nine in the morning, Junhyung was already in the living room humming out tunes and just looking for inspiration around him. The company had said that he was free to use their recording room to compose, since he had no studio whatsoever at the moment. However, he was planning to at least get a rough draft out before actually heading down to the studio and playing around with the background music. He was hoping to bring Ilhoon though; it’d probably be a fun and unique experience for the boy.

Junhyung looked up when he heard footsteps, smiling as a sleepy Hyunseung came into view. The elder yawned, going over to the couch and plopping down. Curling up beside Junhyung, Hyunseung grinned and said, “Good morning Junnie.”

“Good morning to you too, sleepyhead,” Junhyung teased, leaning over to give the elder a kiss on the cheek. Then, putting his notebook on the table, Junhyung pulled Hyunseung closer to him. “Do you want breakfast?” he asked, not having cooked anything for him yet.

“French toast!” Hyunseung exclaimed, hopping off the couch and going to wash up. “Thanks Junnie I love you!” he shouted from the master bedroom before Junhyung heard the toilet door close. Chuckling to himself and getting up as well, Junhyung went to get the ingredients he needed for French toast and began making it.

Ten minutes later, the couple was sitting down at the dining table and enjoying their breakfast. They were going to have dinner together with the others, and finally officially announce their engagement. It’d been five days since their date, and Doojoon and Yoseob already saw their rings, but hopefully they didn’t know that they were engagement rings. Yoseob did ask about it once, and Hyunseung simply shrugged it off, saying that they were just to replace their old promise rings. Ilhoon hadn’t leaked anything, as far as they knew, which was good.

“We’re having dinner at Pasta Palace, right?” Junhyung asked.

Hyunseung nodded with a small smile. “A lot’s changed. You’ll understand when you get there, if you actually remember the people working there,” he told the younger, sounding slightly wistful. Junhyung frowned slightly, but didn’t question Hyunseung, and looked at the elder’s plate. Seeing that it was empty, he started to clean up so that Hyunseung could get some housework done.

“How’re we going to announce our engagement, again?” Hyunseung called out from the living room, clearing Ilhoon’s toys up and tidying the living room. Junhyung looked over at his fiancé, raising a questioning brow.

“Just tell them straight out, I guess. It was that or have Ilhoon announce it. I think he really wants to,” Junhyung replied, washing the last of the dishes and heading over to the couch. He watched as Hyunseung cleaned up a little more, deciding to grab the elder and pull him onto the couch with him. Hyunseung let out a surprised squeak, chuckling in amusement when he felt Junhyung hug him tightly and bury his face in his back.

“Junnie, what brought this on?” he asked with a smile. It wasn’t as if they didn’t cuddle – they did, every night actually. He wasn’t complaining though, because he loved skinship with Junhyung. They had to make up for the lack of it in the past seven years after all.

Humming, Junhyung said, “I was thinking. Ilhoon told me he really wanted a younger sibling.”

The colour drained from Hyunseung’s face almost immediately. Clearly he didn’t have a very good memory of his first, and last, pregnancy. The first half of it was all good, but all it took was one day to change everything. He was afraid, he wasn’t going to deny it. Jaewon had stayed away for the past seven years, but who was to say that he wouldn’t come back?

“He told me before, too,” Hyunseung replied, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He bit his lip as Junhyung started to nibble his earlobe, not wanting things to escalate so quickly. Honestly, they hadn’t had after Junhyung returned. Hyunseung didn’t want to be pregnant again, not before knowing that they were safe from Jaewon. “Junnie, no. I want another child too, but not now.”

Junhyung stopped abruptly. “Why not? I’m not going to leave again, I promise.”

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t want to be vulnerable again, not while Jaewon is still out there,” Hyunseung admitted. He couldn’t protect himself or Ilhoon if he was pregnant. There was no way he was putting Ilhoon or his unborn child in danger like that.

The younger male sighed softly, nodding. “I’ll make sure he’s caught then. But first… let me make love to you, Seungie. It’s been so long,” Junhyung mumbled, trailing kisses along Hyunseung’s jawline, slowly moving down his shoulder. The elder shuddered slightly in anticipation.

“Make sure to use protection then.”

--------------------------------

Hyunseung left for his dance lesson at around eleven, sore and tired from his… activities with Junhyung. His lesson for the day was at twelve, so he had more than enough time to walk to the dance academy. Junhyung had offered to walk with him, seeing as how the elder was limping slightly, but was rejected. “Work on composing! I want to hear something amazing when I get back!” Hyunseung had exclaimed before leaving.

Sighing contentedly, Junhyung got down to work. They’d eaten a little for lunch before Hyunseung left, so he was rather energetic at the moment. He looked around him, thought about what had happened over the past seven years. He thought in his own perspective, as well as in Hyunseung’s. A smile made its way to his face as he started scribbling lyrics and notes down.

An hour passed in a flash and before Junhyung knew it, it was twelve. He went to pick the kids up, bringing them to the playground nearby to play while he thought more about the piece he was composing. He had the first verse done, and some of the chorus as well. He still had more parts to go through though, and then he would have to record the background music when he was done with the score. Still, when inspiration hit, there was no stopping it.

Junhyung was so absorbed in his thoughts, he didn’t notice that there was someone watching the kids. He only realised when the said man walked over to him, greeting him with a slightly sinister smile. “Yong Jaesoon, long time no see.”

Turning around instantly, Junhyung narrowed his eyes at his father. He looked to where the kids where, making sure they were all fine, before looking back at Jaehyuk. “What are you doing here?” Junhyung nearly hissed, extremely hostile. He never forgave his father, especially not after the man worked for Jaewon.

“Hey, hey, I’m just following orders. Jaewon’s onto you. He knows you’re back. Hara told him. Again, he wants you gone. This time you only have a week,” Jaehyuk conveyed Jaewon’s message.

Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, Junhyung could only nod. “Alright. How can I contact you?” he asked. Jaehyuk laughed then, staring at Junhyung as if he was mad.

“Why the hell would I tell you? I know you want to turn me in to the cops, and let me tell you first – it won’t happen. I’m going now,” Jaehyuk announced, turning to leave. Junhyung rolled his eyes, knowing that Jaehyuk would get his just desserts sooner or later.

Ilhoon walked over to Junhyung, looking at his appa curiously. “Who was that man?”

“A bad man, Ilhoonie. If you see him, never ever follow him anywhere, alright?” Junhyung instructed sternly. He wanted his family safe, no matter what. He wasn’t going to leave again, for sure, but there wasn’t any way that he was letting Jaewon touch his son.

Ilhoon nodded obediently. “Do you want to play with us, appa?” he asked.

Smiling, Junhyung nodded and pushed away all thoughts of Jaewon. He would worry about that later. For now, he was going to enjoy his time with the kids.

-------------------------------

Dinnertime came and the gang was together at Pasta Palace with their kids, already seated and waiting to be served. Junhyung looked around, noting that everything was about the same, and wondered why Hyunseung said that a lot had changed. Jongin came over after a while to take their orders, saying hi to all of them and frowning at Junhyung.

“You’re… Junhyung, aren’t you?” he asked.

Junhyung smiled awkwardly and nodded. “The one and only.”

The waiter looked over at Hyunseung, genuinely happy for his friend that his other half had finally returned. Excusing himself, Jongin went to key their orders in and attend to other customers. Once he was gone, Junhyung furrowed his brows. “Are some people missing?” he questioned.

“So you finally noticed. Luhan and Kris upped and left, one after another. Sehun wanted to find him, but their twins were still so young. Zitao did leave, followed Kris. Sehun never got over Luhan,” Doojoon said, sighing softly.

The mood suddenly went down after what Doojoon said, and Hyunseung nudged Junhyung slightly. “Should we tell them?” he whispered. Junhyung nodded, feeling that there was a need to lighten the mood. He tapped Ilhoon, and the boy grinned knowingly. They’d discussed beforehand, so Ilhoon knew exactly what to do.

“I have something to announce!” the boy said excitedly, albeit a little loudly.

“Not so loud, honey,” Hyunseung chided with a chuckle.

Pouting, Ilhoon nodded and continued. “Appa and umma are getting married!”

Dongwoon and Gikwang turned to look at the couple in unison, both with wide eyes. Doojoon and Yoseob gave their best friends a knowing look, while the twins squealed excitedly and Minhyuk woke up staring at them in annoyance.

In the midst of congratulating Hyunseung and Junhyung, their food was served, and they began eating while discussing wedding plans. Yoseob was really excited, throwing out idea after idea about what they should do. Ilhoon was going to be the ring bearer, the twins the flower girls, and Minhyuk might even have a part to play if he was old enough by the time they got married.

“Don’t you think you guys should put off another child until after your wedding, though?” Doojoon asked, staring at Hyunseung incredulously. The latter’s face heated up in embarrassment, while the others laughed at him.

Huffing slightly, Hyunseung glared at his best friend. “We weren’t trying, alright. Ilhoonie, I know you want a younger sibling, but can you wait till umma and appa are married?” he asked. Ilhoon puffed his cheeks up sadly and nodded. He understood why he had to wait; having another child before getting married just wasn’t nice.

“On another note…” Yoseob trailed off, looking at Doojoon. “I’m pregnant again!”

“You are?” the eldest asked, obviously very surprised by this piece of news.

Immediately Yoseob deflated. “You’re not happy?”

Everyone shot Doojoon a disapproving look. Flustered, he said, “Of course I’m happy! Did you hear that, girls? You’re going to have a sibling!”

Another round of congratulations went around, and Junhyung couldn’t help but notice Ilhoon slightly sulking. He pulled the boy onto his lap, pinching his chubby cheeks and chuckled. “You’ll get your turn soon, Ilhoon-ah. Don’t be so sad,” he told his son.

“But Jihyun and Sohyun didn’t even have to ask for a sibling…” he mumbled.

Honestly, Junhyung didn’t know why or how Ilhoon could be so adorable. “I’ll try to convince your umma, alright?” he promised. Ilhoon turned to look up at Junhyung, his eyes nearly shining with happiness at what Junhyung said.

“Really?”

Nodding, Junhyung grinned. “Now eat your dinner.”

Ilhoon hugged Junhyung tightly, stunning his appa and causing him to melt into a puddle of goo, before he continued eating. Hyunseung chuckled at Junhyung’s expression, leaning against the elder and feeling that he was the luckiest guy in the world.

All that was about to change.

I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD!

Sorry for taking one month to update guys. I was swamped with project submissions and tests and presentations and just. Ugh. School.

This chapter is like meh but I hoped you guys still enjoyed it

JAEHYUK AND JAEWON ARE BACK (no they're not brothers) DUN DUN DUNNNNN

What's going to change? What's gonna happen? NOBODY KNOWS

On another note I'm hitting 80 chapters soon LOL but it's ending soon. Give it ten chapters, maybe? I definitely won't hit the 100 chapter mark

Ok sorry again for the long wait and I'll try not to take so long for the next chapter >< (I probably will though because EXAMS LOL)

That's all from me for today. Annyeong~ ^^