(A month later)

Before anyone knew it, another four weeks had flown by. Ilhoon had been discharged a week after he was rescued, and in that time Yoseob and Junhyung had put together a small funeral for Hara, for just the few of them. She didn’t really have many friends – Yoseob and Junhyung were pretty much the only ones who were remotely close to her, even if seven years apart had altered their friendship.

Apart from that, Junhyung and Hyunseung also had their own private ceremony to properly bid farewell to the baby girl that they’d lost. Yong Jiyoon was the name they decided to give her, and they promised themselves never to forget her.

It was Ilhoon’s seventh birthday and after almost a whole month of recuperating at home, Ilhoon had gained back most of the weight he’d lost. He went back to school right after being discharged, despite Hyunseung’s disapproval. Who could blame him for not wanting to miss school for too long, when he’d already missed two weeks of it?

Junhyung had gotten up early with Hyunseung, getting some last minute decorating done before Ilhoon woke up. They worked quickly, and by eight in the morning the house looked amazing. Next, the couple worked on seaweed soup for the birthday boy. It was the first birthday that Ilhoon was spending with Junhyung, so he was really hoping that nothing would screw up the party.

It was only around nine that the couple woke their son up, covering his eyes and making sure that he didn’t see any of the decorations before he was done washing up. Hyunseung had decided to go into the toilet with Ilhoon, just to make sure the boy didn’t peek at the decorations they did. Of course Ilhoon did know the theme of the party, but they still wanted to keep him in suspense.

“Are you excited?” Hyunseung asked, watching as Ilhoon brushed his teeth in his adorable pyjamas.

Ilhoon nodded furiously, grinning as best as he could with all the toothpaste and foam in his mouth. Gargling and spitting, Ilhoon hurriedly washed his face and wiped it dry before turning to his mother. “Of course I’m excited! I haven’t celebrated my birthday with appa before, and today I can finally show him off to all my friends!” he exclaimed. From outside the toilet, Junhyung smiled to himself proudly. I can show you off to all my friends too, Ilhoon-ah.

It was another minute or so before Hyunseung and Ilhoon came out of the toilet, once again with Ilhoon’s eyes being covered by Hyunseung’s hands. The three went to the living room together before Hyunseung finally took his hands off Ilhoon’s face, yelling “Happy birthday baby!” together with Junhyung.

“Whoa, Pororo is everywhere!” he shouted in awe, running around the house and looking at all the colourful decorations. It wasn’t much, mostly just balloons and banners. Junhyung did, however, manage to find tablecloths and cushion covers with Pororo on them, so that was probably a plus.

Hyunseung smiled as he watched his son hug the cushion, back hugging Junhyung and pecking his cheek softly. “I think you’re the best father that Ilhoon could ever ask for,” he said genuinely, eyes never leaving his baby boy.

“I hope so. I wouldn’t want him asking for another dad, would I?” Junhyung joked, earning a slap on the shoulder by his fiancé. When he turned back to look for Ilhoon, he found the boy running full-speed towards him, and barely caught him when he jumped up.

Pressing a sloppy kiss onto Junhyung’s cheek, Ilhoon said, “You’re the best!”

“Hey, what about umma?” Hyunseung fake pouted, bending down slightly and pointing at his cheek.

Ilhoon grinned, giving Hyunseung a kiss as well. “Umma is the best too!”

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

It was only around one in the afternoon that the guests began coming, beginning with Yoseob and Doojoon of course. The former was now about five months pregnant, this time with the boy that Doojoon had always wanted. The twins were ecstatic, and had been whining to do up their baby brother’s room. Their house was small though, with only two bedrooms, so Yoseob was thinking about moving out into a bigger house, one with four bedrooms. That, the twins weren’t so keen on.

“Happy birthday Ilhoon-ah! Aren’t you a big boy now?” Yoseob cooed, patting the boy on the head and passing his present to Hyunseung. “This was picked out by the girls, wrapped by me and paid for by Doojoonie,” he listed, crediting his family accordingly. Hyunseung gave his friend a judgmental look, but took the present and placed it on the table anyway.

As expected, Ilhoon and the twins ran off to play while waiting for everyone else to arrive. The four adults sat down, looking at each other wordlessly. The relationship between Junhyung and Doojoon was still slightly tense, and their husbands knew that very well. Hyunseung stood up abruptly, pulling Yoseob up with him and announcing, “We’re going to fetch Ilhoon’s classmates. Have fun you two!” before leaving quickly with the pregnant male.

“You know, I’m really sorry about what happened. I know how you feel, not knowing if Yoseob would be fine or not. I was away from Hyunseung for seven years,” Junhyung pointed out, earning a sigh from Doojoon and a tired glance in his direction.

“Yeah, well, I know that you didn’t mean for it to happen. I was afraid and angry, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’m sorry,” Doojoon apologised hurriedly and awkwardly. Junhyung only smiled, shaking his head and saying that it was fine. They proceeded to engage in conversation about jobs and money and moving, and both of them agreed that perhaps they should move together, to make it more convenient for all of them. Gikwang and Dongwoon were brought into the picture, something about all living near to each other, but at the same time finding a house near the convenience store and dance academy.

After Junhyung promised to help with looking for suitable houses, Hyunseung and Yoseob returned with about ten kids, all of whom looked familiar from whenever Junhyung picked Ilhoon up from school. The first one to charge in was Changseob, Jungsu and Youngwoon’s son. He was followed by Heekyung, Heechul and Hangeng’s daughter. The other eight kids, Junhyung didn’t really know the names of. As Ilhoon promised, he pulled Junhyung around and introduced him to all his friends: Chansung, Seulong, Siwan, Jinyoung, Wooyoung, Hongki, Seunggi, and Changmin.

Hyunseung collected whatever presents they had for his son before sending the kids off into the bedroom to play with Ilhoon’s collection of toys. The last of their friends to arrive was Dongwoon and Gikwang with Minhyuk, because Hyunseung’s parents were only celebrating with them at night. With that, Hyunseung and Junhyung started getting food for the kids, checking on them before returning to the living room to talk to the other adults.

“So what plans do you have now, hyung?” Dongwoon asked, sipping on his drink and looking at Junhyung thoughtfully. “No more drama in your life, so now what?”

Junhyung shrugged, saying, “Probably going to continue producing music. It’d be a nice change, having a peaceful life for once.” Hyunseung nodded, fully agreeing with what his fiancé was saying. He’d had enough drama and trouble for the rest of his life – all he wanted now was to be together with his family, raise Ilhoon well.

“I know what you need to do,” Yoseob pointed out. “Get married. When’s that going to be?”

Junhyung looked over at Hyunseung, smiling secretively and turning back to their friends. “Actually, we have that all planned out. We’ll provide more details in due time, alright?” he said. Hyunseung nodded in agreement, laughing when Yoseob whined about wanting to know all the details.

“On another note, my parents are holding a celebration for their 35^th wedding anniversary, and they’d like you guys to come. It’s going to be just like them getting married again,” Hyunseung informed his friends with a grin. “You don’t have to bring anything – just come.”

Dongwoon sighed in envy, looking at Gikwang. “Can we have something like that, too?”

“Why not?” Gikwang replied instantly with a smile. “When is it, hyung?”

“Next Sunday, actually. So can you guys make it?” Hyunseung asked, looking at his friends hopefully. When they nodded, he grinned and hugged them. “It’ll be a small event held at one of their friend’s hotels. Be sure to dress nicely!”

While their four friends began discussing what to bring and wear, Junhyung pulled Hyunseung to him and kissed his fiancé lightly on the forehead. Hyunseung smiled at the younger, nervously toying with the ring on his left finger.

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

The birthday party was ending, and the kids were exhausted from playing for hours. So after opening the presents that Ilhoon had gotten, Hyunseung helped the kids take a group photo before bringing them downstairs to their waiting parents. Ilhoon had gotten quite a handful of presents for his seventh birthday – a toy car, books, drawing material, clothes, and even a few overly-fashionable accessories that could only be from Heechul.

Gikwang and Dongwoon, too, left soon after that. Minhyuk was exhausted, and they had to get some work done as well. “Text us the details,” Gikwang said before leaving with his family. Doojoon and Yoseob stayed behind to help clean up. After that, the family of four left as well, with the twins getting slightly moody from weariness. That left Junhyung, Hyunseung and Ilhoon alone in their house, and the birthday boy was sent off to nap once Doojoon’s family had left.

Clearing up the last of the mess from the party, Hyunseung and Junhyung plopped down on their couch and sighed in unison. “I’m glad today went well,” Junhyung mumbled, pulling Hyunseung towards him and resting his chin on the elder’s head. “Why do you always smell so nice?”

“I’m not! I’m sticky and gross and I need a shower,” Hyunseung retorted immediately, blushing slightly at how cheesy Junhyung was. He would never get used to Junhyung being so sweet, because how could anyone love him so much? Getting up from the couch, Hyunseung quickly went to grab whatever he needed before he went to hide in the shower.

Chuckling to himself, Junhyung went to lay out clothes for him and Hyunseung to wear for dinner later on at night. Even after seven years, Mrs. Jang held a grudge against Junhyung. He was wondering if that was ever going to change. After all, he and Hyunseung were going to get married eventually; surely she couldn’t hate him forever.

Once Junhyung was done selecting clothes for his fiancé and himself, he went to find an outfit for Ilhoon as well. The boy was sound asleep, tired from hours of playing with his friends. A smile made its way to Junhyung’s face when he saw that his son was holding on tightly to the stuffed dog that he’d gotten him. It really wasn’t much of a gift, because Ilhoon already had tons of toys, and Junhyung had been at a total loss about what to buy. ‘Why not just get him something that you think he’d like?’ Hyunseung had asked him. After all, Ilhoon didn’t need anything at the moment. Looking at his sleeping son now, Junhyung thought that maybe Ilhoon would’ve liked any present from him, and it was heart-warming to say the least.

“Ilhoon-ah, thanks for accepting me even though I was gone for so long,” Junhyung muttered, smoothing Ilhoon’s hair back from his forehead and kissing him lightly on the forehead. Junhyung wasn’t one to be affectionate, but things were different when it came to his family.

Shifting slightly in his sleep, Ilhoon blinked up sleepily at his father. “I love you appa,” he yawned out before falling back into dreamland. Letting the smile on his face grow just that bit wider, Junhyung adjusted Ilhoon’s blanket properly before getting up and leaving the room.

“I love you too, Ilhoon.”

It took me a month to get a 2000-word chapter out?!?!?

Ok I'm sorry this took so long and the quality is just.... bleh. School's been a real

I was gonna include their dinner with the Jang family but that would just drag it on unnecessarily and you guys would have to wait longer so I decided to leave it out

I probably won't be updating till a month from now (again) because my project is a huge pain in the and my groupmates are too. Sorry for making you guys wait for even longer even though this fic is already ending ><

UNTIL NEXT TIME THEN. Annyeong~! ^^