When Minseok returned from his errand he found his fiancé cuddling on the cough with Suho. She looked distressed and his heart hurt. Before he could make his way to her Kris and Baekhyun pulled him in a vacant room.

“Hyung you’re not going to like what we have to say,” said Baekhyun. Minseok tensed his jaw and stared at the younger boys

“Whatever it is I can handle it. Is it about Aileen?”

“She had a nightmare about sasaeng fans attacking her and the baby. It was bad. She was inconsolable and shaking. She thought it was real and she was only able to calm down after Suho gave her chocolate and sang to her,” said Kris

Minseok smiled at that thought. Suho and Aileen always had a special relationship but he worried now for this very present concern which affected all of them.

“Well I hope my errand will prove useful. I know we are to return to Korean soon and once news gets out that we are having a baby; I assure you that the response won’t be all positive. So I’ve hired her three rather large bodyguards,”

“I’m sure she’ll feel a little relived by that. I know I will,” said Baekhyun

Minseok exited the room to find Aileen asleep in Suho’s arms. He walked up to them, smiled at Suho and scooped Aileen in his arms to carry her to her room. Aileen felt Minseok’s warm presence as he placed her on the bed. He laid down next to her and pulled her close to him.

“Everything is going to be alright. Oppa is going to protect his babies,” she hugged and kissed him as they both drifted off to sleep.

 

5 months later

 

Aileen was waiting anxiously in the waiting room of the hospital waiting to see her doctor. Jung Young and Sung Yuk were waiting by her side. Her bodyguards had become like family. Always keeping her safe, making her laugh when she had mood swings, making late night food trips because of her weird cravings, doting on her like a little sister. She was utterly grateful for her 3 Oppas. Lee Ki came walking in after having parked the car.

“You excited,” said Lee Ki as he beamed at a very pregnant Aileen. He thought to himself that the baby was going to be huge but then again she was always eating. He chuckled at the thought but Aileen sighed in annoyance, not at his chuckling but the lack of Exo members

“I would be more excited if at least one Exo member showed up. I know Minseok’s in Beijing so I miss him dearly but I thought Exo K would still be here. Where is everyone?” she seemed worried so Jung Young grabbed her hand

“We are here for you,” he smiled at her

Just then all of Exo K plus managers came rushing into the hospital. Aileen barely got out of her chair because of her growing belly.

“Where is the fire?” she smiled as the boys came into view

“Why are you smiling Noona?” asked Sehun

“You came. You all came,” tears dripped down her cheek

“Aigoo,” Baekhyun wiped her face, “So sensitive. Of course we came. We are family. Hyung would want us here,”

“Kim Aileen,” the nurse called her name so she could go to her ultrasound

“So who’s joining me?” she scanned the boys

Sehun, Kai, Do and Baekhyun avoided eye contact, “You big babies,” she mumbled as she her teeth

“I want to go Noona,” said Chanyeol as he raised his hand as if he were in school

“And I’m the guardian so I’ll go as well,” said Suho

“You two shall be rewarded,” the rest of the boys groaned as she smiled at Chanyeol and Suho as she led them to the room

The nurse led them to the room where she would finally learn the of their baby. She really ached for Minseok though. He should be here but he wasn’t and it . She sighed and slightly pouted.

“She has been doing that lately,” whispered Chanyeol to Suho

Suho frowned as he watched his Noona fighting a battle in her head. She must have had a lot of things to think about. People weren’t so happy to learn of their unexpected pregnancy. In fact some were downright nasty. Suho refused to rehash on those memories but Noona stayed strong even though a few times he caught her crying. Babies were a blessing from God; how could people say bad things.

Suho reached out and touched Aileen’s hand.

“Don’t fret Noona; you’re making me sad,”

“I’m sorry. I’m just thinking. I miss Minseok even though he’s only been gone 2 days. When you guys find the one and when they are away from you; it’ll feel like eternity,” she sighed again

“No more sighing Noona. This is a happy time, ok,” said Chanyeol

Just then Doctor Carter came in the room. Aileen smiled a bit because Deanna Carter was one of the few American doctors at Seoul Hospital. Aileen felt a little at home anytime she visited her doctor.

“How are you Aileen?”

“I’m hanging in there,” Deanna took a quick glance at Chanyeol and Suho, blushed and continued with the appointment

“They are adorable,” she whispered to Aileen as she set up for the ultrasound

“Try living with them; you won’t think they are so cute then,” the woman laughed as the boys frowned not understanding them

“So I’m going to check to make sure everything is ok like the heartbeat and size of the baby, ok?”

“Ok Doc. Do your job. I trust you fully,”

Deanna laughed as she placed the wand on Aileen’s belly. Suho and Chanyeol were fascinated. They have never experienced this before and it was totally cool.

“Everything looks wonderful. So do you want to know the ?”

Aileen beamed and shook her head yes. Deanna smiled at her as well.

“Let me see here,” she concentrated on the sonogram as she moved the wand around Aileen’s belly. Aileen pressed her lips together in anticipation, “It’s a boy,”

Aileen closed her eyes and touched her belly and said the first word that came to her, “Benjamin,”

“You named him already,” Deanna was surprised

“Benjamin James Kim,”

Aileen could not contain her happiness as she stepped out of the room. Chanyeol and Suho noticed the change in her and they were glad she finally had something to smile about. The rest of the boys crowded around Aileen as she came into view.

“You must know the otherwise you wouldn’t be smiling like that,” said Sehun

“Tell us Noona,” said D.O.

“Wait I want to call Minseok first,” Aileen sat in the chair as she dialed the number. She waited as the phone rang 3 times before a rather low voice answered the phone. A voice too low to be her cream puff, “Hello? Oh hi Kris. How were the interviews today? Good, that’s great. What are you guys up to now? Oh resting in the hotel. Is my Minseok near? He’s in bathroom, oh that’s ok I’ll wait,” she smiled at Exo K as they anxiously waited

“You’re rather calm Noona. I want to know the ,” pouted Baekhyun as he got shoved by Kai for being inpatient

Just then she heard Minseok happy voice and the tears started to swell in her eyes.

“Hey baby,” he said

“Hey how are you?”

“Good. I’ve missed you. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating well? Are you driving the boys crazy?”

“I miss you too and yes to all those questions,” Minseok laughed heartily, “Baby I just came from the doctor and I know the of the baby,”

Minseok’s face became serious as his heart stopped. His whole world was about to change; well it already had but suddenly it became more real than ever.

“Go on. Tell me,”

“Put the boys on speaker phone so they can hear,” he did just that

“Well we’re all here,” he waited for Aileen

Aileen breathed and closed her eyes. The tears fell down her face but she smiled, “Benjamin,”

As soon as she uttered that name Minseok started crying. Oh what a beautiful name it was.  He was having a son. His son. Their son. All the things he ever wanted to do if he had a son came flashing by like lightening. He was going to protect his little Benjamin. No hurt, harm or danger would ever cross him.

“Benjamin. It’s a boy?” he asked and she laughed

“Well you can’t name a girl Benjamin. Benjamin James Kim. Appa are you happy?”

“Yes Umma, I am,”

 

 

 

4 months later

 

“I guess Benji wants to stay in Mommy’s tummy forever and ever,” teased Chen

“Shut up Chen, I feel like a house. Oh he’s so big,” Aileen couldn’t see her feet, well she hasn’t been able to see her feet in a long while, “He was supposed to come a week ago but now we are playing the waiting game. Baby, Mommy wants her body back, please,” she said to her belly

“And Daddy wants Mommy’s body back,” Minseok appeared and gave her a back hug. Chen winced because he knew what Hyung was referring to

“Please Hyung I just ate my lunch. I do not want to hear about your life or lack thereof,”

“Aigoo, well I guess I’ll take a nap,” she kissed Minseok as she got up and went to her room

Minseok’s smile soon faded once Aileen was out of sight. Chen noticed and chuckled.

“Worry much,”

“I am anxious. I can attest to that. It’s been a week. I wonder how much longer we have to wait,”

“Have some faith Hyung. Everything is going to be just fine. My advice to you is enjoy the silence while you can because when little Benji comes it won’t be so quiet anymore and then we’ll have to kick you two out for lack of sleep,” Chen laughed as Minseok threw a pillow at him

Aileen was lying on the bed, belly up, one hand draped over her belly as the other rested by her side. Her Mom told her this is common and not to worry. She told her to mentally prepare for the birth though. It was going to be tough but if she remained calm, her body and mind won’t be exhausted when the actual birth happens. She took her Mom’s advice and prepared herself every day. She was still nervous not having experienced that kind of pain. But she knew she had a lot of people cheering her on. She was very blessed to have that.

The rest of Exo came in from their errands, made lunch and settled in for the afternoon.

“This is great not having anything on our calendar for once,” said Lay

“I know. I forgot what life was like before we became idols,” said Tao

“We should enjoy the silence while we still can. Little Benji will be here any day now,” said Kai

“I can’t wait till he’s here,” said Kris

“He’s going to have the absolute best partially because he’s going to have 11 uncles who are going to spoil him rotten,” said Suho

“I wonder who is going to spoil him more?” Sehun looked around the room

“I think it’s going to be Baekhyun and Kris,” said Chen as they boys laughed

“I know for a fact it’s going to be Chanyeol and D.O,” said Luhan

Aileen was in a deep sleep when suddenly she shot straight up in her bed. There was no mistaking that feeling. She looked around the room but then he eyes fell on the clock: it read 6:15pm. She slept for 3 hours? Time went fast. She took in her surroundings. Minseok and she had packed a bag of essentials just in case they had to make a break for it but she also packed a bag in the case they couldn’t make it to the hospital in time. She rather they be safe than sorry. She’s heard of stories where the husband had to deliver the baby themselves and while Minseok was confident he would never have to do that, she just wanted to be sure. But by now that feeling had subsided and she slowly laid herself back on the bed. She slowly drifted back to sleep but for only a few minutes.

Aileen woke up again to pain. The pain was indescribable. Was this the feeling every woman who ever had a baby was supposed to feel? She couldn’t process it at that moment because not soon after another pain shot through her body. She swung her feet onto the floor as she grabbed her stomach. She had to get to the bathroom quickly. She stood up but only to stumble to the floor but she was able to make it to the bathroom since it was in the room she shared with Minseok. The manager gave them the room upstairs for privacy. Aileen turned the water on and splashed her face. She took a few breaths to calm her heart and stood there for a minute. She continued to breathe then suddenly her legs felt wet.

“Ew what is…Omg, my water broke. He’s coming,” she quickly took a towel to clean up the mess.

Not thinking clearly of anything like asking the guys for help with the bags or even calling Minseok, she pushed the bags out of the room and pushed them down the stairs. The boys quickly raced to noise because they thought it was Aileen falling down the stairs instead.

“Aileen what the hell,” said Minseok

“My water broke,” it didn’t compute with any of them for a minute as they just stared at her, “I’m having this baby. We have to go,” it was like someone turned a switch on in their heads as they started to run around the house getting everything they need. Sehun and Tao helped Aileen down the stairs.

“Just breath Noona,” said Tao as they all piled into the huge van together and made their way to the highway

“Minseok call Deanna and tell her…” she didn’t have time to finish her statement before her contraction hit her like a brick, “Ouch!” she grabbed her stomach and closed her eyes to endure the pain, “Oh gosh,” she furrowed her brows as she looked at Lay, “Lay sweetie can you keep track of how far my contractions are. That is very important. The closer they get to one another, the sooner the baby comes,”

“Yes Noona,” he took out his phone but looked at Aileen with a worried expression on his face

“Baby did you wash your hands?” Aileen stared at Minseok

“Of course but why are you asking me that?”

“Just in case,”

“Baby stop. I don’t know why you have it in your mind that I’m going to be delivering this baby. We are going to make it to the hospital on time. Don’t worry,” he kissed her forehead as she was having another contraction

Aileen grabbed his hand as she breathed through the pain. The boys were very worried. They had never experienced something like this before and they weren’t aware of the pain women had to suffer to have children. They just knew they felt helpless to Aileen.

The manager got onto the highway and started driving towards the hospital. Aileen became hopeful that everything was going to work. She was going to have her baby in a hospital bed, not the backseat of a van. But her contractions became fiercer and they also felt closer together. How was that even possible. Normally first time mothers have a long process before they have their first time. So she should not be having her contractions so close together. Lay started to exhibit a worry look on her face.

“Tell me Lay, how far are my contractions now,”

“10 minutes apart Noona,”

“Ok there is still time,” she said

“Of course there is,” Minseok kissed her forehead

He did appear calm but on the inside he was petrified. He did not want for her to have this baby in the van. He didn’t want to do something wrong. This was a huge deal and one that could haunt him for the rest of his life if done improperly. That’s why he prayed manager would drive fast and get to the hospital.

“Oh man,” said manager

“What Hyung?” asked Baekhyun

“Traffic,”

“Well can you get off the highway?” asked Kris

“That’s the fastest way to get to the hospital but now it looks like traffic is at a standstill. There probably has been an accident,” not music to anyone’s ears but Aileen had to remain calm for as long as possible.

Many minutes and many contractions later Aileen couldn’t ignore the fact that her contractions were coming closer and closer together. She had been praying that they would slow down but that wasn’t the case.

“Baby you have to prep me. I don’t think…AHHHHHHH!”

“Breath honey,”

“Oh gosh, it hurts so bad. Make it stop,” she whispered to him but all he could do was kiss her. He had never felt so useless in all his life

“Chen go into the bag and get all the blankets. I’m going to call Deanna,” he dialed the doctor’s number

Deanna was Minseok’s savior as she talked him through the steps. Aileen got comfortable as many blankets were placed on and under her. Kris was her pillow and coach and she mentally prepared herself for what was to happen next. Soon thereafter her contractions were 3 minutes apart and Minseok could actually feel the baby’s head. It was so surreal. He was touching his son but now he had to focus on Aileen. She hated pain. She hated pain so much she avoided getting even the tiniest shot so he knew this would be difficult.

“Ok honey with Deanna’s help I’m going to help you deliever this baby,”

“I trust you,” she felt all this pain bearing down on her and she screamed out. The boys flinched at her cries. Tears started falling donw some of the boys’ faces.

“Only push when you feel unstoppable pain and do it easily. You don’t want to wear yourself out too soon,” Minseok said in a calm voice

Aileen held her breath and pushed but she didn’t get very far. It felt like someone took large pliers and opened her area wide; only they weren’t stopping.

“Oh gosh, I can’t,” she screamed

“You have to honey. Come on, you can do it. Push,”

She tried again. The pain was unbearable but she tried her best. She was sweating, crying and pushing. She pushed and pushed and pushed.

“Come on Noona,”

“That’s it Noona,”

“You’re doing great Noona,”

“We’re here for you Noona,”

Encouragement was heard all over the van and Aileen was grateful so she tried harder. She was doing it for them. She was doing it for Minseok and she was doing it for Benjamin. She longed to hold her baby and finally see his face. The labor ended quick with one final push. The push that would end all pushes; the push that would finally bring Benjamin into the world. Minseok was ready. He pulled the purple-ish/blue baby out of his wife.

1 Mississippi

2 Mississippi

3 Miss….

This loud piercing cry stopped all movement in the car. Minseok looked at his beautiful son and the world stopped. He was the most beautiful, sweetest thing he ever saw.

“Minseok can I hold him,”

“Yea,” he wiped the baby off as he handed him to Aileen

There was not a dry eye in sight. Aileen placed the baby on her chest to keep him warm. She looked at his face. His eyes were shut but he had her nose and Minseok’s chubby cheeks and the cutest mouth. She couldn’t express her joy so she kissed him.

“Hi Benjamin,” as if he knew what she was saying Benjamin opened his eyes and looked right at Aileen. The boys light up as they witnessed mother and son meeting for the first time. Today was a happy day.