When Leeteuk and Kangin first stepped in the room, both of their eyes immediately fixed on the blanketed figure in Seong Mi’s arms. Like a moth to a flame they moved quickly but calmly towards her, anxious to see the face that would change everything about their lives.

Seong Mi smiled as she tilted the baby to give them their first view.

Leeteuk gasped when he saw the tiny face surrounded by the soft blanket. His hands instantly moved to mute the sound coming from his lips. As he continued to stare down at the sleeping bundle, his image of him began to blur as tears began to fill his eyes.

“Aegi-yah,” Seong Mi whispered to the baby. “It’s time to wake up…your appas are here.”

Jinhyuk, who had been sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, stood at the sound of these words and walked out angrily.

Everyone’s eyes focused on the door closing after him before settling back on each other.

“I’m sorry—he’s…he’s taking this harder than I thought,” said Seong Mi apologetically.

“We understand how hard this is for you, which is why we can’t possibly thank you enough,” Leeteuk said weakly, trying not to sob as he continued to stare down at his son.

“Would you like to hold him?” she asked lifting her arms up.

Leeteuk nodded energetically making both Seong Mi and Kangin chuckle.

Slowly transferring him into Leeteuk’s hands, both men stared in awe at the tiny human who began shifting in his sleep from the sudden change.

Now that he was closer, they could admire the little details of his face. His cheeks were chubby and red, almost too chubby for his little face. And in comparison, his nose was like a delicate little button. His hair was dark and thick, sticking up mostly in the center, as if it rebelled against everything.

“Kangin –ah,” Leeteuk said looking over his shoulder to make sure he was there with him to see it all. “He’s so beautiful—isn’t he? Isn’t he the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”

“He’s a very close second,” said Kangin kissing Leeteuk’s cheek.

“Aish!” Leeteuk said as he shook his head and Seong Mi laughed.

“Yes, of course, he’s absolutely perfect. And he’s ours. Our son, finally,” he said proudly.

“I can’t believe this moment is finally here…so many years, so much pain…but it was all worth it, for our little angel,” Leeteuk said gently kissing the baby’s forehead.

“Have you all thought of a name?” asked Seong Mi as she watched Leeteuk pass the baby to the also eager Kangin.

Both men’s eyes suddenly popped up, first looking at her and then each other.

“No?!” she asked surprised.

“Well, all of the children we were prepared to adopt before were much older and already had names,” said Kangin.

“With the exception of the first one. And when that one fell through, we kind of figured it was best to wait until a moment like this,” said Leeteuk.

“What would you have named the first child?” she asked curiously.

“Jung Woon, after ourselves,” Leeteuk smiled shyly.

“I like it,” said Seong Mi.

“But he doesn’t really look like a Jung Woon,” said Kangin as he stoked his son’s soft hair.

“You know…I was thinking the same thing,” said Leeteuk nodding in agreement.

“What about you Seong MI-ah, did you have any ideas?” asked Kangin looking at Seong Mi.

Seong Mi’s eyes widened. “M-me? No, no, he’s your son. It’s only right that you name him,” she said shaking her head.

“We’re just looking for suggestions,” said Leeteuk simply.

“Well,” Seong Mi said softly. “Over the last week or so, Jinhyuk and I played around with names we thought would be nice, if we had been his parents.”

“And?” asked Kangin when it looked like she wasn’t going to speak any further.

“We always came back to…Haejin.”

Kangin and Leeteuk looked at each other and gave a small shrug.

“Why Haejin?” asked Leeteuk.

“Jinhyuk wanted him to have a part of his name and I had a younger brother named Hae Won who died when he was nine, so I wanted him to live on through my son.”
 

The two men smiled softly at the same time before turning their looks to her.

“What?” asked Seong Mi as she looked at both of them.

                                                             ~*~

While Leeteuk and Seong Mi stayed with the baby for a little longer, Kangin walked out into the hallway. He was hoping to find Jinhyuk, but was surprised to actually see him sitting on a bench so close to the room, his head in his hands.

Making his way over, Kangin slowly sat down beside him, making Jinhyuk sigh when he realized it was him.

“Coming to gloat?” he asked solemnly.

“No, not at all,” said Kangin calmly. “But I was looking for you.”

“Why?” asked Jinhyuk looking at him with a frown.

“Because I’ve been wanting to talk to you, about all of this,” said Kangin.

It was quiet for a few moments as Jinhyuk looked away from him. He stared down at his feet, unable to bring himself to look at Kangin without feeling anger rush through him.

“It’s not fair,” Jinhyuk mumbled as he shook his head, forcing himself to not cry in front of this man he didn’t even know.

“I know it’s not,” agreed Kangin.

“No I don’t think you get it! He’s our son,” said Jinhyuk turning to look at Kangin, “And if I had my way, things would’ve stayed that way!”

“I know that’s how you’ve felt this entire time. And I knew that when this day came, it was going to be hard for you. That’s why I wanted to come out here to thank you, if I had the chance,” said Kangin.

“Thank me?” scoffed Jinhyuk.

“Yes, thank you. I know to you it seems like we’ve just suddenly come into your life and taken something from you on a whim. But I want you to know that we understand the pain you're feeling now.”

“Oh really? You’ve had a girl tell you that she’s carrying your child only for her to also mention moments later that she’s decided, on her own, that she’s giving it to two random men that she’s barely known for a few months?”

“No, not quite. But I have had to comfort a husband through being told he’s infertile after over a year of trying to have our own baby. And then again after being told the millions of won spent on treatments couldn’t change anything for us. And then again after being denied the chance to a adopt a child four times within a year. I can not explain to you the level of pain, sadness, and humiliation that we’ve gone through to try to become parents. And then, on a random afternoon we met a scared and pregnant young girl, who needed us as much as we needed her. So when she offered us the one thing we’ve been wanting, we took it. I’m so sorry that you didn’t get the say that you felt you deserved. But I promise you…we will love him and care for him as if he came from us. He will never hurt, or want for anything. And we will give him the best opportunities possible. And…we will give him your name.”

Jinhyuk looked up, confused.

“We’ve decided to name him Haejin,” said Kangin. “So that he knows where he came from.”

Jinhyuk smiled softly before putting his hands to mouth, in an effort to cover his sob. “Will you please let him know…that we loved him and that we wanted him…and if things had been different, that we would’ve been better parents to him.”

“Of course, we don’t want him to ever think he wasn’t loved,” he said Kangin patting his back gently.

Jinhyuk nodded in thanks.

“Do you want to come back into the room with us?” asked Kangin motioning back towards the door. “The nurse said he’ll be waking up soon to eat again.”

Jinhyuk shook his head. “I just need to be alone for a little while. Can you tell Seong Mi I decided to take a walk?”

Kangin nodded as he watched Jinhyuk rise and then walk silently down the hallway. When he couldn’t see him anymore, Kangin rose himself and walked back into the hospital room to be with his family again.