**a/n: minho is a jerk...here.

“You…cut your hair.”

Eunsook looked up sharply as the words left Minho’s mouth, one of her hands instinctively traveling towards her cropped hair. She ran her fingers through the short locks with a nod. She knew Minho would comment on it, but she had not expected it to be brought out sooner rather than later. There were so many things, much more important than her short haircut, which the two of them need to discuss. She guessed Minho wanted to start this confrontation with something light. Quite frankly, that was what she wanted, too.

“I wanted a change,” she said softly, by way of explanation. Working up the strength, she turned her head to the side, glancing at her friend.

However, Minho kept his eyes trained on the hustle and bustle that was going on the streets below them, nodding his head. Change. Minho had a great dislike for that word ever since Eunsook left so suddenly. Not only did he lose the sturdy pillar of her support, but he also, lost the brightness that her presence added to his days. Trying not to sound spiteful, he mumbled what he hoped was an indifferent, “Ah.”

Eunsook winced. If before she had doubted the true depth of Minho’s pain, which her sudden departure has caused, now she absolutely did not. He sounded upset just now. It was Eunsook’s time to explain herself…in the closest of terms anyway, at least. She was not yet ready to tell him the full truth. “Listen, Minho…”

“Why did you do it?” Minho cut her off, his tone demanding and confused. By now, he had gathered enough courage to face Eunsook. “Eunsook…why did you leave me?”

Throwing her original plan of confession to the wind, Eunsook’s grip on the railing tightened, her knuckles turning white. Her heart was pounding, the beat deafening.  It was now or never. She swallowed past the lump that has formed in and searched for the right words to say. “I got pregnant with Minki.”

Minho waited for Eunsook to continue, but after a minute has passed, it was clear that she was done. That one sentence was her whole explanation. “That’s it?” Minho’s voice was tight as he fought to regain control of his anger. The pain that he felt back then, when he woke up one day to find out that his best friend was gone, has returned, tenfold in its intensity. Minho’s fists clenched tightly, his gaze hard.

“You disappeared for four years without so much as a damn note and now all you have to say is that it is because someone knocked you up?”

Eunsook’s lower lip quivered and she looked up at Minho. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, but she stood her ground. “You don’t understand…I…”

“Make me understand!” Minho prompted, scrubbing a hand across his face. He was breathing heavily now, still angry but mostly knee-deep in pained confusion. “Eunsook, you owe me at least a bit more than that crap you’re giving me. You were all I had! You…you were my best friend. You swore to be always there for me. But you left and I was suddenly, utterly alone.”

Guilt welled up inside Eunsook. She hung her head, unable to hold Minho’s heartbroken gaze a second longer. She knew it was her fault that Minho was acting this way but she was alone, too, when she left Korea and it was harder for her because she was pregnant. She had no one to talk to in such a foreign land…Oh what the hell! This was not about her.

“I’m sorry, Minho. But, it is the truth. I left because I was pregnant. It’s complicated. Please understand.”

“Bull,” Minho cried, grabbing both of Eunsook’s shoulder and shaking her. “If that was all that there was to it, that you got pregnant, there was no reason for you to leave Korea. I know you. You would have wanted to raise your child there. There is more to this and I want to hear it. All of it.”

A tear escaped Eunsook’s eyes and trailed down her cheek. Minho faltered, hating himself a bit for causing Eunsook to cry. “Please, Eunsook. I need to know w-why.”

“Minho…” Eunsook whispered softly. “I can’t…”

Minho in a breath and released his captive. Eunsook managed to catch a glimpse of his expression closing off before he turned his back to her. “Well,” he started saying. “It has been four years, anyway. I don’t care anymore. Whoever Minki’s father is, I hope you’re happy with him. But give him a heads up will you? He should know that there will come a day that you will just suddenly disappear from his life without any good reason, whatsoever.”

A terrible sadness gripped Eunsook’s heart and she took an unconscious step backward. She felt his words as a slap to her face, stinging. She watched with tear-filled eyes as Minho started walking off towards the direction of the door to the hospital. Panic washed over her in strong waves and she found herself stalking forward, her hands outstretched in front of her, trying to catch Minho and stop him. One thought kept buzzing inside her head: Minho has to know.

“Minki is your son, Minho!”

**

Minki is my…son?

My son?

Mine?

“What?” Minho demanded as he spun around to face Eunsook. He was surprised to see her just a foot behind him, her small hands poised to take a hold of him. He took one good look at her panic-stricken face and resisted the urge to pull her into his arms. Simply put, now was not the time for that.

Eunsook’s arms dropped limply to her sides, her fists clenched, determination shining in her glassy eyes. “Minki is our son.”

Minho shook his head vehemently, as if trying to clear his head free of other insignificant thoughts in order to process this one. “Pardon?” he said slowly. “Minki is our son? How?”

A tiny, sad smile stretched across Eunsook’s lips. She looked nostalgic and guilty, no doubt recounting yesterday’s memory that was not accounted in Minho’s very own. “I believe you remember Hyunjun?”

Minho’s sour expression confirmed a yes to Eunsook’s question and she continued her tale bravely. “I believe your breakup with him was the most…devastating. You drove to my house completely hurt and a bit hysterical. I hated seeing you that way, but at the same time, I was glad that you trusted me enough to give you comfort in your time of need—“

“Of course I trust you,” Minho groused. “You were…are…my best friend.”

“I…yeah,” Eunsook sighed, shoulders slumping. “Anyway, as usual, we went through your…after breakup routine. Well, that is what I call it. It seemed to always do the trick whenever you’re heartbroken. We partied, you got drunk and I brought you home, like always…”

With a start, Minho’s eyes widened, his stomach lurching. He knew what happened next, can read it clearly from Eunsook’s hesitation. “We had .” And as if summoned, images of a sweaty, passion-flushed Eunsook came into his mind. She was oddly beautiful.

“Like…a-always.”

"I didn't know..." Minho croaked, shaking his head slowly. "Why?"

Eunsook turned away, not wanting to see the accusation in Minho's eyes. "I always left before the sun was up. I...didn't want you to find out." At this point, no one could blame Minho; it was not an everyday occurrence that you learn of your secret affair with your best friend. So Eunsook listened, waiting for Minho's footsteps to retreat, for the door to close, for him to leave her for good. None of those things came and, instead, Eunsook felt Minho’s hand land on her shoulder, spinning her around to face him.

“You let me use you like that?” Minho whispered and now, Eunsook noticed how badly he was shaking. She could only nod dumbly. “And you kept him?”

“Yes.”

Minho was getting much closer to the real reason why Eunsook left her life in Korea for one in America, all that was left was one more word from him. Eunsook wasn’t sure if now was the right time for another shocking confession. She didn’t think Minho can take much more. But, if he asked, she will be forced to put it all out there. She owed him that much, at least.

Suddenly, it was over and Eunsook was pushed backwards none too gently. “God, Eunsook! Why would you do this?” Minho screamed. “Did it ever cross your mind that I would have wanted to help you raise Minki? He’s mine, too, and you kept him away from me. All this time I thought you were the only one that I lost, Eunsook. But as it turns out, I also lost my son.”

“Minho,” Eunsook choked on a sob and stepped closer to Minho. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she knew it was asking for too much on her part, so she held back and let her hands rest limply on her sides. “I’m sorry. I d-didn’t know what to do back then. I wasn’t so sure with how you will react to knowing that you and I have had , much less that I’m pregnant with your child. I panicked and dealt with it the best way that I know; I ran away.”

“Bull!”

Eunsook gaped, taken aback by the harshness in Minho’s voice.

“This is just bull, Eunsook,” Minho continued, uncaring if he was hurting Eunsook with his words. “Clearly, you weren’t thinking right back then. If you could’ve just—“

“What? I could have just told you that I was pregnant with your child?” Eunsook shot back. “I wonder how that would have ended with you.”

Minho leveled a glare at Eunsook, his lips curled up in distaste. “Maybe I would have reacted badly during the first few minutes,” he defended himself. “But, definitely, I would have accepted the baby. It’s my child, for goodness’ sake! How can I not accept him? Did you not think of that possibility?”

Eunsook, once again, flinched as if struck physically. She felt a fire spreading quickly in her chest; Minho only wanted their child. She was not included in the package. It has been four years and the love she felt for Minho was still strong enough to cause her pain with the knowledge that it was wholly unrequited. “I…”

“And now, he’s sick,” Minho pointed out. His anger was at its peak now, spilling over and coating his words with venom. He couldn’t care less about her feelings now. “Now, he’s dehydrated. He has fever and is confined in the hospital. You hid him from me and couldn’t even take good care of him?!”

The crisp sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the quiet rooftop. Eunsook’s palm has just connected sharply with Minho’s cheek, leaving a bright red handprint on the pale skin. Quickly, Eunsook retracted and cradled her hand close to her chest, twin streams of tears dripping down her face. Her lower lip quivered and her shoulders shook with repressed sobs. “How could you, Minho?” she whispered brokenly.

Wide eyed, Minho merely watched as his best friend bravely held more of her tears at bay and ran. He stubbornly refused to acknowledge the fact that he had no right to say those words to Eunsook and held on to his past pain, that was defiantly pointing out how much her decision from four years ago was heavier and much more unforgivable. However, on the other hand, he couldn't keep the small seed of excitement from growing inside his chest; Minki was his! He had helped create the small boy and the thought alone was enough for a strange warmth to spread throughout Minho's whole body, a small smile stretching across his lips.

After his lunch break, he would make sure to secure his position in the boy's life.

**more a/n: sorry for the super long absence. uni life happened and i don't regret focusing on it! now i'm on my summer break and haven't had the chance to find a summer job so til then, expect to get random updates from me. thanks for all the support and hope some of your questions were answered with this chapter! next chapter will reunite father and son. so stay tuned!! :)