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-- 10 Years later--

Suyun woke up as the sun peaking through the curtains landed right in her eyes which made sleeping very uncomfortable. She groaned and rolled out of bed, her hair a mess and her pyjamas nothing more than shorts and a tank top. While mumbling about being exhausted, Suyun walked over to the window and flung open the curtains. She looked out at the view of Seoul as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“It’s too early.” She complained and then went over to her large bed and quickly fixed the sheets. “My legs hurt….my back hurts….my everything hurts.” Suyun whined as she massaged her shoulders. She had started working out again which she had been happily avoiding for the last two years but now that she was gearing up for a comeback she needed to get back in some sort of healthy state. Her apartment was silent and feeling a little stuffy so Suyun opened her bedroom window and then walked out into the living room and opened the French doors that led out to the balcony. “Coffee coffee coffee~” Suyun quietly sang to herself as she dragged herself into the kitchen and started the coffee machine that was neatly tucked away in the corner of the kitchen counter. Suyun’s apartment was fairly large as it had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was neatly decorated with black and white furniture with pops of reds, blues and purples all around. On either side of the entertainment system in the living room were large cabinets with glass doors so many of her CD’s and awards could be proudly displayed for everyone to see. At first she thought it was a little vain to show off all of her achievements buts Jason convinced her that all of the Kpop singers did it and if she didn’t do it then she was going to be ridiculed for the rest of her life; so to get him shut up she made the cabinets. Something soft and purring rubbed itself against Suyun’s legs as she pulled two mugs out of the kitchen cupboard.

“Morning Bubba.” Suyun looked down at the large grey cat wrapped around her legs. Her cat looked up at her with his large yellow eyes and meowed. Knowing what he wanted she finished prepping the coffee and grabbed his food dish that was sitting against the wall. She got him food and as soon as she put it back on the ground he started munching on it as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Suyun then went about making breakfast which was going to consist of rice that she was going to freshly make, kimchi, chicken from dinner last night and two fried eggs. The front door opened at the same time the coffee machine beeped to tell her that it was ready. Suyun poured the two cups of coffee into the matching couple mugs.

“Morning.” A voice said in Suyun’s ear making her jump a little bit. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” He chuckled and then placed a kiss on her cheek.

“Oppa…I haven’t had coffee yet….you were three seconds away from being murdered.” Suyun jabbed her finger into Leo’s chest making him wince in pain. She handed him his coffee which he happily took and started sipping on. He took his gym bag that was slung over his shoulder and placed it in the small laundry room that was just off of the kitchen. Suyun saw Leo placed the coffee on the table and then slink away towards the bedrooms. ”Don’t you dare Jung Taekwoon! You need to have a shower first!” Suyun called out after him but it was useless. Leo had already opened on of the doors to the bedrooms and gone inside. Suyun sighed heavily and shook her head in disappointment but she just continued to cook breakfast with a small smile on her face. Normally Suyun wouldn’t cook breakfast since she generally hated all breakfast foods and would only eat some rice and maybe some chicken but since Leo was at the gym in the morning he obviously couldn’t do it. Three times a week Leo would go to the gym early in the morning since it was the only time he could get out and do it.

He had recently been working longer hours at Jellyfish as he was producing new songs for the girl group that they were currently promoting. Leo was also working on some songs for VIXX who were going to have a big comeback at the beginning of next year since they had been inactive for about three years since many of the members were off in the army. But now Hyuk, the baby of the group was thirty and had comeback from the army a week ago. The older boys had been working on solo activities for a while so getting back together with VIXX was an exciting project for them all. N had been doing lots of acting in daytime dramas and hosting his own radio show when he wasn’t busy boasting about his wife who he met on the set of one of his dramas and his son Doyeon who was born only two months ago. Ken was doing musicals almost constantly and was even doing teaching vocals at a charity ran music school for children; he was dating a volunteer at the music school who was two years older than him but had more aegyo than him which no one thought was possible. Ravi was currently promoting his second solo hip hop album that he fully produced and composed. When he wasn’t busy traveling around the world spreading the word of K-hiphop, he was casually dating a few women in the past years but no one seemed to last longer than a month as Ravi had a hard time finding someone who could fully support him and his hectic lifestyle. Hongbin was an international model who had appeared in American advertisements for clothing and sporting wear. He had a small role in a Hollywood movie that was really going to test his English speaking ability so Suyun found Hongbin was now constantly asking her questions and begging for lessons which she happily agreed to.

“Here comes my big boy~” Suyun called out when a few minutes later when Leo walked back into the kitchen with a very sleepy three year old boy. Leo was kissing his chubby cheeks and happily holding onto him even though Suyun’s arms were outstretched for him. “Taeil~” Suyun said and the little boy instantly leaned away from his father and whined while reaching out to his mother. Suyun scooped him away from Leo and hugged his tightly to her body.

“I feel so unloved.” Leo whined while he sat down at the table and started drinking his coffee again.

“Did you sleep well?” Suyun asked Taeil who rested his head on her shoulder.

“Yes.” He sleepily answered back and Suyun couldn’t help but hug him tighter and kiss the side of his head. Taeil was born almost one year after Suyun and Leo were married. Many people thought that they were getting married because she was pregnant but it just happened that a few months after they were married, Suyun found out she was pregnant. Taeil looked exactly like his father. He had cat like eyes and sharp features like Leo but had heart shaped lips and passive personality like Suyun. She set him in his high chair which was placed right between where Suyun and Leo normally ate.

“Here.” Suyun passed Leo a bib and he automatically took it and put it around Taeil’s neck. Suyun brought the tray for Taeil first which had the chicken, rice and one of the fried eggs. He picked up his childrens chopsticks and went to start eating.

“Taeil, remember what we said about waiting for your elders to eat first.” Leo said to Taeil who lowered his plastic chopsticks and just picked a piece of the shredded chicken in his hand.

“I’m just going to hold it.” Taeil assured his father who was watching him closely. Suyun then laid out the rest of the food and gave Leo the other egg since there was no way she was going to eat it since while she was cooking it the smell of it made her gag. She gave herself a small bowl of rice and some chicken then sat down at the table where the boys thanked her for the meal. The three of them comfortably ate their breakfasts while casually talking.

“Oh, don’t forget we are going to Juhee’s wedding next month.” Suyun said and Leo just nodded his head.

“Do we really HAVE to go?” He asked as a joke but Suyun just glared at him.

“I’m the maid of honour…of course we have to go.” Suyun said and Leo just chuckled. She would reach over once in and while and clean up the mess that Taeil was making as she thought about Juhee’s wedding. The leader of Love-E was finally getting married to a boy she had been dating for almost eight years. They had been friends since high school and he wasn’t a celebrity but Juhee fell madly in love with him when he visited her in the hospital after she had fainted once while overworking herself. Suyun was the only member of Love-E that was currently married but she wouldn’t be surprised if in the next five to seven years that all of the girls would end up married.

Gayun had officially dating Chanyeol from EXO for nine years and the only reason why they haven’t gotten married yet is because they can’t decide on whose apartment they would move into. When their relationship was ousted the kpop community exploded. Gayun had to make countless apologies to the fans and ask them to stop sending death threats to her since none of them were going to stop her from dating Chanyeol. She was hopelessly devoted to him but she was useless when it came to acting romantic which was a bit disappointing for Chanyeol at first but he grew use to being the one to say ‘I love you’ first and not holding her hand even when they were just with friends. Besides dating Chanyeol, Gayun has mostly focused on being a judge on a popular talent show and modeling. It kept her busy and helped paid the bills but Gayun admitted openly that she would drop everything if the chance to promote with Love-E ever presented itself.

Ara was a full-blown actress now as she appeared in multiple movies and highly popular dramas. She was considered one of the few successfully idol-actors in the kpop world. When she wasn’t appearing on variety shows or casually crashing N’s radio show when she would randomly call in and bug him, she was a Korean ambassador for the Hallyu Wave and was constantly traveling to other countries to promote Korea and its culture. Just recently, Suyun was told that her sweet baby angel Ara was dating a sports anchor who she had met at a casual dinner with cast and crew from the movie she was currently filming. The relationship was only about a month old but already fans were speculating that they were dating as they had been seen together on multiple occasions but yet no one has opened asked. They figured that the fans didn’t want to know since some of them still haven’t fully recovered from the news of Gayun and Chanyeol.

Suyun wasn’t sure when Love-E really stopped promoting together. The group wasn’t disbanded and none of the members left, it’s just that their personal lives and their dreams became different. For Suyun she wanted to be a stable parent for Taeil since Leo was still working full time. She still passionately loved performing and creating music and actually wrote her solo debut song that was going to come out in about five months’ time if everything worked out well. Whenever the five girls would meet up, which would be about two times a month, they always talked about wanting to promote as Love-E again but then they would talk about what was keeping them from it. Work, family, too busy. It was the same thing every time and none of them could blame or judge each other, this was just how their life was now.

“Sam,” Suyun said and Taeil looked up from his mostly completed breakfast. “Aunt Hanbi is coming to get you soon. It’s time to get cleaned up.” She stood from her chair and walked over to Taeil who was already climbing out of his high chair. The couple had a hard time deciding if their son would have an English name or a Korean name. In the end they decided to give him a Korean name legally and a English name that he could use when they went to LA or if he was meeting foreigners. Suyun had been speaking to Taeil in English since he was born and luckily he seemed to have picked it up fairly easily. He could only speak in Korean but he fully understood what Suyun was saying in English. Suyun and Leo had been talking about it for years about what kind of school he would go to and what they would like for him to do in the future. Leo wanted him to be an athlete which is why Taeil was signed up in a special day care where the kids got to play games like soccer and gymnastics all day. But Suyun won the battle with the choice of school he went to and they decided to enroll Taeil in an international school that took in children as young as six. His name was already on the waiting list to get in and because of Suyun and Leo’s names and reputation it was very likely that he would be let in. Taeil was going to be bilingual even if Suyun had to force him.

“Aunt Hanbi~ Aunt Hanbi~” Taeil cheered as he ran down the hallway and into his bedroom. He threw himself onto his bed and rolled around as Leo walked in after him. The connection between Taeil and Hanbi was undeniably strong. Suyun thought that maybe while she was pregnant with Taeil she passed on some of her love for Hanbi to him. Suyun started cleaning up the dishes when she heard a knock on the front door.

“Coming!” She said as she ran to the door, her hands still dripping wet. Suyun opened the door with her wrist and standing there was Hanbi with a smile on her face. “You know the passcode, why didn’t you let yourself in?” Suyun groaned in frustration as she hurried back to finish the dishes.

“I forgot, sorry.” Hanbi casually walked in after Suyun. Almost every day Hanbi would come to the apartment to visit everyone. Out of the five Love-E members, they were the only ones in constant communication. Hanbi would come over when Taeil was first born and watch him so Suyun could have a shower or even a nap. Now that he was a bit older she would take him to daycare or even to festivals or petting zoos if Suyun and Leo couldn’t spend time with him. Hanbi was like a second mother figure to Taeil and they absolutely adored each other. Suyun would say she was jealous if Taeil wasn’t a mothers boy and clung to her constantly.

“Want something to eat? I can cook you up something really fast.” Suyun said as she looked over Hanbi who sat down at the table. It had only been three days since she last saw her but she looked so different. When Hanbi was a teenager she was willowy and cat like in her appearance and attitude but she was so different as a young adult. She had filled out and her body was envied by many which might be why she was a model for bras and swimwear. But as Suyun looked her over she couldn’t help but think she was looking too thin.

“Sure, I’m a little hungry.” Hanbi admitted as she pulled out her phone and laid it on the table and stared at the screen as if she were waiting for something amazing to happen. Suyun poured Hanbi a cup of lemon tea and set it in front of her before pulling out the leftover that they had and putting that on the table again. She sat beside her and looked at her younger friend who hadn’t moved an inch in the five minutes she has been sitting down.

“Have another fight with Hongbin?”  Suyun asked and Hanbi just sighed heavily. For the past ten years Hanbi and Hongbin have been dating on and off as they seemed to break up after a year and a half then a few months later get back together. The fans have only known about them for the past three years and have already had to deal with one of their breakups and makeups.

“He said he never wants to get married but he wants children. I told him I wouldn’t have kids until I’m married.” Hanbi took a sip on the tea and angrily glared at her phone.

“You two really need to stop fighting.” Suyun rubbed her temples as she could have sworn that she had heard this argument multiple times before.

“I can’t help it! He’s an idiot.” Hanbi folded her arms across her chest.

“All men are idiots, it’s something that you just have to learn to accept.” Since Hanbi wasn’t really eating her food Suyun started picking at it and eating it.

“What do you and Taekwoon oppa do to make up after a fight?” Hanbi asked and Suyun just shrugged.

“We don’t really fight.” Suyun calmly aid back but Hanbi just rolled her eyes. “No, seriously. The last time we had a big fight was before he went off into the army.” Suyun could see that Hanbi was starting to feel a little bad that she and Hongbin seemed to be fighting constantly. “Want some advice?” Suyun asked and Hanbi eagerly nodded her head. “You and Hongbin need to write up lists of everything you want or need to talk about. Children, marriage, work, anything. Then sit down and talk about those things in depth with each other and if by the end of the lists you both decide it’s not going to work, then it’s seriously not going to work.”

“I guess you’re right.” Hanbi said with a heavy sigh until she heard the bedroom door open and the sound of little feet running towards them. “IS THAT MY TAEILLIE~” Hanbi cried out as she jumped from her seat.

“Aunt Hanbi!” Taeil yelled out and ran to her with open arms. She scooped him up into a tight hug and spun him around the room and his sweet little giggles filled the apartment. Leo came out as well looking exhausted as he surely had to wrestle with Taeil to change into his clothes.

“Ready to go to daycare?” Hanbi asked Taeil who nodded his head. “Okay, say goodbye to mommy and daddy.” Hanbi went over to Leo who kissed Taeil then she went over to Suyun. She reached out and kissed her son a few times before Hanbi whisked him off to the front door with his backpack, helped him put on his shoes and then were out the door. As soon as the door was closed Leo wrapped his arms around Suyun and nuzzled his face into the nook of her neck.

“I’m tired.” He muttered.

“Then go to bed.” She flicked his forehead and Leo whined in protest. After clinging onto her for a few minutes Leo finally shuffled off to the bedroom to have a nap before he had to go back to work. Suyun sat on the couch in the living room and looked at the large photo hanging beside the trophy cabinets. It was Suyun and Leo on their wedding day. All of his family was on one side and Suyun’s was on the other. Daniel, Hannah and their young daughter Cassidy were all smiling happily with Daniel having the widest smile of them all. He had come a long way from the brooding, author, playboy that he used to be. He was still an author and one of his books was in the process of being turned into a movie, but now he was happily devoted to Hannah and was an absolute fool for his daughter. Anything that Cassidy wanted, Daniel would do for her.

A little further left in the picture was Jason and a very pregnant Zhu Li who had her hands casually resting on her stomach. Two months after the wedding picture was taken Zhu Li gave birth to two little boys, Thomas and Dylan. Suyun never saw much of her nephews since Jason and Zhu Li still live in LA to watch over their father who spoiled all four of his grandchildren. Suyun then looked around the apartment and let out a content sigh.

“Mom….I’m really happy…” Suyun said peacefully as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back to rest. She had a happy and healthy family and that was all she really wanted. Suyun felt loved by so many people that everyday felt like a dream. She was happy and planned to stay like this for the rest of her long life. 

The End

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