Chapter 8.5

"And that was the beginning of our lives as lovers. There may had been many obstacles we faced after we revealed to the world our relationship but it didn't stop us from fighting for it. To my bride, I want to express my gratitude to you for many things and I am quite sure that it will take a very, very long time if I mention everything so I'll only mention a few. Firstly, thank you for coping with GaemKyu. He may be well known to fans as the best gamer in the idol world and the evil maknae but this evil maknae loves you so much and he will continue to love you for the rest his life. That's why you are the perfect match for me because you are the innocent and angelic maknae of Girls' Generation who alone can tame evil Kyuhyun.

"I went to the army, you had insecurities of our relationship not lasting long but you will be happy to know that I felt the same. I want to thank you for waiting two years patiently and visiting me during the time I spent serving our country. Don't worry, you will always be in the center of my heart... even our future children won't be able to replace your position.

"For as long as I can remember, you cooked for me, you took care of me while I was sick, you helped me with composing music, you recommended me a lot of books, you coordinated my clothes, you always reminded me of drinking moderately, you were there at every single one of my solo concert, you were beside me when I was down, you brought more brightness to my world and made my life complete. What I have mentioned are all in the past tense but I hope you will continue to be by my side as my one and only wife for a very long time, until we are old and crinkly and spoiling our granchildren rotten. A simple thank you is never enough for all of these. Instead, I will appreciate every single day of my life starting today and love you as much as you love me.

"I won't forget to thank the producers and directors who offered projects to Joohyun and I. It was where everything really started. Those times planted something in my heart that grew into something beautiful. This is so cheesy and this is because of you, wifey.

"To my mother-in-law and father-in-law, I will take care of your loving daughter until I take my last breath. I will keep your promise of giving me a hit if ever I make her cry. I will accept it like a man so don't worry because I will never run away no matter how scary Joohyun can be.

"Lastly to my bride Joohyun, we don't know what the future will hold but I am confident that I will always love you no matter what. I will always be by your side no matter how tough life gets so let's be happy. I love you, honey."

The audience in the hall applauded after the groom's speech during reception. The bride was at the front, overlooking the guests, a bit teary but despite that she was beautiful. Kyuhyun could not keep his eyes off her from the second she walked down the aisle at the start of the ceremony. All one thousand guests did not miss this.

Yup. One thousand.

Most celebrities preferred their wedding to be private and this couple also done that. Except this couple was different. They also had a 'public' one. The difference? Family and close friends were the only ones invited on the private one. In the public one, they invited a limited number of fans as well as the rest of the celebrity world.

Kyuhyun returned to his seat beside his wife. His face felt very warm and was sure that he was blushing red. Seohyun's hand reached out to hold his and he interlocked them.

"That was a bit embarassing, wasn't it?" he asked sheepishly.

She giggled, "You were perfect. In fact, you don't deserve me."

His head whipped towards her with widened eyes.

"A while ago," she started. "While I was listening to you it made me think of a lot of things. Most people said I'm the ideal wife and mother. I maybe am but I'm still lacking on a lot of things. My rejection to your first proposal half a year ago was all about my flaws. I pushed you away countless of times but you still kept coming back to me. Technically, it should be me who should ask for you to stay with me. I should be the one to say that endless list."

Seohyun realized she was blabbing on so she stopped. A trait that appeared shortly after Kyuhyun's proposal.

He let go of her hand and placed his arms around her, rubbing her upper arm.

"Let's not suffer anymore. I chose you. My heart chose you. The thought of you rejecting my second proposal just drove me nuts for days. I'm glad you didn't."

Reception continued until late at night and the couple couldn't stay longer because they might miss their flight to one of their honeymoon destinations. SM Entertainment's founder and the company's father figure Lee Sooman financed their full honeymoon, including plane tickets to the Maldives, Switzerland and Thailand. He also paid for their hotels and the photographers who would take pictures during their sweet time for their honeymoon photo album. They were also in the next edition of 'The Celebrity'.

Time flew fast and before they knew it, it was work time once again. Super Junior was doing promotions for their comeback and there was another SMTOWN concert when Seohyun started showing symptoms. She was sleeping constantly and her appetite changed. From time to time, she would feel nauseous and she ignored it, believing that it was a cold.

Seohyun ran backstage to lock herself in the toilet as she puked her guts out. She may had been out of shape during the concert but there was no time to even think about it. Her body was tired but she had to give her all for the return of all second generation SMTOWN artists.

She walked out sluggishly and hoped that nobody saw her sick body. To her dismay, Kyuhyun was outside.

"Are you okay?" he asked, very concerned. Why wouldn't he? Seohyun was the type of woman who kept everything to herself because she believed that she could take care of herself. One time before they got married, Kyuhyun was supposed to have dinner with his family when Seohyun caught a severe cold. She insisted that he go to the dinner despite his persistent plea to stay with her. After the long argument he gave in. A few hours later, he got a call from her manager saying that she collapsed.

"I'm okay," she replied as she closed her eyes and concentrated on not gagging.

"Don't lie to me Seo Joohyun. Your face says the complete opposite."

"My face didn't say anything."

He sighed. He was getting a lot more worried but nobody could stop her. Even if he told her to stop performing, she would still do it.

"Come on, honey. Have a twenty minute sleep and then you will feel better."

"No, I will miss my act."

"No, you will not. There are four groups who will perform and that is definitely more than twenty minutes. Don't worry, I'll wake you up."

In the dressing room, the couple cuddled in the couch. They were in their own little world and nobody could disturb them. He brushed her locks gently with his fingers as she fell asleep. And twenty and a bit minutes later, he woke her up, just as planned. Unluckily, she was not feeling better. In fact, she was feeling a lot worse but the show must go on. As soon as she stepped on the stage, her professionalism surfaced.

The after party was awful for her. Her condition continued to worsen. Most of the time, her head was on Kyuhyun's lap. She refused to return home despite feeling rotten.

"Honey, you should go for a check-up," Kyuhyun suggested as he caressed her hair. "You are not feeling any better even after drinking your medicine."

Seohyun couldn't response right away. Despite feeling very horrible, Kyuhyun's lap gave her the best comfort. She was too comfortable and fatigued to answer so she just nodded.

The next day, they went to the doctor for a check-up. Seohyun then decided to have her regular general check-up. It had been a year since her last one. Kyuhyun wasn't with her because of his busy schedules.

"I have your reports back, Joohyun-ssi," said the doctor who has checked her health for years. "Your BMI is bordering abnormal but it is understandable. The rest are fine."

"It was just the flu, wasn't it?" she asked.

"No, it wasn't fortunately. There are other reasons why you are feeling sick."

"W-what is it?" she inquired, getting all worried.

"You're pregnant."

Those two words took her breath away. They were trying to have a child but they didn't expect it to be this soon. With Girls' Generation's upcoming comeback, she didn't know what to do. How would her members and the company feel? How would Kyuhyun react?

As she drove home, she was feeling scared yet excited at the same. Scared because she may not be able to take care of her child properly. Her reputation as 'an idol who is an ideal wife and mother' didn't give her enough confidence. Her excitement was over the roof. She was going to have a baby, a baby born from their love. She even bothered going to a shop to buy a picture frame just to put the sonogram image. She placed it in a box and wrapped it in wrapping paper, like a present.

Loud banging of steel, what she assumed were the kitchen utensils, echoed around the house. Kyuhyun was at the kitchen preparing some simple lunch since he wasn't that good at cooking unlike his wife.

As soon as her eyes landed on his back, she ran towards him and gave him a tight back hug.

He chuckled, "Welcome home, giant. Your footsteps shook the whole apartment complex."

"We'll I'm sorry you married a giant."

He laughed as he continued to prepare their lunch, "So how was your check-up?"

"It was okay. Too bad you weren't there," she whispered at the last sentence in relief or else how would she able to do this surprise event for him.

"My schedule couldn't be changed and I just arrived half an hour ago."

A grin appeared on her face.

"For my hard-working hubby," she opened and took out the present hand handed it to him. "I have a surprise present for you."

Kyuhyun wiped his hands clean before accepting the present.

"What's inside?" he asked.

"Why would I tell you? It's called a present for a reason."

He peeled off the wrapper and opened the box underneath.

"No way..."

"Yes way."

"You are... Y-you..."

"Yes, I am."

Cho Dahyun was born 35 weeks later as a healthy baby boy. Labour may had been tough for Seohyun but as soon as she heard her son wailing, she forgot all the pain and all she felt was an unexplainable wave of happiness.

"My Dahyunnie," a high-pitched voice woke the sleeping baby.

She was resting from the exhausting labour and lack of sleep until her mother-in-law came in surprising not only her but also the sleeping Dahyun. "Hello Mom." Seohyun greeted her mother-in-law.

"Mom, you're here," Kyuhyun said, carrying little Dahyun who was in the midst of going back to sleep. "Meet Cho Dahyun."

Kyuhyun handed the baby over to Granny Cho and she gladly took the infant and cooed at him. Her husband and Seohyun's parents came in not long after and they surrounded the baby, debating on who he looked alike between his parents. Dahyun was the spotlight and completely ignored his parents for a while. Kyuhyun sat beside Seohyun and wrapped an arm around her. She let her head leaned against his chest.

"I guess we are no longer the apple in their eyes," he stated, pointing at the crowd of grandparents in front of them. Both their smiles reached from one ear to the other because their family has only beginning to form.