Today was her first ultrasound. Nana had reassured him she could go alone but Chanyeol had insisted on tagging along.

He drove over to her place with the intention of driving her himself, but as soon as the idea materialized in his head, she quickly swatted him away from the driver’s seat.

“I’m not helpless, you know,” she chuckled, although he sensed a bit of irritation in her voice.

He complied with her wishes and walked over to the passenger seat where he quietly sat down. A navy blue dress embellished the small curves of her body and a sophisticated high bun sat atop her head. She was stunning but of course he did not have the courage to voice his thoughts. 

As he watched her drive, he couldn’t help but wonder how such fragile fingers could exert so much pressure on a steering wheel. She looked skinnier, he thought. Maybe it was because of the morning sickness that hit her every so often. Maybe it was because she wasn’t sleeping well. She hardly voiced her problems and as a result, Chanyeol’s worries intensified. As the concerns increased, his eyes landed on the culprit of it all, the baby in her belly.

She wasn’t showing at all but Chanyeol thought it was remarkable that in 6 months’ time, Nana would be a mother, holding a boy or a girl (he hoped it was a girl) and rocking her baby to sleep. Just the thought of it warmed his heart.

Jealousy, however, was another emotion that rivaled his warm feelings. He wished the child was his. It would give him more security that he could be a part of their lives if he had been the father of her baby. It was obvious now that he was just a friend to her, but it didn’t fail to cross his mind that once Jonghyun returned, would he even allow Chanyeol to be near his child and potential ex-turned-girlfriend. Had he been in this situation, would Chanyeol himself allow another man into his child’s life? Probably not.

He sighed. Nana peeked at her friend and did not fail to notice that something was shrouding Chanyeol’s mind.

“Is it about your girlfriend?”

It took a good 5 seconds for Chanyeol to snap out of it and understand that Nana was implying that he was having issues with Heize.

“You could say that…not really. It’s confusing.” He sighed dejectedly. It was true that he had no clue in which direction his relationship with Heize was going, but for some reason, that seemed to be least of his problems.

“Do you like her?” She asked bluntly.

His eyes grew wide, and he became flustered, because he had never been asked such a question. Even so, he knew that he loved Heize, so he nodded.

“Does she like you?”

He felt a surge of self-doubt shoot through him. As embarrassing and ridiculous as it was, he was not sure if she really did like like him. Was he a bad boyfriend? Were women incapable of liking him? Still, he couldn’t admit that to Nana so he nodded once more.

“At least I think so…,” he added.

Chanyeol noticed that Nana’s stance completely changed after he admitted that another girl liked him. Her grip on the wheel became tighter and for the rest of the ride to the hospital, she stayed silent, quietly soaking her ears with a shuffled playlist of After School’s and EXO’s songs.   

Her beauty had always been undeniable. It wasn’t a surprise she had won Most Beautiful Face in the world. But there was something about her that was even more beautiful now that she was carrying a child.

He tried to avoid her gaze as they sat in the waiting room, busying himself with a magazine about cars. When Nana was called in, he followed quietly behind her, receiving giggles and knowing stares from the nurses. Maybe they were his fans, Chanyeol wondered with rosy coloured cheeks.  

 “How are you, Miss Im?”

Nana replied that she was feeling well.

“And you are?”

Chanyeol was opening his mouth to speak when the doctor assumed that he was the father of the child.

His face reddened immediately, but Nana dismissed the assumption.

“He’s just an old friend.”

Just a…just a friend. Although they had agreed to these terms, he couldn’t help feeling the uneasy pang in his stomach reminding him of the past and the sad truth that he was friendzoned forever.

Before starting, the gynecologist discussed the painless procedure with Nana.

Chanyeol was in awe as soon as the black and white image appeared on the machine. “That’s the fetus,” the doctor acknowledged, smiling.  “And that it the baby’s heart,” the doctor pointed to the monitor. The sound echoed through the room, bouncing off the white walls, faint at first but growing stronger and clearer with each beat. The sound had taken full control of him. His ears were ringing. Words could not explain his wonder.  His eyes found Nana’s, and she was mirroring his expression, but with tears escaping her eyes.

“Quite amazing isn’t it?” the doctor spoke for the speechless individuals.

Nana thanked the doctor, smiling and wiping her tears. Chanyeol stood at her side and helped her up. He couldn’t explain the feeling in his chest. Working as a composer, he had played and heard a variety of sounds, but that heartbeat was the most spellbinding beat he had ever heard.

She was 5 months along now. The media outlets had not yet reported her pregnancy and Jonghyun was also in the dark about it. Heize and Dean were still on tour, and Chanyeol ended up visiting Nana almost every other day.

They were watching the cooking channel and the show comprised of an Italian menu. Nana unconsciously her lips at the scene before her.

Chanyeol didn’t fail to notice the subtle movement and smiled warmly at her.  

Cravings? He wondered.

“Should we have pasta tonight?”

Nana looked at him in bewilderment, as if he had read her thoughts.

Her tummy growled in the next few seconds, and she looked away in embarrassment.

Chanyeol took that for an answer. And he knew the perfect place in all of Seoul for Italian dining: his mother’s restaurant.

“Your noodles are here,” Chanyeol’s mom announced, setting down both their noodles and then taking a seat beside her son, who sat opposite of Nana.

She watched her son’s ex-girlfriend eat the food deliciously and she couldn’t be happier. When Nana and Chanyeol were dating, Nana was very cautious about her calories and her weight, as she had to keep her feather-light and thin model body in order to maintain a ridiculous weight. But now she ate to her heart’s content, and it made Mrs. Park’s eyes crinkle in happiness.

“You look very beautiful, Jinah,” Mrs. Park praised, her arms folded on the table.  “Chanyeol said you were glowing and he really wasn’t exaggerating, like he usually does.” She elbowed her son who was staring at his feet in embarrassment.

Nana ate quickly and swallowed her food, as if she hadn’t eaten in days, which wasn’t a far-fetched assumption as he had seen her do that countless times before, avoiding food and counting her calories.

After the meal, Nana carefully brought the dishes back to the restaurant and thanked Chanyeol’s mom for always taking care of her, regardless of his relationship with her son.

“I consider you like a daughter,” she revealed genuinely, causing Chanyeol’s ears to turn red.   

Nana was filled so much emotion at the statement, she began to cry and Mrs. Park slowly put her arms around her, hugging her as long as she needed to be held.

After cleaning up the dishes and thanking Chanyeol’s mom for satisfying her cravings, they were preparing to head back to Nana’s apartment when Mrs. Park sighed dejectedly.

“I wish you two could stay longer. Yura’s away for her news anchor training so I feel very lonely.”

Chanyeol and Nana shared an uncomfortable look, not sure what to do. Chanyeol would love to leave all of his responsibilities and be babied by his mother and eat her cooking, but he also didn’t want to inconvenience Nana, considering they weren’t even dating. Besides she was pregnant and she was most comfortable at home, where everything was where she needed it to be.

“Sorry mom but…”

“We’ll keep you company!” Nana interjected, leaving Chanyeol’s eyes to widen in surprise. He was definitely not expecting that.

As soon as they got home, Mrs. Park quickly began re-arranging Yura’s room to better fit Nana’s pregnancy needs. As the older woman scrambled to get medications and hot tea in her night robe, Nana thought that how could someone love someone else’s daughter so much.

Overwhelmed, she went over to the frantic woman, and gave her another hug.

“It’s okay auntie. I’m totally comfortable. You can go to bed now.”

Understanding came across Mrs. Park’s face as she realized that she was going a bit overboard.

“Okay dear. Good night,” she smiled warmly squeezing her hand in response and leaving Chanyeol and Nana alone the room.

Chanyeol stood under the threshold of the door, impatiently leaning on one foot and switching to the other, like a little kid who had to use the bathroom.

“What is it?” Nana said, her back turned towards him as she straightened out the creases in the comforter.

“I was thinking since it’s still early…want to watch a movie…in my room?”

No sound was heard and as the seconds passed by, Chanyeol focused on his big toes, averting his gaze completely as another red flare embedded itself on his cheeks.

Nana saw his embarrassment and she chuckled. “Was it that hard to ask your friend who happens to be a girl to watch a movie?” She put her hand on her hips and shook her head at the hopelessness of Chanyeol ever being manly. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that you are no longer a vir-“ She stopped abruptly at the unconscious remark that she almost made.

The night where he lost his ity to her. She was his first time. She didn’t need to ask to find out.

That was not a conversation she was ready to face…yet.

He looked at her with sad brown eyes, his insecurities stirring up inside of him and questions lingering at the tip of his tongue. Why had she given up on him? Why had she ended things like that? The night that had marked his first step into manhood. 

Before he could even muster the courage to ask anything about the unspoken night, she started walking towards him, and stopped eye-level in front of him. Chanyeol was nervous, his hands and feet were getting clammy and he gulped at her intense stare. To his surprise, Nana shot him a quick grin before grabbing his hand in hers and leading him across the hallway to his room.

In an instant, all questions were forgotten and he just focused on the fact that Nana’s fingers were tangled in his. All sounds ceased to exist except for the sound of his wild heartbeat.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading and commenting :)