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 7 months. 

 

Kibum sighed in frustration as he looked back at his reflection in his bedroom mirror. He noted that his cheeks had gotten a bit pudgier in the past few months with no signs of stopping. He could've sworn he saw a double chin forming, but Minho would be the first one to tell him he's being delusional. 

 

Another thing Kibum noted was that there was no point in wearing jeans anymore, sweats being his new best friend, because they were so hard to get into and even harder to get out of. Though he'd been pregnant twice before, he could never get used to the way his body changed so drastically, especially being seven months along. His stomach is no longer barely visible. No matter what clothing he wore, it's easy to tell he's very pregnant with the way his belly rounds out. 

 

It hasn't all been bad though. Lately, he's been able to feel the baby kick and move around. Though it makes him feel nauseous at times, it always brings a smile to his face because he knows his baby girl is actively healthy. Minho gets just as excited every time he gets to feel her kick his hand. As for the boys, it freaks them out to know they were once inside of Kibum's womb doing the exact same thing. However, they are also excited to have a little sister. 

 

The only thing Kibum can say has changed for the better is his and Minho's lives. Ever since their moment in the bath tub some months ago, the couple had only grown closer and Kibum more comfortable. Minho had taken the doctor's advice to heart and always did what he could to make Kibum feel beautiful and comfortable with his own body when having . Now that no longer was a problem. 

 

Kibum poked his cheek again while saying, "I should definitely work out."

 

Minho walked in the room shirtless, startling Kibum. He walked up behind him and kissed his cheek before asking, "Are you body-shaming yourself again?"

 

Kibum shrugged lightly. "It's hard not to, especially when you're jealous of your own husband."

 

Minho chuckled. "Jealous? Why would you be jealous of me?"

 

Kibum huffed. "It's hard not to when you're always walking around shirtless. Put some damn clothes on!" 

 

Minho burst out laughing, not being able to take Kibum seriously. "But I thought you liked seeing me like this. You don't seem to put up a fuss when we're in bed," he ended with a smirk. 

 

Kibum rolled his eyes. "I could punch you right now."

 

"But you love me too much?"

 

Kibum snickered. "Don't put words in my mouth."

 

"Alright. I'll just put something else in your mouth," he whispered suggestively. 

 

Kibum scoffed before chuckling. "You're disgusting. What has gotten into you?"

 

Minho pushed himself closer into Kibum as he said, "Oh, come on. Now is the perfect time. The kids aren't home yet. Plus, it's been awhile." 

 

Kibum turned around in Minho's arms. He was about to reply when they both heard the front door slam shut. "Well, I guess we're not alone anymore."

 

After Minho threw on a shirt, they both headed downstairs to see Taemin aggressively kicking off his shoes before rushing past them to head upstairs to his room. It was obvious that he was in a bad mood. 

 

"Taemin, come back here," Key called out, a little ticked off because everyone knows he doesn't like them slamming doors. 

 

Taemin slowly trekked back downstairs stopping at the entry way of the living room. "Yes," he mumbled. 

 

Kibum looked at Minho with confusion before reiterating, "Come here."

 

Taemin came into the living room slowly, dragging his feet with his head down. 

 

Minho asked, "Is there something wrong?" Taemin shook his head no, but continued to stare at the floor. "Lift your head."

 

Tae sighed before slowly lifting his head, avoiding their gazes. 

 

Kibum let out a sharp gasp, bring a hand to his mouth, as he observed the very noticeable bruise on Taemin's cheek which was accompanied by what looked to be dried up tears. 

 

Before the two worried parents could say anything, Taemin mumbled, "It's not as bad as it looks."

 

Kibum took a closer look to examine the damage before asking, "Taemin, what happened? Who did this to you?"

 

He shrugged out of Kibum's hold with an abrupt, "No one," before trying to stomp off. 

 

Before he could, Minho swiftly grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "Yah, don't walk off on us while we're talking to you. That's rude. Now please, can you explain what happened? We're worried about you."

 

Taemin sighed, not being able to deny his parents' concern. "Some stupid kid at school did it. It's ok though. He's a jerk to everyone."

 

"Some kid?" Kibum asked. 

 

"No, Tae." Minho kneeled down to Tae level. "It's not ok, bud. And whoever did this, we're not letting him get away with this. What happened that led up to this?"

 

Taemin hesitated to tell the story. He didn't want the situation to escalate anymore than it already has. However, he knew his parents wouldn't let the situation go. So he decided to explain. 

 

"This kid named Chanyeol. He's a grade above me and he's known for bullying others. He never bothered me until now. Lately, he's been picking on me for being too pretty, saying I look more like a girl than a boy."

 

"Honey," said Kibum. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

 

"Because those were just words. I was never affected by what he said because he's easy to ignore, but today just went differently. When me and Jongin were walking from the bus stop, and he came up to me and was like 'I want to mess up your pretty face,' then he punched me. After that, I ran home crying. I think Jongin stayed behind to defend me. I don't know. I just don't want to deal with it."

 

Kibum was seething. Who would have the nerve to not only bully, but actually harm Taemin? He was the sweetest kid. To make matters worse, Kibum knew Chanyeol's mom personally. The Park family lived further up in the neighborhood, closer to the school's bus stop. He definitely planned on paying her a visit. There was no way Kibum was going to let this slide. 

 

"That's it." Key said abruptly. He walked to the door, more like wobbled, and grabbed his car keys on the wall hook. 

 

 As he struggled to put on his shoes, Minho panicked. "Kibum, what do you think you're doing?!"

 

"I'm going to his school to fix this mess! Like hell am I going to sit here and let my child get bullied." 

 

"No!" Taemin nearly cried. "You're only going to make it worse! That's why I didn't want to tell you anything!" He stormed off upstairs to his room. 

 

Minho winced as Taemin's room door slammed shut. He directed his attention to his husband who was standing at the door looking torn. "See what you did there?" 

 

It was meant to be a light-hearted comment, but due to Kibum being far along in his pregnancy with hormones and stress colliding, it was the last thing Kibum wanted to hear. 

 

"See what I did? Are you ing kidding me? What about what you did?"

 

Minho stared wide-eyed and dumbfounded at Kibum's outburst. "What did I do?"

 

"You're the one that suggested they start taking the bus from their after school program because 'it's not that long of a ride' and because 'they can enjoy the scenery'. I should've known that was a load of bull! All of this could've been avoided if we would've just kept picking them up."

 

"But, Kibum, you know the reason we originally agreed on it was because of how far along you are. I don't want you driving and risking anything."

 

Kibum scoffed, "Risk anything? The only thing I'm risking now is the safety of my children. I'm not going to allow this , Minho. I'm not."

 

Minho sighed, trying to be rational.  "I don't think that's what Taemin wants-"

 

"It's not about what Taemin wants. It's about what'll keep him and Jongin safe. Do you even care about that?!"

 

"Look, what I'm saying is maybe you should wait a minute before reporting this. At least until tomorrow-"

 

"Tomorrow? Minho, I need to go now-"

 

"It's after school hours anyway, Key. It would be a wasted drive."

 

Just as Kibum is about to argue back, the front door opens slowly before it closes, revealing Jongin. Kibum immediately embraced him in a hug, though his belly was in the way, thankful that his youngest was safe. 

 

"Uh, nice to see you too umma," Jongin said awkwardly. 

 

Kibum pulled back to examine Jongin's face, relieved to see that he looked unharmed. He kissed his forehead before saying, "I was so worried about you."

 

Minho and Kibum sat with Jongin in the living room to hear his side of the story. 

 

Jongin explained,"I couldn't just stand there and let him do that to my brother. So after Tae ran off, I punched the kid in the face. I was going to punch him again, but then he started crying and saying he was sorry. I was really confused, but I guess he wasn't expecting me to hit him. And now my hand is sore," he said as he raised his hand. 

 

Kibum sighed as he rubbed his son's shoulder. This was too much for him to handle. 

 

Minho ruffled Jongin's hair lightly before saying, "What you did was very brave. I'm proud of you for standing up for your brother."

 

"You guys aren't mad? I'm not grounded?"

 

Minho shook his head. "No, you're not. Though we always tell you guys fighting is wrong, I can't get mad at you for retaliating against someone who harmed Taemin. To be honest, I probably would've done the same thing if I were in your shoes."

 

"Really?" Jongin smiled. "Have you ever been in a fight before, dad?"

 

Minho laughed as he thought back on his childhood. "Plenty, but then again, I wasn't as great of a child as you are. Please continue to be a good person, Jongin."

 

Jongin nodded. "I promise I will."

 

"And no more fights," Kibum said exasperatedly. 

 

"No more fights, umma," Jongin answered as he hugged Kibum. 

 

Key smiled and rushed to get some ice for Jongin's sore hand. Meanwhile, Minho went upstairs to talk to Taemin. He knew the boy must've been feeling all sorts of emotions right now. He wanted him to know that he could talk to him if he had anything to say that he didn't want Kibum to know. 

 

Minho knocked on Taemin's door before slightly opening it. Taemin lied in his bed with his back turned to the door. "Taemin?"

 

"Hmm," he hummed to let Minho know he was awake. 

 

Minho approached his bed and sat on it. "Let's talk."

 

Taemin groaned and hid his head under a pillow. "About what? You know the story. I got hit and ran off like a coward. The end."

 

Minho sighed, not sure how to handle an angsty tween. He reached out and laid a gentle hand on Taemin's arm. "You're not a coward."

 

He scoffed. "You're my dad. You're supposed to say that."

 

"But it's true. Think of it like this. If Jongin was the one getting bullied and he ran off, would you call him a coward?"

 

"But that's the thing," Taemin said as he came out from under his pillow to look at Minho. "Jongin's not a coward. He didn't run away. He stayed behind while I ran away. I'm the big brother, but I can't even do something as simple as defend myself. I had to depend on my little brother to do that. That's being a coward in my eyes, dad."

 

"Listen. You shouldn't feel bad about this situation. The only one allowed to feel bad is that Chanyeol kid. He's the one that's in the wrong, not you. And I swear if I was there, I would've kicked his ing myself."

 

Taemin's eyes widened in shock because he rarely heard Minho curse. It made him really listen to what Minho was saying. 

 

"Tae, you may not be my biological son, but you're still my son in my eyes. Though I'm calm on the outside, I'm raging on the inside. Just hearing that someone bullied you had me on edge, let alone actually hitting you. You mean so much to me. You and Jongin. I don't want either one of you to be ashamed of either standing up for yourselves or walking away from the situation. You aren't a punching bag, and I'm not going to allow you to be."

 

Taemin stayed quiet as he let what Minho said sink in. His dad had a point, many points. Though he still felt helpless, he was beginning to see that he shouldn't feel like a coward because he didn't do anything wrong. 

 

He sat up slowly and gave Minho a hug, snuggling under his chin. Minho welcomed the skinship and they sat in comfortable silence until Minho heard sniffles coming from Taemin. He looked down to see his shoulders shaking lightly. 

 

"Taemin, what's wrong?"

 

Taemin sobbed, finally relaying his feelings. "I was so scared, dad. I'd never been in a fight before and didn't know what to do. My cheek still hurts and I never want to get into a fight ever again."

 

Minho's heart broke as he witnessed Taemin break down in front of him. He smoothed the back of Taemin's head before whispering, "It's ok, Taemin. It's ok. I'm here. I'm going to make sure this never happens again. Part of doing that is me having to talk to Chanyeol's parents and the school. Now, I know you don't want me and Kibum to get involved, but if we don't, things could get worse. You understand right?" Taemin sniffed and nodded his head. 

 

Minho sighed in relief. "I'll let you rest up before dinner. Don't forget to put some ice on your cheek ok?"

 

He nodded again and lied back down on his pillow. "Thanks, dad."

 

Minho smiled as he walked towards the door, "Anytime."

 

 

When Taemin came down for dinner, the first thing he did was hug his brother. After being to himself in his room for so long, he had time to think about the whole situation, and he admired that Jongin stood up for him. 

 

"Thanks, Jongin," he whispered as he pulled away from their hug. Kibum and Minho looked on with smiles on their faces. 

 

Jongin gasped, "Your face." This was the first time he got to see Taemin fully after the incident. 

 

"Your hand," Taemin commented as he looked at Taemin's bandaged right hand. 

 

They both chuckled at the situation before sitting at the dinner table. 

 

 

Dinner went by like any normal one. Kibum held back from bringing up the incident when he saw smiles on his sons' faces. He decided he would deal with the situation tomorrow, first with Mrs. Park, then with the school. 

 

Unbeknownst to him, his confrontation would come sooner when he heard the doorbell rang. Minho went to answer it, later coming back at the table to tell Kibum he's needed in the living room. Kibum got up with a grunt because he was really tired and just wanted to go to sleep. 

 

When he came into the living room, he was surprised to see Mrs. and Mr. Park standing there along with Chanyeol who was looking at the ground. 

 

"Kibum," said Mrs. Park "Hey. Sorry for coming over so late. I was waiting until my husband got off of work to come here. First, Chanyeol has something to say," she said as she looked at her son. When he showed no signs of moving, Mr. Park shoved his son forward. 

 

Chanyeol whined before looking up sheepishly at Kibum and Minho, who had come in to join Kibum. "I'm really sorry Mr. Choi."

 

"For," Mrs. Park egged on. 

 

"For bullying Taemin."

 

"And," Mr. Park added. 

 

"And for also hitting him."

 

Kibum let Chanyeol's apology sink in before saying, "What you did really hurt my child. You know that right?" Chanyeol nodded before looking back at the ground. 

 

Minho spoke up. "You shouldn't be apologizing to us. Taemin's the person who needs to hear this."

 

"We agree," said Mr. Park. 

 

Minho called Taemin into the living room. Both Taemin and Jongin came and were quite shocked to see Chanyeol standing there. 

 

"Why is he here," asked Taemin. Jongin stood closer to Taemin in case Chanyeol decided to strike. 

 

"I'm sorry," said Chanyeol as he looked at Taemin. "I should've never hit you or bullied you. I promise it won't happen again."

 

Mrs. Park added, "We also apologize. We are embarrassed by the actions of our son and will make sure this never happens again. Taemin," she directed her attention to him, "If he ever acts out of line again, please don't be afraid to tell us, even if he's bullying other kids. Chanyeol knows we don't condone this kind of behavior."

 

Taemin nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

 

"Thank you," said Kibum. "Thank you for coming over to apologize. And Chanyeol, let's not let this happen again. Next time, I won't be so forgiving."

 

Chanyeol could only nod, noting how scary Kibum looked. 

 

After the Parks left, Kibum asked Taemin, "Do you think I should still go up to the school?"

 

Taemin thought for awhile before saying no. "I can tell that he won't mess with me again. I think you scared him good enough," he chuckled. 

 

Kibum smiled and hugged Taemin. "I love you so much. You too, Jongin. Remember, if anyone messes with the both of you, let us know. We don't want it to get out of hand like this ever again."

 

They both nodded and hugged their parents goodnight then went off to bed. 

 

 

Kibum let out a long sigh as his back finally met his bed. "Being a parent is hard."

 

Minho smiled as he cuddled with Kibum. "But it's rewarding." He placed a hand on Kibum's belly. 

 

"Yeah it is. I just hope things don't get more complicated after having the baby. I can't deal with anymore stress right now."

 

Minho gave Kibum a light kiss. "That's why you have me. I'll take on all the stress without a problem."

 

"But you just got that new job. You don't need anymore stress."

 

Since Minho's team is in the off season, he was able to finally snag a job as a sports commentator, his dream job. The hours weren't as grueling as his soccer schedule, so he had no problem with dealing with Kibum's stress. 

 

"I'll do anything for you, Kibum. You know that."

 

They kissed each other goodnight and hoped for a better morning. 

 

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