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Sana’s POV

4 years later…

“Congratulations, It’s A Boy?” Sana frowns as she reads the writing on top of the big square cake with blue color icings. Then she glares to the other side of kitchen counter where Nayeon stands. At the age of twenty-five, Nayeon still mismatched her clothes. It’s a red knitted sweater with brown checkered pants. “Is that a jab?”

Nayeon opens to take a bite on a cookie, then stops. “It’s the only cake they have left. The shop was almost closed. But they do have a cake the shape of a ladybug. Do you prefer that instead?”

Sana pouts, but her finger flicks on the icings and hums. It tastes nice. Everything tastes nice these days. When you’re no longer under probation and wears the Relationship Junior Manager tag proudly, when you can afford to buy your own clothes, when you can afford to pay bills and still have some left for yourself, and when you finally found the equilibrium and move in with your long-time boyfriend. (It was actually his grandfather’s apartment that he bought for Mingyu, his first grandson, when he was just five). The new step in their relationship has only been decided last week, hence the Congratulations, It’s A Boy cake. It’s also to celebrate a little reunion with Jeonghan who she hasn’t met since graduation.

For one year after graduation, she and Mingyu spent it apart. He spent it abroad for his accelerated postgraduate program. It was a struggle for first several months. She had PMS and called it quit one time, because she believed he had a close and ‘suspicious’ female company. It was his supervisor’s assistants, two decades older, and it’s funny to think now when she recalls he had to facetime her in rage, yelling, “Look at me! Look at who I am with! Look!!”. To make it worse, he was so mad he blurted out without thinking about his phrasing, “Do you think I would cheat on you?? With her, at that??”. The lady got so offended, but good thing was she’s not his supervisor.

So as soon as pay day, she took a flight to hug and kiss him and when they did for the first time in five months, it was all forgotten. When she flew back home, it was with a heavy feeling as she also realized she had to live on ramen for a month. But it was worth it.

“Why are you smiling?” Nayeon asks, interrupting her train of memory. She opens a box of pizza and then grimaces, hurrily closing it again. “God, I hate pickles on pizza. You are monster.”

“It’s my house. You don’t get to diss on my food preferences.”

“It’s Mingyu’s house. You’re just taking a free ride.”

“Well, that’s what I get for being his good little .” She shrugs haughtily, which resulting with Nayeon choking on some particle of air.

That’s when Mingyu walks in. “Sorry, Nayeon. She spends too much time with me. But she’s especially kinkier than me these days but I’m not complaining.” And then he laughs as he walks to the refrigerator to take out a bottle of water. He chugs on it thirstily and Sana stares at his bobbing neck hungrily. She doesn’t know if anyone has favorite neck, but for her, his neck makes sense. And his skin. His veins. His pulse. They all have Mingyu’s flavour she always craves.

Her finger reaches on the topping of the cake again and it. “I think this cream is not as creamy,” she blurts out distractedly, as she continues eyeing her man who loves her despite her nonsense. She was all about independent and pride, but when Mingyu asked her to move in with him, he said something that made her sit at a corner in her room and wondered how she got so lucky.

He said, “One day, when everything is right, I’m going to ask you to marry me. And when it happens, you’re going to say yes, because there’s nothing makes me prouder than being able to tell people, ‘Hey, this is my wife, Sana’.”

Back at university, a group of idiots made a bet on them. They didn’t know about their Gi-Jung, they didn’t know the struggle they had with the loss. All they knew was the surface. That Mingyu wouldn’t be able to stick with just one girl. They bet on four weeks, max. Jokes on them, they lasted four years. And counting.

“Maybe it’s just not on the right cake,” Mingyu says with a straight face but Sana sees right through it. “You know, like whipped cream should go with the vanilla and raspberry . . . or something.” He grins around the rim of the bottle, and winks at Sana.

Vanilla and raspberry are the scents of her lotion that Mingyu loves. He bought her the entire line of the scent. Shower gel, bath oil and scrubs. It’s her permanent scent now.

“It is vanilla cake,” Nayeon provides helpfully.

Sana and Mingyu simultaneously turn to look at her. Several seconds later, Nayeon sighs as realization dawns on her. “So you guys are not even talking about that ing cake.”

They nod and Nayeon almost screams. “Why do I feel like I don’t know you guys anymore? I used to know everything!”

“You should be grateful. If I were you, I wouldn’t want to be around us. We are sickening.” As if to prove his point, Mingyu strolls towards Sana and she lets him the cream of her finger. “Yes. Taste the best on you.”

“You’re right. Now I want to leave this planet.” Nayeon declares making the two laugh.

Mingyu leaves after stealing a piece of chocolate on the cake and a kiss. Still grinning, Sana starts plating the brownies her stepmother brought. After her graduation, her father remarried in a private, peaceful wedding, and it was so lovely.

“Hey. Tell me about the bus,” Sana prompts.

For a year now, Nayeon lives on a bus. Pretty much. She applied for the journalist and reporter job all over the country. She got a job as a journalist, only she wasn’t really one. She wrote reports only for seniors to take the credits. Then, the first report she got to keep her name on it was about a goat. She thought it was so pathetic she quit. Enter Seungcheoul, who’s band happened to tour at that time, gave her a proposition to be his spoke-person, because he hated talking.

“Buses are polluting.” But there’s an edge of worry in her voice. She looks up at Sana and timidly confesses. “They would be in hiatus for a year.”

Sana sighs, because now she gets it. “You still can be his spoke-person right?”

“Sana, nobody really asked me anything. All I did was . . . ride on a bus. He got interviewed, alright, but those times, he managed just fine. I didn’t get to speak for him. Never, in fact—if you minus the times I had to answer his phone to scare away his fangirls.”

How does it never occur to Nayeon that it’s just a ploy for Seungcheol to keep her by his side? Sana never understand these two. How can two people love to stick to each other but never together? They have this weird deal; while they are not going to date each other, they are not allowed to date other people. Sana never asks what the consequence would be if one breaks the deal, but she wonders just how legit is it that they stick to such a childish deal for four ing years?

“What are you going to do?”

“He wants me to try writing him lyrics now. He taught me to write before, on that ing bus.”

Sana smiles. How does Nayeon know everything about everyone but clueless when it comes to her and Seungcheol?

There’s a burst of animated presence from the front door and just from that force alone, they all know Jeonghan has finally arrived.

Everyone is here. Mingyu’s mother, Sana’s father and his wife, Nayeon, Seungcheol who came with his band that seem to be really fond of Nayeon. Sana is so glad to see that. And she’s especially glad when Seungcheol, while looking indifferent all the time, his glare to his bandmates when they take selfies with her is enough to make a point. Jeonghan came with his new boyfriend, a foreign student named Lucas. He said Lucas fell in love at the first sound with him. He was listening to Toxic by Britney Spears with his headphones in a library and Lucas happened to be nearby. He approached Jeonghan excitedly and Jeonghan kept trying to make him quiet. He had to cross the stranger boundary thing and shut Lucas’s mouth with his palm and then the eye contact happened and . . . yeah. Wonwoo, despite being one of Mingyu’s closest friend after graduation, couldn’t manage to come. Mingyu threatened him that he’s invoking his best man status so Wonwoo consoled him by ordering extra pizzas delivery to their apartment.

So now Sana feels like she’s two third made of pizza. She’s about to turn to whine to Mingyu about how full her stomach is but at the same time, he swiftly makes some kind of gesture. Following the gesture, the room goes quiet. It’s a dramatic quietness as he slides away from her side, off from the sofa, and down to his knee in front of her. Holding a velvet box.

She takes a sudden breath, her eyes widening.

He takes her hand, grinning playfully at her. “Bet you didn’t expect this, huh?” And then he opens the box, displaying a princess cut design ring with two big diamonds in the intertwined circle that shaped like infinity. There are about twenty small bits of diamonds around the platinum band.

Sana couldn’t register the squeals around them. She can only look at Mingyu in utter shock.

Without asking or saying anything first, he slides it on her ring finger. It fits. Then, only he talks. “Sana, my baby bird.” As if caught in his own emotion, he pauses, kissing on her finger where the ring weighs on her hand. “Our relationship didn’t start nice. But miracle happened until it turned tragic. As much as it still hurts sometimes, having you with me and loving me, overthrows it all. Gi-Jung brought us together and no matter what happened, I’m still thankful that I got you out of it. You’re more than my lover. You’re my best friend, my entire world, and my soulmate.”

Her stomach recoils, twisting and it has nothing to do with the excitement. She literally feels like she’s about to get sick. Maybe everything is too much, she can feel the bile starts to push their way up to . She covers . To everyone, it seems like she’s still in shock.

She really is. She doesn’t expect Mingyu would propose as soon as they move in but—oh , she’s about to ruin this. Her stomach is about to ruin this. Stupid pizza!

“Believe it or not, I wanted to propose to you after graduation. But some old man—”

“If you call me old man one more time, you little , I will drag her away instead of walking her down the aisle.” Sana’s father groans from the side.

Mingyu snickers, and continues, “well, he didn’t let me as we were about to be separated and maybe it was too rush. But from then on, I knew you’re going to be my wife and the mother of my children anyway. It’s just about a matter of time, and it’s now.”

She’s breathing hard to keep the bile in control.

“I know you want to marry me,” he winks, “but for the sake of giving you the perfect proposal, I’m going to ask anyway. Minatozaki Sana, my lovebird, will you marry me?”

There’s a sob, a chant “yes, yes,yes” . . . the smell of grease on the pizzas and . . . was that bacon? She didn’t know there was bacon. “I’m going to be sick.”

Everyone laughs, but it soon dies as they realize she’s not kidding. She runs to the bathroom and she makes it just as soon as the bile pushes its way out mercilessly. She pukes. A lot.

A hand on her back. Two hands pulling her hair back. It’s until the torture is over that she knows it’s Mingyu’s mother and Nayeon.

“Are you okay? Oh dear,” Mrs Kim asks with concerns. She hands her tissues and wipes the sweats off her forehead where her hair sticks.

“Is she okay? What happened?” Then there’s the sound of her father’s voice.

With her eyes still closed, Sana nods weakly. That feels better.

Nayeon looks down into the toilet. “Just . . . how many pickles was in that pizza?” She grimaces before she flushes down the toilet. “Now I hate pickles even more.” She crouches down beside Sana. “S’all good?”

“I didn’t know there was bacon? Who brought bacon?” Sana mumbles, almost angrily.

“Um . . . it was in the waffle Jeonghan brought,” Nayeon answers unconvincingly as she exchanges eye contact with Mingyu’s mother.

Imagining the bacon in waffle, Sana bows on the toilet again. Heaving dry air this time.

“I’ll take her from here.” Mingyu sounds gruff from the door.

“We’ll tidy out everything,” says Mrs Kim and Mingyu thanks them before he closes the door.

He fumbles with something at the sink and bends down beside Sana who’s already has her head in her arms on the ring of the toilet bowl and cries. He gives her a cap of mouthwash and a glass of water for her to rinse it. She takes it gratefully. After she’s done, she flushes the toilet. Mingyu scoops her up into his lap right after and backs up to lean on the wall. “What happened, baby?”

Sana sobs again. “I love you, but the bacon. Bacon ruins everything.”

“. . . Bacon?”

“We’re banning bacon from now on, you hear me? Banned! Waffle, too! The corrupted waffles!”

“Shhhh . . . no more bacon. Promise.” He lets her cry on his chest, brushing on her back. It’s a full minute before he hesitantly speaks. “Sana.”

She sniffs but doesn’t answer. She looks up at him.

He looks down at her, chewing on his bottom lip before he asks, “Could you be . . . could you be pregnant? I mean, the last time you hate bacon with passion was when you had Gi-Jung. Otherwise, you don’t mind it. You even like it for breakfast.”

She blinks. She sits up properly facing him. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she says, “But I take birth control pill.”

“Which is never consistent. Babe, sometimes you forgot to take it for a week. And inconsistency lowers down the efficiency. You know this.”

Sana traces his facial expression with her eyes. He looks . . . okay, he really looks excited. Before she can say anything, he crawls to the sink and pulls the drawer. His side of drawer where he keeps his shaver and boxes of they’ve stopped using long time ago.

About pregnancy, they are not trying. But they are also not not trying. That’s why Sana wasn’t worried when she missed cycles of pills. She always wants a family with him. Always.

And she guesses now is the right time. Even back when it wasn’t the right time, she still wanted their baby. She grins as he comes up with three boxes of pregnancy test kit. Apparently, he’s hoping for a family too. “You know, I have like five of those.”

“Let’s try all eight, then.”

“I can’t pee that much.”

“You can. I believe in you.”

“You can’t trust on how much someone can pee.”

“Babe, just try.”

“I’m not peeing on a stick in front of you.”

“We’ve been together for four years. We’re also . I can take a piss in front of you to breach on that level of kink.” He says with his thumbs in the waist of his sweatpants, threatening to push them down.

“No!” She laughs.

After few minutes of fussing, she gives in. They forget the entire world outside of their bathroom as after fifteen minutes later, they line up three of the sticks neatly on the unit. While waiting, they wash their hands, eyeing each other nervously in the mirror. His tall presence then comes behind her, bracketing her in his arms and together, they stare on the sticks in silence. Time seems to slow as Mingyu kisses her head, breathing hard impatiently.

Some faint letters appear on the first test. Sana’s heart is picking up pace as her eyes drift over to the next test which develops the same word. And to the next test, comes the two red lines.

They are all positive.

The breath she holds gush out and Mingyu’s face is twitching, completely overwhelmed with emotion.

She looks at him in the mirror. Her eyes welling with tears and with a smile breaking out on her face, she whispers with a quivering voice, “Hello, Daddy.”

“Oh my God,” he whispers back, bowing his forehead on top of her head. “I can’t breathe.” He turns her around, seizes her in his arms, lifting her from her feet. His body is shaking. “I ing love you. I’m so ing in love with you.”

She remembers how different this situation was when she found out she was pregnant with Gi-Jung. She was scared, she was borderline insane with negative thoughts. She was alone. Now, now is the right time. Right place. Right person.

“I love you too, so much. You give me life.” She sobs.

“And I can say the same to you.” He sets her on the counter, besides the sticks. He wipes the tears off her face and smiles so brightly. So unbelievably euphoric. He looks at her like she just gives him an entire world. And she supposed she is. As he does to her. “We’re going to do better this time.”

She nods. “The best.”

His eyes roam her face. A slight pout pursing from his mouth. “You know, I was so confident you’re going to say yes. But turned out, you didn’t.”

For a second, she just stares at him. As soon as the idea comes, she gasps. “Oh gosh.” She grabs her own hand and stares at the diamond ring on her left hand. “This is beautiful. How much is this?” She looks at him worriedly. “You know I don’t mind about diamonds right. You can give me any ring.”

“It’s my Gamma’s. Not her wedding ring but her engagement ring.” He kisses her forehead.

“When did you plan the proposal?”

“A week ago.” He shrugs, not knowing where she’s going with this.

“A week ago, huh?” She huffs, thumbing on the ring, circling it. “I was very pretty last night when we dined outside. I was also wearing my favorite dress just couple days ago.” Her eyes narrow at him. “And you have to do it while I’m in sweater, yoga pants, no make-up, have pizza grease from head to toe and about to puke, no less.”

He glares back. “You know, some people just say yes.”

She laughs, jumping into his arms again. “Yes, of course yes!”

And with her still in his arms, they get out of the bathroom, announce to the people who matter, that they are both going to be husband and wife, and parents.

Turns out, the Congratulation, It’s A Boy cake actually fits the occasion.

Mingyu’s POV

They don’t wait long. Two months later, they have a small and peaceful wedding at their favorite beach. Sana dresses in an off-shoulder lace gown, because Mingyu loves her shoulders as much as she loves his neck. Her hair is down just the way he likes it, and she has simple flower crown to pin her veil with. When she walks down the altar, with her father keeps tapping her hand and he hands her to him with teary eyes, he says, “The moment you knew what you’d get into and still chose not to leave her alone, the moment you took my punch without fighting back, I knew you’re the one. Take care of my baby girl, son”. He hugs him tight and that day, Mingyu doesn’t only get a wife, he also officially gets a father.

They say “I do” with little tears here and there, Sana more than him because she’s three months pregnant and when Mingyu lifts off the veil after they are pronounced as husband and wife, he sees his future and strangely, his first thought is that Sana will make one beautiful old woman one day. He laughs softly at that thought before he pours all his love and adoration into their kiss, which then turns a little inappropriate for the attendance to watch, but he doesn’t care. One simple kiss is not enough when you have the most beautiful bride in the history of brides. He just has to kiss her with passion.

After it’s all over, they have a reception at his family house. He snags her three hours later to catch a flight for a short honeymoon at Japan. Because that’s where bacon is hardly spotted, and Sana wants to eat sushi all the time. And what pregnant-Sana wants, pregnant-Sana gets.

For the next months, they are anxious as much as they are happy. There is still trauma from the loss of Gi-Jung and they try to do thing extra carefully. When her pregnancy enters the third trimester, Mingyu practically treats her like she’s fragile.

The Sunday on the 38^th week, her water breaks. She’s just complaining about indigestion after having their breakfast and suddenly water rushes down her legs and the two of them stupidly stares at it. Stares as the rush of water becomes droplets trickling down and wetting their kitchen floor. They look up to look at each other.

Two seconds later, the hell break loose.

Mingyu rushes. He rushes like his life depends on it. Which is the truth. He scans everything at the back of his car, confirming everything is available and then he jumps on the driver seat. Besides him, Sana is crying.

“It’s okay, baby, just wait a few minutes.” He puts the seatbelt on her and quickly puts on his too. He’s scared out of his mind because her due is not until the next two weeks!

“I’m not hurt. I can’t put on my shoes.”

Mingyu pauses to look at where she’s looking. Because they are rushing, she is now barefoot. But, does it matter? “It’s okay, I’ll carry you later.” He drives out of the parking and into the road.

“No, it’s not that I can’t walk. It’s just that I can’t put on my shoes because I’m too round. I can’t reach my feet.” To show him, she bends and tries to reach her fingers to her foot and when she can’t, she bursts into a sob into her hands. In other time, he would kiss the out of her for being too cute, but now, does it ing matter? “I’m fat.”

“You’re not fat, baby bird. You’re pregnant.”

“What if I fat later?”

“I will still love you.” Someone drives too slow at the front and Mingyu honks like crazy. “Press on the ing gas or ride a tricycle for sake!”

“What if you don’t? I can’t bear it if you don’t.” Tears run down her cheeks and Mingyu sighs. Sana does this kind of thing when she tries to put her mind off something important. She will focus on trivial things and pour all her emotion over it.

They don’t scan the gender. But he suddenly hopes their baby won’t be a girl. Sana’s tears already kill him. If it’s their daughter’s? He will be ing screwed.

“I said it in my vow, Sana, that I promise to love you in any circumstances, in any form, in any shape. And I intend to stick to it for the rest of my life.” He palms her round belly. He spent a lot of time watching the magic bump kicking. In the night when Sana sleeps, he would put the air-conditioner remote control on top of her belly and watches as his child kicks it. “Does it hurt? Please tell me if you’re hurt.”

“No, it doesn’t. Yet.”

“Good. Practice your breathing, baby. We’re almost there.”

Sana settles on the bed of the private room in the hospital thirty minutes later. Her ob-gyn checks on her, stating that she’s dilating for three centimetres, which means they still have about hours to go, and she will set up on her epidural, per requested. Before Mingyu completely loses his mind and gets a cardiac arrest or something, he kisses Sana, excusing himself to go call their families and follows the doctor on her way out.

“Hey, doc.” The lady stops and turns. “I want to ask you about the heart rate. I’m pretty sure one hundred fifty is a little high.”

The mid forty woman smiles understandingly. “That’s normal, Mr Kim. Especially during labor.”

He nods. “How about my wife’s blood pressure?”

He makes research, alright. He reads a lot of books and website just for this. He’s been rightfully obsessed in knowing what to do and what to know so he can make sure everything is perfect.

“Her blood pressure has been steady from the beginning until now, Mr Kim. No sign of preeclampsia either. Don’t worry.”

Easy for her to say. He can’t not worry. This is his life. His entire life is lying on the bed about to have so much pain and . . . and he’s so worried if the scenario where he has to choose between the mother and the baby will happen.

Clearly, when he did his research, this scenario came up and it haunts him till now. Because it’s close to home. It happened to Sana’s father. Only he didn’t get to choose.

Mingyu could never choose. He will first put his head under the chopping knife before he would choose between his wife and his baby.

The doctor, probably noticing how tense he is, smiles calmly. “Look, I know how you feel—”

“You don’t,” he says sharply. “You don’t know how it feels like putting your . . . everything . . . in someone’s hands and hoping they will take care of them and bring them back to you safely and in one piece.” He looks away and paces a bit. And when he turns to speak again, his voice is caught in his throat. “Sana and our baby . . . If anything happens to them . . .”

He can’t even finish the thought, let alone the sentence.

The doctor nods calmly. “You can only trust me, Mr Kim. It’s hard, but please get your mind out of the negativity. She’s healthy. So is your baby. No complications at all as this delivery progress. Trust me.”

It takes him a while to let it go. He nods and the doctor asks him to go back to Sana, because tomorrow, it won’t be just the two of them anymore.

He takes that as a promise and holds on to it.

He walks back to the room after he calls her father and his mother. He asks her father to inform Nayeon too, because he can’t wait to get to Sana again and hold her close.

He stands at the doorway, watching as she’s practicing her breathing. She looks like an angel in all the whites. And the note about being fat earlier? Bull. Even with a belly so big, she’s still looking tiny in that bed.

And she’s still the love of his life. Even if she does turn fat. He can imagine her turning fat. So adorably round and more flesh to tempt him to bite, and kiss.

But he can never imagine living without her. Or imagine her suddenly stops breathing after losing too much blood like the situation he read and then she leaves him to fend for himself and their baby.

That’s . . . unimaginable. He couldn’t imagine living after that.

So he tells her.

“I love you, Sana. My life begins and ends with you. If you didn’t make me fall in love with you years back, I would probably still in miserable life somewhere, and that –that I couldn’t imagine at all. I couldn’t imagine a life without you in it, even if I try. So, please.” He doesn’t know what he’s pleading for, but he pleads anyway. He pleads for this life. To stay. Forever. “Please.”

While his eyes watering, Sana is looking at him blankly. “Why do you talk like I’m going to die?” And then she’s suddenly panic. “Or am I dying? Am I?”

That’s when Mingyu snaps out of it. He walks to her, setting his lips on her forehead. “No, babe, you’re not dying. Not on my watch.”

She sighs and tips her face upward for a kiss. He kisses her softly. She smiles and rubs her thumb on his jaw. “For the record, I love you too. I’m going to love you forever. And whatever comes after forever, I’m going to love you then too.”

He drops his forehead on hers. “You can bet your pretty little that I’m going to hold you to that, baby bird.”

All the drama is for nothing. At 8:17 that night, Sana gives birth to a very healthy baby boy. He comes out looking like his mother’s belly. So adorably round.

Sana also pretty much breaks Mingyu’s hand, but that doesn’t matter now as he’s holding the cutest-looking, healthy and breathing baby. Doesn’t matter that he’s screaming loud enough to tear down the hospital, but the fact that he makes a sound at all brings a tug to Mingyu’s heart. This moment reminds him of the time he got to hold Gi-Jung. Gi-Jung could have looked like this too, like his brother. Mingyu smiles tearfully.

Now, Gi-Jung gets to be his brother’s guardian angel.

When his son opens his eyes after a yawn, Mingyu thinks he’s already worshipping him. It’s crazy, how instant this love he has for him. And the fact that this is the product and the living proof of the love he shares with his wife. The flesh of their fleshes. Their blood in his veins. The fact alone makes he wants to weep.

Sana doesn’t know this yet, but they will make more babies, because with their genes, it’s a shame if they stop producing.

He kisses his son’s forehead before leaning down to hand him to Sana. She looks understandably tired but even so, her smile is permanent. He kisses the smile, thanking her—for giving him a child, for being safe and okay, for going through the pain, for doing great—and watches as she coos on their baby.

Their baby. It’s crazy. It’s surreal. The fact that they get their second chance, manage to come out of it well and in one piece. It makes him close to be cliché again with words he can even make out right now.

He’s silent as Sana makes a space for him. It’s against the hospital policy, but he doesn’t care. He’s still silent as he climbs beside her, sandwiching their son in the middle. Their forehead meet, and they both close their eyes.

“Is this perfect?” She whispers.

He breathes on the scent of their baby. “More than perfect.”

“Will we always be like this?”

He smiles. “No.”

She smiles back. “No?”

He leans forward, unable to stop kissing her. She’s the greatest wonder woman today and seeing what she’s capable of doing, makes him to vow to appreciate her, his mother and the whole woman population even more. “No, baby bird. We’re just about to get better than perfect.”

There are a few specific moments in his life that he considers as monumental. Moments that have such impacts to him that they penetrate deep in his mind for him to remember until the day he dies. The first time he told Sana that he loved her. The night he proposed and got more than he bargained for. The moment she walked down the altar. Their first night together as husband and wife. And today—right now, right here—just make it to the list.

He just builds himself a family.

“Not! Not wear anything.”

Mingyu stares exasperatedly at the mini carbon copy of his wife. Eyes so round and mischievous, brown hair in pigtails, and still so tiny to be this stubborn. His father-in-law said their two-year-old Kim Gi-Ryung is exactly Sana when she was little. She inherits Sana’s look down to her personality to a T. Stubborn as hell, but brings sunshine into the room she walks in.

She’s also Mingyu’s ultimate weakness and she knows it.

“Baby girl, you can’t not wear a bottom.” She’s supposed to wear a dress so fancy and matching with her mother for today’s event. But she refused and being weak and whipped, Mingyu let her wear her favorite Captain America t-shirt. Sana is growing to throw a fit so Mingyu tries to make her wear a tutu to salvage her dressing but Gi-Ryung refuses to wear anything but her diaper.

They are already late.

As if on cue, Sana calls from somewhere in their apartment. Probably the kitchen as she’s making a quick breakfast for their four-year-old son, Gi-Seung. “Baby, are you guys done?”

“Give us few minutes,” he calls back. Then he gives a determined look at Gi-Ryung. Sana said he should learn to tell his daughter no, but he couldn’t seem to do that yet, so he settles with imploring. Or bribing. “Come on, princess. If you could at least let wear this, Daddy will buy you—”

“Nope. No more toys.” Sana suddenly appears at the doorway, wearing a very pretty, pink short dress. “We talked about this, Mingyu.” She gives her a look that says ‘she’s already turning a little bratty, if you spoiled her rotten, you’re not helping our case’.

Sana is wonderful as a mother. While he had experience taking care of his niece, Thing, when she was little, Sana never had any kids to look after and any mother figure to look up to. His mother helps her a lot even to this day, but mostly, his baby bird figure it out itself the 101 of Parenting Done Right.

Which is why Gi-Ryung is now inching towards her wardrobe, trying to hide, as Sana takes a glance at her.

“Uh-uh. I saw you. What are you wearing?” Then she turns sharply at Mingyu. “Babe, she has a dress made exactly for today. I’m supposed to match with her. Why is she not wearing that?”

“She doesn’t want to. And I don’t want to force her.”

“You just don’t want to say no to her.” Sana walks to the mini wardrobe and pulls out the mini version of the dress she’s wearing. “It doesn’t kill you to say no to her once in a while, Mingyu.” She then sits beside him, pulling Gi-Ryung along with her.

“It actually does kill me.” Mingyu brushes the strands of Gi-Ryung’s hair and tucks them behind her ears. He really hates seeing his kids cry. It’s like there’s a certain pain in his chest exactly for that cause.

“Do you think mommy is pretty now?” Sana asks Gi-Ryung. She’s pouting, seeing as she doesn’t have a chance to be in her way anymore, but her eyes cast down the dress her mother is wearing. She then bites her lip, hesitating, before she nods. “Then, you’re going to be prettier if you wear the same dress as me today. Do you like that?” Sana pokes on her ribs, knowing it will make her laugh, and she does. “So, come on. Wear this for me.”

“But I wove this,” Gi-Ryung points on her shirt, still not giving up her way.

“I know, baby girl. You can wear them every day later. But not today, because you’re the flower girl. You will walk down the aisle, and everyone will look at you. You are the prettiest girl, right?” Gi-Ryung nods without missing a beat. Mingyu grins. What can he say? This is his and Sana’s daughter. Narcissism is in their blood. “Then, you’re going to show them just how much prettier you can be. Come on.” Sana pulls up her shirt. Not giving her any attitude, Gi-Ryung relents and lets her mother dresses her up.

Mingyu leaves them to go find his son. Kim Gi-Seung is independent and likes to figure out thing by himself, but he’s still four years old. He’s still his baby, so he still needs to watch over him.

At the kitchen table, with his tailored little suit complete with bowtie behind his Iron Man bib, he’s silently and calmly eating his sugar-free Cheerios. He likes to eat them dry like a snack. Like father, like son.

“Hey, bud. Set it up,” he says as he approaches him.

Just like routine, Gi-Seung obediently faces up to the ceiling with his mouth opens wide.

Mingyu takes a single Cheerio, gesturing it like he’s dribbling it. “Kim gets the ball. He turns right, oohh he fakes it. He approaches in and shoooots . . .” He tosses the Cheerio where Gi-Seung’s mouth is waiting and Gi-Seung moves a little to the left to catch it and . . . “Score!”

Gi-Seung laughs happily before high-fiving his dad. Mingyu takes a bite of an apple slice before getting ready for another shoot. “Want to try higher?”

“You can try highest,” Gi-Seung bets surely.

Mingyu laughs. Their kids are too full of themselves, sometimes he gets worried about it, but then he and Sana grew up just fine with the attitude so he brushed it off and let his kids grow up into their own and he just has to guide them into the right build-up.

And Gi-Seung is rightfully narcissist. He does manage to catch the highest arc of the little Cheerio.

Then, Sana walks in with prettily dressed Gi-Ryung on her hip.

It isn’t healthy how regularly Mingyu’s heart melts over littlest thing in his life now. Sometimes, all his wife and kids do is sleeping and he feels like his heart is so full it bursts. “Look at my pretty girls.”

Sana grins, giving him a peck on his lips before he takes Gi-Ryung from her.

The little one chortles when Mingyu blows raspberry into her ticklish neck. Gi-Ryung is an opposite of Gi-Seung in many ways. Gi-Seung, while mostly obedient, calm and cool, is actually a temperamental kid. He can only be calm around people in two hours maximum before he’s done with them. Gi-Ryung, on the other hand, is harder to control, but easier to please. She’s happy over everything.

Mingyu and Sana still can't decide who's personalities are they taking after.

“Will you be good today?” He asks her.

“Not!” She answers gleefully.

Mingyu shrugs, not at all surprised with the little rascal’s answer. He turns to look at his wife taking off Gi-Seung’s bib and fixes his hair. While Gi-Ryung is daddy’s girl, Gi-Seung is momma’s boy. Until today, he only wants Sana to read him story book and cuddle him before he sleeps.

After ten minutes of fussing here and there, they finally make it to the elevator. Gi-Seung is in charge of pressing the button and then he hauls his sister up as she always insists to help pressing the close button.

Mingyu glances at his effortlessly beautiful wife as she fumbles with keys inside her purse. He slides his arm around her waist and pulls her close to him. “Have I told you how beautiful you are lately?”

With her heels, she’s almost eye-to-eye with him. “Not since I woke up this morning.” With a mischievous look, she leans to his ear. “You look so edible in that suit, husband. Makes me want to push you to the wall and do things to you.”

“Now that’s a little inappropriate thought, wife. Not saying I don’t love the way you think, though.” They both grin before he steals a peck from her. When you have children, you have to take whatever snippets you can get of each other. To keep the flame and all. That’s why what is meant to be a peck, easily turns to a kiss. He turns his head to the side to kiss her deeper, sliding out his tongue—

Ting.

The elevator is sliding open and for some reason, it always excites Gi-Ryung. Gi-Seung has to catch her hand before she runs out and turns to look at his parents. “Why do you two always kiss so long?” He shakes his head before pulling his sister out.

Mingyu and Sana turn to look at each other before they burst out laughing. This is not the first time Gi-Seung complains. He once asked Mingyu why he kisses his mom different, why isn’t it’s a peck like he kisses him and Gi-Ryung? Mingyu had to tell him it was different love, but love all the same.

As they walk out to follow their children to find their car park, Sana holds his hand tight. And even after four years of marriage, eight years together, he still can’t get enough of her. So he leans in for a real peck and smiles when she smiles up at him.

That smile. That smile is one of the purposes of his life. To always keep it on her face.

Before she burst into his life with full spectrum of colors, Mingyu used to think he was living a perfect life. He had girls fancying him, good GPA, talent in basketball. He was pretty much the golden boy, the jack of all trade.

Until his life spinning down south. From there, he fell, getting into the emotion he managed to avoid—to love, and he was all kicking—to be safe again but only for the sphere to spin faster and he just had to go through with it.

He ed up. But the thing about the sphere of life is that, you don’t always stay south, unless you want to stay there. But he didn’t. There were things to lose, there were things to gain.

Right now may seems mundane to some people—where he’s walking hand-in-hand with his wife, their children are laughing at something on the floor while waving at them to come take a look, but this ordinary life of his is actually the perfect life where the love isn’t superficial. He’s needed, loved and wanted just as much as his family is to him. He won’t trade it for the world. This is the payoff for all the hitch he and Sana had to go through to get here.

And this payoff is more than worth it.

T H E    E N D

who's wedding do you think they are going to? hehe.

cue the unnecessary dramatic author's note/acknowledgement. I really just have to write this but I also really prefer you skip reading it, please. Lol.

i want to cry omg. I actually finished a chaptered, 80k words story. it may take a little over two years but I did ittttt! Mission accomplished!

I want to thank everyone--especially my loyal commentators ( HAN IN YOOOO, the one that makes me feel like I'm not alone navigating this story and whose opinion i take matters. You too KrystalJungSooJung, I hope life is good to you now :) and I appreciated that you regarded this story as a little escape. Tokwa2x who actually voted up my other story before even reading, I mean, that level of trust is something lol. Tourmaline (bcs I ALWAYS have special and soft spot for youuu) SkyeButterfly, SaiorseOfTheSea, isaisy, Ilove_Sanayeon_55 and all who leave comments. You have no idea how much I appreciate them. Thank you.

Not to mention, the subscribers, readers and upvoters. You are all contributors. I may have said this before a few times, but I'm going to state it again.

This story began back when i had what i'd call it as ship's block hahaha. Authors usually have writer's block, I had ship's block where I had no idea who to write but I wanted to write. So that's how we got this crackship as I just paired Sana and Mingyu, just because they are who I liked most in their respective groups. This story was just meant to be lazy writing, but bcs of the increase of subs and readers, I had taken it seriously and turns out, this is the first long story I managed to finish. 

Along the ride, it had become more than fanfiction. It became MY story. As I dont follow kpop closely anymore, Sana and Mingyu are no longer idol for me. They are my characters. I'm just using them as my muses. That's why it's so easy for me to write their scenes. I had shares of cringe when I wrote love scenes, cringy love dialogues, back when I write for the sake of sailing my idol ships. But when they become my Sana and Mingyu, I feel free to write whatever i have in store. So, I'm sorry for the readers who read this with them as idols in their head. lol. 

I took long to follow with the epilogue bcs I came to really love this story so giving you guys the epilogue means ending it and letting it go. (To think that in my previous author's notes, I kept mentioning how i couldn't wait for this story to be over lololol) Though I have to say, the last scene is why exactly it took so long. If i had to let it go, might as well give the perfect closure, you know. So I hope it's concluding enough for you.

Lastly, I'm sorry if this story lacks a lot. English is not my first language, and there might also holes in plot and characterisation that you don't agree with. I'm sorry.

Thank you again everyone for this journey. I had real fun. Thank you. 

p/s: you can still check the pinterest board here to give you the vision of things like Sana's wedding ring and dress etc.