007

 

Tightly clutching his phone in his sweating hand, Woohyun anxiously looks around the waiting room at Dr. Byun’s. Her clinic is at Seoul Hospital, the same hospital where Sunggyu is working as an intern. But today, the older is at Seoul University with the rest of the famous neurologist’s research team. He left early, all perky and excited for the his first day as a team member and not the least bit sad that he’s going to miss this check up on the triplets. Woohyun wants to feel upset because he doesn’t want to face the new doctor without him. But knowing that being a part of the great Lee Chaerin’s research team means a great deal to Sunggyu, Woohyun can’t really find the nerve to be upset.

 

Woohyun could ask Sungyeol to accompany him but he’s currently on a vacation with Myungsoo and their children. His other friends are busy with work as well. Yes, even Lee Sungjong is busy and Woohyun wants to cry because the baby of the group is busy with work.

 

He grew up so fast.

 

“Mr. Nam,” the secretary calls out, snapping him out of his thoughts.

 

Without thinking, Woohyun raises his hand as if they’re doing a roll call and quickly lowers it when he sees the other patients looking.

 

“Dr. Byun is going to see you now.”

 

Woohyun thanks her and hastily waddles to the doctor’s office. Dr. Byun is a petite woman who looks like she can’t be older than Woohyun. Her brown hair is framing her small face and as soon as her wide eyes find him, Woohyun can’t help but think how stern and cold she seems.

 

I want Dr. Choi please.

 

Despite this observation, Woohyun still can’t fully wrap his head around how tiny Dr. Byun is and this trait is accentuated when she stands up to shake Woohyun’s hands. Woohyun takes the small pale hand in his and shakes it.

 

“Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Nam! I’m Dr. Byun Hyunmi,” Dr. Byun says.

 

Dr. Byun smiles, breaking the cold and stern image that Woohyun initially saw. She can’t be that bad, Woohyun decides as he feels his triplets move in affirmation.

 

“Nice to meet you too, Dr. Byun,” Woohyun replies.

 

They take their respective seats and Dr. Byun confirms all the information written on Woohyun’s record. As they do the initial check up, Woohyun finds out that she’s actually Dr. Choi’s cousin.

 

“Minho actually told me that you feel apprehensive about being entrusted in my care. I’m actually younger than him but I assure you that my brain is of a higher quality, so I’ve been in this field much longer than him,” Dr. Byun says. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

 

Woohyun chuckles, “My boyfriend and I actually researched you and found nothing but great track record. Besides, Dr. Choi himself admitted that you can take care of my triplets better.”

 

Dr. Byun laughs at that and after a few moments they proceed to the check up.

 

“My goodnesss, you’re already in the sixth month,” Dr. Byun says, “How far do you live from here?”

 

“About 45 minutes away.”

 

“Great. I want you be within an hour’s reach of Seoul Hospital at all times from now on. Also, always have someone with you no matter what you're doing.”

 

Dr. Byun pauses and looks at him through her spectacles.

 

“Who came with you here?” she asks.

 

“Uh, I came alone. My boyfriend has some work to do.”

 

“How did you get here?”

 

“...I drove my car…”

 

“Don’t drive anymore after today. Aside from the fact that your belly gets in the way, being on the 24th week of your pregnancy means entering the danger zone. The possibility of you suddenly going on premature labor is high.”

 

Woohyun wants to protest because his stomach doesn’t really get in the way, thank you very much. He also doesn’t think that the triplets are going to want to come out any time soon since they probably look too alieny at the moment. He’s still very much capable of driving and that’s the only means of transportation he wants to use. Public transportation is too crowded for his own liking, too much germs and viruses floating around. He also can’t ask Sunggyu to drop him off everywhere so there’s no way he’s going to stop driving until he’s actually too big and feeling like he’s going to burst.

 

“You don’t want to give birth in the middle of the road for everyone to see, do you?” Dr. Byun says, seemingly able to read his thoughts.

 

Woohyun’s eyes widen at the mental image that Dr. Byun’s words painted. He shakes his head frantically and says, “N-No!”

 

Dr. Byun chuckles.

 

“Good. Let’s check the triplets, shall we?” Dr. Byun says.

 

The usual routine of lying down and spreading cold gel on his stomach happens but every single time that Woohyun sees his babies through the screen, he still gets excited. Today is no different and as soon as he sees their black and white images on the screen, he feels himself grinning from ear to ear.

 

“There they are, developing quite well and relatively healthy. Your three little peas in a pod are adorable,” Dr. Byun remarks.

 

Woohyun proudly nods in agreement.

 

“Let’s count their fingers and toes now…” Dr. Byun says.

 

With that, he holds his breath and listens to the doctor counting. He heard from Sungyeol that this part is one of the scariest and he now understands why. No matter matter how many fingers and toes they have, Woohyun knows that he’s going to love them with everything he has but he just wants his little babies to be okay. He just wants them to be healthy.

 

“I counted thirty toes but only twenty-five fingers.”

 

“What?” Woohyun gasps, immediately becoming alarmed. “Is there something wrong?”

 

“No, no, do not to worry, one of them is just in a position where we can’t see the other hand.”

 

Woohyun lets out a sigh of relief.

 

“You scared me a little there, Dr. Byun!” he groans as she merely snickers.

 

“Oh, by the way, do you already know their genders? Dr. Choi didn’t write anything on your record,” Dr. Byun asks.

 

“Not yet. I would want to know when my boyfriend’s with me.”

 

“Well, tell your boyfriend that he has to accompany you to every check-up from now on.”

 

♡

 

“And that’s why you have to come with me next week. We have to see their genders together!”

 

Sunggyu has his eyes closed as he waits for Woohyun to finish reheating dinner. His day with Dr. Lee Chaerin and her team had been extremely exhausting despite it only being the first day of the research. They discussed all the premises and the restrictions and frankly, every little detail about it. Dr. Lee is indeed a very thorough person and she also laid down the rules for interns like Sunggyu--nothing too harsh, really. But all the information his brain received today had just been too much to process. He needs to take a shower and sleep. Maybe tomorrow, he would be enthusiastic once again.

 

“The check ups would be more often now, Gyu-gyu. She wants to monitor the triplets more closely,” Woohyun says, putting down the plates in front of Sunggyu.

 

Sunggyu opens his eyes with a start and upon seeing the food, his stomach growls in hunger. With sluggish movements, he starts eating

 

“By the way, I can’t drive anymore. She said I’m in the ‘danger zone’ and my chance of suddenly going on labor is high,” Woohyun continues. “So I thought...you could drive me to Haneul everyday from now on.”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to only be in Haneul on Tuesdays and Fridays?” Sunggyu asks.

 

“I can’t do that. KBS will visit in two weeks time with the Celebrity Tasty Adventure crew. The other chefs and I are developing a special three-course-menu for that special event,” Woohyun explains.

 

Sunggyu merely nods.

 

“Okay, I’ll drive you…” he says.

 

Woohyun smiles and gives him a kiss on the lips.

 

“Thanks, Gyu-gyu!”

 

“But we have to leave at 6 in the morning, okay?”

 

“That’s way too early!” Woohyun protests, sticking his bottom lip out and looking at Sunggyu with pleading eyes.

 

“But I have to always be on time, Woohyun-ah.”

 

“It’s okay. I’ll just ride the bus or the train, then.”

 

Sunggyu lets out a sigh and scratches the back of his neck.

 

“Fine. We’ll leave at 7. Would that be okay with you, your highness?”

 

“That’s still a little bit too early for me but that’ll do!”

 

Woohyun walks back to the stove and starts cleaning up the pots that he used. Every now and then, he would glance at Sunggyu over his shoulder. The older is being really quiet and it’s making him worry a little. He thought that he would be going on and on about his day at the university by now but instead, he’s keeping quiet. Woohyun shrugs, brushing it off as his boyfriend just feeling really worn out after a long day.

 

“Are you excited to find out the genders of the triplets, Gyu-gyu?” Woohyun says, breaking the silence.

 

Sunggyu quietly hums in response and doesn’t bother to say anything anymore so Woohyun throws another look at him over his shoulder.

 

“What do you want? All boys? All girls? A mix?” Woohyun carries on.

 

“Doesn’t matter.”

 

“Well, I want two boys and a girl. But yeah, you’re right. I guess it wouldn’t really matter much since we’ll love them all the same.”

 

The response Woohyun gets this time is the clinking of silverware against the plate as Sunggyu consumes the last of his dinner.

 

“But I feel like we’re going to have a mix just like what I want. I feel like baby number 1 and number 3 are boys while baby number two is a girl.”

 

“That’s great.”

 

The sound of the chair scraping against the floor is heard and Sunggyu puts the dirty dishes in the sink for Woohyun to wash.

 

“Night.”

 

With that, Sunggyu walks towards their bedroom causing Woohyun to pout in disappointment. He bought ice cream and bananas on his way home from the check up, thinking that he could make Sunggyu a banana split for dessert. But seeing the mood that his boyfriend is in, the banana split has to wait for another day.

 

After he finishes washing the dishes, Woohyun joins Sunggyu in their bedroom only to find the latter sprawled on the bed, already knocked out cold.

 

“He didn’t even kiss me and the babies goodnight.”

 

Woohyun slips in under the covers with Sunggyu and kisses him before curling up by the older’s side.

 

♡

 

“So what time is he planning to wake up?”

 

“I don’t know...Aren’t pregnant people sleepier than normal people?”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, and he’s pregnant with triplets.”

 

“Does that mean he’ll be thrice as sleepy?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Do you think he’d still be asleep by the time we return if we get something to eat?”

 

“Most likely.”

 

“Chicken?”

 

“Fried.”

 

“Okay, let’s go.”

 

“Let’s go!”

 

“Wait. Do we just leave him here?”

 

“Yeah, he’s a grown up.”

 

“But Sunggyu hyung’s going to kill us!”

 

Woohyun cracks his eyes open and almost screams at the proximity of the faces in front of him (no wonder the voices had been so loud).

 

“Oh, finally you’re awake!” Dongwoo cheers, standing up straight. “Good afternoon!”

 

“What are you doing here?” Woohyun groans, rubbing his eyes as he sits up with a groan.

 

“Babysitting you, obviously,” Hoya curtly answers.

 

“What? Why? Where’s Gyu-gyu?”

 

Dongwoo laughs at the term of endearment before answering, “Your Gyu-gyu had to leave early to go to the university. He called Hoya and told him to drive you to Haneul when you wake up. I just tagged along because I want to see how much bigger you’ve grown since the last time I saw you.”

 

“What time is it?” Woohyun inquires as he throws the cover off.

 

He struggles to get out of bed with his baby bump in the way so Hoya helps him while saying, “It’s already one in the afternoon. We’re really hungry so if you’re still going to ask me to drive you to Haneul, we’re expecting free food.”

 

“Free food!” Dongwoo agrees, dancing like a worm.

 

“Yeah, whatever. These kids are always asking for free food…” Woohyun mumbles. “I’ll just get ready.”

 

Woohyun slams the bathroom door close before unlocking his phone only to see that there are no messages from his boyfriend. He’s feeling very annoyed that Sunggyu decided to leave the house without informing him and unceremoniously dumping him into Hoya’s hands. Woohyun angrily calls Sunggyu’s phone and hearing his call go straight to voicemail makes him even more annoyed.

 

You’ve reached Kim Sunggyu’s phone but I’m busy right now. Please leave a message after the beep. *beep*

 

“Listen up, Kim Sunggyu! I told you that I have a lot of work to do at Haneul for the show so I need to be there early and you have to drive me! Not Hoya! Do you know what time is it? Do you know how much time I lost because of you not waking me up early?! I’m mad at you right now so don’t expect to come home to a warm meal this evening! Goodbye!”

 

By the time that he’s done screaming into his phone, Woohyun is furious. He doesn’t know why he’s feeling this angry but he’s seeing red and it’s all because of Kim ing Sunggyu. How could he just leave without waking him up? Woohyun thought that they had agreed that Sunggyu would be the one dropping him off to Haneul and learning that he had asked Hoya to do it instead makes him feel so irritated.

 

Before he could stop himself, he calls Sunggyu again and leaves another voice message.

 

“If you didn’t want me to hitch a ride with you, you should’ve just told me so! I COULD’VE TAKEN THE BUS! I HATE YOU!”

Author’s Notes: Trouble in paradise. Woohyun is furious, guys. Uh-oh. I don’t even know what I’m doing. I’m sorry that this is another boring chapter :(