Chapter 5

Reading Writing Romance

Ewon

Ewon had been absolutely overwhelmed by Narsha and Kwanghee's generosity. Not only had Kwanghee helped them build Wooyoung's bed, he'd also assembled the matching dark wood dresser and bookshelf.

Narsha saying she had a few things for Wooyoung had been a gross understatement. It had taken three trips to the car for her to haul all of the bags inside the house. There had been bags filled with books, others were filled with clothes and shoes, while the last of the bags were filled with toys.

Wooyoung's new grandmother had remembered that Wooyoung love My Pretty Pony and the Disney Princess. The ponies came in pinks and purples and had their own accessories. The last pony had been an aqua stuffed animal with a rainbow mane and tail, which Nichkhun had set on Wooyoung's bed.

The Disney bag was filled with princess Barbie dolls. It had taken them an hour, working together, to get all of the dolls and their accessories out of the boxes.

Ewon and Nichkhun had been so busy making sure Wooyoung had a safe and cozy place to sleep that it had completely slipped their minds to buy toys and books. They had been in the middle of arranging the books in a bookshelf when the doorbell had rung with the Chinese food.

"Are you exhausted? I'm exhausted." Ewon sat in the chair next to Nichkhun at the table and started unpacking the food. They'd gone with an assortment of appetizers and a large shrimp fried rice. 

"Actually, I feel invigorated. I can't believe how quickly this is all coming together. I never imagined that we'd get this lucky." Nichkhun twisted the cap off his beer and set it in front of Ewon, before grabbing the unopened bottle for himself.

Ewon loved Nichkhun's enthusiasm and wished he felt the same way "When I found out that Wooyoung had been surrendered to the state, I was devastated. I had no idea what I could do to save him from foster care and the only thing I could think of was to talk to all of you."

Devastation was putting his feelings mildly. Ewon had a panic attack. He'd felt so scared and helpless that he'd barely been able to function. Once he was able to practice his deep breathing, using Wooyoung's face as his focal point, he'd been able to calm down and come up with a plan.

"I hate to admit it, Nichkhun, but I couldn't have done this alone. Hell, I was in a one bedroom apartment. Wooyoung wouldn't have had a space he could call his own and there wouldn't have been a backyard for him to play or stargaze in. I could never have given him the kind of life you could."

"You mean the kind of life we could give him." Nichkhun set a hand against Ewon's shoulder "We are so much more together than either of us could ever be alone. I have a surprise for you."

"You're not pregnant are you?" Ewon burst out laughing and reached for the beef teriyaki. 

"No, goofball. I've been working with the other doctors in my practice to rearrange my patients for the next few weeks so I can be home with you and Wooyoung. I'd like to be able to take off the rest of the summer but that won't be possible."

"I think that's a great idea. Wooyoung's going to need as much time to bond with us as we can give him. I was going to ask if you could stay home with us."

"Why didn't you?" Nichkhun looked genuinely curious.

"I wasn't sure it was my place." Ewon felt like he was walking a bit of a tightrope with Nichkhun. He didn't want to do anything that would start a fight.

"We're going to be parents and husbands. Of course it's your place to ask."

"I'll remember that next time." Ewon took a deep drink from his bottle. He'd promised to tell Nichkhun the story of his family and he knew now was the time "Speaking of asking, just when are we going to make this husband thing a reality?"

"We're getting Wooyoung on Thursday, why don't we get married on Wednesday?"

Ewon nodded "Okay."

"Do you want me to get down on one knee and ask you to marry me?" 

"No, I'm good, thanks." Ewon didn't know why Nichkhun said that. This was just a marriage for Wooyoung's sake. It wasn't like they'd made a love connection. Ewon cleared his throat "So, about my family."

Nichkhun set his hand on top of Ewon's "I can't pretend to know how hard this is for you. I'm here no matter what, Ewon."

Nodding, Ewon took a deep breath "I was raised by my biological mother until I was eight years old. I never knew my father. I'm not sure she even knew who he was. She overdosed on heroin and I was the one who found her after school."

"Jesus, Ewon. I'm so sorry." Nichkhun squeezed his hand.

"Thanks. I really don't have a lot of good memories of her, but they're better than the slew of foster homes I lived in after that."

Nichkhun appeared to be stunned speechless.

Ewon understood. It wasn't every day you heard a story like the one Ewon was telling "I was finally adopted when I was thirteen years old. My new parents ran a failing dairy farm out in the western parts of Jeju. They adopted me to work the farm and for the welfare check and food stamps I made them eligible to receive. My eighteenth birthday coincided with my high school graduation and I left home while the ink on my diploma was still wet. I haven't spoken to either of them since that day. 

Nichkhun shook his head "I don't know what to say." the look on Nichkhun's face said it all. Ewon could see sadness mixed with guilt and maybe a bit of anger on his behalf.

"It isn't the easiest story to tell, but at least now it's out." better out than in, as Narsha was constantly telling Jay and Gain when they had a problem.

"Your story and Wooyoung's story run almost parallel."

"I know. That's why I was so adamant about adopting him. I didn't want Wooyoung's life to mirror my own any more than it already has. He deserves to have a loving, supportive family."

"You're damn right he does, but do you know what else, Ewon?" Nichkhun didn't bother to wait for an answer "You do too."

Ewon burst out laughing "No matter how old I get, I've never given up that dream."

"Hopefully now it's come true."

"I don't want to get my hopes up, Khun. There is still so much that could go wrong." Ewon in a deep breath "We might not get approved as foster parents. The judge might not approve the adoption. What if Wooyoung hates us?"

Nichkhun got up from his chair "Come here." 

When Ewon stood up, Nichkhun pulled him into a hug. It was their second hug in just a few hours. He was surprised when this hug was just as comforting as the first one. He had no idea Doctor Perfect's touch could be so soothing.

"I don't want you to worry about the million things that could go wrong. I want you to focus on the fact that our son is coming home on Thursday. He's going to need all of your attention." Nichkhun pressed a kiss against Ewon's right temple "You let me worry about the future, okay?"

Ewon had always thought women swooning when a man kissed them was just pure Korean drama, but with just a tiny press of Nichkhun's lips against his skin, Ewon now believed the hype. Nichkhun's kiss posed a bigger problem. Not only was he worried about how things would go with Wooyoung, now he had to deal with whatever was going on between him and Nichkhun.

 

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Nichkhun

Nichkhun was losing his mind. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that. In the span of six hours, he'd hugged Ewon twice and kissed him.

Out of the two of them, Ewon was the gentler soul. He needed a bit of TLC, but when Ewon had wrapped his arms around Nichkhun in return, he realized he needed to be hugged just as much as he thought Ewon had needed it.

The story about Ewon's family had cut him deep. So many emotions barreled through his body while Ewon had been talking. His heart had broken to know that Ewon's mother met the same fate as Wooyoung's mother. His anger flared at the thought of Ewon being shuffled between multiple foster homes and his adoptive parents essentially using him as slave labor.

Instead of having a childhood, Ewon had worked like a man. No wonder he ate Lucky Charms for dinner some nights. Guilt sliced through him at the memory that he'd thought Ewon wasn't suitable to be a father because of his cereal for dinner preferences.

He couldn't help but think back to the sad look in Ewon's eyes when he'd told Nichkhun he didn't have to get down on one knee and propose. He wasn't sure why that look upset him so much. It was such a simple gesture, Nichkhun should have just dropped to one knee and asked Ewon to marry him.

Nichkhun had made peace with the idea that he'd be a faithful husband to Ewon. That meant no other men and no hooking up. Maybe his future husband was having a hard time coping with the idea of no or of marrying a man who didn't love him, even if he was getting a son in the bargain.

Whatever the answer was, Nichkhun was too tired to try and figure it out. With the wedding in two days, they had a lot to get done and not a lot of hours to get it done in.

Ewon had said goodnight about an hour ago, while he'd stayed downstairs reading through a few pediatric medical journals and half-listening to SBS. Before Nichkhun went up to bed, he grabbed bottles of water and checked to make sure the alarm was set. 

As he was climbing the stairs to the second floor, he could hear Ewon's voice. It sounded like he was carrying on a conversation. The closer he got to the top, Nichkhun could hear that he was reading aloud, most likely from one of the books Narsha had brought for Wooyoung.

Peeking into the bedroom, he could see Ewon sitting on Wooyoung's bed with a pile of books stacked around him "Hey, can I listen too?"

Ewon blushed and closed the book on his lap "I was just practicing."

"You're a first grade teacher. Don't you do this for a living?"

Ewon shrugged "Long time teacher, first time father."

Nichkhun laughed and walked into the room and joined Ewon on the bed. They'd gotten Wooyoung a full-sized bed so that there would be plenty of room for them to gather together as a family for story time and for him to stretch out as he grew. The bed was shoved against one wall "Boy, Narsha must have bought out the entire book store." Nichkhun looked through the titles Ewon had on the bed with him.

"I'm still so overwhelmed that she did all of this for Wooyoung." Ewon shook his head.

"Really? You shouldn't be." Nichkhun knocked his shoulder against Ewon's.

Ewon narrowed his eyes "What do you mean?" 

"You built the family you always wanted. It shouldn't be a surprise to you that they stand up and support everything you do."

"I feel so blessed to have them in my life." Ewon smiled at Nichkhun.

"Our life." Nichkhun knocked his shoulder into Ewon and smiled brightly at him "I owe you a story about my family. Do you want to hear it?"

Once Ewon had finished his story about his family, he and Nichkhun had finished dinner and talked about lighter subjects like politics and the North Korean missile program "Only if you feel comfortable sharing it with me."

Nichkhun nodded "My parents live in L.A. My father is a cardiac surgeon. He went to Harvard Medical School and wanted me to follow in his footsteps. My mother was a homemaker and she spent her days making sure everything was up to my father's exacting standards."

"What does that mean, exacting standards?"

Nichkhun shivered "Things in my father's house had to be just so."

Ewon reached out to Nichkhun, a silent affirmation of his support.

"Anyway, my father wanted me to follow in his footsteps, UCLA, Harvard Medical School and then joining his cardiac practice. It wasn't until I got to med school when I realized my talent lay in helping kids. I didn't want to be a surgeon. I wanted to be a pediatrician." 

"That must have gone over like a fart in church."

Nichkhun snorted and started to laugh "Yeah, you could say that."

"What did your father say? It doesn't sound like Doctor Horvejkul Senior was a man used to compromising."

"He told me that he didn't want to speak to me again unless I was calling to join his practice."

"Rude." Ewon shook his head.

Nichkhun seemed to study Ewon "You think I made the right decision?"

"I don't think you did, Nichkhun. I know you did. You stick your little patients with big needles and they still love you! Not to mention what you did to keep Jay and Chansung together."

"It hasn't been easy not to have contact with him, but I talk to my mother once a month when my father is at poker night with the guys at his practice. I tell her about my small victories and she tells me to come home and tow the family line."

"I didn't think it was possible to grow up in a home with a family and still have a ty childhood." Ewon shook his head "Are you going to tell her about Wooyoung?"

"And you?" Nichkhun reached out and touched the side of Ewon's face. 

"Yeah, and me." Ewon leaned into Nichkhun's fingers caressing his cheek.

"I don't know. Do you think I should?" Nichkhun sounded unsure of himself.

"Only if there is no way that your father could hurt Wooyoung or our chances to adopt him. Powerful men tend to..." Ewon trailed off.

"Finish your thought. Powerful men, what?"

"They tend to use that power to hurt other people. I know it's impossible to protect Wooyoung forever, but I only want our son surrounded by love and positivity."

Nichkhun bowed his head and nibbled on his bottom lip "You're right. I think my father might try to use the adoption as a way to bring me to heel. You, Wooyoung, and our friends are my family now."

"Damn straight we are." Ewon patted Nichkhun's knee "Now, do you want to hear Green Eggs and Ham or Stellaluna?"

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Khunismyluv #1
Chapter 81: That was amazingly sweet
Khunismyluv #2
Chapter 78: Their conffesion to each other is so sweet
Khunismyluv #3
Chapter 44: Seriously taec is stubid
Khunismyluv #4
Chapter 24: Chansung is an a hole
Khunismyluv #5
Chapter 9: I'm making another comment because I really wanna upvote this
Khunismyluv #6
Chapter 8: Seriously I can't stop reading.... this story is amazing!
Khunismyluv #7
I'm glad someone recommended your stories to me
babikhun
#8
I miss your updates so I thought I should reread an old one
bbbrdwngs82
#9
Chapter 82: This story deserves so many more views, subs, up votes and comments. Everything about it was so beautiful and stunning and I'm not ashamed to say I cried more than a few times. All of the couples got their happily ever after and their children are lucky enough to have such amazing, understanding and caring parents
Jjwhwhwhwhhwh #10
Chapter 43: Omg Taec bottoming???? I love it!