"Yoo Kihyun" the nurse calls. She smiles when she sees where her patient is sitting before she returns to the check-up room. 

Hyunwoo helps Kihyun to stand up even though Kihyun can do it on his own just fine. Instead of walking away, Kihyun ended up staring at Hyunwoo. That man never missed coming to his pre-natal check-up even once. Hyunwoo has been always there waiting with him in the hallway, even with people staring at them weirdly. Kihyun had told Hyunwoo so many times that he doesn't have to come and the latter still doing it. Yet, Hyunwoo never actually come into the room with him. All he does is accompany and wait for Kihyun in the hallway. Hyunwoo never asks about the baby's progress either, but Kihyun knows Minhyuk will explain everything to him. After he finds out that Hyunwoo actually knows that he is the father, Kihyun finally can understand his actions and it is remarkable. Kihyun finds it remarkable that Hyunwoo never uses his baby's father's card to force him to do anything. What high perseverance, he thought. 

"What is it?" Hyunwoo asked. 

"Why don't you come in with me this time?" Kihyun replied as he grabs Hyunwoo's hands and makes the man walk with him. 

"Good afternoon, my dear..." Minhyuk paused when he sees Kihyun and Hyunwoo walk hand in hand. He throws 'what happened?' look to Hyunwoo and his friend replied with an 'I don't know' look. "Let's check your blood pressure and glucose level first" he continues. 

Kihyun takes a seat and Hyunwoo chooses to stand in the corner of the room. He just quietly watches the procedures and takes a mental note of what Minhyuk is saying. Apparently, Kihyun is a little underweight for someone who is 37 weeks pregnant. Considering that Kihyun had his morning sickness and lost his appetite until he was 7 months pregnant, being a little underweight is kind of normal. When Minhyuk told Kihyun to get on the bed, Hyunwoo helped without being asked to and then return to the corner again. For some mysterious reason, Hyunwoo feels like he will get scolded if he stands somewhere else. 

"Your baby bump is small so I was worried about the baby a lot," Minhyuk says as he runs the ultrasound on the bump. "But, the baby is growing up well in there. The size and weight are up to the standard and the baby has descended a little. You will breathe better as there is more room for your lungs now but you gonna have pelvic discomfort. The baby has turned, unlike last week. I mean the head is down. I bet your Braxton Hicks is getting intense" Minhyuk turn on the sound and the baby's heartbeat fills the room. "His heartbeat is strong too. I think it's possible for you to give birth early than your due date. The baby is preparing himself well"

When Kihyun didn't respond, Minhyuk turns to look at him. Turns out, Kihyun's attention is fixed on Hyunwoo who obviously glad to listen to his baby's heartbeat for the first time. Minhyuk just smiles at the scene. He doesn't know what is happening with the two but it feels good to see they started to look like a little family. 

"Where are you going after this?" Hyunwoo asks while they are waiting for the nurse to return Kihyun's appointment book.

"Wait for my taxi. I drop my car at the service centre before coming here. It's too late to go back to the office. So, I am thinking about going home but kind of craving some hot stew. I don't know" Kihyun replied. He hasn't made up his decision yet. 

"My shift is about to end. I have some paperwork to do and after that, I'm done. Do you mind if I ask you to wait?" 

"No. I will wait for you in the cafeteria" Kihyun replied as he takes his appointment book from the nurse. He thanked the nurse and put the book in his briefcase. 

"You can wait in my office" Hyunwoo take Kihyun to the elevator. 

"Do surgeon has their own office?" Kihyun asked. But, didn't receive any answer from Hyunwoo. Maybe the man didn't hear him.

Then, Kihyun realizes he is yet to get to know the surgeon really well. They talk to each other at home, of course. But, it's mostly about Kihyun and not Hyunwoo. Every time, Hyunwoo will ask about how Kihyun's day was and Kihyun will just start rambling about his days. Kihyun usually never return the question. 

"Come" Hyunwoo hold the door for him. 

Kihyun entered the office. His eyes naturally look at the nameplate on the table. 'Sohn Hyunwoo. Chief of Accident and Emergency Department'. 

"Chief?" Kihyun asked in surprise. 

Hyunwoo just smiles. "Go sit on the sofa. It's more comfortable compared to the chair" 

Kihyun obediently takes a sit and Hyunwoo takes his place at his table. 

"Everything is digitalized nowadays. Go green policy" Hyunwoo told Kihyun as he starts working on his computer. "But, my sight is getting worse from all this Bluelight" he complained as he put on his glasses. 

"At least, it's a great policy. Environmentally friendly. As for your eyes, they sell many anti-blue light glasses these days. You should come to my office and see how messy it is" Kihyun replied. He never knows Hyunwoo is wearing glasses. This is the first time he sees it. Kind of cute, he thought.

"Maybe we should just carpool from now on. You shouldn't drive anymore" Hyunwoo said after a moment of silence. 

"My stomach is not that big, I still can reach the wheel" Kihyun checks his baby bump. He can still cover most of it with his hands. "See" he shows it to Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo laughed. "Minhyuk said your Braxton Hicks will be more frequent now and high chance you are going to labour early. Your office is located on the busiest road in Seoul. It's dangerous to let you drive in that condition"

Kihyun pouts because he knows he won't win if he argued. 

"I will drive you. Is it ok?" Hyunwoo suggested, trying to compromise with Kihyun. He wonders why the latter did not start taking his paternity leave yet. But, he feels like he will cross the line if he asked so suggesting a carpool will do for now.

Hyunwoo thought Kihyun will put up a fight like he always does but nope, Kihyun just simply agree with him this time. Something about Kihyun changes these couple of weeks. Hyunwoo notices that Kihyun spend more time spacing out at first and then suddenly Kihyun starts depending on him. Kihyun is always an independent person so he prefers to do everything on his own but nowadays if Hyunwoo offers to do something for him, Kihyun just let Hyunwoo do it. Compare to the past, Kihyun will just decline his offer. Hyunwoo wonders if it was because of the pregnancy. You know what people said, the nearest the end line, the stronger the nesting instinct kicks in. 

"You seem like a regular customer here" Kihyun commented after the restaurant owner left with their order. It's more like Hyunwoo's order, actually. Kihyun didn't even look at the menu. "You two look close" he added. 

"Not really, but I come here a few times" Hyunwoo explains. "I just wonder how is she doing" 

"You know her?" 

"Remember the solo surgery I had after I moved to Seoul? That was her" Hyunwoo mentally slapped himself because of the slipped tongue. "I mean she was my patient" immediately change his words. 

Luckily, a waiter comes to serve their drink. Making things less awkward for Hyunwoo. Hopefully, the slip tongue will be forgotten by the time the waiter left. But, nope. 

"I remember. You were happy about it" Kihyun replied casually, making Hyunwoo chokes on his soda drink. Kihyun naturally helps Hyunwoo to wipe his face. "Thank you for being patient with me" he added. 

Hyunwoo is dumbfounded. 

"Looking at your face, when you heard our baby's heartbeat today...I realize I was being selfish" 

'Our baby', Hyunwoo repeated in his mind. He can't help but smiles. 

A waiter comes to serve their food order. A crab stew. Kihyun frowned at Hyunwoo's menu choice. 

"I know you have been craving crab these days," Hyunwoo says as he put the stew in a bowl for Kihyun. "...you didn't eat it because seafood is high in mercury but I've checked with Minhyuk, crab is pregnancy friendly. But, you need to promise me you will only eat in moderation amounts"

Kihyun suddenly becomes emotional. He blames his pregnancy hormone as he dries his tears. Hyunwoo immediately moves to sit beside him and hug the crying man. 

"What's wrong? You want something else?" Hyunwoo asked in pure concern. He mentally slapped himself for making such a mistake. He should have asked Kihyun earlier instead of making the decision alone. 

Kihyun just shakes his head.

"It's ok. I'm here for you" Hyunwoo says as he rubs Kihyun's back gently to soothe him. "What is it?"

"You are so nice," Kihyun says while hugging Hyunwoo back. "...and I don't even consider how you feel about our baby. I'm sorry for denying your right as the baby's father" 

"I'm sorry too, Kihyun-ah. I wish I was braver to tell you how I truly feel about you. But, I was hesitant and it leads us to this" Hyunwoo replied. "I love you, Kihyun"

Kihyun pulled away. Wonder if he misheard the sentence. 

"I turned your life upside down. I sincerely apologize for that. Honestly, I'm scared about how I feel about you but I still want you. What I did to you is horrible, but deep inside of me I know...it would still happen, eventually. My heart was broken but it wants you and I don't know how to stop it" Hyunwoo suddenly confessed his feeling and he can see how surprised Kihyun is. So, he held Kihyun's hands tightly, hoping the man can feel his sincerity. 

Kihyun stares at the surgeon's hands. The size difference between their hands is really obvious. If Hyunwoo squeezes a little harder, Kihyun is sure he might break a finger or two. Then, he realizes something. 

"Your ring" he almost whispers it. 

"I take it off" Hyunwoo replied instantly. 

"It's sacred to you. Why?"

"I'm done being miserable, Kihyun. I want to be happy again. I want to breathe better....and I can't do any of that if I keep wearing it. I can never find happiness in the same place I lost it. So, I took it off and buried it. At Dasom's grave" 

"You think you can be happy with me?" there is a heavy doubt in his tone. "I'm a freak, Hyunwoo. I'm barely a woman and obviously not a man, considering you got me pregnant. People will always stop and stare at us. That's no happiness"

"Someone told me if I want to be happy I need to stop accepting crappy things and start asking for more. Like, if someone judges us for being a freak, ask them what is so great at being normal"

"That sounds like something Changkyun would say" Kihyun replied as he smiles. He can totally imagine the neurosurgeon's voice tone when he said something unexpected like that.

Hyunwoo nodded. "Just think about it first. You don't have to answer me now" Hyunwoo wipes the tears stain on Kihyun's face. "For now, let's feed our baby first before he starts throwing tantrums" he added as he gently rubs Kihyun's baby bump. 

Kihyun smiles as he nodded a little. In a matter of fact, the baby has been kicking him since the moment Hyunwoo confessed his love. He's just not sure for what reason though. Is it because the baby is happy that his parents decided to open up to each other or he is just hungry? Kihyun keeps staring at Hyunwoo as he cools down the stew for him. Maybe Hyungwon is right. Love makes our brain stop functioning because at this moment all he can see is Hyunwoo, like everything around them is moving fast but they are moving in slow motion.