I really felt a great deal of sympathy for my wife.  First off, she loved me, but also the first guy she ever fell in love with.  Second, she was expecting our baby, and it was still early on so her hormones were extremely out of whack.  Lastly, Li was having to deal with my ex/her former lover’s ex/her cousin since the girl was still in love with me.

          Li finally finished the drink I’d brought her and pushed the cup away, laying her head down on the table.

          I rubbed her back softly.  “Baby?”

          “Hmm?”

          “You ok?”

          “Tired Hoonie.”

          “I’m sorry baby.”

          “It’s not your fault Hoon.”  She sat up and leaned her head against my shoulder instead.  “I just hope he stays alright.  I don’t want him in any danger like this.  It’s you being in the hospital all over again.”

          I wrapped my left arm around my wife while I rubbed her belly with my right hand.  “At least he doesn’t have any bones that are broken.”

          “You get the cast off next week yeobo.”

          “I’m lucky I can walk normally in it.”  I wiggled my toes.

          She yawned and snuggled into my embrace.  “Hoonie?”

          “Mm-hmm?”

          “Do you know how many tattoos I have?”

          “One at the small of your back with hyung’s initials, one connected to it with Aya’s name inside a heart, and then you have my full name above your right shoulder blade.”

          “Holy , how’d you know about the other two?”

          “When you wear tank tops, I see the one with my name.  I saw Aya’s when you showed me Ji’s initials.”

          “Ji doesn’t know about the one with Aya’s name.”

          “I like the one with my name.”  I leaned over and kissed the slightly bared tattoo.

          “Yeobo…”  She giggled softly and turned her head towards mine, looking into my eyes.  “I love you, Yeo Hoonmin.”

          “I love you, too, Park Jung Li.”  I kissed her softly.

          She pulled back and yawned cutely.  “Wah, I’m so sleepy.”

          “You’re so cute when you yawn baby.”

          “You’re crazy.”

          “So?  You still love me.”

          “I always have.”

          I squeezed her hand.  “How are you feeling?”

          “I’m being asked that more with this pregnancy than my first.  What the hell?”

          “More people know about our baby, though.”

          “That’s true.  I feel fine Hoonie.”

          I put my hand on her belly.  “I can’t wait till our baby starts to kick and move.”

          She smiled.  “It’ll be a couple more months though.”

          “About a month, more like.  You’re already almost three months along.”

          “I will be on your birthday.”  Lizzie laid her hand over mine.  “I don’t know if I want a girl or boy.  I think I want a boy.  I have a little girl already, but I’ll be happy if we have a girl, too.”

          “Me too.”  I rubbed my thumb over her belly.  “Keiko or Bae,” I said, smiling at my wife.

          She returned the smile.  “Yep.”

          “Remember my promise?”

          “Yes yeobo, I remember.”

          “Ok, good, because I don’t want you forgetting.”

          “Like I could.  It still scares me.”

          “Don’t let it.  I will be there, even if it’s right before the baby arrives.”

          “Well, if you aren’t there when I go into labor, I’ll take it out on Ji this time.”

          “Are you going to be worse on him?”

          “Of course I will be.  I’m not gonna get medication if I don’t have to this time.”

          “They will probably make you since you had to have it last time.”

          “They only did that because of what had happened during the pregnancy.  Aya was perfectly healthy though.”

          I kissed her temple and added, “and you stayed perfectly healthy during your stay.”

          “I hated staying at the hospital.  It was so damn annoying.”

          “But you had me there to stay with you and hold you while you slept.”

          “I’ve had that my whole life since meeting you, Hoon.”

          I smiled.  “I know, and I still love holding you every night.”  I dragged her onto my lap.  “I love it even more knowing that you’re my wife.”

          “Hoonie, do you remember that night when we were lying in my bed, and I couldn’t sleep?  You were holding me in your arms while I laid in your arms facing you on my side, and you just said ‘what the hell was that?’ when you felt Aya kick me.”

          I smiled.  “I do remember that.  It felt so weird.  I asked you if you had poked my side.”

          “‘Hoonie, that was the baby kicking.’  I said.  You were so incredulous.”

          “How could I not be?  I’d never felt a baby kick in the womb.”

          “She’d only just started kicking the day before.”  Li smiled and took her phone out, looking at the background of Aya.  “Now my baby’s almost three years old.”

          “Come on Li, don’t get emotional on me,” I teased.

          She wrapped her arms around my neck.  “I told Ji that Aya took faster to you than she did to him.  Of course, she didn’t know he was her father until I told her.  She was really good at concealing her knowledge.”

          “Well now she knows, and he knows he has a daughter.”

          “That’s right.”  Li put her phone up.  “Did Uncle talk about her at all after I left?”

          “You got her pretty good.”

          “Wonder if they figured out the thing about the bullets.”

          “What about them?”

          Li rubbed her neck.  “They have a deadly toxin in them that’s released once they penetrate a body.  It’s only if they stay in the body.”

          “Remind me never to get shot by you.”

          “Hoon, I’m an excellent shot.  I could’ve killed Min Jee, but I’d rather her be locked up for a long while.”

          “They said she’s probably going to be paralyzed.”

          “I imagine so.”

          I felt my wife tense up and started massaging her temples.  “Baby, chill out.”

          She leaned her forehead against mine.  “She’s really very lucky.”

          “So are you.  I saw her take that shot at you.”

          “I knew she would miss.  I know my family is superstitious, but we’re very adept at knowing how long a person’s lifetime is.  Believe me baby, I’ve got a long while.  So do you.”

          “How do you know?”

          Lizzie smiled.  “I can read you easily, Hoon.  You are my husband.”

          “True that.”

          Li stood up.  “Maybe we should go back to the actual waiting room.”

          I stood up and threw the empty cups away, taking Li’s hand.  “Everything will be ok.”

          She smiled and pulled my arm around her waist.  “I know Hoonie.”

          We walked to the waiting room and saw two people standing in front of Lizzie’s brother, daughter, cousins, and aunt.

          “Where’s your sister at, Seung-hyun?”  It was Hwang Chansung.  His father stood beside him.  Min Jee’s mother was on the other side of the room, covering her face with her hands.

          I squeezed Li’s hand.

          She stepped ahead of me.  “Chansung.”

          He took her in a big embrace, and I caught the words he whispered in her ear.  “Thank you Li.”

          She hugged him back.  “Two lives are a greater loss than one, but none is the best of all.”

          “You should’ve killed the ,” he murmured.

          Mrs. Hwang looked up.  “How can you say that of your sister?!”

          Chansung shot her a glare.  “She’s not my sister.  I value this woman much more than the trash you raised.”

          Li sighed.  “Can we not do this?  Please?”

          I made her sit down.  “Trust me?”

          “Of course I do.”

          I cupped her cheek, rubbing my thumb against her face.  “Good.”

          Li looked over at Jung Hee.  “Give me her.”

          He stood up and set Aya in Li’s arms.  “She was wanting you when she woke up.”

          “I bet so.”

          I smiled as I watched my wife.  She was the best mother of all.  I sat beside her.

(Switches from Hoon's POV to Lizzie's POV)

          I held my daughter close, letting her cuddle into my embrace.  I was so thankful she didn’t know what had happened.

          My brother sat on one side of me while Hoon was on the other side.  Chansung and Mr. Hwang, or my cousin and uncle I should say, sat across from us.

          Seung-hyun looked at Aya.  “Who is the little girl?  Is she yours, Auntie?”  He looked at Ree.

          She shook her head.

          I her dark hair.  “She’s Jiyong’s daughter, Oppa.”

          “Hyung had a daughter?  With who?”

          I met his eyes.  “Me.”

          “What?  When?”

          “It’s a terribly long story, Oppa.  Long story short, I got pregnant when I broke up with Ji and had Aya.”

          “Is that why you cooped yourself up in your room so much the summer after your junior year?”

          “And why I was in the hospital so much.”

          Aya stirred and whined.  “Mama…”

          “Shh, Mama’s here Aya.”

          She opened her eyes and blinked, looking up at me.  “Mama, where are we?”

          “I’ll tell you later baby.”

          She yawned and nestled herself back into my arms, falling back to sleep almost instantly.

          Oppa smiled.  “She’s just like you.”

          “She looks like Ji.  She always has, too.”  I took out my phone.  “Want to see proof that she’s Ji’s daughter?”

          “Sure.”

          I played my brother’s song VVIP.

          Aya whined in her sleep.

          I changed it to Baby Goodnight, and she relaxed immediately.

          “She doesn’t like my solo, but she likes Jiyong and T.O.P. hyungs’ song?  What the hell?”

          “She’s spoiled.  She loves her Daddy’s music.  She loves Big Bang as a whole though.”

          “She likes U-Kiss and Super Junior, too,” Hoon added.

          “She really does.”

          “No 2PM?”  Chansung frowned.

          “We haven’t gotten there yet, Sungie,” I said.

          “Tokyo, London, New York, Paris, Oppa, Oppa.  I’m so cool, I’m so cool.  Party like a superstar…”

          “Who told the fish?”  I answered the call.  “Hello?”

          “What happened this time?”

          “Who told you?”

          “Who else?”

          “I’m gonna kill Henry,” I murmured under my breath.  “Nothing happened to me…well, nothing to land me in the hospital as a patient.”

          He sighed in relief.  “That’s good.  Sungmin is still worrying about the other day.”

          “I bet you are, too, Fishy.”

          “How can I not?  You’re my baby cousin.”

          I smiled.  “I love you Oppa.”

          “Love you, too, baby Li.”

          “Oppa, I’m related to too many idols.”

          “There’s another addition?”

          “Well, you and Jihoon are my cousins, Hoon’s my husband, Seung-hyun is my brother, Jiyong is part of the family because he’s Aya’s father, and I found out that Chansung is my cousin by marriage.”

          “Jesus woman.”

          “I know.”

          “Not to mention Teuk and Kangin say you’re their ‘daughter.’  Geez Li, you got a lot of idol relatives.”

          “All of them are guys.  How can I get rid of some?”

          “HEY!”

          “I didn’t mean you Fishy!  Oppa, I love you!”

          “Promise?”

          “Of course I do!  It’s not like I have a lot of cousins like you.  God knows Jihoon isn’t like you.”

          “He’s scary as hell.”

          “No he’s not.  Just overprotective as hell.”

          “Does he know you’re pregnant?”

          “Nope.  He’s gonna freak when he finds out.  Oh yeah, I forgot that Sungyeol is a distant cousin of mine, too.”

          “Wow Li, that’s way too many idols.”

          “Hoya is obsessed with me, Hae.  You should make him stop.”

          “I bet Hyukkie and I can arrange something.”

          Aya yawned and started to mess with Hoon since I was on the phone.

          “Is that Aya?  I wanna talk to her.”

          I put the phone on speaker.  “Aya, it’s Fishy.”

          “Hi Fishy!”

          Hae chuckled.  “Hi Aya.  You ok?”

          “Yes Fishy.”

          “That’s good.  Hi Hoon.”

          “Hi Donghae hyung.  Are you doing alright?”

          “I’m fine.  Are you taking care of my baby cousin?”

          “Yah Oppa.  That’s my husband you’re talking to.”

          “I know that, Lizzie.”

          “I’ll tell Hyukkie on you, Lee Donghae.”

          “No, don’t.  I already got in enough trouble today.”

          “That’s your fault.”

          “Oh yeah, Minho wanted me to ask you something.  Would you rather choose him or Lee Minho?”

          “In what way of choosing?”

          “Dating.”

          “Oh my god, I’d choose him.  I’m not dating Lee Minho.  He’s a jerk.  I’d rather tell Hoon I hate him than date Lee Minho.”

          “Awww, baby, I love you.”  Hoon kissed my cheek.

          “What’s so bad about him?”

          “I’m not going into detail.  He’s just a stuck up jerk.”

          “Like in the Cass CF?”

          “He is exactly like that in real life.  The last part at least.  Stuck up jerk with annoying friends.  The thing with the beer tab isn’t him at all.  Lee Minho annoys me.”

          Donghae laughed.  “Aww, it’ll be ok.  Oppa will protect you if he gets near you.”

          “I know.  Hae, let me go.  They don’t always like people talking on the phone in the hospitals.”

          “Ok.  I’ll talk to you later.”

          “Ok, bye Fishy.”

          “Bye Fishy!”  Aya said.

          “Bye Aya.  Bye Li.”

          I put my phone back up and sighed.  “It’s been a long, long day.”

          A different doctor walked into the waiting room.  She looked at my father’s sister.  “Are you Mrs. Hwang?”

          Chiyo got up.  “Where’s my daughter?  Can I see her?”

          “Follow me.”  The doctor led the older woman out.

          Ree scrunched her nose up.  “I never liked her.”

          “You knew her previously, Ree?”

          “She is your father’s sister.  Your mother and I met her once before she ran off.  Idiot woman.”

          Aya slipped off my lap and went to Chansung.  She looked at him curiously.  “Mama, who this?”

          “That’s Mama’s cousin, Chansung.  He’s in a band, too.”

          She came back and looked at my brother.  “He looks familiar.”

          Oppa looked at me.  “You didn’t even tell my niece who I was?”

          “Hey, don’t look at me.  It’s hard getting her to stay still.  You try raising a toddler.”  I looked at Aya.  “This is Mommy’s older brother.  He’s your uncle.”

          “Seung-hyun?”  Aya asked.

          My brother smiled.  “Ok, Li, you’re forgiven.”  He pulled Aya into his lap.  “You look so much like your daddy, but I see your mommy in you, too.”

          “She’s got your nose.”

          Aya touched the tip of her nose.

          “Hey Aya?”

          She looked at Hoon, her little finger still on her nose.

          Hoon pointed to my belly.  “What’s this?”

          “Aya’s brother or sister!”

          I covered my eyes.  “I don’t know this man, I don’t know this man…”

          “Of course you know me.”  Hoon kissed my cheek.

          Raito came into the room.  “Li?”

          I looked at him.  “Yeah?”

          “Come with me.  I need to tell you something.”

          I kissed Aya’s cheek.  “Be good, Aya.”

          She nodded and scrunched her nose when she saw Oppa’s spike piercing.  “Take out.  That’s ugly.”

          I laughed.  “She’s definitely my and Ji’s daughter.”  I smiled and walked with Raito towards Ji’s room.  “What’s up?”

          “When you were with him earlier, he almost woke up.  I want you to stay with him and just talk to him.  It doesn’t matter what you say, but while you were with him he improved.”

          I nodded.  “Ok.”

          “When he becomes conscious, he’ll finally be out of danger.  Good luck.”

          “Thank you Uncle.”  I hugged him.  I pulled back and walked to Ji’s room.  I sat beside his bed once again and took his hand.  “It’s me, Yongie.  Uncle Raito said that I should come in here and talk to you.  Baby, I want you to wake up.  Please.  For me?”  I talked to Ji for a few minutes and nothing happened.  I sighed.  It was going to take some progress for us to get where we needed to be.

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