"How painful do you think it is?" you asked quietly, looking out the window to your mother who was sitting on the porch, her eyes closed, lips parted. 

"Don't think about it," Seunghyun mumbled, looking out the window as well.

"How can I not?" you asked, pursing your lips together when your bottom lip began to quiver. "What the hell am I doing? I can't even help her."

"It's alright," Seunghyun whispered, grabbing your wrists and keeping them down. "Don't get angry."

"Leave me alone," you spat out, snatching your wrists away from him. "Leave me alone."

"Sweet-"

"No," you shook your head, pushing past him and walking out the door. 

Seunghyun sighed and crossed his arms. He pursed his lips together when you sat next to your mother and burst into tears. He took a step back when she placed a hand over your shoulder, bending down to comfort you even when she was suffering through her last days. Turning around, he walked to the small living room and sat down in a couch, grabbing a pillow to scream into it. He clutched it close to his chest before falling into his own fit of angry tears, cursing whatever had made your mother sick. 

"Hand," Seunghyun said, and you looked down at his hand, wrinkling your nose. 

"No."

"Hand."

"No!"

"Give me your hand," Seunghyun whined, still hugging Seungsuk with one arm. 

"Fine," you pouted, grabbing his hand and slipping your fingers between his. "You always do this."

"Because this is the way to do it," Seunghyun said, lifting your hand to his lips and kissing your knuckles. "Come on. It'll get cold if we don't hurry."

"Punk," you mumbled, stepping out the door behind him.

"Umma, don't," you sobbed, burying your face in her neck. "Don't leave now. Please... you have to see me."

"I'm sorry," your mother mumbled, brushing your hair away from your damp cheeks. "Don't cry anymore. This is the way things are supposed to be."

"Don't leave me," you sobbed louder, shaking your head. "You promised. You said that if I worked hard you would stay. I've been working hard for so long, I did so much for you to be here today. Don't leave me."

"What can I do?" your mother mumbled, your back carefully. "It's time you let go."

"You said you would be here the day I got married," you looked up, brushing away your tears hastily. "You can't break that promise. You said you would hold my first baby... umma."

"I know, I know," she murmured, looking blankly at the waves crashing against the shore. "I'm sorry. I will be there... just not the way you want me to be."

"Don't talk like that," you said, shaking your head, eyes wide. "Please, don't. Umma... don't."

"It's coming soon," your mother said quietly. "You need to get ready like I am."

"Umma," you said, looking at her. 

"I can barely keep my eyes open lately, sweetie," your mother whispered, pinching your cheek lightly. 

"I can't," you shook your head, pulling yourself away from her embrace. "I won't accept this."

"You were doing so well lately," your mother chuckled, shaking her head. "What happened?"

"I..."

"You won't be alone," your mother said. 

"But.."

"Seunghyun is a good person," she said looking back into the house. "From now on, you have to look at him differently."

"How...?" you asked, glancing back into the house as well.

"From now on," your mother said. "Seunghyun will be your best friend, father, mother, sister, brother, lover, soul mate, and husband all wrapped into one."

"Umma..." you whimpered.

"He'll take care of you," your mother continued, ignoring you. "Ah, you sure lucked out."

A small smile came to your lips and you sniffled, knowing she would probably say something that would make you laugh the next moment.

"A model," she said quietly. "Actor, and rapper. Wahh, just like you always said."

"I never said that," you giggled, covering your mouth. 

"Ah, no, you're right," your mother nodded. "You always said it was someone educated with a high pay job. Isn't that what Seunghyun is?" 

"He's still in school," you mumbled.

"Wow," your mother said, looking up. "Really?"

"Yeah," you nodded, your lips. "He's working hard."

"But he has a high pay job," your mother mumbled. "At least that's one thing that's right on your list."

"Did I ever say I wanted to marry a model, though?" you asked, eyes wide.

"Of course," your mother said. "When you were around three, your father said he was a model and you said you would marry a model, as well."

"Did he really say that?" you asked, resting your chin on your knees.

"He said that and then some," your mother chuckled, shaking her head.

"Do you miss him, umma?" you asked.

"I'll see him soon," your mother smiled. "I don't miss his as much anymore."

"Will you tell him about Seunghyun for me?" you asked, looking down at your toes. 

"No way," your mother laughed. "He will come back as a zombie and kill him."

"You're right," you whispered, looking up at her with a smile. 

"Don't worry anymore," your mother said. 

"I won't," you said quietly.

"I'm happy," she said. "So you be happy as well."

"Eomonie," you looked to the door when Seunghyun interrupted softly. "It's almost midnight. Do you want me to help you back inside?"

"Sure," your mother smiled, throwing her arm over Seunghyun's shoulder when he bet down to pick her up. 

You stayed on the ground, looking down at your feet and wiggling your toes slightly. Seunghyun looked at you quickly before walking back into the house with your mother in his arms. 

"Goodnight, eomonie," Seunghyun said gently, setting her down on the bed and pulled a few pillows around her. "Sleep well."

"Go talk to her," your mother said. "Act like a mushy idiot."

"Idiot?" Seunghyun asked.

"Hm," your mother nodded, her eyes closing. "Go."

"Ne, eomonie," Seunghyun nodded, walking to the front door again. 

He leaned on the door frame, looking down at you with his arms crossed. You glanced up at him and gave him a slight pout, he chuckled and was soon sitting next to you in the same position. Leaning your head against his shoulder, you looked down at your hands, blinking in surprise at the rings you still weren't used to.

"How do you explain a time like this?" Seunghyun asked.

"I don't know, man," you mumbled, shaking your head. 

"Hey, yeobo," he said quietly, a teasing tone threatening to spill out of his lips.

"What?" you asked, trying to hold back a smile.

Your eyes shut tightly, fists clenching when you were suddenly slammed down on the floor, Seunghyun's hand cushioning your head before it could slam against the cold ground. Your eyes snapped open and you pulled up your knees out of reflex, his body hovering over yours. You pursed your lips at his wicked smile, reaching up hesitantly to touch his cheek lightly. 

"What?" you asked in a whisper this time.

Seunghyun smiled and leaned forward, the tip of his nose brushing against yours, a gentle smile on his lips.

"We're engaged," he said quietly.

"How will your fans feel about this?" you asked with a grin, shaking your head slightly. 

"We'll break it to them slowly," Seunghyun chuckled, pecking your lips quickly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," you whispered quietly. "Thank you."

"For what?" Seunghyun asked, looking up.

"For being here for me today," you nodded.

"I'll always be with you," Seunghyun said softly. 

"When Seungsuk gets older," Seunghyun said, squeezing your hand in his. "We should still take walks."

"Why would we stop?" you asked quietly, rolling your eyes slightly. "Of course we'll continue to take walks."

"And we should all hold hands," Seunghyun nodded. "But... let's wait a while longer."

"Wait for what?" you looked up at him.

"Wait for our other two babies," Seunghyun said with a teasing smile. 

"Wh-what?" you asked, shaking your head.

"Eomonie wanted three grandchildren!" Seunghyun said loudly, and Seungsuk slapped his neck, smiling at the people walking behind the two of you. 

"Fine!" you yelled. "But you get to be the pregnant one this time!"

You closed your eyes tightly when your mother's breath rattled, her eyes still closed. Seunghyun grabbed the damp towel and opened your mothers lips slightly, squeezing a few droplets of water into to moisten it. You whimpered when he moistened her lips as well, before setting the towel back down on the water. He sighed and looked up at you, reaching forward to hold your hand in his. 

"It's okay, sweetie," he whispered. "It's almost over."

You nodded and you chest shook with silent sobs, tears falling incessantly down your cheeks. You bit on your bottom lip tightly and bowed your head, resting it on your mother's cold stomach. Seunghyun used his free hand to your hair, glancing at your mother's peaceful expression. He noticed her breaths were becoming slower, chest barely rising and fallin every few seconds. He closed his eyes tightly when she didn't move again for a long time and opened them slowly, glancing down at your crying figure before pulling his hand away from your hair hesitantly. 

Seunghyun touched your mother's cold cheek lightly, trailing his fingers slowly down to her neck. He pressed his fingertips against her it, waiting for an entire minute before sitting back with a nod. You looked up and when your eyes met they said it all. A small gasp escaped your lips and you shook your head, burying your face back into her stomach, clutching the sheets on her side tightly. Seunghyun walked to your side of the bed and he rubbed your back soothingly, leaning down to murmur comforting words into your ear. 

"I'm right here," Seunghyun whispered. "It's okay."

You bit on your bottom lip until you could taste blood before sitting up and throwing your arms around his neck. You curled your entire body into his lap, your face pressing against the side of his neck as you continued to cry. He hugged you tightly, kissing the top of your head over and over until your tears stopped. You struggled to settle down your quiet sobs, and shaky breaths. 

"Let's live happily," Seunghyun said, tilting your chin up and brushing away the lingering tears. "For eomonie."

"O-okay," you nodded, closing your eyes when he pressed a gentle kiss against your lips. 

"It's clear that he'll grow up to be as handsome as I am," Seungri boasted as he held Seungsuk, cooing down at the baby. "Right, CSK?" 

"Don't call him that!" you said angrily, sticking your tongue out at him.

"Until you think you have a better name, don't even come near us and try to touch this," Jiyong said smugly, pointing a finger at you. 

"Why couldn't you come up with a good name?" you asked, pointing a finger back at him. "I mean, you come up with something like G-Dragon, but for my son you say CSK? Where did the K come from, anyway?"

"What do you mean... his name is, Choi Seungsuk..." Jiyong stopped and dropped his hand, turning to look at Youngbae who stopped raising his glass of water and froze on the spot. "We're idiots."

"What?" you asked.

"We were going by initials... but," Youngbae cleared his throat. "We clearly made a mistake."

"Huh?" 

"It should have been CSS," Jiyong said, hitting the side of his head. "Aish."

"It should be Seungri the second," you rolled your eyes when Seungri spoke up, looking up from Seungsuk with a grin. 

"No," you shook your head. "D-Lite Two point O."

"That's what's up!" Daesung nodded, pounding his fist against yours.

"Where's Seunghyun, by the way?" Jiyong asked, taking Seungsuk from Seungri. 

"I forgot," you nodded with a smile. 

"You're so cute," Jiyong said, lifting up Seungsuk in the air. "I wonder..."

A few weeks later you were sitting back in your desk, staring down blankly at a sheet of paper waiting to be filled with ideas and plans. You sighed and dropped your pencil, looking at your door through narrowed eyes. You could hear Jae and your secretary bickering outside about what music to listen to, and the mess he had made when he brought Taehyun to work. Laying your cheek on the cool surface you, reached for your phone in your pocket and brought it out.

"Seunghyun-ah," you mumbled. "When will you come back? Can't you call me at least? It's been two weeks..."

You sighed at how pathetic you felt for talking to your phone like that. A slight pang ran through your chest but you held back the unnecessary tears. After all, Seunghyun was in the middle of promotions at the moment, and it wasn't his fault that he couldn't be by your side every second of the day. You dropped your phone on the table and closed your eyes.

"I'll wait," you mumbled to yourself, smiling when you began to drift away, knowing you would dream of your mother and Seunghyun. 

"Sajangnim," you opened your eyes when Jae shook you gently, making you rise from your heavy sleep. "Sajangnim, it's time to close. Do you want me to drive you home?"

"Sure," you mumbled groggily, standing up when he pulled you up by the arms. "Thanks."

"No problem, sweetheart," Jae mumbled, supporting you as the two of you stumbled out of your small office. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," you mumbled quietly, slipping into his car. 

Jae nodded and put on your seatbelt for you, knowing that you wouldn't be much help in your state. You groaned softly and closed your eyes, leaning your head back on the car seat. The drive was silent. You hated to admit it, but lately, you could barely hold up a conversation with Jae. Slowly, you had pushed everyone away but Seunghyun, not ready to open up or talk to people again. 

When you finally made it to your apartment, Jae helped you out of the car and to your door. He dug around your purse for a while before opening finding your keys and opening the door. You stumbled inside and instantly fell on the couch, opening your eyes when you heard Charlie bark loudly. You looked at him as he your hand, nudging your shoulder with his head.

"What?" you mumbled, his fur gently. "Are you hungry?" 

He whined and you scooted back on the couch, making a space big enough for him to jump in next to you. Jae sighed and placed your keys and bag on the table, walking back to the door and casting you a last glance. He smiled when he saw you wrap your arms around Charlie's neck, closing your eyes back again to continue sleeping. His eyes concentrated on the dog who took a protective stance as soon as your eyes closed, lips curling into a snarl as he looked around for any type of danger. When he couldn't find any, he rested his head down on the armrest, scooting closer to keep you warm. Jae closed the door behind him and leaned against it, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Fighting, sajangnim!" he said quietly, raising his fist before walking back to his car. 

This routine was repeated for a few days, until one night, you were awake enough to talk back to Jae. He had done the things he normally did, open your door for you and help you inside as if you were drunk. One night as you dropped on the couch you sat up. Charlie barked when you stood up and pointed at Jae, glaring at him slightly.

"It's your fault," you said. "It's your fault as well."

"What? Sajangnim? Are you okay?" Jae asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It's your fault!" you screamed and Charlie began to snarl, standing in front of you and glaring at Jae. 

"Hey... ca-calm down," Jae said nervously, looking down at the dog.

"How could you, Jae?" you choked out. "How could you do this to me?"

"What did I do?" he asked, looking back at you as you began to sob. "Sajangnim, calm down."

"YOU KEPT ME AWAY FROM HER!" you shrieked. "YOU MADE ME WORK ALL DAY AND NIGHT WITH YOU AND YOU KEPT ME AWAY FROM HER!"

"Sajangnim!" Jae yelled, taking a step back when Charlie threw himself forward. "Please, calm down."

"I HATE YOU!" you shouted. "I HATE YOU! IT'S YOUR FAULT I DIDN'T SEE MY MOTHER ENOUGH! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! OMMA!"

Jae winced when you fell to the ground, burying your face in your hands. He watched as your shoulders shook, flinching every time Charlie turned to bark or snarl at him. You wailed as Charlie nudged you with his head, and you patted him gently. He turned to glare at Jae again as you continued to sob, snarling when he sensed a new person coming forward. He sniffed the air and instantly fell back, forcing his head between your arms, letting you hug him and sob into his fur. 

"What's going on?" 

You looked up when you heard Seunghyun, sniffling and hugging Charlie's neck tightly. The dog pressed himself against you, still giving Jae weary looks. 

"What did you do to her?" Seunghyun asked, shoving Jae back into the apartment and glaring at him.

"I..." Jae cut off, glancing back at you. "I didn't-"

"What did you do to her?" Seunghyun asked menacingly, grabbing Jae's shirt collar, making sure to emphasize each word. 

"TO-"

"Do I need to ask again?" Seunghyun hissed and you finally snapped out of it, letting go of Charlie's fur and standing up. 

"Tabi," you called out. "It's okay. Let him go. He didn't do anything."

Seunghyun dropped his hands slowly, looking at Jae one more time before walking to your side. You instantly ran into his arms as soon as he opened them, burying your face in his chest. Charlie bumped his head against your leg one more time before circling around the two of you, crouching as he stared up at Jae. 

"Why are you crying?" Seunghyun asked quietly. 

"So-sorry," you heard Jae mumbled, the door closing behind him.

"What happened, sweetie?" you looked up when Seunghyun cupped your cheeks. "Don't cry. Did he do something to you?"

You shook your head immediately, sniffling slightly. A soft whimper escaped you and you closed your eyes, hiding your face back in his chest.

"Let's go wash you up," Seunghyun mumbled, helping you to the bathroom. 

Once your face was clear of tears, and you were changed into comfortable clothes, you sat down on your bed, hugging your knees. Charlie was standing next to the bed, his head resting on the surface, looking up at you with worried eyes. You smiled and reached over to his fur and scratch his ears.

"I'm okay, Charlie," you said quietly and he seemed satisfied enough by your smile, immediately your hand before trudging out to his own bed. 

Seunghyun walked into the room a minute later, changed into more comfortable clothes as well. He smiled at you gently and sat next to you, reaching over to push your hair behind your ear. 

"Hi," was all he said, leaning in to kiss your forehead. 

"I didn't know you were coming back," you mumbled.

"It was sudden," Seunghyun said. "I didn't get a chance to call or send a message. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," you whispered.

"Why were you crying?" he asked, pulling the covers back and forcing you to your back.

"Mom," was all you said and Seunghyun nodded, pulling you into his arms before pulling the blankets over the two of you. You sighed in relief, and slight content, breathing in his familiar scent. 

"I'll be here for a month," Seunghyun said. "So don't worry anymore. Have you been eating?"

"Yeah," you nodded.

"Sleep now, okay?" Seunghyun said softly, kissing the top of your head. "You seem tired."

"Okay," you whispered, already falling asleep.

"Don't worry anymore," he murmured, your back soothingly. "I'm here now, I'll protect you."