“When’s daddy coming home?” my three year old daughter stared up at me with questioning eyes.

“He’ll be here when you wake up in the morning,” I smiled, brushing a hand through her dark hair which she had inherited from her father.

“I wish he didn’t have to leave,” she pouted, crossing her arms.

“Daddy is famous so he has a lot of weight to carry, even though he’s retired. It’ll keep lessening as time goes on,” I assured her, then reached over and grabbed her teddy bear from the couch beside me. “Now how about you go put on your pajamas? The sooner you go to bed, the sooner you’ll wake up to daddy!”

Her eyes dilated and she snatched the teddy bear from my hands, snuggling it in her arms as she quickly ran off to her bedroom. I sat back and sighed, watching her hair bounce behind her as she went. She was our beautiful creation.

I brought a hand to my belly, thinking about the child that would soon join our family in six months. Key was already gone on his “Remembering SHINee Tour” when I found out the news and I didn’t want to burden him. At the moment, I was the only one who knew of our future second child. But tonight he’d be coming home and I was going to break the news to him over a romantic candlelit dinner.

My eyes drifted to the clock above the TV.

“Only a few hours until he arrives,” I whispered. “I better make sure everything is in place.”

The time passed slowly. I tucked our daughter, Na Rim, into bed, made sure the candles were in place, and began preparing the small meal we’d share. As I was cutting the vegetables the phone rang, startling me. I hurried to answer it, hoping that Na Rim wouldn’t awaken.

“Annyeong haseyo?” I asked softly into the phone.

“Brianna,” his voice sounded shaky and rushed. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

A shout came from somewhere in the background. “Key? Kibum, honey, are you okay? Where are you?”

“Listen to me. Don’t panic, we’ll be okay. That was just one of the stewardesses. We’ve hit some bad weather and… well one of the engines is malfunctioning. But everything is going to be fine. The pilots flying us are some of the best in the business and I’m sure they’ll do everything in their power to safely land us.”

My breath became short and a lump formed in my throat. Words hung on my lips, but couldn’t fully escape my parted mouth.

“Brianna, darling, I need you to stay calm. Everything’s going to be alright,” Key soothed.

“I- I… Why is this happening? Why now?” Too much panic filled my body to think straight.

“Yebo, sometimes things happe-,”

His voice was cut off by shouts, static and an awful crashing noise.

“Kibum!” I exclaimed, putting a hand to my mouth.

“I’m here, honey, I’m here,” his voice came back on the line, slightly relieving my heart. “But I need you to stay strong for me. Is Na Rim sleeping?”

“Y-yes,” my voice squeaked.

“Good. Has she been behaving while I’ve been gone?”

“She’s the same sweet angel you saw a month ago,” I answered, trying to steady my breathing by the calming sound of my husband’s voice. “Goodness she’s growing up so fast, Key.”

“She’s beautiful,” he agreed, his voice shaking a bit due to the plane’s turbulence. “We’re going to have more beautiful children, alright? We’ll look back on this night as a small…,”

Another voice could be heard at the other end. Key said something back, and after a short exchange of words he returned to me.

“I’m going to have to end the call. But you just sit tight. I’ll be home before you know it. You’ll be in my arms in just a little while. I love you, Brianna; for eternity I love you.”

“I- I love you too, Kibum… so much,” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm my heart.

The call ended and I slowly lowered the phone from my ear. A tear slipped down my cheek and I held my wedding ring against my heart.

“Lord, please bring him home to me safely. Guide that plane down to the runway with no problems. Please, Lord, I need him.”

Just then I felt a tug on the bottom of my shirt. I looked down to see Na Rim looking up at me with big, curious eyes.

“Mommy, why are you crying?” she tilted her head to one side.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” I questioned, wiping away my tears and kneeling down to be at eye level with her.

“The phone woke me up. Was it daddy? Is he home?”

My heart ached. It took every ounce of strength not to fall apart. Taking a deep breath and blinking hard, I forced an excited expression. “Honey, how would you like to take a trip to the airport with me?”

“But I don’t wanna change,” she pouted.

“Just for tonight, I’ll let you go in your PJ’s!”

“Chincha?!” her face lit up.

“Yes,” I smiled. “Now go grab Tasha Bear and I’ll get your scarf.”

“Alright, Mommy!” She ran off toward her bedroom to grab her teddy.

“Please,” I whispered. “Return her daddy to her.”

----------------------

We arrived at the airport at about 11 pm. During the drive Na Rim and I sang along to her favorite children’s songs. By the time we reached the terminal I was carrying my sleeping daughter in my arms. She was so tired. I was thankful for it though. She looked so calm and innocent like that.

I sat on a bench near the gate my husband was supposed to be coming in. Thoughts of the other SHINee couples passed through my mind. The boys must’ve all been home with their wives by then. Nicole and Minho were the only other couple living in the States, but they were down in New York. It was Key’s connection flight to Manchester that was in danger.

“Out of all the planes in the world, why his?” I whispered.

“Your husband’s on the plane?” asked a voice from behind. Actually, is was more of a statement.

I turned around to see an old woman sitting on the bench which was back to back with mine. She smiled and the wrinkles in her skin moved like ripples on a pond.

“Oh, um, yes. Is yours?” I asked, unaware that the woman had even been there until that moment.

“You could say that,” she smiled with a distant look in her eyes.

“I don’t know why it has to be them. They didn’t do anything to deserve this,” I shook my head.

“It’s not a matter of what people deserve. They only get put on them what they can handle. He knows what He’s doing.”

I turned back around and faced away from the woman, thinking about what she just said. A curious thought crossed through my mind, and I turned back to ask her, “You mean-,”

However she was already gone. I shook my head.

Am I just seeing things? Or maybe… was that my answer?

“Mommyyyy,” Na Rim squirmed in my arms. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Okay, let’s go,” I set her on her feet and walked with her to the restrooms, hand in hand.

The whole time I thought about the old woman. It was so quick… did it really happen? Was I hallucinating? Had I been asleep?

“What’s in that machine, Mommy?” Na Rim pointed to the tampon machine on the wall. “Is it a toy? Can I have one?”

“Oh, no, honey,” I chuckled. “It’s not a toy. You’ll get one when you’re older.”

“What is it for?”

“It’s for women when they grow up.”

“Is it growing up powder?!” she looked up at me, elated. “Ji Min at ballet class says there’s a special powder that parents sprinkle on children every night that makes them grow. Do you do that to me, Mommy? Omo, what if you miss it tonight! I’ll be this size forever!”

“Don’t worry,” I smiled at the fragileness of her childish heart. “I’ll make sure you grow up strong and beautifully.”

“Yayyy!” she jumped up and down as we exited the bathroom, back into the terminal.

I glanced around at all the people, my eyes falling on one man in particular. He had great fashion sense with a winter hat and trench coat. His face was so beautiful it looked airbrushed, and his nose was so perfect it could’ve been plastic. He was walking in the direction of the luggage pick up station, dialing on his phone frantically. His name was Kim Kibum.

His eyes met mine from across the terminal and he slowly lowered the phone. Tears built up behind my eyes as we exchanged looks through the crowds of people. I squeezed my daughter’s hand, leading her through the crowd toward her father. He hurried toward us, dodging between bodies and apologizing. Not once did my eyes leave him, nor his did me.

“Daddy!” Na Rim shouted when she spotted him. Shaking out of my grasp, she ran toward her father. I watched them embrace, staring at their smiling faces. It was as if a bright light shone from where they were, filling the whole building with hope.

“Thank You for listening,” I whispered, “Thank You for giving our children a father to love for all their lives. Thank You.”

I finally reached him. He set Na Rim down and I stepped into his arms, putting a hand to his flawless face.

“It’s really you,” I remarked in a soft voice.

A smile spread across his face, “He heard my prayers.”

“He heard mine too.”

We embraced tightly and he pressed his lips against mine. The relief in both of us was too much for words. Our lips crashed against each others longingly, our arms seeming as if they’d never let go.

“I love you,” he whispered when our lips finally broke apart. “Nothing can stop me either. No storm, no machine, no person. I’ll always come back to you… and Na Rim.”

“Oh, Kibum,” I gently grabbed his hand, placing it on my stomach. “It’s not just us.”

A shocked look covered his face, making me smile and let out a giggle.

“You’re not…”

“Mhmmm,” I nodded, biting my bottom lip in an attempt to hide my smile. “Three months pregnant.”

“Oh, yebo,” he kissed me again, then looked down at Na Rim.

“Na Rim, honey,” he knelt down and brushed a hand through her hair. “How would you like to be a big sister?”

A look of consideration passed over her face, soon joined by a smile. “Do I get to sprinkle the growing powder on him?”

“Growing powder?” Key looked up at me, perplexed.

“I’ll tell you later,” I laughed. “Now let’s go home; all of us, together.”

Key smiled at me and we both took one of Na Rim’s hands as our happy trio headed off to the baggage claim. One family, blessed and safe.