When Leeteuk found Seong Mi again, she had been assigned to her own room, something that he and Kangin had wanted to provide for her.

 

“How do you feel?” he asked closing the door as he walked over to her bed.

 

“Miserable,” sighed Seong Mi as she rubbed her hand across her already damp forehead.

 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” asked Leeteuk as he took a seat beside her.

 

“Can you try to call Jinhyuk? Maybe he’s finished with his exam by now?” she asked.

 

“Sure,” said Leeteuk reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone.

 

He proceeded to dial Jinhyuk’s number only to be met with his voicemail.

 

“He’s not answering,” he said apologetically. “Is there anyone else I can call?”

 

“All I have is you and him…and Kangin-ssi. Where is he?” asked Seong Mi only now just realizing that Kangin hadn’t taken his normal place beside Leeteuk.

 

“At work. He has an important presentation to give today, so I told him to finish and then come. He’ll be here soon, don’t worry,” said Leeteuk with a soft smile as he patted her hand.

 

Seong Mi smiled back, truly happy that if any one of the three men were here, it was him. Leeteuk made her comfortable and had truly become her rock during these last few weeks.

 

But just then, Seong Mi felt the beginning of another set of contractions and she bit her bottom lip in preparation.

 

Leeteuk took her hand in his and grabbed the small cloth that was laying on the table beside her bed to dab at her forehead.

 

When they finally ended, Seong Mi smiled in gratitude and Leeteuk nodded with a smile of his own.

 

And so it went for the next few hours.

 

Time ticked by and nothing more happened. Seong Mi’s contractions were steady, but she wasn’t dilating fast enough, and so the labor dragged on.

 

Luckily at some point, Leeteuk had been able to get a hold of Jinhyuk and he had rushed down to the hospital faster than either of them had anticipated.

 

When he walked into the room, panting and with his bangs stuck to his damp forehead, Leeteuk and Seong Mi couldn’t help but smile.

 

“Jinhyuk-ah, it looks like you're about to go into labor too,” Leeteuk chuckled as he took the bucket of ice chips from Seong Mi’s lap and set it on the table.

 

“The bus got held up in traffic, so I got off and ran a good portion of the way,” he said, his bag slipping off of his shoulder as he made his way to take a seat beside Seong Mi on the other side of her bed.

 

“Oppa, you didn’t have to run. Didn’t Teukkie tell you that we’ve been here for hours?” asked Seong Mi turning to look at him.

 

“But I didn’t want to miss anything. I’m so angry at myself for not having my phone on after I finished my exam, I’m sorry,” he said.

 

“It’s okay,” Seong Mi smiled up at him.

 

“Are you okay, are you in a lot of pain?” he asked breaking away from her eyes to examine the conditions of the wires and tubes that were attached to her already.

 

“I’m fine, really,” said Seong Mi tugging on his sleeve to get him to sit back down.

 

Feeling satisfied with both her answer the condition of the room, Jinhyuk sat back down again. He smoothed away some of the strands of hair away from her forehead and then took her other hand in his.

 

Leeteuk smiled to himself as he watched the two. Even though their love had seemed to blossom over night, he was happy for them and it reminded him of the way he and Kangin were in their early days of dating, and even still now.

 

Seeing that Seong Mi was in a good place now with Jinhyuk by her side and feeling a little tired with having sat for so long, he excused himself and left them to have some time alone for a bit.

 

Once out of the room, Leeteuk slowly drifted down the hallway aimlessly. Feeling his phone suddenly vibrate in his pocket, he reached in and pulled it out, happy to finally see Kangin’s name on the screen.

 

“So, how’d it go?” he asked immediately upon answering.

 

“We did it! We really did it! The CEO really backed our plan!” Kangin said excitedly.

 

Leeteuk laughed, “Congratulations yeobo, I’m so happy for you! See, I knew this would happen! You had worked too hard and too long for it not too,” said Leeteuk walking over to a big window.

 

He stood to the side and gazed out at the beautiful evening that had started to settle over the city.

 

“So what happens now?” asked Leeteuk.

 

“To be honest I don’t know and I don’t really care,” said Kangin with a small laugh.

 

“What?” chuckled Leeteuk as Kangin’s words dawned on him.

 

“Everyone is going out for celebratory dinner and drinks but I told them that I have something more important to focus on for now. How are things going with Seong Mi and the baby?”

 

“Well, it’s just been a lot of waiting really. I guess he isn’t ready to come out after all,” sighed Leeteuk.

 

“There isn’t anything wrong is there?” asked Kangin becoming more concerned. “What have the doctors said?”

 

“It’s just been a waiting game. I’ve been trying to keep Seong Mi as relaxed as possible but she’s been in a lot of pain. It’s helped that Jinhyuk is by her side, but we’re hoping that it wont last too much longer.”

 

“I thought babies came faster than this. Throughout the entire presentation I was scared that I would have missed everything,” Kangin said with a sigh that turned into a chuckle.

 

“Nope, first labor takes hours Yeobo, something tells me we’ll be here well into the night.”

 

“Well, I’ll be there soon, so that we can wait together,” he said.

 

“Okay, see you soon,” said Leeteuk.

 

~**~

 

When Kangin arrived about half an hour later, Leeteuk greeted him in the hallway with a much needed hug.

 

“How are you holding up Teuk-ah?” asked Kangin cupping the sides of Leeteuk’s face once they had broken apart.

 

“I’m okay,” Leeteuk answered only half honestly.

 

“You look exhausted. I know sleep is probably the wrong thing to ask about, but when was the last time you ate something?” asked Kangin shaking his head in disappointment.

 

Leeteuk shrugged and then let out a laugh.

 

“Just what I thought, let’s get you something,” said Kangin putting his arm around Leeteuk’s shoulder.

 

Leeteuk paused, feeling as though he should asked Jinhyuk, if he would like to come, but then thinking against it, knowing that nothing was going to pull him away from Seong Mi’s side.

 

They decided on just the cafeteria so that they could stay close by. Although he honestly wasn’t that hungry, Leeteuk decided on the largest meal to please Kangin.

 

As they sat down at a table and began eating, or in Leeteuk’s case picking at the food on his plate, his eyes suddenly grew large.

 

“Kangin-ah we haven’t finished anything,” he said with a gasp.

 

“What?” asked Kangin shaking his head.

 

“His room,” Leeteuk said with a sigh as he sat back in his seat. “I thought I’d have more time. Nothing is ready, how are we supposed to bring him home?”

 

“Teuk relax, we’ll figure it out,” said Kangin reaching over to his hand.

 

“But we have to—

 

“Teuk,” said Kangin.

 

“We haven’t even—

 

“Teuk,” Kangin sighed again.

 

“Yes,” said Leeteuk knowingly.

 

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for years…and it’s finally happening. So every onesie isn’t in place. So what if the sheets aren’t on his bed yet. By tomorrow, we’re going to have our son,” Kangin smiled.

 

Leeteuk relaxed at these words, knowing that Kangin was exactly right, and that right now nothing else mattered.

 

“Leeteuk-ssi!”

Leeteuk and Kangin turned at the sound of his name being shouted across the cafeteria. There they saw Jinhyuk dodging around people and tables, making his way over to them.

 

“Jinhyuk-ah, what’s wrong—

 

“It’s happening!” he spit out as he reached their table.

 

Both Leeteuk and Kangin’s eyes bulged out of their heads.

 

“N-now? She’s having the baby now?!” asked Kangin.

 

“Yes, they just came in and took her!” said Jinhyuk backing away from the table, already eager to go witness the birth.

 

Leeteuk and Kangin sat stunned for a moment before they too scrambled to their feet and proceeded to follow Jinhyuk out of the cafeteria.

 

As they followed behind Jinhyuk’s now jogging body, Leeteuk began to feel lightheaded, still in shock that it was all suddenly coming together. He glanced over at Kangin who was gripping his hand tightly as they trotted down the hallway together, a smile was on his face. Seeing that happiness, that pure joy on his husband’s face seemed to wash away the anxiety that had only just captured him. Everything was going to be okay.

 

Once they reached her room, Jinhyuk turned to face them.

 

“I’m going to go inside to be with Seong Mi—do you—

 

Leeteuk shook his head. “No, it’s okay, you go ahead. We’ll be waiting here on the outside for you all.”

 

Jinhyuk nodded before slipping behind the door. Through the momentary crack both men could see doctors milling around Seong Mi as she cried out in pain from a bed in the center of the room.

 

 

~**~

                       

It lasted about 20 minutes.

 

Jinhyuk had stumbled out in a daze, and stayed just long enough to deliver the information that the baby had been born and was declared healthy before slipping back in be with Seong Mi.

 

After sharing a back breaking hug and endless kisses and tears, Leeteuk and Kangin sat, their hands gripped together with ear to ear smiles as they waited for their first glimpse of the baby.

 

And they waited. And waited. And waited.

 

Eventually, the anxiety of not being able to see him grew to unbearable levels causing them both to grow agitated.

 

Kangin’s feet seemed as if they were going to wear a hole in the ground as he paced back and forth expectantly.

 

“Kangin-ah,” sighed Leeteuk as he ran a hand through his hair, “please, please sit down.”

 

Kangin looked up questioningly, as though he was unaware that he was doing something slightly irritating.

 

“You're pacing,” clarified Leeteuk who then patted the seat beside him and Kangin reluctantly sat down.

 

“I just don’t understand. What’s taking so long?” asked Kangin. “What are they doing in there with him?”

 

“They just need some time. Think about the severity of what they're doing,” said Leeteuk as he grasped Kangin’s hand linking their fingers together.

 

“It just makes me nervous. What if they…they’re still kids themselves. What if they suddenly decide they want to keep him—things could change, they still can—

 

“Kangin-ah…that’s not going to happen. We just have to be patient. They just want to say goodbye and we have to respect that,” Leeteuk said cupping their fists with his other hand.

 

Kangin let out a frustrated sigh as he nodded.

 

Seong Mi and Jinhyuk had been in the hospital room with the baby for over an hour now.

 

They had spent the time memorizing every bit of the tiny human laying asleep in their arms. Although they sat close together, Seong Mi in her hospital bed and Jinhyuk in a chair pulled impossibly close, every few minutes they alternated holding him, both wanting to remember what this felt like, holding a baby, because they knew that very soon that feeling would be entirely foreign again to them.

 

“I wish he was awake,” mumbled Jinhyuk sadly.

 

“Why?” asked Seong Mi, their voices sounding strange to her after so much time spent in silence.

 

“I want him to remember us as much as we’re going to remember him,” he said bringing his eyes up to hers.

 

The edges of Seong Mi’s lips turned up into a sad smile.

 

“He will, Teukkie promised me that he would know us, and that’s all we can really ask for, right? That he’ll grow up knowing that we loved him, but that we couldn’t keep him,”

 

Jinhyuk nodded slowly, biting down hard on his lips as a tear came out from his left eye, quickly followed by one from the right. He raised his hand to the silky tuffs of the baby’s hair once more before Seong Mi took it within hers.

 

“I think it’s time for him to meet his parents now.”