“Baba,” Hyemi began one day, when Zhou Mi was watching one of his Chinese romance dramas on the sitting room’s TV.

“Yes, Haimi?” he asked, turning to face her in the doorway. He patted the seat next to him in invitation and muted the TV. She walked over and climbed clumsily onto the sofa, so he helped pull her up.

“Baba, I watched a drama this morning,” she continued, although he thought she probably shouldn’t because she was so young and that was probably considered bad parenting in parts of the world—but he’d never really encouraged her, she’d just started by herself, “and the girl’s Mama and Baba were kissing.” Zhou Mi’s expression wavered. Please, oh please, let her not be talking about this… “Baba, why don’t you and Mama kiss?”

“Uhh,” he replied dumbly. “Your Mama and I, we…” He stopped. How did you explain their relationship to a five year old? How did he explain that Kyuhyun was straight and therefore not interested in him? “We…we’re not like that girl’s parents.” 

Hyemi nodded her head. “But, Baba, you do a lot of things that they do.” Well, this was interesting. “You sleep together and you cuddle and you look after me, you just don’t kiss,” Hyemi continued with the tact of a small child.

Zhou Mi, who had turned pink at “sleep together” and purple at her detail in general, nodded sheepishly, because what else could he do? It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about this before. Kyuhyun seemed perfectly fine with doing those things, even showering together on occasion. They just had never deepened their relationship, although that could be because Kyuhyun was straight. “We just don’t,” he mumbled.

“But why? You should.” She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and Zhou Mi knew she was manipulating him but he was helpless against it. There was nothing he could do except give into her.

“Let’s go and see Mama,” he said with a sigh, “and see what he thinks of this.” He lifted her up and carried her through to his and Kyuhyun’s room, where the other was playing a game involving button-mashing on his Nintendo 3DS. He put Hyemi down on the floor and she grinned up at Kyuhyun’s hands. “Kuixian,” he said, not quite able to believe he was doing this. Why was he? Oh yes, their daughter (he still swallowed, even after all this time of bringing her up together) was an evil manipulator. “Kuixian, your daughter—” Well, she wasn’t just Kyuhyun’s…

“Our daughter,” Kyuhyun interrupted without looking up from his console.

Zhou Mi continued as if there had been no interruption. “—wants to know why we don’t…” He stopped, a lump in his throat. He couldn’t say it. He couldn’t.

Hyemi was happy to finish his sentence. “Kiss,” she said, smiling over at Kyuhyun sweetly. 

Kyuhyun blinked at his game for a few moments, and then put it aside in favour of blinking in somewhat an adorably confused fashion at Hyemi. Zhou Mi took a moment to mentally coo at the cuteness of such an action before focusing again on the matter at hand.

“Hyemi,” Kyuhyun finally managed. “Hyemi, your father and I aren’t together. That’s why we don’t kiss.”

Hyemi gasped. “But…but you’re Mama and Baba’s Baba and why aren’t you together?” Her eyes filled up with tears.

Kyuhyun blinked once more at her. “Why should we be?” he asked, and Zhou Mi felt as if his heart had stopped. Shattered. Just for one moment. He pulled his smile back up quickly before either of them noticed—Kyuhyun wasn’t the most perceptive of people but Hyemi was, and despite her young years, Zhou Mi was almost completely certain she’d understand. If she didn’t she’d ask Grandma, and Grandma definitely knew.

Hyemi folded her arms and somewhat scowled at Kyuhyun, and Zhou Mi was struck again by how similar they were; she was obviously Kyuhyun’s daughter when she did things like that. “Because Mama and Baba share a bed and a shower and snuggle and look after me and are properly like parents and you’re Mama and Baba and you should.” She stomped one of her little feet and pouted again.

Zhou Mi had already thought about it so he knew all this, even more so with Hyemi reminding him, but he saw the surprise in Kyuhyun’s eyes and realised he probably had never thought about it, and was only just noticing it. “Damn,” he said, and Zhou Mi jumped to cover Hyemi’s ears, and glared at Kyuhyun for saying it in her presence.

He wasn’t fast enough, and Hyemi giggled. “Mama said a bad word!”

“Don’t repeat it, Haimi,” Zhou Mi told her hastily. “Forget Mama said it, okay?”

Hyemi sighed reproachfully and folded her arms again. “Okay,” she said. “But anyway,” she continued, and Zhou Mi raised his eyebrows at the wording, because she was five, and who had taught her that? Hecertainly hadn’t. “I want Baba and Mama to kiss.”

Zhou Mi supposed he should have expected that from the beginning, and he covered his face with a hand, trying to keep the sigh in. He turned to Kyuhyun and begged him, with his eyes, to stop her. 

Kyuhyun ignored him. He looked like he was deep in thought. After what seemed like an age, he turned and smirked, and Zhou Mi figured that it was only a matter of time before Hyemi picked up that habit, too. “Alright,” he said, and showed teeth in some sort of smirk-slash-savage-grin hybrid. “Why not. I’ve kissed Heechul-hyung; anything is normal after that.”

Zhou Mi felt his heart beat faster in surprise, and his jaw dropped. “Are you crazy?!” he mouthed in horror at Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun simply kept on smirking. He stood up from his chair, walked straight over to Zhou Mi, and grinned up at him. “I’m not crazy,” he replied quietly. “But this seems amusing.”

“It’s not amusing! Why would you think it was amusing?!” Zhou Mi shot out equally quietly. “Why are you even doing this?!”

“Curiosity,” Kyuhyun replied, and leant up to touch his lips lightly to Zhou Mi’s, one hand on the elder’s shoulder.

For a moment Zhou Mi wanted to lean in, put his hand around Kyuhyun’s waist, kiss him properly. Kiss him like Kyuhyun had never been kissed before. Show him how much he wanted, needed this. Lead him to their bed, press him onto it, keep kissing until Kyuhyun was dazed and pliant. But he couldn’t. This was an experiment of Kyuhyun’s brought on by the curiosity of their five year old, who was in the room with them. Zhou Mi pulled back quickly before the kiss could turn into anything more than just a touch.

Hyemi giggled, clapping her hands together in excited happiness. “Yay! Mama and Baba kissed! I have to tell Halmeoni!” (Even though she called her parents by their Chinese titles, she always referred to Leeteuk and Kangin as Halmeoni and Harabeoji, because they were Kyuhyun’s band parents, not Zhou Mi’s.) She turned and scurried out of the room and Zhou Mi buried his head in his hands again.

“I should have known,” he sighed to himself, and then turned to Kyuhyun. “What was that about?”

Kyuhyun shrugged, not looking at Zhou Mi. “I was curious,” he mumbled, keeping his head turned away. He looked at his 3DS a little wistfully.

“Oh, go,” Zhou Mi sighed. “I’ll make sure she’s not causing havoc.”

Kyuhyun nodded, eyes still downcast, and Zhou Mi left the room, hoping that that wouldn’t be the only time he ever got to kiss Kyuhyun.

---

Later that evening, after he bathed Hyemi and put her to bed, Zhou Mi fell into their bed fully-clothed, yawning. He had thought about a lot during the day and he just wanted to sleep, in the hope that that would help him arrange his thoughts. Kyuhyun looked over from his laptop and finished his mission, before standing up and tugging the older man out of bed.

“You can’t wear those to sleep,” he said softly, and, not for the first time, he tugged at Zhou Mi’s belt, unclasping it and then undoing his jeans for him. He shoved them down off the older man’s hips and helped him step out of them, leaving him in a t-shirt and boxer-briefs. “There.”

“You’re not coming?” Zhou Mi asked sleepily, resting a hand on Kyuhyun’s hip.

“I’ll do a few more missions,” Kyuhyun replied.

Zhou Mi nodded and leant in to nuzzle the younger man’s cheek slightly. His nose had just touched skin when Kyuhyun turned his head and he found his lips pressed gently against another pair for barely a second—so quickly he wondered if he’d imagined it.

“Good night,” Kyuhyun murmured shyly, looking at his feet.

“Good night,” Zhou Mi replied, and he crawled into bed, wondering exactly when they had actually become a married couple, and why he hadn’t noticed it earlier.

---

Kyuhyun must have decided he liked kissing, because he began to do it regularly over the next few days, kissing Zhou Mi spontaneously whenever he could, regardless of whether Hyemi was in the room or not. It was always quick little pecks or brushes that gave Zhou Mi no time to respond, and he never looked at him after he kissed him, as though he feared Zhou Mi would tell him to stop if he acknowledged him.

Zhou Mi wasn’t opposed to the kissing, of course. In fact, he wished he could kiss Kyuhyun first, deeply, properly, enough to show the younger man how much he desperately loved him.

Finally, he couldn’t help it, and he caught Kyuhyun when he was trying to escape after a brief peck when they were alone in the sitting room. He tugged the younger man closer, his arms locked around his waist. “Why do you keep running away?” he asked.

Kyuhyun gasped, looking up at his face, eyes wide. “You-you noticed?” he asked softly.

“You weren’t really being secretive about it,” Zhou Mi pointed out. You’re subtle like a brick to the head is subtle, Baobei.

“I just…it’s awkward…”

Zhou Mi interrupted him by leaning down and kissing him lightly, lingering for a few moments before pulling back. Kyuhyun’s eyes were shut. Zhou Mi smiled fondly at him. “Stop running, okay?”

Kyuhyun nodded obediently. “O-okay,” he promised, eyes still shut. “I…” He turned away without finishing his sentence and headed to their room. (So he was still running, but Zhou Mi didn’t really mind.)

He let him go, still smiling.

---

Three weeks later, just after Hyemi’s birthday and Christmas, just into the New Year, when Hyemi was visiting Grandma and Grandpa, Kyuhyun shuffled nervously into the sitting room, looking down at his socked feet. Zhou Mi heard and turned in his chair to face him.

“Mi,” Kyuhyun mumbled, still looking away. “I have…I have something I want to ask you. A…a favour.”

“Sure, Kuixian,” Zhou Mi replied, smiling at him, even though the other boy couldn’t see. He patted the chair next to him. Kyuhyun crossed to stand in front of him but didn’t sit down.

“I…I thought since how…” He stopped and linked his fingers together. “You know how I’m probably never going to be with a girl? Because they don’t want guys with kids.”

Zhou Mi blinked. Why was he talking about this? Wasn’t he enough for him? He laughed mentally, self-deprecating—Kyuhyun was straight, right? Of course he wanted a girl. But the things they did together…hecouldn’t be straight; it just wasn’t possible…

“But I wanted…just once, I wanted…”

Kyuhyun was nervous, he could see that. The younger man couldn’t stand still; he kept clenching and unclenching his hands, and he had a knee that kept shaking. Zhou Mi pulled him to sit next to him. “Yes?” He tilted Kyuhyun’s chin up to look at him.

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea…”

“You’ll never know unless you ask.”

“I want to…to, you know.” Zhou Mi shook his head, but Kyuhyun was continuing anyway. “I would go out and try and pick up someone but I thought that would be wrong and I couldn’t ask you to look after Hyemi while I was out doing that because that’s wrong and I’d feel bad…and I thought well, we’re sort of married, right? I mean, I know it’s wrong and you may not want to because we’re both guys but…just once? Please?”

The longer his speech went on, Zhou Mi thought he might understand what Kyuhyun was asking, but he wasn’t certain, and he didn’t want to get the wrong end of the stick. “You’re asking me to…? With you?”

“I don’t want to be a forever,” Kyuhyun replied, looking at his hands.

He didn’t want to get excited without knowing everything. “Why me?” Kyuhyun shrugged, looking away, and Zhou Mi frowned. “Aren’t you straight? Straight boys don’t usually…”

Kyuhyun interrupted him with, “Straight boys don’t usually kiss and sleep in the same bed and bring up little girls together as their daughter. This is how we are. You’re Hyemi’s father. You’re…you’re my husband.” He looked away nervously. “I’m not really straight, am I? I don’t think I’ve been for a while. I don’t think either of us is, really. Like Hyemi said, like we decided, we’re her parents. We’re practically married. I’m your wife, I’m her mother. That’s not exactly very straight, is it?”

Zhou Mi’s eyes widened as he realised that although it had taken over five years for Kyuhyun to notice, he finally had. “No, I don’t think you are straight,” he admitted. Kyuhyun nodded as if he’d been expecting this.

“We…we’re together, aren’t we?” Kyuhyun asked softly, looking up shyly. “I’m not just imagining this?”

“We can be,” Zhou Mi said softly. He wasn’t quite able to believe this was happening. Kyuhyun was acknowledging he wasn’t as straight as he’d once thought, that Zhou Mi wasn’t either. That they were together, as if they had been for a long time. It was like a dream come true. He’d wanted this for so long. Kyuhyun…did he love him? He must. He must. Boys didn’t…they weren’t like that with other boys. They didn’t ask other boys to do that with them. But they were like that. They were together. Kyuhyun must love him. “If you want us to be, we can be.” He smiled, not needing Kyuhyun to answer him just yet. “You realise this, if we were to actually do it, would be sort of like us consummating the marriage?” Zhou Mi said lightly. “Overdue consummation, but consummation all the same. We would be together after that. For definite. You want that?”

Kyuhyun nodded, even though Zhou Mi was mostly joking, and it confirmed it for the older man—Kyuhyun definitely loved him and he wanted them to be together. Zhou Mi smiled warmly, happily, and wrapped an arm around the younger man’s shoulder, pulling him into a hug. Kyuhyun leant into his touch.

“So, how do you want to do it? When?”

“You will?”

Zhou Mi nodded. “I will.”

Kyuhyun smiled a little shakily, as if he wasn’t sure of the reaction he was supposed to give. “Whenever, I don’t know. Now.” He shrugged.

“And how? I mean, who do you want to…?” What role did he want to take?

Kyuhyun bit his lip and looked away. “I thought I wanted to, to, you know…but…” He sighed. “Have you ever done it before?”

Zhou Mi nodded. “Yes. I’ve had girlfriends before, though a while ago.” And a boyfriend, but did Kyuhyun need to know that? He wasn’t sure.

“So you know how to…?”

Zhou Mi nodded again. “Yes.”

Kyuhyun in a deep breath. “I thought I wanted to, you know, be in charge,” he started. “But I…I can’t do anything right without you.” He looked up nervously at the older man as he said that final sentence and Zhou Mi resisted the urge to smile.

“I’d show you how to do it,” Zhou Mi promised. “You’d be fine. It’d be realistic. Not quite with a girl, but you’d feel what it was like.”

Kyuhyun shook his head, eyes shut. “You’re my husband, so I should let you.” He turned as he said it, moving to kneel on the sofa, as if baring himself to Zhou Mi.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Zhou Mi said gently, shaking his head, although Kyuhyun submitting to him was one of his fantasies. “It never works like that. There are no set roles. If you want this to be the only time you do it, you should think hard about how you want it to be. I don’t mind. I can do either.”

Kyuhyun’s eyes flew open. “You say that like you’ve done it before. Done…you know.”

Zhou Mi shrugged. “So maybe I have more experience…but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do it.”

Kyuhyun shook his head. “This is right. I…I’m…I want it. Please,” he said softly. “Please.”

“If…if you’re sure,” Zhou Mi said. “It’ll hurt, you know.”

Kyuhyun nodded. “I trust you,” he said softly.

It wasn’t “I love you” but it’d do for the moment, especially considering the situation. He was sure Kyuhyun would say it eventually, but even if he didn’t, he’d know. This whole discussion made it fairly obvious. You didn’t live together, say you’re married seriously, because he hadn’t been joking when he’d said it, kiss and cuddle and be like them and not be in love. “How long do we have?” he asked.

“An hour, give or take,” Kyuhyun replied in a whisper, and Zhou Mi pulled him towards him so that he straddled his legs.

“Then we’d better start now,” he breathed, and caught Kyuhyun’s lips with his own.

---

After that afternoon, which Kyuhyun tried not to admit to himself was amazing and he’d do again in a heartbeat, no matter how gay that sounded—well, he’d already admitted he wasn’t that straight, so he didn’t suppose that was a problem—, they slipped back into their usual routines. He gamed and Zhou Mi kept Hyemi company like the good father he was.

It was nearly a month later, after his birthday, when Kyuhyun started throwing up. Considering the last time he’d been sick like that, those many years ago, he’d ended up pregnant, he was nervous. He waited several days to make sure it wasn’t a stomach bug before grabbing a flu mask and his old Kyuyoung wig and going down to the chemist.

He had a heavy heart when he bought the pregnancy test, hoping that it was just a long-lasting bug despite the fact he was almost certain it wasn’t. When he arrived back home, he skirted Zhou Mi, who was wondering why he was wearing the wig after so many years, and ducked into the bathroom, locking it behind him and following the instructions on the box.

When he read the result, he slid down the wall, crying into his hands. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t be. It surely wasn’t possible.

He must have been louder than he thought, because Zhou Mi knocked on the door. “Kuixian? Kuixian, are you okay?”

Kyuhyun didn’t answer, because he didn’t feel capable of talking to him yet.

“Baba, why’s Mama crying?” he heard Hyemi ask.

“I don’t know,” Zhou Mi replied. “Mama won’t tell me.”

“Mama?” Hyemi asked, knocking on the door. “Mama, why are you crying?”

Kyuhyun didn’t know what to do. He could tell them, or he could stay quiet. He could wait for it to be confirmed. But if he was…if he really was pregnant, then it would be Zhou Mi’s child. He’d want to be with him every step of the way.

He stood, shakily, and tried to calm himself down, counting quietly to himself, breathing in deeply. He unlocked the door and let them both in, regardless of his appearance—he was still wearing the wig and he had tear tracks down his cheeks. When he thought he was properly calm, he looked up at Zhou Mi, but his rage swamped him. He threw himself at the older man, sobbing and beating at his chest.

Zhou Mi wrapped his arms tightly around him. “What’s wrong, Kuixian?” he asked softly.

“You, you did this to me,” Kyuhyun replied without answering, tears coursing down his cheeks. “You made this happen.” This wasn’t technically true, as he had been the one who had asked for it to happen. But frankly, he preferred to blame Zhou Mi. After all, it had been his . “I hate you.” Why didn’t we use protection?

“What did I do?” Zhou Mi asked, and Kyuhyun didn’t have to look up to know that he was wearing his wounded puppy expression. “Tell me.”

Instead of replying, Kyuhyun waved to the counter, where the test still lay. Zhou Mi inched them towards it so that he could see.

“Oh, Kyuhyun,” the older man said, once he understood. He clutched Kyuhyun tighter. He sniffed, and Kyuhyun wondered if he was crying.

“You never call me Kyuhyun,” Kyuhyun mumbled into Zhou Mi’s chest.

“This is…” He was crying. Kyuhyun could feel his tears in his hair. “This is so special. You’re…we’re…”

“Baba?” Hyemi asked. “Baba, why are you crying too? Are you sad?”

“No, Haimi baby, Baba’s very happy. Mama and Baba are having a child,” Zhou Mi said, pulling back from Kyuhyun so he could pick her up. “Another one.”

“A baby?” Hyemi asked.

“A baby,” Zhou Mi replied, nodding. “And you’ll be his or her big sister! You’ll be a good big sister, right?”

Hyemi nodded. “Haimi will be the bestest big sister ever!” she squealed happily.

“We need to…we need to tell the boys. Grandma, Grandpa, all the uncles. They should know.”

“Not until we’re certain. It could be a mistake.” Kyuhyun bit his lip and looked into the mirror, hands pressed against the sink. His cheeks were red and blotchy and the wig was skewed slightly. He looked a mess.

“I’ll book you a doctor’s appointment then,” Zhou Mi said. “It’ll be fine. Believe me.”

Because of Zhou Mi’s hopeful smile and Hyemi’s enthusiasm, Kyuhyun stopped wishing that he wasn’t pregnant and hoping that he was, for them. He nodded once. “Okay.”

Zhou Mi leant across to kiss him and Kyuhyun was overcome with emotion. They were a family. The father, the pregnant mother and their little girl. In that moment, he realised that, without a doubt, that he loved them. He loved them so much. He just didn’t know how to show it.

---

Somehow Zhou Mi got him an appointment with the same doctor who had seen him those years earlier.

“Kyuhyun!” she exclaimed when she saw him. “Nice to see you! How have you been? How’s…is it Hyemi?”

“She’s a little terror,” Kyuhyun replied, smiling fondly. “But I wouldn’t change her for the world.”

She nodded, understanding. “So, what seems to be the problem?” the doctor asked, getting to the matter at hand.

“I think…I’m, you know. Again.”

The doctor blinked. “Pardon?”

“You know. Pregnant.”

Her eyes widened. “Who’s the father? I know you said you were just best friends, but is it…?”

He nodded shyly. “This time it is.”

“Congratulations! I’ll book you an ultrasound.”

The ultrasound, when it happened the next day, confirmed that Kyuhyun was pregnant. Zhou Mi wouldn’t let go of him for ten minutes when he found out. “I’m so happy!” he exclaimed. “I couldn’t be happier! Kuixian, we’re having a baby! Both of us!”

Kyuhyun nodded. “We are,” he mumbled. “I…I’m glad. That it’s with you.”

Zhou Mi beamed.

Kyuhyun smiled shakily, because he didn’t know if it was the hormones or if he was happy or if the baby was making him feel this way but he loved, he wanted, Zhou Mi so badly in that moment. He wanted to tell him. He didn’t want to lose anything. “I…I just wanted you to know. That I. Um. I would blame the baby and the hormones but I felt this way before, even before when I asked you to, you know, and we became official.”

“What?” Zhou Mi asked him quietly, smile gone as if he understood the tone of the situation.

“I…I love you,” Kyuhyun said. “I’m so, so, in love with you, and I think I have been for a while, I just couldn’t say it.”

Zhou Mi smiled warmly. “I know,” he said, and pulled Kyuhyun close, holding him a little possessively. “I’ve known since you asked me to—that.” He indicated Kyuhyun’s stomach. “The way you asked, oh, it said it. You’re not very good at hiding emotions like that.” Kyuhyun blushed. “No, that’s okay, I like you like that. But all the same, I’m glad you told me.” He Kyuhyun’s spine gently.

Kyuhyun nodded. “A-and you?” he asked quietly.

“Would I be with you if I didn’t love you?” Zhou Mi asked. “Do you really think I’d do that, to either of us?”

Kyuhyun shook his head, because Zhou Mi wouldn’t have kept them in what would have been a loveless marriage together. He’d have found some way to keep them together but without the marriage, without the kissing, without the sleeping together. They’d been together for such a long time, too, essentially since before Hyemi was born…

His thoughts trailed off and he turned to look up at Zhou Mi. “It’s been a long time, right?” he asked quietly.

“Hmm?” Zhou Mi asked. “What do you mean, Kuixian?”

“We’ve been together a long time,” Kyuhyun said. “I didn’t realise it but…you wouldn’t have wanted Hyemi if you didn’t love me, right?”

Zhou Mi shook his head, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

“Hyemi’s six,” Kyuhyun said, slightly accusing. “Six.”

Zhou Mi scratched his head sheepishly. “I’ve loved you for a long time?” he offered, and Kyuhyun snorted.

“I’ll say,” he mumbled, but allowed Zhou Mi to pull him close, nuzzle his temple.

“It’s partly your fault, anyway,” Zhou Mi whispered into his hair. “If you hadn’t thought you were straight I’d have told you sooner.”

Kyuhyun sighed and shook his head. “You’re lucky I love you. I’ll even put up with being pregnant again for you. Hopefully there’ll be no more of this,” he placed Zhou Mi’s hand on the cloth on his stomach, “though, two is enough.” He paused. “You’d better be the best husband in the world for this pregnancy, okay, or you can carry it. I’ll find a way.”

Zhou Mi chuckled in response and leant in to kiss him. “I promise I will look after you well, Kuixian. I know how to do it now so I’ll be an even better husband than last time!”

Kyuhyun nodded, mollified, as the older man kissed him and held him close, wondering what he’d done to deserve such a loving man in his life. What were they, now? Boyfriends? They joked about being married but without a priest, without signing the register, without it being done legally, they couldn’t be. And gay marriage wasn’t legal in Korea anyway. But oh how he wished it was.

“We need to go to America, or England, or somewhere,” Kyuhyun mumbled into Zhou Mi’s top. “Somewhere we can actually get married. It won’t be seen over here but still I want to.” He felt Zhou Mi freeze and looked up at him, a little worried. Zhou Mi was tearing up again. “Oh no, don’t cry—”

“I would…really, really like that,” Zhou Mi breathed. “For us to be together, like that…instead of it being fake.”

“Then let’s find somewhere, take a holiday there. Maybe stay for a while. It’ll get me out of mandatory enlisting for a little while—not that we might have it for much longer, the way things are going. Hyemi can go to school there.” But even as he said it, he knew they couldn’t; not for a long time. Maybe for a holiday, they certainly had the money, but not for too long. Neither of them spoke enough English for that (well, okay, Zhou Mi probably spoke enough English, but most of his English he’d learnt from Hollywood films, Henry and Heechul, and he didn’t really trust any of them). He sighed, wishing things were simpler.

---

It wasn’t until Kyuhyun’s fourth month that they told Super Junior.

It wasn’t for any particular reason that they left it so late, more that Kyuhyun couldn’t really be bothered, and Zhou Mi had been hounded by SME to write song lyrics for Ryeowook’s solo career—never mind that Ryeowook could write perfectly good lyrics for himself—and Kangta’s comeback (again), and even for So Nyeo Shi Dae, because Zhou Mi wrote meaningful love songs placed to bouncy pop music or tasteful ballad backgrounds and everybody really loved them. Because the older man was busy, Kyuhyun didn’t really give much thought to telling anybody.

When he started showing, he decided he’d better tell them. He phoned them all, asking them to come to his and Zhou Mi’s house. Some of them whinged because they were in China or Taiwan (Han Geng, Sungmin and Henry), or the south of South Korea (Heechul and Kibum), or even in the Philippines (Siwon). Kibum and Heechul said they were far too busy, and Han Geng said he didn’t know if he could make it. Kyuhyun said it was okay, he just wanted to tell them something, but it could be done over the phone later; it wasn’t majorly important, or urgent. He just wanted to get them all together.

Considering it had been years since all fifteen of them had been together, since he’d been pregnant with Hyemi, he thought that might get their attention.

It did, as three days later, thirteen other men were sitting in his and Zhou Mi’s sitting room. Henry, looking old and not-at-all cute, sat on the floor, leaning against a facial-haired, muscled Sungmin’s legs. Shindong, looking better than Kyuhyun had ever seen him, paced the room with his phone in his hand. Nari was looking after their sick toddler, Dongmi, and he wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to get any worse. Donghae, who had let himself go a little now he didn’t have to do anything of any importance, had his feet up on the sitting room table. Eunhyuk, his hair a short black, was sitting between Donghae and Sungmin. He was pretty much the same as always; he’d greeted Hyemi with a pat on the head, nodded to Zhou Mi, and half-hugged Kyuhyun. Siwon, Han Geng and Heechul were sat on the other sofa, their legs pressed together, and they were whispering into each other’s ears. Siwon didn’t look any different, but both Han Geng and Heechul had put on weight and looked much healthier, despite Heechul’s electric blue hair. Ryeowook, looking as skinny as always, was sitting on a blond but healthy Yesung’s lap. Yesung, on the floor—Kyuhyun had memories of baby Hyemi pulling herself up with Yesung’s hair and smiled fondly; she had always liked Yesung best after Leeteuk and Kangin, though she’d never tell him—, had been doing musicals lately, and nobody was really willing to tell him that blond washed him out in case he started their philtrums again. Kibum, a little portly and facial-haired, was leaning on the back of the sofa with Donghae on it, almost tapping his feet impatiently; he had a film he had to act in later that day and he wanted to get there on time. Finally, Kangin and Leeteuk were perched on the table, leaning against each other. Both looked really good; the army had treated them both very well, as they were finally at sensible weights, and had really good colour in their skin.

Kyuhyun just took them all in for a few moments, smiling warmly, because he’d missed them a lot.

Although they all followed each other’s lives, except for those of whom not in the entertainment industry anymore, they held a type of impromptu circle time where they told everyone what they did. Siwon, still under SME, was now Korea’s most popular actor. Heechul was following on his toes, along with Kibum. Siwon did most roles with typical straight bodyguard-type males (or husbands, he did those, too), whereas Heechul went for the crazier roles—apparently he’d just played a cross-dresser for a comedy drama—and Kibum took whatever he found interesting. Ryeowook had a successful solo singing career, and Yesung, rather than be a gagman like they’d all suspected he’d try (he simply wasn’t funny), had made waves in the musical industry. Shindong, despite being very funny and very popular, had all but dropped out of the public scene. He only returned when he found a show that really interested him, or new talent to help out. Leeteuk and Kangin hosted a television show together, and had their own separate ones. Kiss The Radio, now no longer under Super Junior, was still playing every day, still hosted by Eunhyuk and Leeteuk. They had made household names for themselves in radio; they’d been doing it for that long. When he wasn’t doing the radio show, Eunhyuk was also a television show presenter and taught adults how to dance. Han Geng was popular both as an actor and a singer in China. Henry played classical violin in an orchestra and taught children how to pop and lock in Taiwan, and Sungmin, still living with him, taught Martial Arts. Donghae, who now had a seven months pregnant girlfriend, he happily told them (“It’s a boy!”), was a football coach who did small acting roles on the side, but he was taking a break then to rest an injury he’d sustained playing recently.

It surprised Kyuhyun how few of them were still in the entertainment industry, and how fewer of them (five, including Zhou Mi and himself) were still under SME.

“Okay,” he said. “I called you all here not just to see you, although it’s really nice and I’ve missed you guys, but to tell you something.”

“Yeah, I gathered that,” Heechul grumbled. “What?”

Kyuhyun took in a deep breath. “I know it’s not really that exciting but I’m kind of pregnant again.”

At least eight jaws dropped, Leeteuk’s and Ryeowook’s included. Heechul just rolled his eyes. “That’s it? It was fairly obvious from the moment I laid eyes on you. Couldn’t you have more exciting news to tell us, like tell us you and Seasoning are finally getting married? Because I’m an impatient, busy man, and I’d like to know when I’ve got to get off work.”

Fourteen eyes blinked at Heechul. “Um, we haven’t picked a date yet,” Kyuhyun said sweetly, once he was able to think again. “But I’m glad to know you’ll make an effort to make it, Hyung.”

He was pretty sure that if they hadn’t been sitting down, most of them would have fallen to the ground in shock. As it was, Kibum gripped the sofa tighter and Shindong leant against the wall to keep his balance.

“You’re together?”

“You’re getting married?”

“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”

Kyuhyun grinned at the exclamations and the following “Congratulations, both of you!” messages from everyone, quickly followed by, “I told you so,” from Sungmin to Henry, and an “I’m so happy for you!” from Leeteuk, because he loved how accepting they were of everything. He couldn’t ask for a more loving family.

(“Was it Nari’s bouquet magic working late? I mean, Kyuhyun-hyung caught the bouquet, so…” Henry mused thoughtfully.

“We do not speak of that,” Kyuhyun replied, glaring at him. “And, because I know you were thinking it, you’re still not getting me in a dress. And that’s final.”

“Aww, but you’d look so pretty in one,” Sungmin mock-whined. “You spoil all our fun. Not even just to see?”

“Never,” Kyuhyun said firmly, and that was that.)

---

Kyuhyun had never really cared about what his baby was this time, he just knew it was a baby, his, a younger sibling for Hyemi. He knew that he would love the baby no matter what they were, just as he loved his daughter.

However, Zhou Mi had already started wondering about whether Hyemi’s old baby clothes and cot were appropriate for the new baby, so the moment the could be identified, the older man asked the doctor.

“It’s a little boy,” the doctor said with a smile, and Zhou Mi squealed, because that meant they had both—a daughter and a son. Two little children for them to spoil. A little boy to bring up. Kangin had always mentioned that he wanted one of them to have a son, so he could teach him how to defend himself. Donghae and Eunhyuk wanted a boy so they could teach him football, as Hyemi wasn’t interested in the least—she much preferred watching her cartoons and drawing in her notepads. If he, their son, was brought up in this way, presumably he would like it. He’d also be the same age as Donghae’s son, so they could play together. Hyemi was slightly too old to play with Dongmi.

Zhou Mi rang Leeteuk the moment they were in the car. “Jungsu-hyung! Jungsu-hyung! It’s a boy! The baby’s a boy!” he squealed, and Kyuhyun rolled his eyes at the echoing screams he could hear down the phone, because the older men were more girly than he was, and he was pregnant. 

---

When he was six months pregnant and quite large, Kyuhyun realised that Zhou Mi was avoiding him, and had been for some time. It hurt. Why would he do that? It made no sense.

“MiMi-ge,” he began one day, using the cute nickname to appeal to him, cornering the older man in their bedroom. “You’re avoiding me.”

Zhou Mi wasn’t even looking at him and Kyuhyun pouted. “Sorry,” Zhou Mi replied. “I just…”

“Do you not want me anymore?” Kyuhyun asked quietly.

“Heavens no,” Zhou Mi replied, spinning in his chair to face him almost frantically. “Of course I still want you. I want you too much.”

Kyuhyun blinked. “I don’t understand.”

“When you were pregnant with Haimi, I told you that the bump was pretty,” Zhou Mi said. “It’s still pretty. It’s very pretty. It—” He sighed.

“It does what?”

“It…it makes me want you,” Zhou Mi replied, slightly sheepishly.

Kyuhyun stared at him, slackened jaw hanging open. It makes him…what? “Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked, surprised, when he had regained control of his vocal chords.

“You said you only wanted to—well, once.”

“Oh,” Kyuhyun said, and his brain lit up, because wanting was a different thing to wanting. “You mean you want to—?”

The older man nodded. “So badly.”

“Oh,” Kyuhyun repeated. “Um. Okay?”

Zhou Mi gaped up at him. “You’re okay with that?” He paused. “Wait, “okay”? Nothing but “okay”? I just confessed and you—?”

Kyuhyun interrupted him with a shrug. “Sure. I have no problem with it. I liked it. And I think couples are supposed to not just do it once, so…”

Zhou Mi pulled Kyuhyun towards the bed and mumbled, “Maybe I should have told you earlier.”

“You should have,” Kyuhyun grumbled. “I had no idea you felt that way.”

“I really do,” Zhou Mi said just before he kissed him, and then there wasn’t much more talking at all.

(Hyemi was at Leeteuk’s house. That was definitely a good thing.)

---

Zhou Mi had gone to the shop to buy groceries, heavily disguised of course as, although they’d stepped out of the public light, the fans still knew who they were, the day Kyuhyun had never thought would come came.

Leeteuk had asked to come over to their house to see Hyemi, who was watching cartoons in her room, and Kyuhyun had decided to lie down for a little while before he arrived. He was seven months pregnant by this point and although it was less painful than his first one, it was still incredibly annoying.

The doorbell rang at six that afternoon, a little before Leeteuk was scheduled to arrive, and Kyuhyun waited as Hyemi scurried down the stairs and to the front door. He heard the sound of the door opening and her cheery, “Hello!” and closed his eyes again, smiling softly.

There was a quiet murmur, which was not very characteristic of Leeteuk, who would usually have started squealing when the door was opened. Then he heard what sounded like a woman’s voice say, in one of those I’m-talking-to-a-little-child baby-talk voices, “I’m sorry, I think I’ve got the wrong house number. Do you know where I can find Cho Kyuhyun?” The voice sounded familiar, but he wasn’t awake enough to really try and place it.

“Oh!” his daughter said. “Yes! Here,” she added, and he would have rolled his eyes if they’d been open.

“Oh? Is he in?” the woman asked, and he was sure he should know who it was…

“He’s sleeping!” Hyemi told her. “He’s very tired all the time and now’s his sleepy time until Halmeoni is coming to see me.” Kyuhyun’s lips quirked. It wasn’t like Leeteuk ever came to see them anymore. He only came to play with Hyemi and Kyuhyun’s stomach. He was almost positive that Leeteuk had pregnancy envy.

“Could I come in to wait for him?” the woman asked.

“I’ll go and wake him up!” Hyemi said cheerily, and he could hear her skip along the corridor with thundering footsteps.

She knocked on his door. “Mm.”

“Mama,” she said, opening the door and poking her head around it. “Mama, there’s a lady here.”

“Mm.”

“She wants to see you.”

He knew this, of course, but he was sleepy and didn’t really want to be interrupted. He waited a few more moments before yawning and sitting up slowly, using the bedpost to help him, and wrapped himself in a large woollen throw, because it disguised some of the pregnancy weight. He placed his glasses on his nose and shuffled out of his room.

“Kyuhyun!” he heard, and he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and opened them to find, standing in the doorway, his mother. His mother who he hadn’t seen for more than three years. Who had just so happened to turn up when he was pregnant. His baby kicked, maybe sensing his distress, or maybe just wanting to be annoying. He thought it was more likely to be the latter. He had his moments, after all.

“Umma…” he squeaked, stopping dead in the middle of the hallway.

“Umma?” Hyemi asked him.

He almost didn’t answer her, he was too busy dreading whatever was going to happen. At least he didn’t see his father. That would have been fun. His father was only just coming to terms with the fact he had stopped singing—for the moment, at least. After everything they had done for him, after everything he had been through, he knew that they thought for him to stop was giving in. They thought it was foolish. He didn’t really know how to tell them why he had to. “Yes,” he managed. “This is my mother.”

“You’re my Halmeoni!” Hyemi squealed, and Kyuhyun wanted to bury his head under something, anything. He had never told her it was a bad idea. Why had he never told her it was a bad idea? “I always wanted to meet you, but Mama wouldn’t let me see any of my grandparents.” With good reason!

His mother blinked at the little girl, and then looked up at Kyuhyun. “Kyuhyun,” she said, in that tone that meant she expected an explanation.

“Er…Umma, this is Hyemi,” he offered awkwardly.

“And who is Hyemi?” she asked, but he knew she could tell instantly that they were related by blood. Hyemi had never stopped looking like a miniature, female version of him. Her hair was long and black and surrounded a face that had the same shape as his. Her eyes were black and looked like his pre-surgery. She wore thick-rimmed glasses, like him, and even the way she held herself was similar to the way he had as a child.

Kyuhyun scratched his head sheepishly. “Can we do this inside, please?” he asked, grateful that Hyemi had kept shut instead of answering like he’d thought she would.

His mother walked inside and he showed her into the sitting room after shutting the door behind her. She sat down in the armchair whilst he settled carefully on the sofa.

“Cho Kyuhyun,” his mother began.

“Hyemi,” Kyuhyun said to her quietly. “Do you want to go and watch some more cartoons?”

His daughter nodded, and he ushered her out of the room and into her own.

“She looks just like you,” his mother breathed. “What have you been hiding all these years?”

“She’s my daughter,” Kyuhyun said. “I love her.” His son kicked again. I’ll love you too, when you’re born, he told him.

“Who’s her mother?” she asked. She had a disapproving expression on her face. “Where is her mother?”

Kyuhyun blushed and scratched at his head sheepishly, trying to find the words to explain it. As he moved, the throw fell a little wide around him, opening, and his mother frowned.

“You’ve let yourself go again,” she said, tutting. “I thought I’d brought you up better than this. I thought you lost it all last time—you certainly had on TV? You really need a better diet.” She stretched out a hand and patted Kyuhyun’s stomach.

Kyuhyun’s son kicked.

She gasped and pressed her hand more firmly against the skin as he kicked again. “Kyuhyun,” she breathed.

“Um,” Kyuhyun mumbled. How did he explain this? How could he? “I’m her mother,” he said softly. “And this one’s, too.”

His mother leant back in her chair. “I can’t believe it. You’re my son. How is it possible? This kind of thing—”

“I don’t know,” Kyuhyun said. “I really don’t. The doctors don’t, either. Nobody’s ever worked out why. I never expected, after Hyemi, that it would happen again. None of us did, but…” He waved his hand at his stomach.

“How far are you?”

“Seven months,” Kyuhyun replied softly. “He’s due sometime in October.” He sighed. “I’m sorry I never told you. I just…I didn’t know how to say it.”

She nodded. “I understand. How do you look after her? This house is quite large for the two of you.”

It was out before he thought of how she’d take it. “Zhou Mi lives with me, too.”

She reeled backwards as if he’d hit her. “Two young men living together? Without girlfriends?”

“Umma, we’ve lived together before. It’s not a problem. He helps me look after Hyemi.”

His mother narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you wonder how the public will take it, you living together?”

“Umma, I haven’t been in the public eye for three years. And Mi’s fine. Nobody knows where we live anyway.” He paused. “How did you find us?”

“I rang Jungsu,” she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He told me where you lived.”

Remind me to kill Leeteuk-hyung, he thought. Aloud, he said, “Aah. He would.”

She opened to say something when Kyuhyun heard the key turn in the front door and Zhou Mi walked in. Kyuhyun could hear the older toe off his shoes, hang up his coat, and take the shopping to the kitchen, where he opened the fridge door and began putting everything away. Kyuhyun smiled as he heard him and his mother raised her eyebrows at him.

“Hey, Kuixian,” Zhou Mi said as he came in the room, and he must have seen Kyuhyun’s mother pretty quickly, because he immediately smiled at her. “Hello, Mrs Cho.”

“Hello, Joo Myuk.”

“She found out,” Kyuhyun almost mumbled. “About Hyemi, and,” he waved at his stomach, “this.”

Zhou Mi sat next to him on the sofa and smiled at Kyuhyun’s mother.

She opened and shut . Opened it again. “Who’s the father?” she asked.

“Um,” Kyuhyun said, and turned to Zhou Mi to see if he could help explain.

“Me,” Zhou Mi said, succinctly.

She reeled again. “You’re…you’re together?” She wrinkled her nose. Kyuhyun frowned.

“Yes,” he said.

She sighed. “No wonder you didn’t want any of the blind dates your friends tried to get for you,” she mumbled, and Kyuhyun was surprised she hadn’t been angrier about it. He supposed the fact she was still getting grandchildren was good enough for her. Even if it was in an awkward fashion. She was the kind of person who’d want to tell the world about her grandchildren. It was going to be interesting how she said it. “I should have known. You’re my son. I should have known.”

“I’m sorry,” Kyuhyun said softly.

She waved the apology away. “You have to make up for lost time, Mister,” she told him, with a slight smile. “Now, where’s this granddaughter of mine?”

---

Leeteuk, when he arrived, smiled sheepishly at Kyuhyun. “Please don’t kill me,” he said.

Kyuhyun sighed and shrugged. “Okay,” he said. “She took it quite well. I don’t know what we’re going to do about my father though. I’m so glad he wasn’t here.”

Leeteuk patted him on the shoulder and smiled comfortingly. “You know what the good thing about this is?”

“What?”

“Haimi now has three grandparents. If she meets Zhou Mi’s parents, she’ll have five. All her proper family together.”

Kyuhyun sighed. “I know Mi wants his parents to know. He’s told me.”

“You should let him tell them. What are they going to do? You’ve met his mother. She loves you; she’d never do anything to hurt you.”

Kyuhyun nodded, because it was true. “Maybe it’s time,” he said. “Maybe it’s time to let them know. I will never be ready for the world to know, but maybe it would be okay to tell them. Maybe it would be okay to even tell my father.” He paused. “No, I’m not ready to tell my father.” He laughed a little shakily, but smiled up at Leeteuk anyway. “Thanks, Hyung.”

“No problem, Maknae,” Leeteuk replied, and Kyuhyun tried to tell him he shouldn’t call him that any more, but he was laughing too hard for it to make much sense.

---

The final months of Kyuhyun’s pregnancy flew by without much fuss, and Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun were much more relaxed about everything, having already gone through it once. Unlike his older sister, their unnamed son didn’t cause Kyuhyun too much discomfort, and Kyuhyun was also able to go full term. In fact, he was rather relaxed when he went into hospital to have his caesarean done, only just then starting to think about names.

“What about Hyejun?” Zhou Mi offered, trying to keep the theme going. Kyuhyun shrugged.

“Let’s think about it after he’s born. Hyemi looked like a Hyemi,” Kyuhyun told him, sighing, as they were shown a room. The nurse handed them both robes to change into before leaving to give them some privacy, so he shrugged off his clothes and pulled it on. He placed his glasses on the bedside table and watched as Zhou Mi disrobed and then picked up his camera. “You are always prepared, aren’t you?” he asked, laughing.

Zhou Mi smiled in response. “Of course,” he said, and then turned as the nurse knocked on the door.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

Kyuhyun nodded. He was as ready as he’d ever be, when it came to giving birth.

The caesarean was much less disturbing this time, although still time-consuming, and he hadn’t even started contractions so it didn’t hurt. He simply held Zhou Mi’s hand loosely as he listened to his stomach being cut open and the amniotic fluid draining out. He was so glad for the anaesthetic, although he wished for some kind of earmuffs.

“Here’s your son,” he finally heard. Eight pounds, four ounces, twenty-three inches long. Dark brown hair, Zhou Mi’s eyes. He looked like both of them, and not a carbon copy like Hyemi did. Kyuhyun held him close when he was handed the clean baby and waited as Zhou Mi dragged out his camera and snapped a few shots before he lifted his shirt with familiarity and fed his son, as the hole in his stomach was stitched up. The midwife hovered beside the bed somewhat uselessly, seeing he knew exactly what to do.

When he was sewn up, the bed was dragged back to Kyuhyun’s hospital room. Kyuhyun his son’s hair as Zhou Mi bounced next to him, still hopping even once they got back to their room.

They relaxed for the next few hours, even as Kyuhyun’s mother came in with Hyemi to look at the new baby. Hyemi was excited, bouncing on her feet in joy at seeing him, although she whinged that he didn’t do much at all except lie there and cry.

Kyuhyun’s mother took the baby and held him, taking photos with him. “What a handsome grandson I have,” she cooed to the boy. “You’ll be good for your Appadeul, right?”

Zhou Mi laughed at this. “Your mother thinks you’re a father, Kuixian,” he said, and giggled once more. Kyuhyun gave him a dirty glare.

When the baby got passed over to Zhou Mi, Hyemi poking his feet on the way, Zhou Mi was quick to assure the baby that Kyuhyun was not his father. “I’m Baba,” he said, “and this ugly thing here is your mother. And this here is your beautiful big sister and over there is your very lovely grandmother.”

Kyuhyun’s mother beamed. Kyuhyun glared once more. “I’m not ugly!” he whined. “Hyemi~, Baba is mean to me.”

Hyemi wrinkled her nose. “Baba, Mama’s beautiful,” she said, and nodded her head, frowning at Zhou Mi.

“I think beautiful is a bit much, Hyemi,” Kyuhyun’s mother told her, and Hyemi wrinkled her nose again and wriggled.

“Haimi,” she mumbled. “Only Mama can call me Hyemi.”

Kyuhyun’s mother blinked at Hyemi, and then turned to Kyuhyun and blinked at him. He shrugged.

“Hyemi, it is your name,” he told her.

She folded her arms and snootily tipped her nose up. “No,” she said. “I’m Haimi. But I’m Mama’s Hyemi.”

It was the first time he realised how much he meant to her, having always thought she liked her Baba best, and he stretched out his arms to her. She scrambled onto the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “I love you, Hyemi,” he whispered into her ear and she beamed and pecked him on the cheek.

Zhou Mi, holding their son, smiled fondly as Kyuhyun’s mother laughed behind her hand and Kyuhyun thought everything was perfect.

(The next day they went through all the options for names and finally settled on ones they liked for their son. It had taken them far less time to decide since they had Hyemi, and Kyuhyun wanted his son’s name to match hers. They sorted through many names starting with “Hye” and eventually settled on Cho Hyesung (조혜성), also an unintentional link to Yesung suggested by Hyemi. They thought it was cute, so they kept it. When they translated it, it became Huixing (周彗星). Personally, Kyuhyun didn’t think Huixing sounded as nice as Hyesung did, but who was he to judge? At least Hyesung finally had a name.)

---

Hyesung was a far quieter baby than Hyemi had been. He slept through the night and never once complained about being hungry. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi were actually worried about him, although the doctor said there was nothing wrong with him when they took him in to be examined. She just said that he might start being louder later on in life, or he might have just been quiet in general.

The months passed by relatively quickly for Kyuhyun. Hyemi had her birthday, when she got more presents than she could have wanted, and then there was Christmas, when Hyesung got more toys than he could ever have played with, regardless of only being a baby. It was a quiet affair, with a few friends over, and they went to bed relatively early.

After that came Kyuhyun’s birthday, when he was finally resigned to the fact he was now old (not that twenty-nine was old, per se), and then Hyemi started school come the start of March. An old stylist Noona friend took her, although Kyuhyun thought he was now probably old and fat enough that the fangirls wouldn’t even recognise him anymore. Zhou Mi, on the other hand, was trim and muscled as ever, although he often joked, strangely cheerfully, to Kyuhyun that he’d never had any Korean fans anyway. Kyuhyun’s response was that he’d had Korean antifans, and he didn’t want to read the newspaper and discover his boyfriend had been brutally murdered by girls in their mid-twenties. Especially not since he was now in his thirties; dying at the hands of girls in his thirties would have been pathetic.

Zhou Mi usually mock-slapped him gently for that one, and then leant in to kiss the imagined bruises Kyuhyun would complain about, and then they’d roll around for a bit. Using protection. Kyuhyun didn’t want any more brats to run around after, two was enough.

Hyesung couldn’t judge them; he had his own room anyway.

---

Donghae started bringing his son, Dongjin, over during the days when he wasn’t busy, and had his girlfriend take him over when he was working to allow her to get some rest. Kyuhyun liked her. She was pretty and taller than Donghae was and full of energy, although Dongjin sometimes proved too much for her to handle. Kyuhyun thought they should get married soon; they obviously loved each other a lot. When he joked with her about it, she always asked him to be her bridesmaid. Obviously Donghae had told her about Shindong’s wedding. Sometimes he hated Donghae.

Dongjin was only a few months older than Hyesung, but Kyuhyun found him much more annoying, although he’d never admit it. He was loud and whiny and sometimes Kyuhyun just wanted to stick a bottle or dummy in his mouth forever. Instead of acting on it, he’d take Dongjin from his mother and allow her to take a quick nap whilst he bathed both boys, rubbing them down quickly with baby soap and shampoo. They were too young for bubble baths, but Dongjin liked baths—it was the only time he’d ever be quiet in Kyuhyun’s house—so he expected he’d like the bubbles when he was old enough to have them. He thought Hyesung would like them, too.

As much as Dongjin annoyed Kyuhyun, he liked the company of being around other adults with a small child the same age as his son—it made him feel less alone. He’d felt awfully alone when Hyemi was little, despite having the rest of Super Junior there. He’d sometimes wished he could join a kind of parent-and-baby group, but he didn’t think he could be a convincing enough father. Also, if you’d told him during Super Junior he’d be a parent soon he’d have laughed in your face. He was notoriously bad with children; the proof was on the internet. And yet, here he had two children.

He’d always known God worked in mysterious ways, but this was certainly very different from the way he’d imagined he’d be going into his thirties.

---

During May 2016, the bill to replace mandatory enlistment was finally, finally, passed.

Kyuhyun had not been so elated by government news in a long time. He’d always known that after his first car accident he would probably only have to do desk duty if they even allowed him into the army at all, but it was better than he could have expected. He loved his country and he would have loved to serve, but not with a young son. Not the way he was then. It simply wasn’t possible.

He and Zhou Mi celebrated all night.

---

Kyuhyun was offered another musical in July. It was another historical musical and it required a somewhat round male lead. Kyuhyun almost laughed in their faces as they presented it to him, but he actually really liked the idea and accepted after reading the script once. It had been a long time since he’d been in the public eye, and SM Entertainment basically shrugged at him and told him to do what he liked when he asked them; he was technically still under the label. He had never bothered to leave, even though he had halted his contract whilst he did nothing and ate a lot and was a full-time mother.

He practiced all through July and August, getting into character and memorising his lines, leaving his son with Donghae’s wife during the days in repayment for letting her sleep on his couch for all those early months. He’d had several musicals since The Three Musketeers, many years prior, but they had been some time before and he’d mostly forgotten how to act in musicals, so he put his heart and soul into performing as best as he could. He hoped the audience could tell how much he cared and how hard he was trying.

Zhou Mi came to the opening night, along with some of the trainees he used to know a long time ago, and some others. His parents came to see the show as well, and when he saw them afterwards his father shook his head and said that nothing worried him about Kyuhyun anymore; he was almost thirty years old and if he wanted to be fat and wifeless, then so be it.

Kyuhyun’s mother covered with her hand to hide her laughter, but thankfully didn’t say anything. Kyuhyun still didn’t know how he’d take it.

---

Over the next few months, during which Hyesung and Hyemi had their birthdays, Hyesung learnt to crawl and walk (nowhere near as impressively as Hyemi, for there were no cats to pull the tails of or turtles to kidnap), Zhou Mi wrote a rather astonishing fifty songs, for So Nyeo Shi Dae, SHINee, Kangta, Zhang Liyin, Ryeowook, SM Entertainment’s newer boy and girl groups, one solely for Cho Jinho, and even some for himself and Kyuhyun.

When he told Kyuhyun, the younger man gaped at him. “Fifty?” he asked. “Really, that many? When did you find the time to write fifty songs?”

Zhou Mi chuckled in response. “I have a far busier day than you, Kuixian.”

Kyuhyun glared at him in response. Zhou Mi supposed this was because he’d given most of the baby duties to Kyuhyun in return for cooking and mostly bringing up Hyemi singlehandedly. Hyesung wasn’t as much of a problem as Hyemi. He crawled around the house even though he could walk, and wasn’t interested in pulling anything off shelves, although Hyemi was perfectly willing to assist in any mischief he may have caused. She seemed to enjoy making life hard for Kyuhyun. Zhou Mi couldn’t even explain how she managed it, she just did. It certainly made life interesting.

---

Zhou Mi decided, in early January, to go and visit his parents in China. It had been some time since he’d last seen them, and Kyuhyun had assured him that he could deal without him for a few days. It would have been awkward to take him and the children over there without Zhou Mi’s parents knowing, after all.

Kyuhyun told him that he could mention him if he really wanted to. He wasn’t going to stop him if he wanted them to know. It couldn’t hurt, could it?

Zhou Mi had never smiled so warmly as when he had then, and had said he’d make sure they knew.

Kyuhyun and the children saw Zhou Mi off at the airport and then headed back to their home, where they had a few lazy days of relaxing.

It was during one of these days that the worst thing possible happened—Kyuhyun’s water broke.

Kyuhyun looked down at himself with horror, having already gone through this and knowing what it meant. He pressed one of his palms against his forehead and took a deep breath. “But how?” he mumbled to himself, trying not to hyperventilate. Hyemi was at school and Zhou Mi was in China. What was he supposed to do?

With trembling hands, he picked up the phone and dialled Donghae’s mobile number.

“Hyung,” he got out, shakily, when Donghae picked up, and then hissed as a contraction ran through him, the first of what he knew would be many. “Hyung, can you get me to the hospital?”

“Oh, hey, Kyuhyun. What’s the matter?”

Kyuhyun sobbed out, “I’m going into labour.”

There was a pause at the other end of the line, and then, “I’ll be over as soon as possible. Take deep breaths,” and then the line went dead.

It was the longest twenty-five minutes of Kyuhyun’s life, waiting for Donghae to arrive, and he was so thankful that it took a long time for babies to be born normally, regardless of caesareans, or he didn’t think he’d have made it to the hospital.

As Donghae drove them, Hyesung in Dongjin’s booster chair, he said, “I didn’t know you were pregnant.”

“Neither did I,” Kyuhyun replied, and then snapped, “Drive faster!”

“I don’t want to break the law,” Donghae said. “I’m going as fast as I can.”

Kyuhyun clenched the back of the chair as another contraction happened. He wondered what was going to happen. He had no spare clothes. The doctor didn’t even know he was coming. What was he going to say? “Hi, I was totally pregnant these past nine months, haha, please get this baby out of me”? Somehow he didn’t think that would go down too well, especially as he wanted the same doctor he always had. What if she was in surgery with another patient? He didn’t want a doctor who didn’t know him.

It was probably by sheer good luck that when he was steered in, a flu mask over his mouth to protect some semblance of identity, the first person he saw was his doctor.

Donghae grabbed hold of her as quickly as he was able. “You’re Kyuhyun’s doctor, right?” he asked, and then gently pushed Kyuhyun towards her when she nodded. “Please help. He’s gone into labour.”

She was all business, immediately shepherding them to an empty room and gathering the staff for the emergency caesarean as fast as possible. When she mentioned something about not knowing about his pregnancy, Donghae shrugged.

“He didn’t know either,” Donghae said. “He showed no signs at all.”

She looked slightly worried by this news, although Kyuhyun hoped there was nothing wrong, despite not having had the usual checks, and that his baby was healthy. Although he wasn’t even sure how he’d conceived; they only ever used protection now, to make sure there were no accidents. Like this one. He was tempted to ask if he could get his tubes tied, or something, so it wouldn’t happen again.

Donghae apologised quickly, saying he couldn’t stay; he had to get back to work, and Kyuhyun went into surgery alone for the first time. It seemed much longer than usual. He panicked that something had gone wrong, that his baby was stillborn, or that they hadn’t made the hole big enough. He missed Zhou Mi’s presence there as well; Zhou Mi would have loved to have been there, and he would have comforted Kyuhyun greatly.

After what seemed forever, they said, “It’s a girl,” and took her away to get cleaned up and to weigh her. Kyuhyun lay there, breathing deeply, for some moments, calming himself down. Another girl then, to keep Hyemi company. He was already thinking up names. Hyewon, Hyein, Hyejoo.

He never got to hold her, because the doctor said, “We need to keep an eye on her. She’s too small.”

When he asked how big she was, panicking again, he was given the measurements of six pounds, three ounces, seventeen inches. He froze. How could that child have his genes? Zhou Mi was six feet tall, and he wasn’t much shorter. How could she be so small?

They kept him in the hospital for the rest of the week. He was thankful to Donghae who was looking after Hyesung and Hyemi, because he wouldn’t have known what to do. He couldn’t leave, not without his daughter. And Zhou Mi wasn’t due back for another few days. He’d tried to phone him from the hospital phone, but every time he rang, he got no response. He would have been worried if he wasn’t more worried about his baby. Hyerin, he’d named her. Cho Hyerin (조혜린). Zhou Huilin (周慧琳) in Chinese.

Kyuhyun finally reached Zhou Mi the day he was allowed to hold Hyerin, after she was deemed healthy enough to go home. She was breathing properly and putting on weight and Kyuhyun longed to hold her and feed her and he hated his womanly hormones so much.

Hyerin was like a tiny Zhou Mi, with his eyes, his nose and his hair. She looked far more like him than Kyuhyun.

“MiMi,” he said, once Zhou Mi had picked up.

“Kuixian!” Zhou Mi squealed, and then his tone became serious. “Is there something wrong? You haven’t answered any of my calls.”

“I’m in the hospital,” Kyuhyun began, and Zhou Mi interrupted him.

“Oh no! What happened? Is there a problem, did you get into an accident? Why didn’t you ring me immediately?”

“No, I’m not hurt, nor are the kids,” Kyuhyun said, and then reached to the head of his daughter in her crib beside the hospital bed. “You’re a father.”

“Well, yes, I knew that,” Zhou Mi was saying, and Kyuhyun interrupted him in return for him interrupting before.

“Again,” he simply said.

There was silence at the other end for a few moments.

“I’m sorry?”

“Apparently I was pregnant, and we didn’t know it,” Kyuhyun said, “though I’m not sure how. But she was born on the fourteenth. Cho Hyerin.”

“…are you pulling my leg, Kuixian?” Zhou Mi asked softly.

“No,” Kyuhyun said, and smiled down at his daughter. “She looks like you. She has your nose. I tried calling you, but you never picked up.”

“I’m sorry,” Zhou Mi said, and then, “I can’t believe it. A baby. Another one.”

“Me neither,” Kyuhyun replied softly. “Are you going to be home soon? I miss you.”

“I’ll be home tomorrow,” Zhou Mi said. “I love you.”

They said their goodbyes and Kyuhyun hung up the phone, staring at it for a few moments before turning and picking Hyerin up. He held her close and thought this had to be the end of it all.