Note: This is the second part that's 7912 words long. Enjoy!

 

 

For the next two months, Baekhyun felt much happier than he had the first two months after Chanyeol abandoned him. Jongdae could sense a whole new refreshing aura around the pregnant boy and he couldn’t be more relieved.

 

Baekhyun hadn’t done much other than to mope around the house for the first two months but now that he was feeling better, staying cooped up in the house was frustrating him so Jongdae suggested he took up a job but it wasn’t exactly a feasible idea considering that he would soon have to go on maternity leave. Instead, he decided he would take up prenatal classes at the community centre. He was enjoying his time there, befriending other pregnant Bearers, so much so that he began to help out in the child care program where he would look after the children of couples who were too busy with work.

 

Here, Baekhyun found his love for children. Everyone loved him because of his gentle ways and fun nature that allowed the children to look up to him like a brother.

 

It was a Monday afternoon and Baekhyun had just wrapped up his prenatal class. Today, it was a beginning lesson on birthing and the instructor had managed to drag the time out. Usually, he would go over and help out with the child care program but lately, the pregnancy had been taking a toll on his health so he would go straight home afterward to get his rest.

 

When he got home, Jongdae was sitting on the couch watching tv.

 

“You’re home early today?” Baekhyun says as he takes his jacket off and hangs it on the coat rack.

 

“Yeah, I got off earlier because I’ve got a surprise for you,” Jongdae gives a secretive smile.

 

“What is it?” Baekhyun asks eagerly as he plops himself beside the dark blonde man.

 

“If you go up to your room, you’ll find your surprise on the bed.”

 

Confused yet curious, Baekhyun gets up from the sofa and eyes the smirking man for a moment before stalking up the stairs and turning towards the door to his room. His hand pauses on the doorknob when he hears thumping that sounds like someone jumping on his bed. He presses his ear against the door and strains to listen to any more sounds. A few seconds later, there is the unmistakable sound of muffled moans.

 

Baekhyun swings the door open to find an unsightly scene before him that causes a wave of different emotions to overwhelm him. He’s going through the emotions so fast; from horror, to surprise, and finally happiness when he realizes who it was.

 

“KYUNGSOO!” Baekhyun shrieks in delight as he runs over to his bed. He shoves the shocked tanned boy off the bed and engulfs the small wide-eyed boy who was lying face up.

 

“I’m not even going to give you crap for having in my bed because I’m too excited to see you!” Baekhyun grins madly down at the boy who winces at the weight on his abdomen where the pregnant boy has straddled him.

 

“We didn’t have , we just made out,” Kyungsoo smiles sheepishly.

 

“Yeah, sure, if that’s the new term for dry-humping,” Baekhyun laughs.

 

“Could you get off me, Baek? You’re kind of heavy.”

 

Baekhyun apologizes and scrambles off the boy he has pinned down on the bed, standing beside the other boy who greets him.

 

“Hey, Baek.” Baekhyun returns a smile. “You’re really strong for someone who’s pregnant.”

 

Baekhyun shrugs in reply as he pats his stomach proudly, “My baby boy gives me the strength.”

 

Kyungsoo begins to fawn over Baekhyun’s baby bump, considering that it was the first time he was seeing his friend after his pregnancy. Kyungsoo good naturedly insults Baekhyun for being so small still despite being in his second trimester.

 

“Kyung…” Baekhyun begins to say when Jongin had left the room to give the friends some privacy, “I didn’t want to leave you. I know I told you that I’ll tell you my plans but this was a really last minute decision.”

 

“Baek, I know of everything,” Kyungsoo rubs Baekhyun’s shoulder.

 

“You know?” Baekhyun looks to his friend in uncertainty.

 

“Yeah. I know that douchebag chased you out because of his girlfriend and kid. That was a really move.”

 

Baekhyun laughs, just happy that his friend was here with him once more. The thought of Chanyeol abandoning him didn’t hurt as much as it had anymore. He could think, or even talk, about it without feeling like utter rubbish.

 

Although Jongin did remind him of Chanyeol, considering how he was the brother of the man he loved, it didn’t bother him that much. He was just feeling blessed that he had the chance to meet them again. Jongin was here for a business trip and Kyungsoo had decided to tag along, knowing that he could meet Baekhyun. After contacting Jongdae, the man thought it would be a great opportunity to reward Baekhyun with their presence after two months of solid progress on his part.

 

Jongdae and Baekhyun spent the rest of the day entertaining their two guests with stories on anything and everything. Well, anything and everything that didn’t concern a certain Park Chanyeol, that is.

 

Since they were going to be in the community for a night, Jongdae had insisted they stayed at his place in the spare bedroom, which meant that Baekhyun got to spend more time with Kyungsoo.

 

Baekhyun was extremely grateful for Jongdae and his kindness.

 

That night, when both Jongin and Kyungsoo were finally settling in their room, Baekhyun slips into the kitchen where Jongdae was busy doing the dishes, cleaning up after their dinner.

 

As quietly as he could, Baekhyun tip toes over to the dark blonde male and swiftly wraps his arms around his waist before resting the side of his head on his back.

 

Jongdae is used to Baekhyun’s cute ways of showing his affection, the latter always initiating hugs and pecks, but the gesture still manages to surprise the man.

 

“Someone’s in a really good mood today,” Jongdae chuckles as he finishes up the last cup and places it on the drainer. He takes off his yellow rubber gloves and hangs it on the side before releasing himself from Baekhyun’s hold and turning around to face the younger boy.

 

“I just want to thank you. I can’t express how happy I am for what you’ve done for me, bringing them here so I could meet them. Really, Jongdae, you’re the nicest person ever,” Baekhyun says in earnest, looking directly into the man’s kind eyes.

 

Jongdae leans in to give Baekhyun a quick peck on the forehead and pulls away to smile lovingly at the boy.

 

“Anything for you, Baek. You deserve this.”

 

 

The next morning, the small and quaint cottage was less crowded than the day before, considering that Jongdae and Jongin had both gone to their respective work. Nevertheless, the house remained just as noisy because Baekhyun and Kyungsoo just could not stop filling each other in on what’s been going on with their lives. Kyungsoo tells of how baby Hana has been growing remarkably well. He tells Baekhyun that his parents were doing fine. Baekhyun tears up at the mention of his parents because he wished that he could have had a proper goodbye before he left. Instead, he knew it wasn’t possible since Bearers belonged wholly to their Exovians after bonding and they had the right to make decisions over their Bearers.

 

Time passed quickly and soon, it was time for Kyungsoo and Jongin to leave.

 

The sun was setting and the four of them stood on the front porch, bidding their goodbyes. It wasn’t until Jongin had boarded the cab and was calling for Kyungsoo when the latter pulled Baekhyun by the arm to the side.

 

“I’ll see you soon, okay, Baek?”

 

Baekhyun hesitates, not sure how to reply. It wasn’t that he didn’t want spending time with the boy. He just wasn’t sure when the next time would be when he’d get the opportunity to do so. Kyungsoo’s life was in town, and his was in the community, possibly forever.

 

“Okay,” Baekhyun finally says, not wanting to argue with him.

 

“Good. And Baek, trust me when I say that you’ll find closure soon.”

 

Kyungsoo pulls Baekhyun in for an embrace, not waiting for him to give a reply. Baekhyun didn’t know what to say to that, anyway.

 

 

The following week, Baekhyun notices a change in Jongdae’s behaviour.

 

It almost drove him to tears since he felt like it was déjà vu; Chanyeol had been ignoring him for the weeks leading up to his decision to leave him. And the pregnant boy feared that history was about to repeat itself. Jongdae may not be his partner, but being his pillar of support for the past few months as he struggles to piece his life back together, Baekhyun feels as if he’s being abandoned once more.

 

Baekhyun rests a hand on the top of his protruding stomach as he stares out the window of his room. More than anything, he wanted to feel his baby move, especially since he needed some sort of comfort from someone after Jongdae’s sudden distance from him. It was already the twenty-first week and he should have been able to feel something, even just a tiny movement, but yet it seemed as if his little miracle wasn’t planning on doing so anytime soon.

 

“Baby, are you in there?” Baekhyun asks as he looks down at his bump.

 

“I hope you’re okay, because I’m not,” Baekhyun pouts, feeling a little silly to be talking to a belly.

 

“I want you to know that I love you more than anything.” A small smile plays on his lips.

 

“You know, after all that he’s done to me, I still love him. Why do I feel this way, Bae-ah?” Baekhyun sighs, only to giggle lightly when he realizes that he has unintentionally named his baby boy.  He decides he loves the name.

 

“I’m sorry you won’t get to see your father. It’s my fault. But I’m sure he would have loved you.”

 

After minutes of fruitless attempts at trying to get his baby to communicate with him, he gives up and settles for just having a one-sided conversation with him.

 

“Baekhyun, we’re going out for lunch.”

 

Jongdae’s voice startles him and he turns around to see said male walking over to him with a smile on his face and a white sweater in his hands.

 

“Here, put this on. It’s cold outside and I don’t want you to get sick.” Baekhyun keeps his stare on Jongdae as he takes the sweater from his hands, wondering what on earth was happening such that Jongdae was now talking to him again like normal.

 

This is it, Baekhyun thinks, remembering how Chanyeol had said he wanted to “talk” on that night he had decided to break the news to him. He’s throwing me out today.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t question anything; he just does as he’s told.

 

Jongdae brings him to a café just a few minutes’ drive away, being his usual talkative self as he tells Baekhyun of his day at work. Once they’re settled at a table, they waste no time in ordering their food.

 

“There’s actually something I’d like to tell you today.”

 

Baekhyun bites his lip nervously, keeping his gaze on Jongdae who seemed to be struggling to get his words out.

 

“I think I’ve found someone I’d like to be my Bearer.”

 

Baekhyun blinks at Jongdae.

 

“Is that the reason why you’ve been avoiding me?” Baekhyun bluntly blurts out.

 

“What? Oh, no. That’s because of… something else,” Jongdae frowns as his mind wanders for a little while.

 

“Anyway, as I was saying… I’ve been spending time with this guy named Minseok at work, and I’m going to ask him to be mine tonight,” Jongdae explains with a giddy smile plastered across his face.

 

“That’s great, Jongdae,” Baekhyun forces a smile. The bitter tone in his voice doesn’t go unnoticed by the other man.

 

“What’s wrong, Baek? Aren’t you happy for me?”

 

“It’s not that. I’m happy for you, I really am. I’m just being an envious , I guess,” Baekhyun sighs, “You’re going to spend all your time with him now and I’m going to be all alone once more.”

 

“Oh, Baek, you won’t be alone.”

 

Before Baekhyun is able to ask Jongdae what he means by it, their food arrives and Jongdae changes the topic of the conversation to that of his object of affection.

 

By the time they were done, Baekhyun was feeling really tired and sleepy and all he wanted to do was to go home and pass out on the bed. But Jongdae, weirdly enough, ignored Baekhyun’s persistent requests to go home. Instead, he rambles on and on about Minseok. It wasn’t like Baekhyun had the heart to wipe the genuine smile off of his friend, anyway.

 

Baekhyun’s eyes were beginning to droop, and the intervals of his yawns became shorter as time passed, and before he knew it, he had dozen off in his seat with his head occasionally bobbing to the side.

 

“My god, you’re ing adorable.”

 

Baekhyun jolts awake at the voice. For a moment, he feels disoriented and wonders why he’s sitting at a table in a café. He doesn’t even know why he’s not home, in bed. When the haziness clears and he sees his friend opposite him, he finally finds the answers to his questions. He had gone out for a late lunch with Jongdae.

 

But somehow, Jongdae’s voice has magically become a whole lot deeper and huskier than he’d remembered.

 

Baekhyun frowns at Jongdae who seems to be preoccupied with something that has caught his attention.

 

Feeling a presence beside him, Baekhyun rubs at his eyes in a sleepy manner as he slowly turns his head in the direction Jongdae is looking at.

 

What he sees wasn’t what he was prepared for. His eyes widen and lips part, and he’s pretty sure a loud gasp escapes when he is met with an achingly familiar face looking down at him.

 

The towering man has a slight crease in his forehead as he takes in the figure of the other sitting in the chair. His dark hair is longer than he’d remembered, lips thinning, cheekbones sunken. His twitching in his eye is still there, though less obvious than before.

 

Baekhyun remembers to breathe once he gets over the initial shock. He lets out the breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding and a slow smile spreads across his face, not betraying his heart that’s thrumming helplessly fast against his chest.

 

“Could you excuse us for a moment?” Chanyeol asks Jongdae who, to Baekhyun’s horror, willingly complies.

 

“I’ll see you back at home, Baekhyun.”

 

 Instead of saving him from this nightmare of a coincidence, Jongdae stands and clasps a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder before he’s leaving.

 

It’s when he feels Chanyeol’s hard gaze on him when he remembers that Chanyeol doesn’t know that he’s with child. Panic starts to well from within and he drags his chair further into the table in an attempt to inconspicuously hide his obvious baby bump.

 

“Baek, stand up.”

 

Afraid his voice would give away the fact that he’s nervously trying to hide something, he shakes his head and starts to peel the skin around his fingers that were in his lap.

 

“Baekhyun. Stand up.”

 

Chanyeol’s voice grew intimidating and Baekhyun feels his stubbornness overwhelming him.

 

“You sit down.” Baekhyun nods to Jongdae’s empty chair in front of him. Couldn’t they talk sitting down? The way he sees it, he has the upper hand in this conversation. Or so it seems. He doesn’t even know anymore.

 

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol says warningly in an octave lower. It sends shivers down Baekhyun’s spine. It’s been awhile since he’s heard it and it’s going to take awhile till he’s able to get used to it.

 

A minute passes and Baekhyun refuses to give in. Grumbling in frustration, Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun by the wrist and pulls him up from the chair, causing Baekhyun to gasp once more as he stumbles from the force. Before he could fall over, Chanyeol steadies him with an arm snaking around his waist. His large hand holds him in place by the small of his back and his free hand tugs on the hem of his sweater.

 

“Chan--,” Baekhyun opens his mouth to protest but he is silenced by Chanyeol who pushes a finger to his lips. Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol with his mouth parted as the finger leaves his lips and moves back down to the hem to roll his sweater up, bunching it at the top so it stays, to reveal his baby bump.

 

Baekhyun is taken by surprise when Chanyeol drops to his knees and begins to carefully mould his hands around the sides of his stomach, so gently that Baekhyun felt as if he were a bunch of crushable flowers Chanyeol was afraid he would destroy.

 

Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol closes his eyes and leans in closer till his lips met the stretched skin. Baekhyun instinctively closes his eyes at the feeling of Chanyeol’s lips making contact with the skin a few inches above his navel; it was so soft, as Baekhyun remembers, that he almost wished that they had met his lips instead.

 

He stays in that position for a long time, his breath tickling Baekhyun’s skin. When Baekhyun opens his eyes, he finds that his hands are still limply resting on Chanyeol’s shoulders, placed there when he had previously tried to push the taller boy away.

 

Baekhyun feels a little embarrassed that they’re receiving weird glances from patrons who were wondering why the somewhat familiar face of the President’s son was kissing his former Bearer’s baby bump in a café for everyone to see.

 

Baekhyun cries out when he is suddenly tugged out of the moment because of a sharp pain to his side that causes him to bend over as he places a hand to the spot where he felt the stab.

 

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asks with worry laced in his voice, yet there was a certain firmness to it. He pulls himself up to his feet and away from the boy. He keeps a hand on the bump, the other moving to hold the shorter boy’s shoulder.

 

“He kicked me,” Baekhyun admits in a small whisper, still unable to believe that he finally feels his baby moving for the first time.

 

“Is that normal?” Chanyeol frowns and Baekhyun almost rolls his eyes at his stupidity.

 

“It’s supposed to be, though it’s the first time he’s done that.”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t want to admit it out loud, but he knows that the only reason why Little Bae decided that now would be a good time to make his presence known was that he was excited to finally be meeting his father.

 

Chanyeol pulls Baekhyun’s sweater back down and straightens it out for him. Once he’s done, he caresses the now-covered bump once more.

 

“Chanyeol, why are you here?” Baekhyun finally finds the courage to ask. He intended it to be a demand but it came out sounding like he was dying of anticipation.