Serin’s temple throbbed in frustration. “Would you stop?” she said, exasperatedly. “It’s fine.”

Hoon frowned at her. “You shouldn’t be eating that. It’s not good for the health of the baby.”

She glowered at him. “Stop it. I don’t need you patronizing me about every single thing I do. You’re driving me crazy.”

“I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong this time. Can you really blame me?” he said, temper starting to flare.

She sighed at him. “I understand why you’re doing it. Don’t you think I’ve been extremely careful? Do you think I want to go through that pain again?”

“No,” he admitted. “But still. I’m worried.”

“And I’m happy that you’re worried for me, for the baby. I’m doing every thing the doctor has told me, and I’m nearly eight months in,” she lectured. “Everything will be okay. Things are normal. And if I want to have cake for breakfast every once in awhile when the craving hits, it’s not going to hurt anything. Stop nitpicking over the minor details. I’ve asked you to stop several times already. I can’t deal with this anymore.”

“I’ve tried. I can’t help it,” he expressed, irritated.

“Figure out how to help it,” she said coldly. “I have to get ready to leave for work.” Turning on her heel, she headed from the kitchen to the bathroom. Slamming the door and locking it so he couldn’t come in and say anything else to her, she finished her makeup and hair.

He sat in the kitchen, angry. How could she be this unreasonable? He was just trying to be helpful. Wordlessly, he ate his breakfast, before grabbing a light jacket in case it was cool, sliding on his shoes and leaving for practice.

He was in a dark mood. No one wanted to talk to him; they could pick up on the signs that suggested he was in no mood to talk. Soohyun confronted him when his bad mood started creating an awkward atmosphere. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to drop your personal problems when you enter these doors. We are preparing for a tour in Japan. You need to take this seriously.”

“Yes, hyung,” he said, hanging his head apologetically.

“We leave in two days. Get your heads on straight and focus.”

Everyone nodded, and Hoon forced himself to feel happier. His attempt at being in a slightly better mood, made everyone else relax and start to joke around in the usual way, and so, it wasn’t long until he actually was in a better mood. When practice ended though, he didn’t want to go home. He pulled Kiseop to the gym with him, not wanting to go home, where he expressed his frustrations about his wife.

“I’m only trying to be helpful,” he elaborated. “I don’t know why she doesn’t appreciate it.”

“Maybe you’re being too overbearing,” Kiseop suggested. “I mean, you two spend quite a bit of time apart, so maybe you being super involved all the time and nagging her about stuff is driving her crazy.”

He didn’t say anything, aware that Kiseop was right. “Regardless, she shouldn’t be like this toward me. I’m not really nagging.”

Kiseop looked at him like the answer was obvious. “If you keep repeating stuff she already knows, it’s going to be seen as nagging.”

Hoon thought about it for a minute. “Maybe. But still. She hurt my feelings going off like that. And anyway. Why are you taking her side?”

Kiseop shrugged. “Don’t know. But I think you’re disregarding her feelings in this. She’s usually very patient and understanding. I don’t think she’d snap at you for no good reason.”

“That’s what I mean. I don’t understand why she’d snap at me over this. I want an apology from her.”

“Hoonie… I think you might want to apologize.”

Hoon frowned. He wasn’t happy with Kiseop’s input, and said, “I’m not yielding first. She started this fight. I did nothing wrong.”

“Just go apologize,” Kiseop exasperatedly said. “She’ll probably forgive you immediately. She’s pregnant, it’s July, and she’s hormonal.”

“I won’t,” Hoon said resolutely.

“Okay then. Fine. Whatever. Go ahead and leave the country for a month without making things up. That’s a great idea.” His sarcasm dripped from each word. But Hoon had missed it, or chosen to ignore it, and simply agreed that not apologizing was the way to go. That night he didn’t go home and instead stayed with Hoonbi and Soohyun. Both were a bit surprised to see him there, but didn’t ask questions, being able to read Hoonmin well enough to know that there was an issue here that was best left untouched.

--

Serin was, of course, livid when she woke up early the next morning, and he wasn’t there.  Pulling out her cell phone, she called him. He didn’t answer. She was well aware that he was probably with Hoonbi and Soohyun. She called Soohyun, and he didn’t answer so she called Hoonbi, as well. He answered his phone sounding irritated and groggy. “What do you want?”

“Is Hoonmin there with you?”

“Mmm… yeah. He stayed over last night. Why? What’s up?”

“I need to talk to him. He’s ignoring my calls.”

Hoonbi thought that was weird. The two were usually very harmonious, and he couldn’t really recall a time when his younger brother had ever intentionally ignored her. “Are you sure he’s not still asleep? And why didn’t you call Soohyun?”

“He’s awake now,” she said confidently. “He has to be in early today. And I did call Soohyun. He didn’t answer.”

Hoonbi shrugged and pulled himself out of his bed. “Hold on, then. I’ll go get him for you.” He wandered into Hoonmin’s bedroom, and said, “Hey, phone call for you.”

Hoon frowned. “Is it my wife?” Hoonbi nodded. “Tell her I already left.”

A puzzled look crossed Hoonbi’s face. “I’m not getting in the middle. You tell her that yourself.” He tossed his phone at his brother. It landed on Hoon’s bed, and he reluctantly picked it up.

“What?” he said, irritated.

Hoonbi couldn’t hear what she was saying, but he could hear that her voice was raised. She sounded angry. He could also see how Hoon was reacting.

“You’re blowing this out of proportion.” “No, I’m not coming home before I leave.” “I don’t care.” His younger brother was seething, and he couldn’t help the concern he felt for both Hoon and Serin. Hoon hung up the phone angrily, without saying goodbye. “Don’t answer if she calls you back,” Hoon told him, quite upset, as he got up and gave the phone back.

“What’s going on?” Hoonbi asked as he tucked the phone into his pants pocket, choosing to overlook his brother’s disrespectful tone because he was clearly upset.

“She’s being unreasonable, and I don’t want to talk to her until she apologizes to me.”

Hoonbi frowned at him. “That’s… kind of petty. I don’t know what’s up really, but she’s nearly eight months pregnant. You can’t be fighting like this right now. Especially when you’re about to leave for a couple weeks. She needs your support.”

Running his hands through his hair, Hoon sighed in frustration, saying, “She told me to stop caring so much, so that’s what I’m doing. If she doesn’t want me to care, she can take care of it all on her own.”

Hoonbi thought he was being a bit absurd. “That’s not like you. You never act like this toward anyone. I don’t care what she did, she doesn’t deserve this attitude from you.”

“Hoonbi, I was so hurt last time when she miscarried. I was trying to help make sure it doesn’t happen again, but she’s disregarding my feelings and doesn’t want any input from me. I’m so upset and angry, and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

The older brother sighed. “You have to talk it out. That’s how relationships work.”

Hoon continued to remain obstinate so Hoonbi simply shrugged his shoulders and left the room, leaving his younger brother alone in his anger. Hoonbi then called Serin back. “What’s going on?” he demanded.

She sighed. “I told him off yesterday because he was being… Well, recently all he ever does is tell me what I should or shouldn’t be doing for the wellbeing of the baby. Earlier in the pregnancy it was okay. I appreciated his thoughtfulness. But now his constant nagging is driving me crazy. I asked him to stop a few times, but I just hit the end of my patience yesterday.”

“Oh,” Hoonbi said. “That sounds exactly like him. But you staying mad at him over it doesn’t make any sense. You might as well apologize.”

“I refuse,” she said. “He doesn’t feel even a little bit of remorse for stepping all over my feelings. I do feel bad for what I said to him, but until he feels a little sorry, I won’t apologize.”

Hoonbi felt himself getting a headache over this. “You guys are ridiculous. I’m just not going to worry over this. I trust you’ll work it out eventually. I’m going to back to bed. Later.”

“Okay then. Bye,” she told him.

--

Time in Japan moved quickly, with packed days and a busy schedule. Hoon often thought about how he should contact his wife. In fact, AJ had specifically asked him why he hadn’t called her. He had tried then, sitting in their dorm room with his phone in his hand, but he had started to feel guilty. Guilty about how he had left things unresolved, and so he had given up, and gone to sleep. The days stretched into weeks, and before long the three weeks of touring would be finished. They only had a few days left, and he would go home. He could apologize in person and things would be better again. His guild was eating him alive, and he longed to hear her voice again, hug her while they laughed over nothing in particular.

July 31. The last week. The final show. They would all be going home soon. Hoon was happy to go on stage and perform his heart out, like usual. His mom was there for this particular performance. It was she who finally received the frantic call from Hoonbi. “Mom,” he said, “Serin’s gone into labor.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’re headed to the hospital right now.”

“Is she sure they aren’t phantom contractions?”

“No,” Hoonbi said, voice filled with embarrassment. “She was over visiting me and my girlfriend when her water broke. The baby is definitely coming.”

“She couldn’t wait, could she? She’s  a couple weeks early,” Jungsook mused to mostly herself.

“Mom,” Hoonbi said, concerned, “Serin doesn’t have anyone to support her while she’s giving birth. Hoon was supposed to be there with her, but you guys probably won’t be here in time.”

“Are you driving her right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll try to do what I can.” She hung up her phone, and briskly walked backstage, on a mission to find the manager.  She spotted him in the distance, busy trying to rush Eli back for a costume change. When he was done with Eli, she got his attention. “Hoonmin’s wife just went into labor,” she told him quietly, trying to avoid anyone overhearing. She didn’t want Hoonmin to know yet. He didn’t need the distraction until the concert was over.

“Really? Isn’t it a bit early? We were supposed to be back before the due date.”

“Yes,” Jungsook expressed, “I am going to fly back as soon as I can. I think Hoonmin should come with me. As long as that’s okay with you.”

The manager nodded vigorously. “We have interviews and stuff to attend to, but the birth of his child is more important. All of the fans should know at this point, so they’ll understand his absence. I’ll call the company and let them know.”

Jungsook nodded her thanks before getting back on her phone to find plane tickets. She managed to find a midnight flight with two open seats. It would be pushing things to get to the airport on time, but she wasn’t going to wait around for a later flight when her first grandchild was on his or her way.

She nervously watched the rest of the performance, trying to make sure she kept her anxiety hidden. She called Hoonbi for an update. They were all at the hospital now. Serin’s father and brothers and he and his father had all arrived. Serin was progressing at a normal rate and would probably give birth in about 4 to 8 hours, though it would maybe be longer considering it was her first child. She couldn’t focus on any thing happening in the concert. Her nerves were shot as the anxiety began to build. It wasn’t until Hoonmin walked to her, and tried to get her attention that she finally focused.

“How’d you like the concert, eomma?” he asked.

“I’m very sorry, Hoonmin. I wasn’t really paying attention. I’m sure it was lovely, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Serin is having her baby.”

Hoon’s face froze. He hadn’t really expected the possibility of the baby being born early, and he felt panicked about not being there. Tormented over the fact that he hadn’t apologized to her before she went into labor.  “Can we go back? Right now?” he asked, an edge of desperation in his voice.

She nodded. “I’ve already cleared it with the manager and booked us a flight. We need to hurry in order to make it though. Go grab what you need.”

He did as instructed, rushing back to the changing room, putting on his casual clothes, and grabbing his phone. None of the members asked him what was up. It was clear that they already knew. Soohyun grabbed his arm before he walked out the door. “Hoon,” he said, “we’re all excited for you. Our thoughts are all going to be focused on you two. Let us know how everything goes.”

Hoon nodded his understanding, and then left in a hurry. He and his mom made it to the airport just in the nick of time. As he waited to board the plane with her, he made a call. When the phone was answered, he quickly said, “Serin! I’m so sorry.”

“Hoonmin, it’s me.”

He was a bit taken aback. He hadn’t been expecting Hoonbi to answer. “Ah, hyung. How is everything?”

“The doctors said everything was normal. And she seems to be fine. Do you want to talk to her?”

“Yes,” he said, almost pleading.

“Hoonie,” he heard her say to him, relief evident in her tone. “Our baby’s coming.”

“I know,” he said. He paused for a second and glanced at his mom before continuing. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for upsetting you. I’m sorry I left without saying a word. I’m sorry that I’m so stubborn and lacking as a husband. But most of all, I’m sorry that I can’t be with you right now.”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” she apologized in return. “I’ve missed you a lot, and I just want you here with me.”

“I know. I’m on my way. We’ll be boarding the plane soon, so just hold on a few more hours, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed. The next thing Hoon heard was a groan of pain. “Mmm ugh.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned. “Is everything okay? Serin? Serin?”

He heard silence and more muffled moans of pain. The voice he heard next was Hoonbi’s. “She’s having more contractions right now. Just get here quickly with Mom, okay. None of us guys are really prepared to handle this.”

“Okay.” A female voice announced over the intercom that boarding would be starting, and he quickly told Hoonbi, “We’re boarding now. We’ll be there soon. Tell her to wait for me. Tell her I’ll be there. Tell her… tell her that I love her. More than anything.”

Serin now fully understood what women referred to when they talked about the pain of childbirth. This was pure torment. And according to the doctors, she still had a ways to go before this whole laborious process would be over. She was not   yet dilated as far as she needed to be. The contractions were getting longer and stronger, and the time between them shorter. Her father was holding her hand. The other guys who had come to support her had long since left the room, unable to deal with her moans of anguish.

“Daddy,” she whispered, “it hurts.”

“I know, sweetheart. I was with your mom for all four of you. I know.”

“When is Hoonie getting here?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, honey. Just relax. He’s coming as quickly as he can.”

She bit down on her lip as she felt another contraction start. “Breathe,” her father instructed. She did as he said, trying to relax her other muscles and let the abdominal muscles do all of the work. The doctor walked in to examine her then as the contraction ended.

“Let’s try to see how things are coming along,” the doctor stated. He examined her quickly. “She’s getting there. About 6 centimeters. Once we get the last 4, things should speed up. Don’t push until we tell you it’s okay.”

She breathed shakily, debating whether or not she should try painkillers. She heard the door open and a nurse walked in, whispered something to her father and the two of them walked out. Serin felt alone. She felt scared. “Daddy,” she said, calling for him though he wasn’t there any more. “Please come back. I’m scared.”

Tears started building in her eyes. Her Hoonie wasn’t there for her. Even her father had left her now, and she didn’t know why. When he walked back in, he had a bit of a smile on his face. “Don’t cry,” he said upon noticing the tears b in her eyes. “I’ve got good news for you. Hoonmin and his mom just landed. They’ll be here shortly.”

“Really?” Serin said, excited.

“Yes. They should be here within the hour.”

Serin rejoiced at the news. But the rejoicing was cut short as yet another contraction wracked her body. The cycle continued with the doctor frequently coming in to see how dilated she was between contractions. He finally told her that she was dilated far enough to push during her contractions. She nodded her understanding. She felt another contraction coming and prepared. Her father held her hand and encouraged her. She couldn’t see, the pain blinding her to everything on the outside as she pushed. When the contraction passed, she laid back gasping, sweat pouring down her face. A second person was holding her other hand. She looked over, and was filled with joy when her eyes met her husband’s.

“Hoonie,” she whispered breathily. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He smiled gently, though his eyes were expressing concern. “Are you doing alright?” he asked, clearly a bit shaken at the pain the birthing process was causing her.

She stared at him. “I think I’m okay. It really hurts.”

He squeezed her hand, and reached up to brush the hair out of her face. “Serin… I…”

Another contraction. Serin’s father instructed her to push and breath. Hoon’s respect for his father-in-law reached a new high. Hyunsu was a man who would do anything for his children. Even if doing so made him extremely uncomfortable. “Thank you, father-in-law,” Hoon said to him meaningfully.

“I’m simply doing what her mother would have done. I must be here for her in Grace’s absence.”

Hoon nodded. His attention was then fully on Serin, whose face was contorted in agony as she struggled. “Serin,” Hoon told her, “push.”

She grasped his hand tightly, and groaned. “Hoonie, help. It hurts,” she whimpered.

The doctor who was attending her called a nurse over and then had her move to be in a better position for delivery. “Serin,” the doctor said authoritatively, “we’re going to need you to move yourself.” She did as instructed, grimacing. “You’re doing a great job. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

It fortunately wasn’t. A few more contractions came and went, and eventually, the head was nearly out. “One more push, Serin,” Hoon encouraged, and Serin clamped down her muscles and the baby’s head came free.

“Once more.” She did it again and she felt the child slid further out of her. With little effort, the now crying infant slid into the world. Wrapping the baby in cloth, the doctor said, “Congratulations on your baby girl.” He quickly measured, weighed, and took the infants vitals before wrapping her up again and handing her to Serin.

Serin was immediately flooded with emotions. Emotions so powerful she could hardly speak. She gazed at the child in her arms and touched her face. “Hi baby,” she said. She glanced up at Hoon. “She’s ours. Look at our baby.”

He nodded, not able to speak yet. Sinking onto his knees next to her bed, he fought back tears. He reached out to touch the girl’s face. He was in awe. This precious child was his daughter. “She’s perfect,” he whispered. He was filled with pride and happiness, and he couldn’t have explained this feeling of euphoric peace if he had tried.

Her father looked at both of them seriously, clearing his throat to get their attention. “I’m so proud of both of you. I’m so happy to have my first granddaughter. I’m going to leave and tell everyone that she’s arrived and give you three a bit of privacy.” He leaned over to look at his granddaughter, before heading out of the room.

Hoon entwined his fingers with Serin’s, meeting her eyes in adoration. “I love you so much. Thank you for bringing our beautiful daughter into this world.”

“I love you, too. Thank you for making it here to be with me.”

“I really am sorry for being inconsiderate. I should never have left without trying to understand how you were feeling.”

Serin wanted to cut him off and tell him that it was okay and that she’d already forgiven him, but when she tried, he continued pouring out his heart. “I tried to call you. Several times. I wanted to tell you I was sorry. I wanted to hear your voice and laugh and talk like we always do. But I felt so guilty for causing you pain. I felt guilty for leaving with everything unresolved. Jaeseop noticed that things were not normal, and I just… couldn’t bring myself to face you after treating you so wrongly. I’m so lacking, and I don’t deserve to feel this happiness after what I did.”

Serin smiled at him. “I already forgave you. While you were gone, I remembered how much I need your support. Getting upset over you trying to be helpful and kind was unfair of me. I’m glad you’re here with me. Let’s just promise that next time we’re mad at each other, we’ll resolve it without running away, though.”

“It’s a deal. I don’t want to go through that complete emotional separation ever again,” Hoon said, sighing in relief.

The girl in her arms cried and Serin attempted to feed her, but she wanted none of it. After a bit of struggling with positions and getting the newborn in a comfortable position for nursing, she finally latched on and started eating. “She needs a name, Hoonie,” Serin said abruptly.

He thought, just briefly because it was something he’d already been thinking about, before suggesting, “I think her name should be Eunsook. A combination of our mothers’ names.”

She smiled up at him, tranquil and happy. “I had thought of that, too. I like it.  That’s what we’ll call her. Yeo Eunsook.” Eunsook finished her first meal, and started wriggling. “Mmm… take her Hoonie,” Serin said groggily.

Hoon reached down and took the baby, his baby, from her arms. Supporting her head like he’d been instructed so many times to do, he brought her to his chest. He gazed down at her, amazed at this little life he’d created. “My Eunsook,” he whispered to her. “I’m your dad. I will be the best dad I can be for you. No matter what, I’ll protect you.” Serin had fallen asleep on the bed as her exhaustion from labor had final caught up to her. Hoon sat down on the chair in the small room, placing a cloth on his shoulder and positioning Eunsook in such a way so that he could burp her, as he knew he was supposed to from his mom lecturing him on how to take care of a baby. She did spit up a bit of her meal, and she then fell asleep in his arms.

His emotions had been running high, but now things were calm. And he could feel how exhausted he was. He’d been awake for almost 24 hours. Part of him was hoping his mom would come in soon, and take Eunsook like he knew she would. Then he could sleep a little. He was in luck because his dad and mom and father-in-law all walked in moments after he’d thought it. His mom was excited for her first grandchild, and took her from him. “What’s her name?” she asked.

“Eunsook,” he said, tired.

“That’s a pretty name,” his dad said. “You look exhausted, son.”

“I am. I came straight here after the performance and haven’t slept since I got up yesterday morning. But I’m glad I was here for this.”

“She’s beautiful,” Jungsook said.

“Yeah,” Hoon agreed. “Is Hoonbi still here?”

“He’s outside sleeping with Hyunsaeng. Her other brothers went home. They’re coming back later this morning.”

“Okay. I need to make a quick phone call. Soohyun hyung wanted me to update them, and I forgot until right now.”

He stood up, stepped out of the room, and called. He was a bit surprised when Soohyun did answer his phone. “Hoon, how is everything?” Soohyun asked, obviously concerned.

“Everything is just fine,” Hoon said. “My daughter was born an hour ago. Hyung, she’s perfect.” There was pride and love in his voice, and he knew, he could feel innately, that nothing in his life would ever be the same from this point on.

“Oh, that’s a relief. I was worried since I hadn’t heard from you,” Soohyun told him.

Hoon nodded, even though Soohyun couldn’t see him. “Hyung, I… I can’t even begin to describe how I feel.”

Soohyun laughed gently. “You don’t have to. What’s her name? When do we get to meet her?”

“We decided to call her Eunsook. And I guess as soon as you get back you’ll get to meet her.”

“Sounds fair to me. We’re coming back tonight. I should probably get to sleep since it’s 4 am, but I’ll let the rest of the members know when we all get up.”

“Thanks, Soohyun. I’ll see you later.”

“Yep. Later, Hoonie.”

Hoon wandered back into the room. Serin was awake now, and had Eunsook once more. She smiled at him, a meaningful smile filled with love and adoration. It felt as though the last month of hard feelings, guilt, and not talking had simply vanished, and for that, he was grateful. He didn’t say anything to her, just sat down on a chair next to the bed and held her hand. “You’re tired, Hoonie,” she commented as she looked at him

“Probably not any more than you,” he said. The two were so lost in their own world that they barely noticed their parent’s presence. The doctor came in periodically to check on them, and eventually exhaustion won out, and Hoon fell asleep, head resting on the bed next to Serin. She lovingly tousled his hair.