When the New Year came, Leeteuk began secretly turning their spare bedroom into a suitable room for a little girl. “Kangin, should we keep the color neutral for the walls?” Leeteuk wondered as he held up paint samples against the wall.

          “How about this light blue color?” Kangin suggested, pointing to one of the color samples. “This periwinkle, it’s not too feminine or too masculine, and I think she’d like it.”

          “Yeah, that’s really pretty; nice choice babe,” Leeteuk complimented. “I’ll go get a couple of cans and start painting today. When are we gonna go shopping for the nursery furniture?”

          “We can go tonight if I manage to get out of the office early enough,” Kangin offered. “Speaking of which, I need to probably go ahead and get going.”

          “Okay, just call me when you leave the office,” Leeteuk requested before kissing his spouse goodbye.

          “Love you,” Kangin called as he walked out to his car.

          “Love you too,” Leeteuk echoed, continuing to examine the color choices.

          That afternoon, around five, Leeteuk was in the kitchen cooking dinner for the boys when his cell phone rang. “Hello?” he answered.

          “Hey baby it’s me,” Kangin replied from the other end of the line.

          “Hi sweetheart, are you coming home soon?” Leeteuk wondered.

          “Well actually, the bosses are taking everyone out to dinner to sort of celebrate the sales numbers for last year,” Kangin explained. Hearing Leeteuk sigh, Kangin added “Baby I’m sorry, I know you wanted to go look at toddler items for our daughter, but we can go tomorrow night. The dinner is mandatory; you know I can’t say no to my bosses.”

          “I know,” Leeteuk muttered. “Okay, just please call me when you leave the restaurant.”

          “Alright Leeteuk, I love you,” Kangin stated.

          “I love you too,” Leeteuk responded before the couple hung up on both ends.

          Leeteuk sighed again quietly before hearing Sungmin ask “Is everything okay Leeteuk?”

          The brunette parent turned to his son and said “Yeah sweetie, everything’s just fine. Will you please go tell everyone that dinner is almost ready?” Sungmin nodded before hurrying off to retrieve the others.

          As the night drew later and later, and it got to be midnight and Leeteuk still hadn’t heard from Kangin, he began to worry about his spouse. Leeteuk yawned and could barely keep his eyes open any longer, so he stood and climbed the stairs, passing a couple of the boys’ bedrooms before entering his own. The brunette Korean curled up on his bed and closed his eyes, falling asleep before his head even hit the pillow. Leeteuk was suddenly awaken from his slumber by his phone going off on the nightstand next to the bed. Rubbing his eyes, Leeteuk noticed the time was a little after two a.m., and that Kangin was calling him. “Kangin, where are you?” Leeteuk whispered in a sleepy tone.

          “Leeteuk, I need you to come get me,” Kangin requested.

          “What, where are you?” Leeteuk asked.

          “I’m in the Seoul Police Station,” Kangin stated.

          Immediately, Leeteuk sat up, fully awake now. “What?” he repeated, this time in a louder voice.

          “Baby please, I’ll explain everything when you get here, please just come get me,” Kangin begged.

          “O-okay,” Leeteuk responded in a nervous tone. “I’ll be there soon.”

          Quickly, the brunette Korean got out of bed and slipped on his shoes before running downstairs to the garage. With shaky hands, Leeteuk hurried as he started the car and drove to the police station. The empty roads seemed to make Leeteuk even more worried about why his husband had seemingly been arrested. Finally though, Leeteuk made it to the Seoul Police Station and walked inside, feeling his entire body shake the whole time. Going up to the front desk, the officer asked “Yes sir, can I help you?”

          “Yes, my husband called me about half an hour ago saying that he needed me to come get him,” Leeteuk informed.

          “Alright, what’s his name?” the officer questioned.

          “Kim-Park Kangin,” Leeteuk stated. Seeing the officer’s expression, Leeteuk added “We joined our last names when we got married.”

          The officer nodded before pulling up the necessary file on the computer. “Yes it seems your husband has been arrested for a DUI; we pulled him over at 1:48 a.m. and officers found he had a blood-alcohol level twice over the legal limit,” she explained.

          “Oh my god,” Leeteuk muttered, covering his mouth, as hot tears stung at his eyes. “Is he going to jail?”

          “That is going to be up to the judge; he will have a court hearing in the morning and that will determine what is next for him; the worst case scenario is that he goes to jail for three years, best case is that he does six months of community service. Since he has someone to take him home, he is no longer considered a threat to the public, so we will allow him to return home for the evening on a $250 bail,” the officer informed.

          Leeteuk swallowed before taking out his checkbook and quickly scribbling out the required bail money. After Leeteuk paid the money, two officers escorted Kangin out from the holding cell area. Seeing his husband the way he was caused Leeteuk to lower his head and cry quietly. “Leeteuk,” Kangin softly started as he touched his spouse’s arm.

          The brunette Korean backed away from his husband’s touch before slowly walking out of the police station, with Kangin following. The ride home felt like the longest thirty minutes of the couple’s life, and the most silent; neither said a word or even made a sound. When they returned home, Leeteuk sat down on the living room couch, crossed his arms, and demanded quietly, so as not to wake the boys, “What the hell were you thinking?”

          Kangin swallowed roughly and explained “I was out at dinner and I had a couple of drinks, and I knew I shouldn’t have drank anymore, but my bosses kept offering me them and I mean, what was I supposed to say, no?”

          “Yes, that is exactly what you were supposed to say Kangin,” Leeteuk spat as he stood up. His voice and body shook as he continued “You know your limit, you know what happens when you go over it, and honestly if your bosses respected you, then they’d respect your limit. You have a husband and kids to think of, you can’t just do this and think there won’t be some kind of consequence.”

          Kangin looked up and asked “What does that mean? Are you leaving me?”

          “No, Kangin I love you and I am not going to ever leave you,” Leeteuk promised as tears spilled from his eyes. “But, but I don’t want you to go to jail for this.” Kangin hurried over to Leeteuk and hugged his husband tightly, letting the brunette bury his face in his shoulder and sob. “I don’t want to lose you.”

          “You won’t lose me baby, I promise,” Kangin whispered as tears fell from his own eyes. Leeteuk pulled back and looked at his husband. Kangin leaned forward and kissed Leeteuk; he hated seeing his spouse cry, it was the one thing that always broke his heart every time. He knew he’d messed up now, but promised to do everything he could to make things right. The couple leaned their heads together and stayed that way for several minutes in silence, just taking in all that had just happened, and all that was inevitably about to come from the situation. “I’m gonna go call our lawyer,” Kangin added before kissing Leeteuk’s forehead and excusing himself to the kitchen.

          When Kangin finished calling their lawyer and had explained the situation, he decided now the best thing to do was to comfort his distraught spouse. But going into the living room, Kangin found that Leeteuk wasn’t there anymore. Looking up towards the second level of the house, Kangin saw a small beam of light illuminating and figured it was from their bedroom. Slowly, Kangin walked upstairs and started down the hallway to their bedroom before stopping when he heard Leeteuk whispering and crying quietly. “Yeah, he was driving home drunk . . . I know, I know, I told him . . . he told me not to worry but I mean . . . right, he’s my husband and I’m just so scared . . . okay, I’ll see you guys tomorrow . . . love you too, bye.”

          “Who was that?” Kangin asked as he entered the room and shut the door.

          “My grandfather,” Leeteuk stated. “He said that he and my grandmother are going to come to court tomorrow to support you.”

          “Great, now they probably think I’m a huge up,” Kangin muttered as he climbed into bed.

          “No baby, grandfather doesn’t think that about you,” Leeteuk promised.

          Kangin leaned over and kissed Leeteuk again. He pressed his forehead against Leeteuk’s and whispered “I love you, you know that will never change.” Leeteuk nodded before the couple kissed once more and lie down to go to sleep. Kangin pulled Leeteuk close to him, holding his husband like it was the last time he was going to get to.

          The next morning, the family made their way to the courthouse. While Kangin met with the lawyer, Leeteuk and the boys took a seat in the gallery, waiting for the hearing to begin. Soon, Leeteuk heard his name be said in a low voice. Recognizing the voice, Leeteuk turned and stood as he greeted his grandparents. “How are you sweetie? How are Kangin and the kids?” Leeteuk’s grandmother asked.

          “We’re good, Kangin’s meeting with the lawyer now, and we told the kids this morning what happened,” Leeteuk explained.

          When Kangin’s hearing started, it took Leeteuk everything in his power not to start crying when he heard what the worst case scenario for his husband would be. “Your honor, my client is a respected member of the community, supports a spouse and four children, and is in the process of obtaining another child soon; the last thing he needs is time away from his family in a jail cell,” the lawyer stated.

          The boys turned to Leeteuk as Heechul whispered “Are you guys adopting another baby?”

          Leeteuk and Kangin had still not told the boys that they were getting another child, and Leeteuk didn’t know that that would be brought up here. Looking at his sons and their boyfriends, Leeteuk nodded and muttered “Yes, we wanted to wait for the perfect time to tell you guys, but I guess now is a good a time as ever.”

          “My client, even though was at an illegal blood alcohol level, did not hurt any civilian and therefore should not be awarded jail time,” the lawyer continued.

          “Your client was also aware of his actions when he chose to drive home while under the influence,” the judge noted. “And glancing at his record, I see that this is not the first time he has been charged with a DUI.”

          The teenage Koreans gasped quietly. They knew that Kangin used to be an alcoholic and drink, but they never knew that this situation had happened to him before. “Mr. Kim-Park was charged with a DUI when he was younger, but the charge was expunged on the terms of him entering his military service,” Kangin’s lawyer defended.

          After a few moments of silence as the judge looked over Kangin’s file, the judge requested “Mr. Kim-Park, please stand.” Kangin and his lawyer both stood up, but Kangin knew that of the two of them, his heart was pounding the loudest. “After looking over your record and seeing the support you have from your family here today, I do not think that jail time is appropriate since no one was injured; but I am giving you a fine of two million won, requiring you to do one hundred and fifty hours of community service, and am having your driver’s license revoked for a minimum of three years. Mr. Kim-Park, I am usually a good judge of character and I can tell that you love your family, and I am strongly recommending that you get some sort of counseling so that another family does not have to be torn apart by the alcoholic disease. We are adjourned.”

          After hearing the judge slam down the gavel, Kangin turned and looked at his family. Seeing the expressions on their faces, it was a mixture of relief and sadness. Kangin walked over to Leeteuk and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before looking at his husband’s grandparents. “Sir, may I talk to you for a moment?” Kangin asked Leeteuk’s grandfather.

          The older man nodded as the two of the stepped out into the hallway. “So Kangin isn’t going to jail?” Sungmin asked.

          “No, he just can’t drive for a while and has to pay a fine and a bunch of other ,” Heechul said.

          “C’mon boys, let’s go home,” Leeteuk suggested, leading the teenage Koreans out of the courthouse.

          “So are we getting a brother or sister?” Yesung wondered during the ride home.

          Leeteuk and Kangin looked at one another before Leeteuk responded “We’re adopting a little girl.”

          Ryeowook and Sungmin gasped and clapped as they gazed over at one another. “Yay a little girl,” they said in unison.

          “That’s what we need, is another girl in the family,” Heechul mumbled.

          As soon as the family got back home, Kangin hurried upstairs and grabbed a duffel bag from the closet. He began to stuff his clothes into the bag, not noticing Leeteuk standing in the doorway. “Kangin, what are you doing?” Leeteuk asked. Kangin remained silent, continuing to pack. “Kangin please talk to me.” The dark brunette Korean zipped up his duffel bag and started to walk out of the room. “Kangin, stop, honey please let’s talk about this. Where are you going?”

          Leeteuk followed his husband downstairs before Kangin stopped and turned. He grabbed Leeteuk’s chin as he kissed his lips, making his spouse freeze in his spot. Pulling back, Kangin wiped away a tear that dripped down Leeteuk’s cheek. “I’m sorry baby,” Kangin whispered before walking out of the house. Leeteuk dropped to his knees and lowered his head as he quietly cried, before feeling the boys put their arms around him in an attempt to comfort their distraught parent.

          “Now explain to me again why you asked to come stay here,” Leeteuk’s grandfather requested as he offered Kangin a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table with him.

          “Because after seeing how I’ve hurt Leeteuk and my sons the way I did, I knew that he needed some time apart from me. I mean, I messed up and I know that right now Leeteuk probably doesn’t even want to look at me,” Kangin replied. “I promised him that I would never hurt him and I have.”

          “Kangin I understand that you’re upset and that you hate yourself right now, it’s normal to feel that way. But things could be worse; you could be in jail, and you’re not. But why did you do what you did?” Leeteuk’s grandfather asked.

          “I was out with my bosses and coworkers and they just kept offering me drinks and I know I shouldn’t have gone over the limit but I did, and now the money that we were supposed to use towards our new daughter is gonna have to go to pay for my stupid mistake,” Kangin responded. “God, why the do I have to constantly mess up. Just when I think I’ve got drinking under control, this happens.”

          “Kangin I really think you should take that judge’s advice and get some counseling. Maybe there’s some psychological reason as to why you drink that not even you know of,” Leeteuk’s grandfather suggested.

          “Will counseling really work though?” Kangin wondered. “It’s not going to fix the mistakes I’ve made; and it’s not going to make Leeteuk hate me any less.”

          “Because counseling worked for me and my wife when I went through this,” Leeteuk’s grandfather revealed.

          Kangin’s eyes widened as he gazed at his grandfather-in-law. “You went through this?” Kangin asked in disbelief.

          “Yes, when my wife and I got married, we both drank, but only on social occasions. Well when she became pregnant with our daughter, she had to quit so I began drinking for the both of us, which lead to a dangerous amount every day. One day, my wife and I got into an argument about my drinking which caused me drink more and more with every word she said. Finally I snapped, and had gotten so drunk that I struck my pregnant wife, knocking her down accidentally. Well she called the police and they arrested me, and I’ll admit I was so angry at her for the time, for calling the police, but now I’m grateful. They told me that I would be charged with domestic violence, but since it was a first offense, the judge offered to drop the charge if I agreed to go to counseling and a ninety day rehab. Of course I agreed and said I’d do it, and let me tell you something son, that really opened my eyes. I found the root of my problem and saw why I drank so much, and when I returned home, I promised my wife that nothing like that would ever happen again,” Leeteuk’s grandfather informed. “Of course my bosses would offer me drinks, but I would always have to ask myself, is this one drink to impress my boss worth it? Is this drink worth losing my spouse and child over? And of course any sane person would say of course not. And if you think Leeteuk hates you, you are far from correct. My grandson loves you with every fiber of his being and those boys love you and look at you as their father. Kangin if you won’t take the counseling for yourself, do it for your sons, do it for Leeteuk, do it for that sweet baby girl you’re getting soon. With everything they’ve been through, they need their father and Leeteuk needs his husband.”

          Kangin wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, smearing tears away discretely. “What if I can’t fix this?” Kangin wondered.

          “You may not fix it all in one day, it may take months or years, but your family is there for you forever. Kangin, your family members are like everlasting friends who will never abandon you. They may be disappointed in the things you do, but they will always be there for you because that’s what families do, they stick together, it’s what makes them stronger,” Leeteuk’s grandfather stated.

          Kangin nodded. “You’re right, I need to do this for my family above anyone else.”

          “You can stay here as long as you like, but remember what’s waiting for you at home,” Leeteuk’s grandfather offered before he stood up and walked into the living room.

          The next day, Kangin entered a psychiatrist’s office and sat in the waiting room after checking in. “Kim-Park Kangin,” a woman called a few minutes later.

          Kangin stood up and followed the woman into a back office. “Hi, how are you?” he asked, shaking the woman’s hand.

          “I’m good, please have a seat,” the woman offered. “I’m Lee Sunny and I will be giving you your sessions.”

          “Wonderful,” Kangin said.

          “Now, what is the main reason why you are here?” Sunny questioned.

          “I need to know what is causing me to drink, and I need to know how I can fix it, so I never hurt my husband or kids ever again,” Kangin explained.

          “Alright, let us begin then,” Sunny stated with a grin. Kangin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as his first session began.