"He's beautiful," I whispered, staring in wonder at the baby swaddled in a blanket who sat in my arms. Two chocolate brown eyes gazed at me. They were as big and solemn as his father's, framed with long lashes. I couldn't get enough of his button nose, apparently inherited from me, nor could I get over his perfectly heart-shaped lips.
I had just been through 6 hours of mind-numbing pain, throat raw from screaming, and head pounding, but this was all worth it. I never could fathom how women would want to go through it all, but now I understood perfectly.
"You did great, jagiya," Kyungsoo whispered, stroking my hair. "I'm proud of you."
"Here," I offered the baby, our baby, to Soo and he gingerly took hold of him. I watched as he held his breath, afraid that he'd somehow hurt him. Soo held out his index finger, allowing the baby to grasp it with his tiny hand. "He looks like me," Kyungsoo murmured, studying the baby's face. I cleared my throat and raised my eyebrow. "But he has your nose." My boyfriend added quickly. He turned to me. "What are we naming him?"
"Jaehwan," I said quickly. I had thought long and hard about it, and that was my final decision.
"Do Jaehwan," Kyungsoo whispered as if getting a feel for it. He turned back to the little one. "Annyeonghaseyo, Jaehwan." I closed my eyes and sighed contentedly.
—
Not long after that, random Exo members filtered in from the waiting room, wanting to get a peek at what Jaehwan's appearance.
"His head is gigantic." Chanyeol peered over Kyungsoo's shoulder at him and grinned. I tried swatting at him, but he easily dodged my hand, shooting toward the opposite side of the room next to Baekhyun, who laughed aloud. "Missed me." He smirked.
His smugness didn't last for long. Ireum came from behind him, grabbed his ear, and pulled just hard enough to hurt. "At least his ears aren't gigantic as yours, Yoda." She mused.
"Jagiya, I was kidding~" The giant whined until she finally let him go.
"I think he's adorable." She announced, coming over to stand next to Soo. "Can I hold him?" She questioned. Kyungsoo nodded and handed Jaehwan over to her carefully. I watched as her lips pulled up into a smile as she played with his nose. "I'm calling him penguin whether you like it or not." I merely rolled my eyes, knowing nothing I could say or do would stop her.
"Can you bring Aerri tomorrow? I want her to meet him." Ireum smiled and nodded.
"She's been asking about you and the baby for the longest. She'll be excited to see you." She responded.
—
Most of Exo had schedules that day, except Kyungsoo, so the room was empty long before dinner came. I was holding Jaehwan when Jongin walked in, stuffed animal in hand. Kyungsoo was out getting coffee from the cafeteria.
"Oh. I wasn't expecting you." Jongin smiled sheepishly and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I know, I-" The door creaked open, and Soo walked in, his eyebrows lifting at the sight of Jongin, who cleared his throat and continued. "I wanted to say that I was an idiot, and I shouldn't have done what I did. It was shitty of me." He paused, waiting for some answer.
Kyungsoo was the first to speak."It was," Jongin's gaze lowered to the floor, "but I forgive you."
"I forgive you, too," I whispered. It was pointless to be upset with each other. It would only cause more problems. "Do you want to meet the baby?" Jongin nodded and shuffled over. "His name is Jaehwan."
Jongin laughed out loud. "Why does he look so serious?" He poked Jaehwan's nose. "Cheer up." He murmured. I allowed Jongin to pick him up and move to sit on the windowsill. He showed him the stuffed animal he had bought and began to talk to him, perhaps telling Jaehwan about Kyungsoo, even though he was too young to understand.
I looked up at Soo. "Do you think we'll be alright?"
He nodded and kissed my forehead. "We'll be alright."
A/N: Well, that's the end. I never expected this story to turn out the way it did, but here we are, 16 chapters later and the book is over with. Thank you so much for reading and sticking with the story, even though I don't update consistently (I'm so sorry, I'm working on it) I love you all. 💕
