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The following months passed in a blur of morning sickness—which Sooho suffered almost out of sympathy, turning pale every time she ran to the bathroom—strange cravings at 3 AM, and medical books stacked next to parenting guides.
Hyeori’s pregnancy wasn’t like the ones in magazines where women glow and float. It was real. Her back hurt, her feet swelled up like puffy dumplings, and her mood swung between crying because she dropped a piece of toast and hysterical laughter over nothing.
But Sooho… Sooho was something else.
If Hyeori thought he was protective before, the pregnancy unlocked a “Papa Bear” level that bordered on ridiculous but was adorable. He wouldn’t let her lift anything heavier than a spoon. If she sighed, he was already there with water, a pillow, or a foot massage.
He talked to the belly all the time. It didn’t matter if they were in line at the supermarket, watching TV, or if she was trying to study for an exam.
“Hey, little bean, Dad here,” he’d whisper to Hyeori’s belly button, ignoring the stares on the subway. “Mom has an anatomy exam today, so behave yourself and don’t kick her bladder, got it? Collaborate with the team.”
And the funny thing was, the baby seemed to listen to him. Every time Sooho placed his large, warm hands on Hyeori’s bump, the baby calmed down or gave a soft kick right against his palm, like a secret high-five.
December arrived, bringing brutal cold and the nearness of labor. Hyeori was already at thirty-nine weeks. She felt like a stranded whale on the sofa, surrounded by notes and blankets.
On the night of December 24th, the house smelled of hot chocolate and pine. They had put up a small, somewhat crooked tree in the corner, decorated with blinking lights and a bunch of ornaments the guys had brought over.
“Are you comfortable?” Sooho asked for the tenth time in the last hour, adjusting a cushion behind her back.
“I’m fine, Sooho. I just feel like I’m going to explode at any moment, the usual,” she joked, stroking her tight belly.
They were lying in bed. It was starting to snow outside, but inside, under the duvet, everything was warm. Sooho settled on his side, resting his head near her belly, his favorite place in the world lately.
“It’s Christmas already,” he murmured, tracing imaginary circles on her pajama fabric. “It’s twelve-ten.”
“Merry Christmas, my moon,” Hyeori said, running her fingers through his hair.
Sooho smiled and lowered his voice, bringing his lips close to the stretched skin of her belly.
“Hey!” he called softly. “Merry Christmas in there. Hey, tenant… I know you’re very comfortable in there, with central heating and 24-hour room service, but it’s getting to be time for you to come out. Mom is tired. And Dad… well, Dad is dying to see your face.”
Hyeori let out a giggle. “Don’t pressure him.”
“It’s not pressure, it’s a negotiation,” Sooho winked, and went back to talking to the belly. “Look, there are lights outside. There’s snow. And I promise I’ll carry you all the time. The uncles bought gifts. Uncle Baku brought a plushie that’s bigger than the living room furniture, it’s ridiculous. So come on… come out and say hi. Don’t make us wait until New Year’s.”
He planted a loud kiss on the belly.
“We’re waiting for you. Come to your mommy and daddy.”
Hyeori felt a wave of love so strong it squeezed her chest. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment, enjoying Sooho’s deep voice vibrating against her body.
And then, it happened.
It was like a water balloon popping gently inside her. A silent “pop” followed by sudden, warm wetness.
Hyeori’s eyes snapped open. “Sooho.”
“Mmm?” he still had his ear pressed to her belly, half-asleep.
“I think… I think he listened to you.”
Sooho lifted his head, confused. “What?”
“The baby.”
Sooho froze for a microsecond, processing the information. His eyes dropped to the wet sheets and then shot up to hers with a mix of panic and pure excitement.
“Now? Like, right now?” he asked, springing off the bed.
“Yes, now. Right now.”
Sooho went into emergency mode. There was no screaming or clumsy running around like in the movies. He had mentally rehearsed this a thousand times. He grabbed the “hospital bag” they’d had ready by the door for a month, helped Hyeori up, and put her coat on efficiently, though his hands were trembling slightly.
“Let’s go, let’s go. Breathe. Does it hurt?”
“Not much yet. They’re mild contractions,” she said, though a grimace escaped her when a pang shot through her lower back.
“Okay, to the car. I’m calling Sieun.”
The drive to the hospital was strange. The streets were empty and silent due to Christmas, lit by the decorations in closed shops. Sooho drove with absolute concentration, checking the rearview mirror at Hyeori every three seconds.
“I’m fine, Sooho. Drive looking forward.”
They arrived at the hospital at one in the morning. The atmosphere in the maternity ward was calm, a total contrast to the chaos Hyeori had imagined. The nurses, wearing Santa hats, welcomed them with tired but kind smiles.
An hour later, Hyeori was settled in a room, wearing a hospital gown with monitors strapped to her belly. The pain was starting to ramp up, coming in waves that made her grit her teeth.
The door burst open and a gust of cold air and noise rushed in.
“Where is he?! Is he out yet?!”
Baku practically drifted in, wearing a poorly placed beanie and holding a giant bag of snacks. Behind him came Hyuntak, rubbing his hands together and complaining about the cold, Juntae looking extremely worried, and bringing up the rear, Sieun.
Sieun, as always, looked immutable with his usual poker face, but his eyes scanned the room looking for Sooho and Hyeori with an intensity that betrayed his nervousness.
“Shhh, shut up, you idiot! It’s a hospital, not a karaoke bar,” Hyuntak hissed at Baku, smacking him on the back of the neck.
“But it’s Christmas and they’re having the baby!” Baku defended himself in a shouted whisper.
Sooho stepped away from Hyeori’s bed and went towards them.
“Guys…” he said, running a hand through his hair. “You got here fast.”
“We were at Juntae’s playing video games,” Hyuntak said. “We flew over. How is she?”
“Dilating,” Sooho said, using the medical term with a seriousness that made Sieun arch an eyebrow. “The doctor says it’s going fast.”
Sieun approached the bed. He looked at Hyeori, who was breathing deeply after a contraction.
“Are you okay?” Sieun asked her, using that soft, monotone voice he only used with people he cared about.
Hyeori smiled weakly. “Yeah, sweetie. It hurts a little, but I’m fine. Thanks for coming.”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Juntae said, peeking out shyly. “We brought… well, Baku brought potato chips. We didn’t know what to bring to a birth.”
Hyeori let out a laugh that ended in a moan when another contraction hit her. Sooho was by her side in a blink, grabbing her hand.
“Breathe, my sun. With me. One, two…”
The guys hung back, awkward and amazed, watching how their friend—the same Sooho who fought like a beast over who cheated in Mario Kart and made bad jokes—transformed into a pillar of calm for her.
Time passed. The contractions got stronger and closer together. Sooho didn’t leave her side. He wiped sweat from her forehead, gave her sips of water, and whispered things the guys couldn’t quite hear, but that made Hyeori nod and relax a little.
Around five in the morning, the doctor came in.
“Alright, Hyeori. You’re ready. Let’s meet this baby.”
The birth wasn’t the drama of screaming and blood Sooho feared in his nightmares. It was intense, yes. There was sweat, there was strength, and there were moments where Hyeori squeezed Sooho’s hand so hard he thought she’d break his fingers, but he didn’t mind at all.
Sooho was pale, but his eyes never left hers.
“Look at me, Hyeori. Look at me,” he told her with a firm, steady voice, anchoring her to reality when the pain seemed to want to drag her away. “You’re doing incredible. He’s almost here. You are the strongest woman in the world. Come on.”
“I can’t…” she gasped at one point, exhausted.
“Yes, you can. Of course you can. It’s you. You can handle anything. Just a little more. For our baby. Come on.”
And with one last effort, a push that seemed to draw out every bit of energy she had left, a baby’s cry broke the silence of the Christmas dawn.
Sooho felt his knees buckle. The sound was loud, vibrant, full of life.
“It’s a boy!” the doctor announced, lifting the small, pink, wrinkled being.
Hyeori let her head fall back, crying and laughing at the same time. “Is it a boy?”
Sooho looked at the baby. He had ten fingers on his hands, ten on his feet, and was screaming as if he were angry about being evicted. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“It’s a boy, Sooho,” Hyeori whispered, reaching out her arms.
The nurses quickly cleaned the baby and placed him on Hyeori’s chest. The little one stopped crying almost instantly upon feeling his mother’s warmth and hearing the heartbeat that had been his favorite song for nine months.
Sooho leaned over them, tears running freely down his cheeks, not caring to wipe them away. He stroked the baby’s damp head with one finger, afraid of hurting him.
“Hi…” he said, his voice cracking. “Hi, champ. Welcome.”
The baby opened his eyes a little. They were light, strangely light.
“He looks like you,” Hyeori murmured, looking at Sooho. “Look at that nose. And the frown.”
“He has your eyes…” he replied, kissing her sweaty forehead. “What I wanted most…”
“What are we going to call him?” she asked, stroking the little one’s back. They had discussed a thousand names, but none had fully convinced them. They had a list of three finalists.
Sooho looked out the window. The Christmas morning sun was starting to rise, painting the sky orange and pink over the white snow. Then he looked at Hyeori, his “sun,” and the small bundle in her arms with whom he now shared her gaze.
“Jaeyoung,” Sooho said suddenly. It wasn’t on the list, but it came to mind with absolute clarity. “It means prosperity… and sunshine. Eternal sunshine.”
Hyeori tested it on her lips. “Jaeyoung… Ahn Jaeyoung.” She smiled, and it was a tired but radiant smile. “I like it. It’s perfect… and he is our light.”
“Ahn Jaeyoung,” Sooho repeated, touching the baby’s little hand. The little one curled his tiny fingers around his father’s index finger. The grip was surprisingly strong.
“Woah, he’s going to be an incredible boxer…” Sooho laughed through his tears. “Look at that strength.”
A few minutes later, once they had been moved to the recovery room and everything was calmer, the door opened cautiously.
Four heads peeked in.
“Can we…?” Juntae asked in a whisper.
“Come in,” Sooho said, puffing out his chest with pride. “Come meet the little Ahn.”
The room filled up again, but this time with respectful silence. The guys surrounded the bed. Baku, not much taller than Sooho, looked at the baby as if he were a nuclear bomb that might explode if he breathed too heavily.
“He’s… very small,” Baku said, eyes wide.
“He’s a newborn, you moron, what did you expect? For him to come out walking?” Hyuntak whispered, though he had a goofy smile on his face too.
“It’s a boy,” Sooho announced. “His name is Jaeyoung.”
Sieun took a step closer. He stared at the baby. Jaeyoung shifted a little in Hyeori’s arms and let out a sigh. Sieun’s expression softened, a micro-smile appearing on his lips—something rare and precious.
“Do you want to hold him, Sieun-ah?” Hyeori asked.
Sieun blinked, a bit alarmed. “I… I don’t know if I should. I might… I don’t know how.”
“It’s easy. Just support the head,” Sooho encouraged him. “Come on, Uncle Sieun.”
Hyeori passed him the baby carefully. Sieun stiffened like a board, arranging his arms awkwardly, but when he had the weight of the child against him, something in his posture changed. He relaxed. He looked at little Jaeyoung with a tenderness that no one, except Sooho and Hyeori, knew he had.
“Hi, Jaeyoung,” Sieun said quietly. The baby seemed to recognize the calm in Sieun’s voice and went totally still.
“He likes you,” Juntae said, smiling.
Everyone laughed, quietly so as not to wake the baby.
Sooho wrapped an arm around Hyeori’s shoulders as she rested against the pillows, watching the scene. His friends, his chosen family, passing his son around as if he were the greatest treasure in the world.
Outside, it was Christmas. It was cold. But inside there, in that small hospital room, there was so much warmth that Sooho felt he would never be cold again in his life.
“You did good, Mom,” he whispered in Hyeori’s ear, kissing her temple.
“You too, Dad,” she replied, squeezing his hand.
Jaeyoung let out a small whimper in the arms of Baku, who was holding him like a live grenade, and Sooho got up to rescue him, wearing that smile of idiotic, absolute happiness that wouldn’t fade for a long, long time.
It was the best Christmas present in history.
NOTE: MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE WHO CELEBRATE IT!!! I HOPE YOU ENJOY A LOT THIS DAY!
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