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Hyuna was sure she had a strong body.

She ate healthy, exercised regularly, and cared about her well-being immensely. She wasn’t the type to get sick easily, neither from the weather nor from the food.

So, when the vomiting first came, she was really confused.

That morning, at 6AM, she woke up with a terrible migraine and an urge to throw up. Before she knew it, she was on the bathroom floor, retching over the toilet seat, trying to breathe while also vomiting out the nausea.

The last time she felt this sick was on a hungover morning after a horrible party, and she couldn’t figure out why she might’ve woken up like this when she hadn’t even drunk a sip of alcohol last night. Could it be what she had for dinner? But no, home-cooked food never gave her stomach pain. She and Luka frequently cooked this menu and she’d never had a problem with it before.

A third option merely teased her mind, but before she could ponder on it, the bathroom door creaked open.

Hyuna glanced over her shoulder at the sleepy face of her husband. Luka, with pajamas and crooked glasses, stood by the threshold, scratching his head over his messy blond curls. “Hyuna?” he whispered, half a yawn. “Are you okay baby?”

Hyuna took a deep breath like it would help the nausea. “Yeah,” she said. “I just feel a little sick. I’ll be okay.”

Luka was suddenly wide awake upon hearing that. “Sick?” he echoed, stepping forward to kneel next to her on the bathroom floor. “Why’s that?”

“Must be something I ate,” she blandly guessed. “Maybe it’s stomach flu.”

Luka’s gentle hand came down on her back, softly rubbing to soothe her. “You should lie down, I’ll get you water. Can you stand or no?”

She gave a mere nod, but then she remembered she wasn’t wearing her prosthetic. Luka, too, seemed to have noticed, because he didn’t even allow her to attempt to get up. He lifted her up in his arms. Hyuna didn’t have it in her to complain. She wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes to his scent. Luka carried her back to bed, lowered her onto the sheets, and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

“I’ll be right back,” he whispered before he left to grab a glass of water. 

But while Hyuna curled in on the bed, suspicion was starting to creep into her.

Her period was late this month. And while her cycle was never really consistent, her intuition knew when the delay was out of stress and when it was, potentially, out of something else.

She had a bad feeling in her stomach, but this time it had nothing to do with the nausea. 

Indolently, she reached for the phone on her bedside table and searched Mizi’s name in her contacts: the first person to come to her mind about things like this. 

She sent her a simple text.

Hyuna

Can we go out for coffee sometime?

I have something to tell you.

. . .

“So, why did you want to hang out today?” Mizi asked later that evening, having met up with Hyuna at a local coffee shop in Beverly Hills. “Is everything okay?”

The actress was as straightforward as always. Mizi, despite having reached her thirties, still navigated a busy, crazy life. She didn’t have as flashy a career as she did in her early years, but modeling for big brands and acting for big directors was still what she actively did for a living. But all her glory never stopped her from spending time with her friends, especially with Hyuna.

Having gotten married to Luka, Hyuna had practically become family to Mizi. At least that was what the actress always said. A part of it came from the two already having a decade-long friendship before Hyuna was ever married, but Mizi was and always had been super serious about treating her like a sister, as she and Luka were cousins.

Still, her doting did little to ease Hyuna’s nerves when it came to this particular conversation.

She wanted to say it outright, but her drumming heartbeats overcame the thought. Her fingers fiddled around the warm coffee cup that she oddly didn’t have the appetite for.

“So, actually,” Hyuna started, “I’m not sure about this whole thing, and you were the only person that I knew I could talk to about it, so I wanted to see you.”

The look in Mizi’s green eyes changed immediately. She leaned forward on her seat and placed her hands over the table. “What’s wrong?” she asked tenderly. “Are you doing alright?”

Hyuna stared down at her hands. It was much easier to not look at Mizi. “I’m okay,” she confirmed. “But the thing is,” she went on, now much quieter, “I think I might be pregnant, Mizi.”

Saying it out loud in one go finally helped her shake off the anxiety a bit. 

Mizi clasped a hand over her mouth, almost to silence her own gasp. “No way,” she whispered in a muffled excitement. “You’re not.”

Hyuna sighed. “I–I’m not sure,” she stammered. “My period’s been late this month, and I woke up awfully nauseous this morning. I thought I might be overthinking it, but I also looked up symptoms online and they both align as the early signs, and it kind of makes sense. Like, you know me, I’m never nauseous unless I’m drunk.”

“Did you take a test yet?” Mizi asked.

Hyuna slowly shook her head. “I didn’t want to do it alone,” she admitted despite all the embarrassment in her bones.

Mizi hummed understandingly. “So, Luka doesn’t know yet,” she conceded.

Hyuna, once again, sheepishly shook her head. “I can’t tell him until I’m sure,” she muttered. “And I want to be sure.”

That was all Mizi needed to hear. She grabbed the strap of her purse and stood from the table. “Let’s go to the pharmacy. I’ll drive.”

“Wait—right now?” Hyuna asked.

“When else?” Mizi cheerfully returned. “If you don’t want Luka to know yet, you can just drop by ours to take the test. Sua’s out of town for work, too, so it’ll just be us.”

Hyuna, not knowing what else to do, stood from her seat and grabbed her bag before she followed Mizi out of the coffee shop. “Okay,” she decided, catching up to her. “Let’s do that.”

The pharmacy visit happened fast and smooth. Mizi, with her sunglasses and floral hat, walked up to the counter and asked for two pregnancy tests of different brands (just to be sure, she said) and Hyuna was eternally grateful she took on the responsibility because she was barely standing how embarrassing this whole thing felt.

Once done, they headed to Mizi’s place, Hyuna took the test in the bathroom first thing after walking into the house, and in about three minutes of waiting for the result, “Do you want to check it?” Mizi asked.

Hyuna had been sitting still on the couch for those past three minutes. “I’m nervous,” she said.

Mizi’s gentle hand found Hyuna’s. She patted her knuckles. “Would you… want me to check it?”

Somehow, the thought of that made Hyuna more nauseous. “No,” she decided. “I should.”

She stood up to go to the bathroom and grab the test stick from the countertop, Mizi curiously trailing behind her.

That entire moment was a blur in the back of her head. But even so, she was never going to forget the way she grabbed the stick, turned it over, and saw those two pink lines on the small test window of the stick.

Hyuna blinked, merely registering what she saw. Her mouth hung open, but no words came out. Tears filled her eyes, but there was no way to tell whether it was out of happiness or fear. Maybe it was both.

Her legs gave out next, and she sank on the bathroom floor.

“Shit,” was the only thing that she managed to speak out loud.

Mizi squealed as soon as she saw the test result over Hyuna’s shoulder. “Hyuna!” she excitedly chanted. “No way, it’s positive!”

It was, indeed, positive.

Hard to believe. Even harder to come to terms with.

She felt like throwing up again. “What am I going to do with this?” she mumbled.

“First, you will take a deep breath.” Mizi sat with her, resting a hand on Hyuna’s shoulder. “And it’s okay to feel disarrayed. This is all sudden and big news.”

Hyuna knew she was trying to help her, but she could barely get herself to care. “It’s positive,” she repeated like she was trying to convince herself it was the truth. “Like actually.”

“Yes,” Mizi said with a calm confidence Hyuna wished she could return. “Come on, don’t sit on the bathroom floor,” she politely urged. “Let’s go to the living room. Think about it and process your feelings. Want me to make you tea?”

Hyuna gave a weak nod, getting up to her feet with the test stick still tight in her grip. “Should I take it a second time just to be sure?” she asked.

She half expected Mizi to roll her eyes at that. But instead, “Of course,” the girl encouraged. “Better safe than sorry.”

Hyuna clung to those words like a prayer. She took the test a second time, on a stick that was designed slightly differently than the previous one. But the result remained the same: two pink lines in the tiny window.

By the time she was back in the living room, now with the certainty she had a baby in her womb, Mizi had already made two cups of herbal tea.

Hyuna took hers as she sank down on the couch.

She was pregnant. The thought made it difficult to breathe.

“Did the second one come out positive as well?” Mizi asked, interrupting her endless spiral of thoughts.

Hyuna nodded. She didn’t speak, but tears still welled up in her eyes. 

Mizi noticed. She reached to wipe them away. “Hey, it’s okay,” she reassured.

“I don’t know what to do,” Hyuna whispered, hardly getting the words out of her mouth.

Mizi’s fingers gently brushed the hair out of her face. “Do you want to keep it?” she asked, now much quieter.

It wasn’t like Hyuna and Luka were not considering kids at all. The topic had been somewhat up in the air since they got married. Hyuna knew she wanted to have Luka’s child one day and Luka wasn’t totally against the idea, but she still wasn’t sure what he would say.

Luka was scared of becoming a father.

Or more like, scared of becoming like his own father.

As the years passed by, their friends and coworkers were starting to settle down and start their own families, which meant baby chairs in big reunion dinners were becoming more common day by day. Luka was always extremely gentle with their friends’ kids. He played and conversed with them for hours, feared inflicting the smallest pain on their tiny bodies, and always approached parenthood with respect. 

From the outside perspective, he looked like a textbook example for a father. But Hyuna had had a dozen conversations with him about this to know how scared he was of it in reality.

The weight and responsibility of parenthood was not something to take lightly. They both knew that well.

But Luka had also expressed many times (whenever they had lazy pillow talks or late night sex) that motherhood would suit Hyuna, and that he wouldn’t mind her having his children.

She couldn’t speculate what he would say about this.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I need to tell Luka.”

Mizi took her hand, which still gripped the test stick like her life depended on it. “Don’t rush it,” she said. “Take your time. Deep breath.”

Hyuna almost forgot she was supposed to do that. “Okay,” she said. “You’re right.” She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “I’ll tell him when I get back.”

Mizi nodded. “Good,” she said. “Call me if anything happens, alright?”

“Of course, thanks,” Hyuna replied. 

She absently watched the tea cup in her hands, already thinking of a million ways to break the news to Luka. A million ways he could react to it.

A sudden buzz from her phone made her snap out of it. She checked the notification.

Luka

Hi baby, still with Mizi?

If you guys are drunk, I can come pick you up.

The text made Hyuna smile a little, despite herself. It was funny for him to assume she’d get drunk when she was hanging out with Mizi, but neither could she blame him. It had happened more than enough for him to be cautious every time her location showed Mizi’s mansion.

Hyuna

Thank you love, but no need.

I’ll come home in a bit.

I didn’t drink.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she considered one more message. She slowly typed in: I doubt I will be able to for a long time, anyway. 

She stared at the sentence for a second, considering the send button. Then, with a sudden change of mind, she deleted the words. She couldn’t say this over text, it had to be face to face.

A new message from Luka dropped just then.

Luka

You better not after how you threw up in the bathroom this morning, anyway.

There he goes, Hyuna thought. Her overly anxious, overly attentive husband. She typed an evasive response.

Hyuna

Don’t even bring that up.

Luka

I take this as you’re okay now.

So, it was just stomach flu?

Lying to Luka had to be the worst feeling Hyuna ever had to experience, but her fingers went to the letters on the screen, no matter how unwilling.

Hyuna

Yeah, I’m all good.

I’ll see you in a bit.

. . .

When Hyuna’s keys opened the front door, Luka was already in the living room, waiting for her. 

He lifted his head from the book he was reading as soon as she walked in. A beaming smile painted his face. “Hi gorgeous.” He put his book aside and opened his arms wide for Hyuna to come and curl into. “Welcome home.”

Her body went in for the hug like it was muscle memory. She dropped her purse on the floor, walked over to the couch, and jumped into Luka’s arms.

Her head easily found its place on his chest. Luka’s arms wrapped around her as her eyes closed in the comfort of her home.

“Hi,” she mumbled against him. “I missed you.”

He kissed her head. “I missed you more.”

For a while, they were silent; just basking in the soft embrace.

But the more the moment stretched out, the louder her thoughts got. I need to tell him, her mind kept reminding. He has to know.

“How was your evening with Mizi?” Luka suddenly asked. “I’m still surprised you guys stayed sober.”

Hyuna wished she could laugh at that, but she didn’t have it in her. “Yeah,” she replied. “It just didn’t happen.”

She didn’t move an inch, only let Luka caress her hair and kept her eyes half open, waiting for a response.

“I mean, I’m not complaining,” was all Luka said. “It might be good for you to cut the alcohol intake from time to time, darling.”

“There’s a reason for it.”

Hyuna couldn’t believe she managed to say that out loud without choking on the syllables.

Luka moved just a bit. “A reason?” he echoed, confused.

Hyuna still didn’t raise her head from his chest. She couldn’t dare to look him in the eyes, and the sound of his stupidly irregular heartbeats were calming her.

“I lied to you earlier,” she confessed. “When I said I was okay.”

Luka’s heart skipped ever so slightly.

“What do you mean?” he gently asked. His hand came down to her cheek, prompting her to look at him. “Hyuna, are you okay? Do you  still feel sick?”

“Not that.” Hyuna said. “I’m not sick, I’m just…”

Lucks kept caressing her cheek. “You’re what, my love?” he asked. “Not feeling well? If you want to go see a doctor, I can take you—”

“I’m pregnant.”

Straightforward and clear. No beating around the bush.

It took Luka a beat to register that (if he registered it, at all). After a minute that felt like forever, “What?” he merely asked. His heart was doing it again—pounding in an off rhythm. Except this time, it was much faster.

“I’m pregnant,” Hyuna repeated. She finally raised her head from Luka’s chest and met his gaze.

Her husband’s golden eyes were wide with confusion, tracing her face for a sign of mockery. But she gave him none. She stared back with all her earnestness, feeling awfully emotional already.

Her throat tightened. “Say something,” she forced out.

Luka blinked like he just remembered he had to speak. “I—” He tried to take a breath, but it came off shaky. “Are you sure?” 

She tried to blink away her tears. Luka helped her wipe them. “Yes, that’s what I was doing with Mizi,” she said. “I took a test. Two tests, in fact. Both positive. And before you say a word, I’m okay with whatever you want,” she added. “If you don’t want to have a baby, I mean—”

“Hyuna, I,” Luka cut her off, his voice laced with wonder, “I can’t believe this.” His hands cupped her cheeks, thumbs still wiping the warm wetness under her eyes. His lips curled into a ghostly smile. “You’re pregnant?” he asked, his voice so soft, so tender that Hyuna doubted she ever saw him this stunned before.

She nodded in confirmation yet again.

He must’ve recognized the worry in her eyes. “How do you feel about it?” he asked.

His composed demeanor was helping Hyuna’s nerves, no matter how badly his pounding heart was telling otherwise. She took a proper breath and hugged him tighter. “I’m nervous,” she honestly said. “I think I want to keep it, but I don’t know. I’m unsure about every damn thing when it comes to this shit, Luka. It’s a lot to change. A lot to compromise for. Not only for me but for you, too. After all, we’ve built this whole life with just the two of us in mind. Not to mention, we’re both clueless about what a healthy parent-child relationship is supposed to look like, and I don’t want to hold your fears about fatherhood against you. I know we vaguely talk about kids every now and then but we always end up putting it off, saying we’re not ready. And maybe that’s true but…” She didn’t know where she was going with that. She buried her face back in his chest in frustration. “I want to have this child,” she admitted. “Only if you’re willing to do it with me.”

The silence that followed her words was too loud.

Luka was thinking—she could feel it. He was trying to get his heart rate to stabilize. His mind to form thoughts.

Unable to stand the quiet, “You don’t have to say something perfect, you know,” Hyuna muttered.

“I know,” Luka affirmed. He ran his fingers through Hyuna’s hair once more. “I’m just trying to catch my brain up.”

She let her eyelids droop. “So, what do you think?” she asked.

“I agree that we may not be ready,” he mumbled. “And we will definitely make mistakes. Stupid ones. Horrible ones, too.” He kissed her head. “But I think I’m willing to make them with you, Hyuna,” he said. “If you want to have this child, then so do I. To be able to call you my wife and the mother of my child would be the greatest pleasure ever given to me.”

Maybe pregnancy hormones were, in fact, a real thing, because there was no other explanation to how Hyuna broke down and started crying in Luka’s arms at that very moment.

He didn’t speak a word. He just cradled her tighter, planting sweet kisses on the trails of tears on her face. “I love you, Hyuna,” he whispered. “And I will be with you every step of the way.”

“Promise me,” she choked out, sobs merged in her words.

“I promise,” Luka said. “I swear on my heart.”

At that, Hyuna gave him a light-hearted punch on the chest. “Dumbass, don’t say that,” she said with a sniffle. “Your heart barely works, anyway.”

That pulled a laugh out of Luka. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“I can’t have a man who makes awfully big promises on his arrhythmic heart,” she opposed. “You’re going to be the father of my child, get a fucking grip.”

The look in Luka’s eyes changed ever so slightly. His laughter died, but the crooked smile lingered on his lips. He reached for a strand of Hyuna’s hair and tucked it behind her ear. “The father of your child, huh?” he echoed in a low tone. His thumbs wiped her tears once again.

She closed her eyes to let him. “Yeah,” she whispered. When she opened her eyes, they stared at each other for a second.

Then, their lips met for a slow, gentle kiss.

Hyuna easily gave into the touch. Luka’s hands found her waist and flipped her on the couch with practiced deftness of years. Hyuna barely had the chance to breathe before her husband clung to her lips again. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and when he touched her, she could hardly keep herself from moaning into his mouth. She wished she could somehow melt into him, keep kissing him forever and ever.

Luka’s fingers trailed down her body until they got to her stomach. He stopped there.

As they parted the kiss, Hyuna glanced up at Luka hovering over her. He was smiling at her; warmly, proudly.

“Is it too late to say that I’m actually kinda excited?” he whispered.

Hyuna found herself senselessly smiling at that. Her hand closed over Luka’s on her stomach. “No, dummy,” she said. “It’s not late for anything.”

. . .

“That’s how stupid this whole thing is,” Isaac declared a month later during a dinner at their favorite dining venue, Tower Bar. “The studio’s going to sue the record label for it, but I doubt I’ll get anything out of it.”

“I’m telling you, man,” Dewey complainingly said as he dug into his grilled salmon, “you should stay out of the business side of things if you wanna be a successful studio drummer.”

Luka stopped eating his own food. “Actually it’s kind of the opposite,” he supplied.

“Ah, I don’t wanna hear that from you, Mr. CEO,” Dewey shut him up, making Hyuna snort in amusement.

It had been some time since she found out she was pregnant. And as she and Luka were coming to terms with all the changes this was going to bring to their lives, they were doing the whole thing in pretty much secrecy. The only people who knew so far were just Mizi and Luka’s manager, for obvious reasons. 

But Hyuna was hoping to change that tonight.

“If you want my advice, provide the studio with all the evidence you have,” Luka told Isaac. “Even if they lose the case, they will be indebted to you.”

Isaac gave it a firm nod. “Gotcha,” he said. “See, Dewey. This man understands business.”

“What am I then?” Dewey countered.

That sent a wave of laughter around the table. And while Hyuna laughed, she also couldn’t help her heart clawing at her throat, waiting for the right moment to tell them.

Almost like their waitress read her mind, she came to their table at that very second. “Hello, have you guys decided on drinks yet?” the lady asked.

“Oh, yes,” Isaac said, hunching over the beverages menu with Dewey. After a mere glance, “I’ll get one bourbon on the rocks,” he ordered his classic drink.

“I’ll do cucumber mojito,” Dewey followed. He offered the menu to Hyuna and Luka. “How about you guys?”

“Just water please,” Luka said without even having to look at the drinks.

Hyuna swallowed her longing for all the colorful cocktails on the card and turned away. “I’ll also have water,” she said.

The waitress, after taking notes of their orders, nodded. “One bourbon on the rocks, one cucumber mojito, and two waters, coming right up.”

Hyuna returned the woman’s smile politely. “Thank you.”

The waitress left, and the group was alone again.

Except this time, both Dewey and Isaac were just staring at Hyuna like she just cursed their entire lineage.

Hyuna’s gaze shifted between the two. “What?” 

“Did you just order water?” Isaac asked.

Dewey leaned forward, the gray of his eyes more skeptical than ever. “Hyuna, you never order water,” he stated. 

She shrugged. “I just did.”

“Yes, and that’s weird,” Dewey argued.

“I don’t see anything weird in wanting to drink a vital fucking nutrient, Dewey,” she argued back.

Isaac turned to Luka. “Dude, is she quitting alcohol?” he asked him. “How the hell did you get her to become sober?”

At that, Hyuna and Luka exchanged a subtle glance.

It only lasted two seconds before they both unintentionally cracked a smile.

Hyuna wordlessly reached for her purse and found the thermal paper she’d received in her previous doctor appointment. Without a word, she placed the printed out ultrasound images on the center of the table, right in front of Isaac and Dewey.

She folded her arms. “That’s what he did,” she said. “It kind of fucked me up but—”

“Quite literally,” Luka interjected.

Hyuna nudged him with her elbow, rolling her eyes at his unfunny joke. “But that’s what it is.”

Isaac and Dewey were still frozen, staring at the images. 

“Fuck off,” Dewey let out, his shocked expression morphing into excitement in mere seconds. “You’re fucking not!” He stood up from his chair with a loud scrape and reached over the table to give Hyuna a big, spontaneous hug.

She laughed, but complied. “I am!” she announced. 

“Holy shit, congratulations, dude!” He pulled back from the hug to look down at Isaac. “Zack, we’re becoming uncles—” He paused mid-sentence, mouth hanging open.

When Hyuna turned to Isaac, the first thing she saw was the tears in his eyes. 

Her heart softened at the sight. She doubted she’d ever seen him cry happy tears before. “Aw, Isaac,” she let out fondly. She, too, was going to cry.

“Zack are you fucking crying right now?” Dewey asked.

Isaac was still staring at the ultrasound image. “You’re joking,” he muttered, more to himself than the others. He finally looked up at Hyuna. “You’re becoming a mother.”

She gave a soft shrug. “Surprise.”

Under the table, Luka’s hand found hers.

Hyuna held it and squeezed it tightly.

“We should celebrate this,” Dewey decided. “Let’s get drinks.”

Hyuna gave him a bored look. “I literally just said I can’t drink.”

“Three beers and a water,” Isaac offered.

“Three?” Luka echoed. “You know I can’t—”

“Come on, father to be,” Dewey encouraged, and the nickname must’ve done something to Luka, because his frown eased in a matter of seconds. “You can drink one can of beer,” Dewey bartered.

“One small can,” Luka conditioned.

“Already putting the dad rules to work,” Isaac commented, wiping his own tears. “He’s gonna be a good one.”

“We should test him,” Dewey suggested.

“Test me?” Luka asked, clearly confused.

“Okay, Luka, imagine I’m your child,” Dewey suddenly began. “I just engaged in underage drinking for the first time. What are you going to do about it?”

Hyuna burst out laughing at the scenario while Luka folded his arms, his face of focus set. “Where did you get alcohol?” he asked like this was a puzzle to solve.

“House party,” Dewey said. “And the cops got me.”

“Wrong actually,” Luka cut off. “Hyuna and I would never raise a child who would get caught by the cops.”

That made everybody laugh out loud once again. 

At times like this, Hyuna thought she couldn’t be luckier than this; getting to sit with her friends and husband, laughing and dining like there was no tomorrow.

Up until a few years ago, she wouldn’t even believe this was something for her to experience.

Let alone now, with a baby in mind.

By the time they’d left the venue and started walking to the parking lot to return home, the night breeze had already taken over the streets. 

Hyuna particularly enjoyed this season of L.A. Even at nighttime, the weather had a nice sense to it, making Luka’s jacket over her shoulders more than enough to keep herself warm.

Dewey and Luka were walking slightly ahead, Dewey drunkenly telling stories and Luka cackling out loud at every other sentence.

Hyuna walked slowly, half because of her uncomfortable heels and half because she had one more thing left in her mind.

One more thing she couldn’t let go.

She glanced up and watched Isaac’s back for a while. The guy was a few steps ahead of her, walking with his hands in his pockets in his usual fashion. With that never-changing leather jacket and black cap, he looked exactly the way he was in his twenties.

“Isaac,” Hyuna called eventually. Her friend turned to look at her. “Mind walking with me?”

He smiled at that. As gentlemanly as possible, he offered his arm for her to hold onto.

Hyuna took it gladly. As the two followed Luka and Dewey in a much slower pace, their footsteps rhymed on the cobblestones, wedging through the silent night.

Halfway through the walk, “How are you feeling?” Hyuna randomly asked, breaking the silence.

Isaac shot her a sideways glance of doubtful amusement. “I’m pretty decent,” he said. “Why?”

Hyuna shrugged. “Just making sure you’re sober.”

“You know I never get that drunk at a night out, dear, that’s you.”

Hyuna couldn’t help a giggle at that. “Yeah, you’re right,” she agreed. 

“And don’t forget all the times I cleaned your disasters behind your back, too,” he added. “You were one true force of nature in your twenties. Still can’t believe you’re having your own baby now.”

She smiled at the ground, leaning against Isaac. “You think my child would grow up to be like me?” she asked. “High alcohol tolerance, low danger awareness.”

Isaac laughed. “Considering you’ll be that kid’s mother, I have no doubts.”

“Will you clean up their disasters, too?”

“If that’s my duty as the unofficial uncle,” Isaac said with a shrug of pride.

Hyuna grinned. “Well,” she quietly said, “how about we change that title into the official godfather?”

Isaac stopped in his tracks.

Hyuna, too, slowed her steps until she was standing in front of him. This was the one final thing she was meaning to ask him tonight.

“Are you serious?” was the first thing Isaac managed to say. “You want me to be your child’s godfather?”

“No pressure,” Hyuna assured. “But I can’t think of anyone else who would do the title justice. If I’m going to pick a godparent, I want it to be you.”

Isaac stared at her for a long moment, enough for the tears to prickle in his eyes once again. He clenched his jaw, quickly blinking them away with a sniffle. “God,” he whispered. “Yes, of course!”

He pulled Hyuna into a tight, abrupt hug. She closed her eyes at his familiar warmth—a comfort only a three-decade-long friendship could bring.

“I’ll be the kid’s godfather,” Isaac promised. “And everything else they may need me to be, I’ll become it.”

“She,” Hyuna whispered.

Isaac immediately pulled back to see her face. “Wait, what?” he asked, eyes wide in surprise. “You’re kidding. It’s a girl?”

She grinned. “The blood test claims so,” she admitted. “Still not exactly confirmed, though Luka prays every day for it to be correct. You’re going to have to wait about two more months to find out the actual sex.”

The smile on Isaac’s face got even wider. He hugged her once again, his scoffs growing into laughter. “No damn way, Hyuna,” he candidly said. “You’re going to be an amazing mother. You have no idea how happy I am for you.”

Hyuna hugged him back—tighter this time. Maybe she couldn’t feel exactly how he felt, but the intensity of his emotions was embedded into his embrace, anyway. “No,” she softly said. “I think I have somewhat of an idea.”

“Guys!” Dewey called from several feet ahead, breaking the moment. “Don’t fall behind!”

Isaac pulled back from the hug. “Alright, we’re coming!” he called back. Then, he turned to Hyuna. Still in awe. Still proud. “Shall we?” he asked, offering his arm.

Hyuna took it gladly. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

. . .

In three months, Hyuna and Luka were deep into shopping for baby clothes.

Having confirmed the baby’s sex in the anatomical scan, this whole thing had started to feel much more real. They were going to have a daughter, and she was reaching the end of her second trimester already.

Luka, despite all his prior hesitation and insecurities about becoming a father, was doing a great job at helping Hyuna feel secure every single day.

He was starting to learn exactly which snacks stopped her nausea and always kept the kitchen stocked. He constantly complimented her, even when she didn’t feel beautiful with all the changes her body was going through. He took her out on dates when she got bored of being in the house, and lay with her on the couch for hours when she was too tired to do anything other than binge-watching The Office. They argued over baby names a lot (Hyuna had never realized how big of a pressure it was to pick one single name to determine a child’s whole life), but in the end, Luka always made it up to her with deliberate kisses and delicious meals.

To tell the truth, it was kind of nice. Despite all the abdominal pain, the morning sicknesses, and the mood swings, it was still nice to know she could rely on Luka with her eyes closed.

When it came to shopping, however, she couldn’t say the same thing.

“What about this one?” Luka asked, pointing at a cream and gold crib.

The two had decided to sacrifice their barely-used guest room to turn into a nursery, and eventually had started looking for all sorts of furniture and toys. The whole thing was fun in theory: getting to prepare for when their baby would be born and decorating a room for the new member of their family.

Except, Hyuna and Luka rarely ever agreed on aesthetics.

Hyuna tried not to grimace, but her face muscles refused to comply. “No,” she said. “That looks tacky.”

“Why, I think it’s cute,” Luka said. “It doesn’t look bad.”

“It looks bland,” Hyuna deadpanned. “I don’t like it.”

“What about it is bland?” 

“It’s white,” she stated.

“And gold,” he objected.

“I don’t want a boring baby room devoid of color, Luka.”

“Okay, which one do you like then?” he asked, gesturing at the options.

Hyuna’s eyes scanned every single crib set for display, considering the monotonous designs. In the end, “I don’t like any of these,” she bluntly answered—and she must’ve sounded somewhat upset, because Luka didn’t protest.

“Okay, then,” he only said. “We don’t have to get it today, anyways. There are about four more months until our little princess is born, so we have time. Right, princess?” He tilted his head, speaking to the bump on Hyuna’s stomach. “Don’t make mommy stressed. That’s bad manners.”

As much as Hyuna wanted to roll her eyes at him, she found it stupidly sweet that he kept doing this. “You’re the one stressing me out, not her,” she accused.

“Oh so daddy is the scapegoat now,” Luka mocked with a smile that mirrored hers. He took her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it. “Do you want to check the clothes section instead of this?”

She nodded. “Sure, let’s go.”

The two then headed to find the newborn section for baby clothes. 

Hyuna knew it like the back of her hand that she shouldn’t overbuy the clothes because babies outgrew them fast—she’d been advised by dozens of friends to keep that in mind while she was shopping.

But the moment she saw the racks of tiny bodysuits, socks, and bundles of headbands, all of it flew out of her head.

She instinctively reached for a cute, pink onesie on display and held it by the hanger. It was actually so small that the reality was sinking in just now: in just a few months, she was going to hold a baby that could fit into this little bodysuit.

She turned to Luka to say that out loud, but as soon as she looked his way, she caught him wiping tears from under his glasses.

It was difficult to prevent an affectionate look. “Are you good?” she asked with a silly smile.

He fixed his face instantly. “Yeah, sorry,” he apologized. “This whole thing is just kinda crazy. Like, we’re having a baby. An actual child. She’s gonna wear clothes and all that.”

Hyuna started laughing at that. “I know, she will,” she said. “She’s going to have her first words. Then her first steps.” She held the onesie in her hands and mimicked two legs walking in it. 

Luka giggled a bit. “We’ll pick her up from school every day,” he said. “Plan holidays together.”

“We’ll play pretend with her,” Hyuna added on. “Then one day she will cut her hair short and start slamming doors.”

“Oh, I just hope she doesn’t get her temper from you,” Luka said.

She gave him a look. “Nothing’s wrong with my temper.”

“I’m sure,” he teased, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Come on, pick your favorites. Let’s adorn the house with baby clothes.”

They did, indeed, adorn the house with baby clothes and more.

By the time they made it back home that evening, the backseat of their car was full of bags: onesies, diapers, teething and stroller toys, baby bottles, and a lot more—anything but furniture, which they decided to return to after painting the walls of their soon-to-be nursery.

The day had drained both of them terribly. So, as soon as they were home, Luka had hopped into shower and Hyuna had slipped into the kitchen to make herself a quick snack (she’d been growing extremely fond of the combination of peanut butter ice cream and pickles lately).

When Luka was finally out of the shower and dressed in his pajamas, Hyuna was lying in bed and scrolling on her phone already.

“Hey,” she greeted him as he walked in. “Good shower?”

“Yeah, I really needed that.” His eyes trailed down to Hyuna’s shirt. “Is that my shirt?” he asked with a smirk.

“Nothing’s more comfortable than this,” she replied. She dropped her phone on the sheets and opened her arms for Luka. With a smile, he got on the bed and crawled onto her.

“Do you need anything?” he asked before kissing her neck. “Water? A massage?” He kissed her a second time.

Hyuna closed her eyes in comfort. “Just cuddles.”

Luka hummed. He lowered himself to the level of her stomach to give it a kiss, too.

As she was reaching the six month mark, the baby bump was growing to be significantly more obvious. She’d already made a habit of sleeping on her side and wearing leggings, but it still shocked her sometimes, how different her body looked. Not to mention, her prosthetic leg made the lower back pain extra at nights. Every time she was in the shower or naked in front of the mirror, she took her time observing the curves, the marks, the change. She wasn’t a big fan of it.

Luka, however, was the opposite. He found it quite magical, how her body could grow a baby from within. At every chance, he googled random stuff about fetus development and actively kept up with her stages of pregnancy, just out of curiosity. 

“Would she also want cuddles?” he now asked fondly, planting soft kisses on Hyuna’s stomach.

With a smile, she lifted the hem of her shirt so he could feel the baby better. “Maybe,” she said. “Ask her, not me.”

Luka kissed her bare skin, his breath almost tickling. “Hi princess, it’s your dad.” He gently rested his head on her belly, hands on either side of it. “Are we in the mood for cuddles tonight?”

He wasn’t pressuring Hyuna in any way, but the baby must’ve felt it somehow, because she kicked just then. Hyuna started laughing when Luka raised his head in realization.

“Wow. So we’re kicking now,” he said, mock-offended. “Super rude, young lady.”

“She’s pretty strong, you gotta give it to her,” Hyuna said.

“Takes after you.” He raised himself back up to kiss Hyuna on the lips.

She returned the kiss, slow and messy. Slowly, she turned to her side for comfort, so Luka lowered himself next to her to keep kissing.

When they inevitably parted, she felt more at peace than she had been the whole day. Taking a deep breath, she let her head tilt into the pillow. “I’m so tired I don’t want to do anything tomorrow,” she drawled.

Luka, too, lay close to her. “That sounds perfect to me,” he said, reaching to fix her hair. His gentle fingers ran through her long, brown strands, brushing them away from her face. “I’ll wake up early and make you breakfast. What would you like to eat tomorrow morning?”

“Scrambled eggs and toast,” Hyuna said with closed eyes. “Strawberry yogurt too.”

“Noted.” Luka hugged her loosely.

Craving more of his touch, Hyuna snuggled in closer and hugged him back. And like the baby felt it, she kicked again—much softer this time. Just a weak pulse in Hyuna’s lower abdomen, fluttering lightly.

Hyuna smiled to herself. “Did you feel that? It’s almost like she knows you,” she said. “She kicks every time you hug me.”

Luka gave a soft scoff. “She better.” Between their bodies, his arm slid down to touch her bump. “I’m glad she recognizes her own dad.”

Hyuna opened her eyes just slightly. “How could she not?” she asked. “Her dad is the most charming man in the world.”

Luka’s golden eyes were unconvinced. Still, he laughed. “Or maybe her mom is really in love with him.”

“Both,” Hyuna whispered. “It’s both.”

For a while, they rested in silence. They hadn’t even turned the lights off yet, but she was already so drowsy, she figured Luka would do it later on. The side position eased her backache, the pillow under her head was soft, and the day had been terribly long already. With the way Luka was holding her, she could lie here forever.

Until, “Hyuna,” he suddenly whispered. “I really want to be a good father.”

Hyuna opened her eyes, well knowing this conversation was something they were going to have sooner or later. She reached up to cup her husband’s face. “Where did that come from?” she quietly asked, rubbing a gentle thumb over his cheek. “You will be a great father,” she reassured with all honesty. “Do you have any doubts about that?”

Luka didn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Sometimes I think of the times she is going to need me by her side. As a father. And I’m… really scared of messing that up.” He somewhat pouted in a boyish manner. “You know my dad never taught me how to ride a bike or how to tie shoelaces. He never read me bedtime stories. Didn’t celebrate my birthdays. Even on my worst days, I didn’t have him to tell me that things were going to be okay.” His hand came to rest on Hyuna’s stomach once again. “I refuse to be that for our child, Hyuna. I want to be everything my father wasn’t.”

She smiled before leaning in to press a small kiss on his lips. “You already are,” she whispered. 

Just then, exactly where Luka’s hand was on her stomach, the baby kicked again. Hyuna and Luka’s eyes widened at each other at the same time. “Damn,” Luka let out, glancing down at her belly. “She’s a big kicker.”

Hyuna chuckled. “I think she just agrees with her mom,” she proudly said. “She has the greatest dad in the whole entire planet.”

Luka rolled his eyes in boredom, though the smirk on his lips was saying otherwise. “Show off,” he teasingly said.

Hyuna only leaned forward to kiss him one more time. “It’s nothing but the truth, babe.”

. . .

“I figured out why I hated all the cribs.”

When Hyuna brought this up one Sunday morning at the doorstep of the nursery, Luka was busy painting the walls a soft, pastel yellow.

He lowered the paint roller and turned to look at his wife over his shoulder. Paint had dried on his nose and cheek as a streak, but he didn’t even seem to be aware of it. With his old overalls and the plaid shirt underneath, he looked like the perfect painter.

He fixed his glasses with a knuckle so he wouldn’t touch it with his yellow fingertips. “Why is it?” he asked, genuinely curious.

Hyuna walked into the room covered in blue tarps. She stepped over Luka’s painting tools and sat on the ground. “It’s because they’re not convenient,” she said. “I want something like a bedside bassinet.”

That hadn’t come out of nowhere.

Having reached third trimester, Hyuna was discovering that having a prosthetic leg and a growing baby inside her at the same time wasn’t the most practical thing.

No matter how many times she visited her prosthetist and made adjustments on the bionic leg to accommodate to her pregnancy, the backaches and the leg swellings didn’t get any better. Some of her doctors even recommended crutches to make things easier, but Hyuna refused to deal with that shit after all her unsuccessful prior attempts with it.

The physical pain was causing her sleeping problems, and the sleeping problems were causing enough nightmares for her to be able to tell that having to get up multiple times at night and putting on a prosthetic leg to go to her crying baby in the crib was super unrealistic.

Luka put the paint roller in the bucket and sat down in front of her. “Actually, I was about to suggest something about this, too,” he readily said. From his back pocket, he found his phone and started searching something up on it. “I reached out to a friend of mine who has a big furniture company. When the baby will eventually have to move from a bassinet to a crib, I figured we could have an adjustable one to make it easier for you.” He showed her his phone screen, which had a blueprint design of a baby crib on. “So I designed one.”

Hyuna blinked, slightly addled. She stared at the phone screen—at Luka’s messy sketches, cursive handwritten notes, and his proper, architecturally accurate final design—until she could look back at his face.

“You made this?” she asked.

“You can change the design however you like,” Luka instantly said. “I got the basic mechanics down—just some arithmetic work. But I wanted to leave the artistic side to you, since you didn’t like any of the cribs and we will eventually need one. Once I have your approval, I’ll have it made—”

Hyuna cut him off with a huge embrace, she practically threw herself onto him. Luka held her instinctively before they could both fall backwards on the floor.

When the tears started blurring Hyuna’s vision, she wasn’t even surprised. These days, her emotions had been nothing but a rollercoaster, anyway. “I love you,” she whispered into his shoulder. “Thank you. I love you so much.”

Luka hugged her tight and secure. His hand went into her hair as he kissed her temple. “I love you, too, Hyuna,” he said. “More than anything in the entire world.”

And so, for the next few days, Hyuna and Luka racked their brains over the perfect baby crib design.

Whatever Hyuna described, Luka put it into lines and numbers. It took them two sleepless nights, six arguments, and countless tries to get the thing right, but by the end, the blueprint model was finally looking like something Hyuna had always envisioned to have.

She turned and twisted the 3D model Luka had made on his iPad (another one of his nerdy hobbies lately), considering the result. In the end, she gave a curt nod in her business attitude like the director she was. “I like it,” she concluded. “Let’s get this.”

Luka visibly exhaled a breath of relief. He turned to the baby bump and put a hand on it. “High five, sweetheart. Your mother finally approved your future bed.” 

When Hyuna giggled with a roll of eyes, so did Luka. He reached forward to kiss her lips next.

“I’ll set up the perfect room for our baby girl before you know it,” he ambitiously said. “Tomorrow morning we can go get the bedside basinet, too.”

Hyuna smiled, resting her head against the cushion on her back. “You hear that, sweetie?” she asked her stomach. “Your dad is super prepared. Last time I saw him like this was during our wedding.”

“Hey,” Luka warned. “I’m always prepared, darling, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And that’s why it took you four hours to get all the painting tools when I said I wanted the nursery walls yellow.”

“Okay,” Luka interjected, making Hyuna chuckle to herself. “Let’s just not bring that up, maybe.” He kissed her again, though it barely stopped her laughter.

Her indolent eyes watched him pull back from the kiss. She reached up to fix his blond curls. “Tomorrow, after we finish up shopping and all, can we stop by the cemetery?” she asked. “I want to visit Hyunwoo.”

Luka nodded at that. “Of course,” he said, leaning in for yet another kiss. “He has to see how much his niece has grown already.”

Hyuna hummed in confirmation, closing her eyes.

For the past few months, she had been thinking about this endlessly. About how her brother was never going to be able to meet her daughter and be the uncle he had always promised to be in his youth, back when he was alive.

She didn’t feel his absence terribly: her friends and husband always made sure to fill that gaping hole in her chest whenever she felt like a helpless sister missing her other half. But still, she sometimes couldn’t help the thoughts late at night and stayed awake until all the crying drained her out and forced her into sleep eventually.

When her doctor had told her in an appointment that the baby could hear the outside world on her twenty fourth week, the first thing she had played to her was Hyunwoo’s music. His band’s album, earlier demos of his unreleased songs, the ameteur Nirvana covers he would make in his teen years, and every other junk she could find.

Needless to say, she had cried that day, too.

Luka was, as always, understanding about it. He didn’t cry nearly as much as her these months (something he said about wanting to allow her the emotional space, though Hyuna was sure he just wanted to seem tough and reliable in her eyes) and whenever she did, he always found a way to soothe it.

Cemetery visits, they discovered, was one of them.

Hyuna was a devoted, silent prayer. So, their trips to her late brother’s grave usually went by without a lot of conversation. Just the buzzing nature, their own abundant thoughts, and each other’s comforting presences. One of the most peaceful things Hyuna ever experienced in her life.

And the next morning, when they went to the cemetery as promised, she was feeling exactly that.

The stone memorial statue of her brother’s famous stratocaster was, to this day, polished and clean. No wonder. Fans and friends of Hyunwoo showed extra care to preserve his grave. Even though it had been years since his passing, Hyuna still found a new flower bouquet left for him in every visit.

Today was no different.

Flowers and handwritten notes from fans were all over the place. Hyuna absently smiled at the sight as she internally greeted her brother.

She and Luka stood in front of the grave, Luka’s hand stable on her back so she wouldn’t lose balance (another curse of her prosthetic leg) and have him to lean onto. 

She took a deep breath, whispered a quick Korean prayer, and then looked back down at the gravestone like it could be Hyunwoo’s face.

Hi Woo, she thought with a smile. Yes, it’s me again. I know. Shocker. I just miss you a lot and it’s been a really long week, so I wanted to visit you. Can you blame me? I’m barely on four hours of sleep, but I know you would scold me about it if you were here, so just pretend you didn’t hear any of that. But hey, I have good news too. Me and Luka figured out the crib situation. He made one himself, actually. Can you believe that? I have a feeling you would be super stoked to find out about that.

Her hand came to rest on her stomach like she would show it off to her brother.

Not to mention, only two more months until I get to meet my baby daughter. She pictured Woo’s wide smile. And I know I say this all the time, but I really wish you got to meet her, too.

Her eyes burned a bit, but she held back the tears.

When something tickled her nose, she shook her head impulsively. She only realized what the sensation was when it flied away: a small, white butterfly.

The butterfly fluttered up and down, first around her belly, then around Hyunwoo’s gravestone. But before Hyuna could watch it for long, it made its way into the greenery beyond the gravestones, flapping its wings until it was out of her sight.

Hyuna almost cracked a smile.

Somehow, she knew. This was all she needed to rest assured that he was watching over her. “We can leave now, actually,” she casually said out loud. “I’m all good.”

“Already?” Luka asked, his hand softly rubbing on her back. “We can stay longer if you want to. We have time.”

Hyuna smiled one last time at the gravestone that had her brother’s name on it. It was almost like a secret they shared.

Just between them.

“No need,” she said decisively. “I’m good to leave.”

. . .

Hyuna didn’t see butterflies again in a really long time.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months; some passed mundane, some chaotic. Within that long period of time, she and Luka finished up the nursery, came to a solid agreement on a baby name, prepared themselves for every symptom of labor, and actively trained their minds to stay calm during it.

And before Hyuna even knew it, it was over.

Now, as the monitor beeped and the nurses rushed around the room, all she could focus on was how warm Luka’s hand felt in hers.

Everything was too blurry. Her labor had lasted hours. Probably. She had lost track of that some time ago. Her mind felt heavy. She was a sweaty mess, couldn’t feel anything down her legs, and had been in pain for so long she couldn’t differentiate the cramps from numbness anymore.

But Luka was with her. Luka was holding her hand, wiping the sweat off her face, and whispering affectionate words she couldn’t pay attention to.

Her head was throbbing. She didn’t have the energy to speak a single word.

But she was a mother now.

Weak baby cries echoed in the room, but it didn’t even feel real. Phantom pain still lingered in every muscle of her body. Hyuna merely managed to turn her head to the nurse who had just cleaned her newborn and was now about to place it on her chest.

Shit, the first proper thought formed in her head. We really did this.

Seeing the crying baby up close made her heart want to explode.

“Congratulations,” the nurse said with a warm smile as she gently placed the child into Hyuna’s arms. As soon as the baby was pressed against her mother’s skin, she stopped crying. Except this time, it was Hyuna who was about to start bawling her eyes out.

“You did it, mama,” the doctor said proudly from the end of the hospital bed. “You have a healthy baby girl. Congratulations.”

The hand she had in Luka’s got squeezed just a tiny bit. 

She glanced at him, only to find him crying intensely already. “Hyuna,” he was sobbing, his face nearly buried into the white hospital sheets. “We have a daughter—I’m so proud of you, Hyuna. I love you so much.”

A laugh escaped her amidst the tears. You’re a dad now, she wanted to say, but couldn’t find the power to get it out. She simply smiled at her husband and eased into the warmth of her newborn baby.

Before drowsiness got to her, her eyes spotted a moving shadow behind Luka’s shoulder, beyond the hospital windows.

A fluttering little butterfly, chasing the sunlight in the outside sky.

. . .

Their friends didn’t come into the postpartum room until late hours of that day. 

Or, more like, Hyuna didn’t want them to.

The overwhelming emotions of having given birth and having become a mother had taken quite a toll on her after the labor rush. The actual responsibility was just kicking in, she was overly anxious about how her baby breathed every damn second, and at some point, the only thing she remembered was not being able to stop crying and just wanting to hug Luka until all of this was over.

The rest was foggy, interrupted only by short breaks of sleep.

Only after having reassuring talks with Luka and meditating on the bed to calm herself down could she finally feel somewhat more stable. Her baby, too, had fallen asleep.

Now, Luka was lying next to her on the wide bed, shirtless, holding the baby against his own chest for skin-to-skin contact while also letting Hyuna have some time to breathe.

She still couldn’t move her body below the pelvic without squirming in pain, but it allowed her enough movement to rest her head against Luka’s shoulder and her hand near the newborn baby’s.

She was still feeling a lot of things. Highly sensitive. Stupidly alert.

But it was all real and present.

She was a mother now. As terrifying as it sounded.

“Luka,” she whispered.

“Hm?” he hummed.

“Thank you for staying with me.” That was the only thing she could manage to speak without a trembling voice. Her eyes watched the newborn that slept soundly on her dad’s chest. “I feel ridiculous for all the crying.”

“You just created life, Hyuna,” Luka responded. He turned his head ever so slightly to kiss her hair. “Might as well cry about it.” 

Hyuna didn’t fight that. Absently, her finger started tracing loose shapes on Luka’s chest. “When they handed her to me, I thought I was going to die,” she said.

“So did I,” Luka confessed. “I was so scared the entire time.”

She looked up at him in slight confusion. “But you seemed calm.”

“I was pretending,” he said outright. “I do not have a single calm bone in my body.”

That almost pulled a chuckle out of her, but even laughing hurt. She replaced that with a deep breath instead and shifted on the bed to get more comfortable.

“We did it, though,” she said, caressing the baby over the blanket. “We’re officially mommy and daddy from today onwards.”

Luka smiled. “You did the most of it,” he corrected. His amber eyes intricately watched the newborn. “And yet I can’t stop staring at her.”

“I know,” she agreed, tilting her head slightly. “Is it just me or does she look pretty serious for a baby?”

“A day old and judging us already.”

“Can’t really blame her about that,” she commented.

“Hey now.”

Hyuna snorted, burying her face into Luka’s skin so she wouldn’t laugh and send a spasm down her stomach again.

Her breathing quickly evened when she inhaled his scent. She lay like that for a while as Luka brushed her hair with his fingers.

After some time, “Are the others here yet?” she asked.

“Dewey and Isaac are,” Luka said. “I just didn’t let them in earlier because you were kinda busy having a mental breakdown.”

She rolled her eyes at that commentary. “Well, okay, I guess you can let them in now,” she said. “Come on, hand her to me and get the party freaks in here.”

Luka’s smirk made it obvious enough that he could tell the usual Hyuna was now back. He gently lifted the baby, kissed her forehead softly, and handed her to Hyuna before hopping off the bed and grabbing his shirt from an armchair.

“I’ll be back in a minute with two idiots and a lot of food," he said as he wore his shirt.

“Can’t wait for the latter,” she said after him.

The door creaked open, then clicked shut. 

And Hyuna was, once again, alone with her baby.

She watched the tiny being in her arms, still sleeping against her bare chest. “You’re going to meet really cool people now,” she whispered at her daughter. “Uncle Dewey and Uncle Isaac. They’ve been waiting for months to meet you.”

So have I, the thought lingered.

It was odd, the concept of ‘meeting’ a child she’d been carrying in her for nine months. But it was no lie.

She was excited to watch this little thing grow up. To get to know her. Discover all her good and bad habits. Teach her anything and everything about life, as complicated as things may get at certain times. Because she was going to do it all with Luka.

Her heart skipped at the thought.

They were absolute beginners at this whole thing, but deep inside, she had a feeling they could do it. Just looking at her baby’s small face gave her the reassurance that they could.

“If we mess things up, please forgive us,” she pleaded with the tiny person on her chest. “Nonetheless, welcome to life. I promise we’ll make it worthwhile.”

And she meant it with every fiber of her being.