Beyond Alteration

V

5 August 2019

"Eomeonim," Hansung sighed heavily, though finding comfort in the warmth Banshin's hand provided in his, "I don't know where to start."

Banshin didn't say anything, only providing ample silent comfort to his husband.

"First of all, I feel sorry that you had to go through so much in your last days," Hansung started and once he did, he couldn't stop. He kneeled down, placed a bouquet of flowers under the gravestone, and stood back up with Banshin. 

"You did your best to make your son better. It didn't work out despite your efforts, but you still worked hard, Eomeonim," Hansung took another deep breath. 

"But I am not sorry for killing him. I am only sorry your efforts went down the drain. And I'm sorry we didn't come to your funeral. And to your grave sooner. I needed this time to get better. And I did. I became better and I'm ready to start a new life again," he looked at Banshin, who was barely containing his nerves. A fond smile broke out on his face. 

"This is Banshin, Eomeonim," Hansung lifted their joint hands and tapped on the top gently, "Seo Banshin. My husband. He looks just like your son, doesn't he?" he asked fondly, chuckling at the offended grunt that he knew would follow right away. It did. 

"We both are going to become fathers again," he said. "We chose to go for surrogacy. The baby is due tomorrow, and the mother got admitted to the hospital today. We came to Seoul to take our baby home. I want a boy. Bannie wants a girl. Who do you think we are gonna get?"

"A girl, of course," Banshin said with an angry pout. He was not at all happy with the fact that Hansung had dragged him to the grave of the woman who had lied to everyone about Jeongguk's death, but he didn't want Hansung to go alone either. Thus the sulk. 

Just when Hansung was done rolling his eyes at his husband, Banshin's phone rang and somehow, somehow, they already knew the call was from the hospital. 

And they somehow already knew the call was about a certain someone who poked their head out because they couldn't hold their curiosity and wait for another day to see the colourful world. 

"Okay, Eomeonim, we need to go. Baby calls. We'll be back with Junha and the baby some other day. I'm sorry again," Hansung said and all but ran back to their car. 

"HANNIE!!" Seokjin exclaimed gleefully the second the two of them dashed to the ward the mother was in. His entire family - his parents, Yoongi, Hoseok, Namjoon, Jimin, Jeongyeon, Daeshin and his wife Hyojoo - were around Seokjin with tears in their eyes. 

And in his wide arms was a little bundle of blankets. 

Hansung's heart thundered in his throat and Banshin's feet thundered across the corridor. 

While Hansung took slow steps towards the baby, Banshin already burst into very ugly and very loud and very messy tears the second he lay his eyes on the baby. He didn't even bother to find out the baby's gender. 

"H-He looks jus' like y-you," he slurred and cried and sniffled and rubbed his face. He was a complete mess. 

"She," Namjoon corrected with his dimply smile and shining eyes still directed at the little bundle of pure 'honey' in Seokjin's arms. 

The sight of Seokjin with a baby in his arms made him crave another baby. 

Hansung stepped close to his brother and looked at the baby. And it finally sunk in. His daughter. His daughter. His. 

He looked up at Banshin and then broke down into messy tears as well. 

Because that was his daughter right there. His. His. His. His. HIS!!

He and Banshin threw their arms around each other in a very tight embrace that had both of them fighting for breath. Everyone except Seokjin joined the hug tearfully. 

When they pulled away from the hug, Hansung made his way to the mother's room to thank her. Once that was done, he could no longer postpone taking his daughter into his arms. 

Or so he thought. 

Because the second he stepped out, there was chaos. 

There was Banshin with his daughter in his arms and everyone else around him yelling at him to hold the baby carefully. Banshin held a hand up to shush them and tried to tell them that he was holding the baby perfectly well, making Hansung's heart drop to his feet. 

How on earth was Banshin holding the baby well if one of his hands was in the air shushing everyone around?!

And what was that he was telling them?! 'She's so light, I can lift her just by her little shirt!!'?! Like hell he would. Hansung would break his skull open before that happened.

He rushed forward to grab his daughter from his disaster of a husband's arms. He threw him a glare and then glared at his brother for giving the baby to another baby in the first place. 

Banshin pouted heavily and crossed his arms angrily, but not a single soul bothered to check on him. Not when a little mouth opened and closed and the baby shifted slightly in Hansung's arms. The entire herd cooed at her and Hansung burst into tears again. 

Because now that he was having a close look at her, he could see that her lips looked just like his. So did her nose. And her ears. Hell, her entire self looked like him. 

His little clone, right in his arms. 

He couldn't wait to see Junha's reaction. Unfortunately, he had to. All the kids - Junha, Dohyeon, Daeyoung, Daesan and Sumi - were locked up in Yoongi's house under the watchful eyes of Hyuni. 

"Okay, what do we need to do?" Hansung asked, seeing as Banshin was still busy sulking at all of them. 

"We took care of everything. You just have to sign a couple of documents and then you're good to go," Namjoon said, gesturing to himself and Yoongi. 

"Thank you, hyung," Hansung thanked both of them and gestured for his brother to collect his adorable but a-pain-in-the-ass husband before walking to their car with his daughter snuggled comfortably in his arms. 

He had not even stepped inside before the kids started screaming their heads off at the little being in his arms, who had chosen right that moment to open her tiny mouth in an even tinier yawn. 

Banshin all but clawed his heart out at that. He abandoned his drama and approached the baby. He gently, very gently, stroked her little head with his huge warm hand. 

"Hannie's baby Hana," he said in baby voice, and the name stuck to Hansung so bad that he threw all other names that they had decided until then out the window. 

However, he didn't like the reasoning behind the name. So he gestured for Banshin to sit on a chair and hold his arms out properly. Banshin did it right away, looking like a kid who had been offered a tour of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory when Hansung carefully placed his daughter in his arms. 

Hansung took extra care to make sure Banshin performed no stunts before leaning down to place a feather-light kiss on her forehead. 

"And Bannie's baby Banana?" he whispered questioningly with a proud grin that only turned prouder when Banshin burst into a chuckle that turned into another round of messy sobs. 

"Don't ever forget this, Bannie. She ours. Not just mine," he said.

"True," Banshin sniffled, bringing his hand up to wipe his tears messily.

And so chaos ensued again for the baby's safety. 

After making sure his baby was fine in his own arms, Hansung finally let his other two babies get close to his new baby, vowing silently to himself not to ever let his baby of a husband pick his daughter up in his arms ever again. 

Not if he wanted Seo Hana to end up with a crack as huge as her father's on her head in her life.