Bosam's Point of View
"Ms. Do, we're afraid a C-section is no longer an option. You've gone into early labor, we have no choice but to deliver the baby now."
"N-Now? But.." So many excuses flooded my brain in that moment:
But I was supposed to have a C-section!
But I don't know if I can do a natural birth!
But he's weeks early! I wasn't expecting him yet...
But I'm not ready!
Despite all of those excuses, the one that left my mouth was by far the stupidest. "But the father isn't here yet..." I mumbled, before wincing as another contraction hit me, making me clutch the covers of my hospital bed.
And it really was a stupid thing to say, since I knew he wasn't coming, even if I had called him from the hospital in hopes to reach him, and ask him to be by my side for one last time. It went straight to voice mail, and I left him one, saying that despite everything... I still needed him. I told him what hospital I was in, and then the voice message ended because I got a contraction and accidentally hung up.
We had agreed not to contact each other anymore- actually, I was made to sign a contract where I agreed not to contact him anymore, which I was technically breaching by calling him, even if it wasn't from my phone, but at the time I was just desperate. I was young, afraid, and alone, and I needed the love of my life by my side as my son was about to be born, and even though there was no way he would come, I couldn't help but be hopeful.
"I'm here!" A familiar male voice shouted as he ran into my hospital room. Stupidly, my eyes filled with helpless hope as I looked to the door... only to see Jaehyun standing on the other side.
He bolted to my side, his face filled with concern, and he held my hand in both of his. "I'm here! I got here as fast as I could. What's going on?" He asked, looking down at me. His face was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and he was panting, pupils shaking as he looked down at me with worry.
"She's going into labor, we're moving her to the LDR. Are you the father?" My nurse asked, as they moved me into a different bed to transport me to the Labor, Delivery, and Recovery room.
Jaehyun didn't even hesitate to say a curt "yes," to which the nurse nodded. "Then you can come," she said, before they moved me into the LDR.
Jaehyun stayed by my side, holding my hand as I screamed and cried, pushing my son out of me. At one point I thought I was gonna pass out, but he called my name and grabbed my face, giving me tiny, gentle slaps, just enough times to keep me conscious.
Giving birth was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but also the most gratifying. As soon as I heard his little cry... it was as if all the wounds and pain that had brought me to this point didn't matter anymore. He was here, and he was all that mattered to me from that point forward.
My son... Rowoon was what I needed to learn to love again. I held him in my arms for the first time, and for the first time after his father left me, I felt complete. When he opened those big, round eyes of his, I realized for the first time how much he looked like his father, but that didn't make me love him any less.
"He looks like a little alien," Jaehyun said, making me roll my eyes. "Shut up. He's beautiful," I said, my voice uncharacteristically soft as I stared down at my sleeping son, who lay peacefully in my arms. I finally tore my attention away from my newborn son, and looked over at Jae, a warm, loving expression on my features.
"Thank you for being here, Jae... I don't know if I would've been able to do this without you," I said. He shook his head with a smile. "Don't mention it, Bosam-ah. Don't worry okay? As long as I'm around... you and this little alien will never be alone." He promised me, making my eyes sting with tears.
After getting dumped and then fired, I had felt so alone. Heartbroken, unemployed, financially insecure, and pregnant, I was at an all time low. But it was at that rough time in my life that Jaehyun never left my side. Jihoon was also incredibly involved in my life after the break-up. The two of them started buying all the expensive baby stuff for Rowoon that I couldn't afford, helping me give my son the childhood he deserved. They took incredible care of me until I slowly managed to get back on my feet, and even then, they continued to be involved in our lives. I was eternally in debt with both of them, but Jaehyun especially.
Maybe that's why I agreed to his stupid plan. Even if he had been an ass to me the last time we talked, he was still Jaehyun, one of my best friends, and after everything he had done for me, I owed it to him.
So now here I was, talking to Seonghwa in my room as he tried psyching me up for this date. "Come on, it's not so bad!" He said, his hands on his hips as he looked down at me. "Our Yunho is an incredible guy, noona. He's fun, he's sweet, he's caring... you two will have a wonderful time. Just give him a chance!" He said, his voice a few pitches higher, acting a little cute in hopes to cheer me up.
"If you think he's so great, then you date him." I joked, making Seonghwa roll his eyes. "Noona," he said, in a nagging tone.
"What? Seonghwa, I'm sure he's great, but I don't want to 'give him a chance'." I said, to which he huffed.
"Why not? A guy like Yunho would be perfect for you, noona. He's so fun and care-free, he'd complement your personality perfectly." He said, making me narrow my eyes. Was this kid calling me boring and uptight?
"But fine, if you don't believe me, you'll see for yourself. Please, at least try to enjoy yourself on this date. Yunho stressed so much trying to come up with the perfect first date." He said, making me wave my hand dismissively.
"Yeah yeah, we'll see how it goes." I said, standing up from my bed. I checked myself in the mirror.. I hadn't exactly dressed up for this date. Jeans, a shirt, and a jacket. Simple, professional. After sighing softly in realization that I was really gonna do this, I walked out of my room, Seonghwa trailing behind me.
As I stepped into the living room, all the guys seemed to be gathered there, except for two: Hongjoong and Yunho. San and Wooyoung gave me this teasing look, as if they were gossiping schoolgirls, and stood up from where they were sitting to come talk to me. "You look great noona!" San said, but Wooyoung shrugged a little "Eh, the outfit could use some work," he said, seemingly disappointed by my outfit choice.
"Excuse me?" I asked, chuckling at the mischievous duo who for some reason, was acting as if they were the stylists in the dorms.
"Yeah! You're going on a date.. why not a dress or.. I don't know, something cuter!" Wooyoung said, crossing his arms.
"Wooyoung-ah.. when you're the stylist, or you're going on a date, you choose the outfit, alright? Right now, you're neither so just.." I said, pressing my finger to my lips, telling him to zip it. The audacity.
Wooyoung chuckled. "Alright alright, I get it. Are you ready?" He asked, and I nodded hesitantly, scratching the back of my neck. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess..." I said, clearly not excited, "where's Yunho anyway?" I asked, confused as to why he wasn't here.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, wondering who could it be, since we weren't expecting anyone, but the mischievous duo only gestured at the door in response, telling me to go get it. I rolled my eyes at the two, but did as they said anyway, and walked over to the door in curiosity.
I opened the door, and on the other side was Jung Yunho, standing tall and handsome, with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. It was a simple, yet beautiful bouquet of lilies of the valley and leaves. I was impressed- how did he know lilies of the valley were my favorite flower?
The adorable gesture of leaving the dorms, getting the bouquet, and ringing the bell was also a sweet touch- I mean, the guy lives here, he had no business ringing the bell, he just did it to be cute. But I can't lie, I found it quite precious.
"Hi noona. These are for you," he said, a bright smile on his face as he offered me the small, simple bouquet. I didn't even notice I was smiling as I took it, bringing it up to my nose and taking a whiff of the sweet, slightly lemon-y scent of the dainty, white flowers I loved so much.
"How did you know I like these?" I asked, looking up at him. He shrugged with a shy smile, looking down at his shoes as he shifted his weight around, not wanting to tell me. I rolled my eyes playfully at him.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he looked back up at me "Ready to go?" He asked, his eyes brimming with hope and something in between eagerness and nervousness.
I shook my head. "Just a second. Let me go put these into a vase," I said, before leaving him at the doorway as I carried my small bouquet back inside the dorms, where I was greeted with childish cooes and giggles from the guys.
"Wah, what a beautiful bouquet! I wonder where he got the idea!" Seonghwa gushed, doing a very poor job of covering up the fact that he was the one who gave Yunho the idea, making me laugh.
"So you told him? But how did you know I like these?" I asked, an amused smile on my face. Seonghwa's eyes widenned and he tried to deny that he was the one who told Yunho to get me these flowers, but eventually gave up and confessed "I asked Rowoon. He told me you like 'the flowers that look like little white bells'... after some research, I took an educated guess and told Yunho that you like lilies of the valley." He said, defeated.
My gaze became warm with gratitude, and I reached up to pinch Seonghwa's cheek. "Thank you, sweetheart. That was a nice gesture." I said, smiling warmly up at him.
"You're welc- wait no! Thank Yunho!" He said, his eyes widenning. I wrinkled my nose a little as I filled up a vase with water and placed the bouquet into it. "Why? He just bought it. You're the one who did all the work." I said, placing the vase as a center piece on the kitchen island.
Seonghwa could only stare at me, dumbfounded and seemingly regretting confessing that he was the one who made the most effort for the sweet gesture. "What else did you do? Plan this whole date?" I joked with a chuckle, but the way Seonghwa's eyes widenned made me think that he did in fact, plan Yunho and I's date for us.
"Wow... I should just be going on a date with you then," I said with a humorless chuckle, shaking my head. I couldn't help but feel disenchanted. If Yunho wanted to go on a date with me so badly, why did he leave all the planning to someone else?
My father was a hispanic man, and he would talk in these sayings that only made sense to him, and only started to make sense to me when my mother translated them. He used to say "No hay que saludar con sombrero ajeno." which roughly translates to "You shouldn't greet people with someone else's hat." Again, it made no sense to me back when he was alive, but after he passed, I started to ponder on his weird sayings, and they slowly became teachings that I live by, and pass onto Rowoon. What my father meant was to give credit where credit is due, and not to try to pass someone else's achievements or actions as your own. For example, ordering food before a date, serving it on your own dishes, and telling your date you spent all day cooking for them would be what my father called "greeting with someone else's hat", or trying to flaunt other people's efforts or achievements as if they were your own.
"I- no noona, I just.." Seonghwa started, not knowing how to climb out of the hole he had accidentally dug himself and Yunho into.
I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively. "Ah, forget it. I need to go on this stupid date either way." I said, now feeling even less excited to go on this date.
"Thanks for the flowers, Seonghwa-yah!" I called over my shoulder as I opened the door, making Yunho frown. He looked at Seonghwa with a betrayed expression on his features, and the last thing I caught before closing the door was Seonghwa's apologetic eyes staring at Yunho, not knowing how to respond.
Quite honestly, I don't know why I said it. I could've just pretended like I didn't know that Seonghwa had orchestrated everything, or try to see it as something sweet, but I guess deep down, I was upset. I was probably just angry that I had to go on this date to begin with... yeah, that had to be it. But still, maybe I shouldn't have taken it out on them... after all, Yunho was just trying to be sweet, and Seonghwa was just trying to be a good friend.
But at the time, I was too bitter and stubborn to see that. In fact, I was just about to make another petty comment at Yunho, when he spoke up. "Sorry.. I wanted to get you something you'd like, but you never talk to me, so I didn't know what you'd like. I know you like Seonghwa-hyung more than me, so I asked him what to get you, since he knows you better than I do." he explained. As I looked up at him, I was taken aback. His eyes held such genuine regret, accompanied by a hint of jealousy.
I looked down. This is what's so dangerous about Yunho. Those damn puppy eyes of his are so difficult to say no to. One glance and I was already completely disarmed. "Who says I like Seonghwa more than you?" I said, without even thinking.
Of course I liked Seonghwa more than Yunho. Seonghwa was mature and nurturing, like myself. He liked kids and dramas, so him and I had started bonding from day one. He would get lonely at night because he shares a room with Hongjoong, who he stays up late at the company to produce songs and is rarely at the dorms, and I get lonely after I put Rowoon to sleep, so se became each other's nightly company after about a week when I first moved in. We would watch dramas together, he would keep me company while I worked, if Rowoon wouldn't fall asleep, we'd play with him together, or sometimes the two of us would just sit and talk. Needless to say, Seonghwa had quickly become my first friend inside the Ateez dorms.
So o course I liked him more than Yunho... but when he said things like that and gave me those big puppy eyes, I felt as if I couldn't let that thought stand.
Yunho looked back up to meet my eyes cautiously, his hand reaching up to rub his nape "Well... no one, but some things are obvious. You spend every night talking with Seonghwa, while barely saying a word to me all day." Yunho said, a faraway sadness to his expression that was unbearable to see. I understood what Jaehyun had said at that moment. Yunho truly was the light of the group. He was usually so happy, bright and energetic. Seeing this sadness in his usually happy face was disheartening.
"Well you're the one I'm going on a date with, not Seonghwa." I argued, wanting to cheer him up, while subconsciously leading him on. "So stop sulking, alright? It doesn't suit you," I said, placing my hands on my hips.
Yunho cracked a smile and finally let out a little chuckle, hiding his smile behind his hand as he did. "Ah, do I look best when I'm smiling?" He asked, seemingly fishing for compliments, to which I stupidly played right into. "Yeah, so keep that smile on your face, alright, Jung Yunho? Don't let me catch you sulking again." I said, my tone stern as if I was nagging him, which only made him blush and smile even more, before nodding obediently.
"Alright, now let's go on this date."
~~~
Oh my gosh, hi everyone! Sorry about the long wait, but things have been... crazy to say the least. I started Uni! And while it's a step closer to achieving my dreams, it also means I have less time to write for you guys. But don't worry, I'm not going on hiatus, nor will I stop writing this story at all, it will just get updated much slower than it had been before.
I still really love writing this, and while I do have less time and find myself stumped every now and then (this is my third time writing this chapter ;-;), it still brings me a lot of joy to be able to write things for Atiny, and that you enjoy my little story <3 so please vote for the chapters you enjoy, and if you like the story, please share it with your fellow Atiny! As always, I would love to hear your feedback. What you like, what you don't like, and what you would like to see more of!
That was a long author's note 💀 but one last thing! Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day :)