Two Years Later
Leila looked down at the crowd from her seat, amazed at the number of people there with their light sticks. It looked like a whole other world with its own constellations, brightly shining to beckon those boys' home.
Everyone was singing along to the song being performed by all seven members on stage. It was the last song of the night and her favorite because it spoke about an unexpected love that taught you what it was like to be loved unconditionally. Namjoon's part specifically spoke about his fears of inadequacy, how he had finally found himself, peace and solace in that love, and how grateful he was for that now.
Leila's favorite part was the end, though. Mia's voice had been sampled from the message she had left Namjoon years before."Appa, sarangheyo!" Knowing that this song was about Mia and the way she changed Namjoon would always tug at her heartstrings.
"You ready?" Hyun-Joo came up behind Leila and rubbed her arm to reassure her.
Leila grimaced as she looked out towards the stage, at her husband strutting up the long aisle to interact with the crowd.
Husband.
The term still threw her for a loop. It didn't come as a surprise to their friends and families when Namjoon and Leila married less than a year after returning to South Korea. It was an impulsive decision on both their parts and it wasn't how most people would've done it, but they weren't most people and they had never followed traditions to begin with. Their whole relationship had started with failed Plan B pill in the first place.
Leila now lived a life that she never imagined she would have. She was married to the most amazing man she'd ever met, one that showed her just how much she meant to him. He saw the open wounds of her past and healed them all one by one until they turned to scars. Ones that were still tender and fresh, but he promised to kiss them better every night until they were nothing but a distant memory.
Now she was a mother, a wife, a business owner, they even had a dog. She almost couldn't believe this was her life to begin with. There were times she would stare at Namjoon, still so amazed by him. Even watching him do the most minuscule things, like eating, texting, or watching a movie left her in awe.
This was the life she'd seen written into one too many Lifetime movies. Except it wasn't a movie and there was no script. It wasn't always easy, but it was rewarding. She wouldn't want to live it any other way.
"Maybe it's not that great of an idea to do this tonight." They planned everything out accordingly and the surprise was saved for the very last day of the tour, but now it was too nerve-wracking.
"Baby girl, you don't have a choice." Liz chimed in from her seat. "It's too late to turn back now. It's all set up."
"It's going to be fine, I promise," Hyun-Joo waved her off. She then sat down beside Liz, both of them waiting impatiently for what was about to happen.
"Army!" Namjoon screamed into his microphone, causing the whole stadium to burst into screams. "You have been amazing to us these past two years. Me especially. Army, the real Army, the ones who love us and stand by us no matter what. You accepted my flaws and you accepted the most important parts of me. I was afraid for so long that when you found out about my daughter you'd be finished with me but you welcomed her in just as you've always done with all of us. Those that couldn't handle what was happening, they weren't real fans." He shook his head as he looked at the crowd lovingly. "But you guys are." They broke out into screams again.
"My wife," he started again once they settled down. "Even her, you all embraced in time and for that, I will forever be grateful. For allowing me to not only be RM, but also Kim Namjoon."
Leila's eyes began to sting at hearing the way the people reacted to his words. All of them, collectively screaming and awe-ing a man that just two years ago had believed his career was over.
"She's up there somewhere." he pointed up towards the suites where Leila was seated with Liz and Hyun-Joo, along with some friends and family of the boys. "Believe it or not, this is her very first BTS concert, and she said she wanted to experience it the same way you guys do. So she's up there with an Army Bomb and everything." The guys and the fans laughed together, some of them looking back to see if they could see her.
Namjoon was the happiest he'd been in a long time. Life couldn't have been any kinder to him in the past two years. He had everything he ever wanted and then some. Being a father was his greatest accomplishment. Watching Mia grow, celebrating her birthdays and Christmas with her, was immensely fulfilling. Leila as a wife was amazing to him. She understood his lifestyle. She never complained about him being too busy or too tired and she was always available with support.
They did argue, just like most couples did. Over trivial things, like her hair clogging the drain or how she claimed, he squeezed the toothpaste tube from the middle like a toddler. These days she was a tad bit more annoyed by him than usual, but she was under the pressure of opening another store in a new country. He wanted to help her as much as he could because he had the resources but she denied every one of his attempts. She just had to do it herself.
She had also been uncharacteristically sentimental about him leaving for the tour. They had their share of emotional situations, but Leila, as an individual, wasn't very emotive. This is why when she asked if she could come to the last show in New York, he told her it would be okay. Being away from them for four months had taken its toll on him. Video calls and pictures weren't enough to get him by towards the end of the tour.
Leila's palms began to dampen at the thought of what she was about to do. A microphone was handed to her by one of the staff members.
Namjoon spoke again, "I heard she picked a bias. Obviously, it's m-"
"It's V," she said into the mic, seizing the opportunity. The people in her suite laughed when they saw Namjoon on the big screen with wide eyes. The camera then panned to V, who was covering his reddened face while laughing, and the crowd started to laugh with them.
"Who mic'ed her up?!" He looked back at the members. "Very funny. What are you up to?" He placed his hand over his eyebrows to see past the lights, looking up at the section Leila should've been sitting in. Liz stood up, waving her arms frantically, and pointed at Leila beside her. Somehow, Namjoon managed to see them and chuckled into the mic. "There she is!" He said, pointing up, "How are you feeling tonight, baby?"
Leila was practically jumping in place and unable to withhold the excitement any longer. "Pregnant."
There was one loud, and a bit delayed synchronized gasp from the audience, and then cheers erupted. Namjoon froze in place, looking up at where Leila was supposed to be seated.
She'd found out a couple of days after he left for the tour and had decided to keep it to herself for various reasons. One, it was too early to know if it would be a viable pregnancy and if something unfortunate happened, he would've dropped out of the tour and been on the first flight back. Two, if it did work out, there was the possibility he would abandon the tour anyway to be with her every moment of the pregnancy. She didn't see the point in running that risk when he would be back home before she even found out the gender.
Leila watched the jumbotron turn into a black and white video of her last sonogram. The crowd was in a frenzy, yelling and pointing at the screen behind him, but he continued to stare up, with a slacked mouth. He finally listened and turned around just as loud thudding started to pour out of the speakers. The guys turned too, looking just as shocked.
Namjoons' hands flew to his head as he stood there bewildered. He stepped farther away to see the screen better. Arms & legs he could barely make out were moving in the 2d image. He closed his eyes and took off his earpiece, listening to their child's heartbeat and the screams of the crowd all at once.
An overwhelming feeling he couldn't quite explain took over him and he couldn't hold it together any longer. He doubled over as the waterworks began. Wobbly legs gave up on him, causing him to crouch down. Namjoon tucked his head into his knees and covered his face with his arms so they wouldn't see him cry.
They often talked about having another child, but Leila had been off her birth control for a year and they had yet to conceive. They left it up to fate. Mia was still small and maybe it just wasn't their time yet.
And although he loved all of his experiences with Mia, the truth was that he had missed everything about Leila's first pregnancy. Including the most pivotal moment of all; Mia's birth. What he was just presented with now was the opportunity to experience all of it, almost like a first-time dad. They would get to do it all together like they should've done the first time.
Jimin came up to wrap his arms around Namjoon and say something in his ear. She wasn't sure if his reaction was a happy one yet and she looked over at Hyun-Joo who was crying along with her brother. She and Liz were the only two that knew about Leila's pregnancy.
"Give him a moment," Hyun-Joo said between tears. "He's processing."
The rest of the guys came up to ruffle his hair or hug him, and Leila swore she saw him cry harder. Then he got up, wiping his face with a small towel he had in his back pocket. "Ah man." he laughed into the mic and then immediately started crying again. Namjoon covered his eyes with his forearm to dab his tears. He inhaled a deep breath to center himself but still exhaled a shaky one. Namjoon cleared his throat and looked up at Leila's section, beaming with happiness.
They'd overcome every obstacle thrown at them and he knew there would be many more down the line but as long as they had each other, he was sure they could make it through anything. They'd be on those rocking chairs, seventy and decrepit like Leila said, watching their grandchildren play and knowing that they trudged through hell and high water to be together. Namjoon would do it all again, a hundred times over, just to be standing here, looking up at his wife and mother of his children, finally feeling complete.
"I fucking love you, Leila Reyes."
"And I fucking love you, Kim Namjoon."
Fin
(for now)
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And we're done. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read their story, my faithful voters, and those who would comment. Towards the end of this journey, I really started to feel a bit special 🤣 The fact that this story has so many reads now is beyond me!
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