WITH YOU - haechan

| 47 |

— A NEW US
unedited

A few moments of silence had passed, and with every second ticking the air thickened and nearly suffocated the youngest male in the room. All of the older men stared at the pair, sympathetic expressions on their faces. "Come on, just spit it out—" Donghyuck seethed, slamming a hand on the wooden table as the other was held in a nervous hold by his soulmate.

Taeyong cleared his throat, eyes still piercing at the younger. He had no other way to deliver the news than in a blunt statement.

In an indifferent tone, the older spoke. "Donghyuck, you have a child."

The mere five worded sentence caused the boy's whole body to malfunction. He felt the undeniable pressure appear on his throat, closing in on him as air suddenly ceased to exist. He let out a ragged cough, as he pounded his right palm against his burning chest to ease the pain that scorched his whole being.

Taeil rushed to grab the boy water. He quickly grabbed a glass cup, filled it nearly three quarters of the way full and passed it to him. Donghyuck gratefully took it and gulped down the liquid furiously.

As the male tried to recollect his thoughts and senses, the woman sat at his side, was too in her head at the moment. She stared ahead, eyes glued to the dark complexion of the wooden table, her mind preoccupied with the obvious. Thoughts and emotions flurried around her mind.

Her chest burned in a humid warmth, feeling as though it was lit on fire. And her left leg bounced up and down, constantly moving to match the pace of her racing heart that mercilessly banged onto the bones of her ribcage, as if it was trying to tell her something.

Silently, a single tear spilled from her left eye. She quickly wiped it, and quietly excused herself and departed from the group. She rushed out into the hallway, where her tears finally fell, and a heart wrenching sob fell from her chapped lips. The girl stumbled on her feet, falling to the wall of the corridor. Rinyoung, exhausted as she continued to let her emotions dew her red cheeks, tiredly leant against the wall.

Hearing her cries from inside of the kitchen, all of the men shifted their heads down. Their eyes glued to their feet.

Unlike them, Donghyuck couldn't move.

He simply fluttered his eyelids down and clenched his eyes shut. He tried to drown out the painful sounds of his soulmate's sobs, but he could feel her heart ripping to pieces in his own chest.

Once the moment had passed, and her cries had died down, he lifted his vision to Taeyong. The man knew he couldn't wait any longer to speak.

"It's a boy, around 4 years old, a quiet kid. His mother died recently in a freak car accident and he was sent here by his grandparents." The lee informed, sliding a torn envelope to the boy. "They left a letter saying that you should bear the responsibility as you're the father."

After reading the contents of the letter, Donghyuck looked up from the crumpled paper. "Where is he now?"He asked, orbs shifting to each of the men for an answer.

"In the second living room," Jaehyun replied dryly.

"He's a little you," Johnny confessed, trailing over to his friend's side. The taller patted his back in an attempt to comfort him.

"There's nothing little about me,"

"Well obviously not, if there was, we wouldn't be in this kitchen discussing this," Doyoung grumbled, obviously frustrated at their circumstance.

"Do you think I wanted to be a father now?" Donghyuck shouted, standing up abruptly from pent up anger. Johnny immediately grabbed the boy's shoulders to prevent him from doing something he'd regret.

Doyoung couldn't help but step forward as well seeing the younger advance on him. "If you weren't so reckless, you wouldn't be!" He yelled back, having Jungwoo hook his arm with the Kim, same reasoning as Johnny.

Having enough of the heated atmosphere and shouting, Taeyong stood, making everyone silent. "I didn't want the first Neo child now either but, we can't help it. He's a father, and as friends, members, and family, we must support and help him." The male lectured, eyes glaring at both of the angered parties.

Doyoung shoved Jungwoo off him, storming off and out of the kitchen's back door that leads to their garage. Jungwoo turned about to go after him, but Jaehyun shook his head. "Don't. Doyoung's rational, he wouldn't do something stupid. He just needs to be alone ."

The boy nodded in understanding as the room went quiet once again.

Ripping through the silence, Taeyong huffed in exhaustion. "Come on, we can't keep your son waiting any longer. I think he should meet his father now."