Strangers

Twelve

More than the air he breathed, Taeyong loved his pregnancy. From the mornings he woke up with the sudden urge to vomit, till the exhaustion he felt when he climbed on the stairs. The stomach was still flat, but feeling the warmth of his own skin that protected the baby against the lines of his palm, it was priceless. He was at the beginning of the pregnancy, which meant that the path will let him grow into a new person, discover new feelings and strengths, and also a new self that will exit the door of the walls that he created around himself.

Even if the baby couldn't be felt yet, the whole idea of protecting a little sprout in the fertile earth of his organism made him gratified. When he ate something, it would come out right away and the only thing he could really eat was eggs and milk products, yet, he was mainly eating instant food. Different smells would disgust him, which lead to a new tsunami of unpleasing feelings that the embryo rejected to the point when Taeyong remained over the toilet bowl for hours.

In one of these days, the young man was buried in the amount of library information, among the huge number of books that made a delightful feeling in his rib cage. His own hands were holding a shabby book, he read it so many time that he could recite it. "Cinderella". It was such a cliche story that even kids weren't reading it anymore, but when if you read between lines. Why was Cinderella considered the protagonist? She was the antagonist. In fact, she was the one lifting our hopes, but then, they get ruined by the cruel reality.

"Jaemin, I will never let you make the same mistakes I did. I was naive enough to fall in the most obvious trap ever, and the result of it will reflect on you. Do not hate me when you grow up and realize that all the babies have a father and you don't. I will love you enough for two parents. When life will hit you in the back with a sharp knife, remember that you got hit because it thought you were weak, but the moment you stand up, your pain will return to those who caused it. Don't look back at them, just aspire for something they will never reach. I love you, little ladybug", with this soft voice that only he could hear, Taeyong ran his palm over the stomach one last time, before returning to his old faded pages.

Chasing the ink of the typing machine that printed the words in the paper, he almost missed the upcoming call from one of the few people he still contacted with. Placing the bookmark in its spot, the item fount itself resting on the wooden table, before bringing the dark device to his ear. Lee parted his dry lips to greet the person from the other side, the voice came out a bit tired and low, as if the baby was sipping his energy, having the constant urge to lay on his comfortable bed, yet he had to earn a living by working. Being single wasn't easy, he had to think about the time Jaemin will be born and knowing he got a miserable salary wasn't cheerful at all.

"Hello?", Lee escaped when the screen got pressed against his ear.

"Hey, Taeyong, are you at the library?"

"Yes, why are you asking?"

"I'm in front of your workplace, I wanted to make sure you are here. I'm walking in", and then he hung up.

Exhaling the air he hardly drank, Taeyong ran his digits through his strand to fix the hair, which he thought was a mess. Silly nature, if he only knew that the real mess was in his heart and mind, not his hair. Automatically, he tried to make himself look pretty by the meaningless hair fixation.

And then Johnny appeared from behind the tall bookshelves, with a plastic bag in his hand. The older was making sure that Lee was eating well, he was healthy and went to the doctor at least once a week, he himself talked to the doctor to be double as careful with Taeyong. The bag got settled right next to the book Taeyong was reading, and it caught the heavy sight of the massive male.

"Cinderella?", he wasn't even surprised, he just knew that the story was well known, maybe even for kids, why would Taeyong waste his time on it.

"You will be surprised but it's not a book for children.", Lee stood up from his chair, tugging a tender smile on his beatific facial features, before he decided to continue the conversation. "Why are you here?".