Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 158

The Name We Built

​By twenty-four weeks, the psychological shift from the unknown to reality hit hard.

​Now that the gender was no longer a secret, the reality of building a nursery and preparing for the little one's arrival became a hands-on project.

Because they couldn't casually stroll through a public shopping mall in Seoul without drawing a crowd, they opted for a private, after-hours boutique browsing session arranged by their planner.

​The shop was quiet, warm, and lined with rows of impossibly tiny garments, plush blankets, and miniature shoes.

​Yoongi looked completely out of his element yet fiercely determined, standing in the middle of the aisle with a shopping basket already half-filled with things he had aggressively claimed.

​"Yoon, we don't need five different variations of miniature fleece hoodies," Aen chuckled, pausing by a rack of pastel-toned blankets to watch him carefully inspect the stitching of a tiny pair of knit socks.

​"It's cold out, and the baby need options," Yoongi argued with absolute deadpan seriousness, holding up the tiny socks like they were high-end designer pieces.

"Besides, look at the size of these. They're ridiculous. I didn't know feet could physically be this small."

​Aen shook her head, a fond, helpless smile spreading across her face as she walked over and slipped her hand into his free one.

She watched as he carefully placed the socks into the basket, his shoulders relaxing the moment she leaned her weight against his side.

​For months, they had kept secrets from the world, guarded their privacy, and navigated the whirlwind of fame and sudden family life behind closed doors.

But standing there in the quiet boutique, surrounded by tiny clothes and the steady, comforting weight of his arm around her waist, the chaos of the outside world felt a million miles away.

***

Four weeks passed by in a blur, bringing them right to the final week of March.

At twenty-eight weeks, flying was no longer an option for Aen, meaning she had to reluctantly sit out of Carly's moving-up ceremony back home in the Philippines.

This ceremony marked her official transition into the fourth grade for the upcoming school year.

​Determined that Carly wouldn't have to experience the milestone completely alone, Yoongi made a swift, quiet trip to the Philippines on a private charter to be by her side for the big day, support the family in her absence, and bring Carly back with him to Seoul for a sun-drenched summer vacation.

​The Philippine heat hit Yoongi the moment the private jet touched down, a stark, humid contrast to the crisp spring air they had left behind in Seoul.

​He didn't care about the exhaustion or the tight security logistics required to keep his arrival low-key.

As the ceremony began, Yoongi sat quietly among the family, cheering proudly.

When Carly crossed the stage for her moving-up honors, Yoongi was beside her, carefully pinning the ribbons and placing the medal around her neck.

Aen's sister frantically snapped photos on her phone, sending them straight to Aen with live updates so she wouldn't miss a single second of her daughter's moving up ceremony.

​By the time evening rolled around, the transition back was swift.

After sharing a warm, celebratory dinner with Aen's family, and with the school year officially wrapped up, the two of them boarded the private jet for the return flight to Korea trading the tropical humidity for a cozy, extended summer stay in Seoul.