THIS KISS (EXO BAEKHYUN FANFICTION)

Chapter 17

It was dramatic, all the upheavals that happened in our lives.  My husband and his friends now have a new management company.  And it belongs to my father. The one who was missing all my life. Not sure how that makes me feel.

We deemed it safest for myself and my baby not to announce my pregnancy, but Baekhyun steadfastly refused to deny our marriage and relationship.  As a compromise, he refrained from blurting out about happy he is about our marriage at every other interview that EXO does.  Fortunately, with some negotiations and a hefty amount of money, their new company was able to buy the copyright to the group's name from SME.

Their subsequent schedules for recording, practice and album launch was successful but hectic.    Baekhyun often came home tired  and sleepy.  He leased a modest condo in Seoul where most young families have started moving in.  He had to put it in a lease since he did it using the company name to preserve his family's privacy. 

On days his schedule was too impossible for him to go home, he would be on the phone with me constantly to the point I have to beg him to get off the phone so I can do some errands.  He did the best that he could to accompany me to each of my doctor's appointment.  Kudos to the staff of the clinic for never saying a word about him always being there with a nobody like me.  A big salute to them for managing to keep a straight face and being accommodating when eight other men wanted to squeeze inside the tiny room when they did my ultrasound to find out the baby's gender.  You would think they were the fathers.

I'm now in my last few weeks of pregnancy and as big as a house.  I'm lucky that my husband showers me with so much love I forget that I look like a waddling duck.  He kisses and hugs me often whether we have company or not.

'Baekhyun, are you back in Seoul?" His mother called him on the phone.

"We just landed. I still need to get through the airport. Wae?  Is everything alright?" Baekhyun suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Yoo Mi's blood pressure was not going down in her last two visits and she started having headaches so the doctor felt it was safest to get her admitted until she has the baby."

"What!  Is she okay?  Is our baby okay?  Umma! Which hospital?" Baekhyun was suddenly frantic and uncoordinated.  Chanyeol noticed and grabbed the phone from his shaking hand.  Quietly he spoke to Baekhyun's mother and got the information they needed.

"What's going on?" Suho calmly approached the two when he noticed the anxiety radiating from Baekhyun. Chanyeol calmly explained the situation and the two came up with a plan including calming down Baekhyun.

In a matter of fifteen minutes, they cleared the airport and were peeling away from the curbside.  Despite Baekhyun's objections and curses, they went to the dorms first, dropped off their luggage and switched cars.  Baekhyun flew out of the car before it even stopped as soon as they arrived at the hospital.  He came in running to Yoo Mi's room only to skid to a halt when he found her sleeping.  His mother glared at him for all the noises he made and his father in law bodily picked him up and took him to the hallway. 

"Be quiet! She just got to sleep!" His father-in-law was whispering angrily. 

"I'm sorry.  I was just so worried. They're going to be alright, right?" The younger man was shaking in anxiety unable to hold back the tears that are slowly forming in his eyes.  The older man relented and gave him a reassuring tap on the shoulder before leading him back inside.

Baekhyun made a beeline for the chair beside Yoo Mi's bed and sat down to gaze with anxiety at his wife.  She looked more swollen than last week.  She was complaining that her ankles were too fat and she can't see her toes but he smiled and kissed her toes, hugging her until she was laughing once again.

"Her doctors told us she has something called pre-eclampsia." Her mother quietly stood beside him and brushed his disheveled hair into place. She handed him a pack of wipes to clean off the make-up he had on for the airport. He thanked her quietly and started cleaning his face without taking his gaze off his wife.

"Is it dangerous?" He asked worriedly.

"According to her doctor's it can be, if she develops worsening symptoms including damage to several organs and have seizures.  I called you because her doctors want a consent signed for emergency Caesarian section to deliver the baby just in case things turn bad." Her mother spoke calmly in low tones to keep him calm but her words only scared him even more.

"Mom, I don't want to lose either one of them."  Baekhyun bit down on his lower lip in fear and frustration.

"We hope not.  But this is the best hospital to bring her.  They specialized high-risk pregnancies like hers.  Get some rest, she's going to need you."

"You can stop going with the group for your promotions.  I will take care of that.  Your place is beside my daughter. Make sure I never see her anxious about you not being beside her ever again." His boss clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder before turning around and leaving the room.  Baekhyun wasn't sure if that was supposed to be encouraging or if it was a warning.  Either way, He does not care.  He was more concerned about the well being of his wife and child.

"Baekhyun, we'll be fine.  Lay just sent a message.  He will be free to continue the rest of the promotions with us so there's till eight of us doing the comeback promotions.  Is there anything we can do to help." Xiumin laid a reassuring hand over Baekhyun's bent head.

"Yeah....pray for my family.  I can't bear the thought of losing either one of them." Baekhyun sighed in exhaustion and worry, leaning heavily on his hyung's side. One by one each member came over to give a hug or a pat on the head.  Their unquestioning support, a soothing balm for his worried soul.

As promised Lay arrived from China to continue the promotions with the other members, a silent buzz regarding Baekhyun's absence began circulating in the rumor mill and DISPATCH was desperate get a scoop but nobody could find Baekhyun.  His second major disappearance in a matter of months was a major source of speculation.  Unbeknownst to them, Baekhyun was basically camping out in his wife's hospital room.

Yoo Mi's medical condition has not improved.  Her blood pressure continued to be elevated, her nausea and vomiting has returned with a vengeance and she was becoming more swollen as each day passes.  The doctors are giving her painful injections everyday to increase the surfactant in the baby's lungs should they decide to induce labor early.  At this point, the couple had been counseled that the probability that they will have to deliver the baby pre-term is increasing everyday that Yoo Mi's condition is not improving.

Baekhyun was beside himself with worry but refused to show it to his wife. He hugged her and urged her to calm down and relax each night.  It's only when Yoo Mi is asleep that he steps out into the small garden on the rooftop of the hospital to silently cry and pray to all the gods to keep his family safe.  It is one of these rare occasions that someone finally managed to snap a picture of him.  DISPATCH payed the photographer a hefty sum and immediately posted the picture.  Baekhyun loooked haggard and close to breaking point.

The following day, Yoo Mi was eating breakfast for once while Baekhyun was dozing off on the couch when she noticed a headline article on all search engines and major SNS in the country.  It was her husband's poor haggard face plastered all over the internet.  He was crying the picture. That's what stressed her out. She dropped her spoon as a blinding pain suddenly shot through her head. Baekhyun was startled awake by the sudden clattering of the spoon and woke up just in time to see his wife going into a sudden grand mal seizure. He screamed for help and rushed over to his wife.

Two minutes later, in the middle of the chaos, Yoo Mi stopped breathing.