.05% | lty

51. Square One

The late afternoon sun peeked from the edges of the curtains and dimly lit the room. Taeyong sat in a chair on the edge of the bed with his head resting in his hands.

He had never imagined that he would witness the birth of a child, much less his own. The process was long and completely exhausting for Yuna. Words like 'complications' had floated around through the medical jargon that he didn't understand. She had been attached to monitors and injected with medications intermittently, somewhere in between her blood-curdling screams and cursing. Hours passed and he watched the ebb and flow of her pain anxiously; continuous and unrelenting, worsening each time.

It was one of the most difficult things he had done in his life to watch her suffer, yet he was in awe of the magnitude of her ability to get through it. He marveled at her strength and endurance and the fact that her body had the ability to create something so beautiful.

Beautiful...it wasn't the right word he would use to describe his child. There were no words that could express the overwhelming feeling he had when he looked at him for the first time. He was the most pure and perfect parts of each of them, created from love.

He watched Yuna's radiant smile and tear streaked face as she held him for the first time; a beautiful image of complete joy that would forever be etched in his mind.

The nurses took the baby to bathe him and weigh him and to let Yuna rest. The second they left the room, she closed her eyes and slept. Taeyong had been in this same spot for several hours now, unable to take his eyes off her. As he watched over her, every tiny movement put him on alert.

She stirred and he perked his head up to see her yawn and stretch with her eyes still closed. Her hands traveled to her belly; a gesture that no doubt had been a routine of hers to wish the baby within good morning.

He could plainly see the millisecond of panic at the difference in feeling between yesterday and today. Her eyes opened and she lifted her head to look around.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"Hanging out with the other babies for now. You are supposed to be resting. How are you feeling?"

Her head plopped back down on the pillow and she stared at the ceiling.

"Like a piece of me is missing."

"Not missing, only displaced."

Her eyes shifted toward him.

"You look tired. You haven't slept?" She asked, noticing the way he sleepily rested his head on his hand and his eyelids drooped.

"I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"There are doctors and nurses here for that. You should rest too."

"Then...can I lay down with you?" He asked cutely.

She looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out if the request was sincere.

"If I let you, then it's only as two exhausted parents that need rest. It means nothing and nothing will change." She answered after taking a moment to consider.

"Yes ma'am." He sat up straight and the corner of his lips twitched upward in a smirk.

She moved toward the edge of the bed and lifted the covers for him to get in. He eagerly tucked himself under them as he snaked his hand under the crook of her neck and pulled her toward him.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she only half made the effort to pull back.

"What? This bed is small, I'm just trying to get comfortable." He said innocently as he held her firmly from moving away.