author's note: this fic was originally a short drabble that i wrote last year. please enjoy the updated, expanded version.
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For many years, Hoseok had thought that nothing would ever be as exciting as finally getting the chance to debut. After all, how could anything ever top the satisfaction, after so long training, after so much sweat and tears, after so much hardship, so many times when it would've been so much easier to just give up, of fighting through it all and succeeding?
Then, as time went on and their group not only debuted, but became a success, Hoseok had thought that surely, nothing would ever feel better than the day when they received their first win on a music show, and all of the wins after that. It wasn't just his own victory that he was feeling anymore, but the entire team's, the other members, their staff, their fans. The collective joy that Hoseok felt of all of them, powerful and intense, stronger every time, felt like fulfilling his destiny, like all of their dreams were finally coming true after so much frustration and disappointment, and so much better than any of them had ever even imagined.
And soon after that, Hoseok had thought that things couldn't possibly get any better than the day that the company finally gave him and Kihyun permission to date freely, as long as they followed instructions and did everything in their power to keep their relationship a secret from the public. There would be no more hiding, no more sneaking away from the staff, no more brooding together or apart, no more arguments and heartaches spurred on by the desperate intensity of their feelings coupled with an inability to act on them. They were even allowed to room together, so long as they kept the other occupants of the dorm in mind when they wanted to get physical.
At that point, Hoseok had thought that his happiness had truly reached its peak, that he was the happiest, luckiest man in the world, his relationship with Kihyun making his joy feel endless, reaching far beyond the limits of the earth and the sky. And Hoseok had thought that there was no way that things could get any better than this, because what could be better than perfection?
Hoseok turned out to be wrong about his definition of perfection, because soon, things did get even better than he had ever dreamed, the world suddenly lit up and brighter than ever before when Kihyun became pregnant with Hoseok's child.
It wasn't exactly unheard of, a male pregnancy, but it was extremely rare, and they had never for even a moment thought that Kihyun's body might be capable of carrying a child. And yet, when Kihyun had suddenly come down with a mysterious illness during their break between promotions, and they had taken him in for a checkup with a very worried Hoseok right by his side, the doctors had confirmed it. Kihyun was perfectly healthy, and he was pregnant. Kihyun and Hoseok were going to be parents.
It was an exceptionally tricky mess to deal with from the company's perspective, a typical dating scandal times a thousand, yes, and Hoseok and Kihyun were scolded accordingly, though everyone knew that there was no way any of them could've reasonably predicted this. Still, this meant that they would have to come up with all sorts of excuses, make up all sorts of stories and hide Kihyun from the public eye for a while until they could figure out the best way to break the news, not only that Kihyun and Hoseok were dating, a bombshell on its own, but that they were expecting.
But thankfully, miraculously, the company decided to allow Kihyun and Hoseok to keep their baby and to raise it happily, and now, every day Hoseok wakes up with his chest full to the brim with joy, like sunshine inside of him at the thought of all that's to come. And Kihyun, well, he's so happy about it, he's glowing, radiant, even more beautiful now than Hoseok has ever seen him before, a permanent magenta flush to his cheeks and a sparkle to his eyes that makes Hoseok fall in love with him all over again every time they meet his own.
