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You and everyone around you know that Sungjin is the best at everything he does. He's an amazing guitar player, he has an angelic singing voice, and he's the most loyal friend for those who are lucky enough to call him that. Sungjin is your biggest fan, most energetic cheerleader, and your strong shoulder to cry on. He's also incredibly vulnerable around you and lets you see his softest, least-guarded sides, knowing that you will be there for him like he is you. You have been through many years together, full of emotions, passion, trials and tribulations, as well as celebrations. While you smile to yourself often thinking of "the good ole days," nothing can compare to the feelings coursing through your veins as you watch that second line fade in on the pregnancy test you're watching hawkishly.
You sit and stare at the spot where the pregnancy test rests, not really being able to focus on what it's saying. You've been trying for about ten months for a baby and the time finally came. You and Sungjin are going to be parents. You slowly turn your head toward your husband and you see the emotions threatening to spill over in the form of tears. He doesn't meet your gaze for a few moments, eyes fixated on the test resting on the bathroom counter.
"Baby?" You prompt. No response. "Sungjin?" Nothing. You see his shoulders tense slightly as if he's flinching away from your touch as you reach out to stroke his arm. "I'm going to grab some water. I'll be right back." Suddenly you were feeling slightly lightheaded and a little worried at Sungjin's reaction. Yes you were trying to conceive, but the news is still a shock to you both. You've taken many pregnancy tests and they've all come back negative before this one. Disappointment after disappointment had previously left you crying into your husband's arms on numerous occasions, wondering aloud 'what if I'm not able to give you what you want?' and Sungjin's hushed 'baby you are what I want - everything else is just a bonus." He was truly your rock.
As you reach up to where you keep your glasses, you take a second to truly process what the coming months are going to bring you and Sungjin. Finally you're able to start the next chapter of your shared life as parents.
"Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!" Sungjin yells, running into the kitchen. The abnormal outburst made you jump and whip around to the source. Sungjin gently throws himself into your arms and pulls you close. "We're going to have a baby. We're going to be parents. Oh my god you're so beautiful. You're going to be the best mother. Fuck, you already are the best mother. I love you so much. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou." You embrace the father of your unborn child as tears start to roll down your cheeks, the news finally permeating your brain."
*****
You often wonder if your pregnancy was the turning point in your relationship with Sungjin. Not turning point in the sense of bad to good or good to bad, but the turning point where you decided consciously that this was it for you and you knew this was it for Sungjin. This was what and who the two of you were meant to be. Sungjin was the most attentive father-to-be, and that honestly surprised you. He was an attentive boyfriend, always there to pick you up when something about your text messages just didn't sound quite right one day after class, or when he knew you hadn't eaten all day and were on the verge of being hangry. He was also a very attentive husband, always knowing when you needed cuddles versus when he needed to let you cool down by yourself for a little while after a particularly heated argument with a client or coworker during your daily stint at the office.
Honestly though, nothing compared to the attentiveness that Sungjin demonstrated as a future father. He took off work for every single doctor's appointment and kept logs of everything that could have been problematic. You also caught him speaking in hushed voices to your stomach one morning when he thought you were still sleeping. Of course if you pretended to be asleep for a few minutes longer than you were, he didn't need to know that.
"I swear, Erica, he doesn't leave my side. I thought I loved him so much before, but nothing compares to this." you find yourself telling your friend one afternoon. Erica smiles back at you, nodding her head attentively.
You're 34 weeks into your pregnancy and you and Sungjin are ready to meet your baby boy. Sungjin has packed and unpacked your hospital bag at least once a week since you've entered your third trimester. You fussed at him at first, teasing him for his obsessive tendencies. "I just don't want to forget anything. It needs to be perfect. He's going to be perfect. I just want to make sure I'm the best for him." He reasoned, and ever since then, you've let him do what he needed to do. Who could argue with that logic, right?
"Sweet girl, he's going to be the best dad." You nod at your best friend's sentiment.
"Yes he will be the best dad. Until we have a baby, right babe?" You roll your eyes at Erica's new husband and Sungjin's best friend.
"You wish, Jaehyung." Sungjin retorts as he swoops in to give you a sweet kiss on the cheek, hands automatically coming to rest on your baby bump. You beam up at him from your place in your chair as you try to meet his lips with your own.
*****
Or maybe the turning point was when you were in labor, Sungjin figuring it out before you were able to put the pieces together.
"I have to pee. Can you please pause it?" You ask as you heave yourself off of the couch. Simple things are becoming harder to accomplish by yourself, as you're three days past your due date. Sungjin places a supporting hand on the small of your back as he helps you to your feet.
"Need any help, baby?" he questions. You shake your head as you feel a slight twinge in your lower belly. Your hand comes up automatically to rest on the top of your bump, an action that's become the norm in the Park household.
You make your way toward the bathroom and you feel another twinge in your tummy, this one a lot sharper and it causes you to double over slightly. Since you've yet to make it out of the living room, Sungjin sees the discomfort you're feeling and is at your side immediately. "You're okay. Breathe." he whispers against your shoulder as he rubs your back soothingly. A few moments pass and you still really have to pee. You stand up slowly with Sungjin's help and take a few cautious steps toward the bathroom with him by your side. On your fifth small step, you feel a slight pop and a rushing of liquid comes out of you and onto the floor. You look at where Sungjin was a moment ago with wide eyes to see that he's already grabbed the hospital bag and was heading to find your spare outfit and shoes.
"It's time. Sungjin it's time." you whisper, barely audible to your husband who is trying his best not to panic. He pauses, abandoning his mission for other clothes for you to bound over to you. He pulls you into his arms in the sweetest hug and kisses your hair. "Let's go have a baby, beautiful."
*****
The first few years weren't the most graceful on either of your parts. Due to the lack of sleep that comes with being new parents, you both found yourselves short-fused. While you've always taken pride in being a cheery morning person, that didn't resonate when you hadn't been to sleep the night before. You found yourself picking at the small things that Sungjin did (or didn't do, more often than not) and he found himself calling you out for it, which fueled your anger further. Couldn't he tell that you were upset and tired and just needed help?
Before either of you know it, Jacob is four and about to go to school for the first time. You and Sungjin spent the evening flitting around your new home making sure he has everything he needs. "Y/N calm down. He's going to be fine. He's going to kindergarten. You've met his teacher, you've packed and repacked his bookbag, he will be okay." Erica says.
"Easy for you to say. Addison still has two years before you have to do this, and I'm way more calm than you're ever going to be." You shook your head, both of you chuckling slightly.
"UNCLE JAYJAY STOP THAT!" you hear Jacob squeal from the living room. You snap your head up to see Sungjin's best friend holding your child upside down by his ankles and you look at them with horror in your eyes, failing to see Jacob's smile and laughter through your brief moment of rage.
"Jaehyung," you begin, too calmly, "put him down. Now." you say through gritted teeth. You feel familiar arms surround your waist and jump slightly as you inhale Sungjin's familiar scent. "Y/N, baby, he's fine. Jacob loves it, see?" Sungjin reasons with you as he points to your son's smiling face. You glare at Jae, who's looking at you smugly and you whip back around. "Help me please?" you plead to your friend and you're met with a chuckle. "Please, what makes you think I can control him?" You huff to yourself as you recheck Jacob's backpack for the sixth time. "Fine."
*****
Knowing you always had someone like Sungjin in your corner was intoxicating. You woke up happy by his side every morning and you went to bed feeling loved and sated every night. He went out of his way to make sure you and your child knew that you were loved and well taken care of, often taking the initiative to go above and beyond to take care of you when you refused to take care of yourself. Sometimes that came in the form of tough love, but it was love nonetheless.
"Are you still not speaking to me?" You huff at your husband.
"It depends. Are you still not going to go to sleep?" He retorts, not looking up from where he was preparing snacks for Jacob's soccer game tomorrow afternoon.
"Fine I'll go to bed."
"Thank you. Y/N, you're pregnant. With twins. Growing a baby is hard, growing two is downright exhausting, and if you aren't going to take time off like your doctor suggested, you need to make sure you sleep at a reasonable time and a reasonable amount."
"I know growing a baby is hard, Sungjin. I've done it before." You respond, childishly. He looks up at you and gives you a small warning glance. "Okay, okay. I'm going. Can I have a kiss first?" You pout at him, looking cutely at him through your eyelashes. He crosses the remainder of the distance between you, cups your face in his hands and kisses you tenderly, causing you to melt into him. He moves his hands from your face to your stomach as he rubs soothing circles into your skin. He rests his forehead against yours and pecks your lips softly.
"Go to bed." He urges, spinning you in his arms, hugging you tight again and pats your butt. You yelp and trudge to your bedroom, shooting a smile over your shoulder at your sweet husband. "THANK YOU." You hear him call after you as you lay down. You opt out of responding, Jacob choosing that moment to enter your room and snuggle against your side. You fall asleep cuddling your first born and when Sungjin finally makes it to bed, he doesn't have the heart to move him, choosing to situate himself on Jacob's free side. He brushes your hair out of your face and you unconsciously lean into the touch. He kisses Jacob's hair and yours and doesn't notice you wake up momentarily to thread your fingers together, a routine that's become all too familiar lately. The three of you sleep soundly that night, the knowledge that your family would be growing by four hands, four feet, and two loving hearts the next day still unknown.
*****
You ended up having four children when you decided to call it quits on the procreating. Jacob, twins Cora and Carson, and Brian ("No, Younghyun, he's not named after you." you say for the sixteenth time to your smug friend, hoping he'll finally let it go). Each of them having their own personalities that complimented yours and Sungjin's but also testing your patience was difficult. The twins would often pick sides just for the sake of arguing and Sungjin swears to you behind closed doors that they get that from you. Brian was scared of thunderstorms and often sought you out for comfort in the middle of the night. Sungjin runs interference sometimes as he knows you get grumpy when you don't get sleep. You've woken up to soft sniffles a few times over the years and Sungjin singing his own rendition of the "thunder song" that he got from Ted.
All-in-all, you love the life you've created with Sungjin and your children. You loved that your babies will grow up with forever friends in Addison, Dowoon, and Caroline as your friendship with Erica and Jae continues to flourish into the next phases of life. You often look back on your earlier years and wonder who you saved in your past life to deserve someone like Sungjin. Someone as sweet, caring, loyal, and loving as the man you're lucky to spend your life with.
After a while, you stop questioning and start reveling in it - knowing that Sungjin is yours and you are his. You see so much of him in your three boys and when Jacob brings home his first girlfriend, you find yourself emotional seeing the way he looks at her, remembering a heartfelt conversation you had with your parents decades ago when they told you Sungjin was your one and you'd be silly to walk away from him.
Many things changed over the course of your life, but your constant was Sungjin and the love you two share.