Chapter 4. I Miss You (4)

"Am I really going to have to go to Busan?"

"Hi, TaeYang, good morning." I smiled, answering my friend's call.

"No, good morning, you traitor! When are you coming back? I miss you."

"We don't know yet... It's so peaceful here, and it's been good for us."

"But you left me!" he announced, clearly being dramatic. "First, my husbands abandon me, and now my friend whom I've known for less than a year also leaves me... Oh, life!"

"Stop the drama, TaeYang!" I laughed, denying it. "But how do you mean abandoned even by your husbands?"

"The ungrateful ones went fishing and left me alone with three children!"

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"I hate fishing, Jae. The smell of fish and the sea... no, no." he laughed. "But still, I feel abandoned. I wanted both of them here, pampering me."

"Such drama. We still don't have a return date, so why don't you come here? The house isn't very big, but there's a room where you can stay, and the small room has space for the babies."

"I would love that... But I don't even know... Everything is so difficult here, you know?"

"Tell me what's going on?" I leaned against the sofa and saw JunKoo through the door, playing with Jiwan and some flowers in a small front garden here. "That day, you guys were in Daegu. Did something happen?"

I heard TaeYang sigh, and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke:

"Doyun's mother... She didn't come to meet the grandchildren, so we went there for her to meet them, but it didn't go well."

"Really? What happened?"

"She simply didn't receive us. We traveled by car with three little babies, and she just didn't open the door when we arrived there."

"Is that serious?" I spoke, completely disbelieving. "But what happened then?"

"I saw my Doyun suffer a lot because of it. And JaeSul got furious and even exchanged some rude words with her the next day when we tried to go there again with the babies, and she only wanted to speak through a window when she made it clear that Doyun ceased to be her son when he accepted this sinful life."

"How absurd, TaeYang! How can a mother say that?"

"She's despicable, Jae... I even tried talking to Doyun when we got back, but he was so upset that I just wanted to take care of my sweetheart... She never accepted him for being gay, let alone having two husbands and getting pregnant... You know, she says that men weren't meant to give birth and that it's the work of the enemy to destroy worldly integrity. That we are cursed for being born with uteruses..." he finishes with an ironic laugh. "It's so sick... We have the chance to bring our love to life, but all she does is reject her own son. But the worst part was seeing how Doyun wanted to show her the babies. He's so proud to be a father, he wanted to show her how good our love is, but when she said she didn't care, even my heart broke."

"It's barbaric just to hear it like that, TaeYang... I'm so sorry for you all. I'm sorry for Doyun."

"My Doyun is so sad... He doesn't like to show or talk about it, but I know he's sad, downcast. We even made love in the shower, still in Daegu, just him and me, but since the babies were born, he's been waiting for her, and for her approval in all of this..."

"It's regrettable... but I don't think Kook knows about it yet. They are such good friends, and he hasn't mentioned anything here at home."

"Probably Doyun didn't tell him, and that's why I called you. JaeSul doesn't like fishing; he's a man who loves wearing suits and being in offices, not wearing shorts and renting boats. But he went with him because he loves him and wants him to be okay, and I know Doyun has developed a good bond with JunKoo, so I want him to talk to Doyun a bit, you know? Not about this, he'll speak if he feels comfortable, but just to talk for the sake of talking, to make his time a little lighter. He needs to vent to a friend, and he loves spending hours chatting nonsense with JunKoo."

"Doyun is an important person to JunKoo as well, TaeYang, and I'm sure it will be good for them to talk a bit with a friend. Kook told me they always exchange messages, but Doyun hadn't called him anymore, and he even thought Doyun was mad at him, but based on how they talk every day, I know Doyun cares a lot too. He always asks how JunKoo is doing after everything that happened..."

"They seem like soulmates." TaeYang laughed, then sighed. "I don't want to burden you all with our problems, especially with everything that's been happening, but friends are so important in times like these, and I believe that just as JunKoo talked to him a few times, and vice versa, he can shed some light now... I just don't want to see my love thinking he's an aberration or an outcast when he's surrounded by love and friends."

"Don't worry, I'll talk to JunKoo, and he'll definitely call. But I'm serious when I say that if you want to come to Busan for a few days or weeks, just come. There are a lot of JunKoo's family members here, and Mom is always here with a breakfast basket she brings from the hotel. Maybe it would be good for us to spend some time together in this new chaos."

I smiled so wide, so incredibly wide, that JunKoo looked at me strangely, not understanding. Then he leaned in and looked at the baby's mouth too, eager to understand what I was smiling about. And that's when the biggest surprise of his life came.

"Oh my God!" he shouted and turned the baby around. "Is this really what I think it is?"

"A tooth!" I nodded, looking at him happily.

Jiwan just watched us with a face that seemed to say, "What's up with these crazy people?", but then, as always, he let out a cute little laugh while looking at us.

JunKoo attacked his chubby cheek and gave him a big kiss. As for me, I hugged them both.

It may seem like a small thing for so much excitement, or that we are very silly parents, but what can we do? We are silly parents indeed! It's the first sign of my baby's first tooth, and I feel radiant!

After all the kisses and hugs we could give, we finally gave Jiwan his medicine and returned to the living room.

During the afternoon, we had planned to go to my mother's hotel, and JunKoo could finally use the pool, which had always been his childhood dream. However, with the events that had unfolded, we postponed everything and spent almost the entire day lounging on the sofa, under a thin blanket, just exchanging affection and watching children's animations.

That's it, it's simple, but it's enjoyable.

I like doing things like this because it strengthens the concept of "family" within me, and I feel even closer to both of them.

At night, JunKoo and I went to the kitchen together, laughing and warning each other about salt and sugar, as we prepared our own dinner. It wasn't anything elaborate or fancy, just rice, kimchi, vegetables, and meat, but it was very delicious and, most importantly, made with a lot of love.

We had dinner, he told a little story to Jiwan while I cradled him in his crib, and he smiled when he saw the baby peacefully asleep.

Then came that unpleasant moment.

We stood in the middle of the living room, looking at both bedrooms. I really wanted to leave the guest room and go back to sleeping with him, but I didn't have the courage to say it outright. Once again, I was afraid of rushing things. But after the night we had spent together, I thought that JunKoo would want me that way, close to him, as we returned to being ourselves.

So I waited for JunKoo to say something or maybe invite me to sleep in the same room as him again. But that invitation didn't come, so with a small smile, I left a "goodnight" hanging in the air and turned to go to sleep.

I felt a little upset. Not because of him, of course, but because of myself. I was the one who imposed the distance, and now I was the one who wanted to break it.

Then, as I entered the guest room, JunKoo remained standing in the exact same spot, just looking at me from there. My heart shattered into thousands of tiny pieces when I noticed how sad his gaze was and how he seemed to express everything that I was feeling too.

I touched the wooden door and prepared to close it, but in truth, I didn't want to, or couldn't.

It felt like that gaze was weighing on me, but in a strange way. It was as if he was pleading with me to stay, to come back, even without saying a word.

We stood there like that for a few seconds. Him over there, and me over here. Exchanging glances and silence.