As of today, I'm finally done with all my classes and school and everything. I'm on break until I start college. I'm so excited! Thank you to everyone that's offered me emotional support this past year. I honestly couldn't have done anything without you. Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
-PB

Hwang Bo Wook

Brushing his teeth, Wook smiled at the bathtub and chuckled when Soo smothered bubbles against Yoon's hair. "Yoonie has white hair!" declared his wife.

Wook leaned against the rim of the sink as he watched his family. After a long day of playing in the sun, Yoon and Mi were both red, and pale stripes of swimsuit lines crossed their little bodies. Even Soo was pink around her shoulders. Both their daughters sat in the tub, enjoying a bath with Mommy.

Yoon stood and threw masses of bubbles around, sending foam into Soo's and Mi's faces. The toddler laughed as her sister giggled and flicked water back at her.

Wook glanced over at Soo, knowing she would have preferred a bath to herself. She played with their girls and helped them wash their hair and bodies, but Wook could see her wincing when Yoon sat on her lap.

After he and Soo had gone swimming the night before, she had complained of aching hips and seemed to be in pain. Wook felt bad, wondering if his insistence on pulling his wife out for a private dip in the ocean was the reason she was hurting.

Spitting into the sink, Wook rinsed his mouth out and ran water over his toothbrush. He kept his eyes on his family, listening to Soo tell Mi about how she was afraid to have baths as a little girl because she thought she would fall into the drain.

When bathtime ended, Wook opened a towel and picked Mi out of the water, wrapping her in the fluffy cotton and laughing when her dripping hair made wet marks against his shirt. "Let's get you dressed, princess." With another towel, Wook pulled Yoon into his arms and kissed his girls on each of their cheeks. "You too, dinosaur."

Leaving Soo to wash herself and enjoy the rest of her bath, Wook carried his children through the suite and past the dimmed lights in the living room. He listened as they chattered, agreeing that yes, dinosaurs flew high, high, high in the sky and no, Kim Min Ji does not have to invite Yang Soo Bin to her birthday party if she doesn't want to.

Once in the girls' bedroom, Wook set Mi down first, telling her he would help dry her hair once she got dressed. He smiled when his little girl diligently went about her tasks, toweling herself down before running over to her pink bottle of lotion and proceeding to rub her arms and legs with its contents.

Wook grunted when Yoon's foot kicked his stomach. "Alright, little girl, let's get you dressed too," he said, rubbing the towel over Yoon's body while he still carried her. "Don't kick Daddy."

Wook huffed and prepared to chase after his naked toddler the moment he set her down. Yoon squirmed and called that she wanted to play, yawning and waving her arms. Wook did his best to dry his youngest's hair with the towel while also telling Mi to find her undies and then put her pajamas on.

"Daddy, play!" Yoon said, curling her fingers into claws. Wook nodded and laid his daughter onto the bed so that he could grab the kiddie lotion and a pair of Yoon's underwear and her pajamas. He breathed deeply, holding Yoon by one of her ankles as he dug through her bag. The naked toddler rolled and laughed in his grasp, calling out to her sister and kicking her little legs.

Wook located the lotion and hastily rubbed some onto his daughter's back and wiggling legs. He stood by as Yoon insisted on doing her arms and stomach. Catching his breath while she was occupied, he checked to make sure Mi was still alive.

His oldest ran a brush through her long, damp hair and carefully parted it in the middle, her eyes fixated on her reflection in the mirror.

When Wook returned his attention to his youngest, he snorted in defeat, staring at the white mask of lotion on Yoon's stomach and face. "I snowman," the toddler said, giggling so adorably Wook could not help but laugh with her. Yoon was all smiles before a bit of moisturizer entered her mouth. Then, her chubby face contorted and she whined. "Taste yucky! No!"

With the towel, Wook gently wiped his daughter's face and sighed as she complained. "Well you shouldn't have dumped lotion all over your face, sweetheart."

Yoon was quickly cleaned of the mess and Wook managed to ease his daughter into her underwear and pajamas without much of a fight. It seemed the little dinosaur was also exhausted after a day of swimming and playing.

The youngest was immediately placed into her cot and Wook thanked whatever god lived in the sky that she fell asleep as soon as her little body curled around a pillow. He prayed for rare days when Yoon went to sleep without having to be rocked, sung to, read to, taken to the bathroom, given water, and rocked again.

Turning to Mi, Wook held his daughter's hand and led her into the adjoining bathroom, closing the door and reaching for the hair dryer. He looked into the mirror and smiled at his child. Mi had Soo's eyes and nose, but Wook saw himself in her lips, chin, eyebrows, and ears. His little girl had her mother's dainty features and her father's strong jaw. He prided himself on being able to claim her glare and angry expressions.

Holding Mi's hair, Wook turned the dryer on and pointed it towards her. His hands flew over her thin locks, untangling as quickly as the wind tangled. Wook endured the scalding air that slammed into his left hand, making sure Mi's hair was thoroughly rid of any moisture and smiling with her when the long strands flew into her face.

"Daddy?" Mi asked. Wook met eyes with his daughter and switched the dryer off, sliding his fingers through the flimsy strands that covered her head. His hair had been the same way when he had been her age, tangling with the slight gusts of wind and gleaming like onyx when it was properly brushed. Wook had kept his hair short and cropped until it had thickened and started tangling less, but Mi had a mother who detangled and plaited her hair every morning.

"Yes?"

"I want a baby brother."

Wook nodded and hugged his daughter from behind, rocking her from side to side. "Did Kim Ah Rong's parents give her another brother?" he asked, chuckling as he thought about the little girl whose popstar father had spent huge sums of money on in vitro fertilization for his wife to have their twin boys. Mi shook her head and giggled.

"No! I just want a baby brother!" she declared, her little hands holding onto his. Wook stopped swaying and scooped his daughter into his arms, carrying her out of the bathroom and shutting the light off. Mi had grown so much and Wook did not anticipate the day she would be big enough to push him away and be embarrassed to be with him. But for now, she was still little and loved being with her daddy.

"I'll ask Mommy," he murmured, taking Mi to her bed. Wook wondered if Soo still wanted another baby. With Mi's insistence, his thoughts were brought back to the idea of having a third, and the more he considered having another, the more he grew to enjoy the idea.

The bed beside Yoon's cot was made with precision, but Wook's hand quickly unmade it and tossed pillows onto the ground, making sure his darling would not hurt herself if she fell off.

Tucking Mi in, Wook laid on top of her covers and watched his exhausted daughter's eyes droop shut, her hands gripping his t-shirt. "Daddy, I want… want a baby brother." Mi's mouth opened in a yawn and Wook resisted poking her tongue the way he had when she was Yoon's age. He kissed her forehead and patted her silky hair, gazing at the little face he had watched grow since her birth. Wook wondered if Mi was right about wanting a little brother.

He glanced over at Yoon who slept on her stomach. He imagined both girls would enjoy having another sibling- another little baby that would grow up into a feisty Hwang Bo.

Wook slipped into his bedroom and raised his eyebrows at his wife as she sat up in bed, wearing one of her nightgowns. She held his phone in her hands, flipping through something on the screen. His mind went into a panic as he thought about the pictures of Si Yeon he had yet to delete from his e-mail. Wook felt his hands grow clammy as he forced himself to walk slowly, sitting beside his wife.

"Aw, look at this one," Soo cooed, holding his phone out. Wook was greeted with a picture of Yoon in her little bikini, holding a shovel in one hand and a clump of sand in the other. Her hat was drenched and she giggled for the camera, her eyes closing and her tiny rows of teeth bared. Wook's fear dissipated and he moved closer to his wife.

"How's the pain?" he asked. Resting a hand against his wife's abdomen, Wook kissed her newly tanned skin and rested his cheek against her shoulder.

"Still aches, but the bath helped," Soo replied. Wook smiled at his wife and touched her chin. Soo's wide eyes remained fixated on the screen until Wook gently pried the pictures of their girls at the beach away from her.

He pulled Soo towards him, listening to her whimper when he sat her onto his lap. Soo's head rested against his shoulder and Wook kissed the side of her breast before lowering his head to kiss her aching hips. "I'm sorry," he murmured to her body. Soo's arms crossed over her chest and Wook sighed, breathing in his wife's rosy scent and running a hand up and down her thigh. "We should have just gone on a walk."

"It's fine, Wook. I think I just pulled something while swimming. This isn't your fault."

Nodding, Wook felt relief as his wife accepted his apology. "Mi wants a baby brother," he said quietly. In the dim, lamplit room, shadows cast over their faces and yellow lights washed over them, creating a romantic atmosphere for a mommy and daddy alone.

"I know." Soo's reply was quiet and Wook kissed her shoulder. "It's alright, Wook. You don't have to deny me anymore. I don't want another baby. We're good as we are."

His eyebrows creased and Wook nuzzled closer to Soo's throat as he thought about how he had acted towards her. He regretted pushing her away whenever she asked for a baby. With two girls, he was tested to his limits every day, but there was nothing on the earth that gave him more joy than being with his family. He loved his children with Soo no matter what physical turmoil they put him through.

"I want a baby, Soo." He felt his wife fixate on him as she registered his request. Soo bit her bottom lip and Wook saw uncertainty and fear in her eyes. He wondered why. "I think you were right when you asked me for one. I want another baby around the house…" He kissed her shoulder and collarbone. "A little girl with your eyes… or a boy with your cute nose…"

"We should sleep, dear," murmured Soo. Wook hummed and let his lips drag over soft skin.

"I want you, Hae Soo," he said. He held his wife's thighs and slipped her nightgown higher over her knees, skimming his fingers over Soo's belly and cupping her breasts beneath her dress. Her nipples hardened to his touch and he kissed the side of her mouth before capturing her lips, frowning when Soo pulled away.

"No," she said. Wook pulled his hands away from his wife, resting his palms against her thighs as she shook her head. He was unused to Soo denying him and the rejection gave him pause. "I don't… want to have sex anymore."

His eyebrows shot up at his wife's hasty declaration and Wook shifted himself to stare at Soo as she pulled the hem of her skirt lower over her legs. "Anymore?" he asked, still confused. Years of experience dealing with shifty characters could not have prepared him for his wife's blatant and abrupt decision. "What are you talking about?"

He pressed a hand to Soo's back and leaned close to her. "Are you alright? Is there-"

"Wook, I just don't feel like we connect anymore," Soo stated. Wook coughed as Soo's words punched him. "I'm sorry, dear, but I just don't want to have sex for the time being. We haven't been on the best terms and I don't want to make myself do anything I might not be fully into. I need time to myself."

He took a moment to digest her words.

"Okay," he decided, finally nodding his head. Wook had no intention of forcing his wife into anything. He had noticed her acting a bit differently, and he wondered if she knew about Si Yeon. He doubted there was any way she had found out; he was meticulous in cleaning up after himself, even his bodyguard was unaware of his former lover. "Yeah, we can take a break on the sex. Just let me know when you feel ready again, alright?"

He felt a warmth bloom in his chest when Soo smiled. With a gentle tug, Wook pulled his wife close and gave her a kiss.

"Goodnight, Hae Soo," Wook said as he laid down with her, wrapping an arm around Soo's waist and closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, Wook."

He could tell when Soo fell asleep, though she turned and tossed before she did. He envied her ability to sleep without much effort. Wook found himself lying awake in bed, thinking about the third baby he would have with Soo.

His thoughts drifted to the woman in his arms and Wook pressed his nose into her trapezius, inhaling her scent. The light whiff of rose and honey was so different from Si Yeon's vanilla and cinnamon. With Si Yeon he was excited and riled up, high on the risk, and drunk on her love. She acted as his drug and his getaway from the stress of work and home.

Wook remembered asking her if she would marry him if he divorced Hae Soo. They had laid in bed and he had proposed, asking if she would become his wife. Si Yeon had laughed.

"I may love you, but even I know not to bite the hand that feeds me, darling." She had sighed, touching his face. "If your divorce with Hae Soo gets messy in any way or if you slander her in the slightest, her family will destroy you. They will ruin your political career as well as your party. Your president will fall and no one from your party would be elected again. We can't marry, Wook."

Wook blinked as he counted the creases in Soo's nightgown. Unlike with Si Yeon, Wook now felt calm when he was with his wife. Soo was safe and stable. She was sweet and soft, easy to love and hard to hate. He had fallen in love with her because of her gentle demeanor and happy-go-lucky freeness. Later, he had found just how strong she was as a person. Even after they had suffered a miscarriage and his infidelity, she had stayed with him, forgiving him and loving him.

Sighing, Wook nuzzled close to his wife and pressed his hand to her stomach, feeling its flatness. He imagined holding her while she was big with his baby, feeling their little one's kicks and nudges against his hand. He remembered how terrified and excited he had been for Mi to arrive when Soo was pregnant. He had felt the same way for Yoon and Lily…

Wook's breathing hitched and his hand stiffened against his wife's stomach as he remembered their second baby. Their Lily Flower.

His heart began pounded and a cold sweat overtook his body. Shivering as old memories resurfaced, he remembered how happy he had been when they had finally succeeded in making their Lily Flower—the little blossom he had fallen in love with the moment Soo had triumphantly held a pregnancy test out to him.

But he had not been there for his son's birth. He had not been there for his wife when she needed him the most. He had not been there for Soo when she had been unable to speak properly, too shocked to fathom that their Lily Flower was gone.

Instead, he had been drinking himself sick with a woman he should never have spoken to.

Wook closed his eyes and sat up, moving away from Soo as he quivered.

He remembered being at his son's little funeral. It had just been himself and Soo. They had not notified their family. Wook knew Baek Ah would have hit him. Soo knew his mother would have wanted a large funeral procession.

Breathing heavily, Wook thought about the emotionless mask he had worn while watching his boy be cremated. It tortured him to recall that he had not cared. Not as the door to the machine had been closed, not as Soo had collapsed beside him, her black hanbok billowing and her hands over her mouth as she sobbed.

"Mommy's so sorry, darling. Mommy's so sorry."

Wook looked back at his wife, his heart clenching at how still she was. He knew she was sleeping, but he could not bear to watch her be so motionless. Just a few years ago, she had been gaunt and pale, her lips cracked and her eyes hollow as she recovered from her depression… when she had wanted to kill herself.

Terror filled him as he realized he would have lost his wife if she had not been as strong as she was. Hae Soo had survived their most trying times without him and Wook had cheated. She had been through so much because of him. Wook wished he could go back.

How was it that it took this long for him to see how much he cherished and loved his wife? How could he have let their years pass in such a way?

Leaving the bed, he quietly fled their bedroom and slipped through the desolate living room and foyer. Goosebumps covered his arms and Wook rubbed his eyes as any tiredness in his body departed in a wash of cold dread.

He stepped into the girls' bedroom, glancing at the fish-shaped nightlight that cast rays of blue onto the floor. Creeping into the room, Wook leaned over his children and made sure they were tucked in and sleeping. His heart calmed down and he felt less scared when he gazed at his little daughters, watching them sleep and listening to Mi grind her teeth.

Yoon laid on her back, her arms raised over her head and her mouth open. Gently, Wook reached down to pull his angel's shirt down and tuck it into her pants. He brushed his hand over her head, feeling her soft hair and touching her forehead. Wook remembered how happy he had been when his second daughter's first word had been "dada".

When he walked over to Mi's bed, Wook saw the face of his first baby. He saw the baby that had incapacitated him and made him tremble when he had held her for the first time. He saw the baby who had first toddled on unsteady legs towards him… but he also saw his own failings in his oldest daughter.

He remembered when he and Soo had first separated after losing Lily Flower, and he had shouted at Soo, cursing at her and threatening to divorce her as she shouted back at him on her way to the car. Mi had cried in Soo's arms, wailing and holding her ears as they screamed at each other, and from then on, their bouncing girl had changed. And though Wook had initially blamed Soo, he knew it was his fault.

He had been a shitty husband, and Soo had left just to be able to breathe, taking Mi with her. When Soo had allowed Mi to stay with him for weekends, Wook had held his daughter with sadness and anger as the loud, mischievous little girl he had come to see as his partner in crime clung to him and refused to leave his side when they went to play. Mi had only been silent when she had held onto him and hid behind his legs. Otherwise, when Wook had left her with a movie on just so he could use the bathroom, she had called out for him in tears, screaming, "Daddy!" into the empty halls of their house until he ran to where she had curled herself into a ball, crying until he had enveloped her in his arms and wrapped a blanket around them.

Wook snapped out of his reverie and sat beside Mi's bed so that he could watch both of his girls. Wook was only too grateful his and Soo's dysfunctional relationship had not hurt Yoon in the way it had Mi.

Yoon turned onto her side and Mi kicked her blankets away. The lights of his life… they took his fears and made him strong. Wook felt powerful when he was with his girls because he wanted to protect his children. He wanted to be there for them and provide a wall for them to lean against even when they were older.

Kissing Mi's forehead, Wook tucked her back in and sat back. "I'm sorry, darling," he said quietly, bowing his head as his daughter continued to sleep. No amount of money had mattered to him and Soo when they took their daughter to therapy and sat with her and her psychiatrist to create scenes where Mi could learn to cope with her emotions. Even now, nothing mattered more to him and Soo than Mi and Yoon's upbringing—a reason why he had not left his wife, and why he assumed Soo had not left him.

Wook murmured his words low enough so that Mi would not hear him even if she woke. "Everything is Daddy's fault, and I'm sorry, Hwang Bo Mi. I should've been nicer to your mother. I should have been there for her when she was hurting. I… I shouldn't have left her."

Quietly, he slipped into bed beside his wife, shivering from the onset of emotions that tore him in half. Wook breathed deeply, trying not to wake Soo.

He thought about Lily Flower and hoped his son would forgive him. Wook knew he deserved to be despised by the son whose mother he had hurt and neglected. His throat clenched and Wook gasped as tears filled his eyes.

He leaned against Soo's chest, listening to her heart beat through her warm skin.

His tears fell sideways against his face and Wook held a hand against his mouth as he wept from the guilt that piled onto his shoulders. Shuddering, he moved away from Soo, turning his back from her so that he would not disturb her anymore.

Wook stared at the far wall and curled against the sheets, his hands fisted against his mouth and eyes. He repented for his indifference, shaking as sobs racked his body.

Something brushed his arm and Wook flinched as Soo held him from behind, her skinny body wrapping around him. "Sh," she murmured, her hand pressing to his chest.

Breathing deeply, Wook fought to control himself. He sniffed and wiped his eyes as Soo gently patted his chest. Wook turned closer to her, lifting his head as her arm slid beneath it. He laid beside his wife as she cradled his head in her arms. "Don't cry… dear," Soo mumbled.

Wook listened to his wife's half-asleep words of comfort and curled closer, tangling his legs with hers and pressing his stomach against her body.

"Your little brother is safe," she whispered. "He's safe."

Wook's eyes opened and he blinked through his tears. I'm an only child… He took a deep breath before realizing his wife must have dreamt him as their daughter. She thinks I'm Mi.

Nuzzling against Soo, Wook closed his eyes as her hand slowly rubbed his back.

"It's alright, dear. Sleep… sleep… The nightmares will go away," she mumbled.

Wook sighed as he finally began to calm down.

Soo touched him in a way she had not done before, calming him in the way she did with their children. Her hand gently patted his hair and back, holding him close to her breast and letting him feel her heart.

Yet, for all the comfort Soo offered, Wook could not help but feel as if they were different. He could see all of the pain he had caused his wife and how it had torn them apart.

As always, my amazing beta is Krysyuy. Krys, you're amazing.