Rumors had it. Though they had tried to keep it private, their secret was out. Soo Hyun's agitated pacing throughout the hospital yesterday had made it impossible to hide the news any longer. Only the next morning were the headlines flooded with the congratulations on Ji Won's labor, yet Soo Hyun left only a thank you to their friends' group chat before passing it to their agencies and decided to turn off the phone to pay full attention to his little family. A clear, blue sky day, Ji Won was finally discharged from the ICU to be with her kids.

Since she entered this room an hour ago, her tears had streamed non-stop, and Soo Hyun had no right to stop it, "Ji Wonie, I know you are emotional, but please be careful as you are still recovering"

Ignoring his words, Ji Won had fixed her sight on the babies since she entered room P24, so much that her fresh wound seemed modest and forgotten. Her two precious gems sleeping soundly, she got no bored at all to behold and pat their backs. Ji Won pleasantly humming the soft lullaby while the miserable Kim Soo Hyun had tried his best to spoon feed her some porridge, but it really didn't matter to her in the meantime. Her hunger and pain vanished once she met the kids. 

"Yeobo, look at them", Ji Won exclaimed, "They are the cutest on earth, and look just like me"

"Arasso, they resemble you much", Soo Hyun arms gently enveloped her, "But don't let them resemble your eating disorder. Please finish your breakfast, you have to take medicine"

"Yea he's right", Ji Won's mother added, "You need to eat to recover your strength and produce milk for the babies to drink."

These words finally got her attention. Only when she heard about doing something for her children did Ji Won obey. Not only finished her porridge but Ji Won also drank some more milk, blessing Soo Hyun a sigh in relief eventually.

"Do you want to rest? You have been up with them since early morning", Soo Hyun raised his concern

"Ani~ You had a whole day with them yesterday, unlike me. I have to catch up on our bond", Ji Won pouted hard at her reasons

"Overthinking is not good for you at this stage. How come they ever distance themselves from their most beloved mother?", Soo Hyun caressed her cheek in his hand

"Did you do the skin-to-skin thing with them", Ji Won turned to him with a deep frown

"I...I did", Soo Hyun looked away, knowing that she'll demand such protocol

"See. I need it too! Gotta ask the nurses once they're awake", Ji Won insisted

"Nae nae, wait until they're awake then", Soo Hyun chuckled at her determination, "Now you should rest too. Don't sit for too long"

"Now that I don't look at them, my wound aches again", Ji Won started to whine.

This would sore Soo Hyun's heart, but the best he could do was to be there for her, massage, and remind her to take medication on time. All those parenting books read at home couldn't quite prepare them for the panic they felt whenever Soo Bin or Ji Yong started crying. Only their crying already carried a thousand different meanings, which did not always mean hunger, and changing diapers became their basic 101 survival skill. 

Ji Won's lactation was still limited in the first few days, not to mention her C-section wound caused her to be unable to breastfeed them directly. She, however, got to fulfill her demand of the skin-to-skin ritual with her children, about which the kids couldn't look any happier to be with their mom after their unexpected separation after birth. Being new parents was definitely a learning curve, but they were lucky to have the grandparents' support in the beginning. 

During this period, the nurses would stop by daily to help Ji Won to change and clean the incision dressings, about which Soo Hyun sternly demanded to observe with his own eyes. The stitches, the blood, the cut on her skin, they hit him just as hard as he was the one who experienced them all. Every frown of Ji Won equaled a sledgehammer hit on Soo Hyun's heart.

Soo Hyun also adopted a new routine of taking her out for a short walk every evening to regain her ability - step by step, little by little, with him always right by her side. For each time she demanded to rest, he would just, gently and carefully, sit around, pay every bit of his attention to his wife, check on her feelings and expression, and it was just that simple.

To the truest level, their very first moment of the parenting journey started with tears, much tears to be particular. Now that reality kicked in, the baby whines had kept them up for nights while Ji Won had to also spend her daytime to regain the walking ability. On the third day, Ji Won almost collapsed in Soo Hyun's arms for being exhausted, their dark eye puffs were the foreseeable outcome. Soo Hyun was only a bit better for not suffering the wound, yet he also was the main person in charge of the other three leaving him nearly no time to rest. They only had each other to lean on every night, when the grandparents had all left for home.

Parenting was indeed a challenging journey. Mrs. Jung would usually help Ji Won to practice walking in the morning while Mrs. Lee looked after the twins to spare Soo Hyun some time to sleep. He usually volunteered to quiet the kids at night to let Ji Won sleep straight for her best recovery. In fact, things were easier said than done. How could Ji Won actually sleep well given that Soo Hyun and the kids would, one way or another, make noise at night? They tried to hire two nannies but the twins also acted picky on their caregivers. What a mess!

-------------------------------------------------

With a new day came new obstacles. Recently, Ji Won had successfully improved her lactation, which, in other words, just meant a new pain of plugged ducts.

By her fifth post C-section day, she had been sweating seriously since last night, "Soo Hyun, I think I am dying. It hurts so badly", a sleepless night left Ji Won a gaunt appearance.

"Ji Wonie, what should I do now?", Soo Hyun was also caught off guard in such situation

"Mwola, call mom, call Dr. Lee, call someone", Ji Won breathed heavily, "there must be something they could do to cure it"

"Ar...Arasso, give me a minute", Soo Hyun reached out to his phone and dialed a number, "Here you go, talk to her. I...don't know how to describe"

Ji Won took over the line with her painful expression, "Nae, Dr. Lee...Nae, my breasts are so tense and painful...Nae, I think it must be plugged ducts"

As directed through the call, Ji Won took some medicine to alleviate her condition, yet the pain didn't disappear in a blink of an eye, and Ji Won was soon out of her patience.

Determined to call Soo Hyun's mom, she burst out crying right at her pick up, "Eomma, save me. It's so painful"

"Omo, Ji Wonie, what happened?", Mrs. Lee's voice worried

"Why was I prescribed something to alleviate the plugged ducts but it still not yet gets any better", Ji Won whined hard on the phone

"Let me talk to Soo Hyun", Mrs. Lee insisted

Ji Won sluggishly passed the line to Soo Hyun, drainage took her completely

"Nae, it's me", Soo Hyun hugged her tightly with his hands constantly caressing her back

"Soo Hyun, listen to me well, and don't panic at what I am about to say", his mom went on, "for Ji Won's condition, until the med kicked in, you...go ahead...massage and...suck it out for her"

"Mwo???", Soo Hyun's eyes widened immediately, "You said what?"

"Aigoo, don't act like you didn't hear what I said. I mean it. You guys are husband and wife, there is nothing to be embarrased", she chuckled at the first time parents

"This...can be inconvenient", Soo Hyun could clearly feel his blush

"I am not kidding, back in the day when there was limited medication, and we were poor, that was the traditional way, but it worked", Mrs. Lee advised carefully

Soo Hyun finally hung up with the most puzzled look in his entire life before turning to his wife. Helplessly looking at Ji Won being in severe pain, his brain couldn't find a word to report the conversation to her, and all of the sudden, Soo Hyun moved his hands up to her...mounds.

"Yah Kim Soo Hyun, what are you doing?", Ji Won jumped at such action

"Jakhamman...", Soo Hyun perplexed, "Honestly...I don't even know. Eomma told me to"

"Mwoo?", Ji Won was so confused as well

"She...told me to massage...and suck it out for you", he looked away with a hard blush

"J...jinja?", Ji Won was just as shy as him, "But...how?"

"Mwola. Let me just Google it", Soo Hyun turned his sight to the screen shortly as if the phone was his saver

As a matter of fact, Ji Won was certainly shy, but the rising pain finally set her off the suggestion, "Go...lock the door first", she pushed Soo Hyun off the bed.

Did as directed, Soo Hyun then came back to the bed with his eyes downcast in modesty, slowly sat down by her side before reaching out to...unbutton her shirt. This feeling was unexplainable. They were, no doubt, husband and wife, and that they had beheld every part of each other, but it felt totally flipped in this circumstance. Though having received Ji Won's nod, they shared the same shiver down the spine as Soo Hyun started to touch her skin. While avoiding each other's gaze, Soo Hyun's nature dominated that sent Ji Won some undeniable comfort in an instant. It had been months since their last intimacy, so this moment, in fact, was igniting more than just one sentiment.

"Feeling better?", Soo Hyun whispered during his high focus

"Slightly", Ji Won replied while looking away

"That's good enough", he kept his movement on, "Should I...do the rest?"

"In for a penny, in for a pound. I guess", Ji Won would be down for whatever that helped with her pain

Slow yet sure, Soo Hyun gently leaned in to take her peaks in his mouth and started to suck, one after another. This moment was...unavoidably provocative. Ji Won couldn't help but let out a soft moan, which set Soo Hyun up in a flash. What a gauche beginning of their parenting!

Awkwardly, this method actually worked. Soo Hyun lowkey praised himself for the significant effort until he could feel a flow of milk touch his tongue, followed by her breath of relief. Soon enough, Ji Won was solidly conscious to push him away and re-button her shirt while his mischief started to rebel.

"Those were mine at first", he rested his chin on her shoulder, "I want some too"

"You jerk!", Ji Won slapped on his arm with her red cheeks, "Not until next year. Your subscription is temporarily terminated"

The special treatment casted an awkward atmosphere upon the room for hours. Ji Won was so embarrassed that she, too, skipped the walking exercise of that day, and they would just sit together and feed the twins in silence. In fact, they both found the problem solving funny, but lost for words to communicate it appropriately.

"Yeobo..."/"Yeobo..." - they finally synced

"Nae?" - Soo Hyun initiated

"I am hungry, are you? Should...we order something for dinner? I am bored with the meal plan" - Ji Won suggested

"Is it okay for your health? Aren't you on a specific diet? - Soo Hyun was still extra careful

"Ahh please, you're my partner in crime. I can only ask you for a cheat meal" - Ji Won's eyes turned puppyish, which were pressing Soo Hyun to agreement

"Hmmm, just today" - Soo Hyun rolled his eyes helplessly - "What are you feeling?"

"Can we get some German food?", Ji Won popped an idea

"S...sure. That was random", Soo Hyun started browsing his phone for options

"No, it's not! You know...we both love the place! Just now I get mood swing more often and would need to tie my feeling to something that brings good emotion", Ji Won explained

"Geurae, only the best for you", Soo Hyun gave her a tender pat on her head

*knock knock*

"Come in", Ji Won's voice echoed out

"Unnie, congratulations!", "Ji Soo and IU peeked out from behind a huge bouquet of flowers, "We called days ago but Soo Hyun asked us to wait for a few more days"

"Awww, gomawo. Come on in, the kids are sleeping. We're just about to order some food if you guys wanna join us", Ji Won offered

"Ani~ We're good! We just ate", IU excused themselves

The friends' visit quickly blurred the lingering awkwardness since earlier. Soo Bin and Ji Yong always won the full attention, which made the couple so much the proud parents. In fact, both Soo Bin and Ji Yong inherited the best qualities from their parents, Ji Won's beautiful appearance and Soo Hyun's personality. By fair means, Soo Hyun could be proud of the family's soon-to-be social butterflies, as both babies seem to have no fear of strangers. Everyone who visited was blessed with their cheerful giggles.

"Aigoo, I didn't know that they are this friendly", Soo Hyun exclaimed as Ji Yong enjoyed interacting with IU

"Yea, we can tell immediately that they're your kids", Ji Soo chuckled

"Geurae, now you can experience the feeling you were giving others", Ji Won teased him

"That will be awesome! I bet!", Soo Hyun prided himself in such thought

"Looks like the crown for most handsome and beautiful has a new owner, huh?", IU teased the couple with a wink.

From that moment on, the room was filled with lighthearted laughter and their wonderful friendship. Ji Won's heart was full with immense gratitude for the life they had built together and for the miracle that God had granted to save her life. Holding Soo Hyun's hand tightly, they vowed to cherish these moments forever and to appreciate the journey ahead even more.

Despite splurging on the best possible care for his family, Ji Won had to stay in the hospital for a week due to post-operative complications and the challenges of caring for two newborns. No place was better than home. Finally they could find peace in their built-together nursery, and Ji Won very much enjoyed spending most of her time there now. Their first night back at home, as Soo Hyun prepared their midnight feed, he spared some moments to reflect on the tumultuous week filled with joy, fear, and confusion. A gentle smile crept across his face. Gazing at Ji Won, who was fast asleep, Soo Hyun would forever cherish the nights she had tossed and turned due to her aching incision, the way she gritted her teeth as she took her first steps with a walker. Ji Won's selfless sacrifice would always be his most treasured possession.