Honeymoon

Unlike when leaving Bali, the sky over Hong Kong was perfectly clear. Far in the distance, the densely packed high-rises of the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island spread out below. The reality of being in Hong Kong finally began to sink in.

As the plane landed and taxied to the terminal, an announcement indicated that cell phones could now be turned on, and Liu immediately disabled airplane mode.

Ding, ding, ding.

Liu's message was mixed in with a few customary greetings sent due to the change in country of residence, and messages from partners involved in this fair.

『 Did you have a good flight? Give me a quick call when you get off the plane and can talk privately. Nothing to worry about, so don't be alarmed :) 』

Even though the message added that there was nothing to worry about, Liu grew slightly anxious. It was rare for Yeehyeon to send him a message like this.

The aircraft docked at the gate, and the passengers began disembarking in order.

As soon as he stepped off the jet bridge, Liu pulled out his phone and turned back to Yuni, who was following behind him.

"Go ahead through immigration first. I'll catch up with you in a moment."

"Why? Did you leave something on the plane?"

"No, Yeehyeon asked me to call him."

"Got it. I'll wait at baggage claim."

"Okay."

Yuni, well aware that Yeehyeon wouldn't ask for a call over something trivial, didn't press further and led the other staff members past Liu.

To avoid obstructing the other passengers, Liu moved to one side of the hallway, near the windows. He looked down at the busy movements of the ground handling teams managing other aircraft that had already landed. Setting his heavy Boston bag on the floor, he tried calling Bali.

[Did you arrive safely?]

Fortunately, Yeehyeon's voice on the other end of the line sounded no different than usual.

"Yeah, I just got off the plane and paused on my way to immigration. Is something wrong?"

[What about the others? Yuni or Michelle...?]

"I told them to go ahead. I'm alone."

[Kun, our...]

At that moment, Yeehyeon's tone, which had seemed normal up until then, suddenly changed its inflection. Instantly, Liu's entire body tensed up. It was instinct.

[Our baby...]

Liu barely registered the word "baby." He only sensed that Yeehyeon's voice was becoming muffled and his breathing ragged.

"Yeehyeon, what's wrong? Are you crying? What happened?"

To better catch every sound of Yeehyeon's breathing, Liu blocked his other ear and pressed even closer to the window.

[Kun...]

"Yeah."

[We're... we're parents now.]

"......"

Liu was silent for about thirty seconds. It felt longer than thirty minutes.

The throng of passengers who poured out after him, excited for the start of their journey or relieved to be home, bustled past Liu chattering loudly in Indonesian, Cantonese, or English. In the long corridor where everyone rushed toward the same destination, only one very large man — a head or two taller than most people — stood completely still.

Liu had to wrestle with something inside himself just to properly grasp the meaning of what he had just heard. What Yeehyeon had said was a miracle profoundly difficult to accept.

"Yeehyeon? Seo Yeehyeon?"

He barely managed to move his lips to call out Yeehyeon's name.

"I must have misheard you. Can you explain that again, slowly?"

[After Kun left, I immediately started feeling unwell. So, I went home from the atelier...]

There was a sudden rush of fluid, and the different sensation made him suspect he was pregnant. Even though he told himself it couldn't be, he felt he had to check. He went to the drugstore and tested himself with five different test kits. All the results came back positive. — Yeehyeon conveyed this story to Liu as calmly as he could manage.

"What the — How is this... how is this possible..."

While listening, Liu paced back and forth by the window, sometimes resting his hands on his hips or rubbing his face. He looked like a businessman dealing with an extremely troublesome work call.

[Kun, this is really happening, right? I used five test kits. There's no way they could all be wrong, right? Our baby… our baby is really coming, isn't he?]

Yeehyeon, who had managed to maintain a fragile composure up to that point, looked to Liu for some kind of reassurance. Only then did Liu snap back to attention.

"Yeehyeon."

His tone was steady and firm, as if he were firmly gripping Yeehyeon's shoulders right in front of him and meeting his eyes.

"I'll come back right away. For now, don't overdo anything and just lie down and rest. Okay?"

Liu started walking, clutching his Boston bag. He strode quickly past the people ahead of him.

[You're… coming back now?]

"I'll take the fastest flight with an available seat. If there are no tickets, I'll charter a plane. I'll call you back with the schedule as soon as it's set. You absolutely must stay put and rest for now. Okay? Understood, Seo Yeehyeon? You can do that, right?"

[Kun, Kun. Wait a moment.]

Yeehyeon called out to Liu, who was quickening his pace.

"Why?"

[You don't have to go that far. Once Kun gets back, we can go to the hospital together then.]

"I can't. You're pregnant, and I should be with you at a time like this."

[I'm really fine. I called to tell you quickly, not to ask you to come back. Finish your fair well and come back. And then we'll go to the hospital together. Let's do that, okay?]

"The fair starts tomorrow, and there's a way for me to go now and come back here again tomorrow."

[Kun, you don't have to go that far...]

Liu, who had been hurrying, suddenly slowed his steps.

Yeehyeon was pregnant.

In theory, it was impossible, but since coming this far with Yeehyeon, he had continued to experience things that shouldn't have been possible. Because of that, Liu could slowly accept it as reality.

Yeehyeon's impossible heat, and the child they conceived despite practically flooding his system with birth control pills.

"Yeehyeon-ah."

Standing still amidst the stream of passing people, Liu called out Yeehyeon's name, allowing himself to be swept away by the overwhelming emotion.

[Yes.]

"You're having our baby."

[...]

"Even if I were to gain something else at a time like this while leaving you alone, I… I don't want to live that kind of life. I didn't propose to you to live like that."

Liu murmured softly, as if whispering a confession of love. He slowly shook his head.

On the other end of the line, Yeehyeon took a moment before changing his mind.

[Okay. Then, look up the flight schedule and call me back. I'll wait.]

"Yeah, I will. Good boy, my Seo Yeehyeon. So good, so admirable... just amazing..."

Yeehyeon's laughter reached Liu's ears.

"Hah… I can't hang up the phone."

Liu quickened his pace again, faster than before — almost running.

[Hurry over here. The truth is… I want to be with you too.]

"Yeehyeon-ah."

[Yes?]

"Seo Yeehyeon."

[I'm here.]

Yeehyeon's low chuckle tickled Liu's hearing once more.

Yeehyeon was pregnant, or maybe he was pregnant. His brain hadn't even fully processed the reality yet, but his chest was swelling, laughter bubbled up uncontrollably, and he felt like leaping into the air.

"Seo I-hyeoooon!"

Liu shouted Yeehyeon's name as if the whole world needed to hear it. This was the first time in his life that he had ever done anything like this, having been raised with manners and public decency ingrained in him.

People whispered and turned to look at Liu. It didn't matter. He felt like grabbing every single one of them and shouting it out loud.

Our Seo Yeehyeon, my mate, was carrying our baby.

"How... how did you get pregnant with our baby? How could you do something so incredible? Huh?"

As the shock and surprise subsided, an intense sense of reality and excitement washed over Liu. The drab, gray interior of the airport suddenly felt like it was bursting with color. He felt so energized he thought he could swim all the way to Bali.

"You're so beautiful, Seo Yeehyeon, really."

As Liu headed toward the fast track for expedited entry processing, he had to let out a long, deep breath. It felt like he needed to expel some of the pressure crammed inside his chest.

[See?]

Suddenly, Liu detected a hint of playfulness in Yeehyeon's tone.

"Huh?"

[You're happy you heard we're having a baby, right?]

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm happy. It's beyond the simple word 'happy.'"

[It's proof that you actually wanted a baby.]

Only then did Liu realize what Yeehyeon was implying.

[If you hadn't really wanted a baby, you wouldn't have reacted this way, would you?]

That day when their heat and rut had occurred. Liu had playfully told Yeehyeon he had taken the wrong birth control pills. Yeehyeon was now throwing Liu's exact words back at him.

Liu had no choice but to readily and willingly admit his true feelings in response to his partner's clever counterattack.

"That's right. I actually wanted one."

[......]

"Our baby."

[Yes, our baby.]

On the other end of the line, Yeehyeon repeated Liu's words. The phrase felt like a new kind of love that had never existed in the world before. This time, Liu's eyes welled up.