Taeyong walked out of the bathroom, yawning as he untied his silk robe. The glittering skyline of Seoul dotted the room in a blue hue. Daehyun stood in front of the window peering out, a hand in his pocket while he held his phone up with the other, speaking in English.

"Did you find them? Good. Just leave it on my desk and I'll look over it tomorrow morning."

Grinning, Taeyong sauntered over and wrapped his arms around his middle, standing on his toes, propping his chin on his shoulder.

Daehyun smiled warmly at him through their reflection in the window. "While you're in the office, make sure the files are ready for tomorrow's meeting."

Taeyong frowned. "Did you send him to the office? At this time?" he whispered, pouting up at him. Secretary Byungsoo/Brian was a hard worker, but there was a limit on how much a person could handle.

"He was already there," Daehyun whispered.

Squinting, Taeyong stepped around and leaned up towards the phone, speaking English. "Brian, you have to tell me if he's overworking you," he called out, grinning at Daehyun's tight-lipped expression. "I'll scold him for you."

"Ah! Mr. Park."

"Since when am I Mr. Park?" Taeyong asked, giggling as Brian chuckled.

"Sorry. Taeyong," he emphasized. "I'm okay, really. Marcus is a great boss. And he didn't pick up any Korean habits of overworking his employees, I assure you," he laughed.

"Look at him singing your praises," Taeyong whispered teasingly at Daehyun. Hearing Daehyun's English name- Marcus always sounded funny. Probably because even Brian called him President Kim most of the time.

The smirk on Daehyun's face made Taeyong giggle. "Well, when you're done, go home and sleep Brian. You can send me Daehyun's schedule tomorrow," he said and pecked Daehyun's cheek before slipping past him, ignoring his raised eyebrow.

Taeyong sunk into the mattress with a heavy sigh. Today had been yet another busy day. He closed his eyes and ignored the aches pulsing through his body as he stretched his limbs, sighing at the satisfying pops.

The bed dipped beside him and Taeyong held back a grin at Daehyun's expression. "Does Brian always send you my schedule?"

"Of course," Taeyong said, back in Korean. "And updates," he added and turned off his lamp. Taeyong laid down and flinched, rubbing his lower back.

Daehyun shifted closer and placed his hand on the spot, taking over rubbing it for him. "Should I be concerned that you're spying on me?" He asked, teasingly.

Taeyong shook his head, shifting when Daehyun applied pressure. "Nope. You know me, I just like to be in the know," he said and groaned, the ache radiating to his sides.

Frowning, Daehyun held Taeyong to his chest, kneading his knuckles up his back. "I can book you a massage tomorrow," he whispered.

"Only if you join me," he whispered into a yawn. "I'll tell Brian to cancel your three pm."

Daehyun tsked with a fond smile and kissed his temple. "Deal."

Smiling, Taeyong leaned up to kiss his chin. "Goodnight," he said, getting an inaudible mumble in return. Shifting around, Taeyong curled up with his back against Daehyun's chest putting a close to their normal routine.

But today was not normal.

He didn't have problems sleeping. His days were packed and always tired him out. And he was tired. His body needed a deep, undisturbed sleep for tomorrow. But somehow his eyes were still open.

Speaking of tomorrow, who was working? And did he confirm his order with the supplier? He needed to check the water bill too. He knows it went through, but it still didn't hurt to check.

He stretched out, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and used the duvet to shield the light before turning it on. Grimacing, he lowered the screen brightness all the way down.

11:30 pm. Taeyong sighed in relief. That wasn't so bad.

He checked the staff schedule, his bank accounts and to-do list. Then he started to scroll through social media, just to check.

He paused at a picture of Jaejin posted a few hours back. Jaejin was holding Minjun up, kissing his cheek with the caption 'My baby is cuter than yours.' Chuckling, Taeyong liked and commented as appropriate.

They'd gone back to talking as if nothing happened. Taeyong still wanted to talk about it, but it wasn't worth pushing it if Jaejin was going to ignore him again.

Setting his phone down, he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Once the fire of ambition, Jaejin actually settled down and stopped working to be a full-time mom for Minjun. How surreal.

Taeyong traced his fingers against his flat tummy. Should he stop working too? He didn't have to work. Daehyun provided everything and more. Still, it meant something to Taeyong that he had his own income.

Most of their friends were stay-at-home moms. And now, so was Jaejin, and he seemed happy. Except for that fight. But as he kept repeating, couples fought all the time. And figuring out how to take care of a new baby didn't make it any easier.

He turned to Daehyun, his eyes adjusted to the darkness enough to make out the outline of his body. Smiling softly, Taeyong reached over and brushed his hair from his face. The wait was worth it; Taeyong couldn't imagine having a family with anyone else.

Yawning, Taeyong took that as a sign to try again. He turned around and closed his eyes, waiting for the weightlessness of sleep to take him.

Unfortunately, that did not work.

Every time Taeyong started to doze off, he would be hit with the sudden churning in his stomach. And because he couldn't walk past mirrors in the dark, he'd turn on the lights, which would wake him up even more.

Then he'd get back to bed and try again with lots of tossing and turning before getting up again and repeating the cycle.

"No," he breathed out after returning to bed for the third time. 3 am. Three hours weren't enough. He'd be groggy and cranky and puffy-eyed all day.

Groaning, Taeyong glared at Daehyun. "How dare you," he whispered, staring as Daehyun's chest slowly rose and fell, unbothered by his surroundings. "Yeah, you better sleep." Taeyong shifted closer and frowned. "After this baby is born, I'm going to make sure you lose sleep too," he threatened before slumping his head back on Daehyun's chest.

He closed his eyes for his last attempt. The warm musk cradled him as he focused on his steady heartbeat. He took slow breaths, matching Daehyun's. Soon, his mind blanked into a dreamless sleep.

The alarm blared out and Taeyong snapped his eyes open.

He jerked up and frantically looked around, grabbing his phone. 6am. He gripped his phone, shaking. Did he even sleep? He'd only just closed his eyes!

Whining into his hands, Daehyun shifted beside him and yawned. He pulled Taeyong close and nuzzled his nape, placing a kiss on his mark. "Good morning."

Pouting, Taeyong leaned into the snuggles. "Morning," he mumbled, rubbing his swollen eyes.

Daehyun rested his chin on Taeyong's shoulder. "Are you still tired?" He chuckled. "I'm surprised you're still in bed," he said as he slipped his hand under Taeyong's shirt, pressing his palm against his flat stomach.

Right. Taeyong usually jumped out as soon as the alarm went. He sighed. He couldn't remember what it meant to be a morning person.

"A little," Taeyong said and kissed Daehyun's temple. "Come on. We should get ready." He crawled over Daehyun and jumped to his feet. There was no point worrying Daehyun this early in the morning.

He stretched his arms high above his head before bending and touching his toes. He snapped back up, ignoring his off-balance sway and smiled over his shoulder, biting his lip at Daehyun's expression. "Get up. Or I'll shower without you."

Daehyun pushed himself up "Okay, okay. I'm coming," he said and followed him to the bathroom.

Taeyong yawned for the fourth time as he drove to the cafe. At least Daehyun was sweet enough to lather and spray him down while he sat on the shower ledge. Taeyong smiled to himself and hummed. Daehyun's hands felt like heaven all over his body, especially in his hair.

The street was still shrouded in shadows, but most of the shop owners were prepping their food or merchandise for the day. And when the sun was high enough to light up the street, they'd be open for business.

As usual, Taeyong came in through the back and got to work right away. After making himself a small espresso he tied his apron and collected his ingredients.

First thing on the list: Cinnamon cake.

Humming, Taeyong shook out his shoulders and tapped the egg against the counter, grinning as it plopped into the bowl.

He could get through the day.

By noon, Taeyong couldn't take it anymore. The sun hurt and the more concealer he put on, the heavier his eyes felt. A tiny coffee wasn't enough. If he wasn't pregnant, he could have all the coffee he wanted. If he wasn't pregnant, he would have slept.

"You're still worth it. I'm sorry," he whispered, brushing his hand against his tummy.

The bell chimed and Taeyong looked up, smiling at the familiar face. "Hello, Insoo. How are you?"

Insoo smiled and politely bowed his head. "Hello, Taeyong-nim. I'm good. How are you?" he asked, his eyes scanning the back of the counter.

"I'm well, thank you," he said and covered his smile with his hand. "Sorry, but Myungsuk isn't here right now. He's got class until the evening."

"I see," Insoo said and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed he got caught. "Um, it's okay. I had a feeling he wouldn't. I don't usually come today anyway, so..."

Taeyong chuckled. "It's okay. Anyway, Myungsuk doesn't like surprises. It would've thrown him off if you suddenly showed up."

Insoo's eyes widened. "Oh, I didn't know that," he said and nodded.

Taeyong eyed him before getting up from the stool and tapping the touchpad. "Your usual, then?"

"Yes, please."

Taeyong tapped in the order. "Actually," he started. "Myungsuk is very particular about his schedule. He likes to know things in advance so he can plan around them," he said and gestured to the machine. "That'll be 9,000 won."

Insoo nodded as he tapped his phone, paying. "I've noticed he's quite disciplined," he said, smiling "He's very admirable."

Disciplined wasn't something Taeyong would use to describe Myungsuk. "He is, isn't he," he said. "I'll bring your order to you when it's ready, okay?"

"Okay," Insoo nodded his head. "Thank you."

Over the coffee machine, Taeyong watched Insoo. The boy was as sweet as honey and extremely polite, but were all alphas so innocent at that age?

"Here you are," Taeyong said and set the iced mocha and cake down before sitting across him with his cup of tea. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked with a cheery smile, not that he'd given him much choice.

Insoo looked startled but quickly nodded, shuffling his notebook to the side. "Yes, of course. Please."

"Thank you," Taeyong said and sipped his tea. Insoo's eyes scattered around the cafe. Taeyong smiled behind his mug. "How're your studies going?"

"They're good. I enjoy it a lot."

Taeyong nodded. "I can imagine. You've taught Myungsuk a lot. Although, when he tries to tell me about it, it goes over my head," he laughed softly. "He's very interested in what he's learned from you."

"That's good to know." Insoo sipped his drink, but Taeyong spotted his shy smile. "I enjoy teaching him."

"Do you?" Taeyong hummed and leaned back. "I'm glad," he said and peered out the window. "Myungsuk doesn't have many friends you know. In fact, he really only has his family."

Insoo nodded, watching him intently. He was absorbing his words, exactly how Taeyong needed him to. He continued on.

"The past few months have been good to him, though. He's almost unrecognizable. So much happier and lively." Taeyong sipped his tea. "I would hate for him to get hurt."

Gulping, Insoo took a deep breath and sat up. Confident, except for the way he clutched his glass. "I promise I will be good to him. I don't want to see him hurt too. I'll take good care of him tomorrow."

Taeyong's head snapped up. "Tomorrow?"

Insoo furrowed his brow and gave a tiny nod. "Tomorrow... for the presentations... on campus," he said slowly.

When did this happen? How did this happen? Why didn't Taeyong know about this? Why didn't Myungsuk tell him?

Swallowing down his questions, Taeyong plastered a smile, letting out a sheepish laugh. "Goodness, that's tomorrow already?" He shook his head and sighed. "I think pregnancy makes you forgetful."

Insoo nodded, his shoulders relaxing. "It's okay. You're very busy. I'm sure Myungsuk isn't your top priority right now."

Taeyong gripped his cup, continuing to smile. "Of course. He's grown up, after all," he said and took a long sip of his tea.

Hearing the bell ring and a customer walking in, Taeyong sat up. "I should go," he said and got up. "Thank you for the talk, Insoo," he said, mustering as much warmth as he could.

Smiling up at him, Insoo nodded. "You're welcome."

Turning around, Taeyong's smile dropped as he walked back to the counter. Myungsuk had some serious explaining to do.