It's been exactly three weeks since you met Minho and started living with him, and 19 days since you started taking daily walks with him and getting to know him. It's also been 19 days since you noticed a feeling growing slowly from within your chest, and you truly disliked it. Not that it was unpleasant. It wasn't. But you didn't want to put a name to it, afraid that if you would, everything would change between you and him, and you'd end up with a broken heart. Or rather – a more broken heart.

You also started helping around at the restaurant as a server and sometimes in the kitchen if Minho had too many orders.

By now, you knew all the regulars and memorised their orders by heart.

Mr. Park would always come Monday-Friday at 6 PM sharp, just after finishing up at his job. He would always drink a glass of beer and eat Minho's special recipe Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and on Tuesday and Thursday he'd drink 2 bottles of Soju and eat fried pork belly.

Mr. Cho would come every 2 or 3 days with his wife and eat some of Minho's chocolate cake. He'd drink some wine, and she'd have a few cocktails, both of them leaving satisfied after each date.

You even met a few of Minho's friends: Changbin (that you found out writes a lot of songs with Chris and Han), Seungmin (who went to the same Uni Han attends) and I.N. and his girlfriend. They would drop by, have a quick meal and chat a bit with Minho, but all of them were busy doing their own thing and wouldn't stay for too long.

That was until tonight.

This Friday night, Minho closed up earlier, which you found unusual, especially considering that Fridays were one of the most profitable nights of the week for his business.

"My friends are coming." He explained. "We meet here once a month to catch up. Ah, Jisung will be here too!" He smiled and started preparing different snacks and foods a few hours before their arrival.

"How many people will there be?"

"Well, there's Chan and Olivia, Han, Changbin and Felix, I.N., his girlfriend Mary, Hyunjin, Changbin, Seungmin and Felix."

"You counted Changbin twice!" you laughed.

"Well, he eats like two anyway!" he chuckled.

"Okay, then I'll go ahead and set the plates for you."

You grabbed some and started placing them on the big table Minho formed out from other tables.

After a few minutes, you placed 11 plates and 11 glasses, napkins, cutlery, and some soju bottles. You also grabbed some of the snacks Minho prepared. The table looked pretty nice, or at least adequate, you figured.

"Wow! This looks so much better than what I could've done! Good job, Dal-Rae!" he praised you and looked actually excited. "Everyone's gonna be surprised by this, I never set the table or anything for these meetings. I think Jisung will be shocked."

"Hahah, yeah. You prepare all this food and stuff, though!"

"But wait, why are there only 11 seats?"

"Well, you're 11, right?"

"No, that's not... right." He replied while shaking his head disapprovingly.

"What do you mean? Chris, Olivia, Han, Changbin and Felix, I.N., Mary, Hyunjin, Seungmin, Felix and you. That's 11."

"Dal-Rae, we're 12."

"No, you're 11. Did I count it wrong? Chris, Olivia-"

"No, dummy. You counted right. But you forgot your seat." He ruffled your hair and grabbed another plate, placing it on the table.

"Oh- Am I... invited, though?" you asked unsure.

"What? Why wouldn't you be-"

"SURPRISEEE!" a familiar voice shouted loudly and busted through the door.

"Jisung, what the heck?" Minho chuckled.

"Lee Know, Lee Know, Lee Know, I came to rescue you from your misery of having to set up the tab- What the fuck, man? This looks so beautiful, what? When did you learn how to manage without me?" he whined and faked a cry.

"It's all her!" Minho pointed at you and bowed jokingly.

"Dal-Rae, just who I wanted to see! I missed you sooooo much!" he hugged you tightly.

"Don't you text me everyday, though?" you chuckled, hugging the boy who quickly became your best friend back. "Although you didn't even tell me you're coming."

"Wait, you're texting her?" Lee Know raised an eyebrow.

"I do, but I still want to see you, Dal-Rae! I wanted to surprise you. Wow, getting big, are we?" he petted your belly and smiled, just when you felt a kick.

"Dude, don't touch her like that-" Minho started and grabbed Han's wrist, but was quickly interrupted.

"OMG! THE BABY JUST MOVED! THE BABY JUST HIGH FIVED ME!"

"Yeah, it keeps doing it! Especially if I lay down. If it's a boy, it must be a future football player or something!" you chuckled.

"Or a boxer! Or maybe it's a girl and she likes dancing!"

"Seriously? Did it... kick?" Minho asked, surprised.

"Yes!" Han exclaimed. "Oh my god, this is the most beautiful thing ever!!! What the heck. Wow. The miracle of life."

You noticed something shift in Minho's eyes. Jealousy? It can't be. Curiosity? Maybe he wanted to feel the baby's kicks too but didn't know how to ask.

"Do you... want to..."

"No, no, I'm fine." He quickly denied.

"Oh..." You frowned. You didn't expect him to reject the idea so openly. Was he that uncomfortable with touching you, or was he just hesitating?

"I mean- I don't want you to be uncomfortable-"

"I'm not! You don't make me uncomfortable, so you can-"

"Seriously, guys? What the heck is wrong with y'all?" Han sighed and grabbed Minho's hands and pulled him towards your belly.

You found it a bit amusing how Minho was always putting on a brave face, but now, looking at you, he seemed so unsure.

Was he really allowed to touch you? He knew Olivia hated people placing their hands all over her belly, she barely let Chan touch her, much to his dismay, so Minho never insisted, although he couldn't deny that he was curious. And he hasn't really had other chances to interact with pregnant people or to be close enough to someone as to ask.

For Minho, this felt... personal, in a way.

"I..."

"It's okay." You said and grabbed his hands that were hovering mere centimetres in front of your belly, placing them against you firmly.

His hands were cold, you noticed, and the expression on his face was expectant. Luckily for him, the baby seemed to be active today, so another kick came pretty quickly, making Minho open his mouth in shock and excitement.

"Oh! Wow!" he smiled brightly and looked into your eyes.

He was so beautiful. Of course, you've noticed that when you first saw him. But this? Fuck, your heart was not prepared for this.

The way he looked at you, the smile on his face, the way small creases formed around his eyes, mouth and nose, the way his cold hands felt on your warm belly...

This was too much to bear for your poor heart that was now running at 400 km/h.

The feeling came over you again, and you allowed yourself a second to wish that Minho was the father of your child instead. Then, you slapped yourself in your head and returned his smile.

Don't be stupid, Dal-Rae.

"How's that, Lee Know? Isn't that great?" Han asked excitedly.

"Mhm." He nodded happily.

"Makes me wanna have a kid too! That's so unfair!!! Why don't I have a girlfriend yet?" Han whined. "Dal-Rae, promise me you're gonna make me the Godfather! Pretty please??"

"Oh! Would you want that? Like, for real?" you asked, this time you being the surprised one.

"YES!!! CAN I?"

"Dude, you're too loud." Minho covered Han's mouth with his hand.

"Yeah, but isn't it too quiet without me here?" he replied with a muffled voice, struggling to speak through Minho's hands.

"Eww, don't lick my hand! Gross!" Minho grimaced and let Jisung go.

"Han, I'd love it if you were my baby's Godfather." You replied, ignoring the small commotion and curses between the two.

"Oh my god!!! Really??? Lee Know!!! Did you hear that?? I'm gonna be the Godfather! This makes me a bit emotional." He said, tearing up and hugging you.

"By the way, how's Uni?" Minho asked, unimpressed.

"Wah, Dal-Rae, how are you holding up living with this asshole and his three asshole cats?"

"The cats are really nice, actually." You replied with a chuckle.

"Hey! Just the cats? What about me?" Minho pouted, making you laugh.

"You... you are the best thing that's ever happened to me." You smiled and quickly corrected yourself, afraid he would misunderstand. "Both of you."

Or rather, you were afraid he would understand.

It was true. Minho is the best thing that ever happened to you. And the fact that the "is" would soon turn into a "was" truly broke you, but you knew you couldn't stay here forever.

It was stupid of you to get used to Minho's presence and to depend on him so much. He was not the father of your child, so you had no right to live in your made-up fantasy that he was and that he would keep taking care of you.

After all, in less than 6 weeks, your baby would be born. Until then, you'd have to get a new job, search for a place for you two and get your life together.

How were you going to do this? You weren't sure.

~

"Dal-Rae, I was not expecting to see you tonight! How are you?" Olivia approached you rather coldly. Although she was smiling, you could tell how forced it looked. Maybe Minho shouldn't have invited you after all.

"I'm good, thank you. What about you? Were you busy at the shop lately?"

"Oh, yeah! Very! By the way, this is Chris, I believe you still haven't met him yet? Chris, honey, this is Dal-Rae, the girl that came with Minho to the store the other week. Oh! Hyunjin!" she exclaimed, noticing a tall frame enter the door. She left you and Chan alone and ran over to the younger, jumping up and ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Ohhhh, yes, I remember Olivia telling me about you coming to the store. I'm Chan, or Chris, whichever you prefer. Nice to meet you!" he said, turning his attention to you.

"The pleasure is mine. I've heard a lot about you from Minho and especially from Han. It's nice to finally put a face to the name."

"Good things I hope!" he chuckled.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." You returned his laugh and pointed him towards the table. "You can sit down if you'd like."

"Do you live around here? It's pretty late, so I'm just surprised that you'd come, considering you're pregnant and all. I remember Olivia barely had any energy to interact with others, especially at this hour. She would sleep like a log." He chuckled and affectionately took a glance at his wife.

"She lives here." Han came from behind you and placed his arm around your shoulder.

"Really?" Chan asked, his face forming a slight frown that you would've missed have you not observed him so closely. "That's great! Uhm... will you excuse me for a moment?" he brushed over you and headed towards the kitchen.

"Don't mind him so much, Dal-Rae. He's just trying to look out for Lee Know. Chan can get really protective of his friends, and Minho is like a little brother to him." Han whispered.

"I... know. But... he doesn't have anything to worry about. It's true that Minho is helping me, but I would never take advantage of him. I will try to move out as soon as possible, before the baby comes. I promise."

"Wait, what? When's that?"

"In less than 2 months, so there's really nothing to worry about. I'll be gone soon."

"What do you mean?" Han frowned. "How? Where?"

"I don't... uhm... Minho is paying me way more than he should, I'm sure, so I do have a little wiggle room..."

"Did you tell Minho about this? That you're planning to leave...?"

You were the one to frown hearing this question. How could you tell him and burden him even more with worry?

Trying to push aside the sinking feeling in your chest, you smiled briefly and muttered a quiet "Soon" with a shake of your head.

~

"Hey, man. The food looks great." Chan approached Minho.

"Oh, I didn't know you'd already arrived. I'm stacking up these plates still!"

"Smells great too."

"Thanks. I'm working on a new recipe, so you'll be my guinea pigs tonight." Minho chuckled.

"Listen... Olivia told me that you brought a girl back to the store..."

"Oh, yeah. Her name's Dal-Rae. What about her? She's here tonight if you wanna meet her."

"I just did... she seems like a nice girl... but Minho, Han said she lives here. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"I'm just gonna ask you this once. Are you... the father of her child?"

Right. The elephant in the room.

Lee Know sighed. "I'm sure Olivia already told you about it."

"She did, but I want to hear it directly from you."

"If she did, then you know the answer. No, I'm not the father of her child."

"Then... what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Minho dropped everything from his hands and faced his friend.

"You know what I mean." Chan replied sternly, frowning.

"No, I don't."

"Minho, don't play dumb. Letting her stay here and eating your food? Paying hundreds of dollars for things for her?"

"What was I supposed to do then, hm? Let her go and pretend I didn't notice she needs help? You didn't see her when she first came in! She was full of bruises-"

"I'm sure we can find other ways to help her. We'll contact a women's shelter and-"

"We've already tried that route, smarty-pants." Minho sneered. He was feeling irrationally angry. "And you know what happened? Nothing. There was no place for her."

"But even so, hear me out."

"No. I decided to help her. I can't let her down now. Not when her due date is so close."

"Minho-"

"Chris. I'm serious about it. She will stay here, and I will help her."

"Why? What got you so worked up for this girl, man? You're still young, you have time to find someone else."

"You should know better than anyone that I don't want someone else after what happened."

"But still, this isn't right for you." Chan frowned. "I just wanna look out for you, man. If you're doing this for her just for pity... That's not right either."

"That's how it was at first, but now? I don't know... I think I... for the first time in so long, I think..."

Minho wasn't sure if he was able to admit that out loud, but Chan's raised eyebrow made him confess with a sigh:

"I think I'm in love with her."

~

(A/N) ok, so I wasn't initially planning on posting an update so soon, but apparently I can't help myself.

OMG LEE KNOW'S CONFESSION????

Anyway, how do you think this dinner will go?

Let me know!

Love,

Storm