"I was surprised when you called."

    "I wouldn't have if it wasn't important."

Jihyuk smiles as he lets his brother into his home. Patting him on the shoulder before leading him to the kitchen where his wife is helping his oldest son with his homework.

    "Jeongguk, I haven't seen you in over a year." Emiko, Jihyuk's wife, says standing from the kitchen table. "I didn't think I'd see much of you after you endangered the life of my children."

    "Take him out of here." Jihyuk says nodding at his son. "I have to talk to him."

    "Go to your room, honey." Emiko says ushering the boy out of the kitchen before turning to Jihyuk. "I want him out of this house."

    "He's my brother, Emiko~"

    "No he isn't. I want him out." The woman snaps, glaring at Jeongguk as she walks out of the kitchen.

Jihyuk rolls his eyes as he opens the refrigerator. "Don't mind her, she's been extremely agitated lately. I think she's pregnant, honestly."

    "I called because I need your help, Jihyuk." Jeongguk says crossing his arms. "It's important."

    "I hear you." The older says. "Beer?"

    "No." The ravenette says before Jihyuk closes the refrigerator. "It's about Taehyung."

    "Of course it is. When is it ever not about Taehyung?" He asks sitting down at the kitchen table. "What's the problem?"

    "He's been missing for a month now." Jeongguk says sitting down across from him. "His apartment is empty and no one's heard from him."

    "Doesn't he have a boyfriend?" Jihyuk asks cracking open his beer.

    "Yeah." Jeongguk nods.

    "Okay? So what makes you think he's not with him?" Jihyuk shrugs. "Maybe they moved in together."

    "He hasn't even tried to see the twins. He said he was going to come get them Wednesday last month and never did." Jeongguk stresses. "Taehyung wouldn't do that. And he wouldn't run off with his boyfriend."

    "Are you sure?"

    "Positive."

Jihyuk sighs as he takes a swig of his beer. Thinking for a moment to himself. "I can find him if you want me to."

    "I don't know what else to do." Jeongguk says. "Something has to be wrong."

    "What's the boyfriend's name?" Jihyuk asks pulling out his phone.

    "Uhm, Joohyuk. Nam, I think."

    "Where does Taehyung work?"

    "Seoul Primary."

Jihyuk hums as he takes note of the information.

    "How long will it take to find him?" Jeongguk asks. "Days, weeks?"

    "It depends." Jihyuk says. "It's been over seventy-two hours, that could mean a lot of things."

    "You think he's dead?" Jeongguk asks, it hurts to even speak those words into existence.

    "I don't know, maybe." Jihyuk shrugs. "If he isn't I should be able to find him in a few weeks."

Jeongguk sits back in his seat with a distant look in his eyes. "He can't be dead, Jihyuk. Why would anyone do that? Taehyung's never hurt anyone."

    "Calm down, Gguk. I'm sure it's nothing more than a misunderstanding. Or a lapse of judgment on somebody's part." Jihyuk says. "I'll let you know if I find out anything."

    "Okay. Thank you, Jihyuk. It means a lot that you're helping me." Jeongguk says standing. "Especially after everything I did."

    "Don't worry about it." Jihyuk says standing as well. "I'll find him for you."

Jeongguk leaves his brother's house with more thoughts racing through his mind than when he arrived.

He felt like something was off about Taehyung's disappearance but he never once went as far as to think something as horrible as murder happened.

He picks the twins up from daycare before heading home. He wasn't thrilled about leaving the boys with strangers every day but he had no choice. A lot of things had to change over the course of Taehyung's disappearance. Starting with his work schedule, which was mostly mornings now.

Jeongguk went to the police after the first week and they told him that there was nothing they could do. There wasn't any signs of foul play, and Taehyung was still teaching at the school.

It hurt to come to terms with the situation but Jeongguk had no choice but to accept it.

Taehyung left him and the twins and, according to the police, he did so willingly.

~

Taehyung walks into the principal's office after school, confusion forming on his face when he sees the principal sitting alongside the vice principal and the chairperson for their district. Along with a few of his colleagues.

    "Hello." He smiles softly as he bows, closing the door behind himself. "I'm sorry I'm late, I was waiting with a car rider."

    "No worries, come on in." Principal Kang says gesturing to a seat across from them.

Taehyung takes a seat, waiting for one of them to start the conversation. Principal Kang called him just before classes ended asking him to meet in his office after school.

    "You've made me aware of your current situation regarding your pregnancy and all, and I told you that we'd have to have a serious conversation about it." Kang starts with a strange expression on his face. "That's why I called you in today. So we could have that conversation."

    "Oh, okay." Taehyung says, glancing at the other's in the room a bit uncomfortably. He wasn't expecting to be exposed in front of so many people.

    "You've been teaching here officially since the start of this school year, correct?" Vice Principal Park asks with a stern expression.

"Yes, ma'am." Taehyung nods. He was so uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him.

"You see, Mr. Kim, the idea of male pregnancy is still relatively new to a lot of people. It's not something people are comfortable talking about, or explaining to their children." Mr. Kang says in a cautious tone. "It's our job as administrators to be sure that every child and their parents are comfortable with things happening around the school."

Taehyung nods, shifting in his seat as he continues.

"So we decided to send letters home to parents to sort of gage their reactions to this particular situation. Parents have a right to know what their kids are learning about while in class, and some parents aren't exactly comfortable with their kids learning about male pregnancies at such young ages." Mr. Kang says.

Taehyung furrows his brows in slight confusion. "Male pregnancies are completely natural. It's something that thousands of men experience around the world."

"It's a hard pill to swallow, you understand that." One of his colleagues chuckles. "It's a lot, y'know? To have to explain that a man got another man pregnant. It's a loaded topic."

"Not if you're mature about it." Taehyung says looking at him.

"You expect first graders to be mature?" He asks tilting his head nonchalantly.

"No, I expect their parents to be mature." The brunette says.

"We've gotten feedback from parents and the majority of them aren't comfortable with their children being exposed to such a thing." The chairman speaks up. "It's not our job to argue with parents, not when their tax dollars fund our school. It's our job to provide a stable learning environment with limited distractions."

"Which is why we've decided to put you on an extended leave." Mr. Kang says. "Effective immediately."

"What?" Taehyung asks, he wasn't sure if he was more hurt or confused. "You're making me leave?"

"Just until the end of your pregnancy." Mr. Park says. "You may be back in time for the start of the spring semester next year."

    "You're a wonderful educator, Mr. Kim, don't get me wrong. We'll be thrilled to see you back at the end of your leave." Mr. Kang says quickly. "We just have to do what's in the best interest of the kids."

    "If you're interested in some form of financial assistance or government aid while on your leave, here are some numbers you can call. Someone should be able to help you out." The chairman says handing him a sheet of paper. "In the meantime it'd be best if you have your classroom cleared out before Monday. We don't want to upset the kids by having you pack your things in front of them."

Taehyung sits there stunned for a moment, looking between the handful of people gathered at the table. Were they really putting him on an unpaid leave due to his pregnancy?

He stands from the table, ignoring the paper the chairman is offering him. He's never felt more humiliated in his life.

    "You can always call if you need anything, Taehyung." Mr. Kang says but Taehyung is already out the door.

Walking quickly to his classroom, trying to make it before he bursts into tears. He didn't expect anyone to be accepting of his pregnancy but he also wasn't expecting to be put out of a job.

Male pregnancies were coming to the light all over the world. New studies show that one out of every two-hundred males were male carriers, and that number was rapidly increasing. Shielding the children from it would only make them think it was wrong when it wasn't.

When Joohyuk comes to pick Taehyung up he finds the brunette packing up his desk in tears.

    "Hey, what happened?" He asks walking over to him with a worried expression.

Taehyung shakes his head but more tears fall down his face when Joohyuk pulls him into a hug. He wants to push him away but he finds himself hiding his face in the crook of his neck as he cries. "I-I have t-to~ th-they said~"

    "Shh, it's okay. Look at me." Joohyuk says  looking down at him. "Breathe, okay? Tell me what's going on."

    "They're putting me on a mandatory leave." Taehyung says through his tears. "Because m-my pregnancy makes parents uncomfortable."

    "What?" Joohyuk asks. "They can't fucking do that."

Taehyung hides his face again as he continues to cry. "It was so embarrassing. E-Everyone was looking at me like I was a freak."

    "This is bullshit." Joohyuk says pulling away from Taehyung. "I'm going to talk to someone."

    "No, please. I need this job, Joohyuk." Taehyung says catching his arm. "C-Can you just help me please?"

    "They shouldn't be able to do this." Joohyuk fumes. "This isn't right."

    "Please, Joohyuk." Taehyung says without letting his arm go.

Joohyuk sighs softly shaking his head in aggravation. "Screw this place. You don't fucking need them, you hear me?"

    "Yes." Taehyung sighs.

    "Don't cry." Joohyuk says drying his tears with the pads of his thumb. "You're too good for this shithole anyways. They'll see when you're gone."

Joohyuk's words actually make Taehyung feel better, a small smile forming on his face before he pulls away. "Thank you, Joohyuk."

    "Let's hurry up and get out of here." The older says moving around the classroom and to get Taehyung's things.

Taehyung still tears up a bit as he packs his things. He didn't know today was going to be his last day seeing his kids. Had he know he wouldn't have given that stupid language arts test, he would've brought juice boxes and played a movie. He would've been sure to hug each child on their way out. And he would've made sure to tell Daejung that he would never forget him.

He didn't notice how attached he had grown to his students over the past school year. They were such a huge part of his everyday life and now he wasn't even going to be able to say goodbye.

The pain didn't amount to the pain he felt when he thought about the twins, but it hurt nonetheless.