Oh Baby, You Part 42 - Recovery Mission?

Oh Baby, You Part 42 - Recovery Mission?

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Wonwoo turns the small bundle of forget-me-nots in his hands. He knows flowers alone aren’t enough, but he grazes his fingers over the bit of white ribbon holding the posy together. You’d always loved the little bits and bobs you could collect over time. There was once a red ribbon wrapped around a gift he bought you back before he left for Mongolia — courtesy of the store’s gift wrapping station — which you saved and tied in a cute little bow on one of the drawer handles in your old apartment. While he was gone, he would look forward to seeing it in the background of video calls. Like it was a part of him that he left behind to stay with you.

Shit. He feels like an idiot.

In the elevator mirror, he meets Chan’s eyes. “Are you sure about this?” 

He shrugs. “Are you?”

Looking back down at the flowers, Wonwoo lets out a long breath. “What if they don’t want to hear it?”

“Well…” Chan gives his head a pensive tilt. “Don’t you think you owe it to them to try? Even if they turn you away?”

“You’re…” Wonwoo doesn’t get to finish. The elevator door opens, and even though his apartment — and yours, by association — is around a corner and hidden from sight, he hears your voice. And someone else’s.

Stepping out of the elevator, Wonwoo stops just before rounding the corner and peeks for a half second around it. A vaguely familiar man is standing right in front of you, holding a bouquet of white flowers, while you linger in your doorway. Though Wonwoo quickly ducks back behind the corner, he knows you well enough to tell that you’re tired, and you don’t really want to be talking to that person.

Chan follows a little too quickly. “What’s—”

Arm shooting out, Wonwoo stops Chan from revealing himself in the hallway. “Who is that guy?” he whispers. 

Chan peeks around the corner. “Oh, that’s Choi Seungcheol.”

“Mingyu’s rival?” The corners of Wonwoo’s lips quirk downward. “Why would he be…?”

“Remember when I made you take me to the hospital? They went on a date that day.”

“A date?” Something bitter settles at the bottom of Wonwoo’s stomach. He risks another look around the wall. Damn. The guy does look good in a suit. 

Chan shrugs. “MT didn’t really seem into it. My money is on him trying to dig into the whole baby scandal. He’s totally got that ambitious business villain from the dramas vibe.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“I think he’s trying to get information on them so he can dethrone Kim Mingyu.”

Wonwoo frowns. “By dating them?”

Shrugging again, Chan leans against the wall with his arms crossed. “It’s just a guess. I’m trying to not snoop anymore.” 

Wonwoo gestures a finger between them. “What do you call this, then?”

“Recovery mission?”

“You—”

“Look,” your voice comes from down the hall, slightly louder. “Seungcheol. I already told you. I know what you’re after.”

“I won’t try anything from now on.”

“Sure, sure. And I’m just supposed to think you want me because— what? My dashing just-made-a-microwave-meal-for-dinner-after-not-sleeping-for-twenty-two-hours looks? My abandoned bachelor’s degree? My complete disinterest in diffidence?”

“Dividends.”

“Exactly, Seungcheol. You’d never convince anyone you could want anything from me except for information on my child. Which will get you nowhere, by the way.”

“I’d like a chance to try again. To show my better side.”

“And I should give you that chance because…?”

Wonwoo peeks just in time to see Choi Seungcheol throw you a disarming smile and hold his bouquet out.

“Tulips?”

His feet start moving before he realizes it, and Wonwoo steps between you and Choi without a second thought. “They were saying no,” he asserts.

“What the...” you whisper your surprise.

Choi just furrows his brow. “Who are you?”

“No one,” you answer for him, slightly brushing him aside even as he glares down Choi. “Listen, I think you should—”

“The name’s Wonwoo.” And because he’s stupid, he goes on to say, “I’m Orion’s father.”

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Oh Baby, You Pt. 35 - For This Little Guy

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The birth of your son three years ago was what caused your breakup with Wonwoo, your longtime (and at that point, long distance) partner. Now, you're getting concerned that Orion is starting to look a lot like his dad, but that's not your only problem. Wonwoo is back… and he's living across the hall.

note: ahhh the miscommunication and misunderstandings trope... my favourite (lying)

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Oh Baby, You Pt. 41 - Need to Try Something

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The birth of your son three years ago was what caused your breakup with Wonwoo, your longtime (and at that point, long distance) partner. Now, you're getting concerned that Orion is starting to look a lot like his dad, but that's not your only problem. Wonwoo is back… and he's living across the hall.

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Oh Baby, You Pt. 33 - Not Looking to be a Parent Any Time Soon

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The birth of your son three years ago was what caused your breakup with Wonwoo, your longtime (and at that point, long distance) partner. Now, you're getting concerned that Orion is starting to look a lot like his dad, but that's not your only problem. Wonwoo is back… and he's living across the hall.

note: ayy flashback format!! One of the weakest forms of storytelling but I think it's useful in smau format (hopefully!) I know everyone was metaphorically beating me up for last update's cliffhanger so I feel bad that this chapter doesn't reveal much... but hey! Only ten images per post lol

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Oh Baby, You Pt. 40 - That's For You to Figure Out

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The birth of your son three years ago was what caused your breakup with Wonwoo, your longtime (and at that point, long distance) partner. Now, you're getting concerned that Orion is starting to look a lot like his dad, but that's not your only problem. Wonwoo is back… and he's living across the hall.

Note: just realized the google logo implies that it's December lol

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Oh Baby, You Part 32 - Confrontation

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Jihoon takes the water an assistant stage manager hands to him, and he lifts the straw to his lips. The water is cool and refreshing — much needed after singing the finale number of the encore.

“Fifteen ‘til the fanmeet,” the assistant relays to him. “You can head over to that area we showed you whenever you’re ready.”

He nods, then takes the cloth they’re holding out to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

It was his management team that decided on this whole “meet and greet” thing. Not that he doesn’t like his fans, he's just a little nervous to interact today, one on one, for longer than a few seconds while he’s signing an album or something.

Before Jihoon goes into the room the fan is in, he shoots off a text to Wonwoo, telling him where to go and what to say to get backstage.

He didn’t expect confetti. Or yelling. Or gasps.

But he at least expected the fan to look excited to meet him.

The fan smiles, but there’s something about it that seems… transactional? Jihoon thinks he must just be exhausted from the concert and tries to shake his inhibitions off. The fan reaches out his hand to shake, and Jihoon takes it.

“Hi,” the fan says. “I’m Chan.”

Jihoon forces out an awkward laugh. Maybe this fan is just as nervous as he is. “Hi, Chan. It’s really cool to meet you.”

Chan’s smile widens, and he looks down for a moment. “Yeah. I’ve been a fan since your first single.”

“No way, people actually listened to that?”

They share another laugh together before a silence settles. Chan breathes in, and he speaks as he meets Jihoon’s eyes. “I just have something I’ve been dying to ask you.”

Jihoon thinks of all the music-related questions people have asked of him online. “Sure, shoot.”

“What do you know about Orion’s father?”

Jihoon blinks. The name is only vaguely familiar to him — the constellation and how he’s some Greek archer, but the most recent time he’s heard it was from Wonwoo.

Chan continues when he receives no immediate answer. “You know…”

And then he says your name. A name which has set off anger within Jihoon for three years now, anger for a friend who suffered at your hand.

Jihoon’s expression turns somber. “I think you should leave.”

The staff members in the room, who had been politely standing to the side, perk to attention, concerned eyes trying to read Jihoon’s face.

“What did they ever do to you?” Chan asks further, ignoring Jihoon’s words. “To make you hate them so much?”

In turn, Jihoon ignores him. He moves towards the door and tells the staff, “We’re done here.”

When he walks out, Wonwoo is right there, but his eyes are pointed behind Jihoon.

“Chan?” he says.

“I knew it!” Chan exclaims, coming out into the hallway.

(Out of the corner of his eye, Jihoon spots his manager about to pop a blood vessel.)

“What is up with you three? And those guys from Geomsoft? Choi Seungcheol? Kim Mingyu?”

Just as Jihoon goes to say, “It’s none of your business,” Wonwoo steps closer to Chan.

“What do you know about Kim Mingyu?” he asks him, brows furrowed.

Chan rebuts, “Almost nothing aside from what google told me, which is why I’m asking you.”

“I know he used to be my friend.” Wonwoo’s voice wavers on that last word, and Jihoon puts a hand on his arm.

“Wonwoo—”

Chan leaves no room for interruption. “Was he MT’s friend too?”

“Why don’t you know?” Wonwoo spits. “Aren’t you their friend now? Why don’t you even know who the father is?”

“No one does! Soonyoung seems to know something since he knew about him—” Chan gestures at Jihoon but doesn’t look away from Wonwoo. “—but he’s been super cagey lately and—”

“Soonyoung knows?” Wonwoo cuts in with a deep frown.

Jihoon frowns, too. Other than Wonwoo, he was closest to Soonyoung in the group before everything happened, and he was really disappointed when his friend took your side of things. He’d blocked Soonyoung three years ago when he had tried to contact Jihoon and ask him to give you a chance.

But why did Soonyoung take your side? Jihoon never took him for a cheater apologist. Soonyoung is a little lightheaded sometimes, but he’s always been fiercely loyal. Back then, he was closer to you than Wonwoo, sure, but to defend you after what you did? Knowing the facts?

The facts that are a little fuzzy now…

Jihoon tunes back in to the conversation just when Chan says, “They’re right out there, you know? Waiting for me so they can go get Orion from ‘Uncle Gyu’ —”

Wonwoo turns right around and starts marching out of the backstage area towards the lobby. Jihoon doesn’t exactly try to stop him, but he does move to follow, as does Chan. His manager stops Jihoon with a hand on his arm, though. “I don’t know what the hell is going on right now, but at least try to lay low. Please.” They hand him a black lower-face mask before letting him go.

Thankfully, the only people left in the lobby seem to be a group of older women, who spot Jihoon and respectfully keep their distance, whispering to each other, and the group of people in the opposite corner that includes you.

You’ve already spotted Wonwoo and Chan, your mouth gaped open.

Before you can say anything, Wonwoo stops right in front of you.

“Just tell me the truth,” he starts. “Even if it hurts, I— I don’t care that— fuck, I do care that you cheated on me, but…”

Jihoon watches you glance in panic to your group of friends, and how you grimace at the shock on their faces. Wonwoo doesn’t even seem to notice, but Jihoon doesn’t attempt to step in to stop him.

“…I’m just so scared that you cheated on me with him, because—”

“Wonwoo,” you say gently.

“—if it was him then maybe I’ll finally be angry enough to let you go because—”

“Wonwoo,” you speak a little louder.

“—I need to finally let you go or else I’ll just keep loving someone who hurt me so badly—”

“Wonwoo!”

He freezes, almost panting at his explosion of emotion, and you put your hands on his arms. He looks down at your touch, and sighs out.

Jihoon’s brow furrows.

“I never cheated on you.”

The words come out so quietly, but everyone hears it. Wonwoo’s breath hitches, and his eyes meet yours, frantically searching them for any hint of a lie.

But Jihoon moves closer, putting a hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder and pulling him back so he can slip himself between you and his friend. His protective positioning doesn’t go unnoticed by you, and you just step back, complacent.

“What the fuck do you mean, you never cheated?” Jihoon growls.

You meet his eyes, then shift over to Wonwoo, then look around at your friends. “Oh, god.” You run your hand over your face. “I’m going to get in so much trouble with Jeonghan for this.”

Moving your hands in front of you, you gesture everyone to gather up closer. “Okay, this is kind of a long story…”

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