《Royals | pjm》Fourteen - Baby Steps
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"Are you ready?" Jimin questioned with a worried glance, his hand softly moving up and down Haneul's back.
"As ready as I would ever be." Haneul exhaled deeply, and walked towards the bed to carry Hyun who was dressed adorably with his own matching suit with a cute little red bow tucked in front.
Today was the day when the royal family would officially announce Hyun's existence to the country, to the entire world. Haneul was nervous, needless to say, but she knew that with Jimin by her side, she would be alright.
She recalled the time when the news of their divorce broke out in the country. Even though she wasn't a celebrity, there were still paparazzis trying to stalk her whereabouts, making it hard for her to go out and especially to the hospital for her checkups.
The paparazzis eventually gave up when they couldn't locate her anywhere as she spent most of her time hiding in her grandparent's old home at the countryside, with Seokjin insisting to take care of her so he moved in as well.
Haneul was eternally grateful for her family and Seokjin.
"What are you thinking?" Jimin's question snap her out from her short trip of her memory lane in the car.
"Nothing much, just... nervous to be out in the public after such a long time." Haneul admitted, her fingers twirling around Hyun's baby hairs.
Clutching her hand, Jimin squeezed it with assurance, his eyes gazing into her own ones. "Don't worry, I'll be here for you and Hyunnie. Always."
"Okay." Haneul sighed, and to Jimin's delight, she didn't let go of his hand.
Baby steps, Jimin. Baby steps.
Upon arriving at the venue - a prestigious hotel in Seoul, reporters immediately started doing their works by pushing each other against the barriers placed on both sides of the red carpet leading into the hotel. Jimin grunted in annoyance, not liking the fact that the camera flashes would be blinding his two love ones.
"Stay close to me." Jimin instructed, and Haneul nodded her head obediently with Hyun in her arms, his small hands holding onto his mother dearly.
Just as he thought, the moment the bodyguard opened the door, cameras and shouts instantly engulfed the area, and with a stern glance shot by Jimin towards their personal bodyguards, the men went to work by calming the crowd down.
The crowd did calm down after getting threatened by the guards that if they were to behave recklessly, they would be asked to leave the venue.
Getting off the car first, Jimin stepped out and waited for Haneul to get out as well. His heart did a small thump at how ethereal she looked with her short hair flowing down smoothly as she exited the car with their son in her arms, his face hidden in the crook of her neck.
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People started yelling and flashing cameras at them the second they spotted little Hyun and Haneul. The royal family had called for a conference meeting, but they certainly weren't expecting for the Crown Prince's ex-wife and a baby to be present as well.
Using his suit, Jimin covered Haneul's face along with Hyun and assisted the both of them into the venue with their bodyguards around them. Hyun was about to cry at the chaos that was currently happening around them, but with Haneul's peck onto his head, he calmed down almost immediately with tears glistening his eyes and lower lips trembling.
"Don't cry okay? Be a good boy for appa and eomma." Haneul soothed as she placed another peck on his cheek, and the boy who seemed to understand his mother rested his cheeks on Haneul's shoulder.
"What a good boy." Jimin cheered on while caressing Hyun's fluffy cheeks, making the little boy giggle before hiding his face only to secretly peek at Jimin again.
Jimin's world stopped moving at the sight of his son acting so cutely towards him.
"Stay strong, young man. He does this all the time to me too." Haneul laughed softly as she entered the hall where the conference would be held with Jimin following in tow.
The King and the Queen were already waiting at the backstage, and both Jimin and Haneul greeted them as soon as they spotted them.
"Hello Hyunnie." The King cooed while patting the baby's head with a fatherly smile before glancing at the two. "Are you two ready?"
"Yes." They answered together.
"Your Majesty, the reporters are already on standby in the hall." The King's personal assistant informed, and left when the former dismissed him with a nod and thank you.
"Let's do this." Haneul muttered to herself after taking a deep breath and released it.
"I'll be by your side, don't worry." Jimin caressed Haneul's cheek with his thumb, and after placing a gentle peck onto her forehead, with his eye smile displayed proudly, he reached down towards her unoccupied hand and intertwined their fingers together. "Let's go."
Haneul nearly fainted at the sight of a sea reporters seated in order with their laptops and recorders prepared on the tables provided for them. Surprised gasps and whispers were immediately heard reverberating in the hall when they saw her with Hyun in her arms. And of course, her hand holding Jimin's didn't help calming the crowd either.
"It's okay, take a deep breath." Jimin whispered into her ear as they sat down next to each other on the stage, and Haneul did as she was told.
"Jimin, I'm still nervous." Haneul whispered back, and without thinking much, she held onto Jimin's hand tighter underneath the table.
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"I'm right here okay? You can do this. Do this for our son, be strong." Jimin comforted, and Haneul nodded with a small pout.
If it weren't for the hundreds of reporters in the hall, Jimin wouldn't hesitate to kiss her right away. But he couldn't, obviously.
"Let's start the conference." The King announced, and the reporters started to raise their arms high up in the air, hoping for the royalties to choose them.
Just as expected, the questions were mainly directed towards Haneul and of course, Hyun. The sudden news of their divorce had caused a frenzy in the country, so the return of Haneul and a baby would of course cause more frenzy than the previous one a year ago.
Jimin and the King did most of the answering, and Haneul answered a few here and there when the reporters insisted for her to answer. Throughout the conference, Jimin never let go of her hand, and she was thankful for that.
They had explained to the reporters almost everything, except the existence of Youngji, of course. They had said that the two had divorced on friendly terms for the sake of the country, and to respect Haneul's privacy, they did not invade the privacy she had requested. Hyun was a blessing, Jimin had explained, and he lied a little saying that they had kept the existence of Hyun a secret until now as they wanted Haneul to have a quiet life during her pregnancy.
Haneul was surprised that Hyun didn't make any ruckus throughout the three hours conference, but simply slept through it instead. Jimin was proud of him as well, and he couldn't help but to peck his cheek, making Hyun smile in his sleep.
"Carry him if you want." Haneul chuckled at how enthusiastic Jimin was whenever it comes to carrying Hyun. Jimin was an expert in holding his son now.
Watching the father and son interact, Haneul thought of the last question that was asked by a reporter just now.
"This question is directed to the Crown Prince and Lee Haneul-ssi." The reporter started, his eyes darting from the said royalty and the woman seated next to him on the stage.
"Proceed with your question." Jimin instructed.
"Now that everything is restored back to normal, is Your Highness going to be with Lee Haneul-ssi again?"
Haneul bit her bottom lips remembering the awkward silence when the question was asked. She remembered how Jimin had gulped audibly at the reporter, his eyes stealing a glance at Haneul before looking at the reporter again.
"Time will answer your question, eventually."
Hyun was awake now, and Jimin's nonstop tickles on his stomach was making the baby a giggling mess in the car they were currently now in. Nuzzling his nose with Hyun's, Jimin found himself beaming happily at the baby's adorable giggles erupting from his tiny mouth.
Even their designated driver was smiling at the Crown Prince's adorable interaction with his own son from the rear view mirror.
"Who's daddy's favourite boy?" Jimin asked and pecked Hyun's cheek, making him giggle. "Bingo! Of course it's you!"
Little Hyun giggled uncontrollably again.
"I've never realized this, but, Hyunnie has a dimple like yours on this side of your cheek." Jimin pointed out while pointing at his right cheek, his eyes in two slits while looking at Haneul who was watching them by the side. "And he loves to smile, a lot."
"I know." Haneul answered and kissed Hyun's dimple before leaning away.
"He has your smile as well." Jimin added, feeling proud all of a sudden.
"I know."
As if noticing something was off with Haneul, Jimin furrowed his eyebrows and shifted himself towards her a little. She was zoning out, her eyes staring at the carpet on the floor of the car.
"Are you okay?" Jimin asked, genuinely concerned.
"Of course." Haneul sighed. "I'm just... thinking."
"With this rate, you'll be getting white hairs soon with all the thinking you do everyday." Jimin teased, earning a glare from Haneul. "Ah, there's my girl. She has returned."
Rolling her eyes, Haneul couldn't help but to smile a little at his antics.
"Smile more, Haneul-ah. I don't want to see you frowning all the time." Jimin spoke gently while pinching Hyun's cheeks playfully.
"I do smile." Haneul retorted.
"Smile for me then." Jimin was still playing with Hyun instead of looking at her.
"Why would I? You're horrible." Haneul pursed her lips from smiling, but even from the side, Jimin knew she was trying not to smile as her dimple was already showing.
"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Jimin finally glanced at her, and clicked his tongue at her eye rolling again. "Your eyeballs are going to roll backwards and never return to their original position if you keep doing that."
Haneul let herself laugh out loud this time. "Idiot."
Jimin grinned. "But I'm your idiot."
Hyun continued to watch his parents bicker as per usual for the past few days after reuniting together, and eventually decided that he should ignore them and sleep instead.
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