Have you guys seen the busking vlive broadcast? ㅠ.ㅠ Hakyeon is such an angel ㅠ.ㅠ 

****

“Soyoung-ah, I want to introduce you and Hyukkie to my friends,” Hakyeon told her one day, “are you open to that?”

It had been about 3 months since Soyoung officially moved into Hakyeon’s apartment; she had settled down quite well. They both decided to drop the formalities and speak comfortably with each other.

Sanghyuk was growing healthily day by day; he seemed to like Hakyeon a lot, though, it wasn’t quite the same case for Taekwoon, who visited them whenever he had time. The baby cried each time Taekwoon was near him, and the pediatrician’s helplessness always made Hakyeon and Soyoung laugh.

“Your friends…?”

Hakyeon nodded, “mine and Taekwoon’s friends, actually. There are 3 of them. They’re just like my little brothers. And, if, in any case Taekwoon and I get too busy with work, they’ll be available to help.”

“Okay.”

“Great! Now they’ll stop bugging me about why I refused to let them come over for the past few months,” he chuckled.

Guilt washed over Soyoung when she heard his words, and Hakyeon noticed her expression change.

“No, it’s not your fault,” he smiled, “I was the one who wanted to keep it from them and asked Taekwoon to do the same. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

She nodded, “when are we meeting them?”

“This weekend?”

“Okay,” she smiled.

----

Soyoung was at home with Sanghyuk on Saturday morning, while Hakyeon went out to meet his friends. He told her he needed to let them in on the situation before they went up; in case they got too rowdy and scare the baby. Soyoung laughed when he said his friends, although all grown adults and older than her, behaved like elementary school kids at times. She was really looking forward to meeting them.

“C’mon Hyukkie, let’s get you changed to meet new friends! Are you excited like mama is? Hakyeon samchon is such a nice person, his friends must be the same!”

The happy baby giggled and sprouted random baby noises, as if agreeing with his mother. Just as she finished changing her son, the doorbell rang. Soyoung put him in his walker and went to open the door, expecting a deliveryman, but came face to face with Taekwoon instead.

“Taekwoon oppa? Why aren’t you with Hakyeon oppa?”

“I came from the hospital,” the elder male held up the takeout bags in his hands, “and then Hakyeon asked me to get some food on the way here.”

She helped him with the bags while he removed his shoes and shrugged off his coat, carelessly throwing it on the sofa.

“Where’s my best buddy?” the pediatrician went looking for Sanghyuk right after washing his hands.

“You mean, your self-proclaimed best buddy,” Soyoung teased.

Taekwoon shot her a glare as he picked the baby up from the walker, who started crying as soon as the doctor held him. Taekwoon sighed, holding Sanghyuk securely in his arms nonetheless.

“He’s probably afraid of you, oppa.”

“One day,” Taekwoon spoke to the baby, “I will become your favourite samchon.”

The pediatrician managed to calm the crying baby while Soyoung transferred the food Taekwoon bought into plates and bowls and set the dining table. She was making milk for Sanghyuk when the passcode lock sounded. Soyoung suddenly felt nervous, and Taekwoon seemed to sense it as he turned his attention to her.

“They’re nice people,” he assured, “are you afraid of dogs, though? I think Wonshik brought his dog.”

Before she could reply, the door opened.

“Where is he?! Where’s the baby?!”

“Shut up, hyung! You’re gonna scare the baby!”

“Hey, Taekwoon hyung is already here. Off you go, Eongdeong-ah.”

Soyoung was startled when a puppy suddenly ran into the kitchen; she had left the safety gate open. She wasn’t afraid of dogs, but it was too sudden.

“Where’s Soyoung?” she heard Hakyeon ask.

Taekwoon jerked his head towards her, before Hakyeon and his friends came into her view.

“Deongie, get out of the kitchen!” the one with a deep voice entered the kitchen and spotted her, “oh, hello! You must be Soyoung. I’m Wonshik, and this is my puppy, Eongdeongie!”

“H-hi, it’s nice to meet you…”

When Wonshik finally got hold of his puppy, Hakyeon went to her.

“C’mon, let me introduce you to everyone,” he held her wrist gently and led her out of the kitchen, “guys, this is Han Soyoung. And that’s her son Taekwoon is holding. His name is Han Sanghyuk, or Hyukkie.”

“He’s adorable!”

“He doesn’t seem to like Taekwoon hyung very much.”

“Deongie, no! Don’t go scaring the little human!”

“They’re usually like that, all over the place,” Hakyeon chuckled, “the one with the puppy is Wonshik, the one with the big nose is Jaehwan, and the good-looking one is Hongbin. Wonshik and Hongbin are a year older than you, Jaehwan is two years older. They’re all really reliable people, so if you need any help at all, or if you just want someone to hang out with when you get tired of me, they’ll always be around.”

“When I get tired of you, noted,” Soyoung laughed, “aren’t they busy, though?”

“Jaehwan and Hongbin run a café together, so they pretty much have all the time in the world. Wonshik co-runs a clothing brand with a friend of his, and he also does songwriting on the side. In summary, they’re not bound to a desk like I am, nor are they as busy as Taekwoon is.”

Soyoung soon found out that Hakyeon and Taekwoon’s friends are a very entertaining bunch, especially Jaehwan and Hongbin, who bicker all the time over every petty matter. Taekwoon put Sanghyuk back in his walker, which Wonshik’s puppy happily chased after. Sanghyuk seemed to like the puppy too; he kept giggling and laughing whenever it went near him.

“Seems like you lost your best buddy, Taekwoon oppa,” Soyoung joked, causing everyone else to burst into laughter.

“I’m just curious, hyung,” Hongbin said, “how many kids do you scare on a daily basis?”

The pediatrician threw a cushion at the younger male, “the kids love me, mind you.”

----

“Hyuk-ah, what do you think of Hakyeon samchon?”

Soyoung was laying in bed, her son beside her, watching her with curious eyes as she spoke to him.

“You like him a lot, don’t you?” she smiled, “do you wanna know a secret? Mama likes him too, a lot.”

Soyoung wasn’t sure exactly when did it happen, but she came to realize she harbored romantic feelings for Hakyeon.

“But he probably only sees me as a dongsaeng,” she sighed, “it’s alright. We can’t be too greedy, right? He’s already done so much for us. I’m content with how things are now.”

The baby cooed, as if trying to comfort his mother. Soyoung pressed a light kiss to her son’s cheek.

“It’s okay, mama has you. You mean the world to me, Hyuk-ah. That’s more than enough.”

----

Sanghyuk’s first birthday was spent at a petting zoo, which Saeyoung recommended. She was in attendance too, along with her son, Minyool. The toddler immediately took a liking to Sanghyuk and kept sticking to him. Hakyeon carried Sanghyuk with one arm while his free hand was holding onto Minyool as they went around the different animals. Saeyoung and Soyoung strolled behind leisurely.

“Seems like Minyool found his best friend for the week.”

Soyoung laughed, “he changes best friends by the week?”

“Tell me about it,” Saeyoung rolled her eyes, “every Monday he comes home from preschool and declares he has a ‘new’ best friend “again”.”

“That’s so cute!”

“Wait till Hyukkie starts speaking; you’re gonna have a hard time trying to understand his frequency.”

The younger woman sighed, “sometimes I wish he wouldn’t grow so fast. It feels like yesterday when he was still a newborn. And then one day he started crawling, and then he could start using the walker, and he can even stand now.”

“I know,” Saeyoung agreed, “soon they’re gonna be adults and they won’t need us anymore.”

“Don’t make me cry, unnie!”

“Okay, let’s change topics,” the elder woman chuckled, “you like Hakyeon, don’t you?”

Soyoung’s eyes widened and felt the heat rushing to her face.

“I’m a woman too, you know,” Saeyoung smirked, “he’s a great guy. I see how deeply he cares for you and Hyukkie. It’s really understandable why you’re attracted to him. Better catch him before someone else does!”

“I don’t think he feels the same…”

“Believe me, men are blockheads sometimes. More than often they have those feelings in their hearts already, but they don’t realize it. Hakyeon and my brother are the same when it comes to relationships. They’re both clueless. So you gotta be the one to make the first move.”

Soyoung stared at Hakyeon’s back view, watching him play with Minyool and Sanghyuk with admiration. All this time she had been sitting and waiting for something to happen. Saeyoung was right, maybe it was time she took the initiative.

“Omo! Hyuk-ah, did you just say something?!” Hakyeon’s voice brought her back to reality.

He turned to Soyoung, a blinding smile on his face that made her heart race.

“Soyoung-ah! I think Hyukkie just said his first word!”

“Really?!” she headed over to them.

The baby in Hakyeon’s arms reached for Soyoung when he saw her.

“…ma…eom..ma…”

“Oh my gosh,” Soyoung breathed, her eyes b with joyful tears, “Hyuk-ah, did you just call eomma?”

“Eom..ma…eomma…”

She nodded and took him into her arms, “mama’s here, Hyuk-ah. Eomma’s here.”

--

That night, after Sanghyuk fell asleep, Soyoung scrolled through her phone and tapped on the picture Saeyoung had sent her earlier. It was one of Hakyeon, her and Sanghyuk. The baby was in her arms while Hakyeon had his arms around them in a hug. They looked like a real family.

She sighed and put her phone aside, getting up to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. When she opened her room door, however, she noticed Hakyeon’s door was ajar. Soyoung peeked in and found him on his laptop, seemingly doing work stuff. He kept yawning and had to lightly pat his face to keep himself awake. She smiled at the sight, then continued onto the kitchen.

She downed her glass of water, then pulled out another mug to make Hakyeon a cup of coffee. She returned to his door and knocked lightly before entering.

“Soyoung?” Hakyeon was surprised to see her, “why are you still awake?”

“I can’t sleep,” Soyoung put the cup of coffee on his desk, “I made you coffee. Extra sugar since you don’t like it too bitter.”

“Thanks. I really needed this,” he sighed, “now, why can’t you sleep? Something bothering you?”

She smiled and shook her head, “maybe because Hyukkie called me eomma for the first time today.”

“It must feel amazing, huh? To hear your child say their first words.”

“It is. Everyday I learn something new about him, it’s wonderful.”

“Hey, shall we go to Wonshik’s this weekend? Hyukkie hasn’t seen Eongdeongie for a while now, right?”

Soyoung nodded, “I think it’s been a month or two.”

“Okay, I’ll drop Wonshik a text tomorrow. Now, you should go try to sleep. Hyukkie’s getting bigger, you’ll need all the energy you have to keep up with him.”

“Alright. Don’t stay up too late too, oppa.”

----

Hakyeon had been coming home from work later and later, Soyoung noticed. She would wait for him, no matter how late he returned, to have dinner together. On some days, he would skip dinner and head straight to bed, or continue working in his room.

Sanghyuk, who had started learning how to walk and talk, would ask for Hakyeon’s attention whenever he saw him, but Hakyeon didn’t have the time.

Conversation dwindled between Hakyeon and Soyoung, and she felt upset about it. But it was work that was keeping him busy, so she knew she shouldn’t complain especially when Hakyeon was earning to support them.

“Bed time, Hyukkie,” Soyoung called for her happy toddler who was playing in his little corner.

Sanghyuk made a little fuss when his mother picked him up, away from his toys.

“Well, I was planning to bring you to go visit Eongdeongie tomorrow, but since you don’t wanna sleep I guess we can’t go.”

The toddler quietened down and stared at Soyoung with wide, hopeful eyes.

She chuckled, “I guess we have an agreement now.”

After patting her son to sleep, Soyoung got up and started packing for the outing the next day. She had texted Wonshik to ask him if they