(happy dad Baek ㅠㅠ)

Warnings: language

The air was fresh the first morning you awoke in your childhood room. You heard the chickens, the birds singing and the movement in the kitchen. You knew your parents were already tending to your babies, and you couldn’t even remember what it felt like to wake up naturally without their crying anymore. It’s also been a while since you woke up alone, without Baekhyun.

“Daughter, are you up already?” Your mum knocked on the door. “It’s already nine, I’m sure the chickens woke you up!”

You smiled tiredly, stretching on the mat. Sleeping on the floor was always a good change for your aching back. “I’m up!”

“Then come out, breakfast’s ready,” she told you over the closed door. It reminded you of the times when you were still living with them; when you were a teenager and she would wake you up so that you could go and help out in the fields. It wasn't even that much long ago.

When you felt like your muscles had stretched out enough, you exhaled loudly, easing up. “Coming.”

There was a loud baby screech coming from out there and you just knew it was Junhee. It made you quickly leave your room so you could greet your parents and your little munchkins. They were in their carrier basket since you couldn’t find a better place to keep them in.

“Already feeding?” you murmured when you saw your father holding up a bottle of warm milk up to Juna’s mouth.

“They were a little restless,” your father replied, a soft expression on his face as he took in the babies in front of him. “So it’s better to feed.”

“Or they just miss their parents,” your mother remarked, winking at you as she put the last plate on the small table. She motioned for you to sit, but when Jun spotted you, his eyes went wide and he distorted his face into a painful smile before he started crying, missing his mother’s presence dearly.

You laughed softly, walking over to him to take him in your arms. “Little Junnie,” you cooed. “Mummy is finally here, don't you cry, my little boy.”  Juna and Junhee were both watching you with intent, obviously shocked to finally see you after being separated for the night.

“Look at him, what a mummy’s boy,” muttered your father and he chuckled. “I guess he won’t be a hapkido master like his father, eh?”

You pouted at Jun’s crying face. “He is too small, dad, how can you say that already.”

“I can see that, can’t I?” he chuckled and smiled at Junhee who was watching him the whole time. Her eyes were following every of her grandfather’s movements as if she was bewitched.

You shook your head in endearment before your mother called you to eat.

“You shouldn’t come whenever they do the puppy eyes, daughter,” she chastised as she watched you cradle Jun’s head into your neck, feeling his moist lips on your skin. He was still so tiny compared to his sisters, still fragile. You couldn’t stand him crying nor just watch him without touching him. 

“Yeah, their father says the same, but how can I leave them cry,” you said as you took a cup of tea and took a generous sip. It was more to hide the furious blush when you remembered under what circumstances Baekhyun told you and then went on ignoring them for a bit.

“You know they can be obese later on in their life if you over feed them now,” she told you matter-of-factly and you rolled your eyes, putting the cup down so you could properly hold the baby in your arms.

“Mum, they are just about to be four months old, don't overdo it,” you pleaded.

She sighed. “Okay, well, at least while they are here, you better rest up, hm? Let us and Baekhyun's parents take care of them. They won't be small forever and we want to enjoy them.”

Nodding, you listened and agreed. You didn't want to take them away from their grandparents. In fact, you were ready to finally have a little bit of a rest in your hometown.

The place, where it all started.

<3

You were holding Jun while your mum had Juna and Junhee in the twin stroller. While Jun was looking around with curiosity, you couldn’t help the giggle escaping you from adoration. His side profile showed off a protruding baby cheek that was so soft and smooth on touch. Yes, he was definitely Baekhyun’s son. He himself had it still.

The summer in your hometown was, just as usual, relentless yet still more bearable than the heat of Seoul. It was early September but you knew you’d be wearing flip flops in early October. You remembered rebelling and wearing your flip flops to school even though you weren’t allowed to do so. Right now, a shorter summer dress did a good enough job. 

“What’re you chuckling at?” laughed your mother just when there was a teenage girl approaching you with a camera on a camera stick. She was tall and you could immediately tell whose features her face resembled. Her older sister was right next to her after all.

“Oi, isn’t that-“

“Baekhyun’s girlfriend,” finished Kyunga just when she and her younger sister stopped in front of you. They greeted the both of you and Kyunga looked at the baby in your hands before her eyes took in the stroller. “Goodness, so you live after the birth I see.”

“Oh c’mon, you were at the celebration when we told the village the news and we showed you the news on television about her,” replied your mum with nonchalance.

You smiled, the lingering feeling of uneasiness around Kyunga always present. It might never change, you realized with an inward sigh.

“Unnie, that’s fantastic! You’re like a hero of this village!” exclaimed Kyunghee, the young one, her camera still held up high. Without any space for you to speak up (you couldn’t react right away as you were taken aback by her words), she walked over to you with the camera and stood next to you, smiling. “And this, boys and girls, is the mother of the triplets! She is very famous in our village!”

Your eyes went wide when you saw yourself in the small screen that was turned towards you. You were frowning against the sun while your hand was on the back of Jun’s head that was covered with a white bucket hat.

“Yah, Kyunghee-yah, leave unnie alone! You can’t just stick the camera into someone’s face just like that,” scolded Kyunga plainly and then that was it. She went over to your mother and started to coo at your two baby girls peacefully sleeping. She was talking with your mum and so you were made to look at what was now, a shy Kyunghee. She lowered the stick and said: “Sorry. I heard a lot about you and your boyfriend - I mean Baekhyun. Of course I know Baekhyun. Who doesn’t, duh,” she shrugged obnoxiously and you smiled at the mention of your husband. You didn’t bother correcting her about the status, though.

“That’s sweet, I’ll tell him,” you said and automatically started to bounce on your feet to keep the baby in your hands preoccupied.

“What’s his name?”

“Jun.” Then you pointed to the sleeping babies in the stroller. “And that’s Juna and Junhee.”

“He is so cute,” she said as she was looking dreamily at Jun. He was awake, snuggled in his most favorite place - your s, and he was looking at Kyunghee with big, brown eyes, his saliva trailing down his chin. His cheek was squished against your and the young girl squealed at the sight. “Oh my, I just want to squeeze him!”

You burst out into laughter at her explosion, but hell no you’d give him your precious boy just to be squeezed. “You can hold him if you want to but don’t squeeze him,” you added with a gentle smile, “he is a little weak, so you need to be careful, Kyunghee.”

You handed her over, supporting his head although he was almost capable of doing that by himself. You navigated the girl and you swore you saw hearts in her eyes once she had him in her arms.

“How old are you now, Kyunghee?” you asked as you were watching her bounce gently to accommodate Jun.

“Seventeen, but soon eighteen! You know!”

You laughed. “Don’t get too excited, the drinking age in Korea is nineteen.”

She blew a raspberry and Jun looked at you with something that could have been a precedence to soon-to-be a crying tantrum. And Jun was anything but a cry baby.

“Well, I’ll be one year closer to it for sure,” responded cheekily Kyunghee.

You shook your head in amusement. “Any plans for university?”

She shrugged as she looked down at Jun, making silly faces at him. “Can’t afford it.”

Oh, what a stupid question, you scolded yourself. You just scarcely remembered why Kyunga was always present in the village. And then you clearly remembered how Baekhyun wasn’t only a lucky guy; he was the it guy. He was the one who made it to places that barely any knew in your hometown. And he took you along with him and he enabled you to live a life you were living now. A life that was usually a faraway dream for the villagers.

“I see,” you muttered. “So what’s up with this new hobby? You’re now a camera person?” And to quickly make up for what you asked her, you added: “You can film me with the babies. I bet you’re doing it to have cool memories, right?”

Kyunghee perked up and you smiled. When Jun became restless in her arms, you took him in and, magically, he calmed down right away, your embrace always the safe haven for the poor baby. “Actually I got it from my friend's sister's boyfriend! He is super cool and also from Seoul! Anyway, I’m putting up some stuff on YouTube to introduce people to our village life,” she told you with so much passion you couldn’t help but be entranced by it. Oh, to be young and have passions, you thought.

“That’s a great cause,” you nodded.

“I have a thousand subscribers, I'd say that’s freaking awesome!”

You were becoming more and more impressed with her and the way she was so excited to talk about something that brought her so much joy. “I try to upload three times per week and then I try to learn various editing techniques so that the vids are catchy and whatnot - people seem to like it.”

“You should be studying! Not doing something that has no future,” spoke up Kyunga as she straightened up from her bend down position over the stroller.

“Oh, let her be, Kyunga, she is still young. You should support her passion,” replied your mother, looking at the older girl in worry.

“Ah, auntie, not everyone has the chance to become something great. And I can’t expect Kyunghee to be lucky to catch herself a man who will do everything for her without her needing to lift a damn finger,” she almost spat the last words and dared to throw you a look.

Huh?

Was she implying that you did nothing while Baekhyun got you out of poverty?

“You’re so mean, sister, I swear I can’t listen to this anymore!” shouted Kyunghee in frustration and it was obvious she must have heard this conversation several times.

You looked at your mum in panic and she shrugged. “Well, we will be going, Go sisters,” announced your mum and Kyunghee threw you a somewhat pleasing look. You still felt hurt over what Kyunga implied and now you understood why the younger girl would be tired. “It’s very hot and the babies need feeding,” she announced at last and started to walk ahead.

You followed quickly, bowing to Kyunga but Kyunghee stopped you before you could walk off. “Unnie,” she stepped to you and tiptoed to reach your ear, cupping the palm around before whispering: “Could we meet again? Could I maybe film you and the triplets and the way you live your life?”

You pulled away slightly and she looked at you with hope in her eyes, her lower lip trapped under her teeth. You didn’t have much time to think it over when you said: “Okay, let’s meet tomorrow morning and … hm, we can start from there?”

Kyunghee clapped. “Thank you! Thank you! I’ll behave, promise,” she said and turned to poke her tongue out at Kyunga who was observing you from the side. She rolled her eyes at her sister's antics before speaking up, rather reluctantly.

“Did Baekhyun come here too, perhaps?”

“Oh god, if he would have come he’d be here, wouldn’t he? Oppa was always all over unnie, he wouldn’t let her roam around with the babies alone,” she added sneakily.

You almost winced; she played dirty by rubbing salt into her sister's wounds. “He’s on a work trip in Japan,” you informed her with a polite tone.

“Well if you talk to him, say hi from me. Please.”

You nodded and turned to follow up your mum. You winked at Kyunghee who was beaming at you, looking like the perfect manhwa character wearing her school uniform.

<3

It was already late when you received a video call request from your husband. This was the second night without him and the only thing that kept you from missing him like a high school girl was a sleepily feeding baby on your chest. Baby Jun. Curled up into a small bun as he diligently , swallowing and exhaling loudly while representing half of Baekhyun.

“Well good evening, my sweetest sweetheart,” Baekhyun’s honey-like voice cut through the silence of the room and you instantly smiled. 

You held your phone up so that he could see your face not showing him Jun yet. “Evening honey,” you smiled, your eyes eagerly taking in his face.

A handsome laugh greeted you right away. “How are you today? What have you been up to back home?”

You noticed how his hair was wet and he was shirtless. “You never sleep shirtless with me,” you pouted instead of answering, and he chuckled.

“I tried the body lotion they offer here but it’s so thick that I have to wait for it to absorb.” He looked closer at his screen. “You’re not wearing anything either,” he exclaimed scandalously and made you giggle.

You seductively raised an eyebrow to a little before you slowly moved the camera downward so he could see your son feeding.

Baekhyun hummed lowly. “Our little baby boy,” he cooed and you melted a little bit. “Always at mummy’s , hm?”

You laughed, because he wasn't wrong, and then you showed him the sleeping girls. They all managed to literally pass out (in a baby manner) after a few drags of milk. It seemed that new environments and you not being with them every second of the day made its toll on them mentally.

“I feel already a little relaxed,” you admitted finally when you laid down properly. “Our parents took great care of the munchkins and I could have a little alone time.”

“I’m glad to hear that, baby,” he sighed and he also made himself comfortable on his bed. “I know it’s hard and this is a great way to collect your thoughts. So don’t overwork and let our parents do the job. They are all young, anyways.”

You nodded with a quiet chuckle, realizing how he was right. What you previously considered selfish was just your body telling you what it needed. And your parents weren't even close to sixty. Since you would be leaving soon, they deserved to be as much with their grandchildren as they could be. “Anyway, tell me about you, oppa. How is everything? Do you speak Japanese yet?”

Baekhyun groaned as he let his head fall onto the pillows. “Japanese is so hard, sweetheart, and I at English. Thank god I don’t have to do the talking.” You giggled quietly and brought your free hand to Jun’s tiny body, caressing it slowly, his skin soft under your gentle touch. “But it’s going well and the seniors are taking good care of me. I learn a lot. I’d say it was worth it to come.”

“Then that’s good enough, my baby,” you replied proudly, though your own body was becoming heavier. Eventually you sighed, and muttered: “I miss you.”

Baekhyun had a small, cheeky smile on his face, his intent gaze set on the screen. “Hm, I miss you too. The only bad thing about this spacious hotel room is your absence.”

“Flirt,” you teased but the idea of being on a little getaway with him sounded just right. Given how the glimpses of the hotel showed luxury, you could perfectly imagine enjoying your time with him in there.

“For you I’m always a flirt, my little lady” he winked. “Since when is Jun feeding?”

You took a quick glance at the time in the corner of your screen. “For twenty minutes. I’ll stop him soon anyway,” you told him and your heart fluttered at the gentle gaze of your husband's eyes. “My parents took them in last night so this time I wanted to have them. I think our babies went through a shock when they saw me this morning after being away for a while,” you mentioned with a laugh and mimicked their scared faces.

Baekhyun laughed hard at your expressions. “The little ones aren’t used to their grandpas and grandmas,” he pointed out as his long index finger rested on his chin. “They’re still so small, they won’t even remember your absence.”

You nodded with a smile just when Jun pressed down on your and you gasped. “Ouch, Junnie, no,” you said quickly, looking down at him, but the baby didn't even budge. Eyes blissfully closed, he continued and breathing loudly.

“He bit you?”

“Yeah,” you pouted and Baekhyun laughed softly.

“Naughty boy.”

“Baekhyun!” you scolded with a girlish smile. “You boys are so mean to me.”

“Oh, no, princess, don’t be offended. It’s a compliment,” Baekhyun said with another chuckle as he brought the camera so close you could see his forehead and his eyes only. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you said back quietly. “Give me a kiss. To make it up.”

Baekhyun’s entire face slowly reappeared and you could practically see his sultry voice was about to make its grand entrance. “A kiss?” Pause. “How can I do that for you? Hm?”

Those darn hums of his, you cursed in your mind. Baekhyun being all flirty and seductive while a baby was on your milk was not a good combination. Not with your husband. “An air kiss will do for now,” you decided dejectedly, pouting.

Baekhyun let out a breathy laugh at the sight. “Trust me I’d love to kiss my wife more than anything right now. If only I could be there with you and our little ones,” he sighed and then after a pause he sent the loudest kiss he could produce, the smooch bouncing of the old walls of your room. “There, satisfied?”

Your smile grew and you nodded. “Yes, it’s perfect.”

“Now give it back.”

“The kiss?”

“Yes, baby, give oppa a kiss. And then go to sleep. You must be tired.”

You nodded, not wanting to separate but he was right. Your eyes were getting swollen from tiredness and you bet he himself must have been tired out by the happenings in Japan. You brought the phone close to your mouth and smacked your lips together, making a kissing sound.

“Wonderful,” murmured Baekhyun, bewitched. “Good night, sweetheart. Sleep tight,” he whispered, sending chills down your spine.

You hummed, watching him. “Night, sweetie. Fighting tomorrow as well.”

“Love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Oh, and by the way, Kyunga says hi to you,” you murmured before you would forget. Talking about her while in bed, having a little intimate call with Baekhyun wasn't the most ideal situation, but you said you'd tell him, so you kept your word.

“You met Go Kyunga?” Baekhyun was a little surprised, but if he had any worries, he didn't show you.

You gave him a reassuring smile. Though you couldn't read him, you wanted to let him know you were okay. “Yeah, I was hanging out a bit with Kyunghee, and she was with her. She asked about you.”

Baekhyun nodded. “Alright, baby. Go to sleep now.”

When you shifted to sit up, you held Jun by his clad in a diaper. His father watched you silently as you placed him down next to the sleeping twin girls and then you smiled widely when you reappeared, adjusting your shirt. Well, it was Baekhyun's shirt. At least that could make up for his presence for now. “Good night, my love,” you finally murmured.

“I love you, you know that, right?” he whispered, still needing to hear it from you.

“I know it, honey. I love you, too, and we miss you,” you added.

Before going to bed you sent him a selfie you did with Jun feeding.

<3

You almost forgot about Kyunghee's visit the next morning and you were surprised when she arrived at seven with her camera and stick ready. You had Baekhyun's parents over for breakfast before they would go out and work in the fields.

“And, I am now with the Byuns! The hero of our village, the triplet lady as we like to call her, is already up and feeding. A very warm good morning greetings to you all!” she shouted and Baekhyun's mother almost dropped the small bowl with the rice she was holding.

Kyunghee giggled as she stopped recording and proceeded to bow politely to everyone in the room. “I'm not staying long since I need to rush to school,” she revealed her cute teeth as she smiled widely.

“Oh, dear, please sit and have breakfast with us,” suggested your mother.

“Kyunghee, I'm not even dressed appropriately,” you pouted down at your nursing dress. 

“No, no, unnie, we need to make it realistic, remember? I'm trying to show how real life works, and not feed people with unrealistic ideas like entertainment does to us,” she murmured.

You shook your head in amusement as you threw a look at Baekhyun's father feeding Jun his formula while his mother had the two girls. “You're the first high schooler who doesn't listen to kpop then,” you noted and slurped a bit of rice cake soup. You always had your mum make it for you even though it wasn't your birthday.

“What? Oh no, that's not true! I really love Sehun, you know him, right? He is a million seller after all,” she said proudly and started gulping down the soup your mum put in front of her.

You didn't want to tell her you had no clue who that was, so you just nodded feverishly, hoping she wouldn’t ask more.

“This soup is so delicious, auntie,” exclaimed Kyunghee as she tapped the back of her palm on her lips to clean bits of soup.

“Ah, Kyunghee-yah, do you have a boyfriend?” asked Baekhyun's mother, looking up at the teenage girl before focusing back on feeding the twin girls.

“Oh, please, what boyfriend, she should study,” muttered Baekhyun's father and you smiled shyly. You did anything but study when you were seventeen and a big chunk of responsibility for that lied on Baekhyun. Your heart fluttered at the memories of those days.

“No, auntie, I don't have one!” replied Kyunghee after swallowing. “I'm focusing on making sure I study what brings me joy and that is more than a man could ever give me.”

All the adults laughed and you couldn’t help but smile in astonishment. She was definitely an opposite of you.

With your chopsticks, you reached for the kimchi placed further from you and you almost moaned at how wonderfully sour it was once you placed a piece of cabbage into your mouth.

“Oh, dear, no that's your fathers portion,” told your mum, and pushed another side dish towards you. “Here is the sweeter kimchi, the one you like.”

“But this one’s so delicious,” you told her in a quieter voice while the rest of the family talked to Kyunhgee. You were quick to reach for another piece and your mother chuckled.

“Your appetite,” she clicked her tongue and you shrugged.

“Ah, unnie, what is your plan for today? Maybe I could meet you after school,” asked Kyunghee and prepared her camera to start shooting.

“We are heading to the market today,” you informed her and you secretly couldn't wait to go and relive the times when you used to be always present at the local market, selling what your parents produced.

“That's great-“ just then the first baby started to complain - Juna. With a little sigh, you scrambled up to your feet and went over, feeling Baekhyun's mother watching you with a soft gaze, just like her sons.

“You spend a lot of time with them, no wonder they feel the safest with you,” she told you, both of you unaware about Kyunghee’s filming in the background.

You were standing up, bouncing gently while kissing Juna’s temple over and over, her skin so incredibly smooth on your lips. “They are all mummy’s babies,” you giggled and felt Juna looking at you, a small smile also playing on her lips now. “And daddy’s too.”

Kyunghee followed your morning routine; how you changed the diapers, how you changed their clothes and prepared their little bucket hats to protect them from the strong summer sun. Even though the best thing was to stay inside the shade the whole time, you also wanted to make the most out of the time you had at home. It turned out, there was nothing more therapeutic than being home with your beloved family, breathing some good air and enjoying the peace of the surroundings. And, of course, it would be a forever sweetest place as a start of something beautiful together with Baekhyun.

“Unnie, my other favourite unnie is coming to town later today so maybe we can visit you together. Her boyfriend is the one who got me this camera. She works with kids, maybe you can get along with her,” she told you just before leaving.

“Oh, okay, feel free to come then,” you told her and waved goodbye.