thirty-one

  “Luhan,” She called softly, shuffling her exhausted feet into the room with a glass in her hands. “Drink this.”

  Her equally fatigued husband raised his head, forcing himself to keep his eyes open. “…Yoong? What’s that?”

  “Cordyceps.  Victoria recommended it last time, so I went to one of the Chinese medicine halls and bought a pack… Didn’t come cheap, but it supposedly has healing effects.” Yoona tried to be optimistic, though she knew how flat she sounded. “I drank one glass already… I think it’ll help you last the night, and it’s healthier than coffee as well.”

  “Mm, thank you, sweetheart.” He offered her a tired smile as he took the glass into his palms, sipping the tasteless liquid. “…It better work.”

  Yoona sighed softly, taking a seat on the side of their bed. She focused her eyes upon the crib that had been placed in their room, attempting to keep the smile upon her face. “Xun’s really an active one, isn’t he?”

  “I’d bet that he’s nocturnal.” Luhan tried to joke jovially, despite the fact that he was out of energy, earning himself a swat from Yoona. “…And to top it off, Jun’s doesn’t like napping during the daytime, so we’ve got to stay awake all day and all night.”

  “I’m starting to wonder how we managed the last time…” Yoona heaved a sigh.

  “…Do you still want to have kids, after this?”

  Yoona raised her eyebrows. “What’s with the sudden question?”

  He shrugged his shoulders furtively. “I realized there are many things I haven’t asked, Yoong, and there are many things the both of us didn’t plan before we married each other… Like how many kids, how many apartments, how many cars-“

  “Apartments? How many apartments do you want to have?” Yoona was bewildered, crawling to his side and laying her head on his shoulder. “Cars? Don’t we have one car? Isn’t that more than enough? And as for kids… You’re from a Chinese family, Han. I wouldn’t know how many kids your parents expect, or how many kids you’d want…”

  “My parent’s expectations? Sweetheart, they’ve never had many expectations. It’s the twentieth century – they’re not expecting ten kids or anything.” Luhan said comically, chortling as he wrapped an arm around her. “They’re pretty satisfied that we have kids. And I’m satisfied as well… It’s up to you.”

  “You can say that easily. You don’t have to give birth.” Yoona frowned, pushing his arm away, before setting her feet back on the ground. “You’ve just got to hold my hand, say some sweet words and a kid will pop out.”

  “…Yoona, I said that it’s up to you-“

  “Exactly what I mean, Luhan, you talk about having a plan, yet you have a plan for nothing! I mean, you yourself have been talking about plans, but there’s no product! It’s like we’re doing everything haphazardly, as and when we want.” Yoona ranted vehemently. “It’s always up to me, and in the end I’m the one who’s making up all the plans and even when I’m unsure, you’re not guiding me!”

  “Yoona.” He emphasized on her name, furrowing his brows as he looked at her. “…Get some rest. If you’re being bad-tempered because you’re having a lack of sleep, you’d best sleep.”

  “I’m not being bad-tempered!” Yoona persisted indignantly. “I’m just saying that we should do something, you know? We should stop putting our lives to the chance, and we should-“

  Before she could say another word, a soft cry was heard from the crib. Instantly, the both of them rose, rushing towards the crib, and in it, they saw little Xun weeping weakly, as though he had sensed his parents’ petty quarrel and had sought to stop it. They both calmed down for a moment, as Luhan hoisted his son out of the crib, cradling him in his arms and patting his back, attempting to calm him.

  “Sleep, Yoona, just sleep.” Luhan murmured, gazing into her tired eyes.

  Despite being slightly grumpy, she listened. It wasn’t worthwhile to quarrel over such trivial things anyway. But even as she shut her eyes, she could feel a single tear slide down her cheek. Soon enough, she found herself weeping all the way until Luhan had successfully put Xun to bed and locked her in his embrace once more, hugging her to sleep.

  “Damn, it’s heavy!” Minho groaned, dropping the box on the ground and stretching his pained arms.

  Soyeon shook her head, stifling a laugh. “I told you not to overestimate yourself – you’re losing tone, muscle-man, and if you’re going to keep insisting that you’re some weightlifter, then your arms will eventually break.”

  “I am not losing tone!” Minho denied it indignantly. “Have you tried carrying this box? I’d bet even a champion weightlifter couldn’t lift it! These kids are crazy… Taemin! Sulli!” He was infuriated by Soyeon’s mockery, turning away from her as he turned beetroot red. “What the hell do you put in your boxes, huh? Are you setting up a gym in your house?”

  Sulli placed her hands on her hips, shooting him a skeptical gaze. “Don’t be an , Minho-oppa, if you can’t lift it then don’t. Ask someone to lift it together with you – it won’t be so damned heavy then. I understand you want to look good in front of Soyeon-unnie, but it’s going to earn you no merit when your arms break.”

  “Ssul.” Minho shot her a cautioning gaze.

  Sulli raised her hands, raising her eyebrows at the same time, as Soyeon burst into a fit of shy giggles. “Well, not like you didn’t make fun of me and Taemin during our courtship.”

  “Choi Jinri-“

  “Well, the time has come that you get a taste of your own medicine, hasn’t it?” Taemin chuckled amiably, stepping over with a box of books in his hands. “…And for the record, she’s now Lee Jinri. You should get the names right.”

  It was Sulli’s turn to giggle bashfully, which Minho rolled his eyes at. “You both obviously had too much fun during the honeymoon. I was going to ask how it was but…” He shifted his gaze to Sulli. “Looks like I don’t have to.”

  “Minho, don’t be rude!” Soyeon nudged him.

  “But-“

  “Minho…