“Taeha?”

“Princess, where are you?”

Yuri had been looking for his precious baby girl for the past ten minutes, unable to force himself to leave for work till he saw her. He knew Taeha was aware that he didn’t have a choice but to leave her at home, but it still didn’t stop her from kicking up another one of her tantrums – which was exactly what Jessica did when Yuri had to go back to school for his exams as well as competitions.

Jessica had stopped studies completely and decided to work part-time when she could still move around freely without the baby kicking too much. She worked till she was about almost 8 months pregnant until Yuri forced her to quit her job while he took on part time jobs as well. Along with the help of both of their parents, money was never a problem though they never asked for it.

“Baby! Appa has to leave for work already!” Yuri shouted, purposefully increasing his voice so his daughter would at least make a sound or come out of her hiding place. He stomped his feet to the door and grabbed his keys, even jiggling it in his hands playfully, “Bye, Taeha! Appa will see you when I come home then!”

As he expected, a small whimper was heard from the kitchen and Yuri couldn’t help but smile; Taeha was so attached to him and always tried to make sure that he wouldn’t leave the house without her.

Kwon Taeha was born with a healthy weight of 3.4kg and a set of healthy lungs as she wailed her heart out in the delivery room the moment she was out. Though Jessica did say she wanted Taecyeon out of their lives, Yuri couldn’t harden his heart when it came to matters like this – Taecyeon did have a special connection with Taeha and thus, he became Taeha’s godfather in name.

“A-Appa…” Taeha sniffled, hugging her knees closer to her chest, “T-Taeha is h-here..” 

Yuri, needless to say, was well aware of where Taeha was hiding; Taeha had three key hiding places in the small but cozy apartment they managed to buy with their own hardearned money - the storeroom, the wardrobe and the enormous playhouse Yuri had built in her room. Taeha liked to play games with Yuri, and it included rough games like wrestling, soccer or even playing in the mudflat; much to Jessica's displeasure, of course. 

“Aigoo…” Yuri mumbled as he opened the door to the wardrobe, spotting Taeha sitting atop the pile of his casual clothing, “why is my baby girl crying?”

Taeha buried her face into Yuri’s shoulders and hugged her father as tightly as possible. She knew Yuri was playing a little game of his own at the back of her mind but the thought of Yuri leaving her alone at home was making her angry. She pounded her fists against Yuri’s chest and started to sniffle louder, ignoring Yuri’s soothing words; he was still going to leave her at home anyway.

“Taeha…” Yuri softly whispered and placed Taeha on her small princess-fort before he bent down in front of her, “you know Appa has to go to work, baby. If you want Appa to buy more toys and plushies for you, I have to earn money…” Yuri sighed when Taeha crossed her arms over her chest, obviously not convinced, “baby, Appa has to earn money for our little prince coming soon.”  

When Yuri saw Taeha's eyes brighten at the very mention of her baby brother who was going to come in about four months or so. Yuri had been preparing everything for their little peanut coming along and Taeha had been surprisingly supportive of it; as compared to other kids who'd feel threatened by their sibling. She even set aside some plushies that she would give her baby brother and made sure her wardrobe was split in half. 

“B-But Umma needs Appa…” Taeha mumbled under her breath, looking at her fingers instead of at her father, “a-and Taeha too…” 

A tender grin surfaced upon Yuri's face and he carefully picked Taeha into his arms as he slowly walked towards the master bedroom. Taeha bounced in her father's arms excitedly at the thought of visiting her still-pregnant mother and seeing her baby brother. She had developed a rather deep affection for the little still-non-existent baby and was planning to smother him with love once he was out. 

Taeha tugged on Yuri’s collar and pulled her father closer to her so she could whisper into his ear, “Umma’s still sleeping…” Yuri nodded and placed a finger upon Taeha’s small lips, walking closer to his sleeping wife on the bed. Taeha held onto her father's finger and held her breath, hoping she wouldn't wake her mother up.

After placing Taeha beside Jessica, Yuri placed a hand beside Jessica's head and bent down to press his lips on her forehead. He knew Jessica had been having a hard time recently, probably because it was a boy this time. He had to be extra quiet whenever he got up work because Jessica's cravings or discomfort could last to undesirable hours of the morning, and she rarely got enough sleep. 

“I want you to take care of your Umma today, Taeha. Appa has to go to work and I can’t change that, but I will try my best to come home early and play with you.”

With the serious tone Yuri was using, Taeha knew there was no chance for her to change his mind anymore and she pouted before nodding obediently. She could understand the difficulties her father faced whenever he had to leave for work; Yuri couldn’t spend enough time with Jessica as a result and it often left her poor hormonal mother rather lonely at home. <