credits going out to the enchanted graphic shop

There's a little creature resting in my arms.

He's tiny. I can feel the small shallow breaths he take. The small limbs, the big head, the closed eyes, the long pretty eyelashes. He had been wailing for a few good hours and to see him finally settled makes me give a tired smile. Since my arms are preoccupied with holding the baby, I alternatively stretch my legs instead.

Asides from the crystal-like melody resonating from the music box, I can sense a sound of footsteps gradually getting louder.

I lift my head away from studying the baby, eyes meeting his in warning. I whisper, “Quiet it down, will you? He's finally asleep.”

Jonghoon gives a toothy simper. “I like this image of you.”

“Shut up,” I grumble. I would opt to hit or kick Jonghoon, but I'm glued to the sofa. One little movement could send the baby into a sobbing fit. My boyfriend knows this only too well because this dilemma I'm in renders me helpless. Jonghoon pets my head as he sinks onto the right side of the sofa I'm sitting on.

“Should we make one too?”

“Not yet,” I say. I'm not even questioning Jonghoon's word choice. He always has a way with words. To a stranger he would sound ridiculous, but this is, unfortunately, normal for me. I roll my eyes. “We need to get married first.”

“We don't. My sister and Jaejin didn't.” He points at the baby in my arms, “This is the result.”

“For them, but for us I want to get married first,” I inform him, but I know he's not completely listening. Jonghoon's distracting himself, curiously poking at his nephew's little feet with his pinky.

“He's going to be a special kid,” Jonghoon smirks, sneaking an arm around my waist. “He's got an amazing name.”

“Chaehoon?” I laugh when I murmur the name out loud. “For once I actually agree with you.”

Jinri and Jaejin had named their baby Chaehoon from the combination of Jonghoon and my names. Well, it had been more of Jinri's choice since she adored her brother, and I was anointed as Chaehoon's godmother. Jaejin, apparently, would choose the next name for their future child.

“Then why don't you agree that it's not right that those idiotic love birds ditched us with their responsibility? They left their kid to us!” Jonghoon complains. “We were going to go on a road trip-”

“God, Jonghoon.” I roll my eyes. “Cut them some slack. They got married. They're on their honeymoon-”

“Maybe it was part of their ultimate plan to name their child our names so that they can bestow us as their babysitter whenever they want to get away?”

I sigh. “You and your over-exaggerated theories.”

Although Jonghoon may find this as a nuisance that Jinri and Jaejin are away for two weeks on their honeymoon, I'm happy because it's got me something to do. I've been unemployed ever since I had left the company, but I had kept myself busy with being Jinri's assistant during her last few weeks of pregnancy. After she had given birth, I had then been appointed to be Jaejin and Jinri's wedding planner. Now that the couple were in Hawaii for two weeks, my new job was to be Chaehoon's babysitter. I promised myself, and Jonghoon, that I'd find a new job once the newly wedded couple returned to Seoul. As of yesterday, Jonghoon and my apartment had become a childcare clinic.

...much to Jonghoon's dissatisfaction.

“This is the first time to look after their baby, but then there will be a second...then a third.” He cries out, “It'll go on forever!”

“You're just antsy because we haven't slept together for a week. Stop acting like a ually deprived moron.”

He gives a sly dimply smile, squeezing my hip. “I think you know me too well, Chaeri.”

“Years of hell has been a factor,” I mutter. Before I can say another sentence, I feel his hand rest on my thigh. I bite by bottom lip. “Don't you dare do anything sneaky when I'm holding Chaehoon.”

“It's not my fault the baby is a -blocker.”

I snort. “I can't believe you're blaming the baby now.”

“As you said earlier, I am ually deprived.” He wriggles his eyebrows. If I hadn't had Chaehoon resting in my arms, I would have tossed a pillow at his face.

“Talking about how I'm deprived; I've dealt with worse anyway.” He tells me, even though I'm not particularly interested where this conversation is going. “You had me deprived for a long time, that the start of our romantic relationship...we were practically bunnies. I mean, we couldn't stop. We skipped the 'get-to-know-you' sessions because we already knew each other. The during that first week was intense-”

“Please don't scar Chaehoon with your dirty chatter,” I chide. “Keep his ears clean please.”

“Hey, you were a addict too. Don't put this all on me here.” Jonghoon gives me a knowing look. “You're not as innocent as you like to think.”

“ you,” I snarl, forgetting what I had lectured Jonghoon a few seconds ago.

“Language, language,” Jonghoon repeats with a serious tone, brown eyes are sparkling with laughter. By now he'd be guffawing, but he's holding his laughter in because the baby. At least he's being slightly considerate after the hours I had been trying to get Chaehoon to sleep.

I yawn, reminiscing. “Yes, we were idiots. It took us forever to recognise each other as a potential love interest.”

“Oh, I always liked you Chaeri,” Jonghoon laughs.

“Despite sleeping with all those other girls?” I scoff. I still get a bit envious of those girls Jonghoon had with in the past. It's only natural for a girlfriend, right?

“How many times do I have to tell you? Nobody compares to you. It took forever to get you to recognise me.” He says quietly, “The wait was well worth it.”

I kiss him on his forehead, not knowing what else to do. My cheeks are pink, but I let my fringe fall over my face to disguise the flush. It's embarrassing when Jonghoon speaks so openly about how much he cares about me. I don't think I can ever get used to it. I still feel awkward like a teenage girl fawning over her latest crush – only I wasn't a teenager anymore...which is why this is embarrassing. On the other hand, Jonghoon loves it. He loves making me feel uncomfortable because he thinks it's cute – the darn sadist.

To break the mini romantic moment, I notice Chaehoon's nappy has gotten heavy. Just when I thought the baby would stay soundlessly asleep, the thought of me possibly waking him up when changing his nappy over makes me inwardly groan. Jonghoon notices me gesture for him to fetch me a clean nappy.

He leaps off the sofa, disappearing from the lounge and returning with a box of wipes and the nappy I had asked for.

Jonghoon takes the baby from me and gently rests his head onto a flat cushion. He removes the soiled nappy and wipes Chaehoon's bottom clean. He motions for me to get the new nappy ready.

When I open it up, I freeze.

Tears spill out before I can utter a word out. I'm in shock as I see the gleaming diamond ring placed in the centre of the stupid nappy. I then look at Jonghoon who's smiling at my expression with a hopeful look on his face.

He waits, nervously. “So?”

“This has go to be the most mindless, disgusting and unique proposal ever,” I sniff. I'm almost tempted to throw the nappy at Jonghoon's face. “Couldn't you have found a better and hygienic way to propose at least?”

“Well, I was going to propose to you at a restaurant today, but I had to cancel plans because of this small home-wrecker,” Jonghoon says as he pokes at Chaehoon's stomach. “Besides, it feels weird if I took you to a fancy restaurant. You don't like expensive food.”

“So unromantic,” I grumble. He's right though. I most likely would have gotten annoyed with him if he had taken me to a over-the-top restaurant. Besides, if he had I knew exactly what he'd be trying to pull off it. It would have been too obvious.

“I could romanticise you to bed?” He suggests. “I could serenade you with my godly guitar skills?”

“No thanks. That would be even more sickening,” I laugh. “Oh God...I can't believe you proposed.”

“Nothing ever pleases you,” Jonghoon responds, sulkily. “We always argue.”

He's irritated. His voice gives it all away. He looks away from me, focusing back on the task of fixing Chaehoon up with a new nappy. Since Jonghoon's movement is a bit rougher, Chaehoon stirs and begins to cry. I watch as Jonghoon lifts up the baby, rocking him against his body.

“I like arguing with you,” I admit.

Jonghoon's the only person I can fight with non-stop, knowing that we'll forgive each other at the end, and let the senseless comments we spit at each other slide. I can be myself around Jonghoon and he can be himself around him. That's something that's never changed between the two of us.

“Well, I mean...if you don't like to, I'll return the ring. I know it's too quick and you're pro-b-probbly ready.”

I gape at him. He's still not looking at me. “Are you stuttering, honey?”

“No. I-” Jonghoon scrunches his nose lifting his gaze as his eyes survey mine. “I'm sorry. I was insensitive about doing this to you because you've only broken up with Daehyun recently and-”

“Are you going to at least ask me properly?” I sigh.

He almost drops Chaehoon down as he hastily gets onto his knees, taking the silver gold ring from my hands, presenting it to me. I'm half expecting him to crack a joke, but he's doesn't.

“Yoon Chaeri...will you marry me?”

The tears are flowing more heavily now. I wipe them away with the back of my sleeve. I splutter, “Do you even need me to reply to this?”

“Then it's a 'no'?” Jonghoon frowns, dejectedly. His face looks paler.

“No.” I giggle. I can't help but .

“Then is your answer a 'yes'?”

“No.”

“Can you stop being a now?” Jonghoon snaps. “I'm on my knees and they hurt.”

“It's not often a fiancé calls you a when he proposes.”

It takes almost half a minute for Jonghoon to finally listen to what I had said. To my surprise, he lunges at me, carrying me by the waist as he spins me around in a circle, laughing in pure contentment. I start sobbing into his shoulder, unable to control me emotions any longer.

When we settle down, we drop onto the sofa, with Jonghoon carrying me on his lap, instead of the baby he had been holding earlier. I glance at Chaehoon who is awake, but astonishingly not crying at all the commotion and noise we've stirred. I giggle and from my giggle, Chaehoon gurgles out laughter.

“See?” Jonghoon says. “Even my nephew is proud we're together.”

I kiss him on the lips. It's a long kiss. My vision gets blurry as our tongues collide and warmth tingles my body from head to the tips of my toes. I moan when his fingers run through my hair and I feel that his face is wet too. I'm not certain whether it's my tears or his. At least I know our feelings match, our emotions are out in the open. Our weaknesses, our strengths. We're combined in a mutual understanding that has always been there, a love that we had been frightened to express, a love that we finally acknowledged.

“Do you know what I'm looking forward to when we get married?” He breathlessly questions me once we've stopped making out. As much as we want to throw each other in bed, we still had the kid is overlooking us.

“What?”

“Being with you all the time. I mean, we've already moved in together...but it'll be different. And I'll have an excuse to sleep with you more because it's only natural that a married couple do it-”

I punch him in the gut. “Shut up, Jonghoon.”

He chuckles, kissing my cheek.

“I love you, Chaeri.”

-fin-

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o6.04.15

(a/n)

Thanks for reading this story! It was a challenge and lots of fun to write with it being my first (and only) FTISLAND fanfic and with it being one of the few Jonghoon fanfics out there too.

In all honesty, I didn't expect to receive much of a response at all...therefore I'm really grateful towards you all that you appreciate this story to actually have read it all.

I've got two more stories to finish (with one being a CNBLUE fanfic that I haven't even started), and then I will stop writing on AFF. 

Happy Easter, my lovelies. Take care of yourselves. <3

- objectivity

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