Before his parents could come looking for him, Yunho had picked up the box and left for his apartment.

“come on kiddo, we have to do this before the ladies return.” Yoochun was trying to coax the toddler who was immersed in playing with his bambi and favourite bear plushies. The camera was mounted on a stand and focusing on the only two actors.

An idea struck Yoochun and he snatched the toys from Changmin and went to the other end of the room, still within the range of the camera. He waved the stuffed animals in the air, “I just sacrificed my credit cards so you could learn how to walk before the ladies come back from their shopping, alright Minnie? If you want your bambi, you have to come and get it yourself.” Not liking how he was disturbed in his playtime, Changmin crawled to his uncle and kept slapping him on the shin, which wasn’t really that effective considering he’s just an infant. But the sentiment was there as was the very angry and pronounced pout. Yoochun kept the toys away and crouched down, “No Minnie, you have to walk, like big people do, like Umma does.” At the mention of his Umma, Changmin’s eyes light up like the fourth of July. Yoochun seizes this opportunity and straightens up the baby on his little feet, hands holding him under his armpits, “I’ll help you. Come on, try taking a step.” Changmin lifted his foot to go closer to Yoochun. When it looked like it was going to work, Yoochun loosened the hold on him and Changmin stumbled forward into his lap. “aw! My bad!” the child’s ego was so hurt at his little stumble he started crying just when the door opened.

“Minnie we’re home!” Jaejoong announced. When Changmin heard his mother he literally rolled out of Yoochun’s lap and began crawling to her. But he found his teddy bear and grabbed it. Now his dilemma was how to go to his Umma, when his hands were occupied to crawl. Who can crawl without hands right? Finally making a decision, Changmin grabbed the couch beside him and stood up shakily. Yoochun sensing this was the moment, moved to the camera to film this properly.

“Jaejoong, Junsu stay where you are.”

“wha-” Junsu was cut off when she saw Changmin on the other side of the couch, one hand holding a plushy and the other hand taking support from the couch.

“Oh my god, Minnie!” Jaejoong had tears in her eyes and Yoochun grabbed that moment on film briefly before once again turning to Changmin. The baby took unsteady steps to his mother who had come to the other end of the living area and beckoning him to come to her by opening her arms and encouraging him. The toddler felt more energized seeing his mother and tried to speed up and with happy giggles, the last few steps were more of a stumble as he jumped into Jaejoong’s arms. Yoochun filmed the whole moment with Jaejoong placing butterfly kisses all over the giggly Changmin and whispering how proud she was of him, and the video froze.

“what the-” Yunho was enjoying his son’s first steps until the video got stuck. He looked around for the player’s remote frustrated.

“it’s here.” Yunho jumped at the other voice in his apartment. He wasn’t exactly expecting anyone, much less Jaejoong.

“how did you….?”

“were you aware your sister knew how to pick a lock?” Jaejoong asked and Yunho dumbly nodded. It wasn’t new to him, since his sister had a penchant to learn all sorts of things for her elaborate pranks on her brother. Jaejoong placed a nicely wrapped bento in front of Yunho, “bimbap?” she offered, though Yunho couldn’t refuse because his stomach just growled then. Jaejoong opened the lid and offered Yunho who feasted on the food she brought. And if he thinks they taste better than his mother’s cooking he’d never tell his mother or lest he’d be skinned alive. Jaejoong took away Yunho’s drink and kept it out of his reach. Yunho didn’t even notice, too immersed in eating, “it was actually for Minnie. I didn’t want him to eat the dull hospital food. Imagine my horror when Junsu and I reach the hospital and find he’s pulled of a whole prison break, and Yoochun actually helped him!” Yunho was gaping at the shrieking woman with his mouth filled with rice, he was afraid that Changmin had come to the Church earlier after running away from the hospital, and Jaejoong’s next words confirmed that, “he had sneaked back too late and by then you're parents had come there too. They were expecting to find you there.” Jaejoong looked at the box of albums and the open letter, “I guessed you must have taken Minnie’s letter hard and holed yourself up somewhere. Your mother enlisted your Jihye’s help.”

“but why did you come?” Yunho asked, voice stiff at the mention of Changmin’s letter, “there’s nothing between us anymore.”

“and that was decided by a 10 year old, our 10 year old, but still a kid making an adults decision shouldn’t be factored in.” Jaejoong looked at the still image of her and Changmin she had paused on the screen, “you’d think Minnie’s a mama’s boy but really, he takes after his father.” The way she said it was almost playful and Yunho couldn’t help but smile a bit, “I don’t know if he learnt it from you or it’s just genetics, but the both of you have a proclivity to make stupid- conclusions, assume you're doing the right thing and then I have to take the brunt of it. He’s discharged by the way. The doctor thinks if he can pull of such a stunt then he’s healed enough. Can you believe that old man actually felt pity for me for having a rebel son! That’s what I look like now! He’s so grounded beyond his recuperating period.” Jaejoong huffed remembering the embarrassment when the hospital staff was pitying the single mother with a runaway son. She managed to school her features somehow and turned to Yunho, “to answer your question, I’m here because our conversation from the other day was left incomplete Yunho.”

“there was more?” Yunho looked at her incredulously, “Changmin has for all intents and purposes said he doesn’t want me as a father. If you’re here to add insult to injury, you can leave.”

“don’t get angry, and again, our 10 year old son isn’t making my decision.” Jaejoong challenged his glare with her own and Yunho found himself cowering a bit, “that day, I was actually considering to….to…” she wasn’t sure how to word it, “you did confess that time right?” Yunho nodded, “fine, I …..accept.”

“accept what?” the corner of Yunho’s lips was slightly quirked upwards and Jaejoong turned red at the innuendo.

“your confession?” she was really losing the sense of speech at the moment and Yunho wasn’t helping.

“why?” okay, now Jaejoong wasn’t expecting the conversation to go from teasing to curious.

“what do you mean ‘why’? I thought you wanted this. Or you’re over me and that’s why you were getting married?”

“no, that was a decision made out of pure defeat. I wasn’t thinking straight. Boa did the right thing by dumping me on the altar.”

“your parents worded it a little more better than that.”

“point is, that day you didn’t seem to be leaning towards us…..” now even he wasn’t sure of what they were supposedly doing, “well …you weren’t leaning towards ‘us’. Changmin only said it to my face.”

“I wasn’t going to just be all smiles and kisses and get back with you after what you did, was I? You had to at least know what I went through; otherwise it would be too easy. But Changmin had to give me a heart attack and I couldn’t tell you the whole thing.”

“So tell me now.”Yunho encouraged and the hopeful expression made Jaejoong coo at him (in her head). She came closer and interlaced her fingers in his.

“I’m taking Yoochun and Junsu’s advice. I want to be selfish instead of beating myself down every time. It’s not easy to forget the hurt,” Yunho squeezed her hand a bit that moment, “but it’s not easy to forget the love either. Despite everything, I still love you. In the beginning, I thought you didn’t think of me like that ever, but when you confessed….to actually hear those words from you, was like a dream come true. You're going to be making up for all of this for our entire lives Jung Yunho.” Jaejoong leaned closer to his face when she said that.

Yunho smiled at beautiful face within kissing distance, “so we’re going to be a couple?”

“we have a son Yunho. We have to get married. Plus you're not getting any younger. You’re past dating age.” She teased as she bumped their noses together.

“you're getting old too.” Yunho bumped her in retort.

“oh please, I don’t age. I can pass for 25.” She wrinkled her nose when Yunho scoffed at her answer.

“we get married and then….”

“raise our son while dating occasionally.”

“other people?” Yunho’s voice was almost like Junsu’s that moment.

“I meant each other. We skipped everything and directly had a kid. We have to develop our relationship.”

“so we have to be parents at one point of time, a married couple at another and a fledgling couple during the rest of the time? That’s a lot