Chapter 3

Mama Suho

When his alarm rung on Saturday, Joonmyeon would not admit it, but he was slightly annoyed.

The previous night, he had to stay in well past working hours, helping his boss with an impromptu meeting for this morning. Sometimes, he really hated that their communications spokesperson was such an airhead at work; then again, he understood the other was just constantly worrying over his pregnant mate, so he could only sympathize at the moment. But of course, as soon as Minseok popped and was well, he’d make sure to keep Jongdae diligent at work.

Joonmyeon blinked his eyes open slowly, failing at the job for some time before a yawn escaped his lips and he wanted to groan out of exhaustion; he had made it home at such an ungodly hour the previous night. But finally coming to the realization that it was Saturday—because yes, he had not realized it earlier—he couldn’t help but let his mood lift up immediately. Saturdays meant getting to wake up his little angel, they meant work until lunch, they meant his daughter being dropped off at work to have lunch together, they meant an afternoon filled with laughter and pouts, hugs and kisses; and lastly, they meant the start of a weekend in which he could have his daughter for himself.

Joonmyeon was not a selfish person, though he could admit that he envied his parents slightly. They were great parents, that was the reason why he trusted them with his baby girl, but not being able to see his daughter much during the week until he could go pick her up next door Friday nights and return her Sunday nights, it was something that hurt his heart.

He understood that he had had his baby young, and abortion before birth, because he was too young, was oftentimes what everyone had advised; doctors, old acquaintances, even his parents mentioned it once. But he understood that they meant young as in, too young to be a single parent. And even now, of perfect age to be able to raise his daughter, his work and personal life clashed, though he could blame no one but himself for that.

Many times had his boss offered to let him arrange his working schedule so he could have enough time to stabilize the situation at home and be able to arrange living with his daughter, but he could not let his boss pity him in such manner. Sure, the offer had sounded appealing, it does every time it is mentioned, but he was not about to make himself a special case in the office just because he was close to the boss. That was unprofessional and unethical.

So, with a rather enthusiastic mood, Joonmyeon got up and instantly set to get ready. He showered, dressed, brushed his teeth, and all else before walking out of his room to the one on the other side of the hall. The man opened his door slightly and peeked his head in, smiling softly at the small figure under the covers in the bed. He walked over and sat down on the side of the bed before beginning to softly brush through the little girl’s messy bangs.

He leaned in and kissed the girl’s forehead, “Angel… baby, wake up…” he murmured, his hand now caressing her cheek. The little girl pouted slightly after a few seconds and Joonmyeon chuckled; his daughter was not fond of waking up early.

“C’mon baby, you need to get ready. I’ll go make some breakfast while you shower, hm?”

“Eomma…” the little girl replied with, her voice a bit groggy, and she cutely rubbed her fists on her eyes.

“Yes, baby?”

“Can you make waffles for breakfast?” the little girl asked, removing her hands from her eyes and revealing her set of sleepy, gray eyes. It was a beautiful trait she had gotten from her father, and he always thought it was a very precious gift his late husband had decided to grant him; Joonmyeon had always loved his eyes.

“Of course, Angel,” He replied with a soft smile, kissing his little girl’s forehead before sitting up and helping remove the covers of the bed from his girl’s lithe body, “Go on, hop in the shower, otherwise I might eat all the waffles.” He teased.

The little girl’s eyes widened and she pouted, “Eomma!”

“Well, hurry then!” He grinned as he watched his little girl hop off the bed and hurry to her desk to take the clothes laid there for her before scurrying off to the bathroom.

---

“I’m guessing you had fun yesterday with your hyung.” Jongin said, giving his friend a side glance suspiciously as he took a sip from his bubble tea.

Sehun shrugged, “Well, it was fun to catch up, but he was tired from the trip so he went to bed kind of early.”

Jongin nodded and stayed quiet for a few seconds, side glancing at his friend again before looking towards the front. He was almost done with his drink, he noted, squeezing the sealed plastic cup.

“Is there something you want to ask?” Oh, so Sehun had caught on. Then again, Sehun probably already knew what he wanted to know, so he was now annoyed at the fact that Sehun was making it obvious he was not about to start off with the topic.

“There is,” he said, placing his free hand in his pocket after passing it through his hair, “And you already know what.”

Sehun rolled his eyes and shrugged, “No, I haven’t told hyung.”

Jongin sighed at that, he could not help it.

“Look, you told Kyungsoo-hyung quite early, and to this day, he thinks you were lying. I am not about to ruin everything with Luhan-hyung because of his approaching season.”

“Sehun, it hurts us too, you know that. Think about it carefully though, I think you’re close enough to Luhan-hyung to talk to him about it.”

“I can’t Jongin. I can’t even talk about it with my own hyung. How am I supposed to even bring about such a topic?”

“Well, Donghae-hyung is already mated; I don’t see why you can’t simply ask him for advice.”

“I can’t let hyung know his little brother is a coward. Really, what alpha is afraid of this, even?”

“You, obviously.” Jongin spouted, throwing his empty plastic cup in a trashcan as they passed by.

“Which is why I can’t tell him, !” Sehun replied dryly, rolling his eyes as he walked into their work building.

Jongin sighed and shook his head, following after the younger, “Whatever, but you’re the one in most danger. Luhan hyung is already in his mid-twenties, y’know.”

Sehun shrugged and they both made their way to the elevator and up to their floor. Once there, Sehun and Jongin walked over to where Jongin settled in for work, and soon after, they were joined by an enthusiastic Chanyeol.

---

Joonmyeon waited until his boss had returned from the meeting to go talk to the other. Taking the tray with coffee from the counter, he walked over to Minseok and gave him a mug with dark coffee, receiving a smile and a soft ‘thank you’ from the pregnant male. He then walked over to Jongdae, giving the man his creamed coffee and reminding him he should be working, not stalking his mate while the latter was busy working. This earned a small, playful chuckle and a ‘thanks Suho!’ from the man.

Joonmyeon sighed and shook his head before walking over and knocking on his boss’s door, and after hearing the low ‘come in’ from the other side, he turned the knob with his free hand and walked right in, shutting the door gently behind him.

“We need to talk.” He said, approaching his boss’s desk and setting the caramel sweetened coffee in front of the man on his desk.

The blonde man looked up from the papers he had in his hands and set them down as he noticed Joonmyeon’s expression. He took off his glasses and placed them down too before sitting up comfortably, “Take a sit then, no need to be standing while conversing with me.”

Joonmyeon complied and sighed.

“What is it, Joonmyeon?”

“What did you do yesterday during lunch?”

The blonde raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the question, “Is that any of your business?”

“Kris, what did you do yesterday lunch?” Joonmyeon asked again, his face void of any emotion. Which was rare, because he was Joonmyeon, and well… he was Joonmyeon?

“I went out with Chaerin for lunch, is there a problem with that?”

“As a matter of fact, there is. But I’ll only say one thing; stay away from Panda from now on.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“From Tao. Stay away from TaoTao.”

“I have to ask yet once again, is that any of your business Joonmyeon? Whether I hang out with Tao or not?”

When Joonmyeon stayed quiet, giving him just a judging look, Yifan raised an eyebrow.

“Unless you tell me that you happen to be a rare pair, and turns out you have another mate which is Tao, then I suggest you do not dictate who I choose to be around, and who Tao chooses to hang around with. I also think you should be more careful with your words, you never know what beta or alpha might be listening in to our conversation.”

Joonmyeon’s eyes twitched in annoyance, “I doubt you should worry so much over Tao when you have your girlfriend taking up all of your time. And if I get in trouble for trying to care for my friend simply because I argued with an alpha, I’ll take care of that myself so don’t worry too much.”

Yifan watched Joonmyeon then scoffed, “That is what this is about then? My lunch date with Chaerin yesterday?” he asked, shaking his head incredulously as he noticed the omega flinch. So a threat would not make him uncomfortable, but his tough act would begin to crumble once Yifan had the upper hand. It was slightly… unsettling for the alpha, to say the least.

“And so what if it is? Not like you care about that anyways. It’s not like you actually care about him. You cancelled lunch with him last minute just because your pretty girlfriend decided she had time for you. What a great friend you are!”

“Don’t you dare question my loyalty to Tao, Kim Joonmyeon.”

“Think about that next time you disappoint him, again, Wu Yifan.” And with that, the small omega stood up and walked out of the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

Yifan sighed in irritation and passed a hand through his perfectly styled hair out of frustration, messing it up in the process. He had not even noticed a new presence in the room until he heard a deep and annoying chuckle.

“What got Mama Suho’s in a twist?” Chanyeol asked.

Yifan shrugged, narrowing his eyes as the photographer comfortably settled down on one of the chairs in front of his desk, in a very impolite manner really.

“You were going to tell me something?” The big eared alpha asked, raising his eyebrows at Yifan who had yet to utter a word.

“I need you to prepare for the meeting on Monday. Orders from the CEO.”

Chanyeol sighed, “And what exactly will I do in that meeting? As far as I know, you’re just meeting with some shares-holders and talk about investments, and the increase and decrease rates.”

“You’re going just as head photographer of the main site. The order was sent to get you acquainted.”

Chanyeol stayed quiet, pondering over a few things before pouting, “Do I have to wear a suit and everything?”

Yifan nodded, “Suit and everything.”

---

“Hello?”

“Joonmyeon-ssi!?”

Joonmyeon blinked a few times, surprised by the urgent tone of voice of the woman on the phone, “Yes, Yoona-ssi? I’m set to go, is something the matter? Do you need me to go to you instead?”

“No! No! I um... I’m at the reception desk of the building I just… Joomyeon-ssi, I just- I’m sorry!! I didn’t—I was-”

Joonmyeon blinked a few times, trying to decipher why his daughter’s music instructor and part time sitter would be panicking so much, “Yoona-ssi, did something matter? I’ll go to the reception desk right now.”

“Joonmyeon-ssi!” The woman cried, “I lost Young-ah while telling the lady at the reception desk that I was here to drop the little girl off with you!!”

Unbeta-ed

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