I loved waking up in Jimin’s arms.

To me, there was nothing better than finding my head tucked against my husband’s chest. Especially when he wore my favorite, snuggliest hoodie to bed. I loved that hoodie. Whenever he wore it to bed, the next morning, while he was in the shower, I would fish it out of the laundry basket and slip it on for an extra fifteen minutes of snuggling in bed. Jimin would come in and laugh at me, but that was my favorite way to wake up.

It was Jimin’s birthday. Twenty-seven. Every birthday that passed for him still caused me to feel astounded at how young he was. He’d gotten married at twenty-two and had his first kid before he even turned twenty-three. And now Haru was about to be four and we’d just had a baby.

It still felt crazy to me.

Jimin’s soft little snuffling breaths stirred my hair. I burrowed closer to his warm body, wrapping my arms and legs around him like I didn’t want to let him go. I didn’t want to let him go. Three weeks felt like forever.

I supposed we were technically still fighting, but it was his birthday. And he’d come home last night, just for me. I didn’t expect him to stay, but maybe now that we’d had the conversation about compromise, we could actually compromise.

I just wanted to be included in his decisions. I wasn’t asking him to give up his career. I didn’t want him to give up his career.

I just wanted him to want me, too.

A soft kiss on my head drew me from my thoughts.

“Jimin? You awake?”

“Mmm.”

His sleepy hum tugged at my heart.

“Happy birthday, baby.”

“Thanks. Happy birthday.” Jimin yawned and squeezed me.

I stifled a laugh. “It’s not my birthday, sleepy head.”

“Shh.” He kissed my hair. “It can be your birthday if you want it to be.”

“I don’t. I want it to be your birthday.” I buried my nose in his sweatshirt and took a deep breath.

Jimin laughed and I felt it rumble in his chest. “Are you smelling me?”

“Yeah.” I continued with my sniffing, undeterred by his teasing laughter.

“Why?”

“You smell good.” I kissed his chest, then slipped a hand under his sweatshirt to his stomach. He giggled and scooched away, as he was rather ticklish. “I missed it.”

Jimin gently carded his fingers through my hair. “I missed you, too.”

“Pfft. Yeah, right. You were too busy hanging with all those Instagram hotties and Hwasa. And Jay Park, what the , Jimin? What the .”

“You’re not allowed to speak his name.” Jimin murmured into my hair. “Never again. You can’t even watch his music videos. No singing along to his songs in the car, or while you’re cleaning, or in the shower. No. More. Jay Park.”

“He doesn’t really wanna sleep with me, Jimin. That was just fan service.”

“Right.” Jimin agreed sarcastically. “That’s why he went through the pictures on my phone and sent himself all the ones of you in a bikini.”

I gasped. “He did not.”

“He did. You can look at my phone and see for yourself.” Jimin turned away from me to retrieve his phone from the nightstand. I scooted closer and wrapped my arms around his body, unwilling to create space between us. Jimin handed me his phone. “Check it out.”

He hummed to himself, playing with my hair as I went through his text messages. I saw a section labeled “Hwasa” and felt very tempted to glance through those, but resisted. Scrolling down, I eventually spotted the one labeled “Park JaeBum” and opened it with glee.

“Oh my god.” I whispered.

“See? I told you!” Jimin crowed triumphantly. “The man is hot for your bod.”

“Oh my god.” I repeated. “How many pictures of me in a bikini do you have on your phone? And, what, this is one of my in my gym outfit! Jimin, really? Me doing yoga? You had to take a picture of that?”

He giggled. Just giggled.

“No wonder I never achieve a calm state of mind.” I muttered. “Okay, so…how do I know that you didn’t just send these to Jay?”

“Why would I send pictures of my wife to another man?” Jimin smirked at me. “I don’t share you. I’m not into that.”

“How did he get them, then? You’re like glued to your phone.”

“Ah…” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I was…drunk? And missing you, so I showed him pictures. He took my phone away and sent them to himself. He’s a creep, baby. You can’t love him.”

I kissed his cheek; Jimin’s face felt warm against my lips.

“Good thing I only love you.” I whispered.

“Ooh, so cheesy for my birthday, hmm?” Jimin pulled me down on top of him and kissed me.

Sun Jae let out a soft cry.

“Ah, he’s up.” Jimin picked me up and set me down on the bed. I watched as he bent over the bassinette with the softest smile. Sun Jae’s little red mouth stretched wide in a yawn. Jimin nuzzled his nose against Sun Jae’s stomach and gently kissed his belly button.

The two of them settled down in bed next to me, Sun Jae resting in between me and Jimin.

“Good morning, sunshine.” Jimin whispered to Sun Jae. “Daddy missed you.”

He Sun Jae’s hair and kissed his forehead.

“Hey, this time last year Sun Jae got created.” I said, Sun Jae’s back with my finger. “Also, our little baby is three and a half months old already.”

“Mmm…” Jimin hummed. “My parents are going back to Busan soon. Have you thought anymore about what you want to do?”

“Like what? Hire a nanny? Or send him to daycare?”

“Or stay home.” Jimin suggest quietly, eyes flicking up to meet mine.

I paused, taking a moment to kiss Sun Jae’s back. He let out a tiny gurgle of a laugh.

“It’s tempting. Staying home would be nice, but…I really love my job, Jimin.”

“Well, I just wanted you to know that you can, if you want to. You don’t have to work. I definitely make enough for the whole family.” He rubbed my arm with a small smile.

“Well, thank you.” I murmured.

“So…what about a nanny?” Jimin asked. “Taehyung…he really does know some good ones. They’ve worked for chaebol families. One of them even worked for the heir of the Samsung corporation.”

“Hmm.”

“Something to think about.”

“Not sure if we can afford a nanny like that. We’re not millionaires.”

“We’re not poor, baby. We can definitely afford a high-class nanny to supplement our bougie lifestyle.” Jimin leaned in and rubbed his nose against mine.

“Taehyung didn’t ever get any of these girls pregnant, did he?”

Jimin flushed. “Baby, come on. I got you pregnant, so you shouldn’t look down your nose on other unplanned pregnancies.”

“Oh my god, did he? Did Taehyung get a girl pregnant?”

“No, he didn’t.” He hissed. “Just stop.”

“He did! Taehyung knocked up a nanny!” I cried.

Jimin rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Sun Jae. “TaeTae is not a dad. He wants to be, eventually, but he’s not a dad right now. That I know of.”

“MAMA!” Haru screamed from her room.

“Ooh, I’ll get her.” Jimin jumped up from the bed and winked at me. “Surprise her. She doesn’t know I’m home.”

I listened to him walk across the hallway and open Haru’s door.

“Haruuuu…” Jimin sang.

“DADDY!” Haru screeched.

A large thump and then gleeful laughter followed her excited exclamation.

Two minutes later, Jimin appeared in the doorway, Haru on his back.

“Mama, look! Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!”

Yukon trundled out from under the bed and hopped up next to me and Sun Jae, his white tail flicking back and forth.

I grinned. Everything was perfect and just the way it should be.

“Alright, so what’s on the agenda for today?” Jimin asked me over a breakfast of French toast and over-easy eggs. Homemade by me, thank you very much.

“I thought we could go out. In the morning, take the kids apple picking? Then we can drop them off at your parents’ for naptime and go out to lunch at that place you love, the seafood place. Maybe then we could go shopping. Your mom wants to cook you dinner and I thought that could be fun. What do you think? Is there anything you want to do?”

Jimin smiled at me from across the table. “That sounds perfect, baby.”

I beamed back at him. “Great.”

Jimin looked really adorable in his oversize, cozy black sweater. His blonde hair stuck out from beneath a black and red Supreme beanie. Haru almost matched him; they were both wearing black sweaters and classic Timberland boots, but she had on leggings, whereas he wore dark wash ripped jeans. Haru also wore her gift from Yoongi for her third birthday, the Haru Haru beanie. It was getting to be a little small on her, but it still fit.

I had taken so many pictures that even Jimin, the camera-obsessed, told me to stop. But they were so cute.

Sun Jae was tied to me; he was also wearing a beanie. This one was grey and a gift from Hoseok. It had a smiling little sun on it.

“Daddy, I want to get that one.” Haru pointed to the highest apple on the nearest tree. Jimin smiled ruefully and stood on his tiptoes to try and reach it.

“I can’t get it, lovebug. Do you want a different apple? What about this one?” He pointed to a slightly lower one. Personally, I thought it was still out of his reach.

Haru considered for a moment. “Okay.”

“Here you go. Put it in the basket, okay?” Jimin handed it to her and Haru gently placed it in the basket at my feet.

We took our time filling the basket. Jimin dutifully carried it, even as Haru tossed in more apples than we could ever eat.

“What are we gonna make with these?” Haru asked.

“Uhh…apple pie!” Jimin suggested.

“And apple tarts!” I grinned. Haru reached up and took my hand.

“Apple crisp. And apple ice cream.”

“You can make that?” I shot Jimin a curious glance.

He winked at me. “I can make anything, baby.”

“I wanna eat apple yogret.” Haru decided.

Jimin whistled. “Don’t know if I can make that, apple blossom.”

She pouted up at him and he a loose curl of hers. “But I can try, sweetheart.”

He looked up and caught me laughing at him. I shrugged my shoulders.

“What? She’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”

Haru giggled evilly next to me.

Haru and Sun Jae both cried when we dropped them off at their grandparents’. It was weird to be in the old apartment; weird to think that Sun Jae had never lived there. The least would be up in a couple of months. At the moment, we were paying half the rent for Jimin’s parents, plus our own. I had hoped they would stay until the lease ended, but Jimin mentioned that his grandmother’s health had started to fade.

We ate lunch at Jimin’s favorite seafood restaurant. He ordered the most expensive things on the menu and ate them all with relish.

I loved watching Jimin eat well. His cheeks puffed out and he had the cutest little grin on his face whenever he ate something especially delicious.

“Have some.” He passed me a bite of raw salmon. I traded him for a bite of my special sushi roll.

“Is it good?” I asked.

Jimin nodded vigorously. “Amazing.” He said with a full mouth.

His boots tapped my leather oxfords underneath the table. I smiled at him.

“Love you.” He whispered.

“Love you, too.” I whispered back.

Jimin wanted to go to a bookstore. I found this very hard to believe, but he took my hand, twined our fingers together, and gently led me down the street to my favorite bookstore. It was an old house that was filled up with books, next to a university. A lot of students went there, and with my babyface, I usually received the student discount. Jimin laughed at me for being twenty-nine and still mistaken for a college student, but I didn’t mind. Also, Jimin had the babyest babyface in the world, so he had no room to talk.

Actually, this was the bookstore than Jin and I often went to. Upstairs, amidst the classic literature section, there were a couple of cozy chairs and a cat that liked to curl up and look over my shoulder as I read.

This was there bookstore where Jin had apparently dreamed of kissing me. Jimin must have known that, but he took me here, anyway.

We strolled among the bookshelves, hand in hand, for about twenty minutes until I tugged on his hand and questioned him.

“Alright, so, what are we really doing here? Why did you wanna come here?”

Jimin pressed his hand against the bookshelf near my head and smirked down at me. “It’s a treat for me to see you so cute and happy amongst all these books.”

He bent his head and kissed me. I blushed a fiery red, but he just laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist to pull me closer.

“Jimin! We’re in public.” I hissed.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a deserted section of the store, behind a cluster of bookshelves. “No one can see us here.”

I mumbled something under my breath, but Jimin ignored me and placed his mouth on mine, smiling into the kiss.

A young guy turned the corner and spotted us; I shoved Jimin away from me, but he merely smirked in a supremely smug way. The guy smirked back at him before leaving. When Jimin stepped closer to kiss me again, I held up my hands.

“No way, mister. Getting caught kissing once in my favorite bookstore is enough for me today.”

Jimin pouted, but I pushed past him and pretended to examine the bookshelves. He came up behind me and braced his arms against the shelves, kissing down my neck.

“I wanna buy a book, baby.” He breathed, sending shivers down my spine. “That Agatha Christie book you like so much. And Then There Were None.”

“It’s…uh, it’s in the mystery section.” I turned around to face him. He quickly stole a kiss, then took my hand and we went off in search of the book.

We took a break at our apartment before going over to his parents’ for dinner. The two of us sat curled up together in the window seat, a homemade blanket thrown over our legs. Jimin wore his black framed glasses, his hair messy from when he took off the beanie. To me, not many things were ier than the sight of Jimin in his glasses, reading a book. I kept getting distracted from my own book to sneak glances at him.

“If you keep giving me bedroom eyes, I’m going to have to carry you off into the bedroom.” He said in a low voice, turning a page. “But this book is quite good, so I’d appreciate it if you would wait a little longer.”

I flushed and buried my face in my book. Jimin threw his legs over mine, a small smile playing about his lips as he continued to read.

I kept glancing at him; I couldn’t help myself. The small smile remained on his face until finally he chucked his book on the floor and scooped me up into his arms. I shrieked and clung to him, then started giggling madly.

“Jimin! How can you throw your book? You’re going to bend the corners!”

“I’m gonna bend your corners, baby.” He muttered.

“What does that even mean?” I laughed. “You’re so weird.”

Jimin tossed me onto the bed and climbed on top of me, nosing at my jaw and cheek, sprinkling kisses. I curled my fingers in his hair and guided his face towards me for a kiss.

“You want another baby?” Jimin murmured in between kisses. “Sun Jae and the next baby could be Irish twins.”

“That’s rude to Irish people.” I let my head fall back against the mattress and idly traced his eyebrows with my thumb. “And no, I don’t want another baby.”

“Ah, well.” He shrugged out of his sweater. “I gave it a try.”

Jimin traced his finger along my nose as we lay curled up in the sheets.

“You’re so pretty.” He whispered, plump lips pursed in concentration as he studied my face. “I forgot how pretty you are.”

“You forgot my face in just three weeks?” I gasped, mock-offended.

“No, you just always look so,” Jimin paused and pinched the skin between my eyebrows, “so frowny and sad.”

I didn’t say anything. Jimin’s lips tugged down in a pout.

“I’m sorry.” He kissed my nose. “I’m really sorry.”

“’S okay.” I kissed his pouty mouth. “I just…just ask, okay? Let’s just talk about it, even if we fight. I just wanna be included.”

“Okay.”

Jimin sighed and wrapped his arms and legs around me, hugging me like a koala. I didn’t mind, not even a little bit.

“I’m glad you’re home.” I breathed, my head tucked in the crook of his neck. “I missed you.”

“I’m glad I’m home, too.” Jimin said quietly, softly my hair. “I don’t think I’ve ever spent a birthday apart from you since I met you.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Even when you broke up with me.”

“Ugh, Jimin, let it go.”

“Broke my heart into smithereens.” He continued in a sorrowful, melodramatic voice. “After I got you a puppy for your birthday, the cutest ing puppy you ever saw, you didn’t even get me a birthday present. No, wait, you did. A broken heart.”

I smacked his chest and he burst into giggles.

“Jimin!”

He rolled over on top of me and peppered my face with kisses. I bit my lower lip in an attempt to hide my smile, but he tickled my sides and made me scream with laughter.

“Jimin, stop! I can’t ing breathe, you .” I wheezed.

“You have to tell me you’re sorry for ing up my twenty-first birthday!” He commanded, fingers digging into my armpits, my second most ticklish spot.

“I’m sorry! Ah! Stop! I said I was sorry!” I glared up at him in between breathless bouts of laughter.

“You have to mean it.” Jimin frowned down at me.

“I-I mean it.” I gasped. “Please, I mean it.”

“Now you have to beg for forgiveness.” He grinned.

“I’m not…oh my god, stop.” I tried to wrestle with him, but he easily caught my wrists and pinned my arms above my head.

“Beg for forgiveness.” Jimin cooed. “And I’ll let you go.”

I stared stubbornly at him, my mouth pressed into a thin line.

Jimin tsked and shook his head at me. “So proud, stubborn sunshine. Just say, ‘Jiminie, please forgive me,’ and I’ll forgive you.”

“Over my dead body.” I vowed. Jimin crooked his fingers and slowly inched them towards my hips, my most ticklish spot. “Okay! Please forgive me!”

“You forgot the ‘Jiminie.’” He smiled broadly at me.

“ you.” I hissed. Jimin lightly brushed his fingers over my bare skin and I shrieked.

“Say it.”

“No.”

“Saaaaaay it.”

“No!”

“Please?” Jimin pouted and batted his eyelashes at me. His face was centimeters from mine; I could feel his warm breath on my face.

I tilted forward and kissed him. He broke away, not to be distracted.

“Ah, baby, that’s not gonna work anymore.” He cocked his head at me. “You have to beg and I’ll let you go.”

I sighed and surrendered myself to my fate. “Jiminie…pl-please forgive me?”

Jimin pulled his phone out of nowhere and took a picture of me. “Damn, your face is so red. You look so contrite, it’s hilarious. I’m going to save this for blackmail.”

I kneed him in the stomach.

Haru sat on Jimin’s lap while we sang “Happy Birthday.” Her eyes were blown wide, the glow of the candles reflected in them. She clapped excitedly and sang off-key, lisping the word “birthday.” Jimin kissed her head fondly, grinning at me every so often.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jimin, happy birthday to you.”

“Blow out your candles, Daddy!” Haru shoved his face forward, almost careening him into the cake.

“Ah, okay.” Jimin loosened her grasp and adjusted her in his lap. “Do you wanna help me, cupcake?”

“Yeah, yeah!”

I snapped a picture of the two of them as they closed their eyes and made wishes. They looked almost exactly alike.

My heart squeezed with love and affection for my little family as the last candle flickered out. Jimin kissed his mother’s cheek as she leaned over to cut the cake. His father cradled Sun Jae in his arms, smiling fondly at his own son.

I had often wished that my family had been as well-adjusted and outwardly affectionate as Jimin’s. We loved each other, but I had ached for the kind of warm hugs that Jimin’s mom often gave me.

I wanted my children to be brought up with that kind of overflowing love, but I wasn’t sure I could give it to them without Jimin. I knew that a part of me was being melodramatic; at least my husband loved me. He wasn’t an alcoholic, chronically unemployed, or abusive. He didn’t really neglect me, always made time for kisses and hugs when he was around.

Jimin was a bright presence in our lives, casting sunshine and smiles wherever he went.

I didn’t want him glued to my side like an unwilling prisoner.

I wanted him to want to be with us, not because I made him feel so guilty that he booked a flight home or skipped a concert for me.

Right then, in the sugary explosion of birthday cake and love, I felt relaxed and happy. At home and at peace.

Jimin reached across the table and laced our fingers together, a smear of icing on his cheek from Haru’s playful antics.

“Happy birthday, my love.” I leaned in and kissed him, slow and sweet. His mother laughed in the background and Jimin’s father hummed amusedly.

Jimin smiled into the kiss.

I heard the sound of a camera shutter clicking and closed my eyes, making a wish.