Jongin woke the the warm sensation of a compact alpha he adored snuggled up to him. Just not the one he was intending to have plastered against his side that morning.

He slowly opened his eyes to see Soojin her thumb and wiping her snotty nose on his arm in her sleep. The stuffed bunny he brought back from his last trip to London Fashion Week was tucked under her arm. Soojin had quite the collection of stuffed animals from the world's fashion capitals. The bunny's name was Fred, and he was an omega. Why? Jongin had no more clue than why Jinki, her giraffe, was a female beta or why the identical bears, Yuri and Juri, were male and female alphas.

It boggled the mind. Stuffed animals had no characteristics or size difference or scent. Kyungsoo said he put too much thought into the how, and why, a five year old gendered her stuffed animals. As always, Kyungsoo was probably right, but that didn't mean Jongin stopped wondering.

Jongin shifted onto his elbow and brushed a few strands of black hair away from Soojin's face. She was still flush, but when he pressed his fingers to her forehead, she felt cooler than yesterday.

The night had been long and awful.

Soon as they got home, Soojin started dry heaving and sobbing inconsolably about her clothes being messy. Kyungsoo cleaned up and Jongin gave her a bath, promising he would take her shopping for new clothes when she was better. After, Kyungsoo had to run out to the store for medicine, because what they had wasn't good for some reason or other. Jongin tuned out the explanation after he snapped about how someone was supposed to be a doctor. He didn't feel good about that crack, but Soojin had been in his arms sniffling about how her head hurt really, really bad, and his child in pain agitated him. If anyone could be sympathetic to that mental state, it was Kyungsoo.

Then, once Soojin was medicated and ready to attempt sleep, Kyungsoo admitted he told her she could sleep in their bed. Jongin's first reaction was to be upset. He knew they weren't getting back in the mood with an ill child to care for, but he would have liked to at least hold his mate. His second reaction was to feel relieved, because he remembered when he started modeling and one of the guys he roomed with got blackout drunk and nearly choked in his sleep.

He poked Soojin on the nose to quiet her snoring. She crinkled it and rolled away from him to wipe snot on her other parent's sleeve.

Kyungsoo was incredibly handsome every moment of the day, but he was beautiful when he slept. His plush lips parted slightly and long, dark lashes fell against his cheeks. He looked younger, like when he was still in his residency and Jongin caught him taking a cat nap. Jongin wanted to kiss him awake like some kind of sleeping princess.

Jongin crinkled his nose, fully aware from which parent Soojin picked up that particular mannerism.

He slowly slipped off the bed and out from under the covers without waking his mate or their daughter. He grabbed a tank top and sweatpants left on the bathroom floor from yesterday so he didn't have to turn on the lights looking for something clean to wear. From here to the building's gym, no one was going to get a picture of him. He ran a hand through his hair. And, if someone did, he made dirty gym clothes look fantastic.

He didn't run into anyone on his way down, which was good. Jongin didn't think he could muster Kai's flirtatious charm with how frustrated he felt. He managed to get all the way to the gym door before bumping into his downstairs neighbor as she came out, he flashed a smile as he grabbed the door, extending his arm for her to pass.

Sooyoung smiled and then glanced over her shoulder, leaning in to whisper to him. "He's in there," she said as a warning.

"Thanks," Jongin said, knowing who he was and not feeling the least concerned about it.

The only person in the gym, with the spectacular view of Seoul, was a lanky young alpha with bleached platinum hair and tattoos all over his arms and on the side of his neck. Sehun Oh. He was a favorite topic of speculation among the neighbors. Curiosity on how he could afford to live in such an expensive building when he did not come from money and did not seem to have a rich lover or a high paying job. The favorite rumor was he was involved in organized crime. This was perpetuated not only by his tattoos, but by his frequently strutting through the lobby with a black eye or a split lip or scratches on his neck, and a general attitude that whoever he had been fighting came out much, much worse.

Jongin was used to being the focal point of circling rumors - it was wonderful and horrible in equal measure. He tried not to make assumptions about others. He got along with Sehun fine, even gone out for drinks with him a couple times. Kyungsoo didn't have an issue with the alpha and he was nice when he saw Soojin in the hall, and that was all Jongin needed to know. Maybe Sehun was the leader of some criminal organization, maybe he wasn't.

"Morning, Sehun," Jongin called as he headed toward the treadmills.

It was a cardio day. He wanted it to be a weightlifting day so he could feel that special burn in his muscles that calmed him best, but his trainer would kill him for not going in sequence. He tried to stay on Chansung's good side.

Sehun glanced up from the weights he was crouching over. He looked around the open concept gym and smirked. "My existence scare everyone off again?"

"I'm here," Jongin said.

"You got no sense," Sehun said, standing up and moving to sit on a bench.

The other alpha looked more exhausted than normal, circles under his eyes dark enough makeup wouldn't conceal them. Jongin kept suggesting a skin care regiment to him. He wished Sehun would at least use moisturizer. Sehun had a model face and a body type that made clothes look good. Not to mention he exuded that alpha bad boy confidence and disregard that was hot this season. Minus his tattoos, he was exactly what Jongin's agency looked for, but Sehun shot him down whenever he made the offer.

"You look pissed," Sehun said.

"I'm never pissed," Jongin said, forcing a laugh as he glanced at himself in the mirrors. He hadn't realized his feelings were showing.

"Right. Your alpha stand you up again?"

Your alpha. Jongin tamped down on his irritation. People always assumed one of them had to be more dominant. When they were dating, everyone assumed it was him. After he got pregnant with Soojin, everyone assumed it was Kyungsoo. "No. My mate did not stand me up." Not exactly, at least. "Our daughter's sick."

Sehun grimaced. "Sorry. Wait, isn't she an alpha?"

Jongin did some neck stretches. "She's at an age where alphas get sick. Her immune system is still developing. I bet you got sick at her age, too."

"I never get sick."

"Uh huh," Jongin said as he started the treadmill and cranked up the incline.

Sehun went back to selecting weights and Jongin put in earbuds to pretend he was listening to music. He picked up the pace and secretly was glad no one else was in the gym, because he couldn't control a frown as his brain started to run in circles a little faster than his body.

He wanted time alone with Kyungsoo. He needed it.

Of course he didn't blame Soojin for getting sick. His baby couldn't help she was at that age, and, if she was going to be sick, of course he wanted her home with him and Kyungsoo. His own parents had loved him, but they were always busy. His alpha-mother had a business to run, and she was the sort who needed to have her handsome omega mate at her side instead of him taking care of their child. Kyungsoo was incredibly lucky to have a birth-parent like Mihi.

Jongin started running harder.

He planned last night for over a month.

It hadn't been easy finding two days Kyungsoo both wasn't on-call and was willing to take off that matched days Jongin wasn't doing interviews or supposed to be traveling; he just landed the contract to be the face of Jessica Jung's fall collection. But somehow he managed to find the days, and he sweet talked Mihi and Eunjung to postpone a trip to see Eunjung's sister so they could take care of Soojin.

Everything was planned. From what restaurant he ordered dinner to how he'd charm Kyungsoo into taking his knot to how he was going to reaffirm how much he loved and adored his mate and their life together to the words he wanted to use when he made his selfish request. Now, all that effort and planning was wasted.

Jongin slapped a hand down on the treadmill controls to go faster and ignored the mild look of concern Sehun flashed his direction.