“Daddy, no!” Jooyeon called out with loud giggles. “You’re going to burn the cupcakes!” She exclaimed while her father stood in front of the oven, finger hovering the buttons to control the heat. Flour was everywhere on him and his daughter – their cheeks, their nose, their hair and their sleeves. Nami stood from afar, laughing as she found the moment rather amusing. Since their first date, she updated Jisoo about everything and anything that went on. Her best friend knew from the start that the date was going to be it – the kicker to a blooming relationship after all the hidden flirtations and subtle signs of liking one another. Jisoo even teased the brunette about liking Junmyeon she either denied or exclaimed she didn’t know whenever Jisoo asked.

Apparently, they’ve become everyone’s new favorite couple because Nami was looked at as the mother figure that Jooyeon never had and her dad is a lot happier since her mom. It’s crazy how much time has passed, and Junmyeon even kept his end of the deal to let Jooyeon go on dates with us – either at home or to the movies or restaurant.

“Auntie, tell daddy to get away from the oven! He’s going to ruin it!” The little girl hollered, carefully climbing off her chair to make way to the brunette standing by the doorway. Junmyeon’s eyes widened as he stared in amusement at his daughter. “Go away,” Nami uttered with a mere laugh, motioning her hands as she shooed her father away per her request. “Maybe you should just stick to cooking,” she teased while Junmyeon rolled his eyes. “I’m not that terrible of a baker.” He exaggerated while she stood next to him, his daughter now back on her chair as she mixed away at the frosting. “Are you sure about that?” She challenged him, eyeing him with challenging eyes. He returned the look while refused to back down. “Definitely sure.”

“Daddy, stop it,” Jooyeon giggled, “you’re terrible at baking.” She said, allowing Nami’s eyes to widen with an amused expression. “The critic as spoken,” she said while poking his arm gently before moving to wipe away the excess flour on his cheek and nose. The male huffed as he scowled. “Children really have no filter,” he uttered with another huff as he moved to stand on the other side of his kitchen island, watching his two favorite girls make the frosting as they waited on the cupcakes to finish. It was a sight he never thought he’d get to witness. His daughter has grown so attached to Nami, it frightened him what would happen if they were no longer together. Would she ask where Nami went? Would she understand? But he suddenly pulled himself back – he was thinking too far ahead when he should be thinking about the present. The one where he gets to witness his daughter and his girlfriend laugh while frosting gently splattered on them due to the handling of his daughter mixing and the aroma of the cupcakes in the background as they baked slowly. Again, he was never going to get used to this.

“Can we give some cupcakes to Auntie Ji?” The little girl questioned while Nami tilted her head with a smile. “I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she replied, “Auntie Ji’s been really sad lately, so maybe we can cheer her up with some cupcakes, right?” The little girl nodded her head swiftly while the brunette smiled, steadying the bowl as the five-year-old mixed away the clumps in their frosting. Junmyeon lifted his elbows off the island as he tilted his head in curiosity: “Is she alright?” He asked quietly, approaching the brunette to where he stood behind her. She hummed as her lips formed a pout. “As far as I know, Sehun’s ruined it.” Junmyeon raised his brows while looking to his girlfriend – a word he’ll probably not get over. She shrugged her shoulders. “Sehun knows he’s not ready for another relationship and he jumped at it. Now, I think she’s afraid he’ll hurt her.” The doctor nodded his head while he glanced to his daughter and Nami. “Well, do you and Joo want to go spend some time with her? Keep her company?” He questioned allowing the brunette to turn her head with curious eyes. “But it’s date night, are you not going to be upset?” She retorted while glancing at him. But he only held a smile. He knew that her friendships with the people in her circle meant the world to her as it did him because – well, they welcomed him into the circle. “She’s your best friend and she needs you.” He uttered, “Besides, we can have date night whenever – we’ll just raincheck this one.”

Now he’s got Nami thinking. What did she ever do in her past life to deserve someone so understanding? Sure, they haven’t been dating too long, but he was there. Always there. Whenever something wasn’t going right, he always found a solution or the right words. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have met someone who was both kindhearted and intelligent – well, considerate, understanding, loving – you know what I mean. Sometimes she wondered if she really deserved him and Jooyeon in her life. It felt too easy – the way they came into her life.

“I don’t deserve you,” she mindlessly utters with a smile on her lips and Junmyeon chuckled. “I don’t deserve you,” he retorted, leaving them to laugh. “But seriously, we can raincheck,” he said while reaching over to wipe the frosting off his daughter’s cheek as the mixer touched her cheek in the process of setting it down on the island countertop. “Let’s raincheck tomorrow,” she suggested, taking a look at the digital clock on the stove. “By the time we finish these, it’ll be late. I’ll just text her to let her know about tomorrow,” she said, and Junmyeon simply nodded. He’ll go with whatever she wanted to do – if it makes her happy and his daughter.

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