Wheein’s POV

Even from the inside of the garage, I could already hear the commotion, which I think comes from our kitchen. This made me wonder what they are up to again. I’m expecting a mess, which always happens if you have a two-year-old toddler inside the house.

Yongsun has even given up on trying to make things organize and keeping the house clean. We were able to achieve that when Yongjae was just a tiny little human once. But when he became a tiny little human with a neck bone and strength in his feet and arms, it was a disaster.

Toys everywhere. Toys literally everywhere.

Yongsun could only sigh while I could only offer her a gentle pat and an apologetic smile. At least the little guy has learned to clean after himself.

Even with all the mess I think is very present in our house, I know, just by their cheerful voices, I know they’re having fun. And this is something I never want to miss so I finished work as fast as I could to immediately come home.

Yongkeey, who noticed my arrival first, came running from our backyard and greeted me inside the garage. Her loud barks entered the inside of my car, making me smile. From the driver seat, I could see her wagging her tail vigorously before she started jumping and tapping her paws on the window, urging me to get out of the car.

“Okay… okay…” I whispered with a light chuckle. “I’m getting out, Yongkeey”

I shut the engine off and grabbed my keys. I undid my seatbelt while looking and laughing at an excited Yongkeey. By the time I pushed the door open, she attacked me with kisses before I could even step out of my car. Her front paws had me pinned down on my seat while she pushed her face to mine.

I let go an unintentional squeal and held Yongkeey while dodging her sloppy kisses. “Yah! Yongkeey… Stop it. I get it already. You missed me!”

She responded with a loud bark that could make anyone go deaf.

I gently pushed her out of the car as I moved out and shut the door behind me. I wiped my face while Yongkeey looked like she earned rubber legs with the way she bounced all around me. We headed to the connected garage and kitchen door with Yongkeey still bouncing around me and me laughing at her.

“How are they?”

Yongkeey barked a couple of times as a response.

I have no idea what she meant but from her state, she just indirectly told me that everything’s fine. I patted her head while still laughing at her and whispered praises and thank yous to our baby.

The noise coming from the kitchen that I heard from the garage had become louder when I opened the door. It’s this whirring sound from the stand mixer that Yongsun uses when she’s baking. It’s kind of loud but hers and Yongjae’s voices could still be heard over it. And the sight that welcomed me when I entered the kitchen was both shocking and entertaining.

Yongsun was behind the kitchen counter with Yongjae sitting on top of the counter. They both had aprons on but still managed to get themselves dirty beyond their aprons. Yongsun had her hair tied in a bun while Yongjae had a chef hat on. They were crowding around the stand mixer, gazes focused on whatever they were mixing.

They both looked so cute. I couldn’t help but coo at the sight. I hurriedly grabbed my phone and took a picture of them. I lingered by the door and remained quietly watching them.

Yongsun turned the mixer off and Yongjae, still a curious little guy, tried to reach a finger inside the bowl but Yongsun stopped him.

“Taste, Mommy”

Yongsun kissed Yongjae’s hand and smiled gently at him. “You still have to pour the remaining sugar. Then you can taste it later, okay?”

“Okay…”

Yongsun let go of Yongjae’s hand to pull up the stand mixer. Yongjae raised the bowl of powdered sugar and dumped it inside the bowl, creating a thick puff of cloud. Yongsun waved off the cloud. Yongjae followed her.

What they didn’t notice yet is that some of the powdered sugar landed on their hair, faces, fronts, and arms. Yongsun’s black hair has turned a little grayish. Yongjae, who was closest to the explosion, got a thin layer of powdered sugar on his face.

I intended to continue watching them quietly but it was too cute for me to stay silent. I giggled while watching them struggle to diffuse the cloud of powdered sugar.

They both turned their heads towards my direction when they heard me laughing.

Yongsun’s eyes widened while Yongjae smiled and waved at me.

“Why are you early?” Yongsun asked, still in a state of disbelief.

“Mommy Whee!” Yongjae motioned for me to come over. “Mommy and Jae make cake for Mom—”

I raised my eyebrows at Yongsun when she stopped Yongjae from talking.

Yongsun leaned closer to Yongjae and whispered something to him.

“What?” I moved from where I was standing near the door to the kitchen counter. “You are making a cake for who? Why are you keeping it a secret from me?”

Yongsun sighed defeatedly and brought her hand down from covering Yongjae’s mouth. “Go ahead. You can tell Mommy Whee, baby”

“Shh… Mommy.” Yongjae shook his head and not so quietly whispered, “Secret, Mommy. Jae no tell”

I leaned over the counter to smoosh my lips on Yongjae’s cheek and kissed him there plenty of times. “Your Mommy said you can already tell it to me, Yongjae. What is it?”

“Mommy mad. No Mommy mad” Yongjae told me.

Yongsun softly pinched his cheek while laughing at him. “It’s alright, Yongjae. I won’t get mad. Mommy Whee already saw us”

I raised an eyebrow at Yongsun while she only shrugged at me. I turned to Yongjae and said, “You heard your Mommy. Go on, Yongjae…”

“Mommy and Jae make cake for Mommy Whee” he proudly said as he clapped his hands, making me and his Mommy smile at him.

I glanced at both of them, eyebrows scrunching from curiosity. “What for?”

She shook her head in disbelief while reaching a hand to pinch my cheek. “Birthday. It’s your birthday tomorrow, silly. Have you forgotten it, love?”

“Oh!”

“Oh!” Yongjae copied me.

I laughed at his cheeky smile and hugged him close to me. I kissed his cheek again before smiling brightly at all the mess in the kitchen. “So this is all for me then? I want to join you two!”

“Nuh-uh. Nope”

Yongjae shook his head and said, “Nope”

“You’re not supposed to be here in the first place. You said you’d come home by dinner time and time check, love, it’s way before dinner time. You ruined our surprise. Now, you can’t join us”

I frowned at Yongsun before I pouted at Yongjae. “Let Mommy Whee join you, baby.” I snuggled my nose against his ear, tickling him. “I want to join too”

Yongjae pushed me away from him while giggling at my tickles. “No… Mommy said no. Mommy mad no”

“You heard the little guy. Go change. You can come down to watch us”

“Hmph…” I pouted the two of them, appealing.

The pout seemed to work on Yongjae. He looked at his Mommy and pouted at her as well while blinking his eyes adorably, begging with me. My wife has the kindest heart but she can be cold sometimes. Especially right now when she easily dismissed our adorable attempts to convince her otherwise.

I continued pouting as I went around the counter to get to my wife. I leaned forward to kiss her and mumbled, “I want to join you two…”

Yongsun wiped my cheek off of powdered sugar I got from smooshing my face with Yongjae’s. “Join us next time”

“Fine… ” I sighed and headed upstairs to change. “But we’re eating that cake tonight. I’m not accepting nos! It’s my birthday! We get to do as I wished!” I made sure to let them hear my complaints and my loud stomping as I headed to the bedroom.

“Okay! Stop sulking already” Yongsun replied with a chuckle.

“Okay!” Yongjae followed, effectively wiping off the pout on my face and stopping my angry stomps.

In the bedroom, I changed out of my work clothes into a simple shirt and some sweatpants. I tied my growing hair in a bun. I placed my used clothes in the laundry so Yongsun wouldn’t get mad at me for dumping them in our closet. Then I grabbed my phone and called Eric as I headed back to the kitchen.

Since I was just reminded by my wife about my birthday now, I had no plans and didn’t prepare to celebrate at all. Yongsun and I will probably just take a leave from the café. We can simply celebrate it inside the house or eat outside. Whatever floats in Yongjae’s boat. Whatever the little guy wants as long as I get to spend it with all three of my Yongs.

But I have to ask Eric’s permission first since tomorrow’s a Saturday and on the weekends, Yongjae’s with him.

“Wheein, hey… What’s up?” Eric said over the line as soon as he picked up my call.

“Hey… Everything’s good, Eric. How about you?”

“Ah… you know me. Same same…” he said with a chuckle. “Anyways, what made you call?”

“I just want to ask your permission on something… I know this is so sudden but I just realized that tomorrow’s my birthday.” I shyly smiled when I heard him laugh. “Was hoping if I could spend tomorrow with Yongsun and Yongjae but it’s his time with you. So…”

“First off, happy birthday!”

“Thank you”

I took the last step of the stairs and as I turned around, I saw that Yongsun and Yongjae had the kitchen counter all clean now. Yongkeey had joined them and stood with her hind legs while leaning her front paws on the kitchen counter, peeking at Yongsun and Yongjae.

“And Yongsun already asked my permission for tomorrow”

I looked at my wife upon hearing what Eric said while my eyebrows shot up, surprised. “She did?!”

My steps as I walked to the kitchen slowed down. The incredulity and loudness of my voice caught Yongsun’s attention. She raised her eyebrows at me, silently asking what’s going on on my end.

Eric laughed while I forced myself to close my mouth when I didn’t notice I had it open. “She did and I already gave her my permission so long as I still get to spend time with Yongjae on Sunday”

“Really?”

Eric laughed again as he said, “Yes. You have nothing to worry about”

“Oh… Okay. Thank you”

“No problem. Anything else?”

I shook my head as I said, “No. Nothing anymore. Thank you, Eric”

Yongsun raised her eyebrows higher and turned her attention to me when she heard me mention Eric’s name.

“Alright. Happy birthday again, Wheein!”

Eric and I ended the call before I pocketed my phone.

I reached the kitchen counter with Yongsun silently waiting for me to explain to her what the call was. I headed for the stool by the kitchen counter and sat down across from her.

They had the frosting and the cake done. Chocolate’s the theme for the birthday cake, which I think is what the little guy wants. He’s been loving chocolate and has thrown a couple of tantrums to get chocolates. Along with the cake and frosting are chocolate chips, sprinkles and some M&M’s.

“I called Eric to ask permission if I could spend tomorrow with you and Yongjae”

“I already called him about that”

A soft smile turned my lips up as I nodded at her. “You did that’s why I was surprised. You have plans for tomorrow?”

She laughed as she shook her head and leaned with both of her hands on the kitchen counter. “I figured you wanted to spend your birthday with the little guy so I went ahead and asked Eric. And… I should ask you that. What do you want to do tomorrow?”

Yongjae hit the rubber spatula he was holding on top of the counter and pouted at me and his Mommy. “Talk no more! Cake draw now, Mommy… Mommy Whee…” he whined.

Yongsun and I were quick on our feet and pressed a kiss on either side of his cheeks.

“Sorry, Yongjae…” I whispered and fixed the chef hat on his head.

“Sorry, baby. Let’s start decorating then.” Yongsun looked at me with her eyes playfully narrowed. “You’re not allowed to join”

“Hmph…” I pouted and crossed my arms in front of me, feigning sulking.

Yongsun instructed Yongjae to spread the chocolate frosting on the cake. It was so messy that I had to giggle watching Yongjae struggle with applying frosting but refused his Mommy’s help. A lot of the frosting went to the kitchen counter. Some got stuck on his hands that he off. Then a tiny frosting got smeared on the tip of my nose courtesy of my wife.

Yongjae decorated the cake with lots and lots of sprinkles. He also rained chocolate chips on top of the cake. Yongsun, thankfully, chose the dark chocolate ones and didn’t add much sugar on both the frosting and the cake. Or else we’d be suffering from a sore throat from too much sweets. The M&M’s were only out because Yongjae wants to eat them.

I also stole a couple when he wasn’t looking. Yongsun could only smile when she saw me do it.

“Done!” Yongjae announced while Yongsun and I clapped our hands.

“We’ll eat the cake after dinner, okay? We’ll let Mommy Whee make a wish and blow candles later. Okay, Yongjae?” Yongsun said as she kept the cake Yongjae made in our fridge.

“Okay!”

I stood up from my stool and placed my arms around Yongjae, hugging him tightly close to me. I pressed kisses on his forehead, laughing when I heard giggling. “Thank you, baby. Mommy Whee loves the cake!”

The cake might look bad but nothing will look bad to me if it comes from Yongjae and Yongsun. The little guy and my wife worked hard on the cake and I love everything about it. It might be too sweet but that doesn't matter. I’ll eat it irregardless of how it tasted.

“Mommy Whee like it?”

“Of course!” I removed the hat on him and ruffled his hair. “Anything from Yongjae, Mommy Whee loves it. You and your Mommy”

He perked up and proudly smiled at me while I squeezed him in my arms once again.

Yongsun patted my shoulder to grab my attention. “Help him wash up while I cook dinner?”

“Sure”

I placed my arms securely around Yongjae and lifted him off the kitchen counter. “It’s bath time already for you, Yongjae”

Yongsun stopped me from walking when she held my arm and made me lean over the counter. She chuckled softly as she wiped off the frosting that she put on my nose earlier. “You’re all good now, love” she whispered before flicking my cheek.

I held her arm before she could turn around as well. I patted the powder off her hair, shoulders, and arms. “There’s still some on your neck. Use some wet tissue. I couldn’t get rid of them all”

“Thanks”

I turned to Yongjae and leaned down to let him stand on his own. I held his hand and led us upstairs to his room. “Now, it’s time for Yongjae’s bath time!”

“Yongkeey bath?” he asked while skipping beside me.

“Nope. Only Yongjae”

“Mommy Whee bath?”

I shook my head and said, “Nope”

“Mommy bath?”

I lifted him up in my arms once we reached the stairs and placed a loud kiss on his cheek. “Only Yongjae. Mommy still has to cook dinner for us”

“Then Mommy Whee make wish? Happy birthday?” he asked, his voice hitching up adorably before blowing as if there were candles in front of us.

“Yup! And then we’ll eat the cake that you make”

He beamed proudly at me while I reciprocated his smile as we entered his room. “Yongkeey eat cake too?”

When we entered his room, I let him stand on his own again and guided him towards his bathroom. “No… The cake would be too sweet for Yongkeey to eat. Also, Yongkeey doesn’t like to eat cakes. Remember when Mommy made cake for Yongkeey on her birthday? Yongkeey didn’t eat it, baby. Your Mommy was so sad”

I crouched down in front of him and proceeded to take off his clothes and placed them in the laundry basket. “That’s why… we have to eat the food Mommy cooks for us. Mommy will be sad if we won’t eat what she cooks”

He raised his thumbs up and said, “Mommy food yummy!”

When he’s already in front of me, I showered kisses on his tummy and on his cheek before I lifted him to get inside the tub. “That’s right. Mommy always cooks yummy food”

Yongsun brought out the cake they made for me with five candles all lit up. I had Yongjae on my lap as she placed it on the dining table in front of me. They started singing for me but since Yongjae got all the lyrics wrong, Yongsun and I ended up laughing. Yongjae filled our home with his loud voice and claps.

“Happy birthday, Mommy Whee!” Yongsun urged Yongjae to say.

“Happy happy! Wie! Wie! Mommy Whee!” Yongjae said instead.

Yongkeey joined in by barking loudly, wagging her tail so hard, and jumping all around us.

Yongsun suddenly ran her hands through my hair before she cupped my cheek. She smiled so sweetly at me as she pulled my face to hers and kissed me. “Advance happy birthday, my love” she whispered before giving me a long kiss.

“Thank you” I said as I returned her smile.

I patted Yongkeey’s head and thanked her as well.

Then I glanced down at the bouncy little guy on my lap. I kissed his cheek and said, “Thank you, Yongjae. Mommy Whee loves you!”

“Love you. Jae love Mommy Whee” he said while pushing himself up to stand on my lap.

Yongsun and I helped him while he placed his arms around my shoulders and hugged me.

I snuggled my face to his neck and hugged him tightly, silently cooing when