Serin had gone to bed long ago, relishing her precious sleep now that Eunsook usually was sleeping through the entire night. Sometimes though, Hoon would wake Eunsook up on purpose, just to hold her and talk to her and love on her. Tonight was one such night. He’d gotten home late that February evening. They only had a few more weeks of promoting with Soohyun, who would be joining the military after promotions were finished.

He stealthily entered her room, not because he didn’t want to wake her up (as that was his ultimate goal) but because he needed to turn the baby monitor off before he did so that he wouldn’t wake Serin up. He switched off the monitor before reaching down to pick her up. She protested a bit, crying only a few seconds before he shushed her, rocking her gently. She curled up against him, flooding his chest with warmth that spread from both the inside and outside.

Eunsook yawned as she cuddled against him, and he marveled at this beautiful human he’d created with Serin. She was cute, irresistibly so, and he couldn’t help kissing the top of her fuzzy head. She looked up at him with her big, warm-brown eyes, and he melted. His daughter. His love. His hime.

“Are you hungry?” he asked her. She didn’t answer, as she had no comprehension of what he’d said, but she was watching him because she had heard his voice. He carried her out of her room, and took her to the kitchen, looking for a bottle of formula to give her. He found one in the refrigerator and gave it to her, and she proceeded to at it while Hoon served himself a bowl of cereal. He ate quickly so he could get in bed quickly and finished before Eunsook. The baby threw her bottle to the ground and started whining. Hoon dutifully retrieved the bottle for her. She giggled, took another couple of drinks, and threw the bottle on the floor again. Hoon sighed, picked it up again, and placed the nearly empty bottle in the sink to wash later. Eunsook was obviously done with her late night snack, as was Hoon.

Having finished eating and cleaned as best as he could while toting Eunsook around, he headed to bed. He thought for a moment about taking her back to her room and placing her in her crib. But he didn’t want to part from his precious daughter, his hime. So he decided that he was going to snuggle her in bed. Which meant he needed to smuggle her into bed. He wasn’t sure if Serin would be okay with having Eunsook with them. She was very protective of their little girl, and Hoon worried that Serin would think it dangerous to have Eunsook sharing their bed. But he couldn’t bear the thought of separating from her, so he was willing to risk incurring Serin’s wrath. However, he wanted her to find out when she naturally woke up in the morning, not before he even got the chance to make her angry, so he proceeded as stealthily as possible.

Unfortunately, stealth was not Hoon’s strong point, and it was as he was trying to undress with Eunsook in his arms that he managed to stub his toe against the bathroom door. He let out a muffled groan of pain, but it was enough to rouse Serin. She quickly opened her eyes and searched the room. She found his back, as he’d faced away from her to keep Eunsook hidden.  “Hoonie,” she asked groggily, “are you okay? What happened?”

“I’ll be fine. I just stubbed my toe on the door,” he replied. “It hurt, but I'll be okay.”

She relaxed then, settling back down against her pillow. “I bet it did. Did you check on Eunsook?”

He looked down at the girl awake in his arms, as she gazed back up at him. “Yeah. She’s good. Doesn’t need anything right now,” he said deceptively.

“Mmm. Okay.” Serin drifted back to sleep almost immediately, and Hoon sighed in relief. He hadn’t been caught. For now.

He finished undressing, down to only his boxers, and climbed in bed. Sure, he should have showered and brushed his teeth, but personal hygiene was not nearly as important as spending time with Eunsook. He positioned himself with his back toward Serin and Eunsook curled at his chest. He held her loosely, her face with his fingers and enjoying the bliss that accompanied spending time with his daughter. She babbled as he did so, reaching for his hand and wrapping her small fingers around his. He could barely see her in the minimal brightness the night-light from the bathroom emitted. But he could hear the yawn that escaped her lips, and he felt her snuggle closer to him. Hoon grinned.

And then Serin cleared , and Hoon froze. He’d been caught. “Take Eunsook back to her crib,” she said groggily.

“Ah… I want to hold her for a bit,” he protested.

“I won’t be able to sleep if I know she’s in here. What if she falls off the bed? What if one of us rolls on her and she suffocates?”

Hoon frowned. “I’ll keep her safe,” he assured over his shoulder.

Serin then rolled and pressed herself against his back. She draped an arm around his waist. “Please, Hoonmin,” she begged earnestly. “I want the comfort of knowing that she’s safely in her crib.”

Hoon still was unsure. “I know it would be safer,” he said quietly. “I just want to see her and hold her. And now is the only time I have to do it.”

“Mmmm,” Serin considered. “Maybe another night. When she’s a bit bigger. It’ll be safer that way. Besides… since you are up and I’m up, I was thinking maybe we could…” She trailed off, leaving her statement open ended, but Hoon knew what she was insinuating. He didn’t even need to pay much attention to the seductive circles her fingers were drawing on his chest.

“I don’t think I can refuse that sort of offer,” Hoon answered. “And I really don’t think Eunsook should be in bed with us for that.”

Serin’s smile was full of humor.  “No,” she said, eyes squinting in amusement, “I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

With a chuckle, Hoon stood up, lifting the sleeping Eunsook with him, and went to put her in bed, simultaneously regretful that his quality time with his daughter had been put on hold, but all too happy to engage in the quality time with Serin that had interrupted it.