- Chapter Twenty two - "Hoping for a miracle."

Yunho woke up abruptly at the crashing sound coming from downstairs. And his first instinct was to reach out his arm toward the other side of the bed, hoping to feel Jaejoong's and baby Cap's presence near him. As soon as he felt their sleeping figures under his palm, the man let out a breath of relief. Then he turned toward the nightstand table, grabbing his cell phone and looked at the black screen of the device displaying the white digital number.

6:35.

He frowned as another crashing sound echoed from downstairs. And this time, Jaejoong woke up with a start, his hand trying to reach his arm.

"Yu-Yunho..." The older man muttered in a whispering tone. Worry could be heard in his voice.

"It's okay." The younger man assured quietly, not wanting to make the other man worrier more than he was already. "Stay here." Then, Yunho got off from their bed and stalked toward the door while Jaejoong wrapped his arm around his daughter sleeping figure.

Yunho took a deep breath and opened the wooden panel. When he stepped in the corridor, he saw Jaejoong's father and his father peeking through their respective room being alert by the noises coming from downstairs.

"What's that?" His father asked in a low voice, a bedside lamp in his hand.

"Don't know." Yunho answered quietly, trying to see who could be this unexpected visitor through the dim light. He took a look from the banister as he was trying to be invisible from what could be a burglar or worse a crazy fan that called sasaeng.

"Could it be one of your fan?" Mr. Kim asked as he was trying to see downstairs by the banister.

Yunho nodded and was ready to go down the stairs but his father stopped him.

"Here." The older man tended him the bedside lamp. "A fan or not. A thief or not. You must be well prepared." Mr. Jung added when he saw the questioning stare of his son. "You have a family here."

The idol nodded and took the weapon from the hand of his father while Mr. Kim gave his father a coat-hanger made of those thin iron material. Yunho didn't know that he still had those kind of things in his closet. Nowadays, a coat-hanger was made with wood, more robust and really handy to support those heavy coats that protected you from the extreme cold.

"What? It can be a weapon of mass destruction." Jaejoong's father explained when he saw the skeptical stare of the young man about them having an coat-hanger as a weapon against their visitor. "I show you how to use it when we're downstairs."

"If you say so."

Then, Yunho felt his father's hand pushing him on his back. And he climbed down stair by stair in a slow motion with two older men following behind as he was holding the bedside lamp in his right hand ready to knock out anyone, while Jaejoong and the rest of their family were watching them in silence from their respective room, hoping that it wasn't a crazy fan. A burglar, they could deal with this kind of person. But an obsessed fan, it will be hard to reason with her kind.

As soon as they got on the main floor of the penthouse, the three men could hear cussed and murmurs. It seemed that their visitor was not alone.

Three exactly.

"What are you doing?" A voice said in a whispering tone.

"Shh... Can you be more reliable." Another voice chided as the owner maintained his whisper. "And how could you trip like that?"

"Excuse me! I'm not superman." The third person said back in the same tone. "Can we lighten the room? I think I have my foot on something... eww... it's cold and..."

"No! And with all the lighting from the tree you could see in the dark. Or else you are really blind."

"You!"

"Stop that! Just put all the presents under the Christmas tree. I need to go prepare breakfast for Jaejoong hyung. You know, it's his first Christmas with us since his departure. So, please do it quickly."

"You? You're going to cook breakfast for him?"

"Yeah. So what? In his absence you did enjoy my cooking skill."

"God! Save us!"

And Yunho heaved a sigh as he recognized the owners of those three voices. He lifted his free hand, stopping the two older men who were walking behind him. Then he pushed the switch next to him. As soon as the light was on, a scream was heard from the three men next to the Christmas tree, bending and crouching with presents in their hands as a few things in the living room were on the floor not in their places.

Even the glass of milk and those biscuits made by Jaejoong that his younger sister was adamant to put them on the small side table next to the Christmas tree, were scattered on the floor.

"Really..." Yunho shook his head at the sight of his three dongsaengs having their back on him. "You could wait a bit longer and knock at the door like all civilized people in our country."

"Hyung... you scared me." Junsu said as he was holding onto the wrapped gift in front of him.

"And what are you trying to do with that bedside lamp?" Changmin asked, pointing his finger at the object in Yunho's hand.

"To kill you." Yoochun said as he rolled his eyes annoyingly. "It was a stupid idea to sneak in into their house like that when everyone was asleep."

"Hey! You didn't complain when I voiced the idea." Changmin argued back.

"Because if I say no you would do that one-touch love you always do with Jaejoong hyung. And knowing you, you would hit me with all your might and I would probably end in the hospital. It would be a good joke for Christmas seeing all the front page of all the media in our country with this title, Park Yoochun hospitalized because of Shim Changmin."

"Well, people would know that we still be in touch with each other." The maknae of Dong Bang Shin Ki shrugged nonchalantly.

"Aish! This man!" Yoochun grunted, ready to throw the gift in his hands towards the tall stick pole.

"What did you do?" Changmin rose his voice at the side of a few biscuits on the floor.

"That's why I did ask to lighten the room."

"You!"

Yoochun ran to hide behind Junsu while Changmin was trying to catch him.

"Get here!"

"No!"

"They are idiots." Mr. Kim said, laughing at the expense of the three men and shook his head lightly.

"Nothing changed." Mr. Jung added with a nod.

"Yunho? Want me to show you how to put down a burglar with this?" Jaejoong's father turned to Yunho as he waved the coat-hanger in his right hand, an amused smile painting on his lips.

"Please show me." The young man replied eagerly, wanting to get rid of those three stupid men who had disturbed everyone's sleep.

"Who's first?" Mr. Kim narrowed his eyes as he was looking at them one by one.

"Take the taller one. He seems to be the head of all of them." Mr. Jung said with a smirk.

"Good choice."

"Hey! Are you going to strangle me with that... that thing?" Changmin squealed as he was ready to run for his life.

"You're a burglar."

"No! I'm Shim Changmin. Your son's dongsaeng." The young idol was being offended.

"No! You are trying to steal all the presents we put under the Christmas three for Hanlyeon." Mr. Kim replied.

And the three men looked down and saw that they were still holding a gift-wrapping in their hands. Not long after, Junsu and Yoochun put their present over Changmin's gift and stepped back from the young man, hoping to be spared by the older man.

"I did nothing." Junsu said for his defense. "I was the one who decorated the Christmas tree. Look! Isn't it pretty?" He pointed out his finger toward the well-decorated tree.

"I am innocent. I was dragged against my will." Yoochun added with his hands in surrender. "You know, I am not a early riser. I love to sleep a lot. But this thing has barged into my house and took advantage of the sleeping me." He explained.

"Traitors!" Changmin grunted through his teeth as he glanced at the two men one by one. Then he turned to face the others. "Mr. Kim... you know who I am. I will never steal anything. And this!" He showed the three gifts in his hands and continued, "...it's presents for Jae hyung and baby Cap."

"What a pity." Jaejoong's father shook his head as he was stepping next to them, making the three men stepping back and closed their eyes not wanting to see what the older man was going to do to them. "But as you are so devoted towards my son and his daughter, I will let you go this time."

And Changmin, Junsu and Yoochun let out a relieved sigh but startled when Mr. Kim showed them the coat-hanger before their eyes, earning a laugh from the older man.

"You know what time is it?" The older man inquired with an angry tone.

"Sorry." The three men said in unison as if they were still children caught doing some mischief.

"I'm not too young you know. And I need more sleep than you youngsters." And they nodded in silent. "Next time I hang you with this in front of all your fans. Understood?" Jaejoong's father added sternly.

"Yes." The three friends hastened to say.

"Good! Go cook our breakfast."

"A Korean traditional breakfast." Mr. Jung added.

"Hey?" Junsu, Changmin and Yoochun shrieked as they looked at Yunho's father.

Mr. Kim waved the coat-hanger and the three men didn't waste their time as they ran toward the kitchen after putting all their gifts under the Christmas tree.

"Moron." Jihye who was watching this funny scene since the start said when they passed by her. She was sitting on the top of the stairs, her chin pressed on her palms.

Changmin was going to answer her back but remained silent when he saw Yunho looking at him with a stern expression. The young idol cussed under his chin knowing how protective the man was when it came to his younger sister. And he could only do one thing, doing what he was asked for. Cooking for the Kim and Jung family this Christmas morning under the watch of Jaejoong's father who nodded or looked sternly at them when he thought that they did something wrong, while Yunho was preparing a bottle of baby milk for Capucine.

"Hyung? Let me do that!" Junsu said when he looked at Yunho with the hope to be spared of the cooking chore. He was ready to cook breakfast for them but only scrambled eggs and burned toasts. A traditional Korean breakfast... He wasn't confident enough to do this kind of breakfast.

However, Yunho said nothing only pointing at the young man to do what he was assigned to do. And no one was going to try to get away from the task of making breakfast for an entire family.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jung was enjoying his morning with news channel in company of his wife and Jaejoong's mother. As for Jihye, she went to catch a few hours of sleep, knowing that those three men were going to take a long time to cook their breakfast.

Breakfast in South Korea didn't exist. There's no cereal, no coffee, no bakery items of some sort. A traditional breakfast in their country meant rice, banchan gathering different side dishes as kimchi or boiled vegetables commonly called namul, a soup of some kind and of course a plate of meat.

And if they were going to cook all of this, the young woman could have her beauty sleep. Jihye passed by her brother's room and peeked through the door to find Jaejoong trying to change his daughter's diaper.

"Oppa!"

"Jihye-yah." Jaejoong called her out with a smile as he was struggling to get a new diaper for his daughter.

"She's awake."

"Yes. But I kind of hope to get her sleep a few hours more after a bottle of baby milk."

"I help you." She said as she took over the task.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing." Jihye tried her best to put the new diaper on baby Cap. "Are you okay?" She asked suddenly. "Your hand?"

"Oh... It's nothing serious." The older man smiled as he was onto the bandaged hand. "You know how clumsy I am. I trip on my feet only by walking straight." He laughed softly.

She nodded, knowing that the man wasn't ready to tell her what was in his mind last night when he inflicted this wound himself. Jihye could not help but sigh and apologize for what her father had done last night.

"He didn't have to blame you for everything. We all know that my oppa was at fault." She continued.

"You don't have to apologize for others."

"I must do it. They are my family. Yunho oppa has wronged you. And as for my father... he shouldn't see you like a plague. You weren't at fault. And love knows no boundary. Man or woman, the feeling is the same. Beautiful."

"The girl I know has grown up beautifully." Jaejoong said, looking at Yunho's sister with a smile.

"You're sure? Because people said that I look like my brother." Jihye palmed her cheeks with a frown. "God..." She breathed out forlornly. "If I look like him, people see me as a freak. Eww... imagine Jung Yunho in a feminine version..." The young woman grimaced. And Jaejoong could not help but burst into laughter dragging a giggle from his daughter as well. "Gross, right?" She laughed in turn.

"I can't imagine your brother in a woman version."

"But you, you could be a beautiful woman." She nodded as she took baby Cap in her arms. The baby girl was looking at her with a frown, trying to decipher what this adult wanted from her. Then Capucine poked her on her lips with the pad of her little fingers as she was talking with her own language.

"She seems to like you."

"Great! I like her too." Jihye tightened her embrace over the baby girl who laughed at being squeezed playfully. "God! Fortunately she didn't have any trait of my brother."

"Really!" Jaejoong shook his head as he was smiling amusedly at her teasing remark. "Sometimes, I think all of you forget that I am a man."

"Well you could say that all of us are trying to be blind about the fact that you two are two men in love with each other." She nodded, letting baby Cap playing with her fingers. "Oww!" She shrieked when she felt the iron teeth of Capucine around one of her fingers.

"Sorry." The man apologized as he took his daughter in his arms. "I think she's hungry."

"Sure. Look!" Jihye showed him the print of the baby's teeth on her finger. "You should feed her before she become a carnivore."

"Well having a brat in less in this world it's something I won't say no." He .

"God! You should never hang out with that stupid brother of mine. His stupidity is rubbing on you."

"I think so." Jaejoong laughed softly and stood up from the bed with his baby in his arms.

"Oppa?" The young woman called him out once he was next to the door.

"Yes?" He turned to face her.

"I will sound hypocrite... but what I said about love knows no boundary and that all of us are trying to be blind about you two loving each other..." She sketched a smile and nodded. "...it's not a lie... Well, I like you a lot. And I am glad that you were Yunho oppa's lover... as for now... I don't know what will happen between you two. But you have my support in everything... If you want him back, I will support you. If you say that it's time for you two to move on, I will support you too."

"Thank you."

"And as you know... in our society, our country, the love that you had or have... is not common. So, treating you as if you were a woman... moreover, your delicate physical trait help a lot... Yeah... I rumble nonsense but what I was trying to say is that seeing you as a woman is a way for all of us to forget what people think badly about two men or two women falling in love with each other. It will take time for our people to acknowledge this kind of love... But, it's better than nothing right?"

Jaejoong nodded. "Sleep. Those three trolls are too much to barge into other's house like that. Mostly at the wee hours of the morning."

"Trolls! I like that name for them." Jihye laughed. "Let me borrow your bed. I don't have strength to walk to my room." She added, lying on the bed.

"If you don't mind sleeping with Capucine later."

"I don't mind. And if you join us too, I will be the happiest girl in this world." She added with a smile. "And it will be good if I take a picture of us sleeping in the same bed. My friends will be so jealous." Jihye let out a soft laugh.

"I'll think of it."

"Do it! Think of it carefully. I would love to see my brother's face when he see us in the same bed."

"As if I will let you two sleep in the same bed." Yunho butted in as he walked into the room with a bottle of baby milk in his hands.

"Spoilsport!"

"Go to your room."

"He is an overprotective husband." Jihye shook her head slightly, amused by how her brother could be when it came to Kim Jaejoong. She never saw him behaving like that with anyone. Man or woman. "I let you enjoy your time together. Bye!" She waved with a seeming arrogance and left the room for her own room which was baby Cap's bedroom the time of her stay in Seoul with their parents.

"I hope she wasn't a nuisance." Yunho said as he dragged Jaejoong toward their bed.

"Not at all."

"Don't side with her. And don't spoil her too much. She's going to be a pain in the . Plus, you're still her favorite."

"You don't think all of this." Jaejoong sat on the bed and took the baby bottle from Yunho's hand. "She's your younger sister and you will do anything for her. You're a great brother."

"Yeah." Yunho took place behind Jaejoong and dragged the later carefully towards him, his back against his chest, with his arms around the older man's waist while Jaejoong was feeding his daughter. "Teasing her is my privilege as her older brother."

"I know that. I can imagine myself being her. As the youngest child of a family of nine siblings, I know what is it to be teased by my older sisters." He laughed softly. "But, Jihye is a lucky one. She didn't have to wear your clothes while I did it a lot. Jeans. T-shirt. Coats. It was hard for our parents to satisfy all our needs. So, every of us used to wearing the hand-me-downs of the one sibling who was older than us."

"You're wrong." The other man said as he pressed his chin on Jaejoong's shoulder. "Jihye has wore a t-shirt or two from me."

"T-shirt... it's better than a pair of jeans or trousers for girl. Fortunately, they were able to buy me coat for boy... Well, not all the time..." He shook his head with an amused smile painting on his lips.

"You have such a thin waist..." Yunho frowned as he wrapped his fingers around the petite waist of Jaejoong. "And talking about that. You must eat more. You're too skinny. You need to gain weight and quickly."

"It's not I don't want to." The young father whispered. "It's just that I can't eat much... I think my stomach is used to the tiny quantity I eat that eating more than that gives me stomachache."

"Well, we're going to do it little by little. If you ate only two meats, you have to eat three next time until your stomach is used to have more meat in your meal. And after that, we're going to increase the quantity."

"You should be a nutritionist than an idol."

"I'm going to think of being one after my retirement."

"What a pity. You are loved by so much people. And I can see they will never see fault in everything you do." Jaejoong smiled as he put away the bottle of milk and held his daughter in a manner that she could burp while rubbing her back tenderly.

"So, I can say to the world that I am in love with you. And even that, no one will find anything to say about my love for you." Yunho said as he pressed a soft kiss on Jaejoong's temple.

The older man turned to look at the other man. "You did it and you are a dead meat."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No." The young father shook his head lightly. And baby Cap mimicked her father as she shook her head in sync with the man, making the two men laughing softly at her. "I won't prevent you to do such a thing. I finally understand that once you make up your mind, no one and not even me can change your opinion. As I know... the day when you are ready to tell the world about our past relationship, you won't mind if people turn their back on you as long as you can have what you want the most in this life."

"Meaning?"

"Me..."

"And this little one." Yunho added as he reached out his finger for Capucine to grab with her tiny fingers. "I really don't care about others' opinion. You, her and I. This is what I want."

"But... your career will be over... You know people in our country aren't ready for this kind of love. Sure... some people would defend you and would not care about your private life as they would still support you. But-"

"Don't think too much. We aren't there yet. And for now, you need time for yourself. You have a baby girl to look after. And me... well, see me as your best friend who is willing to help you. To do anything for you." Yunho smiled. "I can wait. I am willing to wait a year, two years or even ten years if it's not forever. As long as I have you by my side nothing count for me."

"You're too good." Jaejoong shook his head lightly.

"And you are out of my reach."

"You're wrong. You are out of my reach." Jaejoong corrected with a sad smile as he was looking at Yunho. He was like Ha-chan. How could he be so lucky to meet such kind people? "Since the first time I met you... you were better than me... in everything... You were cool while I was just insignificant in the eyes of everyone. A shy boy a bit girly who didn't know where he stood."

"But I did find you pretty interesting."

"Is it a pun?" The young father asked, rising a brow.

"Yes."

"Jung Yunho!" Jaejoong hit the man on his chest while the latter burst into laughter.

"But you can't deny it. You were a pretty boy. And you have aged beautifully." Yunho added, grazing his palm over Jaejoong's cheek tenderly.

"I prefer handsome." Jaejoong pouted.

"Pretty, beautiful or handsome, I don't care. Because all of those adjectives describing you mean you. Kim Jaejoong is pretty. Kim Jaejoong is beautiful. Kim Jaejoong is handsome. And Kim Jaejoong is above all the love of my life."

"I thought the one who could say those cheesy lines was only Park Yoochun." Jaejoong laughed softly.

"Well, it seems that I can beat him in his domain of predilection." Yunho said as he leaned towards Jaejoong and pressed their lips together. "Give her to me." The man added as