You were clearing the plates and cups from the living room when you heard soft foot steps behind you so you weren’t too surprised when you felt arms wrap around your waist from behind. “Aren’t you tired, pumpkin baby?” Kibum mumbled the question as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

“I am… but I have to finish clearing all these before I can go to bed.” You admitted leaning back against his chest. “And pumpkin baby?” You turned your head slightly and gave him a questioning look but he didn’t look at you, only just tightening his arms around you.

“I was thinking of a pet name and I couldn’t decide between pumpkin and baby so I combined them. You don’t like it?” He asked.

“No, it’s not that, I’m just not used to hearing it.” You shook you head and explained. “Should I start calling you cupcake baby too then?” You asked with a soft teasing smile.

“Only if you want to~” He answered in a sing-song manner before placing a light kiss on your temple and loosening his arms to reach out and take the plates and cups that you were holding. “Let me help.” He said and headed to the kitchen, leaving you standing in the middle of the living room as you tried to gather your wit about you.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” You asked later when you had joined Kibum in the kitchen with the rest of the plates and cups from the dining room.

“What did I do?” He responded, trying to sound as innocent as he could but you knew that he was smiling even though his back was to you.

“You’re mean.” You pushed your lips out in a pout as you placed the dishes into the soapy water that Kibum had started.

He turned his this head and took one look at you before turning back. “You shouldn’t do that. I feel like kissing you when you do that.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” He continued with a laugh, when he saw you cover your mouth with the back of your hand. “I wouldn’t want you to run off again~” He teased.

“That’s… Just… I wasn’t prepared.” You protested weakly, while looking accusingly at him.

He chuckled airily before raising his hands in the air and surrendering. “Ok ok, my bad. I should have warned you first.”

You eyed him for a moment, trying to determine whether he was still teasing you but decided that he wasn’t when he just went back to washing the dishes. Satisfied, you picked up the dishtowel and started to dry the dishes that he had placed on the dish rack as a comfortable silence fell over the both of you.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He said, gently tugging the dishtowel out of your hand when he had placed the last dish on the rack and saw you covering a yawn for the fifth time in the space of a couple of minutes.

“But…” You looked back at the dishes that were still left on the rack, not wanting to leave them there.

He followed your gaze and saw the look of conflict on your face. “Just leave the dishes to dry on the rack today. You can keep them in the cupboard tomorrow morning.” He said before interlacing your fingers with his and leading you out of the kitchen.

“I’m not a child you know.” You protested under your breath with a pout even as you allowed yourself to be led in the direction of your bedroom.

He took a quick glance back at you and stopped walking all of a sudden, turning around and pulling you towards him by your hand. You stumbled forward a little, not expecting the sudden tug and landed with a soft thud against Kibum’s chest.

“What-“ You slowly opened your eyes and looked up to see a playful grin on Kibum’s face.

“I wonder…” He said while tapping his chin as his grin became even wider. “What did I say about pouting earlier?” He lowered his to an inch from yours and asked with an innocent smile, even cocking his head ever so slightly to the left.

“Oh… I… But…” You stuttered hopelessly. You couldn’t think when Kibum’s face was so close to yours so placed your palms on his chest and pushed yourself back in an attempt to put some space in between you and him, but was immediately pulled back against his chest and held there by an arm around your waist.

“I-I….” You continued to stutter as you became more flustered and lowered your eyes, unable to look into Kibum’s eyes.

“Pumpkin?” He called out gently, interrupting your moment of fluster.

“Hmm?” You responded and kept your head down.

“This is me warning you.” He said simply.

“What?” You looked up and scrunched your eyebrows in confusion, not quite catching on.

The next thing you knew though, Kibum’s lips was on yours again, the hand that was around your waist moving and coming to rest on the small of your back, pressing you even closer to him. His other hand cupping the back of your neck, and you instantly forgot all about your confusion.

You had only ever been kissed by Junhyung so you weren’t really a good judge of how good of a kisser Kibum was but the way he was kissing you right now made your knees weak as you melted against him. It was soft and slow, just lips working softly against each other with the occasional open-mouthed kiss.

When he finally pulled back, you were thankful to see a slightly dazed look on his face when you opened your eyes because you were sure that you had a dreamy, almost spaced out look on yours.

“No fair. What kind of warning was that?” You jabbed his chest with your index finger and grumbled while still trying to catch your breath.

He chuckled airily and quickly took hold of your finger before turning around and walking off again like nothing had happened. “Let’s tuck my adorable girlfriend into bed.” He said sounding really amused.

When you finally reached your bedroom, the both of you found Minhyuk asleep right in the center of the bed. “He loves to roll around when he sleeps.” You replied Kibum’s silent question when he turned and looked at you for a moment.

“I wish I knew more about him.” He said softly, his voice carrying a little sadness as he reached over and slipped his arms under Minhyuk to lift him and place him back on his side of the bed.

You reached out and grasped his forearm after he had placed Minhyuk back down. “Please don’t think like that. You did the best that you could.”

He let out a soft sigh. “I know but I just can’t help but think about how much I’ve missed out on. Even now, with the both of you are here in Korea and staying so close, I still have hardly any time to spend with you and Minhyuk.”

“Hey…” You scolded lightly. “You’re not being fair to yourself, you know. We both know that you’re trying your best. Not to mention what you’re risking by having us around.” You continued.                                                                                                                                              

He looked at you with a raised brow and a small smile. “Thank you. How did I get so lucky to find such an understanding girlfriend?” He said tenderly before adding, “And for the record, you’re worth the risk. The both of you are.”

Your heart beat quickened even as the weight of his words sent tingles down your spine and made you feel warm all over. You lowered your gaze to the floor as you suddenly felt incredibly shy. He breathed out a laugh at your reaction before taking your hand in his and leading you to your side of the bed, lifting the covers and motioning for you to slip in under it.

You obeyed and slid under the sheets easily, laying your head down on your pillow as he pulled the covers up to just under your chin, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on your forehead.

“Good night, baby. Sleep well and do me a favour and not worry about breakfast tomorrow, alright?”

“Oh, so all of you won’t be coming over for breakfast?” You asked, completely misunderstanding him.

He just gave you a secretive smile and shook his head. “Just don’t worry about breakfast tomorrow. You’ll see why when you wake. Just trust me on this, ok?”

You still couldn’t really wrap your head around it but nodded anyway. Kibum was definitely someone you could trust.

“Ok then, good night, pumpkin. Close your eyes and sleep.” He said, smiling softly at you.

“Good night, cupcake.” You smiled and whispered back, letting your eyes fall shut.

The last thing you heard was the soft sound of the bedroom door clicking shut and you fell asleep with a lazy smile on your face.

-----

The sun rays poured into your room, shining on your face and rousing you from you sleep. You squeezed your eyes tightly for a moment and scrunched your nose before opening your eyes just a little bit.

Your gaze landed immediately on Kibum who wore a grin on his face, his head propped up by his elbow. “Did you have a good sleep?” He asked softly, as if he was afraid that speaking any louder would ruin the moment.

You nodded and smiled, closing your eyes and burying your face into your pillow. “Where’s Minnie?” You asked, the question sounding muffled against the pillow but Kibum still understood it anyway.

“Outside having breakfast with the rest of the members.” He answered quite simply and you could hear that he was still smiling.

“Mmm… is that what smells so good? You made breakfast?” You continued asking in your muffled voice.

“Mm-hmm, Minhyukkie helped too. Should we go have breakfast?”

You rubbed your face into the pillow, groaning a little before sitting up. “Okay.” You agreed sleepily, your eyes still closed.

Kibum chuckled and sat up as well before ruffling your hair. “So adorable when you’re sleeping but even more adorable when you’re awake.” He commented before leaning in quickly and placing a kiss on your cheek, making you snap open your eyes.

“Good morning, baby~ I’ll go out first. Come out when you’re ready.” He said as he got off the bed but stopped when he was halfway to the door, turned back around and added before rushing out of the room with a muffled laugh. “Oh, and cute hairstyle too.”

Your hands immediately flew up to your hair and you leaned forward and planted your face into the covers, groaning when you felt the slightly tangled mess at the back of your head but at the same time, unable to suppress the happiness that was bubbling up inside of you as you remembered how Kibum’s smiling face was the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes. You were thankful that the giggle that left your lips was muffled by the sheets because you really didn’t want to give Kibum anymore reasons to tease you.

-----

“Do you really have to leave, noona?” Taemin whined cutely as he clung to your arm, pouting a little.

“Sorry Taeminnie but I really do have to leave. I left my studies halfway when I came back and now that my mom is alright, I’ll have to go back and finish my studies.” You said with a regretful sigh.

“But noona… I’ll miss you, all of us will, but Kibum hyung will miss you the most. Can’t you study here?” He continued whining until Minho came over and placed a hand behind Taemin’s head, successfully gaining Taemin’s attention, and shook his head gently. Taemin reluctantly released your arm and silently went to Minho, who was now gently the back of Taemin’s head.

You gave Minho a small smile in silent thanks for intervening because Taemin was really making it so much harder for you to leave than it already was, even if you would never willingly admit it.

You had already discussed this with Kibum after Christmas and told everyone else about it the following day. The both of you had decided that since it was something that was going to happen sooner or later, it was better to get it over and done with sooner rather than drag it out, which would only make saying goodbye, even if it was only temporary, that much harder.

Now, a week later, and just 2 days after the turn of a new year, you were all packed and ready to leave. You had tried to spend as much time as you could with everyone you knew but because the SHINee members and Junhyung were all busy with the year end music programs, the only way you could spend time with them was if you visited them at their recording venues, so that was exactly what you did. It was usually just you and Minhyuk during the day but Soojin and Seyong would come later in the evenings since their recordings only ended late in the night. 

You tried your best to split the time spent at the recording venues equally between SHINee’s and BEAST’s waiting rooms since you want to cause any more tension between Kibum and Junhyung. At the start, it was a little awkward to be around the other members of BEAST but they quickly warmed up to you, mainly because of Minhyuk, and were quite a crazy bunch to be around. Minhyuk couldn’t be happier though because he was the centre of attention with everyone trying to entertain him.

Surprisingly enough, Junhyung was contented with spending time with Minhyuk and didn’t try to approach you. You decided not to ask him about it though, since it had only been a few days since you had turned down his offer and thought that he would appreciate some time and space, at least for now.

“Don’t look so sad, Taemin. I’m not going to be gone for forever, you know.” You said as you placed the last of the dishes on the table. “Come on, eat up, you don’t want to be late for your schedule.” You urged with a smile.

You knew that you had to try and be as positive about this as you could, otherwise it would just be so much harder for everyone, and especially for Minhyuk, who just last night, had thrown a tantrum and refused to allow Kibum to leave no matter what either of you did or said.  That resulted in Kibum spending the night over, the both of you falling asleep on the same bed with Minhyuk right in the middle.

“I know… I just can’t help it.” Taemin admitted but did start to eat, his hunger getting the better of him.

“It’s ok, noona. Taeminnie just doesn’t want to lose his only playmate.” Minhyuk grinned as he gently pinched Minhyuk’s cheek, making everyone burst out in laughter.

Taemin’s response was to shoot Minho a brief glare before pouting and continuing to shove food into his mouth, turning slightly away from Minho to let him know that he wasn’t happy with him. Minho just reached out and ruffled the younger’s hair, chuckling as he did that and you didn’t miss how the pout instantly vanished and all was alright again.

You met Minho’s gaze and mouthed a “thank you” to him. This was already the second time in the space of 15 minutes that he’s come to your rescue and all he did was give you a warm smile before continuing to eat his breakfast like nothing had happened.

“Noona, you cannot forget about me when you go back, ok?” Taemin whined cutely as he gave you a hug.

“Of course I won’t, Taeminnie. How can I forget someone who’s so cool?” You teased, ruffling his hair gently.

“That’s right! I’m the coolest!” He beamed in a completely adorable way, momentarily forgetting the situation.

You chuckled and shook your head slightly and wondering how Taemin could be so adorable without even trying.

You moved towards Minho next and he leaned down slightly and enveloped you in a hug as well. “Don’t worry, noona. Just have a safe flight and study hard. All of us will be fine over here.” He whispered in your ear so that you were the only one who could hear what he had said.

You couldn’t help but smile at what he had said as you replied, just as softly. “I’ll miss you too, my very grown-up dongsaeng.” Reaching up to pat his head as he gave you a shy smile and nod in return.

You reached Jinki and he just stood there quite awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. You laughed inwardly at his awkwardness before moving closer and hugging him. “I’ll really miss you a lot, oppa.” You said softly but sincerely before continuing in a slightly louder voice and making the rest of the members smile knowingly. “Keep smiling and try not to fall over yourself so much.”

Before you had even reached Jonghyun, he had pulled you forward into a really tight hug. He was never one to shy away from skinship so you were already used to it but he still did surprise you every once in a while. “I would say that I’ll miss you a whole lot but I think you already know that. So instead of that, just let me hug you for a while.” He said before tightening his arms around you and rocking you from side to side.

The both of you stayed like that for a while before Kibum interrupted by smacking Jonghyun on his upper arm, making him release you from his hold. “Ok, that’s enough. Don’t hog my girlfriend.” Kibum declared while pulling you to his side.

“Aish. So possessive. I’m still older than you, you know.” He muttered in mock anger while rubbing the area that Kibum hit.

Kibum just rolled his eyes and brushed him off with a wave of his hand. “Yeah yeah, I didn’t even hit you that hard. Plus, you were hogging her, everyone saw that.” He said in triumph even as he slipped his arm possessively around your shoulder.

You couldn’t help but smile when Jonghyun childishly stuck his tongue out at Kibum in response. “Everyone knows she’ll miss me more than you.” He said before sticking out his tongue again and running out of Kibum’s reach, knowing that the latter wouldn’t bother chasing him. He was spot on because Kibum just settled for a scowl when the smack that he had originally intended for Jonghyun’s arm had missed him completely.

“Er guys? That was your cue to leave!!!” Jonghyun yelled out in an exasperated voice when no one followed his lead. “Everyone but Kibum of course!” You heard a soft slap and chuckled because you were certain that it was the sound of Jonghyun smacking his forehead with his palm.

“Oh!” Jinki said looking sheepish that he had forgotten the plan that Jonghyun had told him earlier. He was supposed to follow Jonghyun’s lead and make an excuse to leave as well, dragging the other 2 younger members with him since they didn’t know anything about Jonghyun’s plan.

“Heh. We’ll be waiting for you in the car.” He informed, looking at Kibum first before turning to you with a gentle smile. “Take care, -------ah. Have a safe flight and come back as soon as you can!”

You nodded, feeling a sudden sadness wash over you as you watched him ruffle Minhyuk’s hair and give him a quick peck on his forehead after saying goodbye.

“Baby,” Kibum called out gently, cupping your face with one of his hands and tilting your face up just slightly so that he could look into your eyes. “Are you alright? What’s with that expression?” He asked, brushing his thumb lightly across your cheek.

You unconsciously leaned into his touch, your eyes closing as you drew comfort from the smallest of gestures from Kibum. “Hmm, it’s nothing, just a little sad that I have to leave.” You explained with a sad smile.

“Don’t be sad. I won’t be able to let you leave you now if you have that look on your face.” Kibum frowned. “I know it’s difficult but can you please smile? For me? It’s not going to be forever right?” He pleaded, forcing a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

You saw the struggle in his eyes and you knew at once that even though he hadn’t said anything about not wanting you to leave at all and was fully supportive of you leaving to finish your studies, he actually really wanted you to stay. He was staying strong for you and you had to be strong for him as well.

You shook your head and smiled the best smile you could muster. “No, it’s not. It won’t be forever.”

He gave you a satisfied smile, a genuine one. His hand moved down from your cheek to the back of your neck and his thumb now gently running along the side of your jaw. “There’s something that I want to say. I know that the timing is all off and that I really shouldn’t be saying this now that you’re about to leave, but I just can’t let you leave without telling you this.” He paused and made sure that your gaze was locked with his before continuing.

You swallowed the invisible lump in your throat when you met his gaze. It was only for a moment but you knew what he was going to tell you before he said anything. You could see it in his eyes and it made you feel all warm on the inside as your heart started to beat that much faster.

Kibum leaned in until his forehead was resting against yours, your gazes still locked, before he continued, his voice barely above a whisper. “All my life, I’ve been living selfishly and for myself, but I want to change that now because I’ve finally found someone worth living for…. I love you.”

You didn’t say anything after that, simply because you couldn’t. You just continued to stare into his eyes in disbelief. Even though you had known what he was going to say, it was still different to hear the actual words said out aloud. You couldn’t help but think about everything that happened over the days leading up to today. Kibum had been staying over every night ever since the night that Minhyuk refused to let him leave, it was nice to wake up to Kibum’s and Minhyuk’s sleeping faces everyday and his presence brought you back to the times when the 3 of you were in LA. Although you had started off feeling nothing but gratefulness to Kibum, it had over time evolved into something so much more. Now, you really couldn’t imagine your life without Kibum being part of it.

“It’s ok, I know it’s very sudden, you don’t have to say it back.” He pulled back, misunderstanding your silence and the slightly conflicted look on your face.

That snapped you out of your thoughts immediately. “No, it’s not like that.” You explained quickly as you shook your head. “I was just shocked. No, not really. Well, a little bit but I was really just thinking about us and everything that happened since I met you and over the past few days. The time we spent together hasn’t even been that long but it feels like it’s been years and I-“ You stopped mid sentence as you caught Minhyuk’s innocent gaze and lowered your head slightly, feeling a little embarrassed.

“You?” He asked, as he eyed your flushed face curiously.

You took a quick glance at Minhyuk again and saw that he was still looking at the both of you with interest from his high chair. You reached out quickly and covered his ears before continuing, “I love you too.”

You were sure that your face turned a deeper shade of red after your rushed out confession as you let your hands drop from Minhyuk’s ears and fixed your gaze on the ground. It also didn’t help that Kibum didn’t say anything after that, choosing instead to remain silent. The anticipation just kept building up each second that went by and just when you felt like your heart would explode from the suspense, a hand entered your line of vision. Kibum tilted your chin up towards him and you expected him to take one look at your face and tease you about your reaction but was surprised when none of that happened. Instead, Kibum leaned in slowly towards you.

Your eyes widened and you hands immediately flew up to your mouth, causing a look of confusion to flash across Kibum’s face. “Not in front of Minhyuk!” You gasped out.

This time, a teasing smile did appear on his face but only for a moment as it was replaced by a mischievous one instead. “Minnie, can you do appa a favour and cover your eyes for a moment?” Kibum looked down at Minhyuk and asked.

“Okay, appa!” Minhyuk beamed and obliged happily, squeezing his eyes shut and covering them with both his hands. 

Kibum turned his attention back to you, a small triumphant smile on his face as he pulled your hands down and leaned in again. You didn’t protest this time, allowing yourself to be pulled closer and letting your eyes fall shut. You felt the soft press of Kibum’s lips on yours and let yourself melt into the kiss. You didn’t notice when he had let go of your hands but you found yourself wrapping them around Kibum’s neck, pulling him closer as you responded to the kiss.

The both of you were so lost in the moment that you failed to notice that Jinki had come back or that Minhyuk was no longer covering his eyes and had noticed Jinki. He was about to alert the both of you of Jinki’s presence when Jinki quickly waved his hands at Minhyuk and pressed his index finger to his lips while slowly backing away.

Soft pants could be heard when the kiss ended as your gazes were still locked, until the both of you were interrupted by a voice. “Appa! Do I get a kiss too?” The both of you turned towards Minhyuk, momentarily surprised to see Minhyuk looking up at the two of you.

Kibum was the first to respond, moving towards Minhyuk and picking him up from his high chair while chuckling. “Of course you do!” He said before turning his face to Minhyuk and puckering his lips slightly, to which Minhyuk met with his own in a quick innocent peck before throwing his arms around Kibum’s neck and hugging him tightly.

“Call me later before you board the plane, ok?” Kibum turned back to you and said while looking over Minhyuk’s shoulder.

“But don’t you have a schedule later? Won’t you be busy?” You asked. You really didn’t want to end up bothering him while he was in the middle of filming for something.

“We have a schedule but don’t worry about it. Just call me before you board. Promise?” He asked when he saw you hesitate, bringing up his hand with his pinky finger sticking out.

“You sure that we won’t interrupt anything important?” You asked again but was answered by silence, his hand still extended in front of your face.

You let out a soft sigh, Kibum could really be insistent when it came to certain things, and you were pretty sure that this was one of them. “Alright alright, I promise.” You gave in and hooked your pinky around his, ignoring the triumphant smile that spread across his face.

----

Kibum shut the door behind him as he left your apartment and immediately headed in the direction of the lift lobby, not even noticing that Jinki was waiting at the side.

“Hey,” Jinki called out and clapped a hand on Kibum’s shoulder when he was close enough to the younger.

“ HOLY!” Kibum jumped. “YAH!” He shouted when he saw that it was his leader that had scared him half to death.

“Sorry, but I was waiting at the side and thought that you had seen me. I mean, I wasn’t hiding or anything.” Jinki said, only mildly sheepish but mostly amused.

“I… I was thinking of something.” Kibum muttered, trying to sound cross but failing.

“Of course you were.” Jinki agreed quite simply, draping his arm across Kibum’s shoulder. “How are you holding up?” He asked, his voice suddenly soft with concern.

Kibum responded with a heavy sigh as they entered the elevator.

----

You checked your watch, Soojin and Seyong were due to arrive in about 30 minutes. Minhyuk was currently preoccupied with the cartoon DVD that you had put on for him. You felt really uneasy not doing anything so you opted to do another quick check to make sure that you hadn’t left anything behind.

Just as you were about to walk into your bedroom, the doorbell rang. You frowned a little and wondered who it could be. Was it Soojin and Seyong? Did they come early to see if you needed any help? You thought as you went to answer the door.

----

“I never thought I’d have to do this all over again.” Soojin complained, staring accusingly at you with narrowed eyes.

“Neither did I,” You raised your hands to protest your innocence. “But you did enjoy having me back right? Even if it was only for a short while, plus, you did finally get to meet Minhyuk, so let’s just take it that I was back for summer break.”

“Oh alright, I’m not even upset. I just… oh, you know just how much I like good byes right?”

You gave her a knowing smile and hugged her tightly before whispering, “I’ll see you soon then.” You bit the inside of your cheek to prevent yourself from tearing up.

“Yes, I’ll see you soon.” She nodded and said with a smile before releasing you.

“Take care, --------ah.” Seyong said when you gave him a hug.

You leaned in closer and turned away slightly from Soojin so she couldn’t see that you were saying something to Seyong. “Her favourite flowers are lilies. Good luck.” You said as softly as you could.

Seyong patted your back lightly to acknowledge that he had heard but didn’t let it show on his face when you had pulled away from the hug.

“You sure you don’t want to take any medication for your cold?” Seyong asked out of concern as he eyed slightly swollen eyes and matching pink nose.

You shook your head. “No, it’s fine. It’s just a mild one but I did bring some cold medication in case it gets worse.” You reassured but couldn’t help but fidget a little.

“I should head in already.” You said with a tinge of regret and sadness as you crouched down to pick up Minhyuk, who had been tottering curiously around but not wandering too far from the 3 of you. You really wished that you didn’t have to leave again.

“Come on, Minnie, we’re going in already, what must you say?”

“Good bye Soojin imo, Seyong samchon.” Minhyuk said, giving the both of them a little wave as well.

“Aigoo, you’re just too cute! Be a good boy and listen to your mommy, ok?” Soojin laughed and said to Minhyuk.

“Neh!” Minhyuk replied almost at once before burying his head into the crook of your neck.

 “Thanks for sending me off.” You waved to the both of them as well before turning and walking towards the departure gate.

“Hello, omma?” You said when your mom had finally answered your call.

“Are you at the airport already?” Your mom asked.

“Yup, we’re sitting in the departure lounge already, just waiting to board the plane.”

“Ok, sweetheart, you take care of yourself and Minhyuk and call me when you land in LA.” She instructed.

“I will, omma. Love you!”

“I love you too, sweety. Bye bye.” She responded.

“Bye!” You said and almost immediately after you said that, Minhyuk shouted, “Bye bye, halmoni!” into the phone as well.

You chuckled and ruffled Minhyuk’s hair after you had ended the call. “Shall we call appa now?” You asked even though you already knew the answer.

“Yes!” Minhyuk nodded and clapped his hands, suddenly all perked up and excited again.

“Arasso.” You replied with a smile and ruffled his hair again while scrolling to Kibum’s number and pressing the call button.

“Hey~” Kibum’s warm voice filtered through the phone when he answered after a few rings.

“Hello appa!” Minhyuk piped immediately.

“Hey yourself, you’re on speakerphone by the way.” You informed him and he coolly switched to English.

“Oh right. So are you guys in the departure lounge already?” He asked.

“Whoa! How did you know that?” You asked with surprise, before looking around and scanning the crowd suspiciously.

“Soojin texted me a while ago that the both of you had already gone in, so I was just taking a guess.” He answered with a chuckle.

“Appa-“ Minhyuk began but you quickly interrupted him.

“English, Minnie.”

He pouted a little, wrinkling his nose as he paused for a tiny bit to think before continuing. “Daddy… smart!” He beamed, making both you and Kibum laugh out.

“We’re not interrupting anything are we?” You asked when you composed yourself.

“No no. We’re having a break now but filming is probably going to resume again very soon.” He replied and you could hear a hint of regret in his voice.

“We’re going to have to go board the plane soon too so I guess either way, it’s the same.” 

“Yeah, oh by the way, how is your cold? How did you suddenly come down with a cold? You were still fine this morning.” He asked, sounding increasingly worried as he went on.

You let out a small breath. You should have known that Soojin would tell on you. “I’m fine. I really am.” You tried to reassure and added when Kibum didn’t sound convinced. “Minnie, tell your daddy that I’m alright.”

Minhyuk gave you a slightly confused look at you before declaring in all honesty, “Mommy’s fine, daddy. Not sick.”

Kibum’s soft sigh didn’t go unheard through the phone. “Oh alright, I just can’t help but worry since I’m not there. Just be sure to keep warm during the flight, ok?” He said after a moment.

“I will but you really don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine.”

“How can I not worry when the last memory of you on the plane was when you almost fainted?” He huffed exasperatedly.

You pouted even though he couldn’t see you. “That’s not fair. That only happened because I didn’t drink enough water, which was because you didn’t want to change seats with me!” You protested.

“Well, if I had changed seats with you, you still would have fainted from exhaustion.” He stated so quickly and matter of factly that you couldn’t really follow at all.  

“What? Why?” You asked, completely lost and confused in the conversation.

"Because the little boy that was sitting behind me kept kicking the back of my chair! Why did you think I barely slept throughout the flight?” You could practically hear him raise his eyebrows and his head to the side as he answered.

“Oh… I didn’t know.” You said sheepishly as you recalled that day and remembered not having too good an impression of him because of that even though it had quickly changed after that.

“Well, now you do.” He replied quite simply before you heard a voice call his name on his end. “Oh man, filming is starting again already, so I have to go. Call me when you land at the airport, ok?”

“Yup, I will. You already reminded me more than a dozen times since yesterday.”  

“I can’t help it! I’m still pretty certain that you’ll just head back home and totally forget about calling until much later!” He said and chuckled lightly when you made a sound in protest.

“Ok, so what will you do if I remember then?”

“I’ll do whatever you want me to.” He replied without any hesitation at all.

“Ok! Call! You can’t back out now.” You exclaimed happily.

“Of course! I never intended to anyway. But if you forget, then you’ll have to do whatever I want.” He said quite evilly.

You couldn’t help but laugh out at that. “Don’t count on it~”

“Ok cupcake, you better go before you get in trouble. Do well!” You continued.

You heard a muffled groan and a sigh before Kibum spoke up. “Ok, goodbye for now. Quickly finish up your studies and come back to me, alright?”

You blushed a little even though you knew that he couldn’t see you. “Ok, I will…. I love you.” You mumbled.

“I love you too, baby and will miss you more than you can ever imagine.” He replied a little quietly before perking up a bit and adding, “And of course, I’ll miss my baby boy as well!”

“I’ll miss you too, daddy! Minhyuk and mommy will be back soon, so daddy mustn’t forget about us, ok?” Although Minhyuk was smiling when he said that, there was real insecurity in the question, making you hug Minhyuk even closer to you.

“Of course, Minhyukkie. Daddy can never forget the both of you. Be a good boy and give mommy a kiss for daddy, ok?”

“I will!” Minhyuk piped before turning and planting a loud kiss on your cheek. “I love you, daddy.”

"I love you too, my baby boy.” He replied before saying quite seriously. “Take care.”

“We will. Bye!!” You did your best to maintain a cheery air in your voice.

“Bye!” He said simply before ending the call.

You slipped the phone back into your bag and took a look around the waiting area. It wasn’t as crowded as before and there were people waiting in line at the boarding counter. You realized that you must have missed the boarding announcement while talking to Kibum.

 “Shall we go in?” You nodded your head in the direction of the boarding gate. It wasn’t like you had much of a choice, but Minhyuk’s watery eyes made you feel the need to ask.

He brightened instantly and flashed you a big smile, immediately excited to be taking the aeroplane.

You smiled at his demeanour while you gathered all your things, handing over the passports and boarding passes to Minhyuk as you picked him up with one hand and walked over to the counter.

Two years….

=====

Oh gosh. I FINALLY got this posted. The last chapter as promised. It took me forever because of the sheer number of words and also because of quite a number of things that happened in my life, which are all far too personal for me to type them out here. But yeah, I was going through a very very difficult period and I really appreciate everyone who stuck by me all this time. Really, a huge thank you to the most patient readers ever. 

Now that this has all come to an end, I'm really not sure what to say anymore. I do hope that the ending doesn't disappoint too much. I'm not sure if there'll be a sequel but even if there is one, it will not be written immediately. I might do some short stories (one/two shots or drabbles) but I'm open to suggestions ^^

/edit/ One last thing to add... I noticed that I've gotten quite a few new subbies and usually, I'd write a personal thank you note on your walls but.. I've sort of lost track because I've been gone for so long. I hope you don't mind if I do a general one here~ Of course, if you'd like, just leave a comment that you're a new subbie and I'll definitely write you a personal one ^^ Anywho, thanks to all my new subbies for reading this story~