Chapter Text
Kai would go through getting his hair pulled by a very agitated Beomgyu an infinite amount of times to experience the pure euphoria of holding their baby in his arms for the first time once more. Beomgyu's face, swollen with tears, had the most enormous smile he'd possibly ever seen from him. Beomgyu apple scent overpowered any other scent in the room, laced with happiness.
The two were shocked when their sweet baby girl, Aera, came to them three weeks early, seemingly in a rush to meet her beautiful father, according to Kai, who had carried her the past months. The baby smelled of milk and cookies, and she barely cried when she came out into the outside world. The couple stayed three nights more at the hospital, ensuring their girl was utterly ready to head home with them with no significant complications. She was on the cusp of being premature, which Kai knew might've scared Beomgyu. The two were informed to return if anything came up and were sent on their way into a new chapter of their lives as parents.
The first night was enjoyable, especially when Beomgyu kept urging Kai to get proper sleep even though he had just undergone childbirth. Kai spent nearly an hour convincing Beomgyu to lie down for 30 minutes instead of hovering over the bassinet beside their bed. Kai chose to hover by himself, occasionally looking back at Beomgyu, who tried to convince the younger man that he wasn't tired for an hour but was knocked out after two minutes of lying down. He couldn't believe he participated in creating such a beautiful girl.
She had Beomgyu round eyes and a round head, and Kai honestly loved that their daughter looked so much like Beomgyu. He didn't know how long he had just stared until her small face began contouring, and she slowly opened her mouth. Kai's eyes widened, watching her open her eyes and look up at him. He could honestly start crying just watching his daughter look at him.
He didn't catch that it was the calm before the storm until she opened her mouth as wide as possible and started screeching. Kai jolted up, went down to pick her up, and rocked the crying baby away.
"Are you hungry, Princess?"
"What's wrong?" Kai asked, making shushing sounds and gently vibrating her.
"Is she hungry?" Kai got the second scare of the night, well, the morning being it was four am, by Beomgyu, who was sitting straight as a stick in the bed. His apple scent spiked as he got up from the bed. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and pulled off the oversized shirt which belonged to Kai.
He made grabby hands in Kai's direction, and Kai moved, putting Aera in his arms. He sat down at the edge of the bed and watched Beomgyu try to replicate how the nurse showed him how to breastfeed when they were at the hospital. Beomgyu puckered her lips and assisted the infant; Aera caught on fast, latched onto the nipple, and began drinking away. Kai gently rubbed at Beomgyu's thigh while watching the older rock back and forth while feeding their princess.
"Does it hurt?" Kai asked. He was curious about how it felt, though he had a general idea.
"No, just kind of weird…might hurt when she gets teeth in, though," Beomgyu smiled softly at Kai while slowly detaching her from his nipple and getting up.
"Thinking about her teeth coming in, I'm afraid of her growing already," Kai said with an exaggerated shiver before getting up and standing at Beomgyu's side. The two nuzzled on the baby, scenting her as their own. Apple and chocolate melted into Aera's own muted scent. After the scenting session, Beomgyu reluctantly placed Aera back into her bassinet with a sigh.
She fell back to sleep pretty quickly. Kai wondered if she'd become a Velcro baby later on and how she would never be placed down. He already knew she'd be spoiled, which was set in stone when Soobin, in a big baby suit labeled girl, tackled Yeonjun, who was in a baby suit also but with boy written on it, to the floor and cheered in victory on top of Yeonjun laid out body. It was an interesting gender reveal party idea that Beomgyu created.
Beomgyu took weeks decorating the nursery and just asked Kai to bring the backup bassinet they had into their room the night before they left the hospital. He understood, though; the thought of being away from the girl for even a minute was scary; a whole hour would be straight out of a nightmare.
Beomgyu leaned his head against Kai's shoulder and sighed, "She has your nose," He said with a slight chuckle. Kai turned and raised his eyebrows at the older before leaning into the bassinet to look at Aera's not-even fully-developed nose.
"...If you say so," He responded with a significant smile before wrapping his arms around Beomgyu's waist and dragging him back onto their bed.
"She literally does; when am I ever wrong," Beomgyu said while holding his chest like he was offended.
"Never," Kai replied, planting a kiss on Beomgyu's nose and following with smaller kisses scattered across the older's face. Kai's heart tightened hearing the out-of-breath giggles from the man beneath him. Beomgyu pushed at Kai until he was off of him and sighed.
"You get some sleep now," Beomgyu said while getting up and attempting to tuck Kai in. Kai opened his mouth to protest but was met with the 'look' and imminently shut his mouth.
"We are in this together; that means you get at least an hour of sleep as well," Beomgyu said while pulling up the sheets on Kai and planting a smooch on his lips. Beomgyu turned and sat on the bed while peeking into the bassinet, watching Aera sleep.
Kai didn't know when he fell asleep, but he woke to Beomgyu feeding Aera in the rocking chair and sunlight slipping between the drapes. "How long was I out for?"
"A good amount, I'm ready to shut my eyes myself, so it's your turn soon to keep her entertained before she naps again," Beomgyu said, accompanied by a large yawn.
Kai got up, made a quick trip to the bathroom to brush, and went down to the kitchen to grab an apple, crackers, and water, a small but needed breakfast. He made his way back fast, stumbling over his feet to return to the bedroom.
"Eat before you sleep," Kai said while placing the food on the bedside counter. He walked up, scooped Aera out of half-asleep Beomgyu's hands, and urged him to go eat what he brought up. Beomgyu muttered thanks, tore through the animal crackers at the speed of light, and was turned around in the bed asleep before Kai could even ask how his morning went with the infant. He looked down at Aera, who looked back up at him, her blinking gradually getting slower. Kai rocked back and forth with her dozing off in his arms. He felt so at home and happy.
The first week with Aera was terrific and stressful but amazing. Kai felt so surrounded with joy for such a long period. He found himself smiling so hard that his cheeks hurt; it felt similar to when he first got together with Beomgyu and had such an intense euphoria. "All she does is sleep, eat, and poop," Beomgyu said, breaking Kai out of his string of thoughts. "When is lunch? I'm starving." Beomgyu rustled with something near Kai, "I swear when I was pregnant, I ate so much and still have that humongous appetite." Kai wrapped his arms around Beomgyu's waist and placed his chin on the man's shoulder. "You just gave birth; your body's probably still adjusting to the tenant that never paid rent, finally being evicted."
Beomgyu looked back at Kai, placed his hand on his chest, and then pushed him, "Don't call my baby that." Kai leaned against the island, rubbing his chest, "A tenant?" Beomgyu placed his hands on his hips while staring at the baking pasta oven, "No, someone who got evicted; what if she gets evicted in the future because of you?" Kai laughed dramatically, "My family already adores her; if I suddenly go bankrupt, they'll support us or something like that."
Beomgyu frowned slightly before picking up his phone, "More like take Aera and make you marry that girl after blaming all your misfortune on me."
Kai frowned before stepping closer to Beomgyu, "My father knows the only way to keep me in his life is to support us." Beomgyu nodded even though it was evident he thought it was bullshit. "Anyways, enough about him…Soobin called, and the boys wanted to come over." Kai said while pulling Beomgyu into his arms and nuzzling his scent gland. "Tell them they need to wait at least two months; I don't want her getting sick. The doctor said infants' immune systems are weak in the first few months." Ka sighed, "Baby, they know that. They want to see you." Beomgyu made a face like he thought it was odd for Kai to say. "You only interacted with me in the last month of your pregnancy. They're still your friends as well, babe. They miss you."
"I'll see them soon; why did Soobin call you if he wanted to see me anyway," Beomgyu sighed.
"When was the last time you responded to his text with more than one word," Beomgyu opened his mouth to contradict before just closing it and pursing his lips, "...right," Kai affirmed. Beomgyu rolled his eyes, "Whatever---" Beomgyu was cut off by the sound of their daughter on the baby monitor yelling bloody murder. "She must be hungry." Beomgyu said before making his way to their room, "Watch the pasta!" Kai watched Beomgyu leave before turning his attention to the pasta.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
Beomgyus's distance from the friend group didn't go unnoticed, which led to Kai setting up a meet-up and urging Beomgyu to go while he stayed with Aera. Beomgyu was a bit reluctant, but the slight peer pressure worked in the end, and he was headed off to meet up with the group.
Kai watched the elder drive off and returned to Aera, who was napping in her crib; she would soon be due for a feeding. Like clockwork, the infant woke with a slight yawn and blinked at her father.
"Hi, my baby, are you hungry?" Kai cooed, collecting the infant in his arms and walking to the kitchen where he just set up some breast milk. He brought the bottle to Aera's face, and she quickly latched on, drinking like she was starved in the household, "Why are you acting like we don't feed you, princess." The infant didn't acknowledge her father and kept drinking the breast milk.
By the time Beomgyu returned, Aera was fast asleep from her playtime with Kai an hour before. Beomgyu's mood seemed way better; he still had a large smile after hanging his keys up. "Had fun, babe?" Kai asked, pulling Beomgyu by the waist. "I didn't realize how much I missed those boys."
Kai smiled softly before rubbing the elder's hair. Beomgyu pushed his hand while frowning, "Stop, anyways, I want to play Mario Kart," He said while pushing Kai to the couch and throwing him a controller.
The switch powered on while Beomgyu slipped into Kai's side, leaving little to no personal space and sighing. "Be prepared to lose." Beomgyu rolled his eyes, "Oh, sure…like, since when do you ever win to me." Kai smiled; he couldn't even argue with that; he was too busy watching Beomgyu play the game whenever they played.
Kai got off a long call with his father, annoyed and tired. The man spent an hour attempting to convince him that it was his 'time' to take over his position in the family company, but Kai, since day one, has always said no. He couldn't understand why his dad couldn't take no for an answer. Lea, his firstborn, not to mention an alpha, was already in the process of succession, but their father seemed to believe Kai would one day wake up and decide it was his birthright, as he kept saying.
"Morning, Bubs," Beomgyu said while feeding Aera, "Left your breakfast in the microwave. That phone call lasted a while, so I didn't want to keep it out." Kai nodded, grabbing the food and going next to Beomgyu on the island. "Same old shit, he wants me to take over the business; I tell him no, and he gives me every reason he thinks It's my birthright, back and forth till I just hung up. I told him, "I'm going to start working at the hospital soon to get him outta my hair."
Beomgyu shifted; his eyes seemed to widen slightly like something in him had just burst. "I forgot…that you would have to, you know, work soon." Kai frowned, "What about you, babe? Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"
Beomgyu looked at him like the word future terrified him. "Okay, one step at a time, baby. We don't have to discuss it now so early on." Kai attempted to reassure his partner before he started to spiral. "Alright, uhm, right now, I just want to be home with Aera and you." Kai nodded, "Then let's do that, love." Beomgyu sighed before getting up to set Aera onto her blanket. The girl was attempting to look around but struggling to turn her head. "You know your dad actually called me yesterday."
Kai's head perked up, eyebrows furrowing, "Why? What did he say?" Beomgyu shrugged, "Nothing much, random stuff." Kai's frown deepened, "My dad doesn't even call me to talk about 'nothing,' babe. What did he say to you."
Beomgyu let out a shaky sigh, "I didn't even want to tell you. It was nothing, okay? Let's drop it." Kai stood up; he felt his expression turn extremely sour; he knew the living room was beginning to smell like burnt chocolate from his scent. "You know how I feel when it comes to that man. I will cool off in the room before I get upset at you." Kai loved Beomgyu so much, so when he shut him out like that, he couldn't help getting angry. The elder got up as if to follow Kai before stopping and watching Kai walk into their room.
Kai hated getting upset with Beomgyu, but he was never the type to bottle up his feelings, so he made it very known to the elder when he was upset. They are usually good at communicating before an argument even starts. Still, it seems that Beomgyu was keeping his lips sealed about why Kai's father even reached out to him, which irritated Kai.
He didn't know how to get the elder to budge when he made up his mind about anything there was, something as simple as where the spoons would go in the kitchen. Beomgyu was as stubborn as a mule.
"Are you still mad at me?" Beomgyu said in a quiet tone, with the door slightly pulled open. "You know I can't stay mad at you." Beomgyu took that as a sign to walk into the room and plop beside Kai on the bed. "You really aren't gonna tell me?" Kai stressed, holding his head. "Aera is asleep." Beomgyu ignored the question entirely.
"I missed you—" Beomgyu slithered his hand on Kai's crotch. "And this guy, too." Kai felt his breath catch in his throat. They hadn't had sex in a couple months now, and he knew he was pent up but didn't vocalize it to his mate, who was just recovering from childbirth. Kai also knew this was Beomgyu's way of making Kai drop the dad's subject, but he would let the elder have his way. He couldn't fight him when he looked so stunning on his knees.
Beomgyu unzipped the fly of the jeans, restraining the already hardening piece of meat. Beomgyu giggled when it practically sprung out. The elder started with minor kitten licks to the already wet tip. He snaked his tongue in the slit on the tip of his dick. "Tell me what you need, baby," Beomgyu questioned while lazily stroking.
"You, please," Kai didn't like to say much; he was already loud when Beomgyu took him down. Beomgyu hummed before sucking his full tip while stroking the rest of his length. He gave a hard suck before letting go and sucking on the man's neglected ball sack.
Kai whimpered before pushing Beomgyu's head; the elder shot daggers at Kai, signaling him to keep his hands to himself. He made his way back to sucking on the length, letting spit freefall down. He tended to get messy; Kai gasped when the elder took him into his throat entirely and swallowed around him.
He gagged a bit before taking the dick out of his mouth to catch his breath, "That big ass dick, oh gosh." Beomgyu said while stroking fast before slapping the tip of his tongue. Kai felt like his crotch was genuinely on fire, soaked with spit, and he felt the familiar build-up in the pit of his stomach.
Beomgyu didn't hesitate to continue his relentless pace, sucking and stroking whatever wasn't in his mouth. Kai gasped before pushing Beomgyu off of him. "I almost came." Beomgyu looked at him and laughed, "That's the point, baby." Kai shook his head, "Need to cum in you." Beomgyu hummed before standing up and dropping his panties, leaving the oversized shirt on. He lifted up his shirt before placing himself on top of Kais' lap and grinding down. "Got a little bush, I haven't shaved in a bit. My bad." Beomgyu said, his voice tangled with humor.
"You literally know I'll eat that bush straight off your coochie," Kai replied with a straight face, dead serious. Beomgyu groaned while he was circling his hips, pressing his clit down on Kai's dick for any type of pressure. He giggled before climbing off Kai's lap and crawling onto the bed. "Come touch me." Kai practically threw himself onto the bed, dragging Beomgyu down.
He latched onto the nub, causing the elder to yelp and grab Kai's hair. Kai engulfed the swollen clit in his mouth while he used his fingers to apply pressure to Beomgyu's pulsing hole. Kai wished he could eat the elder out for hours, but he unfortunately fell victim to lockjaw very quickly. Beomgyu was twisting his hips in circles and moaning above him, hands still tangled in Kai's scalp.
"You're gonna make me cum, baby," Beomgyu groaned, his legs squeezing the sides of Kai's head in an attempt to shut them close. Kai took that as a sign to let his fingers breach the hole, pumping two into the elder while licking his clit. He felt the walls of Beomgyus's vagina flex and contract until he came with a loud moan, creaming all over himself and Kai's fingers. "I need…need that dick," Beomgyu begged while rubbing at himself.
"I'll give you what you want, but you must be quiet baby; we don't want Aera to wake up." Beomgyu nodded fast before holding up the back of his thighs and spreading himself open for Kai to see the mess he made. Kai felt his dick jump; he didn't waste another second and aligned himself with Beomgyu. "Always so tight," Kai whimpered while trying to push himself in, being met with some resistance due to the fact the couple hadn't had sex in a while.
Kai finally settled himself, waiting for Beomgyu to give him the okay to keep going. The elder whined, "Come on." Kai began thrusting at a slow pace, dragging himself into Beomgyus's walls. It felt like the man's pussy was spasming around him—" Faster!' Beomgyu wailed, to which Kai obliged, pounding down into the warmth. Kai didn't mind whining and whimpering into Beomgyu's ears while they fucked; most of the time, it made the elder pussy wetter. Beomgyu scratched at Kai's back while moaning.
Kai felt he was close as his strokes got messy and uncoordinated; the fire in his stomach swelled. Beomgyu let out a squeal that turned into silence before he felt the elder squeeze the living shit out of his dick before squirting a river. The pressure practically forced the nut out of Kai, and with not enough time to pull out, he ended up spilling instead of Beomgyus's pussy.
"You need to go get me a Plan B, sir."
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
Kai finds himself falling deeper in love with Beomgyu every day. Waking up to the love of his passion cooing at their now three-month-old daughter was a blessing wrapped in honey. "Morning, sleepyhead," Beomgyu said with a smile as he rocked a sleepy Aera.
"She cried more after the first time last night?" Kai asked. Aera was fussy throughout the night, which was unusual for the girl. She was more on the calm side at night time, which the couple were highly grateful for. "She woke up an hour ago; she's eating more and more," Beomgyu said with an exaggerated frown.
"Next thing you know, she's going to be leaving for University," Beomgyu continued his dramatics, whining and rubbing his eyes. "Not on my watch," Kai said, hopped up on the bed, and then placed his hands on his waist. "Baby Area forever!" He exclaimed while pointing to the sky.
"Uh…maybe not forever; I'm already tired of the poop diapers," Beomgyu said while scratching his head. "Potty trained Aera forever!" Kai repeated the same action with an updated sentence. Beomgyu giggled and hopped to his feet before making a face and looking at Aera.
"Did daddy wake you, baby? I don't know why he's doing all that on the bed," Beomgyu said while rocking her. "Placing all the blame on me is kind of crazy," Kai scratched his head before getting down from the bed and heading to the bathroom. He unfortunately had to go to work; it was the worst part of his day, and he was parting from his lovely angels.
He did his usual morning routine and cooked breakfast for himself and Beomgyu while the older was breastfeeding Aera and putting her down for her nap. It was their first week of having her in the nursery, but Beomgyu couldn't bear not being near her; he said it was a side effect of his postpartum depression. They had to fit into a schedule with his postpartum and find ways to support Beomgyu and Aera when Kai was at work. Little things like remaining on a call when Kai wasn't too busy to keep Beomgyu from falling into a hole. Kai quickly slipped into his scrubs and gave Aera a big smooch on her head; she squirmed in her sleep and settled back down.
"Call me on your break," Beomgyu reminded him for the third time that morning. "I will," Kai said before tugging at Beomgyu's waist and planting their lips together. The kiss was longer than intended when Beomgyu let out a small whimper and gripped Kai's back. Kai had to, unfortunately, be the bigger person and disconnect their lips, a line of saliva peeling out between them. Beomgyu breathed in a deep breath of air and sighed.
"I love you," Beomgyu said with tears brimming in his eyes; he was more prone to tears throughout his pregnancy and now. "I love you more, my angel," Kai said, pulling him into a hug. He reluctantly let go of Beomgyu and walked out to his parked car, looking back at Beomgyu leaning on the door. Kai blew him a kiss, and Beomgyu caught it and stuffed it in his nonexistent pockets with a loud giggle. He got into his car and pulled out, dreading the hours away from his loved ones.
Work was hard and demanding, mainly because he was one of three neurologists on the staff at the hospital where he works. He was faced with scrutiny of the fact that his father owns the hospital where he's working, but it was quickly overcome when his fellow co-workers could see he was serious about his job. It's a lot of stress put on him when working on someone's brain. According to the older, his favorite work moments must be his ten-minute breaks during the day or Beomgyu power-up time.
"You took more than two rings to answer. Do you hate me and your daughter?" Beomgyu asked, his big eyes and bangs being the only thing visible on the camera.
"You called when I was just walking back into my office; I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough… I'll get on my hands and knees," Kai spoke into the phone while smiling so hard his cheeks quickly ached.
"Beg more," Beomgyu said, voice laced with amusement.
"I'm so sorry, my princess, I'll do better next time," Kai coaxed him.
"What did you do so far today?"
"Well,"— Beomgyu was suddenly interrupted by the Aera screaming, not crying, just one long screech to announce her presence.
"Oh, does my sweet baby want to talk to Daddy too?" Beomgyu spoke in a high-pitched voice. The camera shifted, and Aera was on the changing table. Her eyes seem to light up when she sees Kai through the device. She kicked out her feet and giggled. "Hi, my princess, are you getting your diaper changed?" Kai asked as she could respond.
"Her stinky poop diaper, finally after two days, though," Beomgyu sighed before propping the camera and changing her. "Today, we did belly time, eat, nap, and repeat," Beomgyu said, still holding the higher tone. He swore he wouldn't baby talk to her when she came out, yet here he was…on camera…baby talking to her.
"What did you guys eat today?" Kai asked while he opened one of the cold sandwiches Beomgyu had packed for him. "Same old, Same old, this one had a whole load of breast milk—I swear I never need to use that pump you bought with how much she gargles down in one sitting."
Beomgyu continued his rant about what he did, asking Kai how his day went in between his tangents. "You know your dad called earlier?" This made Kai perk up from his food. "Why?"
"Something about family dinner because your aunt is coming into town; they want to see Aera," Beomgyu squirmed. His father is somewhat involved in how Beomgyu views himself as a parent; the elder still wouldn't tell him what happened on his phone call with his dad months ago. His father was always a sensitive topic for them because he was their main opposition when they got together, and his dad had someone else he wanted to set him up with, such as some family friend.
Obviously, that wasn't going to happen in Kai's books ever, but his father thought it was a University fling even though he had never had flings before he met Beomgyu; he was his first and last. It was set in stone the two would get married when Beomgyu turned up nearly a month pregnant, which he thought was a stomach bug only a month after Kai graduated. To say his father was furious would be an understatement.
Beomgyu's side of the family was their safe space, though. Vacations to the Choi household were nearly every other few months now. It was pushed back almost four months due to Aera, but they would schedule one soon, knowing Beomgyu's mom.
"I didn't know how to respond to him," Beomgyu broke him out of his thoughts and looked at the camera; seeing Beomgyu's hesitation and awkwardness made him slightly angry. "We're not going."
"Are you sure that's okay…I mean, he is..your father.." Beomgyu trailed on, messing with his sleeve while Aera was turning her head at him on the baby pink tummy time mat. She was getting better at lifting her head for extended periods and moving.
"He makes you uncomfortable, and I don't want him to see Aera until he learns how to respect you and your boundaries anyway," Kai said sternly; he lost his appetite and could only frown at Beomgyu's frown. "Block him; he has no business calling you anyway."
"That's a lot; I'll just avoid his calls," Beomgyu compromised and turned to Aera to coo at her. She lifted her head and laughed at him, bringing Kai a big smile. "You're doing such a great job, baby," Kai tried to help through the phone, which seemingly helped with how Aera squirmed and let out another loud giggle in response to hearing her other father's voice.
"Okay, I'll call you on your next one, bobblehead," Beomgyu grabbed the phone and blew a kiss before turning it to Aera and helping her wave her tiny fist at the camera while saying Bye Daddy in a ridiculously high-pitched voice.
"Talk to my princesses later," Kai cooed; he was left with the silence of the call ending and being alone in his office. He sighed loudly; he wished he could stay home with them forever. When they weren't near, it felt like something vital inside him, maybe a bone or two, was missing.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
Kai finished his work as soon as possible before getting home. He sped and walked through the hospital. A few nurses said bye while Kai walked past. He nodded but continued on his path to his car. When he got home, he found Aera sleeping on Beomgyu's chest, who seemed to be dozing off in the play area. Aera was so big now Kai would wonder when time passed by so quickly.
Taehyun said the play pit they got Aera was for "a pet, not a kid," but Kai didn't think he understood how fast the eight-month-old baby was. In the blink of an eye, the little girl would be halfway across the condo solely on crawling. It was pretty scary to even move your eyes from the girl before they purchased the baby cage.
Beomgyu stirred before yawning and looking up at Kai, "Oh, you're back," Beomgyu said while rubbing his eyes. He moved Aera off of him and placed her down on a pillow. He gave Kai a peck before waddling to the bathroom, muttering something about needing to pee again. Aera got up shortly after and let out a loud whine.
Aera was through and through a mama's girl, and the cry the girl would let out when Beomgyu exited the room was quite ridiculous. The only way Kai could get her to calm down was pacing while carrying her. Considering Beomgyu decided he was ready to start work, it would be hard. Every night Kai came home, the two would look for daycares, and Beomgyu would swipe off if it had even one bad review. He understood that it would be hard to trust a stranger to care for Aera while they worked.
Tonight was the night when a decent daycare finally showed itself to the couple. Beomgyu was frowning so hard Kai was worried he would have frown indents left forever on his gorgeous face. He reluctantly scheduled a tour for the following day. The two spent most of the night in Aera's nursery, watching the girl sleep before heading to bed themselves, uncertain of their impending future.
The process was smooth when the two arrived at the daycare, and the infant room was adorable. Aera enjoyed herself crawling around the new environment. The teacher had spent most of the time explaining the schedule to them and reassuring Beomgyu about the drop-off/pick-up process. Aera's first day was confirmed for the next day; Beomgyu felt it was too fast, but Kai thought getting her in as quickly as possible so she could get comfortable there would be better.
Beomgyu was set to start work in two weeks, so he would pick up alone and drop off with Kai until he officially got his hours, and the couple would work out a schedule. "They're taking my baby from me," Beomgyu whined the moment they got home, throwing himself down on the floor. Aera must have thought it was the funniest thing in the world, especially the way she filled their home with the sound of her giggles. "Even she's laughing at you," Kai said after laughing at Beomgyu with Aera.
"She doesn't know they're trying to take her forever."
"Forever being four to eight hours."
"EIGHT HOURS?" Beomgyu practically screeched before letting out a loud sigh
"You know how demanding the hospital can get with hours, and you're working the shifts with the least hours."
"I'm hoping I get morning shifts to work with the love of my life."
Kai laughed before, and Aera, looking up at him, attempted to copy his laugh. The couple stared at her for a second before Beomgyu let out a string of giggles, and Kai followed with a loud, exaggerated laugh that Aera could barely copy.
The two dropped off Aera at six in the morning, Beomgyu watching her get placed into her designated crib. It already had a tiny chalkboard with her name and age nailed to the wall above her crib. The next thing Kai knew, Beomgyu was crying, holding back loud sobs. Kai thanked the teacher quickly before walking Beomgyu out of the daycare, gently rubbing his lower back. "You'll see her in no time again."
"It's going to be so empty without her at home," Beomgyu said between his sobs. Kai pulled him into a tight hug and nuzzled him, hoping his scent would calm him. It seemingly worked when the crying got quiet, just the sound of hiccups filling the morning air. Kai believes this is a new chapter in the book of their lives.
For the next week, Beomgyu would practically pick Aera up thirty minutes before the time he and Kai set. Kai took notice of Beomgyus's location at the daycare, not letting the baby get a full four hours of being apart. He called Beomgyu when he got settled in his office.
"You be stalking my location day in and day out," Beomgyu said when the call connected. "And you never let princess have one full day there." Beomgyu shot him a look on Facetime before Kai watched him enter the daycare and walk towards Aera's class. He got stopped by the director, who asked him how he was doing, and Beomgyu kept the conversation simple before heading to get Aera. Kai heard the teacher explain that Aera cried less but drank all her milk and took her full naps. Kai heard Aera whining like she just noticed Beomgyu, probably because of his voice.
Kai focused on documents regarding a patient he was set to assist with surgery next week. Aera quickly screamed into the phone when she saw her dad in it, "Hi princess, you see me?" Kai said when his big-headed daughter watched him. Beomgyu pushed his phone into his pocket while Kai listened to him buckle Aera up in her car seat.
"She still cries half the time she's there," Beomgyu sighed. "Well, I expected it would take him time to get used to not being with you all day." Beomgyu seemed unnaturally quiet on the ride back to their house, while Aera was screaming her head off just to hear her voice in the backseat. "You good, baby?" Kai asked. "Your dad said to tell you there's some mandatory dinner. I know you don't like it when he calls me, but I answered it anyway because that's Aera's grandfather, and she should have the family right. Even if he doesn't like me for getting pregnant out of wedlock or whatever it was." Beomgyu seemingly spilled his guts out to Kai.
He frowned; he had his father blocked, which was probably why he chose to reach out to Beomgyu. "Just ignore his calls from now on." Kai was getting sick and tired of his dad encroaching on his happiness. His frown deepened when a message from Lea popped up saying SOS. He knew he would be forced to go to that hellish dinner just off his sibling texting him. Kai felt his gut squeeze; when would his father leave them alone? Guess he would have to make it clear he wanted nothing to do with him at this dinner.
"Baby, looks like we're going to the damn dinner."