Chapter Text
The moment Yeonjun stepped through the apartment door, exhaustion weighed heavy in his bones.
The photoshoot had dragged on for nearly fourteen hours. Endless outfit changes, bright flashing cameras, interviews, makeup touch-ups, fittings for another brand ambassador campaign he barely had time to process before the next event on his schedule. His PR team had congratulated him all day about the explosive success of his newest influencer account too, which had millions of followers in a matter of days, comments calling him The Nation’s Beauty, and brands practically fighting to book him.
Usually, Yeonjun loved it. He loved fashion. Loved creativity. Loved the adrenaline of stepping in front of a camera and transforming into whatever concept the world wanted to see from him. But tonight, all he wanted was home:
His alpha’s arms.
His pup’s sleepy little face.
The apartment lights were dim except for the kitchen, where the scent of warm milk, caramel and mint wrapped around him immediately. Soobin looked up from the counter the moment Yeonjun entered and everything instantly softened. “There’s my omega.” Yeonjun nearly melted on the spot.
Soobin crossed the kitchen in seconds, his tall frame enveloping Yeonjun carefully, one hand sliding to the small of his back while the other cupped his cheek. The familiar scent of mint and warm bread soothed every frayed nerve in Yeonjun’s body.
“You’re late,” Soobin murmured against his forehead.
Yeonjun rubbed his cheek against Soobin’s exposed collar, scenting his alpha. “Mm. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologise,” Soobin sighed, shoulders relaxing.
Yeonjun closed his eyes briefly, wrapping his arms around his alpha. “Where’s Yoojun?”
At that, Soobin’s smile turned helplessly amused. “Awake.”
Yeonjun’s eyes fluttered open. “…Still?”
“He refused to sleep.” Soobin smiled into Yeonjun’s hair, inhaling the scent of his shampoo.
Then the softest little babble echoed from the living room as if on cue and Yeonjun’s face lit up instantly, “My baby.”
The moment he hurried toward the couch, Soobin’s expression shifted into something fond and knowing because he already knew exactly what was about to happen. Yoojun sat in the middle of a blanket fortress, tiny hands gripping one of Soobin’s hoodie strings while a toy entertained him with ridiculous animal noises from the floor.
Yoojun’s eyes widened immediately at the sight of the omega and Yeonjun’s heart swelled so painfully he thought he might cry. “There’s my baby–” But the second Yeonjun bent to pick him up, Yoojun’s tiny face crumpled dramatically.
And then came the crying. Loud. Offended. Devastated.
Yeonjun froze, “No, no, baby…” Yoojun twisted away from him instantly, little hands reaching desperately toward Soobin instead. Yeonjun panicked at the sight of his son crying, “Oh my god—I didn’t do anything—”
“It’s okay,” Soobin sighed softly behind Yeonjun, but the omega already looked shattered. Slowly, Yeonjun withdrew his hands and Yoojun immediately stopped crying. The silence afterwards felt worse.
Yeonjun laughed weakly, though his eyes already looked glossy. “It’s fine,” he whispered. It clearly wasn’t.
Soobin watched his mate carefully. Yeonjun always tried to hide when things hurt him, but Soobin knew him too well now. Knew every tiny crack in his expression. The tiny hesitation before he smiled. The way his shoulders curled inward to sturdy himself. How he avoided looking directly at Yoojun after moments like this.
It had been happening for months now. It started with Yoojun refusing bottles from Yeonjun. Then he refused feeding from Yeonjun. Sometimes he refused any contact entirely. Meanwhile the baby practically launched himself into everyone else’s arms. Especially Soobin’s. And every single time, Yeonjun blamed himself more because he wasn’t home enough. Because of schedules, overseas trips, campaigns.
Even if his alpha had told him a thousand times otherwise. “Yeonjun-ah.” The omega looked down quietly but Soobin gently took his hand like he always did, gently and encompassing. “He’s just fussy.”
Yeonjun pouted, eyes glossy. “But he likes everyone else.”
“That’s not true.”
Yeonjun gave him a look. Soobin nearly smiled because if Yeonjun knew what actually happened the second he left the room, he would probably sob.
Every time Yeonjun disappeared from Yoojun’s sight, the pup would search for him immediately. Tiny head turning frantically. Little hands reaching out. Eyes watering. And if Yeonjun was gone too long? Absolute catastrophe. Yoojun would cry in Soobin’s arms while staring toward the hallway Yeonjun disappeared through, babbling broken little “Papa” sounds until he was tired. The baby adored Yeonjun so much it was almost ridiculous. He just… apparently had no idea how to act around him directly. Tsundere. He was a tsundere baby.
Even now, while pretending to ignore Yeonjun from Soobin’s arms, Yoojun kept sneaking tiny glances towards his omega parent, his big sparkling eyes following every movement. Yeonjun didn’t notice but Soobin did. Always.
Later that night, Yeonjun sat curled against the headboard scrolling through work emails with dull eyes while Soobin wrestled Yoojun into pyjamas at the foot of the bed. The baby kept squirming around. “Stay still,” Soobin laughed quietly.
“Da!” Yoojun giggled.
Soobin closed his eyes at the impact of a light smack on his cheekbone, his lips forming a straight line with his dimples deepening. “Yes, dada’s suffering, thank you.” Yeonjun smiled faintly from the bed and immediately, Yoojun turned. The baby stared at him. Completely still, tiny mouth falling open.
Soobin almost burst out laughing. Because there it was again. That look of pure awe. Like Yoojun genuinely thought Yeonjun was the prettiest person in the entire world. Which -– to be fair — he probably did.
Yeonjun tucked hair behind his ear absentmindedly while answering an email and Yoojun just stared harder. Then suddenly launched himself directly out of Soobin’s busy hands towards the head of the bed. “Whoa—HEY—” Soobin barely caught him.
Yeonjun blinked in surprise. “Did he just—”
‘“Yep.” The alpha sighed, pinching his nose. Then Yoojun made grabby hands towards the omega.
Yeonjun froze like he’d been handed the moon itself. Slowly, cautiously, he reached out to hold Yoojun and this time, Yoojun let him. The omega’s breath caught. “There’s my baby…” he whispered shakily. Yoojun immediately grabbed fistfuls of Yeonjun’s hoodie and shoved his tiny face against Yeonjun’s chest like he belonged there, his nose searching for the sweet caramel scent.
Soobin’s chest tightened painfully at the sight because this was what Yoojun always did when Yeonjun was gone too long. Clinging as if making sure his papa was real.
Yeonjun looked utterly stunned. “He… likes me right now.”
Soobin snorted. “Right now?”
“Binnie, be serious!” Yeonjun whined, his eyes darting at his alpha.
“I am serious.” Soobin climbed onto the bed beside them. “Yoojun is obsessed with you.”
Yeonjun looked unconvinced and as if on cue, Yoojun suddenly looked up at Yeonjun with huge sparkling eyes and babbled proudly: “Papa.”
Silence.
Yeonjun’s eyes filled instantly with tears.
Soobin smiled softly. “There it is.”
The omega let out the most broken little laugh. “Oh my gosh...” Yoojun grinned at him like he’d just accomplished something incredible. Then immediately smacked Yeonjun in the face with a tiny hand. Soobin burst into laughter at the turn of events. Yeonjun gasped playfully, tickling Yoojun’s belly. “Excuse me?!” The pup squealed happily between his parents. And for the first time in weeks, Yeonjun laughed without anything sad hidden underneath it.
🍼🍰📝📸
The internet went into a complete meltdown three days later because someone spotted the Choi family at the airport. Well, not just spotted but photographed and filmed. Then uploaded in approximately twelve different angles before Yeonjun’s security team could even blink. By the time Yeonjun landed in Paris, hashtags were already trending worldwide.
#ChoiFamily #BabyYoojun #PapaYeonjun #SoobinBestAlpha
The photos themselves were honestly harmless. Soobin stood near the departure gate wearing an oversized cream hoodie from Yeonjun’s latest brand collaboration, one arm carrying Yeonjun’s carry-on while the other held Yeonjun’s iced coffee because the omega somehow kept forgetting where he placed it. Meanwhile Yeonjun, dressed in a long dark coat and sunglasses despite it being barely seven in the morning, had Yoojun against his chest, listening to him babble seriously about absolutely nothing.
Or at least that’s what it looked like because the videos were worse since Yoojun had a tantrum. It wasn’t loud or dramatic, just the most heartbreaking tiny whines when Yeonjun finally had to pass Yoojun back to Soobin after the final boarding call. “Papa has to go now, bubs.”
“Papaaa…” Yoojun’s bottom lips quivered and Yeonjun visibly almost folded on the spot. Fans zoomed into the footage like investigators analysing national security footage.
One viral post read:
“THE BABY ONLY CRIES FOR YEONJUN I THOUGHT Y’ALL SAID HE DIDN’T LIKE HIM???”
Another read:
“YOOJUN IS LITERALLY REACHING FOR YEONJUN WHILE SOOBIN HOLDS HIM I’M GONNA BE SICK”
And another with over two million likes:
“the way soobin watches yeonjun with the softest eyes every single time… that alpha is DOWN BAD.”
Soobin sent the screenshot to Yeonjun immediately.
Jjunie:
stop reading comments
Soobin:
Impossible
they called me broad shouldered and dependable
Jjunie:
because you are???
Soobin:
marrying you was my greatest achievement
Jjunie:
cringe
Soobin:
says the omega who cried because yoojun said papa
Yeonjun didn’t reply for six minutes. Then:
Jjunie:
i’m blocking you
🍼🍰📝📸
Paris was exhausting but it was beautiful and everything Yeonjun ever dreamed of. And yet every night ended the same way now: FaceTiming home.
Tonight, Yeonjun sat in the makeup chair between schedules while stylists fluttered around him fixing his hair. The second Soobin answered, Yoojun gasped the only word he could babble so loudly it startled everyone nearby. “Papa!” The entire makeup team collectively melted.
Yeonjun smiled instantly, exhaustion disappearing from his face so fast it made his manager emotional. “There’s my baby.”
Yoojun slapped both hands against the screen excitedly. “Papa! Papa!”
“I know, bubs, I miss you too.” The omega’s eyes twinkled at the sight of his pup on the screen.
Soobin appeared behind Yoojun holding a tray of freshly baked pastries. “Don’t encourage him,” the alpha said casually. “He’s been pointing at the TV every time your advertisements come on.”
One of the stylists cooed, “Aww.”
“Alpha, be serious!” Yeonjun’s cheeks flushed, now aware his cool attitude from earlier now has completely disappeared.
“I’m serious.” Soobin sounded way too amused. “Yesterday your skincare commercial played and he started clapping.”
Yeonjun covered his face. “No, he did not.”
Soobin grinned, “He absolutely did—”
“Papa!” Yoojun looked genuinely offended that Yeonjun stopped talking to him.
“Sorry, sorry.” The omega’s expression softened immediately. Yoojun stared at him through the screen with those huge sparkling eyes again but suddenly his tiny face crumpled.
“Uh oh.” Soobin sighed instantly, already knowing.
Yeonjun straightened up in his chair, his instincts firing up. “What?”
Soobin leaned down, temporarily blocking the screen as he picked Yoojun up, “Someone realised you’re not physically here.” Right on cue, Yoojun started crying. Tiny tears wobbling down his tiny rounded cheeks, with tiny desperate grabby hands toward the camera. The stylists nearby looked moments away from tears themselves.
Yeonjun’s heart felt like it was ripped out of his chest. “Oh, bubs…”
Soobin bounced Yoojun gently in his arms. “Papa’s coming home soon.”
“Papa…” Yoojun sniffed, a snot bubble popping on Soobin’s apron.
Yeonjun swallowed hard. God. Nothing prepared him for how much becoming a parent rewired him emotionally. Before Yoojun, Yeonjun could leave for months at a time if schedules demanded it. Now? Three days overseas felt unbearable.
“Just one more day,” Yeonjun whispered softly to Yoojun. “Then papa’s home, okay?” Yoojun sniffled in response. Then, in the most shocking betrayal imaginable— He leaned over and kissed the phone screen. The entire room exploded.
“Oh my GOD—”
“Did you record that?!”
“THAT’S SO CUTE—”
Yeonjun looked seconds away from crying again. Soobin grinned victoriously through the screen, “Told you he’s obsessed with you.”
Yeonjun mumbled weakly, “I hate both of you.”
When Yeonjun returned to Seoul the next evening, the airport somehow looked worse than usual. Cameras were everywhere. Fans were pressed tightly behind barriers. Reporters were shouting questions the second Yeonjun appeared through the gate.
“Yeonjun-ssi! Over here!”
“How was Paris Fashion Week?”
“Any upcoming ambassador projects?”
“How’s baby Yoojun?”
Yeonjun smiled politely through it all, exhaustion hidden perfectly beneath idol-trained professionalism. Until he spotted them. Soobin stood near the private pickup area wearing a black cap and long coat, Yoojun balanced on his hip.
Yoojun spotted Yeonjun first and lost his mind. “PAPA!”
Every camera in the building swivelled instantly. Yeonjun didn’t even care anymore. His entire face transformed and fans genuinely screamed. Because that expression—the soft, completely lovestruck one Yeonjun only ever wore around his family—was rare enough to become internet legend at this point.
“Hi, bubs,” Yeonjun laughed breathlessly once he reached his family. The second he got close enough, Yoojun launched himself directly out of Soobin’s arms toward him. Fully. No hesitation. Everyone audibly gasped. Yeonjun barely caught him in time, laughing as Yoojun clung to him with all four limbs like a koala. “Oh my goodness, you’ve gotten bigger.”
“Papa!” Yoojun buried his face into Yeonjun’s neck immediately, tiny hands gripping his coat tightly like he was making sure Yeonjun wasn’t disappearing again.
“I know, I know.” Yeonjun pressed a kiss to his cheek, his omega all content and satisfied. Soobin watched them quietly. Completely gone. Utterly in love. Yeonjun—still carrying Yoojun—looked over finally. The exhaustion in his eyes softened instantly when he saw his alpha properly. “There’s my alpha.”
Soobin smiled back, “There’s my superstar.”