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"No, we can’t just get take-out. It has to be a healthy homecooked meal or else she’ll think that we don’t care about her at all," Woohyun argued as he took out pots and pans, placing them on the stove.
And Sunggyu sighed and put his phone back into his pocket. Ordering food would have been easier. She would have liked it, especially if they got pizza. People her age love pizza. “But we don’t even know what she likes. She’ll be more sensitive to these things. Her tastebuds will be sharper,” Sunggyu retorted leaning onto the counter. Woohyun stopped from washing the rice, turned around to face Sunggyu with the dripping wet bowl, and shot his husband a nervous look. “Yah, your tastebuds are just fine. Don’t worry about it. You’re worrying enough as it is,” he grumbled the last bit so that Woohyun couldn’t hear it. And he didn’t, judging on the happy tune he was now humming as he placed the washed rice into the cooker.
Woohyun crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter, facing the other. “Then, we’ll just have to make something bland then,” he suggested. He heard a small whine and saw his husband’s lip slightly pout. “Don’t worry. It’ll still be tasty.”
"I was whining at the ‘we’ part," Sunggyu admitted, sheepishly looking down at his foot. He then slowly lifted his eyes to meet Woohyun’s and smiled cutely. "You’re so much better at cooking. I’ll just ruin it."
Woohyun scoffed. Sunggyu always complained about his own use of aegyo, but here he was, the eldest of the two, shamefully acting cute to get out of making dinner. Woohyun responded by throwing an apron at the other. “While that might be true, we have no time,” laughter laced his final words, watching Sunggyu roughly put on the apron like it was the last thing he’d ever want to do.
After arguing over a recipe book that they got from Woohyun’s mother, they finally decided on just making a simple miso soup and a rather tasteless fish (because they used up most of their time arguing and it was the only thing they had enough time to make). While Woohyun was portioning out the soup, they heard a rustle above them and a soft “Appa” echoing in the air. Woohyun looked over at Sunggyu as he was untying his apron strings. “Which one of us is it?” he asked.
Sunggyu shrugged. “We’ll have to figure that out later. Why don’t you go get her?” The last statement was unnecessary because Woohyun was already out of the kitchen and walking up the stairs to the second floor. The elder, abandoned in the kitchen, sighed and continued to set the table. And while he was placing the utensils on the table, he heard the two walk into the kitchen.
"Look who just woke up from her nap. She’s cute, isn’t she?" Woohyun praised giving the small girl in his arms a peck on her cheek.
Sunggyu walked over and gave the girl a few, hesitant pats on her head. “Did you sleep well?”
The girl nodded, rubbing her eyes and leaning closer into Woohyun’s chest. Woohyun smiled and gave her one last squeeze before setting her down into a chair at the table. They had just picked up Yerin from the orphanage that day. And after exhausting the small girl by showing her around her new home, her new bedroom, and toys, Yerin had passed out on a pile of teddy bears. Her father’s laughed as they placed her in her bed, planning on waking her up for their first family dinner together.
Sunggyu walked over to the counter to pick the fish and placed it on the table. “Jjang! Dinner!” he exclaimed in a gentle voice as he placed the fish in front of Yerin, awaiting her reaction. She frowned, and their hearts sank. Sunggyu knelt down next to her. “You don’t like it?”
Yerin shook her head. “It’s looking at me,” she spoke, barley above a whisper. “It’s scary. I don’t like it.”
Woohyun quickly broke through the fish’s skin and brought out some of the flesh, bringing to his mouth. “But it’s delicious. Yum!” he exaggerated, barely tasting anything as he ate the fish. He then dug out some more meat from the fish and brought it to her tightly pursed lips. “Come on, try it. You’ll like it,” he softly sang. Yerin just turned her head and closed her eyes. Woohyun looked over to his husband nervously, at a loss as to what to do.
Sunggyu grabbed the plate. “Then we’ll just have to make you something else,” he announced coolly, bringing the fish back to the counter. Woohyun watched Sunggyu curiously as he feed Yerin spoonfuls of rice and soup, which she ate happily. Sunggyu didn’t seem to be making anything, just hovering over the same dish. But Woohyun stopped paying his husband so much attention because his mind was too occupied with how adorable Yerin was with rice stuck on her cheek and her mouth hanging wide open for her new father to feed her more.
But his attention came back to Sunggyu as the elder placed the dish back onto the table. “There. Poisson. It’s French,” he announced. Woohyun glanced at the plate, and it was just the same fish, just without the scales, bones, and creepy eyes. Sunggyu picked up the fish with his chopsticks and fed it to Woohyun. “Delicious, right?” he asked and his eyes begged his husband to play along.
"Mmmm," Woohyun hummed. "It’s my favorite. Your turn, Yerin," he said bringing the fish to her mouth. And to their surprise, she ate it. "Yummy?"
"Yummy!" Yerin exclaimed with a smile that reminded him of Sunggyu’s. She then grabbed her own chopsticks, grabbed a bit of the fish, and put it in front of Sunggyu. "Appa, your turn."