Chapter Text
"I can't believe you got it with you!"
"I can't believe you left it back home!" Jaemin croons, more like Snow White singing to woodland creatures than satirical. As if he didn't break into Haechan's closet and get a very expensive necklace all the way with him to Hong Kong.
Jaemin happily puts said necklace around Haerin's neck and beams at how it snugly sits under the satin bow. "Not to be rude or anything, but your mother was lurking around this necklace too much. And you know how expensive this is."
Haechan doesn't know the specific number. But a custom necklace of the Chinese characters of his daughter's name on a snowflake encrusted with diamonds can't be cheap. If he had to give an estimate, it's ‘21 members pitching in exorbitantly’ expensive. It’s ‘anxiety-inducing to Haechan’ expensive. It’s ‘Haerin is too young for diamonds’ expensive.
Another person who doesn't know it's true value but knows how valuable it is, is Haechan's mother. She got a loaner diamond necklace for a party where she was not the star. Haechan can't put it past her to not casually stash it in her bag, go back to Jeju with it, and show off Haerin's gift from her celebrity uncles to one-up her friends.
Still, for Jaemin to sneakily carry it to Hong Kong where the entire NCT is performing at AAA, that's a bit out of Haechan's comfort zone. All the members, even Mark, seem to share Jaemin's sentiment that they should let Haerin wear it as often as she can.
But Haechan will put his foot down tomorrow, when Lucas is insistently taking Haerin and all of NCT on a Hong Kong tour. Tonight, his daughter in the new red silk dress with the statement bow in the front gifted by Lucas' mother, fluffy white shrug that she's taken to calling Daegal, sparkly pink shoes that Mark just had to find and buy for her after her dol, and a glittery retro hairband on her soft hair is extra special with the diamonds glittering below the bow.
Haechan thinks when he's performing later, he'll be able to spot Haerin, his sparkly baby, in the audience even if she'll be all the way in the back with their staff. And maybe, he's a tad bit his mother's son wanting to have his baby showered with compliments at the afterparty later.
So Haechan puts his fears at the back of his mind, lets Jaemin wrinkle his suit by carrying Haerin out of the dressing room, and enjoys his first awards night in almost two years in the best way.
At the red carpet alone, Haerin was a scene stealer. From clinging to Johnny's pant leg to holding both her parents' hands as she enjoys showing off her fashion. Haerin might not deal with strangers too well but flaunting her style comes more naturally to her than a rookie idol with extensive camera coaching.
She sits pretty in Doyoung's lap throughout the show, the performances with their light effects, pyrotechnics, and charisma keeping her enraptured. When it was NCT's turn to go on stage, she finds new friends with Seventeen, who are sitting in the nearby table. Haerin is comfortable sitting on Dokyeom's shoulders and wilding alongside Hoshi. The Internet has a field day with Nctzens' Princess Sunshine's ‘betrayal’ waving a Caratbong during NCT's performance.
The crankiness starts when they're heading to the hotel for the afterparty. She's torn between wanting to party and wanting her bed. So she's resorted to rolling and squawking in Haechan's hold.
"I'm suddenly imagining a wild underage partying phase..." Mark smacks Yangyang's arm for that.
NCT has commandeered one entire section of the hotel's lobby for themselves, occupying the sectional couches around an abstract crystal statue. They're half resting and half antsy, waiting for their staff.
To avoid cameras capturing a fussy Haerin, they left the venue early and ended up at the hotel earlier than their staff. Who have Haerin's bags that contain the formula milk and food. And their managers are stuck in the rush hour traffic.
They tried to get access to their rooms that are supposed to be booked but it's complicated without their managers. And again, it's pointless because the food is with their staff.
They can't go out because there's a frenzy of paparazzi. The hotel staff is trying their best to help but they're swamped because this hotel is housing all the foreign artists as well as hosting the afterparty in their ballroom.
That's another anxiety inducer. The artists are finally making it to the hotel and they'll be expected at the party soon too.
"This is pointless, Hyung. She's not going to calm down till she's fed. Can't we just go out? Find a store?" Doyoung pleads to Taeyong who is adamant on his earlier point. "We have no security Doyoung. And it's madness outside. Kun, can't you ask them to open their restaurant again?"
"We did. But all their resources are on the party. They said they sent someone to a nearby store. We just have to hope they can get through that." The 'that' Kun refers to is the mob of fans and paparazzi outside the hotel building who are making it very difficult for people to enter the place. They’re so close to the glass doored entrance, the hotel security is physically holding them back.
It's one thing to let Haerin join them on the red carpet. But the attention outside is equivalent to feeding her to vultures. Johnny and Sungchan have been beside Haechan like walls blocking the view through the glass doors outside.
When Haechan feels Haerin's tummy rumble under his hand and feels the vibration from her whimpers against his chest, tears prick at his own eyes. He’d definitely not want this sight of him to be photographed.
"Hey guys!" They slightly flinch when Hoshi announces his arrival loudly. The other Seventeen members make a quieter entrance.
"We arrived few minutes ago and heard you guys are holed up here. Everything okay?" Joshua asks more to Johnny, clapping hands with the fellow American in greeting.
"The princess is hungry and sleepy but all her things are with our staff and our staff is an hour out."
"Yeah, the crazies have really blocked up traffic to the hotel..." Joshua gasps at a lightbulb moment and looks for his bandmates. "Any of you still carrying the berries we had in the car?" The Seventeen members perk up with Jeonghan and Seungkwan producing matching packets of dried berries, folded up roughly and squashed a bit, from their pockets.
Doyoung accepts them gratefully, willing himself to not rush and drop them as he opens the zip seal bags. "Wyn, wake up. Eat this," Haechan shifts Haerin to show her the berries in Doyoung's palm. They aren't the best to look at but it doesn't stop her from picking up how much she can in two fingers and shoving it in her mouth till her knuckles. When she reaches for a second mouthful, they're relieved enough to let her eat the rest from the bag.
"You guys are a lifesaver..." Taeyong tells the other leader.
"Yeah, well that's all we can offer." Seungcheol shows his own crumpled up empty packet. "Hopefully your staff makes it soon."
"I hope so too. We aren't going to be able to move from here until then."
"It's okay Hyung. I'll stay with Haechan till we can get to... our... room..." Mark's voice dies out when Taeyong fixes him with an exasperated glare. "If I haven't made it clear enough already, we are the only security Haerin has till our staff gets here. One or two of us aren't remotely capable of keeping those people away."
Mingyu discreetly asks Jaehyun why don't they have a sitter to which Jaehyun rolls his eyes. "Don't even ask."
"Umm.... excuse me?" A woman in the pastel blue pantsuit that matches the other hotel staff in the lobby nervously interrupts them. Though she started in English, she seems unable to continue in it. An oddity, Ten mutters to Jaehyun, given that most of these hotel employees have been conversing with them in English comfortably.
The Chinese members of both groups are immediately taking over, although Renjun plays more like translator than communicating with the woman. "She's saying they've sorted the security and we can access the rooms on the 11th floor."
"Oh... that's fast..." Mark says a little in disbelief, absorbing the coincidence. They said earlier it might not be possible to sort out their room situation for hours because the organizers had given them dressing rooms at the auditorium for all the groups to get ready in. Checking into hotels and coordinating the rooms was the job of their management, who aren't around.
Yet Haechan is not going to be picky. "As long as there's a snack bar I don't care." Haechan briskly walks to the woman and asks her to lead the way in accented English.
"Haechan wait-" Taeyong calls when the others made to follow. But he's held back by a grip on his elbow.
"Dude!" Seungcheol motions at a woman in a AAA staff uniform and headset making her way over.
"NCT, your press talk moved up till the other groups get here. You're on in 10. Seventeen after that."
They freeze for a long second, unable to think what to do. "Hyung, you all should go ahead." Renjun squeezes between the many bodies to go to Haechan who's waiting by the elevator with the hotel employee. "Two people less in a group like ours is hardly noticeable. I need to use the washroom anyway and Haechan will need a translator. We'll come back down as soon as manager hyung is back."
Renjun doesn't wait for anyone to stop him, making it just in time to slip into the elevator with Haechan. The remaining two groups are herded to the press areas.
"Happy?" Haerin nods, mouth industriously sipping the mango milkshake through the straw. Haechan thumbs at her cheek where cake crumbs still remained when he's offered a wet wipe.
He looks up at the woman who's stayed by the room's entrance since she let them in and accepts the wipe. He finds it too hard to look her in the eye. It's just disconcerting. But he feels it'd be rude to question her after she helped them.
Renjun steps out of the bathroom fixing his coat when the lady tells him something in Chinese. Instead of responding to her, he tells Haechan in Korean. "She says we're expected back for the press talk. Some individual interviews thing."
"Well I'm not moving from here. And Wyn's had enough tonight." Renjun agrees, pulling out his phone. "My phone's dead."
"I left mine with Mark. Wyn drained his watching videos on it in the car."
Renjun turns to the last resort and he says something to the woman again. Haechan watches her pass her phone to him politely and he rapidly texts on it. A response follows a minute later and with it, a sigh of relief from Renjun. "They've made it into parking lot." Renjun returns her phone with a quick thanks.
"Injun can you go and get them?"
Renjun looks at Haechan like he just asked him to bury a body. "Either we go together or we stay here. I'm not leaving you alone."
"Jun, Wyn's cold. She needs to stay in the room with the heater. Just go and get our bags before they go to the wrong room." Renjun is still unconvinced but the lady suddenly interjects. "She says she'll stay with you."
Haechan would have hesitated on any other day. But today is ‘beggars can't be choosers’ grand holiday sale. He's going to take what he can. "Go, it's okay. We'll be fine."
Renjun tells the woman in Chinese and reluctantly hurries out. When he's gone, Haechan gathers the empty snack wrappers and puts them in the trash before cursing at the milkshake stain on his cuff.
"Ex-excuse me..." Haechan tries in broken Mandarin with the sinking realization that maybe this woman speaks Cantonese. He tries English instead with a mix of gestures. She seems to understand and gives him a thumbs up.
Haechan tucks a drowsy Haerin under the duvet and tells her he'll be back in a bit. He keeps the bathroom door open while he slips his jacket off. He tries to be quiet for his own benefit, so he can hear any sounds out of the ordinary.
Momentarily he's distracted by the accessories on his right wrist. The watch was such a random choice, he instinctively wore it and didn’t switch it with the watch the stylist offered. It’s quite special to him though.
It was back when SuperM had debuted. Haechan was gushing about Mark's style, including the watch Mark bought in the US. Mark imprinted his appreciation for the compliments into his skin and the next day Haechan woke up deliciously sore, bare under the covers, and the same watch on his wrist. Haechan brought it out after a long time for Haerin's dol and has been wearing it every chance he gets.
The bracelet is something he only takes off when necessary. Now he can't even sleep without it.
That night Mark gifted it to him, he found out his mother put the idea into Mark's head and Mark's family encouraged it but Haechan found it silly the new dad got him a present for going through childbirth. As if Haerin isn't the biggest present to Haechan already. But Mark put some thought into the charms, even adding a little NCT one for him on their daughter's first birthday.
Everything Haechan holds dear is on his wrist and he will hang on to it. So he keeps the bracelet on but takes off the watch and puts it in his pocket. He makes a mental note to take Haerin’s necklace off and keep it in his pocket as soon as he goes out.
When he's busy washing his cuff, he hears the front door and Renjun announcing his arrival. "Who was that?" He hears the familiar voice of their manager. "A hotel employee. She gave us access to the room." Haechan heard Renjun as he stepped out of the bathroom.
He looked around the place, ensured that Haerin was as he left her, sleeping under the duvet, then at the other end of the room. "Did she leave?"
"Yeah. Ducked right out when we entered." Renjun made to get the pastel blue trunk bag on Haechan's usual luggage carrier when the manager stopped him.
"That person was a hotel employee?" Renjun frowned at the question, nodding slowly "yeah... she said her supervisor told her to show her to our room."
"As in the room we asked for?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I..." The manager takes in the room again. "I specifically asked for double beds..." Renjun and Haechan turn towards the twin beds with sinking dread.
"Maybe... there weren't enough rooms..." Renjun tries to explain.
"We booked the rooms, Renjun. I had to come and show your passports so they'd let you- did they... she... let you up just like that?" In response to the manager's question Haechan goes over to Haerin.
She's sleeping without a care, her hair still messed up after Haechan took her hairband off, and she still has sticky stains around her mouth. Cautiously he pulls the duvet lower and feels bile rise in his throat.
The ribbon is askew, not even crumpled under the covers, halfway ripped from the collar. Just above the ripped bit, two visible red lines are blooming on his baby's pale neck.
Haechan scrambles to the bathroom and heaves into the sink, leaving the other two terrified. They approach Haerin and Renjun stumbles back in shock. The manager is perplexed, unclear which of the three emergencies he should attend to. A hyperventilating Renjun, a distressed Haechan, or Haerin with her missing necklace.
~~~
"That is her!" Renjun points at the screen where it shows the woman approach their group. Haechan stays plastered at the back of the wall, willing all thoughts away. He hasn't allowed himself to think after asking the manager to get them a different room. He did, while telling the hotel staff what happened.
Haechan waited till Mark returned at two in the morning, pretended to sleep while protectively hugging Haerin, then when Mark was asleep he made sure Haerin was in her dad's arms before he went looking for his manager at five a.m. Not like his manager was going to sleep peacefully.
His manager, their other managers, the head of their security team, the hotel security and even two police officers were in deep discussion in the same room the incident happened. He was a little surprised to see Renjun there but he supposes it's good because he filled in the blanks. The police asked him very few questions and gave him reassurance that they'll find the necklace.
Haechan couldn't care less about the necklace. If he was thinking a mile a minute, he'd be slapping himself for leaving his daughter in danger. He would be dreading the disappointment, the anger, the calls of untrustworthy immature brat from his members for what happened while he was right there. He'd be terrified about Mark blaming himself and all his progress coming undone.
"Are you okay?" Haechan looks up at the worried face in front of him, the Dream manager was always the type to scare easily given Dream's penchant for trouble more than the other subunits. He's not a decent standard for Haechan to wonder if he's doing a bad job at hiding his stress. Just like he tends to, the manager supplies him with a unnecessarily detailed speech.
"It's not your fault okay? It was a big infrastructural breakdown. We just saw the surveillance feed. The woman first snuck in pretending to be the award show staff. Then stole a hotel employee's uniform and their access pass to get you in the room. It was a good thing that you didn't leave Haerin even for a bit. And the police have a positive lead with the number Renjun called me with yesterday. They don't think that woman was the sharpest knife in the drawer. They'll find her soon."
Haechan nods on auto, having not processed any of that. All he wants is one thing. "No one must know."
"Of course. The legal and PR teams are on top of it-"
"I didn't mean just the public..."
The older stills, shock dawning on his face. "Not even Mark? That's his daughter!"
"And you remember how he was a year ago." He couldn't counter that. So he reluctantly agrees. With a caveat. "It won't go outside this room. But if it does reach the members, we won't stop it."
Haechan will accept that. He can only call it divine retribution or something along those lines if it happens. "You and Renjun are done here. Go, get changed. Enjoy the tour if you can. Your bodyguards will be close by."
Haechan and Renjun step out of the hotel's surveillance monitoring room feeling lost and helpless. They work on autopilot, walking to the elevators. Inside the cubicle Renjun's eyes fixate on Haechan's hands, wringing against each other like he's massaging his frayed nerves.
"What do we do if someone asks where the necklace is?"
“The necklace?" Haechan stares at Renjun's reflection in the immaculately clean mirror. He follows Renjun's gaze to his hands, realizing his subconscious actions, and lets his hands fall limp against his sides. "The necklace was in the room's safe, then I kept it with the manager, then when I'm back home, I've put it in a safe because it's a very valuable necklace and should not be taken out so often."
Renjun can't tell if it's a cover story, a warning, or sarcasm. But he quietly nods at the implication. They part ways to their respective rooms. But not before Renjun requests Haechan to cover for him if Yangyang asks why he didn't return to the room last night.
Back in his room, Mark is still snoring away, unaware of Haerin fidgeting under his arm. Haechan rescues her without disturbing Mark, soothing her with kisses and trying not to sob at the feeling of her warm face. By the time Mark is up two hours later, Haerin is fed, knocked out on cold medicine and bundled in warm clothes.
"She has a fever..." Haechan says shortly and Mark only nods with a soft "Ah..." They pack their things, load it on to their bus, and shuffle to the breakfast buffet.
Other artists happen to be there too, including Seventeen. They drift into stereotypical conversation groups. The English speaking ones occupy one table, the Chinese artists decide to take a walk outside, Jaehyun has his friend circle while the remaining naturally have an easy conversation by the egg station.
Haechan doesn't know why but he stays close to Taeyong, feeling comfort in just the leader's proximity. He tells the older that Haerin is feverish to which Taeyong says they'll stop by the medical bay before leaving and resumes his conversation with Seungcheol about their performances last night. Jeonghan places a coffee in front of the Seventeen leader and was going around the table to possibly sit next to Haechan and talk to him.
"Oh! There's muffins?" Seungcheol spots the same in his boyfriend's plate and makes towards the buffet.
"Wait for me! I want to see what teas they have." Taeyong stands too then nudges Haechan, "Need anything?"
"Uh... no, but... something to go? Which will be easy on her stomach?" Taeyong nods, following the other leader.
Haerin is somewhat conscious now, whimpering and looking up at him with glassy eyes. "Oh, is she up?" Jeonghan instinctively picks up a paper napkin and wipes the gunk and tears around Haerin's eyes. "Want a muffin, cutie? Here." Jeonghan holds a tiny chunk of blueberry muffin to Haerin's lips and she nibbles on it. "Well what do ya know! And Vernon was saying he couldn't even get her to look at him on Mark's birthday."
Haechan smiles, not sure how to respond to that. But he does steal a bit of buttered toast from Taeyong's plate to let Haerin nibble on it. She holds it with her gloved hands and eats leisurely, more out of boredom than hunger.
"You guys have a hectic Christmas? We have to fly to Indonesia in the afternoon but it's mostly just the usual award show performances."
"We go back in the night... just rehearsals for award shows too but laid-back Christmas... Haerin's grandparents from Canada are in Seoul right now so we're going to let her spend as much time with them as we can."
"Wow! Were they here for her birthday? Tell me about her dol. I heard Doyoung telling Wonwoo she started walking that day. Oh? Wasn't the necklace she wore yesterday a gift?"
The way Haechan flinches startles Jeonghan. The younger's eyes are shaky and his arms are curling tighter around his daughter. "Did... something happen?"
"Hy-hyung..." Haechan croaks, his voice so distressed that even Haerin blinks up at him. "Yes-yesterday, when you saw Wyn... was she... wearing... the necklace..."
"Uh... y-yeah... we didn't notice at the event because it was dark but we saw it in the pictures on the Internet while we were in the van and then at... at the lounge Hoshi had pointed it out... to us... is... it missing?" Of course he'd ask. Haechan doesn't know why he even wanted to know if they saw the necklace.
It's established what happened. Does he just want to say that he was right, the necklace dropped somewhere, and the others shouldn't have insisted on it being on Haerin at all times? Or does he want this all to be a nightmare he can wake up from?
Haechan's thumb slightly tugs the scarf around Haerin's shoulders so his eyes could see the clear red lines, now darker, to remind him that it is not an illusion.
The sound of someone's breath hitching beside him makes him straighten the scarf. "Don't tell anyone... please... the police are handling it..." Jeonghan doesn't give him any outward sign of assurance but Haechan thinks he won't say anything.
Jeonghan keeps up the pretense much to Haechan's relief when NCT files into their bus. But he does receive a text from the older.
It'll be fine. Don't worry. It reads. Haechan can only hope he's right.