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Jeonghan woke up as the wind blew from the window into their room. It was the beginning of summer, yet the wind is still cold at night whenever it touches your skin. He stood up to close the window, but to his surprise his boyfriend is still up with a bunch of materials spread out on his worktable. Jeonghan sat on a nearby chair, staring at his persevering boyfriend admiringly before deciding to speak.
"Eisa, what are you doing? It's late already, let's sleep now." Jeonghan said as he saw his partner being busy with something across the room. Minghao just smiled at him as he showed his masterpiece.
"I'm just putting some finishing touches on my gift for Liann. Do you think she'll like this? " He uttered as he showed off the handmade snowglobe he made for Liann's birthday tomorrow.
"That's so pretty, hon! If Liann doesn't like it, I will pretty much steal it from her!!!" Minghao smiled as Jeonghan hyped him up.
"Oh shut up, Hannie. I made it for Liann, not for you!" And they both chuckled.
"I know you've been trying your best for Liann, but please don't push yourself too hard okay? I know the child will love you eventually." Jeonghan said as he walks closer to Hao.
"You don't have to worry too much about me. I am doing this by my own will." Minghao puts his arms around lover's waist as the latter went closer to him.
"Alright, hon. I will leave you two alone for breakfast tomorrow because I'll pick up Liann's cake. Make use of that time to bond with her and flex your wonderful gift!" He said enthusiastically and Minghao pinched his cheeks, adoring his cuteness.
"I will, your highness. I'll make sure Liann enjoys her day tomorrow. Now go to bed, because you need your beauty sleep. I will follow after a couple of minutes." Minghao stood up for a couple of seconds, taking a quick break from his work progress, to kiss Jeonghan's forehead.
"Fine, fine. Nighty night, Eisa. Please finish that quickly, it's so lonely without you in the bed." Jeonghan pouted and that made Minghao laugh.
"Such a drama queen, I won't go elsewhere unless you want me to sleep in the couch." And with that, Jeonghan laughed as well. "Good night to you as well, Hannie."
Jeonghan went back to bed while Minghao, on the other hand, went back in polishing the handmade snowglobe. Still excited at the thought of Liann's reaction while he joyously painted the edges of gis work. It might not be an expensive gift, but surely his blood, sweat, and tears will pay off if he saw Liann smile.
The next morning, Minghao woke up when Jeonghan slowly tapped his face.
"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead. It's time for me to go now. I already prepared some pancakes and orange juice for breakfast, and you can just slice the fruits I washed earlier if you want to pair your breakkie with it." The latter said, smiling brightly as Minghao slowly stretches his arms.
"Hannie, take care on your way. Please come home quickly, I will miss you." He said, hugging his boyfriend tightly.
"Yes, hon. You should fix yourself now before Liann wakes up. I'll be back. I love you." Jeonghan kisses Minghao, in which woke up the lad's system. Minghao smiled and waved as his Hannie walks away.
Not a minute passed, Minghao decided to get up from the bed to prepare himself. He washed his face before he grabbed his gift and went downstairs. He was waitong excitedly for Liann to wake up.
"Where's Dada?" Hao jumped in surprised when Liann showed up out of nowhere. But he recovered shortly after and served Liann's breakfast.
"He went somewhere, but he'll be back in a minute or two. Happy birthday by the way, sweetheart." He greeted, smiling brightly at the kid. But Liann on the other hand just nodded, not even looking at Hao.
"You cooked this?" She asked.
"No, your Dada Han cooked it for you. Go ahead and take a bite, it's delicious." Hao answered as he pours an oranger juice on the glass in which he placed beside Liann's plate right after.
"I know. Dada cooks the best, and I will only eat Dada's food. Good thing you didn't cook this." Minghao felt a pang in his heart, he didn't expect the young girl to utter such words. He's in pain but he still smiled for her, he doesn't want to show that he's affected. Especially not infront of her.
"Silly. Oh by the way, since it's your birthday I made you a gift!" Minghao excitedly said as he took the paperbag from the counter. "Tada! Happy birthday again, Liann. Open it!"
Liann just stared at him blankly, hesitating as she received the gift from the older lad. She opened the bag and saw the handmade snowglobe that Minghao made for her. She just winced and put back the bag on the table.
"Really? A snowglobe? That's so cheap." The words that she said made Hao's heart sink.
"What's wrong with it?" He asked as he held the snowglobe in his hands. "It has your favorite colors, look. And there are lights in it. Dada Han said it looks pretty just like you." Minghao still tried to be enthusiastic about his gift, leaning closer to Liann to show more of its detail.
But then, to his dismay Liann pushed the globe away and it accidentally fell on the floor. Hao's heart dropped as the glass shreds scattered on the floor, both of them broken into pieces.
"Hey, Liann. It's not polite to ruin someone's gift, especially if they made it with effort just for you. Come, help me clean up this mess before your Dada sees this." Hao said calmly, trying to ignore the fact that he was hurt because of what Liann did.
"NO! IT'S YOUR FAULT WHY IT FELL, UNCLE HAO!" Liann shouted at Hao and then she ran back to her room.
"Liann, it's also bad to talk like that to people who are older than you." He tried to educate the kid but she was now out of sight. Minghao was left alone with his broken gift on the dining room. He doesn't know what to feel about it so he just decides to clean it up.
He sighed as he gently picks up the pieces of glass on the floor. Staring at the pieces of his hardwork that was wasted, but he doesn't want to blame Liann. He blames himself. If only Hao bought a more expensive gift, maybe Liann would've love it.
In the middle of cleaning up, a glass shard pierced through the skin on his hand. It bled, but not that much. And just as he was about to wipe the blood off it, Jeonghan arrived with Lianns cake.
"Eisa, I'm home— what happened here?" Clearly, Jeonghan wasn't impressed with the mess that was on the floor. "Liann did this, right?"
"It's not a big deal, let this slide. It's her birthday." Hao said as he saw Jeonghan's face starting to fill with anger. He walked closer to his boyfriend and held his hand. Unfortunately, it didn't calm Jeonghan as he saw blood stains on Hao's hand.
"What's this? You got hurt?" Han puts the cake down as he inspects his lover's hand.
"I'm okay, Hannie. Don't worry. It's her birthday so don't scold her today." Even though Hao did scold her lightly earlier, he doesn't want Liann to get scolded by her beloved Dada on her day. It will be such a bummer for the birthday girl.
"No! It's not an excuse for her to be a brat. I'll go to her room." Han marches off to Liann's room, while Hao on the otherhand tries to stop him but ends up following him to the kid's room.
"Liann, what did you do?" Han immediately confronted Liann as soon as he opened her room. Hao just stood by the door way, not being able to stop Jeonghan on time.
"Oh? So did Uncle Hao snitched about how much of a naughty kid I am, Dada?" Liann asked back with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
"What? Hao doesn't have anything to do with your nasty behavior. What happened, Liann? Your Papa Cheol and I didn't raised you this way!" Jeonghan, for the very first time, raised his voice on Liann. Both Hao and Liann was surprised by it.
"That's the problem, Dada. I only wanted you and Papa Cheol to raise me right from the beginning. It has always been only him and you. Together. Even if you broke up a long time ago, I only want the both of you. You two are the only significant people in my life. I want someone else, like Uncle Hao, to be out of the picture. I ONLY WANT LIANN AND DADA HAN AND PAPA CHEOL!" Jeonghan was about to slap Liann for talking back to him but Minghao stopped him even though his heart was crushed a million times within this day. Even if his tears started to fall as he held Jeonghan's hand tightly.
"Hao... " He looked at his boyfriend, who is now sobbing softly as they were all engulfed by silence. Hao noticed that he's being vulnerable infront of them so he quickly ran out of the room. Han was about to chase him but Liann started to talk again.
"See! You even prioritize that guy more than me! I hate him! I WANT PAPA CHEOL!" He sighed as he stared at his screaming daughter.
"Look Liann, there are things that will never stay the same. Everything changes. I know this set up between our family is really hard for you, and I understand. Deeply. But you need to embrace these changes even if you start with baby steps." Jeonghan said calmly as he sat on an empty space beside her daughter.
"But Dada..." Liann looked at him with a frown, and he just smiled warmly at her.
"You don't have to love Uncle Hao the same way that you love your Papa Cheol. You just need to accept him, but don't rush yourself. Uncle Hao has always been kind and patient with you, he loves you so much like his own child. And it won't hurt to be a little kinder to him." The younger lad hugs his dad as she listens to his gentle voice.
"Do you really not love Papa Cheol anymore?" A sudden question from Liann that made Jeonghan pause.
"I still love him, ofcourse. I still do. But only as a friend. Everything we had is all in the past, and we have no more intention to go back on how we used to be. Besides, I'm happier with Hao now. He's my home and my everything. But ofcourse, Liann is the one I love the most!" And at last, Jeonghan finalky made Liann smile.
"I love you too, Dada Han. I love you the most!" Liann said and giggled right after.
"Now then, promise me to treat Uncle Hao better. Okay? Or maybe start calling him your father soon, since he takes care of you too!"
"I promise!"
"Okay then, sweetie. Go and change now, I'll call your Papa Cheol to fetch you right now. And let's just eat your cake once he takes you home." Jeonghan stood up to get his phone, while Liann excitedly runs to her wardrobe.
He smiled at his daughter as he walks out of the room and dialed his ex.
"Hey, Jeonghan. Should I fetch Lili now?" Seungcheol greeted on the phone.
"Yes, yes. She's getting ready upstairs." Han responded.
"Okay, I'm on my way." The call didn't last long and it was immediately ended, Jeonghan arrived on the living room just when the call dropped. He checked if his boyfriend is doin alright. He saw Minghao who just finished cleaning up the mess earlier.
"Hannie?" Hao noticed him first before he can even say a word, Han just smiled as he walks to his way.
"Eisa, are you still hurt?" He worriedly asked as soon as he got closer to him.
"No no, I'm fine." Hao tried to smile to hide his pain, but he knows Jeonghan wouldn't get fooled with it.
"I know you're not. And I know it's my fault that you're hurting right now. I wish I could've solved whatever was going on with our family before I introduced you to her." He said as he caressed Hao's hand.
"No, it's not your fault Hannie. Besides, I'm even happy that I can take care of your daughter. I'm happy that I can finally act as her father. Well... I know we're not in good terms yet but I'm not giving up." Hao smiled, and that made Jeonghan tear up.
"I'm so lucky and happy to have someone like you, Eisa. I know you're having a really hard time, but I'm proud that you're still doing your best." And with that, the two of them embraced each other tightly. Making sure that they both make the other feel how much they adore them.
The doorbell rang and that's when Hao and Han decided to slip away from their hugs.
"You can invite Cheol to have a sit for the meantime while I prepare Liann's stuffs." Han said as he stood up, Hao just nodded and gave Jeonghan a quick kiss on his forehead before the latter went back upstairs.
As he opened the door, Seungcheol greeted him with a wide smile. "Hey, Minghao! It's been awhile. How have you been?"
"I've been well, Seungcheol hyung. You can come inside while waiting for Liann." Hao opened lets Cheol come inside the house and made him sit in the living room. And just as the two settled down on the couch, Liann arrived and excitedly runs towards her Papa. Hao could only look with envy in his eyes, but he shrugs it off. He know that sooner or later, Liann will accept him as her new father.
"I guess I won't be staying long." Cheol said as he chuckles because of his daughter's enthusiasm. "Well then, Minghao and Jeonghan, we'll be going now. And like always, I'm really thankful of you both for taking care of my Lili."
"No biggies. Besides, Liann's my daughter too so I have my responsibilities. And she's now my boyfriend's step daughter as well. Now now, please take care on your trip and remember to take her home before 7!" Jeonghan said as he entered the room, he was listening while he went down the stairs.
"Yes, sir!" Cheol jokingly said as Han handed him Liann's backpack. Cheol and Liann started to walk away, but before they could go out of the house Jeonghan bid his goodbye.
"Bye Liann!" Han waved his hands, and Hao did the same thing. He smiled at Liann who's only staring at them.
"Babye Dada.... And Baba." And with that Cheol closed the as they went off their way. Jeonghan smiled widely as if he's really proud of what his daughter did, while Hao on the other hand was left confused.
"Did she say babye twice...?" Jeonghan laughed at Hao which made him even confused.
"Hon, you're being silly. There's no way you wouldn't know your mother tongue." And at that point, Hao's eyes widened and he stood up.
"She really said Baba? As in Baba???? Like the mandarin term for Papa? Is this real? How did she even know that???" He placed his hand on each side of Jeonghan's shoulders. Still can't believe at what had just happened.
"Through me, of course. But Jun kinda helped me out. Anyways, see! I knew Liann will slowly open up to you." Hao immediately pulled Han into a tight hug and made him jump with him.
"This is the happiest day of my life! Well aside from the day when we officially became lovers, of course. But yes! I should really get a better gift for her birthday. What should I get?" The only thing that Minghao feels right at this moment is pure happiness. His heart melted as soon as he realized that Liann is finally starting to recognize him as her father.
"Hydrangea. It would be the perfect gift for her. Well aside from the fact that she loves flowers, hydrangea reminds me of your unconditional love for her. Even though she has always been hard on you, you still took good care of her and loved her wholly." Han said we a warm smile on his face. Minghao smiled back at him, then he cups Jeonghan's cheeks with his hands.
"Of course, I'd love her. She's your child, and everyone who's special in your heart will have a special place in my heart as well. Because I love you, Hannie. Every bit of you."