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“Dad, read this for me!” A four-years-old boy pulled Jihoon’s hand. The dad looked down to his son’s height and caressed his puffy cheek while saying,
“Wait a min, Doyoung. Let daddy put your brother to sleep first.”
“Dad, Jaehyuk steal my spiderman!” Whined another little boy.
“I didn’t steal. I want to borrow!” Jaehyuk defended himself.
“Jaehyuk, Mashi, stop fighting. Hwannie is sleeping.” Jihoon shushed his sons, pointing to the sleeping baby in his arm.
“Dad, my tablet has ran out of battery.” Yedam came and showed the dark screen of his tablet to his daddy.
“That means you have to sleep now, Damie. Go to your room now.”
“But I’m not sleepy!! I want to watch YouTube~” Yedam whined.
“Dad, when will you read this for me?” Doyoung asked again.
“Dad, do you see my textbook? I think I left it on my table but it’s gone now.” Junkyu scratched his nape.
“Have you asked Yoshi about it? Maybe he borrowed yours but forgot to ask.”
“Oh, right? He probably took mine. Okay dad, thank you!”
Jihoon looked around the apartment he bought when his husband got pregnant for the first time. It was spacious enough for a family to live but after nearly ten years of having his own family, this house doesn’t look like a house anymore.
But a nursery instead.
His first born—the twins, Yoshi and Junkyu were fighting over a textbook in their room.
The oldest and the middle of the triplets—Jaehyuk and Mashi fighting over a spiderman doll and the youngest, Sahi was busy colouring his book with snacks and pencil colours scattered everywhere around him.
The third born, Yedam was mourning over his dead tablet.
Another son that is a year younger than Yedam—Doyoung was hugging onto Jihoon’s legs like a baby koala and begged for his dad to read the book for him.
Another twins— Ruto and Jeongwoo were secretly eating cookies at the corner of the house, thinking that their dad couldn’t see them.
Lastly, the youngest Junghwan, who was crying the whole day, was now sleeping in Jihoon’s arms.
The dad hadn’t sit down for more than one minute for the whole day. He was busy looking after his ten children while his husband is resting in their bedroom. He was still tired and weak after giving birth to Junghwan two weeks ago. As a loving father and a caring husband, Jihoon took the responsibility to take care of the kids on his own. It was hard, obviously, but because he loves his kids, he is more than willing to do it.
The chaos from his ten children are getting worst when Junghwan woke up again and cried so loud. Jihoon still carried him in his arms, trying to put him into sleep again.
“Don’t cry Hwannie, daddy is here. Shhh..”
His eyes darted on the clock above the TV; 9:46 pm.
“Okay kids, enough for today!” Jihoon said loudly, making his children whining as they were still not sleepy to go to bed.
“Yedam, go to bed now. Stop crying over that tablet. It’s not good for your eyes.”
Jihoon then turned to his triplets. “Jaehyuk, Mashi, stop fighting over that spiderman. Let’s buy new toys later.”
“Really, dad?” Jaehyuk’s eyes sparkled upon hearing ‘new toys’.
“Yes buddy, later.” Jihoon ruffled Jaehyuk’s hair.
“Ruto, Jeongwoo, dad can see you from here. What if I tell papa that you steal cookies from the cabinet?”
“No, dad! Don’t tell papa!” The twins came out from their hiding spot.
“Papa will get sulky if he knew!” -Jeongwoo
“Go brush your teeth now and get ready to sleep. Or else, I will tell papa.”
“Okay, dad! We go now! Let’s go, Jeongwoo!” Ruto and his twin ran to the toilet while holding hands.
“Doyoung, wait for me in your room. I will read the book after everyone get to their room.”
“Okay, dad! I will wait for you in my room!” The little boy ran to his shared bedroom with Yedam.
“Sahi, enough. Clean up everything and go to bed.”
“Wait, dad. A bit more.”
“Hurry up~”
“Done!! Dad, look. Is it pretty?” Sahi showed him the purple flower he has been colouring for about two hours. Jihoon gasped dramatically to give his son a reaction; a genuine reaction from him because Sahi surely got some undeniably talent in arts.
“That is the most beautiful flower I have ever seen. As beautiful as my little prince over here.” Jihoon kneeled down and placed a kiss on Sahi’s forehead.
“I want to give this to papa.”
“Really? He will like it, I promised you.”
“Dad, when can I play with papa? I missed papa.” Sahi pouted while looking at Jihoon with those doe eyes he takes after his papa.
“Let’s give him more time to rest, bud. He missed Sahi and your other brothers too.”
“Is papa sick?”
“No no, of course not.” Jihoon brushed Sahi’s bangs while his other hand was still busy rocking Junghwan. “Don’t worry Sahi, dad is here. I will take care of your papa, okay? Now you clean up and go to bed.”
“Okay, dad.”
Jihoon walked back and forth in the living room while lulling baby Hwannie to sleep. After the baby has fell into deep slumber, Jihoon put him inside the cradle and left to Doyoung’s room.
In the first room, there were Yedam, Doyoung and the twins, Ruto and Jeongwoo. The second room was owned by the oldest sons—Yoshi and Junkyu and the third room was the triplets’ room. The master bedroom was obviously for Jihoon and his husband, plus their newborn baby, Hwannie.
“Doyoungie~” Upon entering the room, Jihoon was greeted with a pillow being thrown to his face.
“Uh-Oh! Dad! I’m sorry!” Jeongwoo immediately got on his knees and pleaded to his dad. “I’m so sorry, dad! It’s Ruto’s fault!”
“Eh?! Dad, it’s not me! Yedam-hyung started it.”
“Not me! It’s Doyoung!!”
“Dobby just sit here waiting for dad.” Doyoung pouted when his brother accused him of something he didn’t do.
Jihoon sighed while massaging his temple. Handling his kids are never an easy task. His husband did a very good job all these time.
“Why are you guys still playing? I told you to sleep, right?” Jihoon said firmly with both hands on waist.
“Read the book for us, dad. We can’t sleep.” Ruto said while climbing to his bed.
“Yes, read for us!” Jeongwoo said, now sitting next to Ruto.
“Okay. Where’s the book?” Jihoon pulled the mini chair of Yedam’s study table and sit in the middle of the room—between the twins’ and Yedam and Doyoung’s bunk beds.
“Title, A farmer and his ten sheep.”
—
After making sure all of his children were already in their bed, Jihoon walked back to the living room. He glanced at the baby who was still sleeping. He let out a long, tiring sigh before stretching his body. He then cleaned up the living room and kitchen a bit before taking Junghwan to his arm again, carefully carrying the baby to his bedroom.
When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was a smaller man sleeping under a thick blanket. He carefully closed the door and put Junghwan in another cradle he had in his room. He gently patted the baby before moving to the sleeping man.
“Love? Are you asleep?” Jihoon placed a kiss on his forehead. He smiled upon seeing a beautiful angel sleeping in his bed.
The one he sincerely in love with, and is happy to have a family with—his husband, Choi Hyunsuk.
Jihoon then took his towel and entered the bathroom to shower after a very long day. Taking care of ten children weren’t easy. His oldest sons were only 8-years-old and his youngest was just two weeks old. He took one week leave from work just to look after his children, gladly his boss were his own friend so he allowed him to take a short break from work.
After a fifteen minutes shower, Jihoon walked out from the bathroom wearing only his grey sweatpants. He was surprised to see his husband was now sitting on their bed, back leaning against the headboard. Hyunsuk gave him a weak but still very sweet smile.
“Come here, let me dry your hair.” The husband said. Jihoon walked to the bed and sit facing the older. Hyunsuk took the towel from Jihoon’s hand and helped him to dry his hair.
It was a comforting silence between them. Jihoon felt relieved to know that his long day was now being paid with a sight of his beautiful husband drying his hair. He could now spent his time with the love of his life and stared at him until Hyunsuk’s face flushed red.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re beautiful.”
Hyunsuk sheepishly smiled to that compliment he often get from his husband. Eyes focused on Jihoon’s hair while his face turned as red as tomatoes because Jihoon couldn’t stop staring at him. The younger even put his hands on Hyunsuk’s petite waist, making him blushed even more. Doesn’t matter how many years have they been married, these little gestures from his husband never failed to make him got all sorts of butterflies in his stomach.
“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Hyunsuk asked to break the silence.
“What?”
“Taking care of the kids.”
“Umm.. yes. But I’m a superdad, remember?“
Hyunsuk giggled to Jihoon’s answer. That beautiful giggle made Jihoon leaned in for a peck on Hyunsuk’s lips.
“Sahi said he missed you.”
“Aw, I missed him too.” Hyunsuk pouted. “I missed the boys so much.”
“What about me?” Jihoon tighten the grip on Hyunsuk’s small waist, moving closer to him. Hyunsuk stopped drying the younger’s hair and put his hands on Jihoon’s broad shoulders as he was now sitting between Jihoon’s legs.
“Don’t you miss me too?” Jihoon asked again.
“I do. But I missed the kids more.”
“They missed you too, love.” Jihoon peck Hyunsuk’s lips again.
“I’m sorry, Hoonie.” Hyunsuk pouted again, there were tears starting to pool in his eyes.
“For what?”
“For leaving you alone to look for the kids. It must be hard for you.”
“Love, I told you I’m a superdad. It wasn’t that hard because our kids listened to me well.”
“Are you sure? I heard you scolded Jaehyuk and Mashi just now.”
“Hey, that wasn’t a scold. I just told them to stop fighting.”
“They fought over toys again?”
“Yes, but I promised to buy them a new one soon so they don’t have to fight anymore.”
“I knew I chose the right person to be the dad to my children.” Hyunsuk leaned closer, placing his cheek on Jihoon’s bare chest. He wrapped his arms around the younger’s waist, hugging him warm and tight.
“Thank you for always working hard, daddy Hoonie.”
“Thank you for bringing our little angels into the world. It must be harder for you to carry them for nine months.”
“You are the best dad.”
“And you are the best papa.” Jihoon kissed Hyunsuk’s hair.
They cuddled for a moment before baby Junghwan started crying again. Jihoon immediately got up from the bed and took the baby in his hand.
“Hwannie, don’t cry, baby. Whats wrong?” Jihoon talked to the crying baby.
“Honey, bring him here.” Hyunsuk said, cutely doing grabby hands to his husband. Jihoon gave the baby to Hyunsuk and when the papa held him, he stopped crying. Junghwan snuggled into Hyunsuk’s chest and was now sleeping soundly.
Hyunsuk looked at Jihoon who was speechless to see how quick Junghwan stopped crying when Hyunsuk was the one who carried him.
“I guess he missed me.” Hyunsuk giggled.
“If I knew he just wanted to be held by you, I would’ve bring him here since morning.”
“I told you I can help you to look after the kids.”
Jihoon sighed. He climbed onto the bed again and laid down, head on Hyunsuk’s lap.
“Don’t you think it’s mind blowing?” Jihoon suddenly asked.
“What?” Hyunsuk answered without even looking at his husband. He was busy babying the sleeping Hwannie.
“We had ten kids after nearly ten years of marriage.”
“Ask yourself who is that person who hates using protection other than Park idiot Jihoon?”
“But raw se-“
“Shut up, dummy. Hwannie is here.” Hyunsuk flicked Jihoon’s forehead.
“Ouch!” The younger pouted.
“Love,” Jihoon suddenly put his hand on Hyunsuk’s inner thigh, caressing and massaging it. “I missed you.”
“Wait at least another one year!” Hyunsuk slapped Jihoon’s hand. “My body can’t hold any babies anymore. Do you know how hard it is to push these babies out? I haven’t healed from the triplets yet and boom! You made me carry Yedam after few months. Then Doyoung, then another twins and now Hwannie.”
“That means your husband is healthy, love. You can ask for babies anytime you want and I can give it to you.”
“You think I want more?”
“Why not? We can have another triplets if you want.”
“Idiot. Hwannie, look. we have an idiot here.”
“Hey! Don’t curse in front of our little baby.” Jihoon sat up, pouting to Hyunsuk with eyebrows creased together—copying Jeongwoo’s face whenever he sulks.
“Use protection after this, Ji. Please.”
“But I don’t like it!!” Jihoon whined.
“Then no sex.”
“Eh?!?” The younger man whined loudly, making Junghwan cried again.
“Keep your voice down, Hoonie. See? Hwannie is crying again.” Hyunsuk frowned to Jihoon but turned soft when he looked at Junghwan.
“My baby Hwannie, were you surprised to hear your loud daddy? I’m sorry, i’m sorry. Papa is here with Hwannie~ Sleep, okay? My baby..”
Jihoon clicked on his tongue to see Hwannie being babied by his husband. He wanted it too!
“But it’s nice, isn’t it? To have a big family like this. With two twins, a triplets and three children.” Jihoon continued.
“It is.” Hyunsuk smiled to him until his eyes turned crescent.
“But no more after this Ji, please.”
Jihoon laughed to see his husband’s pleading face. It must be so tiring to carry a baby to the point that Hyunsuk looked so terrified of it.
Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard.
“Dad…” Someone called for him from outside.
“Go, open it. I think it’s Sahi.” Hyunsuk said. Jihoon nodded and went to take a plain t-shirt from the closet first before opening the door.
Little Sahi greeted him with his spiderman doll that Jaehyuk and Mashi fought for earlier.
“What’s wrong, bud?” Jihoon crouched down to his little son.
“Dad… Sahi can’t sleep.” the boy rubbed his right eye. His unruly hair was the proof that this boy has just woken up from his short sleep.
“I can’t sleep. Can you sleep with me?”
“Okay. Let’s go back to your room and I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”
“No!! Sleep with me, dad.” Sahi looked like he was about to cry.
Jihoon stared at the little sunshine in front of him. Sahi resembled Hyunsuk a lot, that was what made Jihoon curved a smile on his face.
“Alright, buddy. Let’s go.” Jihoon stood up and lifted Sahi up in his arms. “Do you want to wish goodnight to papa first?”
“Yes!!” The little guy nodded excitedly despite feeling super sleepy.
Jihoon brought the baby into his room, straight towards Hyunsuk who was carrying Hwannie.
“But be quiet, Sahi. Your brother is sleeping.” Jihoon whispered to Sahi. The son nodded and put a finger on his lips.
“Papa, I missed you!” Sahi loud-whispered.
“I missed you too, Sahi.” Hyunsuk carefully put Hwannie on the bed and took Sahi to his arms. The little boy snuggled into his papa’s neck, inhaling his scent.
“I drew a flower for you.”
“Really??”
“You only coloured it.” Jihoon said, making Sahi pouted.
“It’s okay, baby. Show it to me tomorrow, okay?”
“Okie, papa!”
“Go to bed now. Daddy will sleep with Sahi.” Hyunsuk caressed Sahi’s cheeks. The boy nodded and kissed his papa.
“Goodnight, papa.”
“Goodnight, baby.”
Jihoon took Sahi in his arms again. Before he walked out from the room, Jihoon looked at Hyunsuk who was smiling very sweetly to him. They mouthed ‘goodnight’ and ‘i love you’ to each other before Jihoon moved to the triplets’ room.
—
The next morning—
Jihoon instantly got up from his deep sleep after he smelled something burnt in his kitchen. He carefully removed Sahi’s legs on his stomach and Jaehyuk’s head on his arm. Since when did the second oldest of the triplets slept next to him? He didn’t remember too. He slowly jumped out from the bed, pulling up the blanket to cover Sahi and Jaehyuk’s body. He glanced over Mashi who peacefully sleeping alone on his bed. He gave morning kiss to the triplets and walked out from his room.
Jihoon rubbed the back of his neck while walking to the kitchen. He wondered who made a mess early this morning. It was 7 am in Sunday and it was still too early for any chaos.
“Who is that? Yoshi? Junkyu?”
“Honey! Help me!”
“H-Hyunsuk?” Jihoon’s eyes widened. He quickly ran to his husband and helped him flipping the pancakes.
“What are you doing?” Jihoon asked, looking at his husband who was wearing a lilac-coloured apron.
“Cooking breakfast for my ten little knights and my king over here.” Hyunsuk smiled until his eyes turned crescent.
Jihoon sighed to the adorable morning view. He wanted to scold him for making a mess in his kitchen but canceled it immediately when the older gave him morning kisses all over his face.
“You are not mad, right?” Hyunsuk fiddled with Jihoon’s shirt, pouting. He knew Jihoon would get mad but he also knew what could make him less angry. Cheat sheet: he knew Jihoon is weak for him.
“No.” Jihoon smiled to him. He wrapped his arms around Hyunsuk’s waist and kissed his lips for few seconds before lifting him up like a baby koala and put him on the kitchen island.
“You sit here and be the cutest baby.” Jihoon said, pecking Hyunsuk’s lips again before continuing whatever his husband was doing before.
Hyunsuk wasn’t a great cook. In fact, he didn’t know how to cook—not even rice. He only knew to cook instant noodles. But Jihoon never complained. He loves Choi Hyunsuk for being Choi Hyunsuk, not for his cook.
“Okay, done!” Jihoon smiled widely when the tower of blueberry pancakes were done. He even decorated it with whipped creams and berries.
“Yeay, thank you, mr Superdad!” Hyunsuk raised two thumbs up to Jihoon. “I’ll go wake the kids.”
“Wait.” Jihoon latched Hyunsuk’s hand before he got to leave. “It’s weekend, let the kids sleep more.”
Jihoon leaned it and kissed his husband. Hyunsuk wasn’t complaining either—He wrapped his arms around Jihoon’s neck and reciprocated the kiss. It’s a sweet, gentle and soft kiss. A kiss that showed how much they loved each other.
Hyunsuk always wondered how he still felt butterflies in his stomach whenever he kissed Jihoon. Throughout their 10 years of marriage, plus three years of dating, they have shared uncountable amount of kisses but never once it felt less enchanting than their first. Perhaps, it’s because his husband is a good kisser.
“Daddy, papa.” A voice of little kid made Hyunsuk broke the kiss. The parents turned to the kitchen entrance and there was Doyoung.
“Oh my God, little Park Jihoon.” Hyunsuk pushed the dad and kneeled in front of Doyoung. He caressed Doyoung’s cheek and smiled sweetly to him. “He really look like you.”
“Of course. He’s my son.”
“Dobby, why? You woke up early today.” Hyunsuk cupped Doyoung’s face.
“I wanted to peepee.”
“Come with papa.” Hyunsuk stood up and took the baby to the toilet.
Jihoon smiled upon seeing the sight. He then moved to clean the kitchen and set the coffee table at the living room. Well, he has too many children that they can’t fit the dining table.
Minute after minute, one by one of his kids came out from their room and joined him.
The house were loud again and it was only 8:12 in the morning but Jihoon wasn’t complaining. He loved feeding Ruto and Jeongwoo like a mama bird. His second twins are such a big eater compared to their other brothers.
The oldest twins, Yoshi and Junkyu were feeding the triplets and Yedam. Hyunsuk, on the other hand was talking and laughing with his sons while they were eating. Sahi showed him the flower he drew (coloured) for him and Hyunsuk showered him with praises and kisses. Doyoung also told Hyunsuk about the new book Jihoon bought for him and Junkyu interrupted by complaining about wanting a new room because Yoshi loves to listen to music before he sleep without using earphones. Mashi and Jaehyuk argued over toys again and the twins Ruto and Jeongwoo asked Hyunsuk for cookies.
Jihoon loved watching the love of his life laughing as it is the best sound he ever heard in his life. The babies around them were so adorable even they sometimes didn’t listened to him or even made a chaos in their household. But since they were still so small, so it was fine.
If someone asked Jihoon what was the best thing in his life was, he’d answered with “marrying Hyunsuk and have ten princes in the castle they built together”.