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Sleeping a total of two, maybe three hours a night - and that at his husband’s incessant nagging and pleading - every day for a week might not seem worth it to some people. Most people, actually. Yeonjun, known to appreciate a good slumber, so not necessarily the best person to ask, told Yeon-oh just a day ago that he could never have a child of his own if this was what it meant to be a parent. Much to Yeon-oh’s content, he also put on a serious face and thanked him for having taken care of him when he was young. “Respect,” he’d said gravely, eliciting a breathy laugh from his hyung.
Yeon-oh can understand why people feel that way and is dangerously close to feeling it himself sometimes, when his brain disconnects from his heart and operates by itself on too little rest and too much stress. But he also understands that sick little Yeona has no fault in all of it, that she’s in much more distress than him, being in pain and also confused, still so early on her journey of discovering the world, herself and the meaning of everything.
And more importantly, he loves her way too much.
“I’ll be back before 8,” Jaehyuk tells him for the fifth time, rubbing his thumb on Yeon-oh’s knee, his hand warm and comforting. Crouched in front of Yeon-oh, he looks up at him and their daughter with hesitation.
“Just go, I can handle it. And Yeona is not sick anymore, right, sweetie?”
Eventually, Jaehyuk relents. He pulls himself up with a discontent sigh and Yeon-oh knows that it is not just concern at leaving them alone but also disappointment at having to go. No matter how stressful and tiring some days and nights might be, time spent together is still their favorite time ever.
After swiftly running his hand through Yeon-oh’s soft hair - much overdue for a haircut if you ask Yeon-oh but absolutely perfect if you ask his husband - Jaehyuk drops a firm kiss on his forehead, right above his eyebrow. Since having Yeona, and having to reserve proper kisses for when they happen upon alone time, it has become a habit whenever he or Yeon-oh have to leave or simply when he feels like it - which is very often. He plants another big kiss on the top of his daughter’s head.
“Say bye to dad.”
“Bah,” she says loudly, making Jaehyuk turn back on his heels to smooch her five times more, tickling her into a fit of giggles.
It’s times like these that Yeon-oh feels like falling in love over again, his heart skipping a beat or two as if they were still in their honeymoon phase despite so many years together. He cannot imagine ever getting bored of this feeling. As he watches Jaehyuk exiting the room, he really wishes he had truly kissed him.
“Wait for daddy for two seconds, alright? I forgot to give your father something,” he asks Yeona, placing her gently in her crib and hoping Jaehyuk hasn’t left quite yet.
But the baby clings onto him with both hands, determination written on her face. Taken aback, Yeon-oh lets himself be beckoned forward. When she deems the distance between them to be short enough, she lifts her palm towards his hair, managing something more akin to a slap than a caress. Then she puckers her lips and, on shaky legs, which have not yet familiarized themselves completely with equilibrium, she stretches and presses them to her father’s cheek.
Dumbstruck but more endeared than ever, Yeon-oh laughs and pats her head. “You little copycat, I’m not leaving for long.”
Out in the hallway, Jaehyuk stops midway through putting on his coat when he sees him come out. Yeon-oh practically skips to him, quickly helps him finish dressing up and, grabbing his collar with both hands, lifts himself up on his tippy toes. Jaehyuk melts into the kiss immediately, cupping Yeon-oh’s face to pull him even closer, kiss him even deeper.
“If you changed your mind and this is a tactic to make me stay, it is definitely working. But you know it’s not even necessary, right? Not that I’m complaining.”
His husband snorts. “I just felt like it. Oh, and we might need to take even more care around Yeona, I’ll tell you tonight. Now go or you’ll be late, I love you.”
For all this, losing a few hours of sleep is definitely worth it, Yeon-oh reckons.