Chapter Text
Jaegal Lin decided to ignore Yeo Halyun, instead focusing on his baby and taking out the cookie cutters that Yooho had made. Placing the various shapes on the table, Jaegal Lin patted Cheonhee’s hair and began to speak.
“Hee, what do you want to make? Look,” Jaegal Lin said as he showed Cheonhee each cookie cutter shape.
“This one is a gingerbread man, this one is a heart, and this one is a flower… What shape is this, oh! It’s a fan… And this one…” Jaegal Lin frowned at the star shaped cookie cutter and tossed it away as discreetly as possible.
Baby Cheonhee was holding Yeo Halyun’s finger in one hand and using the other one to pick up the cookie cutters, inspecting them one by one.
“Dis, man, coo-kie?” Cheonhee asked, waving the gingerbread man cookie cutter in front of Jaegal Lin.
“Yes, Hee. It’s a gingerbread man,” Jaegal Lin said, smiling at his disciple.
“Do you want to make this, Hee?” Jaegal Lin asked.
“Yes!” Cheonhee’s bubbly smile made Jaegal Lin want to squish his cheeks. “One, Mash-ter, one, Star!”
Jaegal Lin struggled to keep the smile on his face.
“You want to make two? One cookie is Master and the other one is that thing?” Jaegal Lin asked.
Jin Cheonhee nodded.
“Star! Not, thing,” Cheonhee added. Beside him, Yeo Halyun grinned wolfishly.
Jaegal Lin wanted to faint in anger.
Perhaps he should call Yeo Halyun a vixen. Otherwise, how could that bastard always make his disciple like him? As an older youth, Cheonhee liked Yeo Halyun and even treated him when he was wounded. Now, even as a baby, why did Cheonhee still care about him???
“Hee,” Jaegal Lin began to coax. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do? Won’t you be tired after making two cookies? I think it’s better if you make one only…”
Cheonhee shook his head. “Hee, not tie-d.”
Jaegal Lin was speechless.
“Mashter, hurry, coo-ki. Coo-ki!” Cheonhee said, patting Jaegal Lin impatiently.
“Alright, alright,” he relented, handing two balls of dough to Cheonhee.
“Hee, look, you need to flatten the dough first, push it down with all your might, yes, and then press the cookie cutter into it, just like this. See?” Jaegal Lin showed baby Cheonhee how to do it, and as he pulled away the cookie cutter, he revealed the man-shaped cookie, making baby Cheonhee’s eyes widen in awe.
“Mashter!!!” Cheonhee cried, gesturing at Jaegal Lin’s cookie. “Man! Who, dis, Mash-ter?”
“This is you, Cheonhee,” Jaegal Lin said sweetly. His baby was just too cute.
He couldn’t help himself, bent down and planted a kiss on Cheonhee’s cheek. Next to him, Yeo Halyun made a face as if he had just swallowed a sour lemon, but he didn’t say anything.
“Dis, Hee?” Cheonhee asked, pointing at the cookie. Baby Jin Cheonhee was used to his Master’s antics.
“Yes, Hee. This is a cookie shaped like you. Later after we bake it, I’ll decorate it, and then we can eat it together, okay?” Jaegal Lin coaxed, patting his disciple’s head.
“Mashter,” Cheonhee’s face fell. “Mashter, eat, Hee?” He whimpered.
Jaegal Lin’s eyes widened.
“O-of course not, Hee! You’re right, that was a silly idea. I won’t eat that cookie, I’ll just keep it in a glass box so we can see it every day, what do you think about that?”
Cheonhee looked at Jaegal for a while, as if ascertaining the truth of his words, and then seemed satisfied and nodded.
Jaegal Lin breathed a sigh of relief, along with Yeo Halyun.
Yes, even Yeo Halyun sighed in relief.
Under different circumstances, Yeo Halyun would’ve laughed at Jaegal Lin for being so nervous in front of a baby. But the truth was, Yeo Halyun himself had panicked when Cheonhee whimpered — he couldn’t explain the feeling, he just felt as if the wind had been knocked from his chest and his blood ran cold. He was more afraid than when he had a sword pointed against his chest…
Cheonhee had no idea that those two had briefly panicked because of him. He had let go of Yeo Halyun’s finger (much to Halyun’s chagrin and Jaegal Lin’s joy) and began to flatten the dough, imitating Jaegal Lin.
Cheonhee’s movements were rather slow, but Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun both didn’t mind. In fact, Jaegal Lin didn’t care what the shapes of the other cookies were, he just wanted to do something together with his disciple. Cheonhee’s face was focused, lips pursed and a frown on his brows as he meticulously shaped his cookies, one was Jaegal Lin and another was Yeo Halyun.
When Cheonhee pulled away the cookie cutter, revealing the gingerbread man shape, he giggled happily, joyfully clapping his hands. Jaegal Lin himself felt a swell of pride growing in his chest.
“Hyung, you’re really the best,” Yeo Halyun said, patting Cheonhee’s head.
Cheonhee giggled, and the two men smiled at the same time.
Well, as long as Cheonhee was happy…
Cheonhee had finished shaping his cookies, and under Cheonhee’s adorable pleas, Yeo Halyun ended up making several heart shaped cookies as well, while Jaegal Lin shaped several fan-shaped cookies for him and Cheonhee to eat later. When they were done shaping the cookies, Jaegal Lin placed them all on a tray to be put into the oven.
For now…
“Cheonhee, you have to take a nap,” Jaegal Lin said gently. Cheonhee was already leaning on Yeo Halyun’s arms (Jaegal Lin’s instincts were screaming at him to snatch his baby away from the Killer Star, but he didn’t want to scare Cheonhee), and baby Cheonhee’s eyes were already half-closed. Yeo Halyun adjusted Cheonhee’s position, making his head rest on Halyun’s shoulder as he dozed off.
“…Give him to me,” Jaegal Lin whispered, glaring at Yeo Halyun.
Yeo Halyun shook his head and took a step back.
“No. Hyung wants to sleep on me.”
Jaegal Lin sneered. “You’re this happy to become a pillow?”
“As long as it’s for Hyung, why not?” Yeo Halyun bit back. “Besides, aren’t you the one who’s fighting me for a chance to be Hyung’s pillow?”
Jaegal Lin had the urge to wipe that smirk off Yeo Halyun’s face permanently, but he controlled himself.
“Fine. But don’t you dare move and wake him. Cheonhee needs his beauty sleep,” Jaegal Lin said and gestured for Yeo Halyun to follow him. The cookies were in the oven, baking silently, and since Cheonhee was sleeping, they would wait in a separate pavilion. Once the cookies were done and had rested, they would wake Cheonhee so that he could decorate the cookies…
Because Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun didn’t want to wake baby Cheonhee from his sleep, the two of them waited in silence as Jin Cheonhee napped, not saying a word to each other. Jaegal Lin was busy looking at his disciple’s adorable sleeping face, while Yeo Halyun savored the warmth and weight of baby Jin Cheonhee in his arms.
When a servant informed Jaegal Lin that the cookies were out of the oven and had rested for a sufficient amount of time, Jaegal Lin gently approached the sleeping baby and woke Cheonhee up.
Baby Cheonhee looked sleepily at his Master and pouted, making grabby hands and asking Jaegal Lin to carry him. Yeo Halyun was miffed, but seeing Cheonhee’s still-sleepy look, Yeo Halyun relented and handed baby Cheonhee to Jaegal Lin.
In the familiar embrace of his Master, baby Jin Cheonhee snuggled closer, nuzzling his face in Jaegal Lin’s embrace and grasping Jaegal Lin’s lapels tightly.
“…Mashter,” Cheonhee yawned. “Coo-kie?”
Jaegal Lin grinned.
“Yes baby, let’s go decorate the cookies, okay?” Jaegal Lin said.
Baby Cheonhee nodded.
Carrying Cheonhee, Jaegal Lin, followed by Yeo Halyun, made their way to the kitchen, where several fruits, candies, and even different colored creams were ready for them to use. Setting down Cheonhee on his cushion, Jaegal Lin sat down and handed Cheonhee both of his cookies.
Cheonhee smiled, patted one cookie and said, “Mas-ter!” and then grasped the other cookie, smiling at Yeo Halyun and mumbling, “Star!”
Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun naturally weren’t in a rush to decorate the cookies. Instead, they watched baby Cheonhee pick and choose several decorations, sneakily putting some cream in his mouth.
“Cheonhee, you’re not supposed to eat that,” Jaegal Lin chided gently. Jin Cheonhee giggled, dipped his finger in cream, and extended his hand.
“Mas-ter, want?” Jin Cheonhee asked, a twinkle in his eye as he waved the cream in front of Jaegal Lin.
“Hee, are you trying to bribe me?” Jaegal Lin laughed, and yet he bent down and licked the cream, exaggeratedly saying mmm as if the cream was really delicious.
Cheonhee was smiling from ear to ear when Yeo Halyun gently rubbed his hand.
“…What about me, Hyung?”
“Star? Want, dis?” Cheonhee asked, turning to Yeo Halyun.
“Of course,” Yeo Halyun nodded, pretending to pout — he wasn’t used to acting ‘cute’ like this, but if this meant being fed by his baby Hyung and making Jaegal Lin angry? Heh, he didn’t mind acting a little.
Baby Cheonhee seemed concerned that he had forgotten Yeo Halyun, so he apologetically scooped up a generous amount of cream and waved it in front of Yeo Halyun. The cream, however, had melted, so when Cheonhee waved his hand, the cream splattered unto Yeo Halyun’s face, leaving a dollop of cream on Yeo Halyun’s nose and several drops of cream on his clothes and hair.
Jin Cheonhee was stunned, doe-like eyes looking at Yeo Halyun and his own finger, wondering how the cream could fly. Yeo Halyun was shocked too, his eyes wide as he reached out to touch his own face.
Jaegal Lin burst into laughter.
“Make sure to paint this!” He yelled at the painters.
“Yes, Sir!” One of the painters yelled, giving him a thumbs up.
Jaegal Lin cackled again.
Today wasn’t perfect, of course. The appearance of the Killer Star had ruined his mood… But seeing what just happened, especially Jin Cheonhee and Yeo Halyun’s comical expressions…
Jaegal Lin laughed again.
“I think you should be the one who looks in a mirror,” Yeo Halyun hissed at Jaegal Lin, and the latter shot him a murderous glare.
“That’s a lot of talk coming from a thing like you,” Jaegal Lin snapped, his hand grabbing a fan-shaped cookie and crushing it in his grasp to vent his anger.
Minutes ago Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun had been maintaining some semblance of civility, with Jaegal Lin even laughing, while Cheonhee had been busy with decorating his cookies of Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun, babbling and smiling every once in a while.
However, Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun very quickly got into a fight — the two of them standing on opposite ends of the table while Cheonhee was in the middle, decorating the heart shaped cookies that Halyun made. Cheonhee had long finished decorating his ‘Jaegal Lin’ and ‘Yeo Halyun’ gingerbread cookies, and he had set it on the side, one near Jaegal Lin and the other one near Yeo Halyun.
Jaegal Lin had been angry ever since Yeo Halyun appeared, and when Yeo Halyun had hugged Cheonhee during the nap, the fire in Jaegal Lin’s heart was burning fiercer than ever. Jaegal Lin didn’t remember what it was exactly that set him off, but he had snapped. Yeo Halyun, this Killer Star, needed to know his place and shut up.
Jaegal Lin hated how his sweet disciple liked this thing — when he was older, Cheonhee liked Halyun, now as a baby, he still liked Halyun! Jaegal Lin hated the aura of death and killing and madness that surrounded the Killer Star. If he saw other humans as mere insects, then Yeo Halyun was lower than those insects, a being so deplorable that Jaegal Lin wanted to strangle him.
Yeo Halyun, of course, wasn’t one to back down from the fight. He was also pissed at Jaegal Lin. While he couldn’t deny the fact that seeing his Hyung as a baby was adorable, Halyun was worried for his brother. What if his Hyung stayed as a baby forever? And why the fuck wasn’t Jaegal Lin doing anything about it, instead baking leisurely with his Hyung? This coldhearted bastard was probably trying to brainwash his Hyung or something…
“You keep calling me a ‘thing’, and so far I’ve been trying to remain patient with you—” Yeo Halyun growled.
“Well you should try harder,” Jaegal Lin interrupted.
“…But you’re no better,” Yeo Halyun ignored the jab and continued. “I know what you’ve done. I know how you avenged the Jaegal Clan in the past, and I don’t think Hyung knows what kind of monster you are.”
Jaegal Lin laughed mirthlessly. “Monster?”
The two men didn’t realize that baby Cheonhee had long stopped decorating his cookies and was worriedly looking back and forth between the two of them.
“The monster in this room is you,” Jaegal Lin’s voice was laced with venom. “You’re cursed, you know nothing other than killing—”
“You know what? I’m tired of your bullshit.” Yeo Halyun interrupted. “Shut up.”
Baby Jin Cheonhee flinched, but no one noticed.
Yeo Halyun had taken out a knife from nowhere and threw it at Jaegal Lin’s direction, his eyes turning slightly red. The knife flew as quick as lightning, but Jaegal Lin’s face was calm. Without looking, he picked up the closest thing to him on the table, infused it with his inner strength, and flung it at the knife, changing its course and making the blade lodge itself on the wall.
Baby Cheonhee watched in horror, a small whimper at the back of his throat going unnoticed. Cheonhee’s eyes began to fill with unshed tears, but Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun were too engrossed in their fight.
With a wave of his hand, electricity crackled and Jaegal Lin opened his fan, sending a wave of murderous energy towards Yeo Halyun. The latter evenly sent out his own inner strength, and the two energies clashed, sending shock waves through the room and making the painters groan, a few of their canvasses destroyed.
Meanwhile, Jin Cheonhee’s eyes were trained on the table near Yeo Halyun, which had shattered due to the imposing forces. When he saw the cracks on the table and the shattered cookies and crumbs, Cheonhee could no longer hold his tears. One drop fell, and then another, and soon Cheonhee began sobbing, the heart-shaped cookies and various creams long forgotten.
Jaegal Lin had wanted to launch another attack on Yeo Halyun, perhaps one that would kill him for good this time, but he heard a soft sobbing sound and pulled himself out of his fury.
That sound… that heartbreaking, gut-wrenching sob that shattered his icy heart…
Jin Cheonhee was crying, Jaegal Lin’s brain supplied, and that made him freeze.
Yeo Halyun was going through a similar situation, except that he had never seen his Hyung cry before. Seeing his Hyung cry, especially as a baby, with big drops of tears rolling down his tiny face, made Yeo Halyun feel a strange sourness invade his heart, making him pause his actions and turn to the baby who was sitting on the table.
Jin Cheonhee was crying, wiping his tears with his small hands and smearing a bit of cream on his cheeks. His shoulders were shaking almost violently, and the whimpers and cries coming from him made the two men’s killing intent dissipate, replaced with guilt and worry.
Jaegal Lin was the first to react since he had encountered a crying baby Cheonhee before and wasn’t as stunned as Halyun. He crouched next to Cheonhee and stroked the baby’s head softly, afraid to make his baby cry even more.
“Hee…. Hee, why are you crying? Are you hurt anywhere? What’s wrong, what happened, baby?” Jaegal Lin’s voice was strained even as he tried to sound calm. Of course, he failed terribly — the worry in his eyes was obvious to anyone, and even Yeo Halyun could see it….
Baby Cheonhee hiccuped as tears continuously fell down his cheeks.
“Mas-ter…” Cheonhee whimpered.
“Yes, Hee?” Jaegal Lin was so focused on his baby and didn’t see Yeo Halyun crouching next to Cheonhee.
“Mas-terr, kill, Star,” Cheonhee wailed, sobbing each word one by one and blinking sadly at Jaegal Lin.
“What?” Jaegal Lin asked. Yeo Halyun looked baffled as well.
“Cooki, Star, Mashter…” Cheonhee said grievously, tugging at Jaegal Lin’s sleeve and pointing at something in the middle of the table.
Hoping to understand his baby’s meaning, Jaegal Lin looked closer at the table. There was a broken gingerbread cookie lying there, the head and arms shattered into pieces…. Why did the head look familiar, with some kind of white cream on top—
Oh.
Oh.
Jaegal Lin felt like he had been struck by lightning. He understood now.
Previously when he snatched the closest thing to him, throwing it at Yeo Halyun’s knife, he hadn’t looked closely at what he picked up…. And it turns out, he had thrown the cookie that Cheonhee had painstakingly made, the gingerbread ‘Jaegal Lin’.
God, Cheonhee had even decorated the gingerbread’s head so prettily, using white cream for his hair, Jaegal Lin thought.
And what had he done? Ruined his baby’s work—! That was unforgivable!!!
Jaegal Lin returned to his position and gently rubbed Cheonhee’s back soothingly.
“I’m so, so sorry baby, it’s Master’s fault, okay? Master was stupid and didn’t see your pretty cookie was there…” Jaegal Lin comforted.
Jin Cheonhee wouldn’t stop crying though, and turned to Yeo Halyun, whose face was similarly filled with guilt.
Seeing his Hyung turning to him, Yeo Halyun winced.
“Hyung… I’m sorry,” he mumbled, averting his eyes.
Cheonhee pointed at the table that had been shattered by their forces.
“Cooki, Star,” he sniffled.
Yeo Halyun looked at the table and pursed his lips, understanding dawning on him. When Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun’s internal forces had clashed, they both made sure their powers would not harm Cheonhee at all, but the same couldn’t be said about the table…. And on that table was the gingerbread ‘Yeo Halyun’ that Cheonhee had crafted painstakingly….
“Fuck,” Yeo Halyun muttered under his breath, and Jaegal Lin was too tired to even glare at him, focusing on the still bawling Cheonhee.
“Hyung, Hyung I’m sorry, okay? Don’t cry,” Yeo Halyun pleaded, almost desperately.
Sensing his baby’s turbulent emotions, Jaegal Lin gently took his baby into his arms, savoring the way baby Cheonhee immediately wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his head in the crook of his neck, still sobbing. Yeo Halyun watched in partial envy and partial worry as baby Cheonhee’s sobs grew softer and softer, Jaegal Lin rocking him gently and murmuring apologies.
When Cheonhee quieted down, Yeo Halyun realized that his Hyung had somehow fallen asleep, the tear tracks still marring his face as Jin Cheonhee groaned in his sleep.
Now that Cheonhee wasn’t crying anymore, Jaegal Lin and Yeo Halyun finally had the chance to look at each other. As their eyes met, an unspoken agreement was formed.
Never, never fight in front of Cheonhee ever again.
They couldn’t bear to see him cry.