Chapter Text
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Leo had imagined a lot of scenarios for what might be waiting on the other side of the door when he heard the knock. A delivery. A neighbor. Maybe Boheng, locked out again but a sleeping baby in a carrier was not one of them.
He froze in the doorway, blinking at the tiny bundle. The street was quiet,no footsteps fading, no engine starting. Whoever had left the child was already gone.
“What the heck…?”
The baby’s face was soft, round, and peaceful in sleep, a faint smell of milk and baby powder drifting in the air. Leo crouched down, hands hovering awkwardly as if the kid might shatter at the slightest touch. Then his eyes caught a folded note tucked beside the blanket.
Hi Leo, it’s Soojin. I’m sorry to come to you like this, but I can’t take care of him anymore. I found your address and had someone bring him here. By the time you read this, I’m gone. And if you’re wondering, yes, that is your baby.
Leo read it twice, his eyes narrowing at his own name before the words sank in like a stone dropped into water.
He didn’t notice Junmin until the man’s voice broke the silence.
“Why is there a baby here? Leo?… Leo!!”
“I’m screwed, Junmin…”
Junmin’s eyes widened. “What? Why? Did you steal the baby?”
“No, dumbass. Why would I—” Leo stopped, pressing the bridge of his nose. His voice dropped into a mutter. “Apparently… that’s my baby.”
Junmin just stared at him for a beat. “What?! How...”
“How? Really?” Leo’s voice cracked somewhere between disbelief and exhaustion. "I don’t really have answers. I don’t even know what to do right now.”
"okay. Inside. Now.” Junmin scooped up the carrier without hesitation. “You bring the bag. I’ll take the baby.”
Leo followed him inside like a ghost, the strap of the bag slipping from his shoulder. He dropped onto the sofa and just… stayed there, staring at nothing.
That’s how Xinlong and Boheng found them. The front door swung open and the two stepped in, their faces bright despite the dark circles under their eyes,the afterglow of surviving final exams.
“I could sleep for twenty hours straight,” Xinlong groaned, stretching his arms.
“We’re free now” Boheng said with a lazy grin. “We can do whatever we want.”
Xinlong’s eyes swept the quiet house. “It’s a little too quiet. Where are the guys?”
They turned the corner into the living room and stopped.
“Uh… hey,” Xinlong said slowly. “Why are you so quiet?”
“I think we’ve got a guest,” Boheng murmured, taking in the tiny bundle. “What’s this kid doing here? What did you guys do this time?”
Junmin’s jaw tightened. “Why do you always assume we did something? I mean… something did happen, but not today. More than a year ago, actually.”
Leo’s only response was a glare.
“Leo,” Xinlong said, “can you just tell us what’s going on?”
“What do you think is going on?” Leo shot back.
“I don’t know,” Xinlong replied, “because you’re just getting mad and not actually explaining.”
Leo’s hands dragged down his face. His voice came out flat. “Looks like I unknowingly became a father.”
Boheng barked out a laugh before choking it back under two lethal glares. He sat beside Junmin, whose own smirk was struggling for escape.
Junmin cleared his throat. “An hour ago, someone knocked. We found this boy at the door with his stuff. The note says he’s Leo’s kid. They never told him before because they thought they could raise him, but now they can’t. They left, and now… it’s his responsibility.”
“Oh… oh, that’s bad,” Boheng muttered, eyeing the tiny bundle curled up in the carrier.
Xinlong moved to sit beside Leo, lowering his voice. “Did you try calling them?”
“Yeah, but they’re gone. Completely. The note even said they left the country. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, Junlong. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a kid.”
Xinlong’s hand found Leo’s back grounding him. “Hey,don’t panic. We’ll figure it out together. right, guys?” His eyes flicked toward the other two in a silent warning.
“Yeah, Leo, don’t worry. We’re not ditching you because of a kid,” Junmin said.
“He’s right,” Boheng agreed. “I’m in too.”
Something in Leo’s posture loosened, a faint, almost reluctant smile tugging at his lips. “Thanks… I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“We haven’t even done anything yet,” Boheng said. “For all we know, Junmin’s kid will show up next.”
Xinlong and Leo laughed; Junmin spun toward Boheng, ready to retort until the baby’s wail cut through the air, sharp and piercing.
“What do we do now?” Leo asked over the noise, his hands fluttering uncertainly.
“As if I’d have an idea,” Junmin shot back.
“This is because you were so loud,” Boheng accused. “If you hadn’t said that, we wouldn’t...”
“Enough,” Xinlong sighed, crossing the room. He scooped the crying baby into his arms with surprising gentleness. The little face nuzzled against his shoulder, wet tears dotting his soft cheeks.
“Leo, check the bag. See if there’s formula and a bottle.”
“Uh… yeah, okay… Found them.”
“You two,boil some water.”
Xinlong rocked the baby, his voice low and even. “please make him a bottle from the instructions.”
“Yeah… yeah,okay,” Leo said, clutching the formula as he hurried to the kitchen. Steam curled up from the kettle as it began to rumble, carrying a metallic hiss that made his ears ring slightly.
Leo fumbled with the formula like it was a ticking bomb. Junmin leaned casually against the counter, watching with an amused tilt of his head.
“You’re holding that like it’s radioactive.”
“It feels radioactive,” Leo muttered, flipping the tin to find the tiny printed instructions. “Do you have any idea how small this font is?am I supposed to be a hawk?”
Boheng, sitting on the edge of the counter, grinned. “What, fatherhood doesn’t come with night vision?”
Leo shot him a sharp glare.
Xinlong’s voice came from the living room, calm but with that underlying don’t-mess-this-up tone. “Remember to check the water temperature before you pour it in. Too hot, you’ll burn his mouth.”
Leo scooped the powder into the bottle, counting the scoops under his breath like each one was life or death. The kettle clicked off. He poured, swirled the bottle slowly, then tested a few drops on the inside of his wrist.
“It’s fine,i think” he announced, more to himself than anyone else.
“Great,” Junmin said. “Now you just have to feed him without dropping him, suffocating him, or making him cry harder. Easy.”
Leo shot him another look. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
They returned to the living room where Junlong was pacing slowly, the baby’s tiny face tucked against his shoulder, the cries softened into restless little hiccups.
“Alright,” xinlong said, handing the baby over carefully. “support his head. Always support the head.”
“I know,” Leo said,though the way he held the child suggested he didn’t quite know.
“Relax,” xinlong reminded him, adjusting Leo’s elbows. “Babies can smell fear.”
“Is that a thing?” Boheng asked.
Junmin smirked. “No, but it’s funny watching him believe it.”
Leo sat down, awkwardly shifting the baby until the little mouth found the bottle. For a moment, there was silence then the faintest, rhythmic sound of drinking.
“…He’s eating,” Leo whispered, as if saying it too loudly might break the spell.
“There you go,” Xinlong said with a small smile.
Boheng leaned over the back of the couch. “Huh. He already likes you. Must be nice.”
They watched closely for a few minutes until the baby spat up on Leo’s shirt, the tiny mess warm against his chest.
“Ugh..! Okay, who has wipes?!”
Junmin was already doubled over laughing, Boheng almost fell off the couch, and Xinlong just sighed, heading to get a towel.
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