Happily
" Tomorrow We Would Soar Even Higher "
The house is quiet when Yifan stumbles in. Toeing off his loafers at the doorstep, he glances at the clock; it’s almost 7 in the evening. A frown slowly materializes on his face as he searches for the whereabouts of his family. He drops his briefcase on the couch and pads towards the kitchen.
He pauses in the hallway when his eyes catch sight of the photo frames lining on the wall. A small smile unknowingly makes its way across his lips as his fingers trace a huge photo displayed. There’s him, and standing next to him with a lovely wide smile is a man whom he likes to refer to as his other half – Kim Joonmyun. He’s slotted beside him and Yifan’s heart swells when he sees a silver band around the other’s finger. It matches the one on him.
The swelling in Yifan’s heart throbs pleasantly as he drags his fingers further across the photo. In the same photo, there are two beautiful children, a baby boy and a little girl that they adopted after their marriage, and Yifan and Joonmyun are holding each one in their arms.
Yifan sighs a little. He doesn’t remember the last time he and Joonmyun had proper dinner together. He doesn’t remember the last time he played with his kids. He doesn’t remember the last time they went on a vacation together as a family. The throbbing in his heart starts to ache as he realizes how much he’d been neglecting his family ever since he got promoted. Long hours of work cause him to return home when his kids are already in bed and he could only kiss them goodnight as he murmurs apologies to them each night.
Yifan’s thoughts dissipate when a hushed murmur reaches his ears. He perks up and turns to the kitchen, where the sound came from. A soft whispery voice reverberates again, and he begins to panic, imagining worst case scenarios in his head as he makes long strides towards the kitchen. However, before he could—
“Surprise!”
Yifan blinks, his mouth gaping when he sees Joonmyun holding a candlelit cake with their daughter, Ara. The light from the candle shines their grinning faces, igniting an iridescent glow and Yifan thinks they look beautiful. He feels a small tug at his trousers and he smiles widely when he sees their one-year-old son, Yunsang, making grabby hands at him. He picks Yunsang up and kisses his cheek, causing the toddler to gurgle in happiness.
“Papa, Papa! Happy birthday, Papa!” Ara cheers, bouncing on her heels as she proceeds to bring the cake to Yifan.
“Be careful, Ara,” Joonmyun says, his hands hovering around the cake protectively.
Yifan kneels to match his daughter’s height and leans down to plant a kiss on her cheek. “You prepared this for me, princess? You’re such a good girl,” Yifan coos, his free hand patting her hair.
“Daddy made the cake!” she exclaims. “I helped by putting the decorations on and lighting the candles. Oh, Yunsang helped too! He sang his favorite songs so that Daddy and I wouldn’t get bored!”
Yifan and Joonmyun chuckle at the girl’s remarks. Yifan looks up at Joonmyun, whose face is dusted pink. “Thank you so much, honey,” Yifan says, feeling immensely grateful before facing his children again. “Thank you to you too, my pretty princess and my little prince.”
“Now, let’s sing a birthday song to Papa, okay? Can you do a good job at it, Ara, Yunsang?” Joonmyun says, poking at Yunsang’s sides.
“Of course!” Ara claps her hands excitedly and then, they start to sing. Joonmyun’s gentle voice mixing with Ara’s enthusiastic singing and occasionally followed by baby Yunsang’s incomprehensible burbles complete the birthday song. It’s out of tune and a bit chaotic but Yifan thinks that’s the best birthday song he’s ever heard.
“Papa, make a wish and blow the candles, please!”
Yifan closes his eyes and he wishes for his family to stay healthy and for them to be happy forever. Without realizing it, a stinging sensation fills his eyes and he feels an overwhelming feeling of happiness wash over him. When he opens his eyes, his vision blurs slightly. Ara’s smiling face greets him and he can’t help but smile back before blowing at the candles.
“Happy birthday, Yifan,” Joonmyun’s soft voice whispers near his ear and he turns to look at the affection brimming out of the latter’s eyes. Joonmyun’s thumb hovers near his face before swiping at the corner of his eyes. Yifan keeps Joonmyun’s warm hand there, clasped at his cheek and then he kisses each knuckle in gratitude until his lips reach the silver ring around the other’s fourth finger. His lips press longer there, an earnest display of affection that he wants Joonmyun to know.
Then, Yunsang starts whining and struggles in Yifan’s arm. Joonmyun laughs and takes the boy into his embrace, kissing him in the process.
“It’s past his bedtime now,” Yifan grins as he ruffles the toddler’s hair. “Papa’s sorry for keeping you up, Yunsang-ah.”
“I’ll tuck him in and be right back,” Joonmyun says and exits the kitchen, singing lullabies softly to soothe Yunsang’s cries.
Yifan turns to look for his daughter, who has been uncharacteristically quiet, and he suppresses a laugh when he spots the little girl sitting at the table, her face full of cream from the cake.
“Oh my God, look at you,” he chuckles and proceeds towards the table.
“Papa, it’s delicious!” Ara announces and pokes a finger into the cake before smearing white cream on Yifan’s cheek. Giggling gleefully at Yifan’s exaggerated shocked face, she flees before her dad could take revenge on her. Of course, she couldn’t run very far and the two are immediately engaged in a cake fight.
(Joonmyun, unfortunately, is soon dragged into it.)
ʚɞ
Later that night, Yifan sits at the couch, holding a drawing and a birthday card in his hands. The drawing is a present from Ara; a picture of their family standing in front of a building that looks like some sort of a castle. He chuckles to himself when he sees a blue dragon guarding the castle. He recalls making Ara pout cutely when he thought that it was a winged hippopotamus. “It is a beautifully drawn dragon, Papa!” Ara had insisted when Yifan pointed it out earlier. “And it is our pet!”
The clock strikes nine and as if on impulse, Ara lets out a big yawn. Yifan watches fondly from the couch as she struggles to keep her eyes open and frowns at the movie playing on TV. He puts the drawing and the birthday card away.
“Ara, come to Papa, sweetheart,” Yifan says, opening his arms wide and Ara makes a beeline into Yifan’s arms and buries her face on her father’s chest.
“She must feel exhausted,” Joonmyun remarks, giggling at his daughter’s cute actions. “She was so excited about surprising you and refused to take her afternoon nap, offering to help me instead.”
“She’s such a sweet girl,” Yifan whispers and hoists Ara onto his lap before kissing the crown of her head. The girl snuggles closer, her small fists clutching at Yifan’s shirt tightly.
“Papa, please read me a bedtime story tonight?” she mutters, looking up at Yifan with drowsy eyes.
“Of course, sweetie,” Yifan says, standing up and letting her head rest on his broad shoulder. “Have you brushed your teeth?”
Ara nods, her head lolling as she does so and Joonmyun pats her back gently, mouthing at Yifan to carry her to her room before she falls asleep in his arms.
After tucking his little girl in bed, Yifan reaches for the small bookshelf not far from him. He should get her a new shelf now that this one is almost full, he mulls to himself. It seems that Ara has developed a fondness for books. She’s like a mini Joonmyun, who couldn’t lift her head from a new book once she’s gotten herself immersed in it. Even though she can’t read yet, it’s great to see that she tries to understand the story by looking at the colorful pictures and illustrations before having her dads read it to her.
Yifan’s eyes catch a thick book tucked at the corner of the shelf and he picks it. It’s a pop-up book that he and Joonmyun gave to her as a birthday present last year. Yifan caresses the book fondly. It’s The Little Prince; the book that made him fall in love with Joonmyun.
Yifan begins to read it to his daughter, who has been waiting impatiently under her duvet. He reads the part where the little prince and the pilot found a well in the middle of the desert. He points to the pop-up pictures on the page, poking at the prince’s paper scarf and causing Ara to giggle. When he reaches the ending, Ara is still listening attentively even though she knows the story by heart.
“…you will know who he is. If this should happen, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back. The end.” Yifan closes the book gently and puts it aside. He strokes Ara’s long hair, lulling her to sleep.
“Papa?” Ara’s small voice reaches him and he hums, looking down at her. “Will the little prince be back from his planet? Will he visit his friends again?”
“Hmm, I think he will,” Yifan answers, his fingers playing with Ara’s dark locks. “Because the little prince is an explorer and when he misses the fox and the pilot, he’ll visit them.”
“And will he bring his beautiful rose, too?”
“Yes, he will definitely bring his rose and show her to his friends here,” Yifan says, smiling proudly. “Now, go to sleep, princess. It’s getting late.”
“Mm, goodnight, Papa,” she mumbles, pulling at her duvet. “Goodnight, Daddy,” she adds, glancing at the door with a sleepy smile.
Yifan doesn’t realize that Joonmyun has been standing at the doorway. The latter walks in and presses a kiss to Ara’s forehead, wishing her sweet dreams. Yifan turns off the light and murmurs a goodnight to his daughter before kissing her forehead too.
Once the door to Ara’s room is shut, Yifan winds an arm around his husband’s waist, causing the other to yelp. Yifan suppresses a laugh and brings a finger to his lips, signaling for Joonmyun to be quiet. Joonmyun punches his arm half-heartedly, mumbling that it’s the other’s fault.
“How long have you been standing there?” Yifan asks once they are laid in bed, cuddling close to each other with Joonmyun’s back meeting Yifan’s chest. Yifan’s right arm rests heavily on the smaller man’s waist while his other arm lies below Joonmyun’s head. He tucks his chin on the other’s shoulder, nuzzling at his neck once in a while.
“Well, long enough,” Joonmyun replies, his lithe fingers toying with Yifan’s hand and pulling at the latter’s long fingers playfully. “It’s been a while since you last read a bedtime story to our daughter. I missed listening to you.”
“I’m so sorry,” Yifan says suddenly, his heavy breath ghosting on Joonmyun’s ear. “I realize that I haven’t been spending much time with you, with our family and I regret that deeply.”
Joonmyun turns to face Yifan. He cups his husband’s face lovingly and presses their lips together for a chaste kiss.
“Please don’t say that,” Joonmyun whispers. “It hurts me when you say this kind of stuff. We can always make up for lost time, you know.”
Yifan falls silent. He takes Joonmyun’s hand and kisses it again. His fingers caress the silver ring on the other’s finger. It’s a habit that he’s developed. He likes to feel the subtle weight of the ring, likes to trace the simple carvings adorning it with his fingertips, getting used to it over and over again and immortalizing the patterns within his memory. It still seems surreal that they complete each other now but the rings on their fingers never forget to remind them that.
“Thank you for everything, honey,” he whispers, pressing their foreheads together. “No words can express how much I love you, how much I love our children. Thank you for today, too. I honestly forgot that it was my birthday today.”
Joonmyun smiles warmly. “You may forget your birthday, but you never once forgot mine and the kids’ birthdays. You’re a great husband and an amazing dad. I’m the one who should be thankful.”
Yifan flushes at Joonmyun’s words, his face obviously coloring. “No, you, my darling, are the most wonderful husband in the world. I shall take you to the planetarium that we went to for our first date and then we’ll have dinner at the restaurant where I proposed to you,” he says, grinning. Joonmyun beams at this, feeling more than pleased. Then Yifan’s eyes turn darker, slightly hooded when they trace the outline of the other’s smile. “Now,” he whispers hoarsely. “I believe you said something about making up for lost time, hm?”
Joonmyun wants to roll his eyes at Yifan’s line but he certainly can’t complain now. Not when Yifan’s looking at him like this, like he’s the only one he sees; not when he can feel the furious thumps of Yifan’s heart against his chest. They may have been married for many years but sometimes it still feels like the first time they met in Minseok’s book cafe.
When Yifan holds him a little tighter, presses their bodies a little closer like this, Joonmyun thinks it’s perfect.