My Universe // Mark Lee

13

// Three Years Later //

"Come here, Jang Mi!" I said with my arms open as I crouched down, waiting for her to run towards me.

Jaehyun was preparing breakfast as Jang Mi and I had our daily morning play time.

"Uncle!" Jang Mi yelled, running cutely to Jaehyun in the kitchen.

This became our routine. I continued to work from home as I took care of her for most of the day. NCT was still as popular as ever and despite their busy schedules, Jaehyun came home almost every day to take care of Jang Mi.

Mark was completely back on track and had even joined the boys for their most recent come back. I would watch him from time to time on TV, happy to see that he was doing alright.

I avoided going to SM and I knew that sneaking in to see Mark wasn't a good idea. During the first year after Jang Mi was born, I wanted to see him so badly.

All of the members knew about Jang Mi. They were all trying to protect us as well.

But, Jaehyun was right. If the company had seen me and found out about our child, who knows what they could have done to us? Jaehyun had to take care of us in secret, often making hidden deals with their other manager.

A part of me was endlessly thankful that Jaehyun was doing all of this. I was more than happy that Jang Mi still had a father figure in her life, but I knew that Jaehyun could never be Mark. I always knew that Jang Mi needed her real father, but none of us knew when that time would come.

My friendship with Jaehyun changed drastically after these past few years. We weren't the same Handsome and Pretty best friends from high school anymore. Everything was different. Everything became about protecting each other from harm, especially Jang Mi.

"Alright, breakfast is ready for my beautiful girls. Happy birthday my Jang Mi!," Jaehyun smiled, bringing the dishes to the table.

"Wow!! Say thank you to Uncle Jae," I told Jang Mi, fixing her hair as we sat down at the dining table.

She gave him a soft kiss on his dimples, making Jaehyun giggle from her cuteness.

"Hey, some of the members wanna come over tonight to celebrate Jang Mi's third birthday. Can they?" Jaehyun asked, feeding Jang Mi with spoonfuls of food as if it were an airplane.

I smiled, "Of course, they can. I miss them too."

—

Later that night, I prepared a lot of dishes before the boys came. Jaehyun had left after breakfast to attend to their schedules.

The doorbell rang and I quickly ran to get it.

"Eunji!!!" Taeyong yelled, giving me a hug, "Where's our precious Jang Mi?"

Johnny, Haechan, Jaehyun, Doyoung, and the rest of the NCT Dream members all entered the apartment, rushing over to meet Jang Mi.

"Happy birthday, our precious!" Johnny said, handing her a stuffed animal of a dog.

Jang Mi loved the boys. To them, they were her uncles and I always told her that "daddy" would come home one day.

We gathered around the table and ate the dishes that I had prepared. I didn't know that this day would change my somewhat peaceful lifestyle.

*Ding Dong* The doorbell rang.

"Did we invite anyone else?" I asked.

Jaehyun shook his head, "I don't know. The other members said they had schedules."