Ba Reum was eating the pancakes with gusto, but halfway through his fifth, his stomach was protesting. He wasn't used to the amount, nor the sweetness of the toppings.
Looking at his half-full plate, and then at mommy, the little felt hesitant to tell him his tummy was full. But mommy hadn't been mad yesterday either when he couldn't eat the portion he was given.
"Uhm," Ba Reum said, looking at Hyuk and the moment the man looked at him, he couldn't manage and just looked down at his plate with a bright flush.
"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" Hyuk asked, looking at the by now rather sticky little, who had liked the pancakes the most with jam and whose cheeks were now decorated by it.
"Is 'kay," Ba Reum said in a whisper, taking another piece of pancake and stuffing it in his mouth, by now chewing it slowly and not seeming to enjoy the taste anymore.
"You sure? You can tell mommy," Hyuk said, feeling terribly pleased to say his parental title even when it made Ba Reum flush a little.
"Pancakes yummy," Ba Reum said hesitantly, licking his lips nervously and frowning when he noticed they were sticky.
"That's good," Hyuk said, "but?"
"Tummy full?" Ba Reum asked, hoping that Hyuk, like the day before, wouldn't get mad. There were still very many left over.
"You can't finish yours anymore?" Hyuk asked, already grabbing the plate even before Ba Reum managed to shake his head. The big man ate the few pieces left over and finished the rest of his own.
"Let's get you washed, and perhaps we can see for some day clothes?" Hyuk asked, and Ba Reum shrugged. He liked wearing the sleepers, they were soft and new, and even though his clothes were washed often that they weren't rough to wear, he knew they were threadbare as well and definitely not as warm as his clothes.
But if mommy thought he needed to get dressed, then Ba Reum would.
"Ba Reum go dress?" the little asked, already getting up from the chair.
"Let's first wash your face and put the rest of the pancakes in the fridge," Hyuk said, quickly going to get a wash cloth and making sure that the water is warm before he held it under there.
Ba Reum almost sat still while Hyuk cleaned him up and waited patiently while Hyuk put a foil over the pancakes and put the plate in the fridge.
"Up, now?" Ba Reum asked, when Hyuk turned back to him.
"Up we go," Hyuk said with a grin, and suddenly Ba Reum was hoisted up the man's hip, something that was quickly getting to be one of his favourite positions.
It gave him a reason to lean close to the man and hug him while he pretended to just hang on. It was rather sneaky of him, but it was nice to have such close and positive contact with a parental figure.
Tucking his thumb in his mouth, he laid his head down on the big shoulder, feeling the big hand pat his behind a little, and somehow it just felt so nice.
Hyuk was very pleased that the little so easily turned into him while he carried him, glad that Ba Reum never insisted on doing the stairs himself. He just seemed too little to manage them, and it made him glad for his habit to go to the gym.
Entering the nursery, he put Ba Reum on the changing table, letting the little sit on his own for a moment while he went to the wardrobe.
"Mommy, Ba Reum clothes there," Ba Reum said, pointing out his backpack with his reserve clothing.
"Ba Reum's big clothing is," Hyuk agreed, taking out a bundle of clothes out of the wardrobe. The little looked at the man in surprise, eying the bundle in the hands.
Hyuk smiled at him and put them next to Ba Reum, unfolding a nice brightly coloured light blue shirt.
"You like the colour?" Hyuk asked, and Ba Reum looked at the man in surprise. Was he going to get even more new clothes? Wasn't that a little too much?
"Ba Reum clothes there?" the little said again, pointing to his backpack and feeling unsure about what was happening. Hyuk frowned a little at him, and the little shrunk in himself, knowing that he had done the wrong thing.
"Why don't we try these ones out first. If you don't like them, we can still change. Is that okay for you?" Hyuk asked, having seen the clothes in the backpack and not thinking that the little would be feeling too comfortable in them.
By now, he had enough an idea of Ba Reum that he understood that the little might be feeling a bit weird because of Hyuk's generosity, and that it was perhaps part of this problem.
"Okay," Ba Reum said, guessing that mommy could just do what he wanted. He didn't really care too much about which clothes he had to wear, as long as mommy was happy.
And Hyuk seemed happy with the answer, giving him a big smile that made his insides squirm with happiness when he realised it was him that had caused him. Ba Reum smiled shyly back, cramming three fingers in his mouth the deal with the feeling.
His eyes widened when mommy pulled his fingers back out of his mouth but before he could anguish about having done something wrong, there was already a paci in his mouth and mommy started to unzip the sleeper.
A quick pat on Ba Reum's crotch, and Hyuk verified that the diaper was still dry. Not wanting to leave the little in the cold too long, he quickly put the shirt over his head, before unfolding the overalls. They were grey and soft, and decorated with a little yellow digging machine, and a little pocket on the front. On the sides, light blue buttons were visible, just like on the drop seat.
Hyuk pulled them over Ba Reum's legs and then lifted the little and put him on the floor so he could get it over his diaper and then the straps were put over the shoulder and fasted with another set of light blue buttons.
"Well, don't you look pretty now," Hyuk said with a smile.
"Ba Reum do?" the little asked in surprise, never really having thought that he was pretty.
"You do," Hyuk said, trying to not frown when he noticed Ba Reum's toes curling in pleasure of that statement. His bare toes. Darn, he had forgotten to buy socks for the little. Trying to keep his displeasure at himself out of his facial expressions, he patted Ba Reum's head.
"I forgot your socks in my room," Hyuk said, quite sure that Ba Reum's were going to be all threadbare as well, and he knew that threadbare socks just weren't fun to wear, "I'm afraid I didn't get any with fun colours."
"Mo...mommy got so much for Ba Reum," the little said, tripping up over the word a little, and looking at Hyuk to make sure it was okay that he said it.
"Nothing more than you deserve," Hyuk said, thinking it was still a whole lot less then he wanted to give, but he didn't want to overwhelm the little either.
Taking Ba Reum's hand, he took him to his bedroom, through the side door of the nursery, and went to his own sock drawer.
"Let's see, we got greys, and blacks, and whites," Hyuk said, "oh, and these. They are boring black, but they at least have a blue stripe on them. You like those."
"Yes, mommy," Ba Reum said, not even looking at the sock, but being distracted by the front-pocket on his overall.
Hyuk smiled at the little, and kneeled in front of him, which pulled Ba Reum's attention. But it was clear what the big man was doing, easily grabbing Ba Reum's foot and putting a sock over it, before doing the same with the other. They were a bit on the bigger side, but all in all it was okay.
Afterwards, he got dressed himself, the little sitting on the floor and fiddling with the paci in his hands, studying the thing and suddenly they heard a noise from downstairs, making him stiffen up completely.
"Mommy?" Ba Reum said, getting up staring at the door with big eyes.
Hyuk looked at the door as well, pulling his shirt on completely, before sitting down on the bed to put on his own socks.
"It's nothing Ba Reum. It's my dad, I think," Hyuk said, frowning a little. His dad did have the habit to come visit without warning, which was mostly okay, but he didn't know how Ba Reum would react to it, "let's go greet him."
"Ba Reum stay?" the little asked, taking a step back and wondering if Hyuk wouldn't want to hide him from his own daddy. After all, he wasn't all that special, and he didn't want the man to be angry because his son had gotten a second rate little like himself.
"We'll both go down," Hyuk said with a frown, and Ba Reum frowned back, holding the paci a little tighter while he progressed the words.
"Reum go away?" the little asked, gesturing vaguely to the window, perhaps his mommy just wanted him out of the house now, "be big and go bye bye?"
"No, absolutely not," Hyuk said, a little startled, "no, dad will love you. Don't worry about that."
Ba Reum frowned at Hyuk's words. Of course Hyuk's dad wouldn't love him. The man didn't know him and from that short meeting at the fair, he didn't think the man had that good of an impression of him. He hadn't been able to win his own unicorn, but at least he had given an ice cream as a thank you, so perhaps he wasn't completely irredeemable.
Hyuk looked at Ba Reum, who stayed silent after, and he took that as a sign that it was okay. Gently lifting him up, the big man went down the stairs, feeling Ba Reum stiffen up, the paci still held in his hand and not put back in his mouth.
Opening the door to the kitchen, he was unsurprised to see the man with his head in the fridge, adding several things in there.
"Stealing the pancakes?" Hyuk asked, seeing the man startle and look around.
Immediately, Chang Wook's eyes widened when he saw who his son was carrying and the initial look of shook soon changed in a smile.
"Of course I am," Chang Wook easily said, "I even bought you a box of strawberries to go with them."
"A bit early in the season," Hyuk said, but looking pleased none the less.
"Never too early," Chang Wook said, "I know you like them. And perhaps does this little fellow like them as well?"
Ba Reum froze completely when the man looked at him all of the sudden, pressing his face in Hyuk's shoulder and gripping harder than before.
"Don't be scared, Ba Reum. It's just my dad. He's a bit crazy, but harmless," Hyuk said, bouncing Ba Reum a little, "I didn't know he was coming to visit today."
"Didn't know either, but I passed this nice little farmer shop with strawberries, and I just thought about how much you liked them," Chang Wook said, "do you want me to go?"
"No," Ba Reum said, looking up and slightly shocked that the man had suggested to go. He was Hyuk's dad, he shouldn't have to go because Ba Reum was here, "Ba Reum go?"
"No, sweetie, you stay. Both of you can stay," Hyuk said, not willing to make Ba Reum feel as if he was making his dad leave, "so, now the big question, do you like strawberries?"
"Don't know," Ba Reum answered in a tiny voice, looking nervously at him and then at Chang Wook.
"How can you not know?" Chang Wook asked with a frown, and Ba Reum shrunk in a little more. Strawberries were expensive fruits, and you couldn't really keep them very long, so he never bought them.
"Like jam," Ba Reum said, knowing he had liked the strawberry jam before.
Hyuk frowned a little at the answer, before it dawned on him.
"Did you ever have strawberries before?" Hyuk asked, and Ba Reum stiffened up before Chang Wook started to talk.
"What? Why shouldn't he never have had strawberries before?" the man asked confused, not having heard the earlier conversation about the pancakes.
"Sorry," Ba Reum said, his voice tiny and feeling silly. Chang Wook's eyes widened, and he glanced at his son to verify the answer. Hyuk just shrugged.
"Why don't we have some for a snack or desert. I can always give you something else if you don't like them," Hyuk said, trying to not put any attention to it.
"That seems a great idea," Chang Wook said, wiping away the look on his face and replacing it with a smile. He wanted to make sure the little felt comfortable, especially because it was the first one he knew his son had, and the two already looked very comfortable with each other, "I got another great idea. The weather is nice, how about a walk to the park?"
"That seems like a good idea," Hyuk said, looking at Ba Reum, "do you feel up to it, sweetie?"
"With mama?" Ba Reum asked, not noticing Chang Wook's eyes widening.
"Who is mama?" the man asked, suddenly thinking that his son might not be Ba Reum's real caregiver. Perhaps it was a friend of Hyuk's, and he was just sitting?