Lowkey
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{{ Written by Stephanie N }}
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《《 All Rights Reserved 》》
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Thirteen | Move
"Taehyunie! We get to go house searching!" I told him as excitedly as I could despite these past few days.
Mark never talked to us after his visit at his parents house. We didn't see him at the SM building, and we didn't see him around the dorms.
Taehyun was really, really sad. I sometimes found himself crying alone in his rooms and I'd come in to cuddle him.
I think he knew I was just protecting him by saying everything was okay. I think he figured out Mark wasn't going to be with us anymore since he hadn't seen Mark in days.
"Just mommy and Tae?" He asked me.
My heart ached. "Johnny and Jaehyun are coming with us." I told him. He wasn't satisfied with the answer as he quietly sat there while I put on his shoes for him.
"It's okay. Mommy and Taehyun will always be together." I said before giving him a kiss on his forehead.
Johnny and Jaehyun were waiting in the hallway when we walked out. "I didn't say anything to him. Just like how you wanted it." Jaehyun said.
He was referring to the fact that I didn't want Mark to know we were going house hunting and I'd move out the dorms soon. I don't think it did any of us good.
We went in the company's car as Johnny drove. There was a list of house that us three had reviewed online and thought were good. The housing agent and salesman would meet us there.
The first house was really nearby. Maybe down the street from the SM building and dorm.
"Hi, I'm the salesman that will be with you today." A guy in a suit said. "This house has four bedrooms and two full bathrooms."
Immediately when you walk in, you see the spacious living room. To the left is the kitchen and to the right is a dining room area. There was a back sliding door to go out to the backyard. It wasn't a big backyard but it was decent sized.
Walking past the kitchen and dinging room, there were hallways going left and right. These led to the spacious bedrooms.
"You can always tear down a wall to make a new combined room." Johnny said since there were more bedrooms than people.
"I like it. It's modern looking. The kitchen has white marble countertops and white cabinets that don't look old." Jaehyun said.
"The appliances are all shiny steel coverings and are the newest trend." Johnny said.
Where the sink was, it was facing the living room and had the upper wall cut out to see what was going on in the living room.
"We can get a curtain to cover the sliding door at night. We can also place a little mosquito net that's made for doors. There's one that has magnets down the middle so you can easily walk in and out by going through the door without letting mosquitoes in." Jaehyun said.
"And if it's cool out, you can leave the door open and have no mosquitoes or flies come in." Johnny said.
Taehyun was looking around the house and looked at me. "Tae, mommy house?" He asked me.
I squatted down to be his height. "Do you like it? What do you think, honestly?" I asked him.
"Mm, cool." He said with a thumbs up.
"Should we move here and stay here?" I asked him.
He nodded. "With Tae. With mommy. With--" he pointed at the guys and then remembering someone else. "With daddy."
I hugged him. "They have their own place to stay. It'll just be Taehyunie and mommy." I said.
He pouted but nodded. "Okay." He said sadly in defeat.
"We'll come visit you a lot." Jaehyun said as he patted Taehyun on his back.
I signed the papers after reading it myself then letting Johnny and Jaehyun read it. I paid the down payment on full before asking if I could pay the house fully.
The house was surprisingly less than what I had saved up despite it still being in Seoul and in very good condition. The square footage was bigger than the average house too.
The salesman seemed surprised but said I could. I paid it all to the right companies and was done with mortgages. All I had to do was pay monthly electric, water, and trash bills.
"Congratulations on the new house!" Jaehyun and Johnny said after the salesman left.
"Now we have to move everything from the dorm to the house." I said.
"We can help you. You don't have a lot of stuff so us three can do it on our own." Johnny said.
We drove back to the dorm shortly since the house was so close. We got in the elevator and started packing things in the boxes I still had when we moved from the other dorm to this dorm next to theirs.
The only issue was that I'd have to get new furniture because the dorm comes pre-furnished. The only thing I had bought was Taehyun's bed.
Jaehyun easily carried it out by himself as Johnny and I carried our boxes of clothes. He carried my stuff while I carried Taehyun's clothes.
We got our little knick knacks and I made sure to get Taehyun's toys and nightlight. During this moving process Taehyun was following me up and down the elevators.
The last thing we put in the car was a box containing food. We checked the bathroom to make sure we had our toothbrushes, towels, shampoos, and body wash. We checked the rooms for clothes, items, and phone chargers on the floor. The living room was cleared out with all of Taehyun's toys in the trunk.
We drove back to the house where we unloaded. Taehyun stayed in the house and watched us near the door.
I brought out his toys first to keep him busy but he was more interested in watching us move things into the house.
"House bye bye?" Taehyun asked as we brought in everything.
"Yeah, you won't live next door to us anymore. You'll live here in this cool and big house!" Johnny said as he set down a box.
When everything was in the house, I put the night lamps up so Taehyun could see at night. I'd set him in the room to the right hall because the left hall was near the sink and kitchen. It would be too noisy.
"Which one do you want?" I asked him out of the two bedrooms on this side of the house.
He looked in both of them and chose the one nearest the dining room. "Okay this will be your room and mommy's room will be nearest the kitchen." I said.
The guys brought in Taehyun's bed and stuff where they went while I moved my stuff in my own room.
The bathrooms were down the hall on the opposite sides of the bedroom, but it wasn't directly in front of the rooms so no smell would go in.
"We ordered a bed for you since that is our house warming gift to you. You already spent so much on the house." Johnny said.
"It'll come here soon actually. Korean delivery is so quick." Jaehyun said.
A little while later of unpacking clothes into the closet and food into the fridge, a knock on the door revealed the delivery men. Johnny and Jaehyun said to leave it for them to take in the house.
The bed came with a bedframe and headboard. It was a king size bed. They moved it off to the room themselves and eventually the entire thing was in the room.
They helped placed the bedsheets and pillow cases on the pillows that came with the bed.
The rooms were bare since there was no need for cabinets since we each had our own closet, but I wanted to get a TV and stand for the living room plus a sofa.
"Which website did you use to order this? I want to see if they have a sofa, TV, and stand for the living room." I said. "A dining table too."
They showed me it, and we looked over ones with good reviews. Once it got here, the guys helped move the sofa as I brought in the stand. They mounted the TV to the wall and made sure it was stable.
Taehyun immediately sat on the couch to test it out before laying down comfortably on it. "Ahh." He sighed in relaxation.
The guys laughed from his response before the house was basically set up with the bare minimum.
We all helped out to put the dining table together. Johnny and Jaehyun were both handy men and got the job done quickly. They turned the table right side up and tested it by sitting on it to see if it would hold their weight.
It didn't give in so they got off. "Oh, can you give this key to the dorm lady?" I asked them as I remembered I hadn't given it back.
"Yeah, we will. I think we'll head back now. You can always visit-- or we'll come over." Jaehyun said.
I nodded. It had been a couple of hours of moving things around and building furniture. We had majority of basic necessities.
"Mommy, why TV no show?" Taehyun asked me when the guys left. He was referring to the streaming apps.
Luckily, the company offered me free streaming apps because they knew I had a kid. A lot of the staff members didn't have kids so they supported the staff's kids.
"Let me sign in." I said as I took the remote and put the username and password in. The thing popped up showing what Taehyun was watching and what I was watching.
"Only watch TV for a little bit. Your eyes will get bad if you watch too much TV or look on the phone all day." I told him as I checked the time.
After his TV time was up, I turned it off and told him to play with his toys. A knock on the door revealed another package.
It was the sliding door curtain and the mosquito net that you could walk through. I placed the curtain on first before working on attaching the mosquito netting. When I was working on it, Taehyun was looking through the glass, concerned because I was standing on a chair to reach the top of the door.
Once it was on, I carefully got down. I brought the chair in and watched the magnets of the mosquito net close the opening again.
I closed the sliding door and locked it at the handle plus at the back side where a bar came down to stop the door from opening.
"Be careful here, okay? Don't run into the glass door." I told Taehyun. He nodded before following me to his room where I was checking if everything was unpacked.
He found his stuffed puppy before picking it up. He carried it with him when I walked out to check my room.
"Taehyunie, do you see mommy's bed? It's so big, right?" I asked him.
"Yes. I have small bed. Mommy has big bed." Taehyun said. He realized that he was a tiny human being still.
"If you need mommy, mommy is in this room at night. If you forget, call for mommy, okay?" I said to him.
"Yes, mommy." He said before having a face of curiosity. "Where Tae pee pee ssssss?" He asked.
"Oh, do you need to go right now? I'll show you which restroom you can go to." I said.
The stool was already in the bathroom nearest his bedroom. The bath mat was over here to since this is where I'd bathe Taehyun.
He stood on the stool as I lowered his pants and diaper. I switched up to pull up diapers since he was getting better at remembering to go to the restroom.
A stream of pee came out without me needing to make the 'sssss' sound. When he finished, there was a second stool for reaching the sink.
He washed his hands well. He ran out of the restroom after doing everything correctly.
"Good job. Do you want to eat now? It's lunch time." I asked him.
He nodded as he waited at the dining table. There were benches for the long side of the tables and two chairs at the end of the table. Benches were better because Taehyun wouldn't accidentally rock back on his chair and fall.
He sat at the bench that was nearest the wall so he could lean against it while watching me in the kitchen.
"Do you want tacos?" I asked him.
"Yummy." He said while nodding.
I made tacos with the tortillas from the origin. I made sure there was cilantro, cooked meat, lime, chopped onions, and then spicy hot sauce that I only put on for mine. Taehyun was not at the age to tolerate hot sauce.
I made a couple of them and gave them to Taehyun who was patiently waiting. I cooked mine and turned around to see he was still waiting.
"Aw, my lovely baby boy, you don't need to wait for mommy to eat. I want you to eat when you feel hungry." I said to him as I smothered him in kisses.
"I want to eat with mommy." Taehyun said when I sat down. "If Tae eat alone, Tae lonely."
"Oh you're so sweet. I love you." I said.
He raised his hands over his head like he used to do to form a heart. His arms were a bit longer, but the heart wasn't quite there yet. "I love you." He said cutely.
He carefully picked up the tacos by its sides before taking a bite. He seemed to enjoy it as his head move side to side as his body did a little happy dance.
He gave me a thumbs up before chowing down on the tacos. I gave him two but I think one would be enough for him. It was mainly there if he wanted more.
I had three tacos because I loved them as well. We ate quietly as we enjoyed spending time with each other.
After lunch, I washed the dishes before putting them on the drying rack. There was a knock on the door and I thought it was another package.
"Hi." I heard when I opened the door. I stood there in disbelief. I immediately shut the door and checked to see if Taehyun was near.
He wasn't in view of the doorway. He was standing in the kitchen trying to get the fridge open because he had asked me for yogurt.
I locked the door behind me before opening the fridge. He stood on his tip toes and grabbed a thing of yogurt. I opened it as I dialed a number on my phone.
"Hello?" The voice said.
"Jaehyun, there was a couple of girls with professional cameras outside of my house. I opened the door and they started taking a bunch of photos of me." I told him as I handed Taehyun a spoon.
I heard Jaehyun audibly sigh. "Stalker fans." Jaehyun simply said. "You'll need to tell the hiring manager what the situation is and she can help protect you. They aren't supposed to take photos of staff members."
"Okay, I'll do that right now." I said. "But how do they even know who I am or where I live? I just got this house."
"They must've seen us moving your things out and us walking in the house." Jaehyun said. "I'm so sorry for this."
"The one who spoke had a banana and fish symbol on her camera string." I said to him.
He groaned. "Why is it always fucking her? She's my stalker fan." He said annoyed. "Immediately call the staff. She's a bit dangerous. Lock all the doors and windows."
I immediately ran to draw the curtain of the sliding door, making sure it was locked. I checked all the windows while dialing SM.
"Hi, Seomin. How's it going?" The hiring director asked me.
"I just got a new house down the street. Jaehyun and Johnny helped me. Their fans must have seen us and they appeared at my house after the guys left. I'm worried. Jaehyun said the one I identified is dangerous." I said describing who I saw in front of my door.
"We'll send security. If your picture is leaked online, we will sue. All staff members are not allowed to be photographed." She said.
From what I heard, Mark used to say that SM protected their staff well but not their idols.
"Okay, thank you." I said.
A little while later, another knock on the door came. I peeked out first before opening the door.
"Hi, we're SM security. We have sent off the fans and told them they'd be sued for crossing personal property and taking photos of staff." The guy said.
"I suggest you get a gated fence that has a lock pad. The fence should be high so they can't climb over it either." The other guy said.
I nodded and thanked them. Taehyun was watching me running around the house to make sure everything was locked so he was curious about what was going on.
"Mommy?" He asked me as he ate his yogurt.
"Hm? Everything is okay. We're all safe now. Make sure you do not answer the doors here." I told him.
I searched up a fencing company that did nice ones to protect the property. I saw one that showed fences up gates with a pillar made out of stone. There'd be a door that needs a pin and key to get into. It would cover the entire front yard to the front of the house. That gated door would align with the pathway to the house right now.
At least if I wanted to garden in the front, no one would see me. I could also let Taehyun play in the front without worrying about a car stopping and picking him up.
The gate also came with security cameras angled at the front yard so you can see if anyone does get in, you could see the front door plus the yard door. Another camera could be installed at the doorbell that would now be at the gate instead of the front door.
I called them up and hired them to do the job. Luckily, they didn't have a busy day today so they offered to come do it today. It would take all day but I wanted the gate done immediately. I was spooked by fans coming to my house.
The gate people introduced themselves and double checked if my design was what they were thinking of doing. When little details were sorted, they started working.
Taehyun looked out the window but I told him to get away. I didn't know if fans were still around the neighborhood and could zoom in.
By the night time, the gates were completely done, security cameras installed to show on my phone or TV, and also the door gated to have a key and pin in order to enter into the yard.
"Taehyunie, put your diaper on!" I said as he started running around naked since he dropped his towel after bathing.
He giggled as I started chasing him around, thinking it was a fun game. When I caught him, I scooped him up and laid him on the floor.
I put his diaper on and rubbed lotion on his body. He put some on his hand and dipped one finger in the lotion and rubbed it on his skin. It wasn't the most efficient method so I usually let him be as I rubbed it properly on him.
By the time I had rubbed lotion all over him, he was still focused on using one finger to spread lotion everywhere.
"My baby boy, come on. Rub your hands together and rub it on your skin." I said as I forced him to rub his hands together to get even coverage.
His hands resisted a little before he gave in. He rubbed the rest on his legs but it was a bit uneven. I smoothed out the area were lotion was just laying on top of his skin.
"All done." Taehyun smiled while clapping his hands.
"It's sleepy time now. Tomorrow we can play some more." I told him. I held his hand to guide him to his room. In the hallway was a pluggable night light that he noticed.
He walked into his room where his bed was. There was nothing else in his room since I'd buy a cabinet or a bedside table later on.
"Mommy, same." Taehyun said as he pointed to the animal stickers on the wall that we moved from the dorm to here.
"Yeah! We moved them over here. They go with you." I said to him as I turned on the animal night light.
He had the body pillow next to him as he hugged the stuffed puppy to sleep. I noticed him glancing around to make sure nothing scary was in the room.
"It's okay. Mommy is in the house if you need help." I said to him as I caressed his face. I placed a kiss on his cheek and he wrapped his arms around me for a hug.
"Night night, mommy." He said.
I walked out and closed the door halfway. I was still going to be awake so I had the lights on in the living room area on. I'd turn on the lamps when I went to sleep.
I turned on the TV and had the volume on mute. The show I was watching had captions on so I could read it instead.
A little while later, I had a notification on my phone that someone was at the gate. I opened up the app and saw someone standing there in a black hoodie and sweats.
Their face showed up in the door bell as they rang it. I had the option to silence the doorbell so I did it because Taehyun was supposed to be sleeping.
I unlocked the gate from my phone and watched them walk in. They closed the gate behind them before coming up to the door.
I opened the door when they were right at the door. "Why are you here?" I asked quietly.
"Why'd you move?" Mark asked. His hoodie was a little wet because it was sprinkling outside.
I motioned for him to come in and take off his shoes at the door. "Why does it matter?" I asked. "I moved when I was ready to move."
"We were supposed to go house hunting together." He said.
"Yeah? We were supposed to stay together and be parents for Taehyun." I said.
He was silent while his face showed pain. "I know I left." He said. "I know I screwed up. I know I let myself go back to my old ways. I know my mom got to me by questioning my faith."
"I know." He said quietly. "I know I shouldn't have."
"I'm sorry." He said.
I stood there before turning to the kitchen. I pulled out chips and salsa before offering him some.
"It's not me who should be hearing this. Well, partially, but someone more important to me." I said as I ate the snack.
He dipped some as well before nodding. "Is he sleeping?" He asked.
"Yeah, the bedroom right there." I pointed to the door. He placed his hand on my face to make me look at him.
He placed a kiss on my lips which made me feel everything I didn't want to feel at that moment.
"Am I supposed to run back into your arms every time you leave?" I asked painfully with tears in my eyes.
"Am I supposed to go back to you in hopes that you won't leave for the third time?" I asked.
"I'm sorry. I mean it. After I had stayed at my parents house, she dragged me down at the dinner table to hold hands with everyone to pray. She said to clear my life's path and to find someone better for me." He said.
"But after a while, I wasn't happy with moving on. I know you are meant for me. I don't want to live in sorrow and regret because Taehyun stopped me from being with you. I don't want that to be the reason." Mark said.
"Did you tell her that?" I asked.
"I told her as I left that night. She threw a fit and was screaming. My dad had to come and bring her inside the house because the neighbors were starting to look over." Mark said.
"So you're not talking to your family?" I asked. "I don't want to be the reason you stopped communicating with them."
"No, it's fine. I've started thinking differently than them, and it just doesn't match with them anymore." He said sadly. "Maybe one day, God will allow them to see that you are perfect for me, even with Taehyun. I pray that happens."
I pulled him in for a hug as I rested my head on his shoulder. His chin rested against my head.
"I'm sorry you had to walk so far by yourself with Taehyun. The nearest store is kind of far to be carrying him." Mark said.
"I had to do what I had to do to keep Taehyun not freezing." I said as a tear slipped.
"You sacrifice so much to keep Taehyun happy and safe. You feed him first. You give him water first. You put his needs before yours. You are an amazing mom." Mark said in perfect timing.
I sniffled as he ran his hand on the back of my head. "Does this mean we're together again?" I asked as I sat up.
He placed his hands on my cheek and nodded. "I've committed everything to you now." He said completely truthfully.
I wiped away my tears before trying to calm down. "Some f-fans were here earlier. I don't think they took photos of T-Taehyun but I'm worried about him more than me." I said.
"Jaehyun told me. Is that why a gate is up now?" Mark said. "You did good. Don't stress about it."
"Jaehyun told you I moved? I told him not to say anything." I said.
"Um." Mark said unsure if he should sell Jaehyun and Johnny out. "I don't know how to answer that."
I shook my head before eating the chips and salsa with him. "Four bedrooms, which is yours?" He asked me.
"I'm the door right there to the left." I said. "No one is on the end bedrooms."
"It's a really pretty house. Even better now that you added a gate that you can't see through." Mark said. "Mysterious."
"I'm glad they could build it that quickly. I wanted privacy immediately." I said.
"Sadly, there's no privacy when dating an idol. Luckily, you are not an idol and are staff so the company will protect your privacy really well." Mark said.
"Meaning you'll be protected as well because a dating rumor involves more than one person." I said.
"All we have to do is keep things lowkey." He said. "Everything will be alright if we avoid paparazzi, as known as stalker fans."
"Someone in my company has done this before. Dating someone that wasn't an idol. He only told fans when he suddenly was having a baby and was getting married. Really threw the curve ball to everyone there." Mark said.
We stayed up a little bit longer before heading to bed. I turned on the night lamps in the living room and plugged in the automatic night light in the hallway near my room.
Mark laid in bed with me after we both brushed our teeth and showered together.
"Damn, what a view." He said as I dried off my body.
I felt my cheeks turn red as I wrapped the towel around me to get my clothes. Mark had brought a backpack of clothes just in case I had forgiven him. He changed into a shirt and shorts before laying in bed with me.
He laid his head on my stomach as he clung onto me. I ran my hand through his hair for a little while before he scooted up next to me.
He leaned in to give me a kiss with his soft lips. He smiled happily into the kiss before pulling away.
"Go to sleep." I said while laughing. He closed his eyes and did as I said. I shut my own eyes before drifting off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, the rain had poured down harder. A sudden loud clap of thunder woke me and Mark up.
I immediately sat up with my heart racing before throwing the blanket off of me. I ran over to check Taehyun because I heard his cries. He was sitting up in his bed while wailing loudly but the thunder was even louder.
"Mommy!" He cried out desperately before he saw me enter the room. He was still crying with his mouth wide open as I walked over.
His arms reached out towards me as his hands opened and closed for me to come pick him up. He was startled from the thunder.
"It's okay. It's okay. Mommy is here. It's not scary. It's just thunder. The clouds are watering the flowers outside." I told him as I picked him up. I placed a few kisses on his head.
He rested his head on my shoulder and tightened his grip around me when a flash of lightning struck. I patted his back and brought him over to my room.
He was still sniffling and I felt him moving his hand to wipe away the tears from his eyes. The other hand was clinging onto the stuffed puppy.
His heart was beating so fast that I felt it as I held him. "Shhhh, it's okay." I cooed. "Mommy's got you. You're safe."
I placed him on the bed where he did a double take on who was beside him. "DADDY?" He shrieked out of happiness and surprise. He sniffled as he wiped his tears away with his baby hands.
"Mm?" Mark groaned from being tired before he scooped Taehyun in his arms and cuddled him to sleep.
"Daddy is with Tae." He sniffled as he spoke to the stuffed puppy. It made Mark open his eyes and watch Taehyun.
"Tae sad, sad. Now Tae happy, happy. Yes." Taehyun nodded as he spoke to the stuffed animal since he thought Mark had gone back to sleep.
Mark watched Taehyun in his arms before leaning in his ear to tell him something. Whatever Mark said, Taehyun sniffled some more and wrapped his arms around Mark.
"Daddy want Taehyunie? Daddy stay with Taehyunie and mommy?" Taehyun repeated what he heard for confirmation.
When Mark nodded, Taehyun placed a kiss on Mark's cheek before Mark gave him a kiss back.
"Daddy, I love you." Taehyun said while looking into Mark's eyes.
"I love you too, Taehyunie." Mark said for the first time back to him personally. Usually he would refer to the guys saying everyone loves Taehyun, but this was solely from Mark.
Taehyun's eyes swelled with tears which Mark brushed away. "It's okay. Daddy is here too." Mark said quietly.
I exited the room to turned off the night lamps in the living room. They didn't need to be on since Taehyun was over here in my room. I made my way back to the room quietly.
In there, I saw them both sleeping peacefully as Taehyun laid in Mark's embrace.