An Idol's Infant (Part 1)

[leejaehwa7]

Title: An Idol’s Infant
Author: leejaehwa7
Fandom: EXO
Pairing: Chen/Lay, Tao/Kris
Rating: PG-13 (mild language)
Summary: A baby abandoned at the door of EXO-M’s dorm forces the boys into making major life changes. Who’s the father, why was it left, and is the group really capable of taking care of an infant? During it all, feelings begin to surface and someone confesses but will the person of his affections return his feelings.

A/N: This turned out to be much longer than I planned (almost 16,000 words), but I wanted it to remain a oneshot, so it’s going to be a long one. I wanted to write something with a baby in it and this is a couple I haven’t tackled yet, so I thought it would be fun to try something new. Only EXO-M exists in this fic.


It’s early, not even six yet and the group doesn’t have to officially be until seven but as per usual, Minseok is wide awake and wandering around the dorm going from one room to the next to see if anyone else is awake. He receives a few disgruntled whines and mumbled curses from the other group members because like usual he’s disturbing their sleep and that extra hour makes all the difference in the morning. Instead of waiting around the dorm, Minseok decides to use his free time to get in a morning jog and maybe pick up some coffee for the other guys.

It doesn’t take long for him to get dressed and pull on his sneakers before exiting the dorm, already mentally deciding what morning treat he would like from the coffee shop, maybe a scone or an apple strudel. As he opens the door, he’s stopped in his tracks by the sight of a large bundle of green and blue argyle patterned blankets. Cocking his head to the side, he stares at the mound, wondering whom left it in front of their door and if it is possibly a prank by a fan. As he watches the blankets they begin to squirm a bit and he can’t help jumping back somewhat startled and afraid because there could be a critter within the mass of blankets and this could very well be a prank by an anti-fan, which usually aren’t pleasant.

Minseok gently pokes the blankets with his toe to see if anything happens. He receives a loud, wailing cry and nearly stumbles over the mess of shoes in the doorway as he tries to retreat back into the dorm. Once he’s gained his bearings, he hesitantly returns to the mound of blankets, slowly pulling them apart to reveal the small, flushed, round face of a baby.

Unsure of what to do, Minseok checks the hallway to see if the person who left this here is within the area, but finding that he is very much alone he cautiously picks it up, hastening back into the dorm. He places the child on the kitchen table as its screams get louder. He doesn’t know what to do or how to handle this situation. His hands hover over the baby as he shushes it, pleading for it to quiet down.

The noise has drawn the attention of one of the other members and Minseok looks up to see Yixing rubbing his eyes as he approaches the table. “Why is there a baby here?”

“I don’t know,” Minseok groans, ushering Yixing closer. “But can you do something about the noise. Just make it stop. I can’t handle crying babies.”

Even though he’s still half asleep, Yixing nimbly unwraps the child from the blankets to make it easier for him to pick it up. With skilled hands, he pulls the baby to his chest, cupping it’s head and bottom as he cradles the baby, shushing it tenderly until it’s cries have quieted down.

“What’s going on?” Luhan asks shuffling into the room with Wufan and Tao close behind.

Wufan stops short knocking into Tao a bit. “Why is Yixing holding a baby?”

“Someone left it outside our door and it started crying and I didn’t know what to do.” Minseok gestures to the pile of blankets on the table. “Why would anyone abandon a baby at our door?”

“If this is a joke, it’s really not funny,” Tao adds, pulling a chair out so he can sit down because he’s tired and he was really looking forward to that extra hour of sleep.

“We have schedules all day. We don’t have time to deal with this.” Wufan pulls out his cell phone. “I’m calling Hyunkyun. He’ll know what to do.”

“What’s this?” Tao pulls out a large envelope from the mass of argyle blankets finding it’s addressed to Jongdae. The group looks around for the man addressed only to realize that he’s not in the room, probably still sleeping heavily. Tao opens the envelope without a second thought pulling out various documents and notes. He hands a few of them to Luhan to look through before grabbing a letter himself.

“This seems to be a birth certificate. It’s in Korean. The baby’s name is Byun Baekhyun. His parents are Byun Sooyun and Kim Jongdae.” Luhan pauses. “Wait! What? Is this for real?” He flips the document over examining it to see if it looks legitimate.

“Then is the kid Jongdae’s?” Yixing rocks the baby a bit to keep it calm after being startled by all of the commotion throughout the kitchen.

Tao waves the letter he’s been trying to decipher because it too is in Korean and he still has trouble reading informal writing. “From what I can understand of this letter, it’s his.”

“Then someone needs to wake him up and tell him, so we can get an explanation,” Minseok says, sitting opposite of Tao because he’s suddenly too tired to deal with this overflow of information.

“My pleasure,” Tao says, standing with determination ready to get revenge for losing that extra hour of sleep. Within moments, a loud thud can be heard from Jongdae and Kris’ shared room.

A ruffled Jongdae emerges, sleepy grin on his face as he rubs his backside. “What’s with the panda this morning and why is everyone up so early?”

Luhan steps forward, poking Jongdae in the chest as stands in the doorway to the kitchen. “You’ve got some explaining to do.” He pushes the documents into the other’s hands before crossing his arms and staring expectantly.

The others are waiting as well, all eyes rest on Jongdae as he scans the documents, also having received the letter from the table where Tao left it. Once he’s finished reading the letter in it’s entirety, he lets out a deep breath one he didn’t even realize he was holding in. He slumps against the wall trying to regain his bearings before crossing the room to gaze at the baby sleeping in Yixing’s arms.

“This can’t be happening. He can’t be mine. We were always so careful,” Jongdae mumbles, reaching up to gently run the back of his fingers across the baby’s cheek. Everyone watches in silence, trying to let the news of Jongdae possibly having a child sink in because this changes everything, puts them all in a position to lose everything they’ve worked so hard to obtain.

“The manager will be here in a bit,” Wufan announces. “He’ll help us figure this out.”

Less than half an hour later, their manager walks through the door, talking rapidly on his cell phone to someone of importance because he’s speaking with formalities. He raises his hand to keep everyone quiet as he replies to whoever is on the other end of the line. Once he hangs up, he asks to see the documents before speaking with Jongdae.

“Is there any possibility that this child is yours?” Hyunkyun wants some sort of confirmation.

“Possibly.” Jongdae furrows his brow in thought.

“How? Explain it.” The manager grips Jongdae’s shoulder, staring him in the eye. “I need you to be honest with me if you want the company to help you in this matter.”

“I met this girl a while back.” Jongdae begins. “She was here studying languages as an exchange student. She was Korean and I was just glad to have someone to talk to that I could understand. She was sweet and she didn’t know who I was and it was nice meeting up with her like I was a normal person. We went out for a while, kept each other company.” He looks around feeling the eyes of the other members boring into him. “I swear we were careful. I used protection.”

“What I want to know,” Luhan interjects, trying to calculate when Jongdae could have met up with this girl. “When did you find time to meet up with a girl? We had promotions to deal with and our schedules were ridiculous. I hardly had time to sleep, much less think about girls.”

Jongdae’s lips form a thin line as they curl into a smirk. “We made time for each other. I’d tell you guys I was going to workout or practice and sometimes I would meet up with her. Most of the time it was only an hour or two, but it was enough for us to enjoy ourselves.”

“Clearly, you enjoyed yourselves a little too much,” Minseok says, waving towards the bundle of baby Yixing’s holding.

Jongdae groans swiping his hands over his face as he leans back against the refrigerator. “I don’t even know what happened with her. She just kind of disappeared and I lost contact. She hasn’t called me once since then.”

“Maybe she was scared,” Yixing says, now occupying a seat at the table with the baby wrapped up in one of the blankets while resting in his lap. “Maybe she thought she could handle the baby herself and didn’t want to burden you. Isn’t that what the letter says?”

“Yeah, but the letter doesn’t explain why she suddenly decided to leave the baby with me. I haven’t heard from her in almost a year and a half. It’s already going on eight months old. Don’t you think she could have called at least once during that time?”

“Like I said, maybe she was scared and his name is Baekhyun. Don’t talk about him like he’s a thing.” Yixing rocks his legs, cooing in an attempt to keep the baby sleeping when he begins to squirm.

“If he is yours, what do you plan on doing?” Minseok asks leaning against the counter on the far side of the kitchen, as far away from the child as he can get without leaving the room.

“Are you going to keep him?” Luhan asks, voice trilling with excitement. “He’s so cute.”

“He’s not a toy, Luhan. We can’t keep a child here. We barely have room now and we can hardly take care of ourselves much less an infant.” Wufan acts as the voice of reason but he can’t help agreeing with the fact that the baby is definitely cute.

“Cute or not, we don’t need a baby. We would never get any sleep.” Tao grumbles from his seat, head cushioned in his folded arms on the table.

“Either way, we need to keep this a secret.” Hyunkyun says to the group. “I’ve spoken with CEO Kim and he says he will have people look into the matter. He doesn’t want us to alert the authorities or anything. He wants everything done as quietly as possible. For now, I’ve called a trusted friend to come over and take care of the baby for today while we keep to our schedules.” He looks at his phone checking the time. “If we want to keep our first schedule you all need to get dressed now so we can make it to the salon in time for our appointment.”

The group disperses, retreating to their rooms feeling sleep deprived and thinking that the day is going to be a very long one. Yixing passes by Hyunkyun with the baby. “I’m going to lay him down in mine and Luhan’s room. You might want to make sure your friend picks up some diapers and formula, maybe some baby food too.” He keeps walking, mumbling to himself. “What kind of person abandons a baby without leaving any of the necessities. I mean, you can leave documents saying who the baby is but nothing to help us take care of him.”

Hyunkyun muffles a laugh because Yixing has a point. He feels a bit of relief because at least Yixing has somewhat of a handle on things and is thinking clearly. Taking a moment, he texts his friend to make sure she brings some baby stuff while also making a note on his phone to pick up some more things before they return to the dorm that night. He can’t help thinking great, one more mouth to feed.

The day ends up feeling longer than usual. Tao complains about having a headache during the second half of it and Yixing can’t help yawning every now and then unable to suppress them. Luhan’s giddy because he’s ready to get home while Minseok seems to be dreading it. Wufan hasn’t said much, probably trying to solve this little issue in his mind, probably running through different scenarios of what might happen depending on what step they take next, weighing out the pros and cons over and over again. Jongdae also hasn’t said much, remaining unusually quiet and contemplative. Everyone’s worried about him, but no one’s voiced their concerns for fear of someone overhearing them or possibly saying the wrong thing in general.

Jongdae’s mind hasn’t really been on the baby, but on his mother because he’s really confused as to why she would just have the baby without saying anything and then abandon it. He knows Sooyun isn’t the kind of girl to just give up on her responsibilities. She was always the responsible type, keeping lists and making sure everything was done on time, while keeping her budget concise because she was funding her own tuition and living fees. She wouldn’t have had a baby without thinking it through much less leave it without a word, unless it was the very last option and if it was her last option, Jongdae wants to know why.

He’s been struggling all day to understand what could have brought Sooyun to such a decision and without being able to speak with her directly, he keeps drawing blanks. He has no idea how to take care of a child and he doesn’t want to push it off on his parents because he knows they have enough to handle at the moment with their new business. Maybe things would be different if he had time to work up to the idea of taking care of a child and being a father, but having it thrust upon him after the child has been born and without any explanation makes him feel likes he’s on a sinking ship with no life raft in the middle of the ocean without knowing how to swim.

Jongdae can feel the panic rising within him ready to bubble over, but as soon as he’s about to burst a hand taps him on the leg, pulling him out of his thoughts. He comes back to reality, looking up at Yixing who’s sitting on his left in middle row of seats in their company van. Reaching over, Yixing grabs Jongdae’s clasped fists trying to make them relax. “Are you okay?” he asks, squeezing his hands for reassurance.

“I don’t know,” Jongdae sighs, dropping his shoulders and releasing the built up tension in his body. “I think I’m still in shock.”

“It would be weird if you weren’t in shock.” Yixing laughs almost silently and Jongdae wonders what’s so funny. “Have you ever thought about having kids?”

“Of course I have. I just thought I would have them after I found a girl and got married, which is still years away in my mind. I’m all about my career right now, you know?”

Yixing nods in understanding, letting the idea of marriage and children filter through his mind. “I think you’ll be a great dad.”

“Really?” Jongdae stares over at Yixing, eyes wide and questioning as his brows furrow in frustration.

Yixing grins dimples wide and genuine, bumping shoulders with Jongdae. “Baekhyun is lucky to have you.” Reaching up, he drapes his arm around the other, pulling him close to his side. “You’re not alone, you know. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll do as much as I can and I’m sure the others will too.”

“I don’t mind helping,” Luhan says, leaning over the seat behind them.

“I’m not changing any diapers,” Tao adds from Luhan’s right. “Someone else is going to have to make sure he’s clean.” He continues scrolling through some fansite on his phone to see what pictures people have posted of him recently.

“I’m not good with babies,” Minseok chimes in from Luhan’s left. “I’ll help, but don’t ask me to babysit because I really can’t be alone with a baby.”

“I’ll help too,” Kris says simply from his spot in the front passenger seat.

“See.” Yixing rests his head against Jongdae’s, hugging him closer. “I told you that you weren’t alone.”

“Thanks for the reassurance.” Jongdae smiles, for what seems like the first time today and Yixing can’t help the blush creeping up his cheeks at the sight of it.

Trying to fight back his own insecurities, Yixing mirrors Jongdae’s smile. “Anytime.”

They make it back to a quiet dorm. The babysitter Lien enters the living room as soon as she hears the door open, putting a finger to her lips to make sure they all remain silent because she just had a rough time putting the baby down to sleep and he really doesn’t need to be woken up. She looks tired and maybe a bit cranky from lack of rest during the day, but she smiles as she fills everyone in on Baekhyun’s condition right before leaving to go home. Hyunkyun and the Chinese members do their best to translate what she says so Jongdae and Minseok can understand considering Lien can only speak minimal amounts of Korean since she’s still learning the language and the boys aren’t much better with their knowledge of Mandarin.

“He seems to be in a decent routine of eating but he had some trouble sleeping. He didn’t take a nap earlier and it could be a number of things, maybe the different environment or he felt uncomfortable. He likes to be talked to and held, but he’s capable of sitting up by himself.” She pauses to think for a moment. “He likes the formula I brought and I would recommend it because it’s the best brand on the market unless you can order something better. He’s picky about his baby food though. I tried peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes and he only liked the sweet potatoes. Just try a few other flavors to see what he can stomach.”

As Lien continues talking about Baekhyun’s habits and giving suggestions about how to feed and entertain him, she gathers her things. She leaves her diaper bag saying it’s a gift because she no longer has need of it. She recommends a brand of diapers and baby wipes saying they’re the best for sensitive children. There’s also a baby shampoo and body wash in the diaper bag along with powders and creams that most of the guys hope they never have to use. Lien also brought some onesies and bibs to dress the child in because you would be amazed at how many sets of clothes a baby can go through in a day.

It’s obvious she’s concerned about leaving the baby in the hands of these guys but the only way for them to truly learn how to take care of the child is through trial and error. She gives them her number in case they need anything and promises the manager that she’ll come back tomorrow at the designated time. She’s happy for the gig and could use the extra money.

“His teeth are coming in so he might be in some pain,” she adds. “Give him a cold, damp rag to suck on if he needs it and I’ll bring some teething rings tomorrow.” She heads towards the door slipping on her shoes preparing to leave the group of wide-eyed and terrified men behind with the baby. “If anything comes up, call me.”

The manager walks out to speak with Lien alone and the guys look at each before drifting into their prospective rooms. The baby is on Yixing’s bed since that’s where he was this morning when Lien came, so she probably assumed that’s where he should be. Yixing doesn’t mind but he thinks the baby should be with Jongdae so it doesn’t get confused later on about whom he belongs to and at the same time he’s glad that the baby is resting in the cleanest room in the dorm.

For now, he doesn’t want to disturb the baby so him and Luhan grab changes of clothes and some of their things taking refuge in the living room, sprawling out on the floor for some much needed rest. Jongdae drops by the room to check on Baekhyun before settling in the living room as well. By this time Hyunkyun is back and ready to discuss the matter with Jongdae.

“Our CEO thinks we should get the child tested to make sure he’s definitely yours. He wants you to take a paternity test. Luckily, with the advances in technology, all we have to do is order a kit online and send off samples for testing.”

Jongdae nods taking it all in, overwhelmed with the intensity of it all. “How long will it take for the results to come back?”

“I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be much longer than a week or two.”

“If he is mine, what then?” Jongdae pulls his knees up into his chest looking very childlike and far from the soon to be twenty-one year old adult he is. “I don’t know how to take care of a child.”

“I told you.” Yixing sits up crossing his legs while turning towards his friend. “You’re not alone. We can work together on this.”

Jongdae shakes his head, voicing his concerns. “What about the group? What if this gets out? It’ll be the biggest scandal anyone’s seen in years. We’re still considered rookies and this could ruin us.”

“It depends on how you spin it. We’ll have to be extremely cautious about keeping it a secret, but if it gets out and if he really is your son, we can try to make it a positive for us. I’ll think of something, so try not to stress too much about it.”

The other three join the group in the living room taking up more space on the open hardwood floor. Tao and Wufan sit together beside Yixing, while Minseok crosses the room to sit next to their manager.

Luhan rolls over to his stomach, facing the others. “What about the baby’s mom? Have you found anything out about her?”

With a huff, Hyunkyun sits back, propping himself up on his arms. “I gave her information to the boss. He said he can’t get in touch with her and her parents haven’t seen her in over a week. Apparently, she ran away from home and I guess she hopped a plane here. No one’s seen or heard from her.”

“Is there some place here you think she could be at?” Luhan asks, directing his question to Jongdae.

“She had a few friends in the exchange program, but I never really met any of them. We spent most of our time with just the two of us. Her program would have ended around the time she stopped talking to me, so she would have returned home then.”

“Seriously, Jongdae.” Minseok frowns. “How much did you know about this girl before you got intimate with her?”

“You don’t have to know much about a person to do it,” Jongdae counters.

“And that’s what’s got you into this mess. You should have known better than to fool around,” Wufan chastises. “You’re an idol. You can’t afford to be so careless.”

“Like the rest of you haven’t thought about. So it’s okay for you two to fool around with each other, but I can’t meet up with a girl secretly.” Jongdae waves his hand towards Tao and Wufan who look completely affronted because they haven’t really talked about their relationship with the rest of the group yet. “Don’t think I don’t know what you two get up to when I’m not in the room. I know you’re not just watching porn together.”

“Watch it,” Wufan threatens, grabbing Tao’s arm to keep him in place because he was beginning to move towards Jongdae.

Tao wrenches his arm free, promptly standing. He towers over Jongdae easily when they’re both on their feet, but the angle in which Jongdae has to tilt his head to meet the Tao’s gaze makes him seem even more intimidating than usual.

“Just because you fucked up doesn’t mean you have to go around bashing other people’s life choices. We’re not the one’s putting the group at risk.”

“Tao, don’t say something you’ll regret.” Wufan takes his hand but Tao shakes him off, stalking into the room he shares with Minseok. Wufan stands to follow. “I’ll talk to him. He’s just worried.”

Silence envelopes the room as Wufan leaves and everyone contemplates the information that Jongdae just exposed.

“They’re seriously together?” Hyunkyun asks, a bit shocked by the news because he knew the leader and the youngest were close, but not that close.

Jongdae shrugs staring at the floor, feeling attacked and a little guilty for criticizing his group mates. He plans to apologize later to make up for it. Yixing traces the floor with his finger absentmindedly, trying to remain silent while the atmosphere settles. Luhan hops up calling dibs on the shower while Minseok lies back on the floor, rubbing his temples to keep a headache from occurring.

“Everyone’s just exhausted. Wash up and go to bed early, okay,” Hyunkyun suggests. “Tomorrow’s another long day of schedules.”

It’s barely two in the morning and the guys have only just entered into the depths of sleep when little Baekhyun starts crying. Yixing let Jongdae have his room so he can sleep with the baby, so he’s in Wufan’s room with Minseok, while the other two are in Tao’s room. Eveyone’s all jumbled up for the night but they can all hear the loud screams of the baby.

“God, that kid has a set of lungs,” Minseok whines pulling his pillow over his head.

Yixing hops out of bed to see if he can assist Jongdae in any way. When he gets to his room, he finds Jongdae cradling the baby awkwardly with Luhan still in bed, hands pressed to his ears as he lays face first in his pillow. Yixing gestures for Jongdae to bring the baby out so they can let Luhan sleep.

As they enter the living room, Wufan peers sleepily out of Tao’s room receiving and okay sign for Yixing telling him that he can go back to bed, which he happily does.

They move to the kitchen, turning the lights on to better assess the baby who’s still crying. “Maybe he needs a diaper change,” Jongdae suggests patting the baby’s bottom.

“I’ll get the diaper bag while you see if he’s wet.” As Yixing goes back into the living room to retrieve the bag, Jongdae sets the child on their kitchen table, undoing his onesie to get a better look at the diaper in question. With just one shift of the elastic fabric between the child’s leg, he’s hit with an undeniable odor that almost makes him throw up.

“I think he did more than pee,” he says, holding his nose.

Yixing sets the bag on one of the chairs, taking sniff and turning his head. “Yeah. Definitely more.” He pulls out the carton of baby wipes and a fresh diaper. “Looks like your first diaper is a bomb,” he says with a laugh.

Jongdae groans, pulling the plain pastel yellow onesie further up and away from the diaper. Yixing coos at Baekhyun trying to calm him down because his cries are still relatively loud in the otherwise silent dorm. Pulling at the tabs on the diaper, Jongdae hesitates only peeking from the corner of his eye at the mess within almost gagging again. Yixing wrinkles his nose in disgust.

“I don’t think I can do this.” He pulls the diaper open only to push it closed again. “Oh god, I really don’t think I can handle this.”

Yixing huffs, moving Jongdae to the side because he doesn’t think the baby should suffer any longer because of his incompetent father. He takes the baby’s legs in one hand to keep him from wiggling, while sliding the diaper open and taking a baby wipe to clean up the mess. He takes a second wipe as he lifts the baby up by its legs to make sure he’s completely clean before replacing the dirty diaper with a clean one. With a little effort, he pins the diaper in place, snapping the onesie closed between his legs and handing the now cleaned baby to his father before bagging the dirty diaper and tossing it into the trash.

Baekhyun’s quieted a little, but he’s still whining. Propping the baby up on his chest, Jongdae rocks him rhythmically.

“You should talk to him,” Yixing suggests. “Baby’s like to be talked to. It’s calming. Just give him some reassurance.”

Frustrated, tired, and ready to try anything, Jongdae begins to whisper to Baekhyun. “Hey little guy. It’s okay. Everything’s okay. Time to go to sleep.” He naturally kisses the baby on his black fuzz covered head, continuing with his whispering and rocking him with a few shushes added in here and there.

“I’ll warm him up some formula to see if it helps.” Yixing pulls a prepared bottle from the refrigerator, silently thanking Lien for her thoroughness as he boils the water in the kettle. He doesn’t think putting the bottle in the microwave is a good idea for the baby and he’s sure his mom would scold him if he did so because she was always against using one for anything, too fearful of absorbing too much radiation and whatnot.

Jongdae smiles thankfully wondering what he would do if Yixing wasn’t here because he’s making this whole baby thing seem so much easier than it is. By this time, Baekhyun’s stopped crying, but he’s still awake and sniffling.

“How’d you get so good at this?” Jongdae looks down at the baby gingerly wiping some of the tears away from his flushed cheeks. His poor eyes are swollen and red.

“Lots of younger cousins and some neighbors with newborns. I picked up a few things that kind of stuck with me.” He grabs a small pot, setting the bottle in it before pouring in the boiling water. “Babies aren’t exactly hard to understand. You just have to be patient with them.”

“I’m glad one of understands them because they are completely foreign to me. I can handle kids but nothing this small and needy.”

“It just takes some time.” Yixing glances at the bottle, touching the plastic to see if it’s warmed up a bit. “You two just need to get to know each other. You’re just as foreign to him as he is to you. How do you think he feels right now being in a strange environment?”

Jongdae thinks about it, gazing down at the small child in his arms, wondering what it’s like to be so tiny and completely dependent on others. He’s probably confused and scared, probably wants his mommy more than anything and it makes Jongdae sad. “It’s okay,” Jondgae murmurs against Baekhyun’s head. “You’re safe here.” He caresses the baby’s head, resting his cheek atop of his crown as he murmurs more reassurances.

Yixing watches the intimate moment with a smile. Checking the bottle, he takes it from the water with a towel, wiping it dry and giving it a few shakes before squeezing a bit of the formula onto his wrist making sure the temperature isn’t too hot. Finding it’s perfectly warm he passes the bottle to Jongdae giving him a soft pat on the shoulder.

“I think you’ve got it from here,” he says before adding, “Try to get some sleep.” He runs his fingers through Jongdae’s hair, flattening the mess of bed-head down a bit, allowing his fingers to linger at the nape of the other’s neck. “You’re doing a great job by the way.”

This time Jongdae can’t help the blush rising in his cheeks as Yixing leaves him in the kitchen with the baby who’s sleepily reaching for the bottle, eager to be fed until he falls back asleep. Yeah, he’s definitely grateful to have Yixing to help him with this.

The next days is similar to the last with the boys waking up an hour early to the baby crying for a second time during the night, this time because he wet himself. Lien shows up early to take care of him while the group gets ready for their day, only this time Jongdae lingers around Baekhyun a little more, giving him a hug and kiss before they have to leave the dorm so they can make it to the salon on time. They have a fan signing as their first event, followed by a performance and then a set of interviews.

Today they make it to the dorm early, because their afternoon schedules end before five, which means they’ll be able to eat dinner at home. This also means they get to spend some time with Baekhyun before he goes to bed. Lien tells them he did better today, wasn’t as fussy and actually took a nap earlier in the afternoon; so he’s wide awake when they get home. Jongdae quickly changes out of his stage clothes and into something more comfortable before taking Baekhyun from Lien. He finds he’s happy to see the little guy after their bonding time the night before. Baekhyun seems to recognize him, giving him a mostly gummy grin when Jongdae holds him. It’s comforting to know that the little guy is happy to see him.

Yixing watches the moment from a distance not wanting to disturb them even though he wants to say hi to Baekhyun too. The others seem to be busy with their own things, too distracted to give much attention to the baby.

“Isn’t he a charmer?” Yixing says after giving the father son duo some time together. He’s sipping on a cup of aloe juice as he drops to the floor beside the others.

“That smiles a killer.” Jongdae has Baekhyun sitting between his legs, holding his hands to keep him steady while he kicks his little feet against the wooden floor.

Leaning forward, Yixing makes a face while tickling the baby’s stomach causing him to squeal. Baekhyun tries to pull his arms together to protect himself, but he meets resistance so he starts kicking more wildly, laughing as Yixing continues to tease him.

The other members come in to inspect the cause of the noise. “He’s precious,” Luhan says, plopping down on Jongdae’s other side.

Yixing stops tickling him for fear pushing him too far too soon. He doesn’t want him to start crying after laughing to hard and tiring himself out. Baekhyun’s smiling and his little tummy is moving up and down with heavy breaths as his eyes scan the room. He sees all the new people. After a few moments of staring in wonder, he starts scooting towards Jongdae seeking a place to hide away from all of the peering eyes. Sensing the baby’s unease, Jongdae scoops him up, crossing his legs as he holds the little guy in his lap.

“Are you scared of these big guys?” he asks as Baekhyun clutches his worn t-shirt, trying to bury his face in the folds of the fabric.

Yixing laughs, tugging at his little fingers to get the baby’s attention. “Don’t be shy. They’re not going to bite you. Well, I think Luhan might because he’s thinks you’re so adorable.” Yixing tickles his side, making him squeal again. “C’mon, you should officially meet everyone.”

“It’s not like he’s going to remember us,” Tao says skeptically.

“He needs to get used to everyone. He’ll remember your faces and voices. He’s already familiar with Jongdae and me, but he needs time with everyone else.”

Taking the initiative, Luhan scoots forward tickling the babies other side, which causes him to snap his head around to find the culprit. He spots the new face, grinning shyly before tucking his face into Jongdae’s chest. “Look here,” Luhan says, tickling his side again. “You’re not going to be running away from me.” He pulls the baby’s hand away from Jongdae’s shirt, shaking it a bit to get Baekhyun to look at him. “I’m Luhan; you’re soon to be favorite uncle. Remember that okay?”

Baekhyun peeks at him from the side of his eyes as Luhan grins before diving in to tickle him again causing the baby to burst into shy giggles. The others can’t help smiling at the interaction.

“Who says you’re going to be the favorite uncle? I think Yixing has that locked down already.” Jongdae shifts his hold on Baekhyun to give him a better seat in his lap.

“Please,” Luhan laughs. “Yixing’s like the designated mom. He takes care of the baby. I’m going to be the fun uncle who plays with him.”

“And what about the rest of us?” Wufan asks from his spot beside Tao. They’re both standing in front of the four on the ground. Tao’s leaning lazily against Wufan, while the elder of the two slinks his arm around the younger’s waist. They’ve been close like this for most of the day, except when they’re in public, but it’s still more than they usually do. They’re little coming out last night must have made them more comfortable around the rest of the members since they don’t really have to hide the fact that they’re together and Tao seems extremely smug about the fact that he can openly occupy most of Wufan’s time.

Luhan squints his eye and cocks his head in deep thought. “Well, you two can spoil him by buying him things since Tao likes to shop. Besides, Wufan’s face will probably scare the baby. Minseok can be the one who protects him from a distance, since he’s too scared of babies to get close to him.”

“I’m not scary. I’m great with kids.” Wufan kneels down to get closer to the baby. “Baekhyun. Baekhyun,” he calls, tugging at the baby’s onesie to get his attention. Baekhyun turns around, eyes growing wide as Wufan grins at him. “Hey, little guy. I’m Wufan.” He reaches out to touch the baby again, but this time the little guy wraps his arms around Jongdae’s neck, whining as he hides his face.

“Sorry, Wufan.” Jongdae hugs Baekhyun, patting his back to soothe him.

“I told you,” Luhan snickers. “You just have the type of face that scares babies.”

Wufan stands, pushing Luhan over in the process.

“It’s okay,” Tao says. “I’m the baby of the group and I like your face.”

The rest of the group makes gagging noises at the display of affection, while Baekhyun stares at them like they’ve all lost their minds when they all burst into laughter.

“You know, I’m completely fine taking care of him from a distance,” Minseok says, sitting off to the left of the group.

“Why are you so scared? He’s just a baby.” Luhan playfully jabs the other in the leg. “He’s not going to hurt you or anything.”

“It’s the other way around. I’m afraid of hurting him. He’s tiny and fragile and I’d rather keep a distance.” Minseok crosses his legs to pull them out of Luhan’s reach for fear of being poked again.

“He’s more sturdy than you think,” Yixing says. “Besides, he’ll let you know if you’re doing something wrong. You’ve heard the pipes he’s got on him.”

“I really don’t like crying babies either. I really can’t handle it. It stresses me out.”

“I know the feeling,” Jongdae mumbles. “The crying kills me.”

Baekhyun wiggles his hand up the side of Jongdae’s jaw until he reaches his mouth. The baby touches his lips trying to grip at them as if to figure out why they’re moving before pulling his hand away and tucking it into his own mouth, gnawing on his fingers a bit until he’s drooling on his hand on down the front of Jongdae’s shirt.

“I think he’s hungry.” Yixing stands, reaching out take the baby. “Do you mind if I feed him?”

Jongdae shakes his head before handing him over. “I’m getting hungry myself. What’s for dinner?”

The guys break into a discussion about whether to order out or cook in while Yixing breaks open a jar of puréed peaches to test them on Baekhyun’s taste buds. The babysitter said he seemed to enjoy applesauce and green beans for lunch but there are still a lot of flavors for them work through.

The second night isn’t as bad as the first. The room assignments are back to normal now that Jongdae’s apologized for exposing Wufan and Tao. Luhan’s kind of glad that the baby isn’t his room anymore because the crying is more muffled when the baby’s a wall away. The baby wakes up twice during the night, but Yixing doesn’t stay up for long once he sees that Jongdae has Baekhyun under control, but he still worries that Jongdae losing more sleep than he’s allotted may start to cause problems if their schedule gets any busier.

As the week goes on, the boys get used to the sounds of the baby crying during the night. Baekhyun wakes up like clockwork around two and five in the morning. He usually needs a diaper change and a little milk or a soothing rock to get back to sleep, but he’s surprisingly a relatively calm baby. He’s not as fussy and the guys worried he would be. Apart from the diaper bombs, he’s not particularly messy either. When it comes to feeding times, he stays relatively clean and when he does get messy, he gets fussy, so the boys have learned that keeping Baekhyun clean makes him a happy, fuss free baby, which is something they can all live with.

Sometime during midweek, the paternity test kit comes in and Hyunkyun takes swabs of the inside of both Jongdae and Baekhyun’s cheeks to have them sent off and tested. By this point, Jongdae has a feeling that Baekhyun’s definitely his and this test is simply a formality. He doesn’t really know why he feels this way, call it a parent’s intuition or something, but the way Baekhyun looks into his eyes and smiles makes his heart twinge with fatherly affection and he just knows that Baekhyun’s his. He sees Sooyun in Baekhyun’s eyes and smile, but he sees himself in Baekhyun’s nose and gestures. It may be the fact that Jongdae’s Baekhyun’s dad or the fact that most parents think this way, but he can’t help looking at Baekhyun thinking he is an adorably, beautiful child, probably the most beautiful baby he’s ever seen. Then again, he could just be biased.

He wishes he could get in touch with Sooyun and has asked Hyunkyun to see about getting her parents contact information so he can at least speak to them about the situation. He doesn’t feel right keeping Baekhyun without at least talking to the baby’s family members to hear their thoughts on the situation or at least understand why Baekhyun ended up with him in the first place. Hyunkyun says he’ll do what he can to help and so is the company considering EXO-M is becoming a huge source of profit and interest for the company.

By the time Sunday rolls around, they’ve had the baby for six days and they finally have half a day off so they can spend some quality time with the baby. Jongdae’s especially excited because he feels bad leaving Baekhyun at home all day with a sitter and then the only time he’s with the baby is when he puts him to bed at night or sits up with him when he can’t sleep. All in all, it’s not enough time for Jongdae and this week in only proof that he’ll never really have enough time with his son. It’ll always be like this and he’s worried about what it will do for Baekhyun. He’s also worried about what it’ll do to the group if this gets out and he thinks he’s done way too much thinking this past week but he guesses that’s what parenthood does to a person; it makes them worry and over think everything.

Because they can’t take Baekhyun out of the dorm, the guys loaf around for the afternoon doing some much needed cleaning. As usual, Jongdae’s lying on the floor with Baekhyun sprawled out in front of him. He keeps trying to push himself up to crawl closer to Jongdae but he only manages to fall back after a bit of struggling. It’s cute seeing him put so much effort into it and Jongdae urges him to keep trying by holding his hand just out of Baekhyun’s reach.

As always Yixing’s sitting close by enjoying the scene while helping out. It’s obvious Baekhyun’s just as attached to Yixing as he is to Jongdae; he just kind of gravitates to him when Jongdae’s not around. Baekhyun’s familiar with the other guys, but he seems to prefer these two the most, on one hand maybe it’s because he feels safe with them and on the other hand, maybe it’s because these two are the one’s that feed, clean, and take care of him the most. Baekhyun seems to like Lien a lot too, but she doesn’t stand a chance when either of these two guys are in the room because they’re all he sees. Even if he likes playing with Luhan, he still gets antsy when either Jongdae or Yixing aren’t close by.

Tao’s warmed up to the baby a bit, while Minseok still keeps a safe distance and Wufan’s still upset that the baby starts crying around him; he just doesn’t understand it. Either way, little Baekhyun has become a large part of their lives. He somehow fits in, giving the guys a relief from their idol lives and a taste of reality right when they need it most. It’s been nothing but schedule after schedule, with some training and recording during the past year and a half, all topped off with crazy fans that just seem to keep getting crazier. They hardly have time to be normal anymore and with Baekhyun around, they get that if only for a little while.

It’s amazing really, how much a week with a baby can change a person’s life, but it does. It makes you reevaluate everything, especially when the baby affects your career, but that’s currently only a minimal concern of theirs, something they’ll deal with when the time comes. For now, Tao thinks they have other things to worry about.

“Here,” he says, dropping a large, gift wrapped box beside Jongdae.

“What’s this?” Jongdae stares at the box with confusion.

Tao rolls his eyes. “What does it look like? Just open it already.” He tries to hide his excitement by being overly impatient, but Jongdae can see through it.

He sits up, putting his focus on the gift while Yixing pulls Baekhyun up into a sitting position so he can have a better view of what going on. As the paper comes off and Jongdae rips the tape from the top of the box, Tao practically bounces on his heels. Jongdae starts pulling various objects out of the box, packs of onesies and cute outfits. A mini pair of sneakers, some bibs, a coat, small hats and other such adorable accessories for a baby just keep flowing out of the box and for some reason Jongdae starts feeling emotional like an expecting mom opening gifts at he pre-birth baby shower. Standing, he gives Tao a tight hug.

“You’re awesome. You know that right,” he says trying not to sound choked up.

“I know,” Tao grins. “But it doesn’t hurt to hear it every now and then.”

They both sit down, going through the gifts and showing them to Baekhyun like he has some opinion on the matter. “I bought some of them a little big so he can grow into them.”

“These are beyond cute. They’re so tiny,” Yixing says taking the sneakers. He unties the laces, pulling the shoes wide before trying them on Baekhyun’s feet. There a little big, but they still fit and they look completely adorable on Baekhyun’s little feet. He stares at them, furrowing his brow as he kicks his feet trying to figure out what the foreign objects are and everyone laughs because it’s makes the image even more adorable than before.

“When did you do this?” Jongdae asks while admiring the little blue jacket Tao picked out.

He shrugs. “I had some free time and I thought he could use some more clothes other than the stuff Lien’s brought over. I like to shop and the Internet makes everything assessable.”

“Thank you.” Jongdae leans over to give him another hug. “It means a lot to me.”

“Someone has to make sure the little guy has some fashion sense. I just wish I could do the same for a certain someone we all know.” Just then, Wufan emerges from the bathroom wearing a pair of baggy pants with an awful puke green paisley design on them and an ugly oversized clashing, white and rust striped t-shirt. The sight of it physically hurts Tao, forcing him to look away in disgust. “I can’t. I just can’t,” he grumbles, closing his eyes while burying his face in his hands.

“Here,” Yixing says handing Baekhyun over. “Put your mind at rest and give our little Baekhyun some of your fashion sense.”

Tao doesn’t need told twice before he’s deciding which new outfit to dress Baekhyun up in. It helps erase that horrendous image he has of his boyfriend walking around in clothes he plans on tossing out later when Wufan’s not paying attention.

On Monday Jongdae obtains Sooyun’s contact information, only calling after schedules are over and he has time to hold a decent conversation. When he finally does call, he reaches her parents and they’re relieved to hear that little Baekhyun is fine but they don’t ask many questions about him. They sound only slightly interested in Sooyun’s whereabouts, but Jongdae doesn’t have any answers for them. He tries to get more information from them regarding the situation and why Sooyun suddenly ran away, but they refuse to discuss it with him.

By the end of the conversation, Jongdae feels put off because Sooyun’s parents don’t seem to care about any of it, which is peculiar for people whose child has disappeared and abandoned their grandchild. Their lack of compassion startles him and he begins to wonder is Sooyun wasn’t welcome there, if perhaps the circumstances of Baekhyun’s birth had anything to do with it. He tries not to dwell on the negative thoughts, but one conclusion he draws from speaking with them is that he definitely doesn’t want Baekhyun to end up with them for any reason.

( Part Two )