Side Story 2. One More Happy Ending (1)
As soon as the door opened, the cheerful sound of running footsteps echoed. Before Jian’s smile could fully form, a little girl with her hair braided in two rushed energetically down the long corridor.
Jian spread his arms and lifted Semi lightly. Having exercised to improve his strength after being worn out daily by Sehun, his arms had gained some muscle.
“Our Semi, did you have fun today?”
“Yes!”
Her body, noticeably smaller than others her age, was closer to that of a six-year-old rather than a ten-year-old, so she wasn’t very heavy. Jian lightly kissed her flushed cheek as he crossed the corridor.
“Did you have fun with Dojin too?”
“Umm, Dojin just reads books by himself. He won’t play with Semi…”
Semi’s face quickly turned glum at the mention of Dojin. Like Sehun and Hyunsu when they were young, the two children with completely different personalities were also interested in different things.
With each passing day, Semi regained the lively personality typical of a child her age. She liked cute doll-like things, but also enjoyed playing actively.
In contrast, Dojin preferred sitting quietly and reading books. Occasionally, he seemed to play ball games in the garden, unable to resist Semi’s persistent urging, but once he became engrossed in a book, he wouldn’t put it down until he’d read the last page.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be going to school soon. When you go to school, you’ll make many new friends besides Dojin.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Fortunately, the children were adapting well to their new life with each passing day. The psychological test results weren’t bad either, so Jian had made all necessary arrangements for the children to enter elementary school in the upcoming March.
“You’re here.”
As they entered the living room, Dojin, who had been sitting on the sofa reading a book, stood up. Hearing his calm voice that was unlike a child’s, Jian knelt down and opened his other arm that wasn’t holding Semi.
After hesitating briefly, Dojin fell into Jian’s embrace. His slightly reddened ears were cute.
“Oomph.”
When he tried to stand up while embracing both children at once, it was a bit of a strain. As his arms trembled slightly, trying not to show it while exerting a lot of force, suddenly the weight lightened.
“Kyaa…!”
Semi let out a joyful scream as her body floated up into the air. Sehun, who had been in the kitchen, appeared wearing an apron.
“Hyung, when you arrive, you should see me first.”
With his lips slightly pouting, Sehun walked over to Jian and lightly kissed his lips. The tension in Jian’s shoulders, worried about kissing in front of the children, relaxed.
“What were you making?”
“Semi said she wanted a hamburger steak.”
“Daddy, lift me higher!”
Semi shouted, waving both arms while laughing merrily.
At the title “Daddy,” Jian fidgeted with his earlobe. He didn’t know why he felt embarrassed every time he heard it.
After adopting the two children (ultimately as Sehun’s children), they had spent a while wondering what titles to use.
But Dojin was the first to say he wanted to call the two of them “Daddy.” Semi, sitting next to him, had her eyes shine as if it was a good idea.
Both children had no memories of their parents and had always yearned for parents.
Titles like “brother,” “uncle,” or “mister” all had something lacking about them, so Jian agreed. Sehun seemed completely indifferent to what the children called him.
“That’s enough for today.”
Semi and Dojin’s feet safely touched the ground after floating in the air. Semi pushed out her lips in disappointment but didn’t whine for more.
“Just need to pour the sauce now, so go wash your hands in the bathroom. It’s time for dinner.”
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
After the children disappeared in the direction of the bathroom, Sehun lowered his head to Jian again. Unlike earlier, this time his tongue parted Jian’s lips and gently swam inside his mouth.
“Mmm…”
When Jian glanced to the side with anxious eyes, not knowing when the children might return, Sehun covered Jian’s eyes with his palm.
Although adopting Semi and Dojin to live together was his choice too, it was unavoidable that his mood sank a little whenever Jian was this cautious.
I wish hyung would focus only on me. But that’s unreasonable given his personality.
Putting aside his regretful feelings, Sehun pulled his head back. After wiping Jian’s lips that glistened with saliva with his thumb, he kissed him with a smacking sound.
“Go wash your hands too.”
“…Okay.”
Jian pressed the back of his hand against his flushed cheeks as he headed to the second floor. The mansion that had become a home for the four of them was a two-story mansion built on prime land in Seoul.
A nearly 3-meter high wall surrounded the mansion, and it featured an impressively spacious garden large enough to play soccer.
The first floor had spaces shared with the children and their bedrooms. After purchasing the mansion, Jian had been most concerned about soundproofing.
He placed semi-permanent soundproofing artifacts in any space where the two of them might get physical, from bedrooms to bathrooms.
After washing his hands and coming downstairs, Semi’s clear laughter could be heard from the dining room. Seated at the table, Semi was holding a fork in her right hand and tapping her feet.
The hamburger steak on the white plate was almost the size of Semi’s face.
“Semi, do you think you can eat it all?”
“Yes! I’m super hungry right now!”
When Jian, a bit worried, asked as he sat in the chair across from Semi, she answered in a bright voice.
Unlike Semi, Dojin, who had a smaller appetite, was looking at his plate with somewhat troubled eyes.
“You can leave it if you get full while eating.”
Jian reached out and lightly stroked Dojin’s head. Dojin, with slightly reddened cheeks, nodded.
“This is for hyung.”
Sehun appeared with plates in both hands. While the hamburger steaks on the children’s plates were already exceptionally large, those for the two adults were even bigger.
With some exaggeration, they were about the size of his face, and there were two of them, causing beads of sweat to form on Jian’s forehead.
“How many pounds of meat did you use…?”
He was genuinely curious about what recipe Sehun had followed to produce something of this size.
“Hyung, you’ve lost weight lately. I read that feeding kids well is good for their growth. So I’m planning to increase the amount of food from now on.”
Certainly, his stomach had become more slender since starting to exercise. Jian took a small deep breath and picked up his fork and knife.
The children’s portions were already cut into bite-sized pieces. Only after Jian put a piece of steak in his mouth did the children move their forks.
“You cook better than me now.”
A texture that was soft yet appropriately chewy filled his mouth. The sweet and savory sauce with a deep flavor complemented the meat, stimulating his appetite.
“Let me know if it’s not enough. There are two more pieces on the frying pan.”
Jian turned his gaze to his plate with an awkward smile. Even though he had already eaten a large piece that filled one side of his mouth, it hardly looked like any had been eaten.
In the end, Jian barely managed to eat one chunk. Sehun naturally took the remainder.
The situation across the table was similar. Semi easily finished the steak that Dojin left. Being active certainly seemed to make Semi eat much more than Dojin.
Dinner finally concluded when everyone’s stomach was full. Although Jian intended to clean up since Sehun had prepared the meal, he was pushed by Sehun and had to go to the living room with the children.
Dojin continued reading the book he hadn’t finished earlier, while Semi stuck close to Jian, chirping like a baby bird about all the things that had happened throughout the day, her lips constantly moving.
Jian listened attentively to every word Semi said without showing any signs of fatigue. That is, until Sehun, who had finished washing the dishes, came over and picked Semi up.
After helping the children to bathe by themselves, Jian sat next to Sehun on the living room sofa. Jian rested his head on Sehun’s shoulder while fidgeting with his hand.
“I wonder if it’s okay to be this happy every day.”
In response to Jian’s words, Sehun silently squeezed their clasped hands. The children’s belongings could be seen throughout the living room.
While raising Sehun, Jian had experienced giving love that he himself hadn’t received. In doing so, he was able to cover painful childhood memories with good ones.
“Are you happy too, Sehun?”
He turned his head to look at Sehun. Unknown emotions rippled in the eyes looking back at him.
“Yes. So much that I think it’s good I survived when I was young.”
Jian’s eyes also wavered slightly. Both the original owner of this body and Sehun had endured terrible experiments. Semi and Dojin, who had now become part of their family, had as well.
Even though he hadn’t experienced it directly, but only had some of the body owner’s memories surface, Jian still occasionally woke up at dawn in a cold sweat.
Each time, seeing Sehun tightly embracing him and sharing his warmth, a corner of his heart would swell with emotion.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
