Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chan adored his baby, his little Sujin that he had taken so long to have, and now no matter whether he was alone or not, the little girl was the center of his world. He spent his daughter's first eight months with her, every day, taking care of her, taking her for walks or playing together, Chan enjoying every moment, taking photos. He had created incredible memories that he cherished.

But now his daily routine would have to change. He'd managed to live for those eight months thanks to his savings and help from the government, but now the money was dwindling and he couldn't go on like this. He knew that a baby was expensive, and he wanted the best for his daughter, so he had no other choice.

However, not many people wanted to hire a single omega with a pup. He was looking for a job as a secretary, something he'd done before, in a big law firm, where he'd met his alpha. Well, his ex-alpha, Sujin's father.

Today, he had a job interview, at a firm a bit far from here, but not too far either. Trying to be confident, he took the time to prepare, to look presentable, putting on his favorite blouse and high-waisted pants. He hadn't had any trouble getting his pre-pregnancy body back, but it was hard to appreciate himself every day when taking care of a baby. But today he felt confident, in himself, in his appearance, feeling determined to get this job.

Chan watched the hour tick by, as he didn't have long before his babysitter arrived. His phone vibrated, and the message appeared directly on the luminous screen. Chan broke down; the young student couldn't be there today for personal reasons, and apologized, of course. Chan clearly couldn't take his baby with him, let alone leave her here alone for an indeterminate period of time. He reflected, and at the same time, his little Sujin looked up at him, chirping, waving a toy in his direction.

When the doorbell rang, Hyunjin was the first to answer. He hadn't expected to see their neighbor, Chan, and his baby outside the door. "Can I help you?" He asked politely, Chan looking concerned.

"Can you do me a favor? It won't take long, I promise!" Chan asked, patting the little one's back in his arms.

"Can you keep Sujin? Just three hours or so, I have an important interview and can't take her with me..." Hyunjin didn't have time to reply as Chan handed him the pup, and the bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Inside, there are diapers and everything you need to change her diaper, a change of clothes just in case, and her favorite toys, as well as a bottle containing milk if she's hungry, that'll have to go in the fridge, there's a list too if needed."

Hyunjin said nothing, and simply nodded in surprise.

"Thank you very much," concluded Chan with an air of relief, before leaving, hurriedly.

What snapped Hyunjin out of his stupor was Felix's voice in the background. "Who was that?"

Hyunjin turned, entering the apartment, he closed the door behind him. "You know, the hot milf living in the apartment opposite our door? He asked us to watch his baby, for a few hours, I think? There's a list and everything in the bag."

"Oh really?" Felix approached and changed his deep voice to a much higher, cuter one, "Hi Sujin!" Squeezing the baby's tiny hand between two of his fingers. Sujin had no reaction, instead seeming to gauge the alpha with her eyes.

"Do you know her?" Hyunjin asked, surprised, again.

"Yes, you know Chan loves to talk about her when I run into them in the elevator or hallway, and I love listening to Chan." The two alphas looked at each other and said nothing.

Jeongin arrived in the living room at the same time, it was just the three of them in the apartment at the moment, "Do we even know how to look after a baby?" Asked the youngest alpha.

The three looked at each other and none dared answer. "How hard can it be?" Felix declared, and no one contradicted him. It was then that Sujin began to cry, and the alphas panicked.

Hyunjin put down the bag and began to walk around the living room, approximately cradling the little one in his arms. This seemed to calm her for a moment, before she started crying again as soon as he stopped. They took it in turns, until she decided she'd had enough, and agreed to stay calmly in Felix's arms, chewing on her little hand, and watching them with wide, curious eyes.

Hyunjin remembered that he had to put the bottle in the fridge, so he took the bag and searched inside until he found it and put it straight in the fridge. Then he searched for the list Chan had made. There was a lot of information, and a whole guide on how to do certain things. The eleventh point on the list indicated that Sujin was teething, and if she was chewing her hand, he should offer her one of her chew toys, and where it was in the bag.

He found the little ring-shaped toy, soft and hard at the same time, and went to hand it to the baby. "Here you go Sujin~" He chirped to the pup, and the little one looked at him with wide eyes, before reaching out her drooling little hand and grabbing the toy, and then bringing it straight to her mouth.

Jeongin looked through the toys in the bag and pulled out a puppet glove. He put it on and began to play with it in front of the little baby girl, who smiled and laughed at the childish scenario the younger man was creating. Hyunjin joined in, and Felix looked on, equally amused, adding little comments and pointing out details to the baby.

They played for what seemed like an hour, until Sujin turned to bury her face in Felix's neck, and began to cry. The alphas looked at each other in panic, "What should we do?" Jeongin asked.

"Maybe she needs something?" Hyunjin replied, "Chan said it's possible she's hungry, maybe we should give her a bottle?"

Felix nodded, "I'll do it." He somewhat reluctantly handed Sujin to Hyunjin, who tried to calm the little one down to keep her waiting. He easily found the list of instructions in the bag, and the bottle of breast milk in the fridge. He followed each step to the letter; cooking was his domain, but he knew how to make cakes better than bottles.

Even so, he managed to prepare the bottle at the perfect temperature in no time. Hyunjin settled down as best he could with a pillow to steady his arm, he and Jeongin had googled how to give a baby a bottle, and Felix handed him the bottle.

Sunji took it easily, stopping her crying straight away when the plastic teat arrived in her mouth. She ate with appetite, and this reassured the alphas, who all sighed with relief in unison.

It was at this moment that the apartment door opened, startling Sujin, but the little one merely frowned before resuming drinking her bottle.

"Hyung, you could be more careful!" Said Felix, in the direction of Changbin, who was followed by Minho, Jisung and Seungmin.

"Since when do we have a baby?" Changbin said in astonishment. "Am I a dad???"

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, "Since when can two alphas have a baby?"

"Okay, but whose baby is it?" Minho asked, more seriously. Hyunjin smiled at his Alpha, as if trying to soften him up, before telling what had happened.

"Oh, I understand now." Seungmin said.

Sujin had finished drinking her bottle, so Felix took it after placing a cloth on his shoulder, and patted her back gently. When the little one burped, he congratulated her, as the other four alphas looked on.

"Should we have a baby maybe?" Jisung declared.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Minho asked him, starting to put his things away. Firstly they were all still students, and secondly, all alphas.

Jisung didn't answer, but seemed to be really thinking about the question.

Changbin walked over to Felix, "Can I take her?" he asked.

Felix agreed, but only if he sat on the sofa, "I don't trust your big muscles, hyung." Changbin answered nothing and did as indicated, holding out his arms in expectation of the pup. Felix gently placed the pup in the alpha's arms. Sujin didn't cry, but looked at Changbin, before her brows furrowed as she watched the alpha.

" Does she dislike me?" Worried Changbin, slightly panicked.

Jisung stepped closer before pinching his nose, "No, I think we just need to change her diaper."

"Do you even know how to change a diaper?" Minho asked as he crossed his arms and watched the other six alphas lower their eyes to the floor. "How could you agree to keep a baby if you didn't even know how to do the basics of taking care of it?"

Hyunjin defended himself, "But it's Chan! And he looked really distressed, and he left a list with instructions!"

"Well, what about this diaper?" Said Seungmin, "No, because I don't think she's going to agree to stay like that for long while you sort out your differences." And as if Sujin agreed, she began to cry. Jeongin came to take the baby from Changbin's arms, and Felix brought out the equipment on the kitchen table.

They set Sujin on the table, with the cloth underneath to put the baby down for changing, or so they assumed. They removed the soiled diaper and put it directly in the garbage can, cleaned Sujin with wipes, before putting a diaper back on her after five minutes of wondering how to put on a diaper. Once clean and dressed, Sujin yawned before starting to cry as soon as Hyuniin picked her up.

"Why is she crying? I thought she'd gotten used to us." Jeongin said, saddened. "Is it because of those other four big alphas? Are they rude and scary?" Says Jeongin, looking at Sujin, and pointing at the four latest arrivals.

"Hey!" Replied Jisung and Changbin at the same time, before taking a reproving look from all of them.

"I think she must just be tired." Said Minho as he approached, the alpha wasn't too happy about the situation, but he's not heartless when faced with a baby. "She must have a comforter or pacifier in her bag?" He took the crying baby in his arms, and tried to rock her calmly, doing surprisingly well.

"Yes, on the list, it says there was her pacifier and a scented cuddly toy by Chan in the back pocket!" Hyunjin exclaimed.

Jeongin went to fetch the two requested items, but stopped when he held the toy, a little bunny plushie, in his hand. " It smells so good..." Said the alpha.

"Jeongin." Intervened Minho, "This is not the moment to steal the cuddly toy away from the pup."

Jeongin blushed a little, before going to give Sujin her things. The little girl calmed down, and Hyunjin sat back down on the sofa, and began to calmly rock Sujin, who fell asleep almost immediately.

They all sighed with relief, once calm had returned. "It sure isn't easy when you a baby..." Jisung said, drawing stares from everyone in the room. "What?"

Chan, on the other hand, arrived on time for his appointment. He presented himself at the reception desk of the large building; this law firm was much bigger than he'd imagined. He was redirected to the fifth floor, where a stern-looking lady asked him to wait.

An alpha in his fifties came to pick him up after half an hour. "Mr. Bang? Pleased to meet you, I'm Oh Yongsu, I'll be conducting your interview today."

Mr. Oh was an unfriendly-looking man, but Chan avoided trusting his first impressions. He bowed politely, and followed the alpha into the meeting room. He asked him several questions, then finally came the famous question. "Mr. Bang, do you have any children?"

This question always made Chan uncomfortable, and he squirmed a little in his chair, looking down at his hands. "Yes, one... But that won't interfere with my work, of course." He tried to reassure, being as convincing as possible.

Mr. Oh looked at him puzzled, "Listen Chan, if I may say so, I don't understand people like you who have children on their own." He was clearly implying that he didn't have an alpha. They always made remarks like that, and it always hurt Chan, it wasn't as if he'd chosen to raise his daughter alone... But what he did know was that he'd never regret his choice. Why should his life, his worthiness to be legitimately employed, be based on whether he had an alpha or not?

Chan didn't answer, and Mr. Oh didn't continue. "In any case, you have experience and your profile interests me." He paused before continuing, "You've got the job, Mr. Bang."

Chan couldn't believe his ears –he finally had a steady job, with regular hours as well. He stood up and bowed politely, "Thank you very much, I assure you I'll do a good job."

"Good. All the information will be sent to you by e-mail, you'll normally start next Monday."

Chan left, thanking once again, joy and relief making him forget the previous incident for a moment.

When the doorbell rang, Minho went to open it. "Hi," said the omega opposite, smiling. His smile was charming, his hair short but slightly bouncy at the end, suggesting that it should be curly, and a blouse that suited him more than well, slightly revealing what was underneath because of the angle of the light, but nothing vulgar, on the contrary.

Minho was speechless, but quickly regained his composure. "You must be Sujin's mother, right?" Minho said as he let Chan in.

"Yes, I'm sorry I'm a little late..." Chan paused, and his face turned into a tender pout at the sight of the sleeping baby snuggled in Hyunjin's arms. "Oh, you got her to sleep? That's great. Often, she has a bit of trouble with new people... How did it go, was she not too fussy?"

Felix took over, "Not at all! She was lovely, she played and teethed a bit, then had her bottle around 4 pm, I think..."

"And we changed her diaper an hour ago, before she started to go to sleep." Jeongin continued, having approached to speak with the omega.

Hyunjin stood up, and Sujin began to emerge, surely awakened by the sound of Chan's voice. "Hey pup, look, your mommy's here" said Hyunjin, cradling her calmly. Sujin stretched her tiny limbs, before making grabby hands in Chan's direction.

Chan took the baby in his arms, and Sujin came to nuzzle her face directly into his neck, rubbing lightly in search of her mommy's scent, before looking around with still slightly tired eyes, her head resting against Chan.

"Thank you so much again." Said Chan, "You saved me, I wouldn't have known what to do without your help."

Hyunjin blushed a little, the alpha pleased to have been able to help an omega in distress, especially this omega. "It's nothing really." He hesitates before continuing, "How did the interview go?"

Chan smiles wider again, "I got the job! Thanks again, without you all this wouldn't have been possible." Chan said as he headed for the door, after Changbin had handed him the baby's bag. Before leaving the apartment, he turned one last time, "Thank you so much for everything." And crossed the short distance before disappearing behind the door of his apartment.

The alphas stood speechless for a moment, before Jisung broke the silence, "I think I've found a way for us to have a baby..." And everyone nodded silently in agreement.

Chapter Text

The days leading up to his first day at work seemed to fly by for Chan, but he decided not to sit idly by. Chan loved to cook, and he got busy in the kitchen on Saturday while Sujin was napping. He cooked one of his favorite dishes, something heartwarming and nourishing. He had never cooked for so many alphas before, and he hoped he had made enough. His phone rang just as he took the dish out of the oven, and a message appeared on the bright screen.

His babysitter announced that she would no longer be able to come and look after Sujin because she had to return to her hometown, and she sincerely apologized. Chan didn't blame her; life happened, and he was sure she would have preferred everything to be simpler. Chan was still left with a serious problem, and it was almost impossible for him to find someone else for Monday.

He couldn't even call his mother since she had returned to Australia, and he didn't want to hear once again that he hadn't made the right decision.

Chan decided to leave this worry for later. Sujin had obviously just woken up from her nap, and he had to bring the dish.

He rang the doorbell of the alphas' apartment, and it was opened almost immediately. It was Seungmin who answered the door, if he remembered correctly. The alpha looked surprised, and Chan thought it was cute. He handed him the dish, “Careful, it's still hot.”

Seungmin did as he was told and took the dish gently, bringing it into the kitchen. Hyunjin immediately replaced him at the door and couldn't help but chirp at the sight of the baby being carried in a sling against Chan's chest.

Sujin, who had been calm, seemed to recognize him. She pulled away from Chan and reached her arms out toward Hyunjin. “She seems to like you a lot,” Chan laughed softly as he untied the baby sling, now that his hands were free. “Thank you so much again for the last time. I brought you a dish, one of my favorite recipes. I've never cooked for this many people before, I hope it's enough."

Hyunjin nodded, “That sounds perfect, Chan, but you didn't have to bother…”

“Hyung,” Chan said, “You can call me hyung, of course.” The omega said, smiling.

“Hyung, then.” Hyunjin smiled, his eyes crinkling delicately into crescent moons. He really had a beautiful smile, Chan thought. “You don't need to thank us, it was our pleasure to look after Sujin.”

Chan wanted to add that he wasn't just thanking them for that, but also because without them he wouldn't have gotten this job, but he said nothing.

“Can I hold her for a bit?” asked Hyunjin.

Chan hadn't noticed that the little girl was waving her hands at Hyunjin as if she were trying to grab something. Chan nodded, “Of course.” And gently handed Sujin to Hyunjin, who carried her carefully.

Chan glanced around the apartment. It seemed that only Hyunjin and Seungmin were there, the latter having returned to his computer. He smiled at Chan, who smiled back.

“Ouch!” Hyunjin cried out, struggling with the little girl to get her to let go of one of his blond locks. “What did I do to you?” he asked dramatically when his attempts encouraged Sujin to continue with even more force.

Chan quickly and gently untangled the pup's hand from the strand of blonde hair she was holding, realizing once she succeeded how close he was to the alpha. Chan stepped back, holding her baby, blushing slightly, but Hyunjin didn't seem to notice.

“You know,” the blond continued once he had recovered from this sneaky attack by an eight-month-old baby, “there's usually at least one of us at home, so we're always available to babysit Sujin during the day if you need us.”

Chan opened his mouth but couldn't formulate a response. The alpha didn't realize the weight he had just lifted off the omega's shoulders. “I-I... Thank you,” Chan replied, “But are you sure none of you mind?”

Hyunjin nodded briskly, “Of course not.” He turned to Seungmin, who nodded in turn.

“If you say so...” Chan said, still surprised. Sujin seemed to like the idea, chirping happily, and Chan couldn't help but smile. “So, would Monday morning be possible?”

The two alphas looked at each other again, then smiled at the omega, “No problem!”

The following Monday morning, Chan got himself ready and prepared Sujin as well. It might have seemed like a lot to do, but he was organized, and the little one wasn't difficult in the morning. He made sure her diaper was still clean before finishing packing the bag with everything she needed.

He had spent the previous evening making meals in advance, both for himself and for Sujin. He put the small Tupperware container of mashed peas in the bag, the measured powdered milk in case there was no milk left to make a bottle, and finally the frozen breast milk, which would have to go back into the freezer quickly.

Chan lifted Sujin out of her bouncer. “You're getting too big for that,” he chirped, then picked up Sujin's bag, followed by his own, before leaving his apartment. He knocked on the door of the alphas' apartment, and almost immediately the door opened.

He smiled at Minho, “Hi, I'm here to drop Sujin off as agreed.”

Minho greeted Chan and let him into the apartment. All the alphas were there, getting ready or finishing their breakfast. Hyunjin got up and immediately came over to Chan, while Minho took Sujin's bag.

“She'll be with me this morning!” Hyunjin said, picking up the little girl, who gave him a big smile.

Chan noticed that this time the alpha had tied his hair back. He also noticed that Minho had opened the bag and already started putting the things that needed to be refrigerated away and putting the milk bags in the freezer, without him having to tell them to.

“I left a list in the bag with instructions, like last time,” he said to Hyunjin.

The alpha nodded, then turned to Minho, “Hyung, can you hang it on the fridge?”

Minho nodded, took the list, and hung it up with a small magnet shaped like a puppy. Chan thought it was cute, and he almost lingered too long. “I have to go,” Chan said, looking at the time. “Thanks again, Hyunjin.”

The alpha smiled, and Chan said goodbye to Sujin, and finally to the alphas, before leaving. He turned around one last time, “I also left a spare key to my apartment, if you really need anything for the pup.” Then he left.

The alphas looked at each other, and no one ignored the feeling of pride they felt. Chan trusted them so much that he left them his pup and access to his apartment.

They would do everything they could to prove to Chan that they were worthy.

Hyunjin found himself alone with Sujin that morning. Minho was going to take over in the afternoon. The oldest seemed to be the least enthusiastic of them all, but Hyunjin knew it was because he was stressed about being bad with the pup, rather than genuine discontent.

Hyunjin played with Sujin on the little play mat that Chan had put in the bag, sang her the children's songs he knew, and then waved toys in front of her until she found him boring enough to roll over onto her stomach and start crawling off the mat.

He watched her, feeling a little panicked, but simply chose to follow her. So Sujin began to explore the surroundings, turning around from time to time to see if Hyunjin was still following her. After perhaps a dozen turns around the living room, he finally caught the pup, who was remarkably fast, and sat down on the floor, holding her upright.

“Why do you have so much energy?” he said, exhausted. Sujin didn't answer, of course, but instead bounced on her legs, putting her hand in her mouth and drooling. “Oh, do your teeth hurt? Wait here.” He sat Sujin on the floor and went to get her chew toy.

When he turned back, he noticed that Sujin hadn't waited for him, but had disappeared. He panicked and immediately started looking for the baby, but luckily, she wasn't far away and was just on the other side of the coffee table.

Hyunjin sighed with relief, “You scared me so much!” he said in an amused tone, before picking up the baby and holding her in his arms.

But Sujin didn't seem to like that, and started squirming and crying.

“Sorry, sorry!” Hyunjin said, putting her back down on the floor, which immediately calmed her down. “But you stay here, okay?” he said, sitting down on the floor himself. He handed Sujin her chew toy, which she accepted with her little drooling hand before putting the toy in her mouth.

Luckily for him, she seemed to understand and be in the mood to take pity on Hyunjin. So instead of crawling all over the place, she contented herself with crawling around Hyunjin, sometimes using her drooling toy to hit him.

He tried to protest a little, but he was at the pup's mercy, like he was on a raft surrounded by a shark teething.

At least she wasn't trying to bite him. Well, not yet.

He took his phone out of his pocket and sent a photo of Sujin as she crawled past him.

[photo]

No one told me that a baby would be so fast.

Binnie: Awww

Lixie: Awwww

Seungminnie: Why is the photo blurry?

Because there is no pause button on a pup

Sungie: Did you try asking her to pose for the photo?

…

Minnie: Babies don't work like that, Jisung.

Innie: Does she even know what a photo is?

[photo of Sujin smiling]

Sungie was right.

Should I send the photo to Chan?

Sungie: Told you so

Innie: wtf

Minnie: Oh

Minnie: Cute

Binnie: Awwwwwwwwwww

Lixie: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Binnie: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Minnie: Yes, you should send a photo to Chan. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

Lixie: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Minnie: You two, stop it.

Binnie: :(

Lixie: :((

Minnie: …

Help!

She's attacking me with her chew toy.

And now she's trying to chew me!

Seungminnie: Tell her to keep going for me.

Hyunjinnie renamed Seungminnie by Seungmeanie

Seungmeanie: …

Hyung

Help me!

Minnie: I'll be back in two hours, Hyune.

Minnie: Good luck.

Minnie: :)

Hyunjin had to wait until Sunji got tired before he could send the photo to Chan, even though in reality it was him who was more tired than the energetic pup. He looked at the time; it was almost lunchtime, perhaps a little early but certainly not too early for a baby.

“Are you hungry?” he asked Sunji, who chirped energetically in response.

He smiled, “Then let's go see what your mom has prepared for you.” He said, picking up the pup and heading for the kitchen.

Chan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It had been a quiet morning and he had easily settled into his new role. Mr. Oh wasn't asking him to do much at the moment, apart from redirecting a few calls and proofreading emails before sending them.

He was surprised to see a message notification from Hyunjin, then remembered that he had obviously given his phone number to the alphas. He opened the message and saw a photo of a smiling Sunjin. It melted his heart, and he couldn't continue to ignore how much he missed her.

He missed her so much, it was awful. He had never thought that separation could be so difficult, but then again, it was the first time in eight months that he has to be apart from her for a whole day. He tried not to dwell on his emotions, but to no avail, as his body reacted first.

His chest hurt, and he immediately noticed that he was leaking milk. He hadn't yet taken the break he was allowed to pump milk. He had read his contract several times and looked up the law: he was allowed thirty minutes per half-day to pump milk. He had everything planned out, of course, so he sent a message to Mr. Oh's inbox to let him know he was taking his break, and got up from his desk.

He went to the room reserved for omega employees. When he was shown around that morning, it was made clear to him that almost no one used it, so he wasn't surprised to find the room empty.

He was able to pump his milk quietly, then he dated the two milk bags, put them in a labeled box, and finally placed the box in the fridge provided for that purpose. He was surprised to see another box there; at least he wasn't the only one.

Fortunately, his shirt was easy to clean and no traces were visible.

He returned to his office before the thirty minutes were up, but no sooner had he sat down than Mr. Oh came out of his office and went straight to Chan. “Where were you?” asked the alpha, unpleasantly.

“I took my break, sir, as indicated in my message.” Chan tried to be as polite as possible, while remaining clear.

“Yes, but what for?” asked the alpha, “And you know what, I don't care. Don't leave like that again without warning me first.”

Chan wanted to reply that he had warned him, but the alpha didn't give him time to respond before returning to his office.

He suddenly felt even more demotivated than he thought he could be, but all he could do was sigh and get on with his day.

“Was it good?” Hyunjin asked Sujin, who had just finished her meal, lifting her up above him. The baby cooed, and Hyunjin laughed in turn, before holding her close. Sujin yawned, and Hyunjin took the hint. He got up to grab the pacifier and the pup's bunny plushie; it was almost nap time.

At that moment, the apartment door opened, and Minho came in, putting down his bag.

“Sujin, say ‘Hiii’ to Minmin oppa!” said Hyunjin, taking the baby's hand to wave hello.

“Minmin oppa?” said Minho, raising an eyebrow. He kissed Hyunjin on the cheek.

“Well, what?” replied the other alpha, “Do you have a better idea for what little Sujin should call you?”

Minho chuckled softly, which made Sujin laugh in return, “I think she'll figure it out for herself when the time comes.”

Sujin reached out her hands toward Minho, and Hyunjin chuckled softly. “For now, she seems to know exactly what she wants.” Hyunjin handed the baby to Minho, “Well, I have to go soon. I'll grab my things and head out. Good luck, Minmin oppa!”

Minho rolled his eyes, amused, and went to sit on the sofa, holding the pup. At first, he thought about studying a little, but shortly after Hyunjin left, Sujin started crying. So Minho turned his full attention to her.

He tried rocking her, but that didn't work. He tried walking around while holding her, but that didn't have much effect either.

“Do you miss your mommy?” he asked the pup, who was still whimpering. He went to the bag and took out a blanket, which had also been scented by Chan, like the little plush rabbit.

He returned to the couch, hugged Sujin close, and placed the blanket over them. Sujin gradually stopped crying, rubbing his tired face against Minho, before finally managing to fall asleep. Minho sighed with relief. Chan's soothing and comforting pheromones began to affect him too, and soon he fell asleep as well.

“Hey, look!” said Felix as he came in, followed by Changbin and Jeongin.

“Quick, take a picture!” said Jeongin.

Changbin and Felix, closely followed by the youngest alpha, took out their phones to capture the scene before them.

Minho was lying on the sofa, clearly asleep, with his arm around Sujin, who herself seemed to be sleeping soundly against the alpha’s chest.

“They're so cute,” said Changbin. “Do you think we should wake them up?”

“Chan should be here soon to pick up Sujin,” began Felix, “Maybe we should get her ready before her mom arrives?”

They agreed and decided by drawing lots who would be responsible for waking the alpha. It fell on Jeongin, who shook Minho's shoulder. “Hyung, wake up...” he said softly, careful not to wake Sujin too abruptly.

Minho emerged with difficulty and found himself face to face with a smiling Jeongin. “Innie?”

“You fell asleep, probably during Sujin's nap,” Jeongin explained, struggling to hide his amusement.

Minho's arm tightened around Sujin a little more, to make sure she was still there, safe and sound. “Ah, yes, that's right.” He sat up, and the movement stirred Sujin awake.

There was a moment of silence, as he feared the baby would start crying from being woken up, but instead she smiled and pressed her face a little closer to Minho.

“She seems to really like him,” said Felix, tenderly, as he put the puppy's things away.

Chan arrived about fifteen minutes later, finding a rested and freshly changed Sujin. He couldn't help but smile when he saw his pup again, and he hugged her tightly before taking a deep breath of her scent.

“Did everything go well?” Chan asked the alphas present.

“I think she made Hyunjin work out this morning, but otherwise everything went well,” said Felix, handing Sujin's bag to Chan.

“You guys are so sweet to do this for me, I really don't know how to thank you.”

The alphas all blushed a little.

“It's nothing, really,” said Changbin.

“And we love Sujin, so...”

“It really doesn't bother us, far from it.”

Minho was the last to speak, “And we're happy to help you, Chan. You can count on us.”

Chan smiled at them, touched. “Then I'll continue to count on you from now on.” He and Sunjin said goodbye to them, and that first long day finally came to an end.