No Alphas Allowed - C119

#119

Before they knew it, the seemingly endless box opening was finished, revealing all the items that had been bought. As Suho was thinking about where to put all these things and how his previously empty house would be filled, suddenly there was a thud.

“What was that?”

The last thing taken out of the box happened to be a portable air purifier, making a louder noise than expected. Suho asked Taeyun, who looked somewhat shocked.

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot something.”

Wondering if he should ask what it was, Suho waited quietly. He felt Taeyun would answer without being asked anyway. Sure enough, instead of checking if the air purifier was okay, Taeyun picked up his phone.

“I forgot we were supposed to go look at the new baby crib that just came in.”

Is that such a big deal? Suho’s expression, which was about to say it was fine, suddenly turned grumpy.

“There’s still a long time before the birth. We can buy it then.”

“What if the crib we see now is prettier than the one we’d see then?”

“We can just buy one that’s already out or a previous model.”

“Isn’t it better to look now, keep it in mind, and compare with cribs that come out later?”

It was exhausting just listening. Though Suho wondered what kind of amazing crib Taeyun was trying to buy, he felt the need to suppress Taeyun’s boiling desire to consume.

“Take it easy.”

“I can’t take it easy when it’s for our precious child.”

“I know the child is precious, but before that…”

Suho grabbed his head and sighed. He didn’t seem like this type of person usually, so Suho couldn’t understand why he was buying so many things. Even Taeyun’s house, though incomparable to his own, only had what was necessary.

“If we don’t look now, I might regret not comparing when I think back on today later.”

“Why don’t you just say you want to go shopping?”

“Should we do that then?”

Taeyun stood up with a fresh smile. As he went to the bathroom saying he needed to wash his hands, Suho watched his back and turned his head. The living room was full of items. Though there were things for his father, there was also a considerable amount for Sea.

“Why did he suddenly remember something he forgot right after opening the last box?”

Is he deliberately putting on a show?

***

“How about this? Wouldn’t it be nice to engrave ‘Sea’ on this?”

Though Taeyun had said they were going to look at cribs, he couldn’t easily pass by anywhere with baby items. Whether it was baby clothes, accessories, or even a kickboard that wouldn’t be used for a long time, he hesitated in front, unable to leave easily.

“Do you like shopping? Or do you want to buy everything here for Sea?”

Unable to watch any longer, Suho grabbed Taeyun to try and draw out his true feelings. At this rate, he felt Taeyun might reach for the backpack Sea would use for school, so calming him down was the priority. As Suho was about to stop him, Taeyun, who was actually looking at bags, spoke.

“We don’t know what Sea will like yet, and they’ll wear whatever I give them anyway.”

“What do you mean…”

“You like coffee, Senior, but we don’t know what Sea will like. So I want to give them everything.”

At these unexpected words, Suho closed his mouth and looked at Taeyun. How could he know what preferences Sea, who wasn’t born yet, would have? As Suho silently looked up at Taeyun, he tilted his head and looked at the baby mannequin in front of him as if it was cute.

“Sea appeared as an unexpected gift too. So I want to give gifts to Sea as well. And since the child will resemble us, I think they’ll be incredibly cute, so I want to give them pretty things and give them everything.”

“That’s… a really silly thing to say.”

“I know. But that’s how I feel. I want to give back as much as I’ve received.”

Sea hasn’t done anything. They were simply created by Suho and Taeyun letting go of reason for one night. So Suho had worried that Sea’s existence might feel burdensome to Taeyun. Because there were moments when he thought and thought, unable to tell Taeyun right away, Taeyun’s reaction now struck Suho differently.

“Do you like Sea that much?”

“Of course. When I met you, Senior, I just had to hold on to you because I was afraid you’d run away, so I couldn’t express other feelings.”

“Run away…”

Since it was he who had disappeared without a word back then, Suho’s voice gradually faded.

“I’m so happy Sea came into existence.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Well, Suho’s response was rather flat as Taeyun spoke as if confessing only now. Even when he was taking care of Suho under the pretext of looking after him at his house, he never neglected preparations for Sea. Whether it was books, having detailed Q&A sessions with the primary care physician, or apparently receiving and reviewing all kinds of materials from Secretary Lee Jinhyuk.

If he had known it would be like this, he should have just told him the day he found out about the pregnancy.

“I just worried for nothing.”

I should have realized that Kwon Taeyun was head over heels for me, Taeil or whatever notwithstanding. Now Suho didn’t try to stop Taeyun no matter what items he picked up and put down. Instead, he only grabbed Taeyun’s wrist to stop him when he reached for his wallet saying he wanted to buy something.

“We already got shoes delivered.”

Though pretending not to, Suho had taken in all the baby items too. Despite receiving dozens of packages, he remembered every single one.

“You saw? But this one has lace on it.”

“We don’t know the gender yet, so let’s buy it then.”

“It’s light blue with lace, so it’s fine for both boys and girls.”

“It’s better to do things in moderation.”

At Suho’s attitude of drawing a line as if it was the Maginot Line, Taeyun put down the shoes with a disappointed face.

“I can’t even buy things for you freely, can’t you let me have this?”

“Of course you can buy necessary things. But this isn’t necessary, is it?”

“I want to put a sofa in the living room but you won’t let me. I like having the blanket spread out, but now that Father is there, I can’t even lie down.”

Taeyun complained that sitting on the blanket only warmed his bottom, making him feel more unsettled, but Suho immediately shut him down.

“Now that we’re going to live together, I won’t stop you if you really want to buy a sofa.”

Though it sounded like “do whatever you want,” it was enough to quell Taeyun’s complaints. Taeyun mulled over Suho’s words and smiled faintly. They only had their child in Suho’s belly, nothing decided about marriage or when they would live together. Taeyun, who had been waiting for an opportunity so as not to burden Suho, now seized that opportunity like bait.

“Then since that house is now Father’s house, we should put a sofa in Father’s house.”

He was saying he’d buy it anyway. Though Suho wondered why he was so desperate to buy things, even that was one of Taeyun’s expressions of affection, so Suho didn’t try to stop him anymore. Of course, he ruthlessly cut out any duplicate items.

“Shouldn’t we buy this in different colors?”

“The same design of hat in different colors?”

That was truly excessive consumption. As Suho recoiled, Taeyun lightly placed a hat on Suho’s head.

“Any color looks good on you.”

“I’m not Sea.”

“You’re Sea’s dad. If Sea is born resembling you, all of these would look good, so how can I choose?”

When Suho didn’t answer out of exasperation, Taeyun openly examined his face while stroking his own chin. A baby resembling Suho would definitely be cuter than one resembling himself.

“Thinking about Sea, I think I understand why my brothers and sister doted on me so much.”

“You’ve had all sorts of thoughts.”

“I know. I’m busy just thinking about you, Senior, but Sea keeps intruding, and then my thoughts lead elsewhere.”

“Okay, think a lot. But shop in moderation.”

Suho tried to hint that it was time to go home, but it was no use. Taeyun still looked around like a thirsty person.

Now they had come down from the floor with baby items to the one below. Suho was very curious about what Taeyun wanted to choose here.

“Just how much do you need to buy to be satisfied?”

“Hmm…”

Taeyun seemed to have something else he particularly wanted to buy, but didn’t mention it. Instead, he pointed to pajamas with a sea landscape print that he had discovered by chance.

“This would look pretty if you and the baby wore it together.”

“What’s the point of matching pajamas?”

Imagining wearing matching clothes with the baby felt cute but also somewhat strange. Suho fingered the smooth pajamas and examined them for quite a while as if he liked them, but ultimately refused.

“Let’s not buy it though.”

“That’s too much.”

“How long would we have to wait to wear matching clothes with Sea? Wouldn’t it be better to just buy ones for you and me?”

“…”

At Suho’s casual remark, Taeyun immediately put down the Sea-sized clothes.

“Couple items… can I buy whatever I want?”

Taeyun subtly sought Suho’s permission.

“What do you want to buy?”

Just as Suho was thinking they could just buy one set of pajamas, Taeyun whispered the first word that came to his mind.

“Rings.”

If you allow just that, I’ll be fine not buying anything else. We can buy Sea’s things later when needed.