Let you go | changjin

14. Mommy?

"Daddy, call uncle Binnie!" Minseok jumped up and down on the sofa next to his father who was reading emails on his laptop. Hyunjin left the electronic device on the coffee table and put the boy on his lap.

"Baby uncle Binnie is working. We can't bother him right now," he explained watching as a pout formed on his face.

"Does he not wanna play with Seokie?" the boy gazed at his father with big doe eyes that shone with tears.

Smiling gently, Hyunjin caressed his puffy cheeks. "I'm sure he wants to play with you but he's busy. We can call him later, okay? For now, I can play with you until aunty Yeji comes."

"I don't want to play with daddy. I want uncle Binnie!"

"Minseok!" the blond raised his voice slightly in a scolding manner. The tears in Minseok's eyes fell as his chin trembled. He sniffled and clenched his small fists on his lap.

"Seokie's sorry, daddy."

"It's okay, shh. If I tell you that you can't have or do something it's not because I don't want you to be happy. Sometimes we can't have everything we want. Sometimes we have to wait," Hyunjin explained calmly rubbing circles on his son's back to soothe him.

The boy lifted his gaze from his lap and stared at his father with a hopeful look.

"Then if I want a mommy then I have to wait?" he asked innocently catching Hyunjin completely off guard who frowned upon hearing it.

"What's up with that question?"

"Jaeyoon and Hyejoo have mommies but I don't. I want a mommy!" Minseok told him and swung his legs to accentuate his upset.

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow.

"Who are Jaeyoon and Hyejoo?"

"My friends!" Minseok clapped his small hands and bounced happily. "We play sometimes together when I go out to the park with auntie Jiji and Kkami."

"Oh, I see. I'm happy you made some friends," Hyunjin hummed dodging the question.

For a moment, the boy fell silent and began to play with the watch the blond had on his right wrist. Hyunjin grabbed a mug with coffee from the table and took a sip of it glancing at the time displayed on his laptop. He had to get to work soon.

"Daddy?" without lifting his gaze from the watch, the boy called out.

"Yes, baby?" Hyunjin encouraged his son to go on inching the mug to his lips again.

"Can uncle Binnie be my mommy?" the boy asked innocently making the blond choke on the coffee.

"Why?" he coughed out.

Minseok shrugged with a wide smile. He had the same eye smile as his father.

"He's nice and pretty. I like him! Don't you like him, daddy?"

Nervous laughter escaped Hyunjin's throat. His son was only two yet he asked such things. He looked into the boy's expecting eyes and answered with a bit of timidness. "Yes, I do."

"Then uncle Binnie is my mommy!" Minseok got up from his father's lap and jumped joyously.

"Baby," Hyunjin began softly, "you can't decide that on your own. First, you need to ask him."

The boy halted his movements abruptly and pouted.

"Uncle Binnie doesn't want to be my mommy? He doesn't like Seokie?"

The blond chuckled at his son's sulky face.

"No, baby. He does like you but some things have to be agreed upon between both sides. It's called 'consent' and it's very important. If you ask someone something and they don't want to do it it doesn't necessarily mean they don't like you. You need to respect their decision and understand their boundaries," he explained.