Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 72

The Secret Pact

​The apartment was silent, bathed in the soft, amber glow of the hallway nightlight.

Aen was fast asleep on the living room rug, her breathing deep and rhythmic after a long, draining week at the Yakult office.

She had drifted off mid-game, her head resting against a plush cushion.

​Yoongi looked down at her with a soft, tired smile before glancing at Carly.

"I'm going to carry Mommy to bed first," he whispered.

"Then I'll come back to tuck you in, okay?"

​Carly nodded solemnly, her eyes wide.

​Yoongi gathered Aen into his arms, moving with practiced ease.

He carried her into the master suite, settling her under the cool linens.

Before leaving the room, he lingered for a second, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead.

Then, with the stealth of a cat, he padded back down the hallway to Carly's room.

He found her waiting for him, sitting in the middle of Jimin's tent and illuminated by the soft glow of her tablet.

When she saw him again, she beamed.

​"Dadhie? Is Mommy tucked in bed now?" she whispered.

​Yoongi nodded, sitting cross-legged on the plush rug just outside the tent's entrance.

He beckoned her closer, his expression turning serious but warm.

​"Mommy is dreaming now. But I need to talk to you about something very important before you go to sleep. It's a secret... just for us."

​Carly's face lit up.

She loved secrets, especially the ones she shared with him.

​Yoongi reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box.

He didn't open it yet; he just let it rest in the palm of his hand.

​"You know how you have to go back to school in the Philippines soon?" he began, trying to find the right words for a seven-year-old.

"Well, I don't like the idea of you being a 'guest' who visits me. Even if you can't stay here for long right now. I want you to have your own key to the front door forever. I want this to be your home, where you belong, even when you're grown up."

​Carly's eyes lit up, her small hands clutching the edge of her blanket as she hung on his every word.

​He looked her directly in the eyes, his voice dropping to a tender, steady tone.

​"I'm planning to ask Mommy to stay here with me forever... but before that I have to ask you, first. Is it okay with you? Is it okay if I become your real Dad? Not just me being your 'Dadhie' when we're alone, but for the whole world to know that you are my daughter?"