Chapter 38

Marley POV

I wasn't prepared for the 540am wake up call from Sophia the next morning but shouldn't have been surprised. Her body clock was telling her it was 840am so for her, that was a sleep in. Being awake with Tae until well past 1am didn't help although I was not complaining about that part. Falling asleep in his arms felt so right.

I groaned into the darkness as Sophia's voice called out.

"I'll be right there Sophia," my voice came out, croaky.

"Do you want me to go?" Tae asked, rolling over onto his back, reaching for my hand.

"No, it's OK, she might go back to sleep with me," I said hopefully, giving his hand a squeeze as I climbed out and grabbed some clothes to put on.

"Wake me if she doesn't, I don't want to waste time when we could be doing things together," he said, mostly still asleep as he closed his eyes again.

As it turns out, her face was perky and wide awake when I walked into her room, telling me sleep was over for the morning. "Mama," she bellowed, standing up on the bed and I smiled at her as she threw her arms round my neck to be picked up.

"Morning beautiful girl," I greeted her with a kiss to her forehead. "Did you sleep well in this big bed?"

"Sophia hungry, she replied and I laughed quietly.

"OK love, let's go into the lounge and I will find you some snacks. TaeTae is still asleep so we need to be a little quieter, OK?"

"No, TaeTae not asleep," she said pointing and I turned to find him in the doorway, pulling a sweatshirt over his head.

"I heard she was definitely awake and decided we needed to all be up, although this time is when I sometimes go to sleep so I'm not sure what my brain is doing right now," he said with tired eyes. "Morning BugBug, you look like you had good dreams. Morning baby," he said quietly in my ear, kissing my cheek as I melted against him for a moment.

"Sophia hungry," she stated again and I carried her out into the lounge to find some food, the feeling of his lips on my face waking me even more than Sophia's loud voice had done.

"How about snacks for her and then maybe, could we go out for a walk? It's so early, too early still for breakfast but the park closeby might be OK? The sun is barely up, not many people will be around. Will we need to take Ji-ho with us though?" I asked.

"I think if we go soon and don't stay out too long, that should be OK. We'll just have to wear masks in case. I'll message Ji-ho to let him know."

"Of course and if she can get rid of some energy now, the day should go smoothly. The little park we passed when we drove into the hotel was very cute, she'll love it there for an hour."

"Mama, we go to da park?" she asked, overhearing us and I nodded.

"Yes but you wanted to eat first."

"Sophia not hungry now."

"Of course not," I rolled my eyes. Now that the park was mentioned, she would want to get shoes on and go straight away. "But we need to get ready first Sophia so lets eat a little something while I get your clothes. I have crackers"

"OK mama," she said, jumping up on the couch next to where Tae had fallen into a quiet pile, still clearly wishing for sleep. "TaeTae, you sleeping?"

"No, I'm awake baby girl, my eyes are just resting."

She giggled and peeled one back and he grabbed her with a loud boo, while she dissolved into more giggles.

"Well, you two carry on and I'll go find some things to get our day moving," I grinned, leaving them to play, adding another memory to my growing internal photo bank.

"Sophia bug, do you want to walk for a bit." She was attached to my back, arms wrapped around my neck as we walked towards the park. After the early morning wake up call, we were out well before 7am, walking the few minutes to the nearby park. The fact that very few people were about proved it was the perfect time for Tae to be out in public, casual clothes and a mask hopefully keeping his identity hidden.

"Nah ah," she answered, shaking her head, her stranglehold growing around my throat.

Tae reached out and gave her a tickle, causing her to loosen her grip as she giggled and he pulled her back off me while she protested.

"Look at the view from here BugBug," he said to her as he put her up on his shoulders, adjusting them both to be comfortable as she gripped his forehead with both hands. He anchored her legs in place with one hand, reaching for my hand with his other as we started walking again. He looked so relaxed and comfortable, like he'd been doing this forever and I leaned into him, taking in the feeling of domesticity.

The air was slightly chilly so we walked quickly, arriving at the park where she immediately wriggled to get down. Sophia ran off towards the playground and after checking she was OK for a moment and looking around at the empty park, Tae pulled me against him.

He took off his baseball cap, leaned against the closest tree, using the cap as a privacy screen just in case as he tugged down both our masks and pressed his mouth to mine, expelling a deep sigh as he moved away. "I could do that forever," he said, then looked startled, realising the connotations of what he had said.

I glossed over it, replying instead with a joke to diffuse the intensity that sparked quickly in the air. "You do have the best lips of anyone I know."

"I'm glad to hear that nae sarang," he replied, pursing them into a cute pout, eyes watching over the top of my head as Sophia climbed up the slide. "Will she be OK?"

He sounded concerned, so I turned back to look at her. "Ah, she's a monkey and can climb higher than that but we'd better go closer in case she takes off running. She's incredibly fast for someone with tiny legs."

The next hour went so fast and I marvelled many times at Tae's patience with doing the same thing over and over and his childlike excitement in all the different playground equipment. He told me to sit and relax at one point, taking her up onto a climbing frame and helping to guide her feet as she went higher. As she got to the platform at the top, her sense of accomplishment could be seen all over her face and she turned quickly to launch herself at a run, off the edge. I rose with a gasp and watched as Tae reached out to catch her, my hand coming to my chest as she fell comfortably into his arms. He turned, eyes huge and we exchanged a look as I drew closer.

"She just jumped," he said, eyes still big in shock.

"Yes, that was a surprise. She's fearless and that can be scary. Thank you for catching her," I said, running my hand down his back.

"She'll keep us on our toes," he answered, helping as she started climbing again.

I swallowed again, amazed at how casually he talked into our future, as if it was a given that he'd also be involved with raising her. It was amazing to hear but scary and unexpected and my stomach turned over, not in a bad way, just with so many emotions.

"Yes she will," I answered simply and then rolled with it. "You're good with kids, Sophia loves you. How many kids do you want Tae?"

She'd jumped into his arms again and and now he was walking her to the swings, the last thing before we headed back as the sound of more and more people started to hum on the roads bordering the park.

"5," he replied.

"5?" I said, a lot louder than I was meaning too. One was a handful, five seemed like a lot.

"How many do you want then?" he asked, pushing Sophia so she was soaring.

"I've always thought 3 was a good number."

"OK, 4 it is then, Sophia and 3 others," he said easily.

I had to pause to phrase my next question as now I had lots more. "You've thought about that? Having kids together?"

"Yes, haven't you? I mean, all relationships should think about the future or at least if there could be a future. Sophia might want siblings one day."

"Right, she might. I do want more, I'm just not sure when."

"I think things like that happen at the right time," he said, lifting Sophia off the swing and taking her by the hand as we began the walk back to the hotel, making sure our masks were in place.

"I'm sure you're right, and the weird thing is it doesn't feel that weird to be talking to you about it."

"That has crossed my mind, how most things we talk about come naturally," he answered, moving Sophia between us and walking along the edge of the buildings, more out of the way of people walking past, keeping himself from making eye contact with anyone. Tokyo was home to millions and all of a sudden a lot of those people seemed to be out on the street even though it wasn't even 8am. They all seemed in a rush and focused on themselves and not us but I was very grateful that the hotel was only a few minutes walk away, turning into the lobby a relief and the elevator doors closing behind us was even more of a relief.

"Are we going to be able to even go out into Tokyo with that many people everywhere?" I asked as the elevator climbed to our floor.

"There are Summer events each day and I looked online before we arrived. There is a traditional dancing festival on today, it's like an outdoor picnic feel. We could drive around to look at the city a little and then, if we sit at the very back, we could watch some of that and have a picnic?"

The elevator doors opened and we walked towards our room, seeing Choi Ji-ho leaning on the wall outside our door when we got closer. Tae looked at me, pursing his lips. He spoke in some very quick Korean and Tae pulled an apologetic face, bowing a little as he took his phone out of his pocket. Glancing down he nodded. "Sorry hyung, I sent you a message to say where we were going but it looks like it didn't send properly." He said another apology plus a lot of extras words very quickly and I couldn't follow but it looked like they were discussing plans for the day as we entered the suite. Ji-ho politely waited outside the room but I invited him in. Far less obvious to have them talking inside the room in case anyone walked past.

Tae turned to me. "So if hyung asks the kitchen to prepare a picnic, we can go driving and then to the festival, if we leave about 930am? That's in about 90 minutes?"

"Yes please, that all sounds great. I know going places will be tricky so even driving to see parts of Tokyo will be better than sitting in the hotel room."

"I already have dinner plans booked for tonight and if you think she would like it, we can take Sophia to Tokyo Disneyland in the morning. Since she's up so early, we can order an early VIP entry and have someone escort us around before it gets busy."

"Wow, you have thought about it all. And maybe more time at the pool this afternoon then? I'm liking all of these options. To be honest, just being in the same room as you for 4 days would be enough for me."

He leaned in to kiss the space just under my ear and then remembered Ji-ho was still there as he cleared his throat.

"Yes hyung, please go ahead with the plan we discussed and if the car can be ready at 930am?"

"Of course Taehyungie and Miss Marley, Miss Sophia, see you then," and he bowed, closing the suite door behind us.

"Where were we?" Tae asked, leaning towards me again and Sophia piped up.

"Cocomelon mama?"

"Sure baby, we can watch Cocomelon for a bit."

Leaning towards Tae I said, "once she's settled watching that, she'll zone out and you can kiss me like you want."

"Well, maybe not quite like I want but I like your thinking," he replied, sitting next to Sophia on the couch, leaving space for me to join him. I blushed, picturing his meaning clearly in my head, chewing my lip at the thought.

"Later oppa," I said with a grin.

The kitchen delivered a basket of delicious looking food complete with picnic rug and I had packed for Sophia, all eventualities of weather and boredom. A backpack, drink bottles, picnic hamper and the four of us were ready to meet the car when we got the alert it had pulled up behind the hotel.

As we drove through the streets, Sophia locked into her carseat in the middle of us, Tae held my hand over the top of it, his fingers caressing mine as we bumped along the roads. I was captivated with the sights out the window as we drove alongside the Sumida River. Cherry blossom trees lined the edge, not in bloom but beautiful just the same. As we circled into central Tokyo, I was spellbound by the throng of people spilling out everywhere over all the streets, intersections jammed with bodies. I was also very grateful for the tinted windows as we passed through the streets, sheltering us from any eyes that might be cast our way.

Sophia was getting very wriggly by the time we got to Yoyogi Park, the driver pulling up into a carpark at the back, far from the stage. We had already decided Sophia and I would walk a little ahead to lay out the picnic and Tae would join us with Ji-ho in a few minutes, the driver staying nearby in case we needed to make a quick getaway. Tae wasn't impressed with the idea, worried about letting us go ahead on our own but I reminded him I was perfectly capable for five minutes and he grudgingly conceded.

I unbuckled Sophia, reaching to kiss Tae as I climbed out, grabbing our backpack and taking her hand. Back home it would've been noticeable to wear masks, but here in Japan, it wasn't uncommon and so that was our next field of defence, pulling them to cover our mouths. We wandered into the back, the crowd of people stretched out in front of us, relaxing on their own little blankets. I found a tree, tucked out of the way, the view of the stage minimal but we could see a large screen set up on the side and it wasn't even really about that. It was about being out together, in this beautiful city, soaking up the vibe, music drifting from the front as the different acts performed.

Laying the blanket out, Sophia plonked down and I sat next to her, looking over my shoulder a few times to see if Tae could find us. I saw him approaching, head down, hat, sunglasses and mask on. To me, he moved unmistakably like himself, I was just hoping no-one was expecting that he was here and so weren't looking out for him otherwise it would've been obvious.

Ji-ho placed the picnic basket on the blanket, glancing around and satisfied for the moment, the four of us relaxed together. Sophia reached for the food, nibbling and I resisted the urge to rest my hand on Tae, knowing that it was too public, the crowd thrumming in front of us and people walking constantly nearby.

The sky was clear and as a group of dancers appeared on the stage, I sat up, captivated by their movements. "This song is about lovers trying to find their way back to each other," Tae said as he leaned forward, explaining.

"It's beautiful," I replied, eyes constantly flicking between the screen and Sophia, making sure she wasn't going anywhere. Tae tapped his feet to the music, 'accidentally' brushing against mine from time to time and I appreciated that he was trying to stay connected even surrounded by people. He dropped his head, becoming very interested in the basket of food or pulled his hat down a little more if anyone walked close to us and I wondered how he had survived a decade of having to hide.

The picnic food was delicious and a very happy two hours went by as we nibbled and were entertained along with a few thousand others. Sophia got wiggly from time to time and I took her to the bathroom and for a few short walks to get out some energy. Each time, Tae grew anxious, split between sending Ji-ho with us and knowing I would insist he stayed with Tae.

"I can see the bathrooms from here, we'll be fine oppa," I said, quickly grazing his hand with mine.

"I still don't like it, next time we travel with two security."

"I know you don't like it but we'll be back in a few minutes and you'll probably be able to see us the whole time."

He nodded, frowning. "I worry about you."

"I know you do baby, thank you, we're OK," and taking Sophia's hand, I lead her through the blankets and people on the ground. "Hold tight to my hand Sophia so you don't get lost," I admonished and she skipped along happily next to me.

When we returned, Tae relaxed, loosening his shoulders which he'd had tensed while we were gone. "You're going to need a shoulder massage when we get back to the hotel if you're going to be that tense all the time."

"I will not complain about that at all," Tae replied and Ji-ho lightly cleared his throat, looking away with a smile. I blushed a little at how relaxed I was being in his presence. It was easy to forget he was there and I guess he was very good at his job to make me feel that way. I'd just have to make sure not to say anything around him that I wouldn't say in front of Sophia to avoid any really red faces.

There were a few more acts left for the afternoon but we'd agreed to slip away while things were still going to avoid crowds at the end, quietly packing and standing to leave. The threat level had been low so we were going to mostly leave together, Tae and Ji-ho only a few steps behind us. The car was already waiting for us, Ji-ho having called ahead a few minutes ago.

"TaeTae, hold mamas hand so she not get lost," Sophia said, looking between the two of us. I knew we couldn't and it hurt for a moment but I swallowed back the feeling, glad we'd been able to have this uninterrupted time in a beautiful location.

"I am going to hold your hand Sophia and I will hold TaeTae's hand in the car, OK?"

"TaeTae, hold Sophia and Mama's hand," she said again. "One, two, three, weeeeeee." I knew what she wanted, to be swung between the two of us and I knew it wasn't possible right here and now.

"TaeTae is holding the picnic basket baby girl, he can't right now. We can next time we're in the swimming pool though." I grimaced apologetically at Tae and he shrugged his shoulders. He was right of course, there wasn't anything to be done about it and it was just the way it was. Still, it didn't feel very nice and as we packed back into the car. I wondered if we were always going to hide our relationship from the world.