"And they lived happily ever after. The end." ngumiti ako ng malaki. "So... what do you guys think?"

Itinaas ko ang dalawa kong kilay habang nakatingin kina Amber at Chan Hyun. They're fraternal twins. Ipinangalan namin sa present queen ng Korea si Amber at si Chan Hyun naman, alam niyo na kung saan galing ang pangalan. Seven years old na sila ngayon at katatapos ko lang basahin ang isa na namang supposed-to-be-bedtime story na personal kong ginawa para sakanila. Nagkatinginan yung magkapatid at medyo nakakunot noong tumingin ulit sakin.

"Papa, I really think the story's a little..." Amber pouts, thinking. She has straight brown hair that falls over her forehead in a bangs. Sobrang kamukha rin niya si Chanyeol despite having her named after my sister. Muling tumingin si Amber sa kapatid niya na parang humihingi ng tulong.

Chan Hyun sighed. Sa kanilang dalawa, mukhang mas kamukha ko siya. "It was a little brutal, Papa," pagtatapos niya sa sinabi ng kapatid. "There were broken mirrors and the villain even tried to kill her own daughter."

"Yeah," niyakap ni Amber ng mas mahigpit ang kanyang pink teddy bear. "And the prince even experienced being drugged and hypnotized."

I bit my lip and stared at my iPad kung saan ko tinype yung story. "So... We can't call it a bedtime story then?"

"We're going to have nightmares," pagbibiro ni Chan Hyun at sabay-sabay naman kaming natawa. 

"Let's ask Ninong Taehyung for more storybooks!" excited na sambit ni Amber.

"Or Ninong Jin!" suggestion naman ng isa. "He has gentler taste when it comes to stories."

I sighed and reached out to ruffle their hairs. "You guys technically have seven godfathers," nakangiti kong sabi. "But don't bother them for now. They have exams until next week."

"Aw!" Chan Hyun pouts. "I miss them, Papa. We always play amazing games whenever they come to visit us." 

Amber looks at me and at my iPad with a giggle. "We're going to keep having nightmares."

"Hey!" I exclaimed and with a laugh, I started to tickle them both until they're squirming away from me, laughing so hard, and begging me to stop. Maya-maya pa, naramdaman ko yung paghawak ni Amber sa sleeve ng suot kong t-shirt at ganun din ang ginawa ni Chan Hyun. Nang walang anu-ano'y sabay nila akong hinila pahiga sa kama at sa gitna nilang dalawa. 

Amber giggled as she hugged my neck and kissed me on the cheek. "We love all your stories, Papa," she whispered cutely. "Especially the one with the small soul keeper. That's my personal favorite."

"Hey! That story was so sad!" reklamo ni Chan Hyun habang nakayakap din sakin.

I reached up and pinched his cheek. "Then what's your favorite, sweetheart?" Mahina kong tanong saka siya tinignan at marahang hinalikan sa ilong. Chan Hyun smiled and pulled me by the neck to kiss the tip of my nose, too.

"Maybe the one with werewolves and red riding hoods, Papa," pabulong niyang sabi na para bang takot siyang marinig ng werewolves sa paligid. "It was really thrilling and made me super nervous." Inilapat pa niya ang maliit na palad sa dibdib at sinubukang gayahin ang tunog ng tumitibok na puso. Natawa ako ng mahina.

"It did?" I giggled.

Amber made me face her then pouts. "Papa, read that story about the soul keeper again," pakiusap niya with matching puppy eyes pa. Luh. San niya natutunan yun?

"No! Read the werewolves one, Papa!" sabi naman ni Chan Hyun.

"But I want the soul keeper!"

"But werewolves sound so cool!"

Sinubukan ko namang takpan yung mga labi nila. Andito na naman tayo, my ghad. "Hey—"

Pero biglang bumukas ang pinto ng kwarto ng kambal at agad kaming napatigil na tatlo. We looked at each other and bit our lips to keep ourselves from giggling. Dahan-dahang sumilip si Park Chanyeol sa loob at nakakunot noong napatingin sa amin. Nakasuot na siya ng damit pantulog matapos siguro mag-shower at nang mapansin niyang hindi pa tulog ang kambal, unti-unti siyang napangiti ng maliit.

Nagtaas ng isang kilay si Chanyeol. "Aren't you guys supposed to be asleep already?"

"It's the duke," mapang-asar kong bulong sa dalawa, making them giggle. "You guys are so dead."

But my husband doesn't really look like he's about to scold them. Kelan nga ba yung last time na nagalit siya sa dalawa? Parang hindi ko na maalala. "Daddy!" Amber held out a hand as if she's trying to reach him. "It's cuddle time! Come on!"

Chanyeol chuckled as he stepped into the room. "It is?" he asked as he sat on one edge of the bed. Binuhat ko naman si Amber at inilipat sa gawing kanan ko so my husband and I could squeeze the twins between us. Inabot naman ni Chanyeol yung isa kong kamay at niyakap namin yung dalawa ng mahigpit, making them giggle.

"Daddy, Papa told us a really brutal story," Chan Hyun chuckles. "It's about a magic mirror."

"And a prince who looked so beautiful the queen grew jealous of him," excited namang singit ni Amber.

"The prince also lost his memories," Chan Hyun reached out his hands and started making exaggerated gestures. "And there was a fight between him and the queen."

"Oh!" Amber gasped. "You forgot about the duke's son!"

Natawa si Chanyeol ng mahina. "There was a love story?"

"Dad! It was a love story!" Sabay na sabi nung kambal.

Napatingin naman sakin si Chanyeol at halatang pinipigilan niyang matawa. Ngumiti ako pabalik pero wala nang sinabi. I could already feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment. He didn't really know I wrote a book about what happened to us. But by the looks of it, he seems quite amused by the gesture. Naramdaman kong humigpit yung hawak niya sa kamay ko and he slowly intertwined our fingers.

Tuloy-tuloy lang yung kwento ng kambal sa Daddy nila na para bang hindi si Chanyeol yung mismong anak ng duke sa kwentong narinig nila. Chanyeol pretended to be surprised or sad, giving reactions that made the twins even more excited in telling the story. Maya-maya pa, napa-hikab na si Chan Hyun na agad sinundan ni Amber. Unti-unting humina yung mga boses nila at nang tuluyan na silang makatulog, nag-hum si Chanyeol ng isang buong kanta upang mas lalo pang lumalim ang kanilang tulog.

"You wrote a book about us," nakangiting bulong ni Chanyeol. "Was it told from your point of view? Pwede ko bang basahin?"

I rolled my eyes and tried not to blush. "I'll think about it."

"So it's told from your point of view," Chanyeol chuckles. "Did it include the scene in front of your mirror? The one you told me about on our picnic date?" 

Napakunot noo ako. "Ano?"

Tinignan niya ako ng parang inosente. "The one where you stood naked—"

I gasped and reached out my hand para takpan ang makasalanang labi ni Park Chanyeol. "Okay. Woah," hindi makapaniwala kong bulong. "Our kids are here!" At tinuro ko pa yung dalawang mahimbing na ang tulog para naman ma-conscious kahit papano si Chanyeol. Chan Hyun stirred from his sleep and threw one leg around Chanyeol's waist. 

My husband sighed in amusement as he brushed our son's hair gently, "Let's sleep here tonight," bulong niya saka ngumiti sakin. "I missed you three." 

"It's tough being a duke, huh?" bulong ko pabalik at saka dahan-dahang inabot yung pisngi niya. I brushed his cheek with my fingers and Chanyeol tilted his head to kiss my palm. "We missed you, too, Park Chan," I said. "But you're back from the palace now. So it'll be your turn helping the twins with their math homework," mapang-asar kong dagdag na naging dahilan para mapatawa kaming dalawa. 

Nagtinginan lang kami ng ilang saglit habang nakangiti hanggang sa mapabuntong hininga si Chanyeol. He gave my face a quick run through with his eyes. "I wish I could kiss you right now, Park Baekhyun," he whispered. "The trip from the palace was so tiring and your kisses always seem to make me feel better."

With a laugh, I kissed my palm then reached out to press it against his cheek. Chanyeol chuckled and the sound of his laughter is more than I need to make this day complete. Starting off and ending a day with my family has always been what I wanted. And right now, I can say that we both fulfilled the dreams we shared during that lone date by the lake. "I love you," I murmured as I stared into his eyes and caress his cheek. "Thank you for saving me... Everytime." 

"I love you, too," my husband whispered as he took my hand again and intertwined our fingers. "And you're welcome... Your Highness." 

wakas