Looking at the child who had somehow ended up in Hae-won’s arms smiling brightly, and Hae-won smiling while meeting her gaze side by side, it was inevitable that his insides felt complicated.
***
What should have been a peaceful Sunday morning.
The child’s tearful voice rang throughout the house.
“Not going! Not going! Ji-yu not going—! Won’t go, not going!”
What is that, it’s practically a top.
Is that even a person? It’s a motorized top.
Seo-an thought as he watched the child lying spread-eagled on the floor, flailing her limbs and even spinning around.
Irritation faintly seeped from his fingertips pressing down hard on his tired brow. He knew better than anyone that being emotional when dealing with a child was no good, but the child’s stubbornness was always new even after facing it for years.
Seo-an looked at the child with his brow deeply furrowed and said “Kwon Ji-yu” in a stern voice.
“Are you going to do this every time? Daddy will be bored if he goes alone, you should come with me.”
“Don’t wanna! Daddy go alone! Not Kwon Ji-yu, don’t call me Kwon Ji-yu!”
The child, who particularly hated being called by her full name, was practically having a fit now. Seo-an let out a deep sigh and plopped down to squat in that spot.
“Ji-yu, it’ll be good for daddy if Ji-yu comes too. Okay?”
“Nooo, Ji-yu doesn’t want to. Ji-yu not going.”
Finally, the child who started dripping chicken-poop tears even began to pant heavily, choked up with grief. Watching her thin chest rise and fall was painful at any time. In the end, unable to win against the child’s stubbornness, Seo-an took her into his arms and patted her soothingly.
The child, who usually didn’t throw fits like this, being particularly obstinate happened only a few times a year. The fact that it happened to be on his older brother’s death anniversary made his stomach turn…
Seo-an, as if there was nothing he could do, swept back the child’s sweaty bangs, hugged her small body tightly, and kissed her soft cheeks.
“Then where does Ji-yu plan to stay while daddy’s gone? It’d be nice to just come with daddy and say ‘Ji-yu’s here’…”
“Don’t wanna…”
Hic.
There was no way to further persuade the child whose shoulders were heaving as she cried.
In the end, Seo-an let out a big sigh. Should he be thankful that it wasn’t like there was absolutely nowhere to leave the child…? He just felt it would be wrong to take the child, who was gripping his collar tightly and crying like she was about to choke, to the columbarium.
It looks like I’ll have to give up this time too…
“Then Ji-yu, while daddy goes and comes back, will Ji-yu stay with Hae-won samchon?”
“Sniff, mm…”
“But if samchon’s busy, we can’t help it… If samchon says no, should Ji-yu come with daddy and wait in the car for a bit?”
“Mm, yeah…”
“Promise.”
Seo-an held out his pinky finger right in front of the child’s nose. The child, whose nose and eyes had turned red in the meantime even though she hadn’t cried that much, panted heavily enough to make her protruding belly deflate and hooked her finger with her small hand that was less than two segments long.
Seo-an stroked the child’s cheek with his large hand, then pretended to give in and called Hae-won. Naturally, he checked the time with his eyes first. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet.
Looking at it carefully, it seemed like Hae-won didn’t wake up until almost lunchtime, so it was questionable whether he was even awake now.
Sure enough, as if to prove he was still sleeping, the ringtone went on for a long time.
Seo-an unconsciously glanced at the child first. Ji-yu, with big tears hanging in her large eyes, looking up at him desperately, was even making a babbling-like sound saying “samchoon.”
Ah, if he doesn’t answer, this will be another war in its own way…
Feeling dismayed, Seo-an rubbed the child’s cheek and carefully said.
“Ji-yu, shall we wash up first? Let’s turn Ji-yu’s ugly face into a cool one before samchon comes.”
“Sniff, mm… Daddy, samchon didn’t wake up…?”
“Samchon… daddy will try waking him up, Ji-yu let’s wash up first.”
Seo-an called again on the disconnected phone and switched to speaker mode, then picked up the child and headed to the bathroom. Even while taking off her soaked clothes and scrubbing her face to wash it, Hae-won’s voice couldn’t be heard.
Ah, I’m going crazy. Should I just go find him?
But he didn’t want to leave the child with him, and he disliked going to his house in person even more.
It was when he was habitually calling several more times in dismay, chewing his lower lip.
—Aah, ah… two, ah…
A voice that was not just locked but cracked returned. Finally! Seo-an, who cheered inwardly, unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut. He clenched his fist slightly and immediately called out to Hae-won.
“Sorry for waking you up while you were sleeping.”
—Hyung…?
As if he answered without even looking at who was calling, his voice was tinged with confusion. But now wasn’t the time to point that out one by one.
“…I have somewhere I need to go, so could you watch the kid for me?”
The carefully delivered question was filled more with embarrassment than difficulty. That made sense, since they had gone to the amusement park with the child just yesterday. He might be not just tired but have aching limbs, yet asking him to watch the child without even explaining the situation made him feel utterly shameless.
—The kid…
“Yeah… I tried to take her, but she’s resisting saying she won’t go… If you’re tired—”
—No, no… I’ll come right now. But… can I sleep a bit more with the kid? Did Ji-yu sleep a lot?
“Oh, no… Ji-yu can sleep more. Then what should we do? Should I send Ji-yu to your place?”
—I’ll come right now. It’s okay if I’m in my pajamas, right?
Along with his words, rustling sounds could be heard.
The still completely sleep-locked voice made him doubt whether Hae-won was in his right mind, but there really was no time now. If he left even a little later, he might get stuck in traffic and not even see his older brother, just returning empty-handed.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
Along with his answer, the sound of the password being entered could be heard from the entrance. It wasn’t asking for permission but a notification from the start. Anyway, you have to give it to Yeon Hae-won’s personality, and at that moment Ji-yu ran out to the entrance first.
“Samchoooon!”
“Yeah, Ji-yu. Let’s sleep with samchon, sleep.”
Hae-won, who scooped up the rushing Ji-yu as if catching her, went straight into the room and said.
“Wherever it is, have a safe trip. …If you’re bored on the way back, buy some alcohol, so we can drink together.”
With those short words in a still half-asleep voice, the door closed with a thud. All of this happened in an instant.
Seo-an, who had been watching him come in looking like a zombie and get sucked into the room as if he was really sleepy, blinked his eyes in that spot.
But then, realizing now wasn’t the time for this, he hurriedly left through the entrance.
“Hae-won-ah, thank you!”
He didn’t forget to leave his thanks toward the room.
***
Hae-won, who woke up after a good sleep, saw Ji-yu who had already woken up and was squirming on the bed. She was so gentle that even though she brought up a few toys onto the bed, she played with them while quietly puttering around, which was extremely cute.
Her round back of the head is similar to Kwon Seo-an. Was hyung this cute at that age too? …Well, it’s not different now either.
Hae-won grinned and pulled the child who was sitting curled up to lie down next to him. The child, who flopped down without resistance, let out a cute “hehe” laugh.
“Samchon woke up?”
“Yeah, Ji-yu. How long did samchon sleep?”
“Don’t know, this much.”
The child spread both her hands wide. Hae-won kissed her soft palms and slowly rolled his eyes to look for the clock. The time was not yet quite eleven o’clock.
Blinking his eyes, relieved that he hadn’t missed lunchtime, he suddenly realized that this room was Seo-an’s room. A gentle smile bloomed on his lips.
“Ji-yu, do you sleep in this room with daddy a lot?”
“Yeah. Yesterday too, I slept here with daddy.”
Ji-yu pulled over the small pillow next to the pillow Hae-won was using and shook it. At the action as if telling him to look at this, Hae-won laughed lowly and kneaded Ji-yu’s soft cheeks.
“But Hae-won-ah, where did daddy go? Leaving Ji-yu behind?”
“Mm, Ji-yu doesn’t like it.”
“Why?”
“Daddy’s going to daddy… Ji-yu doesn’t like it!”
Daddy’s going to daddy…? Hae-won, who tilted his head for a moment, soon realized that those words meant grandfather.
“Ji-yu didn’t like it.”
Hae-won nodded saying “yeah,” and patted the back of the child who was lying down looking at him, wiggling her hands and feet.
Seo-an not talking about himself at all was the same even when they were young. Since simple answers came back no matter what he asked, he just thought he was either shy or a person of few words and spent time with him like that. Then when he suddenly realized that Seo-an didn’t talk about his family, he guessed whether his parents might have passed away.
But judging from the fact that he went to his dad’s, that didn’t seem to be the case either. Hae-won was nodding his head when he realized today was the weekend.
Yesterday too, and today too. Even though it was the weekend, the kid’s mom not coming was starting to seem suspicious.
Maybe she’s far away somewhere.
…But what does that have to do with me.
