Side Story 2

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Side Story 2

 

Eunho’s long hair, more than just tangled, was a complete mess, clinging to the pillow.

 

Last night, Yoonjae had taken the suddenly crying Soeun out, pacing the living room with her in his arms for over 30 minutes before handing her over to Eunho. He had clearly passed Soeun, who had been wriggling in his arms, to Eunho after confirming she was sound asleep, but it seemed that wasn’t the case when he woke up this morning.

 

The angel, who should have been babbling with a bright smile and glassy eyes at this hour, was fast asleep as if she were sleeping through the night. It seemed that while Yoonjae had fallen asleep first, Soeun had woken up and waged a war last night.

 

The idea of a separate room for the baby was just wishful thinking. Would she even be able to sleep alone in her own room by the time she turned seven? After Soeun was born, Yoonjae and Eunho realized that it was realistically impossible to sleep apart from her, so they took the baby crib out of the baby room and moved it into the master bedroom.

 

Yoonjae carefully lifted Eunho, who was lying face down with half his face pressed down, and laid him on his back in a proper position. One side of Eunho’s cheek was red with pillow crease marks. Yoonjae watched his face, sound asleep and oblivious to any presence, and let out a low breath. He looked so pitiful in his sleep.

 

Soeun had troubled Eunho several times even before she was born. There was the morning sickness, but towards the end of the pregnancy, she had wrapped the umbilical cord around her neck several times, making every day anxious, and Yoonjae even had to rush to the airport from a meeting in Jeju Island due to premature labor pains.

 

Soeun was the spitting image of Eunho, just like her name, which meant ‘little Eunho’, suggested. She was like that when she was first born, but a few hours later, when her skin became fair and plump, she looked just like Eunho as a baby, making Yoonjae cherish Soeun so much. Eunho was simply teary-eyed at the existence that was like the fruit of their love.

 

The two had received childcare education long before the baby was born, but when Eunho and Yoonjae actually held the baby in their arms, they hesitated for a long time, unsure of how to hold the delicate little life that weighed only 3kg. Even Yoonjae, who had been praised for holding the baby quite stably during the education sessions, trembled when he held the fragile Soeun, who couldn’t even hold her head up, to the point where he got cramps later.

 

This time, Soeun was troubling Eunho and Yoonjae with her reversed day and night schedule. They had firmly believed the words of those around them that she would miraculously sleep through the night when she turned 100 days old, but perhaps she had inherited Yoonjae’s keen auditory genes? Soeun woke up easily at the slightest sound and cried incessantly. It was as if she had a sensor on her back; she would wake up as soon as she was laid down in the crib, making it difficult for the two of them as she would only sleep in her parents’ arms.

 

“Haa…”

 

Yoonjae, who had soaked away his fatigue in hot water for a long time, came out wearing a bathrobe and ran into Eunho, who was walking to the kitchen to get a drink of water. It was obvious that he had forced himself to get up, rubbing his eyes that wouldn’t open, to watch him go to work.

 

“…Are you leaving?”

 

“Yeah, what time did you sleep?”

 

“5 o’clock…”

 

“Get some more sleep. I’ll leave Soeun with Ms. Lee.”

 

Yoonjae trapped Eunho, who was wandering around in front of him in a daze, in his arms and embraced him. As he slowly stroked his straight spine, his cheek naturally rubbed against his chest, making him feel good.

 

Huuheung. Eunho’s faint breath seemed to melt his heart away. Eunho looked up at Yoonjae, his deep amber irises shimmering. Be careful on your way. Yoonjae’s lips slightly curved up at Eunho, who was already speaking to him with his eyes without saying a word.

 

“Go to sleep quickly, okay?”

 

Eunho nodded in agreement as Yoonjae’s deep voice moistened his ear. Yoonjae left a quick peck of a kiss and watched Eunho go into the room with no energy for a long time. Until his afterimage completely disappeared.

 

***

 

“Soeun, why do you laugh so well during the day but cry only at night?”

 

Soeun, who was as fair as a glutinous rice cake and smelled like baby powder, shook her rattle toy, smiling brightly, oblivious to Eunho’s worries.

 

“Are you really scared of the night?”

 

The angel, who stole hearts with her cuteness during the day, cried so loudly at night as if she had watched a horror movie, making Eunho feel helpless.

 

Ms. Lee, who took care of Soeun, tried to ease Eunho’s anxiety. She said that babies were afraid of the dark and that it was a perfectly natural phenomenon, so there was no need to worry, but Eunho, a novice parent, was worried about everything from A to Z.

 

“Come and have your meal. I’ll watch Soeun.”

 

Ms. Lee coaxed Eunho, who was stuck to Soeun like glue, to sit at the table, then returned to her seat and made eye contact with the baby, talking to her non-stop. Seeing her elicit Soeun’s reaction by smiling brightly with big gestures even at a small babble, he thought that a veteran was indeed different, but on the other hand, he couldn’t help but sigh at the thought that he had a child without any fear.

 

Childcare was truly the most difficult thing, and nothing was easy. Until Soeun came along, he thought that winning people’s hearts, connecting with them, and sharing heart-fluttering love was the most difficult thing, but there was an even greater challenge. And Eunho realized acutely after giving birth to Soeun that this was just the beginning and that there was more to come.

 

As he was emptying half of his rice bowl, the cell phone in his pocket vibrated briefly. Eunho checked his cell phone and then erased the dark clouds that had spread thickly over his face.

 

[Even if you’re tired, make sure to eat well. 11:51 AM]

 

Yoonjae must have been worried about Eunho, who was walking around half-conscious like a zombie. He felt a lump in his throat at the message filled with concern. He swiped the message on the screen under his thumb a few times and immediately pressed the call button.

 

“I’m having lunch right now anyway.”

 

-…You weren’t sleeping?

 

“I woke up after taking a nap.”

 

Yoonjae seemed relieved by Eunho’s much brighter voice, and a relaxed breath was transmitted through the speaker.

 

Yoonjae had become even closer to Chief Yoon after meeting Soeun. Chief Yoon, who had held his child five months earlier, was Yoonjae’s closest childcare senior and advisor. Whenever he had a chance, he would ask about the child’s development and boast about their children as if they were competing with each other, so Yoonjae naturally became close to Chief Yoon.

 

Yoonjae learned everything he could about childcare. He was now a veteran dad who was skilled at holding, feeding formula, and burping, but just two or three months ago, he was such a clumsy novice dad that people who watched him were anxious about how he held the baby.

 

-I’ll bathe her after work, so don’t do anything.

 

“Yoonjae-ssi, you’re tired, so you don’t have to.”

 

-Tomorrow is the weekend. Eunho has worked hard all week, so now it’s my turn. Just hang in there for a few more hours.

 

SH Investment was crouching down and investing heavily in order to rise to a higher level again. Meanwhile, Choi Seryeong of Yuseong  Group had failed to attend the prosecution twice and attended five times. She barely managed to cover the second promissory note by selling all of her younger brother Choi Youngjae’s remaining shares, but she ultimately failed to normalize the company.

 

Yuseong Group put up its resort in Jeju Island for sale among its holdings, but because its debt was so high, it ended up being disposed of at a bargain price. Seoin Construction bought the resort as if it had been waiting for the opportunity, making Seryeong miserable. This was because the sale price was only a quarter of the funds that had been invested in the resort.

 

Realizing that he had no time to rest, Yoonjae decided to enjoy every moment. He completely separated work and home, and when he was in either place, he poured all his energy into that direction. What was really grateful from Eunho’s point of view was that Yoonjae would bring work home, but he tried to keep his quitting time to the minute. When Yoonjae started childcare, Eunho indirectly experienced the company’s situation by helping with some of Yoonjae’s work for a change of pace.

 

Eunho burst out laughing as he watched Yoonjae strongly appeal to him to leave the childcare to him.

 

“Anyone who hears you would think you’re doing something amazing.”

 

-It is amazing. It’s our child.

 

“Okay. Then I’ll see you later.”

 

Eunho shook his head as if he couldn’t help it and slurped down the remaining rice mixed with soup. Thanks to Yoonjae, who always contacted him regularly and checked on the situation even when he was busy, the breathing room for childcare, which felt difficult, was gradually opening up.

 

“I’ll watch Soeun. Ms. Lee, please have lunch too.”

 

Now, at 5 months old, she could sit alone with strength in her waist. The baby, who recognized her parents and babbled differently, was developing quickly, but she was especially sensitive, like a newborn baby of 100 days.

 

“Soeun, Dad told me to wait without moving, should we do that?”

 

Soeun cheered at the word ‘Dad’, laughing and waving her arms high.

 

“Do you like Dad that much? I feel like I’m going to be completely sad.”

 

Eunho wiped the drool running down Soeun’s chin with a handkerchief and laughed along.

 

The weather, which had already entered the beginning of autumn, had changed the temperature of the river breeze. The wind, carrying the scent of autumn, seeped through the collar of his thin cotton shirt. Without thinking, he put on the slippers he saw and came out, only to realize they were Yoonjae’s shoes. They were too big, so they flopped around every time he walked, but he didn’t want to go back into the house and change, so he walked with strength in his toes.

 

As he pushed Soeun in the stroller across the garden, dragonflies flew low, as if swimming, hovering around the stroller. Soeun reached out with her fern-like hands to try to catch them, but the dragonflies repeatedly came closer and moved away, teasing Soeun by circling in front of her.

 

Eunho, who had avoided going outside all summer under the pretext of being hot, took a deep breath of the refreshing air rushing into his nasal cavity and put strength into the hand holding the stroller. The latest trendy song flowing from the cell phone placed on the stand didn’t suit Soeun’s emotions, but it was the compromise line. He had listened to classical music so much in the living room that he selected the songs he wanted to listen to outdoors. Instead, fast-paced and excessive melodies were excluded from the list.

 

Eunho replaced the dance with light movements of swaying his waist and bending and straightening his knees.

 

“…Huh?”

 

Suddenly, the sound of the gate opening was heard, and a black sedan stopped in the parking lot on the garden side. Yoonjae’s quitting time was still a long way off, so Eunho wondered what was going on and walked to the parking lot. Then, he smiled brightly and raised his voice as he watched Yoonjae get out of the car.

 

“Why did you come so early?”

 

“I forgot it was Movie Day.”

 

At the word ‘Movie Day’, Eunho missed the secretary’s office in the past. One of the welfare benefits created by the company, Movie Day, was on the second Thursday of every month, and if there was nothing special to do after morning work, everyone would go to the movie theater together to watch the latest movie and have dinner.

 

“Does that include the CEO?”

 

“The CEO is also an employee.”

 

Yoonjae, who disinfected his hands with hand sanitizer in the car and wiped them again with a wet wipe, came closer, hugged Eunho, and lightly kissed him on the right cheek.

 

“You’ve worked hard.”

 

Eunho, who had melted away his fatigue with a single word of moisture, lowered his head and slightly lifted the stroller’s sunshade cover.

 

“She was waiting for her dad so much.”

 

Soeun, who was already excited by her dad’s surprise appearance, poured out a storm of babbling. Yoonjae reached into the stroller and naturally picked up Soeun. Soeun, who was laughing, made Yoonjae’s face a mess of drool as if she were marking her territory on her dad.

 

“Soeun, Dad will play with you all night today. So only bother me.”

 

“You should tell them not to bother either of you.”

 

“She doesn’t know yet. Dad will put up with it until she’s one year old.”

 

“Puhaha.”

 

Eunho constantly observed Soeun, who was clinging to Yoonjae’s chest like a koala. After all, unlike adults, children did unpredictable things in an instant, so even if he was covering her well, he had to keep an eye on her.

 

“We should go see a movie too.”

 

Yoonjae felt sorry for Eunho, who couldn’t even think about going out of the house and only looked at Soeun. Yoonjae occasionally tried to induce them to go out for dinner alone for an hour or two, leaving the baby with Ms. Lee, but Eunho was anxious about leaving her seat, perhaps because of the responsibility of being a parent.

 

“When Soeun gets a little bigger.”

 

“It’s not easy to watch a movie at home either.”

 

“Oh, if you turn on the speakers loudly, she might be surprised and cry.”

 

Eunho comforted Yoonjae, saying that the range of choices would widen and the time would be freer than now once the child started walking and talking, so let’s suffer a little more. Anyway, his parents in the United States were planning to come to Korea for about a week next month, and he was thinking about taking half a day or a day to spend time alone with him at that time.

 

“She’s sleeping.”

 

He thought it was quiet, but Soeun put her glutinous rice cake-like cheek on Yoonjae’s chest and fell fast asleep. Her shirt was stained with drool, but Yoonjae smiled as if he was so happy.

 

“She’ll wake up if we go into the house, right? Anyway, she’ll only sleep for 30 minutes at most. Let’s stay outside a little longer before going in.”

 

Soeun’s downy brown hair fluttered in the wind. Eunho took out a thin blanket from the stroller and covered Soeun’s back.

 

Soeun, who had taken a 30-minute nap, opened her eyes wide as soon as she entered the house. Yoonjae, who had changed into comfortable clothes and was loosening his body for battle childcare, knelt down to match the baby’s eye level and looked up at Soeun. Even though all she had were meaningless babblings, Eunho held back his laughter and diligently recorded the memories on video of Yoonjae constantly telling her their names and inducing her to follow along.

 

Her appearance was unmistakably Eunho’s, but her actions and stamina were Yoonjae’s spitting image. She had been diagnosed with a dominant alpha as soon as she was born, so perhaps he shouldn’t say anything about her not sleeping at night thanks to her innate constitution. He wondered why she had inherited even the genes that she didn’t have to resemble, and he laughed, but on the other hand, he was even more frightened because he was worried about the future.

 

Yoonjae, who had gone into the whirlpool bathtub with Soeun and played for nearly an hour, had long shadows under his eyes when he came out of the bathroom. He had to concentrate and observe the child every moment while playing with her, so the fatigue piled up more than twice as much.

 

Eunho, who was preparing the baby’s clothes and baby food, approached Soeun, who was wrapped in a towel and held by Yoonjae, when the bathroom door opened, evenly spread an appropriate amount of lotion, and quickly dressed her. The first time they brought Soeun home, Ms. Lee had bathed Soeun. It was a great development considering that he had trembled and fumbled around, not knowing how to dress the baby, let alone bathe her.

 

“Every time I bathe her, I can see her growing differently every day.”

 

“Shall I give her rice cereal now?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Perhaps she was hungry, Soeun readily accepted the rice cereal that Yoonjae was feeding her, opening her beak-like mouth wide. She even created a spectacle of spilling the rice cereal several times and changing her clothes again because she couldn’t keep up with the speed at which the child was eating.

 

Eunho hurriedly brought formula because Soeun was crying as if she was hungry even though she had been fed the right amount. He said that even if she ate rice cereal, she would be hungry as soon as she turned around, giving a reasonable reason.

 

“She eats well. Is it that delicious?”

 

“Puhaha.”

 

Soeun’s nose was covered in sweat as she gripped the bottle tightly and sucked vigorously, as if she had a lot of strength. Yoonjae wrapped one arm around Soeun and raised her upper body a little more to make it easier for her to eat.

 

“Have you tried this?”

 

He asked if the formula was the same, thinking that he only ate a little at a time to check the temperature of the rice cereal on his tongue, and Eunho nodded.

 

“A mild cream flavor?”

 

“When did you try it?”

 

“I wondered what it tasted like, so I ate a spoonful of powder, and it was delicious.”

 

Yoonjae’s eyes widened at the words that he had eaten a spoonful of powder, not just a drop or two to check the temperature. Eunho went one step further and opened the lid, bringing the formula container and telling him to taste it himself.

 

“Do you want to try it?”

 

The frozen Yoonjae shook his head. Soeun, who had emptied a full container of formula, was now smiling contentedly. Yoonjae got up from his seat, held Soeun up, and patted her back. Yoonjae, who was slightly worried because the amount was too much for dinner, continued to hold Soeun and circled around the living room even after she made a cute burp.

 

“I’ll watch her, so please have dinner quickly.”

 

Eunho took Soeun from Yoonjae and walked out to the terrace. As he watched the red sky setting, he repeatedly sang the nursery rhymes he had recently memorized, and Soeun clapped her hands and sang along as if she was babbling. Her light brown eyes sparkled as she looked only at him, and the tiring day was completely washed away.

 

After Yoonjae brushed his teeth following the meal and held Soeun again, Eunho gathered his clothes and headed to the shower. The days when he showered morning and evening felt like a dream. Since Soeun was born, Eunho hadn’t had a moment to spare, making shower time a luxury. As soon as he opened his eyes, he had to take care of Soeun first. After taking care of the baby all day, he was so exhausted by evening that all he could think about was sleeping.

 

Eunho, having washed thoroughly enough to cover his pheromones with the scent of body wash, looked around the living room and chuckled, smiling contentedly. Seeing Yoonjae nodding off while holding Soeun, he felt proud but also a little sorry for him.

 

“……Hmm?”

 

As Eunho took the baby from his arms, Yoonjae woke up from his doze. His half-open, hazy eyes and drowsy expression looked pitiful and heartbreaking.

 

“I’ll lay her down.”

 

Holding the deeply sleeping Soeun in his arms, Eunho carefully entered the bedroom and gently laid the baby on the crib placed next to the couple’s bed. He didn’t forget to pat her chest so she wouldn’t be startled. Only after completely covering her with the blanket up to her chest did Eunho feel a sense of accomplishment, as if he had finished all his tasks, and turned his head. In the meantime, Yoonjae, who had already laid down on the bed, smiled and gestured for him to come closer. Eunho lifted the blanket and snuggled into Yoonjae’s arms.

 

“Eunho.”

 

Yoonjae reached out and stroked Eunho’s round forehead. Eunho’s yearning gaze always caught and shook the abstaining Yoonjae. His refined and elegant features stirred Yoonjae’s suppressed desires the closer he got.

 

As his hand, which had traced from his forehead to his temples and down to his chin, gently cupped his face, a faint tremor could be felt in Eunho’s gaze as he looked up at Yoonjae. Yoonjae let out a muffled laugh through his closed lips and stroked Eunho’s pink lower lip.

 

“You worked hard today.”

 

His deep, dark brown eyes, the depths of which were unknowable, were solely focused on Eunho. The warm breath he had been holding scattered nearby as Yoonjae’s face drew closer. “Haa,” a gasp escaped involuntarily. As his soft lips touched the line of Eunho’s lips, his mouth opened and a moist tongue slid in smoothly.

 

Eunho slowly fluttered his long eyelashes and closed his eyes. He wanted to rely solely on his senses and have his love confirmed by his lips. As their lips intertwined haphazardly, the hand that had been holding his cheek cupped the back of Eunho’s head, ruffling his soft hair.

 

“I love you.”

 

Yoonjae’s hot breath burrowed into his ear. The accumulated feelings of love slowly surged, filling his hungry heart completely. Eunho’s eyes welled up at his heartfelt words. Yoonjae pressed his lips over Eunho’s moist eyelashes. Unable to control the surging joy, Eunho uttered the condensed words once again.

 

“I sincerely… love you.”

 

Everything has an end.

 

But the love he gives me has no end.

 

-Side Story <The End> –