Chapter 66. Words

“And we’ll be here to watch her grow some more…”

The way he said it brought this twitch of pain inside her. Seohyun was not really sure if he would be there to watch Euna grow some more no matter how much she wanted him to. At this point, it was all up to him. Brushing her thoughts aside with a shake of her head, she focused on washing the rice that she was about to put in the cooker.

“Hyun…”

She spun around to see him hunched over his phone while clutching the little girl on his other arm— shirtless. She swallowed recalling how those arms felt around her just last night. She cleared and cleared her mind from steering into that direction so early in the morning. “What’s up?” Seohyun asked instead.

“My basketball buddy who lives around this area texted me that he has a stall at the morning market,” Yonghwa finally looked up to her then continued, “He said he has snacks for babies, we can check it out…”

They haven’t been to the park since Euna got sick and she did miss walking around the morning market so she nodded, “Okay. Let me finish this rice first then we can go.”

“Okay,” he replied as he started typing again while keeping Euna’s hands from reaching his phone.

“Can you get her a jacket? And maybe put another pajamas on her?” Seohyun called over her shoulder as the little girl yelled at her appa to give her his phone.

“On it…” Yonghwa muttered half-consciously as he walked out of the kitchen.

She couldn’t deny how much she loved their domesticity. It was really nice, having this feeling of really being like a real family— it was a weird thought since they are practically a family, or not.

As weird and as confusing it was.

Seohyun was glad too that he promised to spend the whole weekend with them and no matter what kind of emergency that might arise from work, he would let Jonghyun handle everything. He indeed was making up for the past few days he was too busy and barely home to play with Euna and spend time with her.

Moments later, they were out in the cool sunny day. As always, the weekend morning market was bustling with activities. She was walking beside him and their baby was quietly on her fingers while her eyes wander all around. There were a few new stalls and displays, mostly winter jackets and coats, and street snacks. Seohyun got a little excited and she quietly noticed how he seemed to be agreeing to everything she pondered on buying.

“Men…” she grumbled to herself and was lucky that he didn’t catch it.

 They went on walking almost aimlessly for a couple of minutes until she spotted a display of fruits, the colors were vibrant and inviting that people go and went. An elderly woman stepped away after getting a bag of fruits and Seohyun caught sight of the fresh strawberries in a big basket. She turned to him with an excited smile, “Oh, look at those strawberries! Let’s get some!”

“What happened to ‘let’s look around first since we might find something better’?” He complained but laughed softly when she couldn’t help that smile she wore.

“Let’s give Euna her first taste,” she managed to say instead.

“Can she? Is it safe?”

Seohyun heard him behind her so she looked over her shoulder realizing that she really had no good answer for that question, “Not sure, let’s look it up when we get home.”

The laugh that escaped from him was a deep sound that whenever she heard it, she only wanted to bottle them in her mind. Just as she was feeling the rush of goosebumps exploding on her arms, he walked closer to him and wrapped an arm around her. As if it was not enough, Yonghwa also brushed his lips on her temple muttering an ‘okay.’

Seohyun had to distract herself from the butterflies that started fluttering in her stomach by getting lost in the thought of finding the perfect ones for them to get until his friend saw him and called him over. The fruits were fresh that it was easy for her to choose and she got carried away and got not only strawberries but pears, oranges and apples. When she was done, she had to wait for a bit to pay since there were a couple of customers before her.

Only a few minutes passed but it appeared that people started piling in and the market was busier. The sun was also starting to get brighter as it travelled up the sky drenching this warm rays that seeped through the gaps of the trees. After paying, Seohyun slipped away from the crowd and chose another aisle to pass through to get to where Yonghwa and Euna were. She frowned as a woman turned away from where he stood. She could hear her baby girl with her usual shriek but as her eyes followed the woman, her heart started drumming in her chest.

The way she walked was almost automatic then muttered a question as she stopped beside him, “Who’s that?” 

“I don’t know… she said Euna is the same age as her granddaughter. And Euna decided to give her a hug.”

She heard him reply but his voice got lost in her thoughts that she only mumbled an ‘oh’. The woman looked eerily familiar and so overly dressed for a market—on a weekend. She could be wrong but she could also be right and it dawned on her that if that woman was really her mother, then she already made contact with Yonghwa and Euna—

“You okay?”

Seohyun almost jerked hearing his voice beside her and only then that she realized that he asked something so she replied, “Yeah, I’m— sorry, I just zoned out.”

He smiled and nodded, “That’s okay. What did you get?”

She lifted the bags in her hand rather stupidly as she spoke, “Uhm, just… just some fruits…”

“Okay,” Yonghwa nodded then motioned towards the snacks, “Help me choose some of these for the weekend.”

She nodded and dropped her attention to the display of snacks as the weird feeling settled in her stomach. If it was her mother, was this the worse kind of warning than just allowing her to see her? Seohyun could not figure out if she also wanted her to know that she talked to Yonghwa and met Euna. Probably not since the fruit stand was a few meters away from this stall.

For the rest of their walk, Seohyun could not calm her mind and if he noticed it, he seemed to have given her the space she needed or chose to have. Although he tried to make small talks and even playful tease that would usually make her laugh out loud, she couldn’t seem to distract herself with those. They hang around the park for a while because Euna looked happy and excited being out there and greeting the other children in the park. They only drove back home when her nap time came and she easily fell asleep in her umma’s arms.

The drive was also quiet until he started teasing her and she did feel the burn of her cheeks and the tingle of her body parts as they went on with the conversation. Somehow, despite how weird it sounded, Seohyun managed to relax for a bit. This conversation also brought her into that simple conclusion— if it was her mother, then she made the decision really easier.

If she and Euna have limited time to spend with Yonghwa, she decided that now is the time she should be creating more memories with him. Seohyun resolved that she would give everything to him with no reservations and it would be up to him if he wanted to keep them or not.

She smiled to herself realizing that this thought made her giddy. Looking over her shoulder, Seohyun smiled when he turned to her for a few seconds then he held her hand between them. His soft touch never left h