Chapter 77. Euna’s Appa

The house was quiet when he got there. It was obvious that they have gone upstairs if the darkness was an indication. The only lights that were on were the once they usually leave overnight. Yonghwa went to the study first to deposit his bag and some plans he needed for the weekend. Afterwards, he went to the kitchen and took a drink before heading upstairs. His last schedule for the day was this dinner with a client that came from China and he told Seohyun beforehand not to wait for him.

When he got to the bedroom, he found them both asleep. Seohyun was lying on her side facing Euna who was spread like a little eagle on her baby blanket. In an attempt not to wake them, Yonghwa decided to just get ready for bed. It was a tiring day for him and he was glad that it was over. He could have wanted to spend a little more time with them but going home to this was nothing more than a treat.

When the bed dipped from his weight, Seohyun stirred and shifted to the opposite side. He smiled when her eyes fluttered open, “Hey…”

“Uhmmm…” she brushed a fist on her eyes and asked, “Did you just come home?”

“Yeah, there was an accidental…” he chuckled when she suddenly turned alert and was about to sit up so he continued, “Nothing that involved me. Although, the traffic was awful because of it.”

Seohyun sighed, blinked and smiled, “That’s a relief. Come here… let’s sleep.”

He nodded and slid beside her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he whispered against her hair, “You went to bed early?”

“Yeah, she didn't nap this afternoon so she was already cranky by sundown.”

Yonghwa chuckled, “She gave you a hard time then…”

“Uh-huh… Ajumma said it will only get worse once she starts walking,” Seohyun replied with a tiny smile, “She’s full of curiosity and the worst thing is, whenever she would get hurt, she would do it again.”

That made him chuckle quietly realizing what she meant. One time, he was looking after Euna while Seohyun was in the shower. She was playing in her playpen, shaking her rattle until she hit her head with it. Yonghwa ran to her when she let out a loud cry but he stopped on his track when she suddenly fell quiet. He watched her carefully as her little eyes grew wide looking at her toy on her hand.

To his surprise, Euna lifted her arm and hit her head with the rattle again. He couldn't really decide if he should be worried or laugh at what he had witnessed until she cried for real.

“She could hurt herself a lot now,” he muttered silently, “If we can only babyproof the entire house right away.”

“We don't have to do that, you know?”

Seohyun looked up to him. Her words and the way it hit him caused his stomach to tighten. They really don’t need to babyproof the entire house because this wasn't permanent. They probably wouldn't even be here by the time Euna would be running around in her two little feet.

He watched her as she closed eyes silently knowing that he wouldn't or couldn't give any answer to that. Although he knew that she was still awake, it was better this way. He couldn't deal with anything right now— or any time soon, for that matter.

His pensive thoughts were distracted by that familiar whimpers. Seohyun opened her eyes and mouthed for him to keep quiet as she shifted back to face Euna. When her back rested on his front, Yonghwa pushed himself a little closer as if he couldn't get close enough.

Euna went on whimpering as she flipped on the sides, rubbed her fist on her face, and kicked her little legs up in the air.

“She must be dreaming,” he whispered and he only heard a soft reply from Seohyun in agreement. In one swift move, Euna flipped towards them with her face contorting. They waited quietly in hopes that she would just drift back to sleep until her lids fluttered open. And the moment she saw her umma, she grumbled a little louder.

“Mmahh, a…maahhh...” Euna cried once she realized that her umma was not doing anything for her. Her arms stretched forward moving them in feisty waves as if making her mother move closer to her.

Seohyun smiled as she lifted her arm and rubbed her baby’s protruding belly, “Go back to sleep…”

But she only whined still upset about something until those little whines turned into angry babbles that had them both chuckling. Finally, Seohyun pulled her close and hugged her on her chest, “Shhhh, did you have a bad dream?”

As a reply, Euna made little sounds as if she was talking and her mother could understand her. Yonghwa smiled pushing himself up to peek at their little one hiding in her mom’s embrace. “Euna?” He cooed but she was only chanting ammah over and over again so he pouted, “Euna, Appa is here too…”

With that, she lifted her head up and once she realized his presence she gave him her toothless grin like she hadn't been crying.

“Hello there,” he cooed rubbing his thumb on her chubby cheek, “Did the sandman gave you the wrong one?”

She babbled back with the sides of her lips contorting again like she just realized that she was actually upset.

The two only watched her with amusement until she got crankier. “You want your milk now, Euna?” Seohyun asked just as she sat up and once she heard that familiar word, Euna whimpered in acknowledgement. Slipping off the bed, she continued to coo, “Play with Appa first.”

With that, Yonghwa slid closer to the baby who watched her umma in anticipation for her food. Euna rolled on her tummy then pushed herself up using her limbs then in a quick move, she was sitting on her bottom facing the bright nursery where her umma was. He smiled as he wrapped her small body with his arm and kissed her bottom. And when Euna ignored him, he rubbed his nose on her back with the grumbled noise that would vibrate on her back.

This caused the baby to squeak as she tried to squirm off his tight grip but Yonghwa chuckled against her skin.

“Aigoo, don't play with her unless you want to stay up all night,” Seohyun called out from the adjacent room, “I definitely have no plans on staying up late, you two…”

Yonghwa laughed softly, sitting up then taking the little one in his arms. Shaking his head, he realized that it was actually too late. Euna seemed to be wide awake and hopefully she would fall asleep once her milk was ready. He draped her in his chest after putting a pillow behind his back, “Umma will get mad at us if we play this late.”

He fake-whispered that Seohyun could still hear while rubbing Euna's back with gentle touch. Thankfully, she didn't resist and he could feel her yawn as her head rested on his shoulder. After a short while, Seohyun came back with the bottle that she handed to him. Yonghwa fed the baby who looked ready to drift back to sleep with her lids fluttering softly. Meeting Seohyun's gaze, he gave her a confirmation that no one would be staying up late that night.

With that, she crawled on the bed and quietly tidied up their little one's beddings. It didn't take long for Euna to fall asleep with her bottle of milk half-drunk. Seohyun had already taken her spot while he was still on the same corner leaning heavily on the pillow that was resting by the wall. Yonghwa’s soft hums were the only sound filling the room as he rocked the baby gently in his arms. After a while, he decided that Euna was back in her dreamland that he gently laid her back on her blanket but before he could fully release her, she stiffened and started whining.

Seohyun opened her eyes and whispered sleepily at him, “Hug her tight….”

He nodded in understanding so he laid himself on that corner where he was and draped a gentle arm on their little one’s body and spoke softly as he laid a kiss on her temple, “Shhhh… Appa is here…”

Seohyun smiled back at him when he sighed knowing that he couldn’t possibly go back to his side now that Euna had shifted and was hugging her appa back. If he moved now, she would definitely cry out loud. Her skin was soft and warm against his as she gradually settled back t