Disclaimer: This is a sequel to my other story, Field Day. Go check that out if you haven’t read it yet :)

_________________________________________________________________________________

“Jin-ae, do you remember what I said?” Jong Kook crouched down, meeting his daughter’s face on an eye-to-eye level.

“Yes, appa,” she firmly nodded her head.

“Okay, can you repeat our 3 rules while I’m gone?” He asked.

“One, take care of omma. Two, sleep with omma tonight. And three, call appa when there’s an emergency,” she knitted her eyebrows together, enumerating one item after another.

“Good. What counts as an emergency?” Jong Kook raised his eyebrow to test her.

“If omma feels really tired and she needs someone to help her quickly and I can’t help her, I need to call you. If you don't pick up your phone, I should call Gap Jin samchon, Dong Hoon samchon or Go Eun imo” she explained.

“What else?” he grinned.

“If omma and my dongsaeng need to go to the hospital or if there’s a fire or a burglar, call the numbers under the star,” she responded.

“That’s my girl,” Jong Kook tightly embraced his daughter and planted a kiss on her head.

Ji Hyo shook her head in amusement. Jong Kook was about to leave for Gwangju for a two-day shoot and has been relentlessly worried about leaving her and Jin-ae alone. Ever since she hit her second trimester, he had become stricter in monitoring her condition. Her doctor had just instructed her to limit her physical activities around the house but Jong Kook translated this to Ji Hyo not being allowed with any work at all. He wouldn’t let her do chores or run simple errands. His eyes were always trailing on her every move. It does not shock her any longer when he’s suddenly beside her to assist her or Jin-ae would try to help out in the best way that she could, copying her appa’s caring actions. He had even asked her if they wanted to come with him so she could have a relaxing holiday while he‘s filming, but she declined. She reasoned that she’d rather rest at home. Truth be told, she was also secretly looking forward to having some time for herself. Yes, she loves and adores her husband but sometimes he can be a little bit controlling. He might just be the death of her.

Last night, when she was about to check Jin-ae’s bedroom before hitting the sack, she caught her husband and daughter wrapped in a serious conversation. Jong Kook had strictly set 3 specific rules and gave out instructions on what Jin-ae should do in case of an emergency and how she should behave while he’s out. Not only that, she was surprised to learn that he had also reactivated his old phone for Jin-ae’s use. Unlike other parents, they both agreed that a mobile phone isn’t necessary for her age yet, so her exposure to their phones have been limited to an hour’s use per day. She overheard him discussing that the phone was only to be used in an emergency— that is, if omma’s phone is not in sight, she’ll have to use appa’s old phone to call the numbers under the star, also known as the favorites section in the contacts list. Jong Kook placed emojis (fire, ambulance, police) and photos on the necessary contacts so Jin-ae would easily remember who to call. Ji Hyo bit her lip, suppressing her chuckle and quietly went to their bedroom.

By the time he finally joined her in bed, she felt him scoot closer towards her back and enveloped his arm around her growing belly.

“Is Jin-ae already asleep?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he placed a kiss on her shoulder. “How are my other babies doing?” he smiled.

“We’re good, appa,” she faced him and gently his cheek.

As she quietly gazed at her husband, she asked, “How about you, yeobo? You sure you’re gonna be okay without us?”

Her teasing tone instantly brought a smile on Jong Kook’s face, “You know I won’t be okay but I’ll try to be sane for the next two days.”

She chuckled, “Didn’t expect I’d catch you charging our Jin-ae with your ridiculous rules.”

“Yah, they’re not ridiculous!” he laughed. “I was waiting for you to barge in. I knew you were peeking through the door,” he smirked.

Ji Hyo stuck her tongue out, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Good night, yeobo,” Jong Kook gently rubbed her arm and placed his hand over hers.

Jong Kook ruffled Jin-ae’s hair and stood up. He then faced Ji Hyo and cradled her face in between his hands.

She made a face as she saw the crease formed on his forehead.

“Aigoo, relax. We’ll be fine and before you know it, you’ll be home in 2 days,” Ji Hyo smiled brightly at him.

“Why don’t you just come with me?” Jong Kook begged, wishfully thinking she would change her mind at the last minute.

Ji Hyo giggled and shook her head, “I promise I’ll comply with all the rules you’ve given Jin-ae.”

“Promise?”

“I swear it,” she linked her arms around his neck.

Jong Kook grinned and leaned forward to capture her lips, “Don’t be stubborn, I love you.”

“I won’t.”

“You too, aegi-ah,” Jong Kook looked over her belly and pulled Ji Hyo gently closer to him by her hips. Upon seeing this, Jin-ae took the opportunity to put her arms around her parents waists and hugged them tightly.

Ji Hyo smiled and tilted her body towards Jong Kook, relishing the intimate moment as a family.

Just then, they heard their door unlock indicating that Gap Jin had come to pick Jong Kook up. As he entered the foyer, Jong Kook squeezed his family a bit tighter and placed a kiss on their heads before letting them go.

“Hi noona. Hey kiddo. Sorry for intruding but we have to go so we won’t be behind schedule,” Gap Jin apologized.

“It’s no big deal,” Ji Hyo assured him.

Gap Jin went over to the living room to get Jong Kook’s luggage as Jong Kook went to the kitchen to retrieve the packed meals Ji Hyo prepared for them that morning.

“Gap Jin, can you please make sure that you guys eat the bento meals okay?” Ji Hyo warned.

“Yes, omma~” Gap Jin joked, “Rest assured that your nampyeon will start threatening us about not finishing the food before lunch could even begin.”

Overhearing their conversation, Jong Kook butted in, “I’ll take that as your consent that my behavior is acceptable when I order you to eat our lunch. After all, Ji Hyo sneaked out of my sight this morning to make this for us.” He raised his eyebrows at his wife hinting that she shouldn’t have bothered to tire herself out.

Ji Hyo rolled her eyes, “It was no big deal. You have to get going before we start bickering again.”

Gap Jin saluted Ji Hyo, playfully giving off this gesture as his way of recognizing who the real boss is, and made his way out of their home with Jong Kook’s luggage.

Ji Hyo held Jin-ae’s hand and joined Jong Kook move towards the foyer. Jin-ae waved her hand to bid her appa farewell and Ji Hyo smiled as she watched Jong Kook check his things one last time before leaving.

Jong Kook then embraced his daughter once more and gave Ji Hyo a peck, “I’ll be home soon.”

_________________________________________________________________________________

As soon as Jong Kook closed the front door, Jin-ae shook her omma’s hand lightly and asked if they could watch a movie in the living room. Ji Hyo nodded, “Arasso, go on and choose what you’d like.”

Jin-ae quickly ran to the living room and the television to browse through a variety of choices on netflix.

Ji Hyo, on the other hand, lay down on the couch and stretched her arms and legs. Using her arm as a pillow, she observed her daughter seated comfortably on the play mat with a serious expression written in her eyes.

“Omma, Song unnie said that this is her favorite movie,” Jin-ae pointed her selection on the screen and clicked play. Frozen. Every parent’s nightmare.

Ji Hyo chuckled, “Hmm. That’s true. When she was about your age, that’s all she ever talked about.”

“I like Frozen too but I still like Winnie the Pooh more,” Jin-ae exclaimed.

“Oh yeah?” Ji Hyo smiled.

“Yeah, cause Tigger looks like Kookie’s family,” she beamed. Ji Hyo laughed. Of course, everyone knew how she is obsessed with Kookie.

The first scene started rolling when Jin-ae decided to share the couch with her omma. Ji Hyo moved back to give some room for Jin-ae to lie down next to her. She protectively hugged her daughter so she wouldn’t fall as they both watched the film.

Halfway through the movie, Jin-ae felt her arms tingly from being locked in her omma’s embrace. She was about to stir to free herself but she noticed that her omma had fallen asleep.

She remembered her appa’s first rule: take care of omma. That means that she can’t disturb omma’s sleep if she could help it. Recalling several talks with her appa over the past weeks, let omma and your dongsaeng rest so they could both be strong and healthy.

And so she did. She rested her head back on the couch and decided to wake her omma once the movie was finished. A few minutes later, luck was turning to her favor, her omma’s phone started ringing which means that she could wake her up.

“Omma,” she whispered “I can hear your phone ringing.”

Ji Hyo stirred a bit and blinked her eyes a few times before realizing what her daughter had said. She quickly got up and picked up her phone on the kitchen counter.

“Yeoboseyo?” her voice was a bit hoarse, quite evident that she just woke up from a nap.

“Yeobo, I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”

“Oppa?” she rubbed her eye, “I just woke up from a nap.”

“Mianhe,” Her nampyeon apologized once more. “I just called to inform you that your lunch will be delivered in 15 minutes”

“What?”

“Babe, I ordered lunch for you and Jin-ae. No need to prepare your meals. Just take the time to rest and sit back, arasso?” he assured her.

“Aish, you’re spoiling me too much,” Ji Hyo grumbled.

Jong Kook laughed, “Don’t worry about dinner too. I’ve got it covered for you as well.”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Saranghae”

“Nado saranghae. Stop making me miss you,” Ji Hyo pouted and the realization that she won’t see him till tomorrow was slowly sinking in.

When she was pregnant with Jin-ae, Jong Kook rarely took filming schedules that would require him to be far away from home. He was constantly by her side and helped her to get as comfortable as she could manage. If he could not avoid schedules that would take days to shoot, he would leave her at her parents’ house so she won’t be left alone. She hated to admit it but she depended on him a lot during her first pregnancy. Now that both their parents are much older, they decided that it would be best not to bother them with favors, like Ji Hyo staying over at her parents or Jong Kook asking for his omoni to make their family’s favorite home-cooked meals. Thus, becoming the reason why Jin-ae’s emergency contacts consisted of Gap Jin and the Has who lived the closest to their neighborhood.

“I’ll try to call you again if we’d have enough time at break.”

“Don’t worry about it. Take care of yourself.”

“Neh~ You too,” he said.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Lunch was delivered just as Jong Kook promised. The mother and daughter had a good meal with Jong Kook spoiling them with their favorite dishes. Jin-ae heartily ate her lunch and is currently trying to persuade her omma if she could watch another movie.

“Omma, please. Just one more,” she pleaded.

“Sorry, Jin-ae. You know the rules. Only 2 hours of television or gadget use per day,” Ji Hyo firmly reminded her.

“Then let’s keep it a secret between you and me. Let’s not tell Appa,” she blurted out.

“No can do kiddo. Why don’t we just do something else, huh?” Ji Hyo tucked Jin-ae’s hair under her ear.

Jin-ae sighed and pouted. As a matter of fact, people would always assume that her appa was stricter parents but they’re wrong. Her omma is a stickler for house rules.

Ji Hyo bit her tongue, controlling herself not to laugh at her daughter’s response, “Jin-ae, do you want to bake some cookies?”

Her daughter’s face lit up at the