By Your Side

Seungwan was very calm at the table of the fast-food restaurant. Her mind was not thinking of anything in particular, she was just looking around the place without delving into her ideas. The place was packed with families and the aroma of fried food.

"Here came your food, your highness."

The short-haired woman couldn't help but roll her eyes as a smile escaped her. In front of her was a woman with long light brown hair and a brown trench coat, she carried a tray with two orders and a warm smile. Seungwan's gesture made her laugh as she took a seat.

"That was very fast."

"Yeah, the huge line vanished in no time. We're lucky." — She replied as she lovingly placed the food in front of the small woman. — "Enjoy your meal, honey."

"Thank you." — She grabbed the other's hand to give it a little squeeze before starting to eat her burger. — "I think we only had the advantage that the customers before didn't have so many little one’s undecided about what to eat."

"Or a Yeri." the tall woman mocked eating her tenders. –"She could be a little headache when it comes to choosing something. She never decides on something fast because of that bottomless barrel she has for a stomach."

"Ddeulgi! Don't refer to Yerim like that." – She slapped the other's free hand lightly.

Seulgi just started laughing.

They ate in silence, exchanging smiles and loving glances. Oblivious to the environment and the noise of the premises.

Seungwan finished her drink sooner than she expected, so she made a move to get up to refill her glass at the soda machine. Seulgi held out her hand to stop her.

"Calm down, honey. I'll look for it."

The other woman gave her a judging look.

"Why should I let you do that? We're not on our first date to show off chivalry." – She commented humorously.

Seulgi got up to face the other.

"No… But this comes with a catch."

"What kind of trap?" – She smiled sideways at the closeness of the other.

"You will feel lucky to have a prospect like me giving you so many nice attentions." – She whispered as he took the glass from her hand. – "And also, so I can go buy a dessert for myself that I completely forgot, and I feel that the boy at that table is showing me off her chocolate ice cream biscuit."

Seungwan dropped hers laugh as she eyed the supposed boy's table.

"Okay, Ddeulgi… Go get your dessert."

"Don't go anywhere."

"Where else could I go?" – She responded with a gallant tone. Seulgi gave her a wide smile.

"To no other."

Seulgi walked back to the local line, and this time Seungwan didn't take her eyes off the woman. She found herself entranced by the thought of how lucky she was to have this stunning woman as her life partner. Her wife of 3 years.

Sometimes they did this. They would go out to any familiar space to share their time together. Sometimes they would talk for hours without stopping. And other times they just kept stealing glances and feeling the moment. The fascination they felt for each other was something that seemed to never disappear from their lives. Or so thought Seungwan, who has been fascinated for the last 14 years of her existence by her wife from Ansan.

Soulmates. This is usually how they referred to them. Seungwan shrugged when she heard it to play it down, but secretly she loved the idea of knowing that she was destined for the sweetest woman the world could bestow since 1994. On the other hand, Seulgi's cute little monolid eyes were shining and she grabbed hers, hand when someone mentioned it. She would always say “And I was lucky that we met”, without fail stirring and warming Seungwan's heart.

From the line, Seulgi met her wife's gaze. Waving at her as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time. Seungwan rolled her eyes again but waved back as she ate hers fries. Like a little girl, the eldest laughed with great joy at the exchange. Seungwan will always find it adorable how the other expresses so much happiness over simple exchanges involving the two of them. It made her feel full.

Their gazes didn't lift until it was Seulgi's turn to order. The Canadian took advantage of that moment to look around the customers, noticing a particular family immediately.

At one of the tables somewhat far from her, two women were sharing with a girl who was coloring in a notebook while eating her small cheeseburger. Seungwan would have thought that it could be two friends or sisters, being the girl of one of them. But it was not like that. The friends (or sisters) do not have their arms around their waists or their heads resting on each other's shoulders while they look with immense love at a girl coloring.

Seungwan's gossipy curiosity made her study the interactions at that table very carefully. Noticing the identical rings on the women's hands and the sugary smiles they gave each other as they talked.

"Is this how Seul and I look?" – She asked to herself.

Nor could she help noticing the looks of displeasure that some people threw at the table of that family immersed in their own world.

Her bubbling thoughts were interrupted by a full glass in front of her.

"I have cinnamon rolls and cream for you, honey."

Seungwan looked at her wife's hand, the one that carried the beautiful reminder that their lives were bound by a social contract. The same hand she used to hand her a napkin and the cinnamon rolls.

"Thanks, love…"

Seulgi put all her attention on her own dessert. Seungwan didn't take her eyes off her.

"What?"

"What of what?"

"You are looking at me…"

"We're always looking at each other."

Seulgi shook her head.

"You see me differently… With a lot of intensity."

"I do?" – Seungwan smirked.

The older one put her dessert aside.

"Did I get dirty? Do I have ice cream on my face?" – She moved to look for a napkin.

Seungwan stops her hand to interlock it.

"No…" – She brings her wife's hand closer to her lips, depositing a kiss. –"No, I just wanted to drink your perfection with my eyes."

Seulgi laughs.

"Greasy…"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Seulgi decided to continue eating with her free hand while letting Seungwan play with her other hand. The oldest raised a teaspoon of her dessert when her wife blurted out a question.

"Do you think we are…? Too sticky?"

"What?"

"I know I'm very greasy and all… But… Don't we think we're disgustingly sticky? So too much?"

Usually, Seulgi's pensive face would steal a breath from the other. But this time I was more expectant of her answer.

"Why you ask?"

"Because I feel like I had an epiphany…"

"And is there a problem with that? With being sticky?"

Seungwan shut up. Not knowing how to put into words the meaningless little anguish that hit her in a second.

The long-haired woman squeezed her wife's hand.

"Honey, we've been told that we are since we were 19 and it was never something we stopped to think about… Did something happen?"

The younger sighed, shaking her head.

"My Ddeungwannie~" –She called affectionately. "Your baby bear wants to know."

The tenderness that her wife conveyed was deadly, Seungwan sighed again.

"See that table over there? The one in the back?" – She pointed out surreptitiously.

The older one showed her confused expression.

"The table of the two women and the girl."

Seulgi looked around for the indicated table.

"Sneaky, Ddeulgi!" Seungwan scolded, receiving an apologetic smile.

"Yes."

"What do you see there?"

"Two women and a girl." – She said without giving it importance.

"Look closely at the women."

Seulgi kept her eyes locked to watch the interaction at the table. Immediately noticing how their hands do not leave the body of the other.

"Oh, they're a couple."

"Yes…"

"And?" – She returned her gaze to her wife. – "They are like us."

"Yes…"

"So what's with that? Not the first sapphic couple we've met, honey."

Seungwan nodded.

"Yeah… but do you notice how ridiculously obvious they are?"

Seulgi nods.

"That is cute".

"Yes, it is." – Seungwan admits. – "They even have a girl."

Seulgi's eyes sparkled upon hearing the latest.

"But look at the people around you."

The taller one scanned all the tables around the couple, immediately noticing how some were giving them angry looks.

"Oh, s."

The short girl drank from her refilled glass.

"And they don't seem to notice."

Seulgi nodded, eating her dessert while still watching the scene.

"What worries me is the girl… How can she be affected if she realizes that she has been on trial since before she could remember for something she couldn't control."

Seulgi returned her gaze to her wife. Looking at her very strangely.

"So small… So innocent. She doesn't deserve those looks."

Seulgi tried to follow her wife's train of thought but gave up.

"Honey… what are you thinking?"

Seungwan snorted heavily.

"I wouldn't want our children to go through that because of us."

The eldest felt her head short-circuited for a moment. Resetting herself with a fury she didn't know she had. Leaving the cutlery ignored in the dessert container.

"Our children?"

"Yeah… The world is a hard place. We knew it would be hard for us. And even though times are changing, Korea seems stagnant. Our babies could suffer a lot of discrimination simply because we can't stop touching each other." – Note that her hand was never separated from her wife. – "Like this!"

Seulgi didn't look at the clasped hands that her wife was pointing at, but instead stared at the woman in front of her.

"Our children?" – She repeated.

"Yes, Ddeulgi… Our children." – She snorted when he felt that her wife was ignoring her. – "Our hypothetical future children."

"Have you been thinking about hypothetical future children?"

"I've been thinking about our hypothetical future children."

"Our?" – Her smile couldn't be bigger.

"Yes". – She moaned somewhat frustrated.

"Why didn't you tell me that you've also thought about our hypothetical future children?"

"Because I didn't think you were…" – Seungwan slightly realized, whispering the last thing. — "..thinking about that."

The monolid-eyed woman let out a giggly giggle. Caressing with her free hand with her wife's hand joined to her other.

"I think about it… I think about it a lot."

Seungwan felt a small shock in her chest.

"We've never talked about it."

"Never." – Seulgi agreed. – "But I knew it was a matter of time before this talk came out."

The other woman felt her face heat up, looking away in the process.

"Because you said so?"

"Because you love children!" – She exclaimed with an excited tone, as if she was telling the most absolute truth in the universe. – "And because we are 28 years old, our parents will soon begin to pressure us with the idea of expanding our adorable little family."

"Yah! But you seem more excited about the idea!"

Seulgi smiled with her eyes.

"Why are you so excited to have little ones in the house running around? Do you have an evil plan in mind?" – Seungwan accused her humorously.

Her wife shook her head between laughs.

"I want to see a little Wannie telling me that she loves me very so much and that I am the best mom in the world because I take her to eat ice cream after visiting some art gallery." – She spoke dreamily. – "And another precious little Seungwan who sings all the time and drags us all to see her impromptu concerts while wheedle his sister to do the choirs."

"Oh yeah?" – The short-haired woman raised an eyebrow. — "Well, I want to see a mini Seulgi who doesn't let a day go by without doing choreographies to make the world a better place. And I also want to have a Seulgi gentleman who I'll fill his face with kisses every time I see him because It will have all your precious little face and your adorable kindness."

They clasped their hands tightly without taking off their gazes full of emotions.

"That sounds like we'll have four wonderful children."

Seungwan smiled fondly upon hearing her wife. But suddenly she shook her head and released her grip with the other.

"No. No. I was ranting just now about how we were going to make life difficult for one little one and we're already talking about four."

"Four is a good number." – Said the older one cheekily. – "Although you talked about our children, in the plural. You also love the idea of having many children."

"Of course I love the idea of having many children, Ddeulgi… But that's not the point!"

"And what's the point?"

"That we are very clingy, and people will notice. And if people notice, they will disturb our babies."

"And?"

Seungwan looked accusingly at her wife from another galaxy. Putting on a sad expression.

"What kind of mothers would we be if we agreed to bring little ones into the world to suffer for our cause?" - She leaned her head to the table while playing with her hands.

Seulgi felt her heart quiver with sadness upon seeing her wife's downcast expression. She got up from her seat and dragged the chair to Seungwan's side.

"Honey…" – She put one of her arms around the shoulders of the other while she spoke to her tenderly. – "You don't have to think about that. Life will be difficult for everyone regardless of who their parents are... Besides, there would be four of them. Enough army to defend themselves against the s who want to get in their way. And we will never leave them alone We are going to fight with them and for them."

She kissed the side of her wife's forehead.

"My Ddeungwannie, don't think too much with that beautiful head of yours... What we are going to teach our babies is that there is unconditional, healthy and immense love. We will have a home with a lot to give. We are going to make them human beings exceptional, brave and with very beautiful feelings. Because we are going to give them the love we have. And that is the best thing we can give to any human being." – She caressed Seungwan's shoulders. – "And if everything goes wrong… We can always run to Canada."

Seungwan looked up to meet her wife.

"How do you always make my pointless anguish dissipate in a moment?" - She caressed Seulgi's cheek.

"Because I was created for you, honey." – She rubbed her cheek with her wife's hand. – "Made to your measure."

"I want to kiss you so much…"

"What's stopping you?"

The youngest did not respond and drank from the lips of the love of her life.

"My heart doesn't stop warming for you even though 14 years have passed." – She whispered as she parted.

"And I hope it never does… Much more if we want to have 4 children. We need to be a strong team." – Exclaimed the native of Ansan with humor. – "My heart won't stop warming for you either. It's a promise."

Seungwan kissed her wife again.

"And how are we going to close this deal?"

Looking over the table, Seulgi picked up one of the cinnamon rolls.

"We could feed each other one of these."

"Ddeulgi!" – She squealed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I know. I overdid it." – She laughed blushing. – "Pinky promises better?"

Seungwan accepted, raising her pinky.

Pinky promise.

They gave each other affectionate smiles as they sealed their deal. Clearing their eyes from the other to look at that family table. Running into two bright and empathetic smiles. Seungwan and Seulgi nodded their heads in acknowledgment, receiving the same nod from the other two women at the other table before turning their full attention back to the speaking girl.

"Look, honey… That girl looks very happy. Because she knows that she is loved and understood."

The Canadian focused on the girl, ignoring the environment in which they were. And she saw a healthy, sweet, loved girl. And she knew that nothing else mattered.

"You're right, love… There is nothing better that we can give another human being than the chance to be loved by our full hearts."

Seulgi gave her wife a side hug.

"No, honey. There's nothing better."