When Your Kids Fell Sick and Cranky Because (S)he Misses Her/His Father Too Much

as requested by L-yana

Sunggyu - part 1

“Eomma….,” Geonwoo’s little voice carried out through your room and you snapped your eyes open. You saw him standing beside your bed and his petite hand was trying to pull your pajamas, wanting to wake you up.

“What’s the matter, darling ? Did the thunder wake you up ?” you sat up and pulled him by the waist. Yes, it was raining hard outside and the thunder kept roaring hard above. You always know that Geonwoo never really like to sleep alone on a stormy night, but to your surprise, he shook his head. He didn’t wake you up because of the thunder though.

“I heard Hyejoo’s crying, I think she’s sick,” your four years old son told you carefully. “We have to check Hyejoo, eomma,” he pulled your hand and you automatically rose from the bed and let him lead you to his little sister’s room.

Your eyes were  balled in shock when you saw Hyejoo was sweating profoundly and completely flushed like cherry tomatoes. She was fussing around the bed, and literally tossed everything at her bed to the floor as her tiny little feet kicked from here and there in discomfort. But what pained you even more is the fact that she’s also crying in pain, almost soundlessly that it hurts even more.

“Sweetie, sweetie, tell eomma what’s wrong ?” you climbed to her little bed and tried to calm her down. You tried to touch her forehead with your palm but then she flinched away from you and turned her head to the other side.

“I want appa….,” she cried. You took a deep sigh as mentioned the words ‘appa’. You obviously knew that Hyejoo saw it when you and Sunggyu were involved in an intense argument earlier before he’s leaving to the studio, and to be honest there’s no way your pride would let yourself to call him right now.

“But appa’s at work now, come here darling, let eomma make you feel better,” you tried to make her forget about Sunggyu for a while and took her in your arms. Before you start taking care of the sick Hyejoo, you turned to Geonwoo.

“Geonwoo, darling, go back to your bed, okay ?” you threw a soft smile, but Geonwoo’s lips then slowly formed a little pout, as if he didn’t want to leave. “You don’t want to get sick too, right ?”

“But what about my sister ?” he pouted his lips even more, in the most Sunggyuish way you could ever imagine.

“She’s going to be just fine, now just go back to your bed, okay ?” Geonwoo rolled his eyes in disappointment, but in the end he followed what you said and retreated back to his room.

You then turned your focus back to Hyejoo who’s now struggling to get off of your arms. But you then pressed her body even firmer with your arms and kinda rocked her back and forth to calm her. You know them kids love to be rocked when they’re being cranky.

You then put her back in her bed and tried to find the ear thermometer. You needed to at least make sure that her fever’s not more than 103 degrees before deciding to take her to the hospital. “Stay put, darling,” you warned when the corner of your eyes caught her trying to get down from the bed.

“NOO!” she screamed. She protested and shoved your hand, alongside with the thermometer away the moment you tried to take  her temperatures. Your face twisted in pain, this night couldn’t get any worse, right ? you silently thought…. You felt helpless, and seriously hatetd that.  It would be better if Sunggyu’s here though.

“Please, darling, eomma needs to do this in order to make you feel better,” you told her, almost soundling like a plea. But she just didn’t budge and kept shoving your hands away and wasn’t being very nice.

“I want appa~~ heju  want appa~!!!” she kept pushing you away and whining like there’s no tomorrow.

“Araseo, eomma will get appa for you, but you have to listen to eomma first, okay ?” you promised.

“Nooo~ I hate eomma,” she yelled in reflect.

She’s two, of course she didn’t mean it, but still, your heart rang in pain when that little mouth slurred those words.

That was exactly the words you yelled to Sunggyu earlier, that you hate him.

Tears started to pool around the corner of your eyes, partly because of Hyejoo’s hate words earlier and partly because of Hyejoo’s sick conditions itself.

“Hyejoo-ah, please,” you slipped an arm under her sweaty back to keep her settled and insisted to forcefully insert that thermometer to her ear.

While your hands were busy trying to take care of Hyejoo, you suddenly heard the door cracked open. Thinking that it was Geonwoo again, you cluelessly ushered him to go out of the room again. “Geonwoo, didn’t I tell you to go to bed, sweetie?”

“It’s me,” you swore you didn’t mishear it. It’s Sunggyu’s voice.

You slowly tilted your head and found Sunggyu stood at the door.

“S—sung--,”

“Appaaaaaa!” Hyejoo’s loud voice cut you off. She opened her arms, trying to make his appa come and get her off of you.

 “What happened ? Why didn’t you call me ?” Sunggyu asked you seriously as he reached for Hyejoo who’s been crying for her appa. He securely lifted Hyejoo and held her in his arms. Hyejoo circled her hands around Sunggyu’s neck and lightly hugged it, feeling more secure and pleased that her appa's finally here for her.

“She’s having a fever and won’t let me take her temperature,” you answered him flatly, trying to surpress the whole emotions you’re feeling right now. You didn't even know why he's here. He did tell you that he's not going home tonight because there are still several songs that he need to finish, and working at home was totally not an option, because the kids would probably disturb him. But whatever, now that he's here, you felt relieved a bit. At least now Hyejoo's not as cranky as earlier.

Seeing how Hyejoo’s calmer in his father’s arms, you handed the thermometer to Sunggyu and implicitly urged him to take her temperature instead.

“I—I’ll just take the medicine first,” you dodged his eyes and just walked out of the door awkwardly. Sunggyu noticed it though, that you had tears pooling around your eyes. It got him wondering, but then he pushed all those thoughts away and turned his attention to Hyejoo’s crying figure at his arms.

“Sshh, why is appa’s little princess crying ?” Sunggyu whispered as he brushed some hair strands from her flushed face. He could feel the heat from her fever when his cold skin touched Hyejoo’s.

 Sunggyu then remembered the thermometer at his other hand and tried to take her temperature by putting her back to the bed first. But the second Sunggyu bent to put her down, she resisted and clamped her tiny hand even tighter to her appa’s neck. “heju---don’t want--- bed,” she mumbled unclearly and pressed her cheeks to Sunggyu’s shoulder, crying almost soundlessly, but Sunggyu knew that she’s crying though.

“Appa—heju—want appa,” she mumbled again. “Araseo araseo, appa’s here, there’s no need to cry,” Sunggyu rubbed her back softly up and down, knowing that it’ll soothe her. Five seconds later, seems like Sunggyu’s magical touch already worked that she stopped crying, and without she even knew it, Sunggyu inserted that thermometer to her ears.

to be continued~

---------------------------------

Okay this is getting longer than I thought...