chapter o4.

“Wake up, turtlehead.”

“… Five more minutes.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Come on Yoongie! I stayed up late last night!”

“Psh. You were watching soccer with Jaehwa.”

“But…”

“No buts.”

“…”

“I want you out of the room, washed up, and in the living room in ten minutes. I’ve already cooked breakfast.” She instructed, and then walked out of the room, leaving Minho speechless.

It was a wonder how his wife couldn’t give in to him like before. Maybe it was the whole marriage thing, he thought, as he slugged out of the bed and went to the bathroom.

At the other side of the house, Yoona was busy trying to get the table set. Fortunately, the children were already seated at the table, watching her silently. She was glad they were sensible kids (except when Jaehwa was with Minho, of course—at this one point of time, she could’ve sworn Jaehwa was brainwashed by Minho’s love for sports).

“Minho—”

“I’m here.” He smiled, and pulled out a chair for Yoona.

“… Finally.” She shook her head and sat down as well. “Alright now, everyone please put your hands together.”

The whole family closed their eyes and held their arms together, as Yoona spoke gently and softly, “Bless this food to our use, and us to thy service. Fill our hearts with grateful praise. Amen.”

As they began eating, Minho leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Yoong, you’re not mad at me, are you?”

“Why would I be?” She looked at him.

Minho shrugged, and took strawberry jam to spread it across his toast. “Omma, is Aunty Victoria coming over today? I want to play with Soeun!”

“I miss Uncle Changmin.” Jaehwa added, pouting.

“They’re all very busy people. Especially Uncle Changmin. So let’s not bother them, all right? Unless they decide to come over on their own accord… Perhaps I might drop them a text some time tomorrow, just to check if they’re busy, but no promises, kids.” Yoona replied.

“Don’t burst their bubble, Yoona, you sound so pessimistic.”

“I’m just being realistic.” Yoona stressed on the world realistic, while shooting a glare at Minho.

Minho was surprised. Yoona was acting strange today. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her drink her juice normally, as if nothing was wrong. She seemed perfectly all right on the outside, but… she seemed to give off a cold vibe.

After breakfast Minho let the kids play on their own, settling them in the living room before returning to the kitchen and helping Yoona clear the dishes. Just as before, she seemed fine.

“Yoona, is anything… wrong?” Minho asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, Minho. Why would anything be wrong?” Yoona turned away from him, drying the dishes and putting them back in the cupboard.

“… Alright then.”

****

“Working again…” Victoria sighed, closing the door of their bedroom.

It was a sight she was used to see, but recently it had seemed that Changmin was working more than usual. She wondered what it was for—was work that important? He never got to spend time with her anymore; even during meals he’d have his phone next to him.

She tried to be understanding, and held it in when he had to leave the dinner table to answer some call, waiting for him until he finished quite patiently, and when he returned she would smile warmly, but… it was simply too hard to keep on waiting like this.

However it wasn’t as if she could do anything to the situation—it was his choice to work that hard, and perhaps he’d forgotten about the fact that he still had a wife and a child to take care of. And to think he was a man who could balance work and family before…

She shook her head, sitting on the couch and pulling Soeun into her arms, patting the little girl’s hair. “My beautiful Soeun… Do you miss appa?”

Soeun nodded, biting her lip, as if she could feel her mother’s pain. She touched her small hand to Victoria’s cheek, and the latter took it as some sort of comfort. Both smiled, but Victoria wasn’t sure if her own smile was genuine or not.

“I miss appa too. I wish he’d go back to his former self.” Victoria sighed once more.

She waited until Soeun was tired, and put her to bed before walking back to her and Changmin’s room again. She opened the door a little, looking at Changmin. He was keeping his things, finished for the night. Victoria took a deep breath and walked in.

“Vic… Soeun’s asleep already?” Changmin asked.

She nodded, removing her hairtie and letting her hair fall as she lay down on the bed wordlessly. He felt like something was wrong, but dismissed it since he knew both of them were far too tired for the day to talk about anything more, so he lay down beside her and on his side, facing Victoria, who was already asleep.

He sighed, tucking her in properly and switching off the lights. He looked at her one last time before shutting his eyes and whispering into the dark, “Qian… whatever’s wrong… I’m sorry.”

****

“You want that?” Leeteuk asked, pointing to the Barbie doll on the shelf. “Arasso, appa will get it for you.”

“You’re going to spoil the child, Teuk. Don’t buy it.” Taeyeon replied harshly, looking at her husband with a serious expression. “I don’t want Miyoung to become a ‘princess girl’. You know what I mean.”

“What, like Alice?” Leeteuk handed Miyoung the doll and let her admire it first, while turning to Taeyeon and replying. “I’m not spoiling her. I’m just giving her what she wants.”

“That’s equivalent to spoiling, Teuk.” She pointed out, putting her arms on her hips, narrowing her eyes. “And why are you so concerned? Taeng, you’re usually not like this.”

“Listen, I might not be the best mom, but I know when I’m crossing the limits. Agree with me this once and not buy it for the child, please?” Taeyeon softened her gaze, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her husband sighed, shaking his head.

“Miyoung-ah, I’m afraid I can’t buy the doll for you anymore.” He bent down, picking up Miyoung and carrying her.

“It’s okay appa. Omma doesn’t want me to be like Alice, does she?” Miyoung whispered into his ear, careful not to let Taeyeon overhear. Her father nodded, frowning slightly. “That’s right.”

“Appa, don’t be upset. I’m okay. Don’t fight with omma. I don’t like it when you two fight. It makes me sad.” Miyoung looked down, shifting awkwardly in Leeteuk’s hold. “Arasso, angel… I won’t fight with omma anymore. Give me a moment, will ya?”

Miyoung understood immediately—she was an intelligent child—and walked over to look at other toys while Leeteuk approached Taeyeon and hugged her from behind. Taeyeon was surprised, and gasped slightly.

“I’m sorry, Taeng… I shouldn’t have argued with you about it. You’re right. I do spoil Miyoung sometimes. It’s just… she’s so precious, you know?” Leeteuk explained, resting his head on her shoulder. “I know… And I’m sorry too. I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately.”

For a few moments more, the couple just stood there amongst all the noise, absorbed in their own world, until Miyoung appeared in front of them, grinning. “Omma, appa, Miyoung’s hungry.”

“Aigoo… Our angel is hungry, is she now? Let’s go eat something.” Taeyeon smiled, and held her hand.

Miyoung smiled too, grabbing hold of her father’s hand as well, walking along. She was glad her family was such a warm one, and even though the occasional fights scared her, she tried her best to be the mediator, to make sure nothing really bad happened. Sometimes it wouldn’t work, and there’d be a cold war, but after all of that, it’d work out somehow. So at these moments, she concluded for herself, she should enjoy it while she could.

****

“Sica…” Donghae called softly, entering the bedroom.

Jessica was just putting Alice into bed, and quickly put a finger over her lips, signaling for Donghae to keep quiet. When Alice seemed asleep, Jessica crept out of the room, switching off the lights, and into Donghae’s arms. Donghae hugged her tightly.

“I missed you…” Jessica whispered.

“I know… And I did too. It’s been a tough week. I’m sorry I couldn’t call you that much. … I was really busy with work and all, and if I’m not wrong we’ll have to be separated again because next Monday I think I have to go somewhere for a few days…”

Jessica groaned, clearly upset that she had to deal with such things. He frowned, hating that his work made it virtually impossible to be around the house and help out with his daughter.

“Please don’t be upset, Jessica… I don’t like seeing you upset. I know we both hate this… But we’ll make it, all right? Like we always have—and we always will.” Donghae said gently, kissing the top of her head while rubbing her back.

Those words lifted Jessica’s mood immediately, as she smiled and released him from the hug. “Take a quick shower and I’ll meet you back in the bedroom, ‘kay?”

“I won’t be long.” He promised, putting his things down and removing his watch. “Oh, and Sica, before you go, come here…”

Donghae gestured for Jessica to move closer to him, and she did, wondering what was it that he was going to do. He kissed her neck while secretly putting a necklace on it, and she didn’t realize until he pulled away. “I’ll be right back.”

And then he went to the bathroom, closing the door, leaving Jessica to finger the necklace with her thumb. She decided she’d inspect it later, when she returned to the bedroom. Jessica smiled, glad that he was back again, and picked up his stuff, returning to the bedroom.

****

A/N:That wasn’t really long, but not really short either. Things are getting a little complicated right? I decided to mess things up for them a little. Problems and dramas are coming your way, my lovely readers. Anticipate the next chapter, and as usual, comments are loved. ♥