three

  Victoria’s lips curved into a smile as the door creaked open, with her husband carrying the fast-asleep little Huiling in his arms. “Oh, Mi! You’ve actually been able to get the little cutie to fall asleep?” Victoria chuckled as she pulled open the covers, allowing Zhou Mi to place Huiling on the bed.

  Zhou Mi sighed contentedly. “…It wasn’t easy though. She asked me to play ‘tea time’ with her, she got me to read her six story books and she made me promise that I would teach her to swim. The nerve she has, really, despite being just a four-year old.” He shook his head with a smile, putting the blanket over his daughter.

  “And I supposed you agreed to it all?”

  He nodded in defeat. “Yep.”

  “…I knew it.” Victoria couldn’t help but laugh as she planted a kiss on the forehead of her sleeping daughter, before leading her husband towards the door. “All of you daddies are like that. Look at Kyuhyun, he used to be so witty and manipulative, and now he’s being controlled by his eldest daughter. And Luhan, the guy who used to turn his nose up at little kids? Now he practically bows to his son.” She shut the door carefully, shooting him a cheeky smile.

  He shrugged furtively, a smile forming upon his face as well. “I can’t help it. She looks at me with puppy eyes, and then I can’t just turn her down. Besides, she is my only daughter. And she’s only four. Her requests aren’t overboard either… I can’t not accept them.”

  “Huiling’s totally got you wrapped around her little pinky.”

  “Huiling is very precious to me.”

  “Safe to say, men change after they have children, don’t they?” Victoria contemplated, speaking her thoughts out loud. “All of you have made three-hundred-degree changes to yourselves, and I must say – I am impressed at what the children have done.”

  Zhou Mi paused for a while, as he stood by the doorway of their bedroom. “…Well…”

  “Hmmm…?”

  “There are other things that were factors of our so-called transformations.” He admitted shyly.

  She let out a small laugh. “And that is…?”

  He stepped forward slowly, hesitating slightly, blushing as though he was a love-struck teenager instead of a thirty-something year old father. He gripped his wife’s shoulder and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly. Victoria’s arms s around his waist, hugging him as well as she kissed him back.

  “…You.” He said, as he released her.

  She blinked, feeling rather mesmerized for that moment. “Mi…”

  “…All of us men, we fell in love.” His tone was tender.

  She could not hold back her suppressed giggle. “…Cheesy.”

  “Oh my, isn’t this pretty?”

  Jessica beamed excitedly as she held the frilly pink dress up to little Seonjung’s shoulders, admiring on the cut and quality of the silk dress. Little Seonjung grinned widely as well, standing up a bit straighter and trying to be as stationary as possible, as if to show off to her aunt how she was a perfect child model.

  “Seonjung-ah, this looks beautiful on you!” Jessica clasped her hands together with much delight, whirling around to look at Seohyun. “Gosh Seohyun, your daughter looks really, really pretty in dresses! I insist, I must get this dress for her!” Jessica announced, as she quickly stood up and began opening her purse.

  Seohyun did not hesitate to stop her. “Sica-unnie, Seonjung has tons of dresses in her wardrobe already that she is yet to wear; I think it would be best that you don’t buy this for her.”

  “But Mommy-“ Seonjung was about to argue, but was silenced by her mother’s sharp glare.

  “Seohyun, don’t be a twerp.” Jessica frowned, feeling rather agitated. “The reason we came today was to have a girls-only shopping trip, and you haven’t been for one in ages. If you can buy stuff, why can’t your daughter get some stuff as well?”

  “Because she’s been spoiled enough already by her daddy, Jessica.” Seohyun said hastily, placing the dress back on the hanger and hanging it back on the rack. “Trust me, Seonjung really has a lot, a lot of dresses that she hasn’t worn yet, and it’s better that-“

  “Seo Joohyun!” Jessica raised her voice. “You follow the rules too much. You know I dearly long to have a daughter I can spoil. Buying boy’s clothing is such a bore, you know? And you know I just adore looking at little girls’ clothing.” Jessica impatiently took the dress back from the rack. “…I’m getting it.”

  “It’s a sleeveless!” Seohyun insisted persistently. “She’s too young to be wearing a sleeveless!”

  “But Mommy, I saw you in one of the magazines wearing a sleeveless too…” Clever Seonjung found a way of rebuttal.

  Seohyun threw another furious gaze at her daughter. “Seonjung, mind your manners!”

  “Sorry, Mommy…” Seonjung bowed her head meekly.

  Jessica placed a comforting hand on Seohyun’s shoulder. “Okay, okay… Seo, if you’re really that against me buying the dress for Seonjung, then I won’t.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  Seonjung felt her heart sink as she heard her mother and her aunt say those words, and soon, the three of them had walked out of the children’s clothing section, towards the woman’s department. Little Seonjung was still feeling rather displeased, for the fact that she didn’t get the dress she wanted, and she was just about to saying something more, setting her eyes on the perfect thing to use an excuse.

  “Mommy, if I can’t have a dress, can I have one of those?”

  Seohyun’s eyes followed the direction of which her daughter was pointing at, and was horrified when her eyes fell upon a set of lacy red lingerie. “…Seonjung! Why would you want one of those?”

  “Well, you said that I can’t have a dress since I have too many of them, but I don’t have that yet.” Seonjung stared at her mother innocently. “Besides, Mommy, I see many of them in your drawers.”

  Jessica grinned triumphantly, and Seohyun found herself turning bright pink.

  “…Let’s go back and buy that dress.”

  “Huiling-ah, don’t you like the water?”

  “It’s fun, it’s fun! Splash more, Auntie Krystal!”