Picking fabrics is her favourite part of the job. Sometimes a beautiful texture, intricate pattern, or attractive colour can change her original design or inspire something new altogether.

But that’s not happening today.

Jaejoong looks between her sketch and the swatches of different kinds of red fabrics. None of them pops out to her.

Tired, she slumps over the table and tries to imagine her completed creation. “Mama~” Her little teddy bear tugs on her trousers for attention and she feels her mood lift.

“Finally awake…” Jaejoong picks up Changmin and places him on the empty stool next to her. “Hungry?” Changmin nods as expected.

Jaejoong gets Changmin’s bag she had left on the couch where her son was sleeping earlier. It was quite early when they had left the house for work today. Changmin was still sleeping as she changed him and carried him to their studio. She had only packed a sandwich and strawberry milk for his breakfast and some things to keep him entertained for today.

Looking around the room, Jaejoong realizes there’s not much space around here. There are fabrics, mannequins, and drawing tables instead of furniture. Not really a space for a three-year-old.

Jaejoong doesn’t want to leave Changmin on the couch now that he’s awake because it’s too far back in the room. She can’t keep an eye on him with him in a hidden corner.

After thinking a while, Jaejoong goes to her storeroom to get that mat she uses when a task compels her to work on the expansive floor. She dusts it out first to ensure there aren’t any stray needles or crystals in it and heads back to her work station.

Spreading the mat on the floor, she drops the white bag with Frozen’s Olaf’s face on it perhaps a little too hard by one kid’s reckoning. “Mama, Olaf hurt!”

Jaejoong winces and apologizes to the goofy snowman’s face on the bag for Changmin’s peace of mind. She then brings out the sandwich and milk and places them on the mat.

She picks up Changmin from the high stool and lets him down on the mat, “I hope you don’t mind there’s only one sandwich.” But Changmin’s disappointed face clearly tells he’s not going to be satisfied this much. “just for a while. The Paris Baguette Café across the street will open soon and you can have whatever you like.”

The promise of more food makes Changmin happy. He plomps on the floor and begins eating the classic chicken sandwich. Meanwhile Jaejoong inserts a straw in the milk carton and places it next to him.

While Changmin is busy eating carefully – wouldn’t want to waste precious food by letting the sandwich filling fall now, do we – Jaejoong gets his colouring book out. She gets all her drawing utensils from the desk and scatters them on the mat. “You can colour while Mama works.”

Jaejoong usually doesn’t share her sketching tools, not even with Changmin. But she’ll make an exception today.

She gets her own work on the mat and her tablet, deciding to put the design she was looking at on hold for now. While she’s looking through some other designs on the tablet, the door opens and her assistant, Ahn Haneul walks in.

“Oh! You’re early Jaejoong-ssi…” the young man’s eyes are fixated on the little boy who’s concentrated every fibre of his being on a sandwich. “And you got the little boss too.” Since the fabric swatches arrived yesterday, it’s no surprise that Jaejoong would come as early as she can to make the choices. He’s here for the same reason, so he’s only mildly surprised to see Jaejoong. The child though, is an unexpected presence.

“My husband’s in Osaka for work and I don’t have any babysitters today. So I had to bring him along.”

“Is it okay though…” Haneul leaves his bag at his work station and instinctively puts the scissors and pins in the drawer. “I mean… there are lot of pointy and tiny… and easily ingestible things for a toddler.”

“I’ll just have to keep a hawk eye on my baby then.” Jaejoong declares and dismisses Haneul’s worries.

Not like Haneul is the type to comment on anyone’s parenting styles. “So, did you select the fabric yet?”

“I don’t know. I’m stumped.” She shows three swatches she had narrowed it down too. “These are honestly better than any of the others, but none of them really inspire me.”

“We can still change it. There’s plenty of time.”

“I can’t decide that either. I think we’ll just come back to it later with a clearer mind.”

“That’s a good idea too. So, I’ve got some ideas for the Bardot dress.” Haneul pulled out small samples of various turquoise-themed fabrics from a box in his bag. “How about adding some colour around the neck and sleeves?”

Jaejoong dropped her things on the mat and went over to Haneul’s station. They discuss the outfit while Changmin has made quick work of his breakfast. He’s still hungry, but the smart boy he is, he doesn’t want to disturb his mother when she’s busy with work.

He will be patient and wait for his Mama till she’s not very busy. In the meantime, she pulls his colouring book towards himself and picks up a handful of pencils. He’s excited about using the fancy brush markers his mother never lets him touch. Changmin goes to town with the green brush marker colouring the large penguin drawing.

After he’s done painting a very colourful penguin, he’s ready for more food. But his mother is busy sticking things to that scary doll with no head and arms. And he’s pretty pooped after colouring this penguin. He doesn’t have much energy or motivation to colour the lion next without food.

Maybe he needs more inspiration while he waits. Black and white animal caricatures of animals aren’t cutting it. He wants to do something like his Mama.

Fortunately, there’s one such drawing right there on the mat. He’s already inspired.

Changmin toddles to the large book with the drawing on top, his sock-clad feet kicking the various pens and pencils in all directions. He crouched in front of the book and stares at the drawing sideways. The squiggly lines on it are pretty, yet boring.

He looks around and picks up a few markers. After much careful deliberation, he decides on the blue marker.

With stifled giggles, he pops the lid off and begins filling in the white spaces, trying to be as neat as possible. He gets the orange pencil next and fills in more spots in the drawing.

As his work is completed, his giggles get louder and catch the attention of the two adults in the room. Jaejoong and Haneul finally turn their gazes to Changmin, finding him hunched over Jaejoong’s sketch.

“Minnie, what are you doing?” Jaejoong goes over to her son who’s giddy with excitement over his artwork that he’s never got to try before. She observes him for a few seconds, amused that he hasn’t noticed her yet.

Jaejoong is sure that the opportunity to use her elusive drawing materials and a sketch that’s far from his usual colouring book have Changmin all excited. She turns her sight to the drawing and is enraptured as he carefully made stripes of orange and blue in the long evening gown. It looks better than the red, patterned thing she had originally come up with.

“You know it looks like that blue and beige ombre fabric we couldn’t figure out what to do with.” Haneul whispers over Jaejoong’s head, also staring at the kid’s newly created sketch.

“Do we have Chantilly?”

“Not enough, but we can always order more.”

“Get that ombre stuff out first.” Jaejoong shoos Haneul off. She delicately taps Changmin’s shoulder and the boy looks up with a gap-toothed smile.

“Mama!” Seeing his mother brightens up Changmin. He can finally get food now. “Hungry.”

“Let’s go to Paris Baguette then.” Jaejoong picks up the sketchbook, “let Mama take this first.”

“Mama wait!” Changmin pulls the sketchbook back onto the mat. He grabs the black pen and draws an uneven line across the page, cutting the dress in half. “Done!”

Jaejoong beams at her adorable little designer. Heechul will be ecstatic about this outfit.

Putting the sketchbook on her table, Jaejoong takes Changmin’s hand as they head out. “Haneul, we’ll back after a snack run~” she hollers at her assistant down the hallway, “and I also need belt options.”

~~~

Eunji is organizing her boss' schedule for the day when the door opens at 9:10 as per usual. "Good morning boss." Eunji looks up to greet Yunho as usual when she notices her boss' newest accessory under his arm- a sack of potatoes that looks like a toddler- "and good morning little boss!" She says that a lot chirpier than earlier.

"Morning Eunji-ssi." Yunho turns to let his potatoes like kid face the secretary, "and what do we say little boss?"

"Oo' munning!" Squeaks Changmin.

"Annual pest control at mine and our parents’ homes today. So this pest will be here today."

"Daddy! Minnie not cockroach." Came that indignant squeak. "How do you know what a pest is but can't pronounce 'good?'"

"Gramma say Daddy is pest." Eunji snorts none too discreetl