Disclaimer: I don’t own DotS.

 

A/N: I’m getting addicted to writing in this format, and in case any of you are confused, the age in each of the sub-titles is referring to Si Yeon and Yoon Seung’s ages (SJ and MY’s children).

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January, one year old: first steps

(he’s such a fool—)

 

“Si Jin-ah.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“What are you doing?”

 

The soldier looks up to meet his wife’s amused gaze and puts his index finger on his lips. Mo Yeon tilts her head in confusion and Si Jin looks at her again, this time with an excited grin on his face, and slowly gestures her to come over to where he is. “I’m recording Si Yeon-ie’s progress. Just in case she speaks her first word.”

 

Mo Yeon stops behind her husband who is currently crawling on the floor, a video camera on one of his hand and the other poking a finger at their daughter’s chubby cheeks. It warms her heart to see Si Jin being so affectionate with their daughter, and Mo Yeon notes with no little mirth, that anyone can tell how badly her husband is wrapped around Si Yeon’s little fingers. When she told him last night how Si Yeon and Yoon Seung had taken their first steps, the lieutenant colonel was disheartened and sighing all night because he had missed the first milestone accomplished by his children. Mo Yeon had assured him that she had taken a video of it for him to see too, but Si Jin sulkily told her it wasn’t the same as thing as seeing the real thing. Mo Yeon can only shake her head at her the ridiculousness that is her husband and chortles inwardly. Such a stupid father.

 

“What about Yoon Seung?”

 

Si Jin’s mouth tilts upwards at the thought of his son. “He went back to sleep.”

 

Mo Yeon stifles a laugh. “Again? That kid sleeps all day and all night.”

 

“And I wonder who he got that trait from,” Si Jin shoots a teasing smirk at Mo Yeon, who proceeds to huff in annoyance and retorts, “I work painful and grueling hours at the hospital. I deserve my sleep. How else do you think I manage to maintain my beauty?”

 

Si Jin nods his head. “Aaaah, so that’s how you are able to resemble someone pretty?”

 

Mo Yeon rolls her eyes and slaps Si Jin’s back. “Aigoo, this choding man. If one of them turns out to be smart, at least we would know who they got their brains from, hm?”

 

Si Jin cheekily points at finger at himself. “Me?”

 

Mo Yeon glares at him and pads her way over to where her daughter is, taking the baby into her arms. She smiles as Si Yeon laughs and waves her little hands at her, and then she queries dryly at her husband. “Do you like teasing me that much?”

 

Si Jin smirks and tilts the camera to her face. “Of course. You are extremely cute when you are all ruffled.”

 

Mo Yeon clicks her tongue at him before looking down and coos at her daughter. “Si Yeon-ah, if you ever got yourself a boyfriend in the future, please don’t date someone like your appa, ahrasseo?”

 

Si Jin’s face suddenly turns a shade paler and he starts stuttering. “B-Boyfriend? What are you talking about? She’s too young to get a boyfriend!”

 

Mo Yeon snorts. “That’s why I said in the future. Aigoo, you must be getting old, Yoo Si Jin-ssi. Do you need to start using a hearing aid?”

 

Si Jin, however, is still too preoccupied in his own world, panicking at the prospect of having to give his daughter to some other man in the future and completely ignores Mo Yeon’s jabbing. “She needs to be at least twenty-six years old before she can even think about getting a boyfriend!”

 

Mo Yeon looks at him exasperatedly. “Isn’t that too much? Even I had my first kiss when I was twelve.”

 

Now that catches Si Jin’s attention as he swivels his head to stare at her and scowls impressively. “Mworago?”

 

Mo Yeon seems to realize her mistake as she clears and hurriedly transfers the still-smiling baby to her father’s arms. She places a small kiss at her daughter’s forehead and then strides towards the counter to grab her coat. “Aaaah, look at the time. I’m almost late for my shift. Eomma will be going to work, now. Si Yeon-ah, say bye to your brother for me, hm? Annyeong.”

 

Before Si Jin can catch up to her—and how can he, when he has one energetic baby in one hand and a video camera on the other, with piles of toys and blankets loitering around the floor—Mo Yeon has dashed out of the front door and leaves Si Jin brooding and muttering to himself. “I didn’t even get a goodbye kiss.”

 

Si Yeon giggles happily.

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February, three years old: sick birthdays

(family is—)

 

Si Jin opens his eyes at the feeling of a cool palm against his forehead.

 

“Are you feeling any better?”

 

Mo Yeon brushes his cheeks gently and Si Jin can only hum in response and leans in to her touch. “Oh. Your hands are cold. I like it.”

 

“I just put the kids to bed,” Mo Yeon smiles down at Si Jin and helps him into a sitting position, “They were quite fussy tonight since it was supposed to be your turn to read them a story.”

 

Si Jin sighs regretfully. “Geuroge. I don’t even know why I suddenly caught this flu. I haven’t had one in a long time.”

 

Mo Yeon grabs a thermometer from the nightstand and puts it into his mouth. “When was the last time you got one?”

 

Si Jin shuts his eyes and mutters. “Hmm…since I was a senior in high school? It was during the finals season too.”

 

“And how did you do on your exams?” Mo Yeon asks, taking the thermometer from Si Jin’s mouth once it beeps, signaling that it has finished reading his body temperature, and looks at down at the number, frowning. “Hmm. 38.4 degrees. Your fever still isn’t coming down. Do you have an appetite?”

 

Si Jin shakes his head, and—although his mind is disoriented from his fever and it feels like somebody is hammering a nail on his skull—he has enough energy to plaster a proud smirk on his face at her earlier question. “I got perfect of course, I told you before didn’t I? I graduated from West Point at the top of my class.”

 

Mo Yeon purses her lips. “Are you sure you’re not making that up?” Looking at the slightly insulted expression on his face, Mo Yeon laughs lightly and ruffles his hair. “Ahrasseo, I’m just joking, you pabo. But you need to eat a little. It’s bad to take your medicine on an empty stomach. Doctor’s words.”

 

Si Jin grins at her. “Are you pulling your rank at me, Dr. Kang?”

 

Mo Yeon ponders. “It depends, are you going to listen to my words? If you can’t listen to your wife then I will have to be Dr. Kang the whole night.”

 

Si Jin (almost) pouts. “I really don’t feel like eating anything, though.”

 

“I made something light. You really need to fill your stomach with something first before you take your medicine.”

 

Si Jin sighs. “Okay.”

 

Mo Yeon goes to the kitchen and returns to their room with a steaming bowl of chicken ginseng soup. Si Jin watches as she brings the tray to their bed and places it on his lap. He closes his eyes and opens his mouth wide.

 

Mo Yeon raises an eyebrow at him. “What are you doing?”

 

Si Jin peeks. “You are not going to feed me?”

 

Mo Yeon makes an amused sound in the back of before pinching his cheeks. “Aigoo, you big baby. You are sick, but it’s not like you can’t use your hands.”

 

Si Jin rubs his sore cheeks and sulks as he takes the bowl to his lips. “Tch. You give our children special treatment, and yet when your poor, sick husband asks you to feed him because he is too weak to do so—“

 

“But you’re eating it by yourself right now, aren’t you?”

 

Si Jin scowls after he finishes the soup in a few gulps, wiping his mouth with the tissue that she gives him and whines. “But still. Can’t a man dream?”

 

Mo Yeon snorts and mumbles under her breath. “A man or a baby?”

 

Si Jin ignores her and squints at the clock. “By the way, what time is it right now?”

 

“Five to midnight. Why—oh. Jamkkanman.” Mo Yeon scrambles out of their bed and walks towards the dresser, taking something from one of the drawers and hiding it behind her back. He sees her secretly looking at him from her shoulders, and he has to bite down his grin at that poorly masked look of excitement on her face. What is that woman planning now?

 

He watches as she stops in front of their bed, and he raises an eyebrow at her. “What is it?”

 

Mo Yeon wordless points a finger at the medicine on the tray, and then shifts it towards the glass of water beside his now-empty bowl.

 

Si Jin looks at her weirdly but obeys her anyways, plopping the pill into his mouth and drinking the water, all the while sneaking a curious gaze at his wife who keeps on looking at the clock every thirty seconds. “Happy now?”

 

His question seems to snap her out of whatever it is that she is doing and she absentmindedly replies, “Huh?” And it is also at that time when the long hand of the clock finally strikes twelve, that Mo Yeon breaks into a wide smile, immediately plopping herself onto their bed, causing it to dip under her weight. “Are you done taking your medicine?”

 

Si Jin shows him the rumpled wrapping of the pill. “I did a good job, didn’t I?”

 

Mo Yeon grins. “Oh. Jalhanda. And, because you’re such a good appa…” She shoves a piece of paper that she has been holding behind her back to his hands, nodding at him to take a look at it. “We decided to give you a present.”

 

Si Jin looks down and finds all his breath stuck in his throat. His throat feels dry, not because of his flu, but for a completely different reason altogether. He gently traces his fingers at the sloppily drawn picture of their family, from the right to left: Si Jin, Yoon Seung, Si Yeon, and Mo Yeon. None of them look exactly like a human being, each person looks like a blob of tangled wool with different colours being the only trait to distinguish them, and Mo Yeon’s writing of their names underneath also help in telling apart who is who, but Si Jin has no words of complain whatsoever because his children spent time making this for him, their effort and earnestness palpable even through the messy drawings. When he flips to the other side of the page, he almost tears up, as he reads the clumsy writing: Happy birthday to uri appa! Saranghaeyo. From Si Yeon, Yoon Seung, and Eomma.

 

Si Jin looks at Mo Yeon, who is smiling so widely that her cheeks are about to burst as she gushes passionately. “I help them writing that, of course. But aren’t they great? I bet our children will end up becoming like Picasso later. They even—“

 

Her words are stopped short because Si Jin suddenly tugs at her wrist and pulls her into an embrace, careful of the tray still placed on his lap, and whispers into her hair with a voice that almost cracks at the end. “Gomawoyo. Jinjja.”

 

Mo Yeon pats his back and sighs in contentment. “If you like it then it’s good. You can thank Si Yeon and Yoon Seung tomorrow morning.”

 

Si Jin smiles. “Oh.”

 

Mo Yeon then pulls back and takes the tray from his lap. “Now go to sleep. I’m going to bring this back to the kitchen—“

 

However, Si Jin circles his arms around her waist and insists. “Just put them on the table for now. You can always do it tomorrow morning.”

 

“But—“

 

“Jebal-yo.” Si Jin gives her his trademark dejected puppy look. “I am a sick, birthday boy. Are you really going to deny me of my simple wish? Can’t I have my wife all to myself tonight? I think the kitchen is too bored of your face already.”

 

Mo Yeon doesn’t know if she should be amused or insulted so instead she just sighs at her husband’s childishness and places the tray on the nightstand. She then looks at him with a face that says ‘aren’t you going to move over?’, to which the man grins as if he has won a lottery and scoots to the other side, leaving some space for Mo Yeon as she snuggles into their bed. Si Jin rests his head into the crook of her neck and Mo Yeon his hair gently, musing out loud, “Are you sure your call name is Big Boss? Shouldn’t you change it into Big Baby instead?”

 

Si Jin mumbles something unintelligible against her skin and Mo Yeon laughs lightly.

 

Looking down at the man, she gives a kiss to the crown of his head and smiles. Happy birthday, Big Boss-ssi.

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March, five years old: ice-skating date

(enjoy it while you still can—)

 

Contrary to what their friends (well, friend, considering it’s only Lee Chi Hoon) and parents said, Mo Yeon and Si Jin think the worst stage of parenting is when their children finally hit the age of five—not when they are babies. When Yoon Seung and Si Yeon were babies, they were extremely good and never caused any trouble. They rarely woke up crying in the middle of the night. They were never fussy. They ate anything that Mo Yeon put into their mouths. And they always laughed. They were such happy babies that Mo Yeon had to pause and ponder where they got the happy genes from. Definitely not her. Probably from Si Jin.

 

However, when said babies become toddlers…

 

Well, things change.

 

They are still good children, of course, listening to their parents’ words and rarely making any tantrums, but ever since their children turned five…Mo Yeon and Si Jin’s nightmare come true. It seems the two of them develop a liking to the crayons that Si Jin have bought them for their fourth birthday a tad too much, and find it necessary to decorate all the blank space in their home—therefore walls, curtains, and floors included—with their artistic touch. Translation: messy scribbles and colourful drawings. Si Jin once almost tripped on his feet because of the crayon lying innocently on the ground (which is a stab to his pride as a lieutenant colonel), and Mo Yeon found her intern’s five hundred and fifty-five page report about con heart diseases marked with all kinds of flowers and animals in complete, rainbow colours.

 

So it’s understandable that Si Jin and Mo Yeon rarely have any time for each other, what with their hands all full from taking care of their mischievous (artistic) five-year olds, and their respective jobs holding them back from spending any quality time together. When Si Jin’s father had offered to take the kids out for camping during the weekend, the two parents immediately agreed (though maybe with a slight hesitation on Mo Yeon’s part because she is worried her father-in-law wouldn’t able to handle her little devils) but Si Jin reassured her that his father could handle them just fine.

 

“After all, he survived taking care of me when I was little.” He cheekily replies.

 

Mo Yeon bites her lips. “But still, I feel bad for Abeonim. Yoon Seung is getting more and more naughty these days. And Si Yeon-ie isn’t exactly an angel too. What if they made a fuss and—“

 

“Oho, stop right there.” Si Jin tightens his grip on her hands and looks at her pointedly. “Jigeum, who are you with?”

 

Mo Yeon furrows her brows. “My husband?”

 

Si Jin nods. “That’s right, and yet you are talking about other men so shamelessly in front of my face. What do you think I will do?”

 

Mo Yeon holds back a laugh. “Tch. You pabo. Those ‘men’ you are referring to is your own father and son. One is an elderly and the other is a five-year-old kid. Really, Yoo Si Jin-ssi?”

 

Si Jin grins. “It’s been a while since you last called me that.” He nudges her elbow before linking their arms together. “I think my heart just fluttered.”

 

Mo Yeon rolls her eyes good-naturedly and lets herself get swept away by his pace. Such a sly man. “Ahrasseo. Let’s just enjoy our date today, right?”

 

Si Jin leans closer and then whispers into her ears. “Catch me…if you can!”

 

At the last word, Si Jin lets go of her hand and dashes away from the blinking woman, his skate scraping furiously against the ice, and to prove his supposed expertise in skating—as he had once declared proudly to Mo Yeon—Si Jin turns his back and starts skating backwards. Mo Yeon shakes her head inwardly at the immature behaviour, but then her eyes widen as she sees the pole behind Si Jin and one that he is in the verge of dangerously running into.

 

“Wait, turn back, turn back! Look behind you—ack.”

 

Mo Yeon’s warning comes a little too late as Si Jin unwittingly crashes into the lamp post and falls unceremoniously to the ground, his face flat against the ice. He groans in pain as he slowly hoists himself up, but failing to do so due to the slippery surface, and ends up falling again, this time on his back.

 

Mo Yeon laughs as Si Jin grumbles under his breath and winces when he touches the back of his head. She hopes he didn’t get a concussion from that nasty fall. However, when she looks at the dent on the lamppost, Mo Yeon gasps loudly and immediately rushes towards the public property, passing by the still-smiling Si Jin—who is holding out his hand at her, probably thinking she is rushing to help him—without sparing him any glance, causing said man to gape at her incredulously.

 

“Omo, omo, ottoke. Look at this dent. What if we have to pay for this damage? Aish,” Mo Yeon sends him an annoyed look and continues her tirade, “Is your head made out of diamond? Why is it so hard that it can even leave a mark on the metal post? Aish. Jinjja. Maldo andwae.”

 

Si Jin is still sputtering at her. “Wah, this woman. Really, shouldn’t you be asking, ‘Si Jin-ah, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?’ or something along those lines instead of worrying over…over an inanimate object.”

 

Mo Yeon pays no attention to him and keeps on fretting. “Aish. Ottoke, ottoke.”

 

Si Jin stares at his wife in disbelief and lets out an annoyed (half amused) sigh. Still sitting on the ice with one of his legs propped against his elbow, Si Jin notes with the corner of his mouth quirking upwards. Well, this reminds him of that time when he fell off the wheelchair and how she had been more worried about said object than him. Her then-boyfriend. Now he is her husband and she still acts the same way.

 

Shaking his head, Si Jin laughs internally. Some things just never change.

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April, seven years old: picnic gone wrong

(we are the blockbuster FAMILY—)

 

By this time around, everyone in Haesung Hospital as well as Si Jin’s close comrades in the army are probably aware of Si Jin and Mo Yeon’s notorious status as being the blockbuster couple. What they don’t know, however, is that said title would soon have to be revised into the blockbuster family. Really, Mo Yeon pleads inwardly to all the gods out there, why can’t they just spend one day in complete peace? Why is that something just have to go wrong? It hasn’t even been a minute since Si Jin left Mo Yeon and their children to buy some drinks (apparently somebody, whose initials is S.J. and is now a father of three, forgot to take out the orange juice from the fridge even though she had reminded him constantly the night before) but here she is, with her youngest child—a boy, barely five months old—cradled in her arms, and a knife on her neck.

 

She looks at Si Yeon and Yoon Seung who are in the verge of bawling their eyes out, but thankfully in the safe vicinity of the crowd surrounding them, and then back to the man who is currently breathing heavily down her face. He stinks of soju and cigarettes and Mo Yeon feels her heart beats faster. “Jeogiyo, ahjussi.”

 

The knife is pressed even closer to her neck, drawing a little bit of blood and the crowd gasps. “What is it?” He barks.

 

Mo Yeon suppresses a shiver and forces herself to stay calm. If she can survive falling from a cliff, walking through multiple landmines, and having bombs strapped all around her body (and there’s that shooting spree too, Mo Yeon’s mind quips) then she can definitely survive having a petty thief threatening her with a pocket knife. On the bright side, it seems like this man doesn’t know where exactly the carotid artery is. If I do get cut, the bleeding won’t be as bad. I might still survive. She rationalizes inside. Talk nicely, Kang Mo Yeon. Don’t agitate him.

 

“Can I…can I at least hand my child to somebody else first?” She catches a woman from the crowd who nods her head at her.

 

“And why do you think I would even let you do that?” The knife is now making obvious wound to her neck and Mo Yeon closes her eyes. Calm down. She breathes. He will be there to help us, soon.

 

“Because having another person with you will only be a liability.” She gives him a cool stare. “If you want to successfully escape from this situation, it’s best if you only take me as a hostage.”

 

The man clicks his tongue in annoyance before he sneers at Mo Yeon. “Fine. But don’t you even think about escaping, woman.” She almost snaps at him when he talked to her in a downgrading tone, but she reels back all her anger and instead gestures towards the woman whom she previously made eye contact with. The woman takes slow steps towards her, and swallows a nervous gulp when she accepts little Seung Han from her hands.

 

The baby opens his eyes and cries when he feels himself in the embrace of some unfamiliar arms, and Mo Yeon nods at the woman, giving her a look of gratitude.

 

“Now then,” the man’s arm tightens around Mo Yeon even further as they take long strides away from the crowd. He notices a man in his twenties fiddling with his phone, probably trying to call the police for help, and growls at him, “If one of you even makes a single movement, I guarantee you, this woman’s life will end.” He then jeers. “And that includes playing with your phone, boy.”

 

But before the man-thief can continue with his threatening speech, all of a sudden Mo Yeon hears a loud ‘thud’ and feels herself toppling over to the ground. She grits her teeth and braces her palm downwards, enabling her to land safely onto the concrete in a push-up position, though, she grunts at the pain of having her palm scraped harshly, her skin probably open. Heart still thumping loudly against her ribcage, she glances at the man who had previously held her hostage, ready to defend herself if need be, but is frozen in her place when she sees who is currently fighting against said thief.

 

Si Jin looks too calm and eerily composed as he counters all the attacks from the man—who is now swinging his knife wildly at him—like he is taking a casual walk in the park. Mo Yeon shudders unconsciously when she catches his brown (now almost black) eyes, and when it seems like he is done entertaining the thief, Si Jin kicks at the man below his knees, catching him off guard, and proceeding to strike the man’s wrist, causing the knife to fall onto the ground. Si Jin takes off his belt and forces the man to go on his knees, tying his hands to the back in one fluid movement. The crowd who was as silent as the grave a few minutes ago erupts into a loud cheer and the two police officers find it the perfect timing to appear and thank the curt-looking Si Jin with astonished expressions painted on their faces.

 

Si Jin, however, is only focused on Mo Yeon, who is now smiling in assurance at their two crying children and making small talks at some woman who is holding their youngest son. He struts to where she is with a dark look on his face and crouches in front of her. Feeling a shadow upon her figure, Mo Yeon looks up and schools her feature to give him the brightest smile she can muster. “Annyeong.”

 

Si Jin scans her from top to bottom. “What happened? Why were you taken as a hostage? Are you okay? Did you get hurt—“ His eyes land on the shallow cut on her neck, the blood already drying, but it is enough to make Si Jin’s eyes darken even further. “You are hurt.” He then clenches and unclenches his fists, breathing out slowly and trying to hold back his anger but failing to do so. He hisses lowly when he sees another wound on her. Her palm is badly scratched and he can see the meat underneath her skin. “That jerk.”

 

Mo Yeon scowls at his choice of word, but she glances at her two children and it seems they are too excited by the stunts that their father had just pulled to notice what he had just said.

 

“Woah. Appa. You were so cool just now!” Yoon Seung cries out, flailing his arms about as he runs around in circle. “You were like whoosh. Hiya! And eeegh.” He strangles his own neck to make a point to his mini performance. “The bad guy who hurt Eomma got beaten down in a second. Daebak!”

 

“I want to be like you when I grow up later!” Si Yeon exclaims excitedly, feeling like she doesn’t want to lose to her twin brother. “Can I take taekwondo lessons, please? If I do, will I be able to make that awesome kick that you did?”

 

The lines on Si Jin’s face soften a bit and he ruffles Yoon Seung’s hair. “You two did well. Were you scared just now?”

 

“We were, but then you came to save us so it’s okay!”

 

Yoon Seung nods in agreement and Si Jin turns to look at Mo Yeon again. She looks down guiltily, but steels herself as she goes over the facts in her head. It’s not her fault that the man chose to take her as a hostage. Did she look easy to him? Well, probably, since she was holding Seung Han in her arms. But she really did her best given the situation. What else could she do in that sort of—

 

Her internal tirade is cut short when Si Jin suddenly envelops her into a tight hug (she can distinctly hear the squealing of the old woman who is holding Seung Han and the twins’ giggling), and she can feel him trembling slightly as she slowly pats his back. Ah, this man. Were you that worried? “I’m okay now.”

 

Si Jin only tightens his hug and croaks out. “Let’s go to the hospital.”

 

Mo Yeon frowns and shakes her head. She pushes him back slightly and gives him a convincing look. “Nan gwenchana.” Looking at the scowl on Si Jin’s face, she insists one more time. “Jinjja. The cut on my neck isn’t as deep as it looks. And the gash too. It’s nothing I can’t fix myself.”

 

He protests. “But—“

 

“I bet the kids are overwhelmed by what happened today too. Let’s just all go back and take a rest, oh?” Mo Yeon accepts little Seung Han back from the woman and gives her a thank you. “I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble.”

 

“Anieyo, he calmed down after a few minutes.” The woman switches her gaze back and forth between Mo Yeon and Si Jin and then finally to their two other children, giving them a warm smile. “You have a wonderful family.” She sends Si Jin a wink. “And a handsome husband to boot.”