“I’m glad to hear that your husband is well again” Abi spoke as she set the diaper bag on the bench and Ki-Woo on her lap.

“Me too, it’s been crazy without his help and I only have one, I don’t see how you do it...” Eun spoke swiftly, both parents watching their children in the playground, ensuring their safety. “I’m exhausted after one week” she teased, yet somehow the words had only managed to make reality that much clearer.

She pondered if she was being irrational when it came to accusing Seung of not being home enough, but when other people noticed it too, didn’t that mean that she wasn’t falsely accusing? That the truth was that she was left alone to take care of the house and children, that everything in the relationship fell on her shoulders? Of course, she didn’t mind taking care of the children, however her exhaustion was only growing by the second, and her energy was draining faster than it could gain.

“I just do” Abi answered after a moment, watching as Chan-Woo and Sang-Ho played on the slides, both boys being equal in energy despite the two-year gap that separated them. “It’s easier when you think of the kids” Abi offered with a soft smile, knowing that watching them grow everyday was the most joyous thing she could have asked for.

~*~ His POV ~*~

“I can’t stand it” Seung spoke out in frustration when finally becoming alone with Ji-Yong “she fights with me every day, she complains about me all the time. Why are we still married?”

“You love her” Ji-Yong spoke briefly without much thought and a shrug to his shoulders. “You know that deep down it’s only a rough patch and that you two will get over it. You’ve been together for almost six years now. One month of bad doesn’t outweigh all the good times.”

“She doesn’t love me” Seung was quick to admit, feeling the tears that threatened at his eyes for the nth time today, his focus slipping every time he tried to concentrate on something. “I’m waiting for the divorce papers. What am I going to do then?”

“She’s not going to do that” Daesung spoke as he entered the studio, bringing both pairs of eyes in his direction, accompanied by Taeyang “Hyung, do you not know how strong that woman is? She’s to stubborn to quit anything.”

“Not to mention that she loves you just as equally. She wouldn’t have granted you her hand in marriage if she didn’t, nor the children.” Taeyang was more reasonable, yet it did nothing to reassure the male who couldn’t take his eyes from the screen of his laptop.

The picture was taken only months ago, smiles all around, but the picture on the screen wasn’t the picture that he came home too. Instead he came home to tears some nights, and anger the other ones, hardly ever a smile or a supporting comment on how hard he worked. He couldn’t stand it, and it was slowly eating him alive, making him wish to avoid coming home as much as possible.

‘Dinner will be ready when you get home. Should I make it for nine?’ the text message only made him feel worse for he knew he wasn’t going to be home tonight, that they barely recorded anything thus far and the drop was due the next morning.

“I’m going to lose my mind” he spoke while putting his phone away, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he focused on the work once more, hoping he could save a little time to go home and see the woman who was slipping away from him, wanting to pull her back into his embrace, assuring she wouldn’t leave him.

~*~*~

It was two in the morning when he pulled into the drive way, his eyes watching the lifeless house that was voided of any light. He knew she went to bed before he arrived, knew that she slept when the baby slept, yet he somehow hoped that she would be awake and waiting for him. Why would she be? He was five hours late coming home, and he didn’t even bother to give her a call, or respond to the text she had sent him earlier.

Walking into the house, his eyes fell towards the fridge, scanning the contents and finding the food she must have cooked for him. Heating it up in the microwave, he never felt so alone in his own home, and the thought was a devastating reality. Her cooking as always was perfect, and he could only imagine how delicious it must have been when it was brewed fresh, still steaming in the pans it took to make them.

“Hey baby” he was alarmed when her voice trailed from behind him, her warmth engulfing him from behind as her arms wrapped securely around his waist, leaning her head against his back.

“Hey beautiful” he turned himself around, inhaling the scent he had longed to breathe all day, his arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders to draw her closer. “I miss you” he whispered softly, thankful for the chance to embrace her.

“I miss you too” she admitted, pulling the bowl from his hand and placing it on the counter behind her, instead reaching up to capture his lips.

Eagerly returning the kiss, his mind couldn’t gather the last time he had been able to kiss her with so much passion, his hands soothing down her sides as her hands busied themselves within his hair. He felt desperate for her touch at that moment, his body melting within her kiss as he pulled her legs from under her, forcing her legs around his waist. The food was no longer a concern as he pushed the bowl from the counter to sit her atop of it, and just when he was about to deepen the kiss, the sound of the monitor would stop him instantly.

“The baby” he whispered out of breath, seeing the disappointment along her features, knowing the pain all to well for it plagued his heart harshly. “I’ll get him… Okay?”

“Yeah” she whispered as she stood herself up, giving him one last peck before heading up the stairs “if you need me to help, just call me.”

Nodding he began his way up the stairs and into the nursery, quickly cradling the crying infant within his arms. He hadn’t noticed it before, but time must have been moving like a rocket for the child was much heavier than he had remembered, much taller than he last could recall. Though Ki-woo had stopped his whining, it did little relief to his aching heart.

“When did you grow so quickly?” He whispered, unable to help the sigh that left his lips, alarmed when a little hand tugged at his shirt, his attention falling towards his older boy, alarmed at how much older he appeared since the last memory he held.

“What’s wrong big boy?” Seung whispered as he sat the baby back in the crib, instead lifting the older boy within his arms and heading towards the bedroom. “Did the baby wake you?”

A nod would confirm his suspicion as he found himself lost within the bedroom, surprised by the changes that were made within them. The bed was no longer in the right corner, but was moved to the center to make room for the large dresser that took its place. The posters that lined the walls were no longer cartoon animals, but were now superhero figures and monster trucks. Setting Sang-Ho into the bed, Seung found himself exhausted as he laid beside the child, a smile taking his lips when the boy nuzzled into his side, showing his wish for his father to stay beside him.

“I’m sorry kiddo” Seung spoke softly towards nothing in particular, realizing his mistakes and wishing to change them. “Things will change” he had meant the words at the time, never guessing that they were just more lose ending words that meant nothing to the people he spoke them too.