Wheein’s POV

I turned the car as the gate to our family house opened. Yongsun was sitting on the passenger seat with Yongkeey on her lap. Her Mom and older sister were on Yongjae’s either side in the backseat. Mom had this idea of having a family gathering before mine and Yong’s wedding. Our families started on the wrong foot, especially with how Yongsun’s Mom didn’t like my relationship with her daughter. She still hadn’t said to me that she’s okay with me marrying Yong or that she gave me her approval of marrying her daughter too. I couldn’t say we’re close because I’m still scared and nervous around her but she’s been initiating conversations with me. She’d occasionally smile at me too but we’re still both awkward. Or I’m the one who’s always awkward around her. With Yongsun though, I think they’re okay now and Mrs. Kim is really trying her best to approach Yongsun. Yonghee and Yongjae have been loosening the tension inside the car as I drove us from Seoul to Jeonju.

“Whee! Mommy Whee!”

I glanced at Yongjae through the rearview mirror when he called my name. Then I smiled when I saw him sitting up from the carseat while pointing outside.

“Why are you calling your Mommy Whee and pointing outside, Yongjae?” Yonghee asked.

“Mommy Whee!” Yongjae insisted as he continued pointing outside.

“He’s referring to the magnolias Mrs. Jung planted and took care herself” Yongsun explained. “The flowers reminded him of the ones in Wheein’s café”

“Oh…”

“Does your mother personally take care of the garden, Wheein?” Mrs. Kim asked while I instantly sat up straight on my seat, alerted by her question.

I could hear Yongsun chuckling beside me, teasing me. I pouted at her for a short second before I looked at her mother through the rearview mirror. “Yes, mam. She’s been doing it herself since”

“But this place is big. Can she handle it?”

“Before, yes but now that she’s growing older, she hires people to assist her. But she’s still pretty hands on with her garden. All the magnolias in my cafés came from Mom. She has the best magnolias”

“Hmm…”

I glanced at the rearview mirror and saw her nodding as she continued to look at the garden. Then I smiled when I saw Yonghee pointing the flowers to Yongjae while he smiled at his Auntie Hee. I turned the car around the center fountain then parked it right beside Dad’s car. I turned the car off while everyone unfastened their seatbelt.

“Let’s go, Yongjae. We’re here at your Mommy Whee’s house already”

I smiled and tried to hide my blush when I heard Mrs. Kim talk to Yongjae. I think I’m slowly warming up to her but I don’t want to be too complacent. Until I get her approval for being Yongjae’s second mommy and Yongsun’s wife, I’ll continue proving myself. Then I’ll prove myself even more once I get her approval by taking care of my three Yongs, Yongkeey included always. I don’t want her to think that I just wanted her approval, that's why I’m taking care of them.

All of us got out of the car. Mrs. Kim had Yongjae in her arms while me, Yongsun, and Yonghee headed to the trunk to grab our suitcases. Yongkeey was with Mrs. Kim, standing close to her as she watched Yongjae in her arms. We headed inside the house once we had all gathered our suitcases with us.

Mom and Dad greeted us before we could even climb at the front door. They greeted Mrs. Kim and Yongjae, then Yonghee as Yongsun introduced her family to my parents. My parents already met them when we had our housewarming party but I think we were very busy at that time and Yongsun wasn’t able to do it.

I stepped forward and hugged my parents as I gave them a kiss on their cheeks. “I didn’t see Sica’s car. When will she come here?” I asked as I stepped back again so Yongsun’s family could get inside first.

Mom invited everyone first and stood beside me while Dad led us. “She’s still in Seoul. Her work got her caught up but she’ll be here tonight. That’s what she said”

“Okay”

“How’s the drive here?”

“It was fine. The little guy kept us entertained and luckily, he didn’t throw a fit on our way here”

While my parents were busy accompanying Yongsun’s family, I dealt with all our suitcases. Instead of using the stairs, I used the elevator and brought all four suitcases upstairs. I placed Mrs. Kim and Yonghee’s suitcases in the guestroom. Then I placed mine and Yongsun's huge shared suitcase and a suitcase for all of Yongjae’s necessities in my room.

I got out of the room in time for them to reach the second floor. Yongjae was the one now leading all of them as he trudged the stairs with his angry stomps. When he saw me, his slow pace turned into a jog as he moved towards me.

“Careful, little guy… ” I met him halfway and ruffled his pineapple hair before I held his hand.

“Apple man. Jae apple man” he mumbled as he reached for his bundle of hair on the very top of his head.

“That’s right. You’re the best pineapple man, Yongjae.” I lifted him up in my arms and kissed his cheek while he giggled. Our little guy is growing already. His Mommy already missed how tiny he once was. “Yongjae behave?”

He nodded vigorously as he said, “Jae behave. Good boy.” He pointed at Mrs. Kim and said, “Mama Jae good boy.” He pointed at my Mom next and said, “Grama Jae good boy.” Then he looked at me intently as he patted his head to further explain what he said.

I nodded the whole time he was talking while I smiled at him. I pointed at Yongsun when they reached us and asked Yongjae, “Should we ask Mommy a kiss for being a good boy?” I softly laughed at how he excitedly bobbed his head right away. I went ahead and kissed him first.

“I heard someone wants a kiss from his Mommy.” Yongsun softly pinched Yongjae’s cheek before she leaned forward and kissed his pouting lips.

“We have another guestroom at the basement if you want to since we only have a single bed for this guestroom” Mom explained as they entered the room while me and Yongsun followed them. “You can also stay there but that would be too far from the rest of us. I would just like to present the option if you wanted separate beds”

“No. This is fine, Mrs. Jung. The bed could fit three people. I’m okay to share with Mom” Yonghee said while Mrs. Kim nodded in agreement.

“This is more than fine already” Mrs. Kim said, making Mom smile wider.

“Yongsun, Wheein, and Yongjae will be right across your room. We’re in the room nearest to the stairs, the one far from the elevator. The room near the elevator is the laundry room. My eldest daughter, Jessica, is staying in the room at the very end of the hallway. If you need something or have trouble with something, never hesitate to just knock on our doors” Dad said this time, his booming voice scaring Yongjae a little bit.

“We’ll leave you to unpack and settle down. Come downstairs by the pool. We’ve prepared a barbecue and some cold refreshments for everyone while you all enjoy a swim” Mom added with a bright smile on her face, making me smile at her and Dad.

“Swim?” Yongjae’s ears perked up when he heard Mom. His eyes widened while his eyebrows almost touched his baby hairs as he looked at me and his Mommy. “Swim? Jae swim? Mommy, Mommy Whee swim?”

“Do you want to swim, baby?” Yongsun asked our son.

Yongjae excitedly bounced up and down in my arms as he clapped his hands and squealed in delight. “Jae swim! Jae swim! Ki swim, Mommy… ”

“Of course”

Another loud squeal erupted from the pineapple man. He bounced so wildly that I was having a hard time holding him while balancing on my feet.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his excitement despite my struggle to keep him still. I’ve brought them here before and the only thing that Yongjae wanted to do is swim. He was still so young back then. He couldn’t talk at that time yet and would just mumble his words or could only say a handful of words. He was sound asleep after hours and hours of being in the water. He went straight to bed the moment he burped after eating dinner. He kept asking about wanting to swim when we got back to Seoul but we were able to divert his attention to something else because we didn’t have a pool in our house. It was effective. I hope it will still be.

The three of us went to my old bedroom, Yongkeey following closely behind us. Yongjae has been chanting swim a couple of times so Yongsun suggested that I help change Yongjae’s clothes while she starts unpacking.

I removed pineapple man’s clothes while he constantly bounced on his knees in front of me. “Are you excited to swim, Yongjae?”

“Swim!”

I chuckled at him as I continued to remove his clothes. I removed his diapers next and playfully scrunched up my nose at him. He followed me and even covered his nose like he could smell something. His diaper was clean though. I just like to play with him because he follows right away.

I grabbed his trunks and matching rush guard. I let him wear his briefs by himself first and complimented him after. Little guy smiled so wide and looked so excited as I helped him with his swimming wear.

“Love…”

I lifted Yongjae once he’s dressed and walked towards the closet where Yongsun is. “Did you call for me?” I asked and found her sitting on the floor with our suitcase in front of her.

“Didn’t you pack me my one-piece?” She lifted a black two-piece swimsuit and asked, “I could only find this and the blue ones”

“I only packed you those two. Did you want me to pack the white one?”

She looked at me and asked, “Didn’t I tell you to?”

I racked my brain if she did because I might’ve forgotten it but I could only remember her reminding me about Yongjae’s clothes and necessities. I shook my head as I said, “No… The black and the blue one suits you too. Is there something wrong with it?”

She sighed and chewed on the inside of his cheek as she scanned her eyes at the remaining clothes in the suitcase. Yonjae’s bouncing excitedly in my arms, urging me to go to the pool already but Yongsun seems to be bothered by something. I couldn’t just leave her here yet.

I kissed Yongjae’s cheek and walked further inside the closet. I crouched down and let Yongjae stand on the floor, holding him close to me while I looked at Yongsun. “What’s wrong? Did I pack the wrong clothes for you?”

She shook her head and smiled at me but it’s obvious that something’s bothering her. Her smile couldn’t reach her eyes, making me pout at her.

"Yongsun"

She sighed heavily while Yongjae kept on bugging me to go to the pool already.

I quickly turned to Yongjae and said, “Mommy Whee has to change first, okay? We’ll go to the pool later. Okay?”

“Swim… Jae swim…”

I nodded at his mumbles and kissed his cheek before I turned to his Mommy. “I’m sorry if I packed you the wrong clothes—”

“It’s not that… It’s just—” She slowly raised her eyes and met mine before she whispered, “This will show my stretch marks”

“Aren’t they gone already? I couldn’t see them anymore”

“They’re still there, Whee.” She frowned at me while her shoulders deflated as she sighed once again.

I lifted Yongjae and walked over the suitcase. I placed him in front of his Mommy’s lap and said, “Kiss Mommy, little guy. Mommy boo boo, baby”

“Boo boo?” Yongjae cupped his Mommy’s cheeks while Yongsun pouted at him. “Mommy boo boo?” he asked and his Mommy nodded. He then leaned forward and kissed Yongsun’s pouting lips before he hugged her tightly.

“What do you want me to do?” I whispered to Yongsun. “Do you want me to borrow some of Sica’s swimsuits?”

She instantly shook her head and sighed once again. “I just—I don’t know…”

I placed my arm around her shoulders and pressed a long kiss on her temple.

My fiancée is still insecure about her stretch marks even after almost two years of giving birth but that’s okay. She’s been insecure with a lot of things since she was pregnant with Yongjae because of all the wrong accusations thrown at her and the discriminations from her close peers. It was hard for her but she’s really fighting hard against all of them.

The stretch marks were a different case because I was the only one who had ever seen it. Dr. Chae did, but that was because she was Yongsun’s OB/GYN. Other than that, she’s still deliberately hiding her stretch marks from others. But I’m sure they’re gone or were very subtle already.

“If you don’t want to borrow one of Sica’s swimsuits, just wear the ones you have. It will just be us and our family and I promise, Yongsun, they’re gone. Even if our family notices it, I’m sure they won’t say anything about it. They won’t even spare a glance at it”

“But what if they will?”

“Then Yongkeey and I will kick them out of the house”

“Are you sure?” she asked while I nodded with certainty. She smirked at me and her eyes finally smiled. “What if it’s Mom? Will you still kick her out?”

I pouted at her right away while she softly giggled at me. At least she’s genuinely smiling at me. I could let the teasing pass. “You’re mean…” I grabbed my own swimsuit and headed out of the closet to change. “I’ll go change. Mommy’s being mean, Yongjae” I said as I closed the door behind me.

“Mommy mean?”

“No, I’m not!”

I smiled when I heard Yongsun’s protest as I headed to the bathroom. I changed into my white two-piece swimsuit before I exited the bathroom.

Yongsun and Yongjae were already out of the closet. Yongsun was applying sunscreen on pineapple man. I wrapped myself in a bathrobe first before I replaced her so she could change too. When I was done, I let Yongjae help me apply sunscreen on me. He did my legs while I applied the lotion on my body. His tiny and sloppy hands were tickling me, making me giggle. And every time I giggle, he’d giggle too, so we’re just both in a fit of giggles.

“Let Mommy in on the fun too!” Yongsun said, grabbing our attention.

Yongjae raised his hands to me and said, “More! More! More!”

I squeezed sunscreen into his hands before I squeezed some on my hands.

“Mommy!” Yongjae squealed as he ran to Yongsun. He applied the cream on his Mommy’s legs and giggled loudly. “Jae help! Good boy Jae?”

She laughed and nodded at Yongjae as he patted his head. “Yongjae good boy. My baby’s such a good boy”

I smiled at them before I inspected Yongsun’s abdomen. Her stretch marks had really faded but if I would look closely and just stare at her abdomen, I could see the faded stretch marks blending with her skin. But that’s the thing, I had to stare and really look closely at them for a few seconds in order to see them. With the bright sun outside, I don’t think anyone would notice them at all.

“You’re staring”

I looked up and saw Yongsun watching me closely. I walked towards them and applied the lotion on her face. “That’s because you said that they’re still there but I couldn’t find them.”

That’s a lie. I did find them but I was intentionally looking for them. I still lied but I wanted to boost her confidence for later.

I squeezed lotion on Yongjae’s hands and mine and went back to applying it on Yongsun. I smiled at Yongsun as I said, “You really have nothing to worry about. Let’s just have fun, yeah?”

“Swim! Swim! Jae swim now! Mommy swim now! Mommy Whee swim now! Ki swim too!” Yongjae shouted excitedly as he bounced so high up on his feet.

I pointed at Yongjae before I smiled at Yongsun. “See… Little guy’s having fun already. Let’s just have fun, Yongsun. That’s the point of our stay here.” I cupped her cheeks and placed a soft kiss on her lips. I stared at her intently and whispered, “Even if you have so many scars, it doesn’t lessen your beauty, okay? I’d still love you the same.” I smiled when I saw a light blush painting her cheeks. “Should we go out now?”

She sighed but this time, it felt like a sigh of relief as she nodded at me. She held my waist and kissed my cheek. “Okay… but if it’s unbearable already, I won’t stay longer”

I grabbed her robe and helped her wear it. “Deal but you have to tell me who’s making you uncomfortable. Yongkeey and I will deal with them”

She scoffed and pinched my cheek before she lifted Yongjae in her arms. “What will you do to them?”

I just shrugged as I wore my own robe, making her roll her eyes as she laughed at me.

“I love you.” She kissed me before we moved out of my room and headed to the pool.

“Love you…” Yongjae whispered, bouncing excitedly in his Mommy’s arms.

We headed to the backyard with Yongkeey leading us. Yongjae was clearly excited and had been wiggling his feet, urging his Mommy to walk faster. I could see how his excitement infected his Mommy and had loosened the tension and worry Yongsun felt about her stretch marks.

Everyone was already in the pool area when we got there but no one was still in the pool. Mom and Mrs. Kim were manning the grill while Yonghee assisted them. Dad was transporting things from inside the house and arranging them under the shade.

I headed to where I stored Yongjae’s life vest. I washed it first before I walked back to Yongsun and Yongjae who’s scrubbing Yongkeey off of dust before letting her in the pool.

“Sweetie…”

I glanced at Dad when I passed by him and saw him handing me a can of beer. I shook my head and said, “Maybe later. Yongjae might not like the smell of beer on me”

Dad froze midway from drinking from his can while I laughed at him. “He doesn’t like it?”

“I really don’t know but I don’t want to try in case he does. I’m also watching over him so I need to be very sober”

“I—I’ll just maybe drink later too” he mumbled and rushed over to drink water.

I silently laughed at him before I headed to my three Yongs. Yongsun and I both helped Yongjae into his vest. Little guy kept bouncing on his knees, his eyes fixated on the shining pool water. I pulled the tie from his hair, releasing his pineapple hair, and used it to tie my growing blond hair.

I removed my robe and Yongsun grabbed it from me. Then I lifted Yongjae and said, “Let’s go? You ready already?”

“Go! Go! Go!”

I kissed his cheek before I said, “Cover your nose. Close your mouth and your eyes”

He closed his eyes tightly and covered his mouth with one hand while his other hand covered his nose.

“Okay… Yongkeey, let’s go!”

I held Yongjae tightly and hugged him to my chest before I ran towards the pool. “Fire in the hole!” I screamed on top of my lungs before I jumped and curled my body up in the air.

“Wheein!”

That’s definitely Mom scolding me but my body was already splashed into the water before she could even stop me. Our pool isn’t really deep and the water’s highest level is just around my neck if I stand straight. That’s why I was confident I wouldn’t drown even though I know how to swim. I pushed myself up in the water right away and shook my head, clearing the water on me while I wiped Yongjae’s face.

“Fire in the hole!”

My eyes instantly opened wide and saw Dad coming towards the pool. I immediately turned my body around and covered Yongjae with my body so he wouldn’t be splashed with water.

“Hyunwoo!” Mom screamed, her voice sounded angrier before a loud splash could be heard.

I opened my eyes when there’s no splash anymore and smiled so wide at Dad. Yongjae was giggling in my arms and Yongkeey was barking excitedly. We moved towards Dad before Dad and I high-fived each other. Yongjae and Dad high-fived next before Dad patted Yongkeey’s head.

“No running in the pool”

We all smiled cheekily at Mom and said, “Sorry…”

I moved towards the edge of the pool and lifted Yongjae out of the pool. “Say sorry to Grandma, baby. Kiss Grandma’s boo boos away”

“Boo boo” Yongjae whispered while Dad and I giggled.

We watched Yongjae’s angry stomps on his way to Mom. He asked Mom to bend down before he kissed her cheek. He said sorry and pouted at Mom in this very adorable way. Mom smiled at Yongja