//

yunjin has a new routine.

on saturdays — when she hasn't dropped dead from the entire week's workload — she frequents the miyawaki's house. like breathing, the mother and daughter duo had easily integrated into her life. and every morning, yunjin thanks the sun for peeking through the horizons, basking the world in its warm morning glow.

it's rejuvenating — every step she takes as she approaches sakura's humble abode — she sings an extra decibel louder when she drives, grins a lot wider, very much in love, knowing that her two favourite people were waiting for her.

yunjin feels her heart expanding as she stares at the door, waiting patiently and smiles to herself when she hears soft thumps of footsteps incoming. the rush of adrenaline feels addictive.

when the door opens, heaven welcomes her with open arms. and there her angel stood, with big, pretty doe eyes and a smile so divine yunjin thinks the world should cater an exclusive award just for godsend smiles.

(and sakura would place first.)

"hey beautiful," yunjin dreamily greets the love of her life, breathless as always when sakura occupies her view.

"always the flirt," sakura rolls her eyes playfully, giggles with her head tilted down as if yunjin hadn't praised her for the millionth time. "good morning to you too, yunjin." 

it's still a little embarrassing for her, but she loves every word that comes out of yunjin's mouth. 

yunjin lets sakura pull her in, chuckles when the cherry blossom stumbles backwards on a small shoe (she'll tell the little culprit off later)  and fortunately catches her in time. 

her arms cling onto sakura's waist, her startled look dissolving into a cheeky grin.

"looks like you fell-"

"yes i fell for you, quite literally." sakura sighs knowing what yunjin wanted to say, cheeks pink due to her embarrassing mistake.

her hands held firmly onto yunjin's lean arms, a little distracted by the subtle yet definitely present muscles her fingers have wrapped around. sakura gently bit her tongue, dazed by the way her body is pressed lightly against yunjin's, with those entrancing hazel eyes staring so lovingly into hers.

"mommy!" 

the sudden child-like yell forces them apart, hearts racing due to the abrupt surprise (more towards their little moment). they stand awkwardly at the entrance as eunchae's presence draws near.

"who's at the door? is it the ice cream lady?! i want choc- oh, it's you." little eunchae comes up to them with a big smile on her face, which later turns upside down when she sees yunjin instead of her anticipated 'ice cream lady'.

yunjin smiles fondly — one that comes out instinctively when eunchae appears — then she quickly walks towards the little miyawaki to capture her in a tickle fit.

"hey! what's with that reaction? aren't you happy to see me, you little twerp?!" 

eunchae's giggles were music to her ears, those cheeks to die for seemingly ballooning the more she smiles and laughs her heart out, yunjin wants to see it forever.

"that tickles that tickles!"

"you get another chance, cutie!" 

behind them, sakura laughs to herself, enjoying the heartwarming scene unfolding in front of her with arms across her chest.

"okay okay! i'm super happy to see you!" eunchae finally relents, face turning red with the many times she laughed, and yunjin had only just arrived.

"that's what i'd like to hear!" yunjin gives eunchae's cheeks a final soft stretch, (it's confirmed, marshmellows cannot compare!) before ruffling the little girl's hair.

now it was time for her surprise snack, something her and eunchae had made into a thing between themselves.

"so what's my surprise snack for today, eunchae?" she asks ecstatically, her gleaming eyes mirroring eunchae's.

sakura allows eunchae to indulge in various sweets and snacks (and perhaps she shouldn't given the dental risks it comes with, but eunchae is such a good kid) in moderation of course. and apart from her own mother, eunchae was just delighted to be able to share her favourite snacks with yunjin. 

so everytime eunchae gets informed that yunjin is coming over, she would prepare random snacks for the older woman as a welcome gift. to be frank, at first, even sakura was surprised at her daughter's unusually kind gesture to a person she just met. it made her realise how special yunjin was slowly becoming to her too and she couldn't be happier.

"hold on, it's in the kitchen!" eunchae dashes off and disappears into the corner, sometimes yunjin wonders if those little legs could run a marathon.

and as soon as eunchae had scurried off, yunjin springs up and swiftly turns back to reel sakura in for a kiss. she smiles smugly against soft lips and swallows the startled sound her girlfriend makes.

"mmph- you have no idea how badly i'm resisting the urge to make out with you right now." yunjin breathes on sakura's lips before swiftly pecking her lips once more. 

"yunjin!" flustered, sakura gasps, frantically eyeing the corner and silently praying eunchae doesn't ever have to witness her in such a scandalous moment. 

her hands that held yunjin's shoulders pushed the latter away gently, gesture seemingly wanting to make haste in breaking away yet when yunjin captures her in a kiss one last time, she couldn't bear not returning it. and so she presses into plump lips with a little more strength before clinging onto her lingering sanity and finally pulled away.

"tada!" just in time, eunchae appears with her biggest toothy grin and hands occupied with yunjin's snacks.

"ooh~ caprisun! and gummy bears!" yunjin turns away from her and beams at eunchae, leaving sakura dumbfounded as if she hadn't kissed the life out of her just seconds prior.

the mother inhales sharply and smoothens her shirt subtly, ignoring her burning cheeks and successfully appears composed, putting away eunchae's shoes which she had tripped on earlier neatly. 

"oh yeah i bought some sweet potatoes for you! from my favourite vendor!" in exchange for eunchae's snacks, yunjin fishes out a carrier from her bag and holds them out to the little girl who took it with both hands instantly.

"no way! how do you know i like sweet potatoes?" eunchae holds them up above her head as if she held a trophy, her eyes turning into melons and already salivating at the aroma.

yunjin chuckles at this, internally cooing at eunchae before smiling proudly.

"easy, you and your mom share the same palate." she replies.

"save one for me, love. i haven't had those in a while." sakura tells eunchae, pressing a kiss on top of her head before ambling towards the kitchen.

"okay! if i remember not to eat it all..." eunchae watches as her mother disappears behind the corner before she turns back to yunjin with a frown on her face.

yunjin raises a brow, wondering what prompted the girl to pull such a serious face all of a sudden when out of the blue, eunchae whispers into her ear.

"can i tell you a secret?" yunjin feels eunchae's little hands cupping her left ear, her whispers tickling her skin.

"secret? what is it?" yunjin replies with the same hushed tone, eyebrows peaked with curiosity.

eunchae gives her a hardened look, and with how serious she looked, yunjin would have thought it was a dire secret. maybe a silly little crush in her preschool or—

"i have a loose tooth!" or that.

yunjin blinks, processing eunchae's words now that the cat's out of the bag. her eyes follow the tiny index finger that points to a lower front tooth, squirming loosely within pink gums when eunchae prods it. 

oh em gee... that's sooo freaking CUTE! yunjin internally gushes, the adorable sight giving her flashbacks to her childhood days when she would consider such small things a milestone.

"it hurts when i bite into an apple... i don't want to tell mommy about it because she'll send me to the dentist! and i don't like the dentist..." eunchae whines, her shoulders drooping as she fixes her gaze on the floor.

"then i'll pull it out for you," yunjin quips after a moment of contemplation.

"you can do that?!" eunchae's jaw dropped, eyes as big as saucers.

"of course, all we need is a thread and a few tugs."

"...will it hurt?"

yunjin's heart melts seeing how eunchae's face visibly fell, the frown that occupied her face tells her how worried she was. but yunjin is quick to reassure her, rubbing her hands on eunchae's shoulders in an attempt to dissipate her concerns.

"hey, i'm gonna be honest with you, cutie. it's probably going to hurt a little, but!" yunjin pauses with raised brows, successfully catching eunchae's attention. 

then yunjin smiles warmly, cupping eunchae's face with one hand and watches the little girl subtly lean in. her cheek squishes adorably against her palm and yunjin thinks her heart is going to burst with all the cutesy arrows eunchae's shooting her with.

"sometimes, you have to be hurt in order to heal and feel much, much better than before!" she adds truthfully, and she knows eunchae would understand her words.

"okay... i trust you, doctor jenjen!" and true enough, her bravery knows no bounds. the concern on eunchae's face is now replaced with a determined expression, those boba eyes looking up at her were shining more than ever.

and yunjin laughs, realising eunchae had mentioned (and knew) her english name — which was a first. eunchae notices the questioning look yunjin gave her, then shrugs indifferently.

"mommy puts your name in yellow hearts." she casually says, making yunjin giggle.

"kkura! we'll be in eunchae's room!"

"okay! don't make a mess while i prepare lunch you two!"

*

the thing about being a mother is that, leaving your child unattended especially with someone like huh yunjin (which isn't a bad thing per se), you're either bound to witness disaster or at the very least, you'd be greeted with something unforeseen but not as as bad as the former.

sakura knows this, because their effervescent personas alone could overwhelm someone more passive like herself within seconds flat — it was like two suns orbiting around a single moon or more accurately, two vivacious puppies and a meek cat.

"i turn away for a moment and suddenly eunchae's bragging about her fallen tooth to me. when did this happen?" 

sakura draws out a long breath, looking at the tiny tooth in her palm which eunchae had unceremoniously shoved into her hands a minute ago without warning. now she's left to stare back and forth between the tooth and her two beloveds (read: troublemakers). sakura is amused seeing the same broad grins on eunchae and yunjin's faces, as if proud that they had pulled off such a feat.

eunchae never told her anything about a loose tooth days prior, so having been dropped a bombshell about a fallen tooth greatly left sakura speechless. it wasn't that she was upset, she was just... confused.

"literally ten minutes ago. it's actually surprising that she trusts me more than a dentist." yunjin says, patting eunchae's head with a crooked, proud grin.

then sakura breaks into a smile — she couldn't help it — it was just so nice seeing eunchae getting along well with yunjin. she feels light, comfortable leaving eunchae in yunjin's hands.

"you know how the machines intimidate children, she feels overwhelmed most of the time." sakura tells her, putting away the little tooth on a table cloth on the counter, they'll decide what to do with it later.

"aw you poor baby, are you gonna put it under your pillow?" yunjin coos, bending down to eunchae's eye level.

"under my... pillow? what for?" eunchae looks up at her weirdly, a reaction the american wasn't prepared for, at all.

yunjin awkwardly laughs at this, shrugging stiffly. 

"what else? the tooth fairy!"

a moment of silence, yunjin could hear a pin drop, she's so sure. her confusion only lingers when eunchae gives her a side-eye, exchanging looks with sakura who merely shrugged. 

"...they don't exist, jenjen. you shouldn't be so gullible!" eunchae surprisingly says, tone in disbelief. 

"what?! this is the first time a child's telling me- wait, do you believe in santa?" yunjin grabs the roots of her own hair, in distress hearing every word coming out of eunchae's mouth at that moment, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

eunchae notices this, and tugs at her elbows.

"auntie jenjen, a chubby stranger breaking into my house by going down the chimney and giving me presents sounds creepy and illegal!"

yunjin gasps, theatrically, the kind that makes you lose your breath and you're inhaling a lungful of pure disbelief. in short, yunjin looked like she came straight out of 'the scream' painting.

"huh... sakura, did you raise her in a military camp-"

"hey! mommy raised me just right!" eunchae huffs with reddened cheeks, evoking laughter from the two women who only looks at her endearingly.

their laughter halts when eunchae suddenly grabs each one of their hands and stands between them, eyes fluttered closed and lips moving in silence.

"eunchae, what are you doing?" yunjin looks down at the little girl with an arched brow, she exchanges glances with sakura only to be met with the same confused expression.

"giving you both blessings," eunchae answers, then opens her eyes with a wide smile. "there, now you can get married!" 

she looks at sakura and yunjin with an excited glint in her eyes, tugging their hands enthusiastically as if wanting them to do something. yunjin's left with open, doing a double take — did eunchae just act as a wedding priest?

"sweetie, that's not how that works-" sakura tries to tell her but eunchae cuts her off again.

"a marriage doesn't have to be grand does it? all you need is an offishy- me!" eunchae points to herself, and yunjin supposes she meant a marriage 'officiant'.

"the bride and the groom, in this case, bride and bride! you say your vows and then a promise kiss and that's it!" eunchae continues, frowning when the two women didn't budge.

"well that's true but..." yunjin trails off, she wasn't about to go off about the marriage papers required to a mere child.

"so get married now! mommy, aren't you gonna marry jenjen?" eunchae exclaims, so pure and naive, yet already wanting only the best for her beloved mother. 

"sweetie..." sakura squeezes her hand, uncertain of what to say, but she knew that it was one thing eunchae will always be adamant about. when the little girl looks up at her with starry eyes, sakura feels herself soften, lips pursed.

"you love her, don't you? so quickly marry her so that she won't be taken by someone else! i don't want her to leave..." eunchae lowers her gaze on the floor on the last sentence, her gestures becoming dispirited.

in her head, she couldn't picture sakura with someone else other than yunjin. the last time she did, it left her mother hurt. and for a while, she hated the world, hated everyone else — she could only picture her mother and herself.

but yunjin made her entrance effortlessly, eunchae saw more smiles on her mother's face than usual and with her child-like curiosity peaked, she had to know who was stirring her heart. and now, with yunjin in the picture, everything just feels right.

sensing the tension building up and the atmosphere going bleak, yunjin looks at eunchae with an unwavering gaze and gently tips her chin up. she clutches small shoulders with a warm smile, determined to see that endearing gummy smile again.

"i'm not going anywhere, didn't i promise you?" yunjin says gently, tilting her head. eunchae doesn't utter a word, her lower lip jutting out in a pout, but she listens.

"it won't happen anytime soon, but eunchae, i definitely want to marry her in the future. you have to give us some time, okay?" yunjin glances at sakura knowingly, smiling from ear to ear when the latter looks away shyly. she takes sakura's hand in hers and rubs her thumb against her knuckles, looking up at the woman affectionately.

"in the meantime, i'll take her on dates, make her smile even more, show her how much i love her. and even after we get married, i'll love her even more and the forever family you've been dreaming of, eunchae?" yunjin turns back to eunchae, who's not pouting anymore, and wraps her arms around her petite frame before lifting her up in her arms.

she laughs when eunchae lets out a squeal and grasps onto her shoulders desperately.

"i promise it will happen." yunjin firmly says with a blissful smile, bringing a finger up to boop eunchae's button nose. the child-like giggles once again are melodious to her ears.

"will you love eunchae too?" eunchae mutters timidly, those doe eyes looking up at her with plea makes her weak with affection. so yunjin nods and nuzzles their cheeks together, the two breaking into giggles as sakura smiles fondly at the sight.

"darling, i will love you like my own." yunjin tells eunchae, genuine and full of love, before peppering kisses on her chubby cheeks. eunchae curls up within her hold, squealing and ticklish from yunjin's kisses.

then she pulls sakura who was standing beside her silently and flashes her a sly smile, bringing her in for a chaste kiss on the lips. and when they pull away, sakura's face is tomato red, embarrassed when she sees her daughter snickering at such a sweet exchange.

"jenjen, more kisses for eunchae please!"

—