“NO!” The poor teddy was sent off flying across the room by her hands. “I don’t want Mr. ChumChum!” She whined, annoyance trailed in her voice.

“Baby, please. You need your sleep, so go to sleep okay?” The soothing voice of her husband failed to coo her. Instead she whimpered louder and shoved her husband further away from her.

It’s one of those days again when her body was too tired but she couldn’t get herself to sleep. Himchan had been trying to put her to sleep since an hour ago but nothing managed to calm her down. He tried sleeping next to her, singing her lullabies while her hair, and he tried telling her stories, but that didn’t work too, so he shut his mouth and just let his arms coiled around her while he listens to her breathing. Ten minutes later, she cried again.

Himchan adored his wife from head to toe. She’s the epitome of perfect, physically. Not only that. When she’s working, she tended to be very serious and he thought that his wife was very charismatic. But even all those great things were said, when the night falls, she’s a crybaby. The biggest crybaby he ever met. When she couldn’t get her sleep, she changed drastically from a very sophisticated woman to a 5 years old who seemed like she had lost her teddy bear.

“Himchannie! Go away!” She cried.

“Where do I go if you want me to go away?” He answered, trying his best to keep his voice calm. If he raised his voice just a little bit more, she’s going to throw more tantrums at him accusing him being mad at her or worse.

“I don’t know! Just go away!” She kicked her legs on the bed randomly, making Himchan stood up to avoid her strength.

“Okay then, I’ll go” He threatened her just for the sake of it.

As soon as he turned his back on her, she began to wail out again.

“Don’t go! Why are you leaving? You hate me don’t you?” Just as what he expected.

Himchan took a deep breath to keep him contained. He was very close to losing his patience, but he had to deal with it. It’s not every day she was being like this. Just once in a while when she was too stressed out, the main reason why her sleep was casted away. Before he turned around to face her again, he chanted.

‘Himchan, you had been dealing with her for two years now. You can do this. Don’t lose yourself’

“Baby, I’m going to stay here with you all night long. So now, you have to lie down” He bent down to reach for the discarded teddy bear and brought it with him towards the bed as he settled himself down right next to her. He pulled the coverlet over their body and set the teddy bear right in the middle of him and his wife. “Mr. ChumChum is going to be in the middle, and I’m going to be right next to you”

She listened to every word he said. Surprisingly, she didn’t shun him away nor scream at him.

“Can you promise me something?” He looked at her with a pair of loving eyes. They had always been looking at her that way and that gaze calmed her down somehow.

She nodded willingly.

“Promise me you’ll sleep quietly and I’ll buy you your favorite ice cream as soon as I get off from practice tomorrow. Deal?” He tried to bribe.

“Promise!” She quickly pulled his hand and intertwined their pinkies together, as a sign of promise.

“Good! Now close your eyes and sleep okay?” He softly said. She nodded and s one of her arms around him, nuzzling her face in his chest as she listened to his heartbeat.

A few minutes later, her breathing was steady and he knew that she was asleep.

‘Finally!’

Himchan heaved out a relief sigh. He didn’t know how he managed to handle her for more than two years and he didn’t want to know for how long he could keep up with the immature side of her. The side that only he knew and the side that she showed only to him and nobody else but him. He swore it was worse than dealing with his 5 years old niece, but he had to admit, somehow she managed to entertain her with this side of her. With that side of hers, only patience could keep the wheel spinning.