Serin tried her hardest not to worry over every little thing Eunsook did. So when she started coughing, Serin tried to ignore it. It was when she started behaving unusually, that she started getting concerned. She picked the girl up and examined her, feeling her forehead for any sign of a fever. “What’s wrong, Hime?” she cooed to the girl.

Eunsook just laid her head against Serin’s chest, too young to answer with actual words (though she was old enough for mama and appa and a few other choice phrases), but not feeling well enough to respond in any other way regardless. It was that subdued reaction that had taken Serin's worry from only a little concerned to quite worried for the girl. Eunsook was lively and expressive, unless it was her naptime, and this definitely wasn’t normal behavior for the girl.  With a frown, Serin carried her to bed, placing her in her crib. She continued to be fussy for a bit, before eventually falling asleep.

Turning her back to the girl’s room, Serin walked out into the living room, ensuring that the baby monitor was with her in case Eunsook woke up. It was too early for her to go to bed, but she wouldn’t be all that surprised at herself if she fell asleep on the couch. She wasn’t necessarily tired, but a nap would be nice. So she sat down on the couch, turning on the TV, and checking her phone quickly. Hoon had sent her a message.

“I’m bor~ed,” he wrote. “The photoshoot is taking a long time.”

She smiled. He hadn’t sent it all that long ago so she was likely to be able to message him more before he had to go. He messaged her frequently when he was busy rushing around to schedules. Despite being busy all the time, he still had downtime while getting his hair or makeup done, in the car, and during photoshoots when he had to wait his turn. Sometimes he slept instead, but he often messaged her, especially at times when she wasn't likely to be at work. His words were often a source of support during her day, so she loved when he did it.

Another message came in. “Please pay attention to me, Serin-ah~~ Keke.  Just kidding! I hope I’m not bothering you while you’re busy. I love you!”

Her smile widened, though she still worried about Eunsook, who was obviously not feeling well. She replied to him then. “I’m not busy. Had to take care of Eunsook. I think our Hime is getting sick.”

“Oh no! Is it bad? How sick? Does she need to see a doctor?”

She smiled. His concern was unsurprising. Eunsook was the most important thing in his life, his number one love. Serin would have been jealous over the attention he lavished on their daughter, except she felt the same way towards her, so it was easy to understand where he was coming from. She answered, “It’s too late to take her anywhere tonight, but I’ll skip work tomorrow and take her to a clinic in the morning. I don’t want to bother your mom to do that for me.”

“How sick is she? Not too bad, I hope?”

“I think she’s got something like a cold. She seems lethargic, and she felt a little warm. She’s asleep right now. If you could pick up some cold medicine for her on the way home, I’d be thankful. I don’t want to leave her here by herself.”

“I can do that,” he replied instantly. “I hope she feels better. I’m really worried.”

“I know you are. I am too. We’ll get her fixed up though.” She thought for a second, briefly glancing at the TV. She then asked him, “How’s the shoot going? When will you be home?”

“I don’t know. The shoot is all right, but it’s dragging on longer than it was supposed to. And I’d really just like to go home. Especially now that I know that Eunsook is sick…”

“She’ll be fine,” Serin assured him. “How much longer until you’re home?”

“Probably like… 3 hours or so. I’m all finished, but the other members still have their individual shots to do. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

Their conversation waned after that, becoming more sporadic because honestly, they would both rather talk to each other in person. He messaged her, “We’re finally done!” nearly two hours later. Serin did think it had taken them an awful long time, much longer than it should have, but he explained, “It was kind of a… intricate photoshoot. And we had to change outfits quite a few times. You’ll understand when you see it.”

She then, as it had gotten later, and she’d not heard a sound from Eunsook, finally dozed off on the couch while the TV provided white noise in the background.

--

The next thing Serin realized was that someone was sitting on the couch at her feet. She slowly opened her eyes to find Hoon (unsurprisingly) sitting while holding a sleeping Eunsook in his arms. “What time is it?” she asked him, rolling onto her back and stretching out carefully so she didn’t kick either of them.

“Almost 11,” he answered.

“How is she?” Serin asked, rubbing her eyes with her forearm and yawning.

“She was whining in her room when I came in. She’s got a runny nose and a cough. I gave her some of the medicine you asked me to buy, and she fell back to sleep on my chest after a bit.”

“I’ll definitely take her to the doctor in the morning. I feel so bad for her,” Serin said with a frown, sitting up slowly so she could move to sit beside Hoon.

“I’m worried. I don’t want her to get any worse than what she already is.”

“Don’t worry too much,” Serin assured as she leaned her head on Hoon’s shoulder and reached out to caress her daughter’s forehead. “Eunsookie will be just fine. We’ll have a doctor look at her and get her all fixed up.”

“Mmm,” Hoon acknowledged. “Poor baby,” he cooed to her, tilting his head down to kiss her on the top of the head. The two sat on the couch together for a bit longer, silence enveloping them.

Eunsook coughed again, lightly, and then whimpered before turning her head to face the other way on Hoon’s chest. He watched her to make sure she settled in comfortably before he glanced over at Serin concern. Her brows were bunched together in concern. He didn’t say anything to her. He could see how stressed out and worried over Eunsook she was, and he didn’t want to add his stress to hers.

--

It was killing Hoon inside waiting for Serin to let him know what the doctor said while he was at practice. He was distracted. He was making small mistakes. He’d accidentally hit Jun in the face, stepped on Kevin’s foot. They all glowered at him because experience had taught them that when Hoon was making mistakes at practice it meant that he had something going on at home. Kevin, who was trying to remain as upbeat as he could, tried to get to the bottom of the problem. “What’s going on Hoonie? You’re distracted.”

He was hesitant to answer, but finally said, “Eunsook is sick. I’m just worried for my baby.”

“Oh no,” Kevin said, concerned. “Is she going to be okay?”

“Serin is taking her to a clinic today to get checked out. She thinks it’s just a cold.”

“Poor Eunsookie,” Eli said. “If it’s just a cold and you’re already taking her to see a doctor, I’m sure she’ll be fine, though.”

“Yeah,” Hoon agreed. “I’m just worried.”

Jun reached out to give his hand a supportive squeeze. “She’ll be all healthy again in no time, hyung,” he told Hoon. “It’s probably just the weather changing.”

“Maybe she has allergies,” Kiseop suggested. “It’s that time of year. AJ’s usually flare up around now.”

Hoon nodded, glad for their well-wishes and support. “Thanks everyone.”

Eli smiled reassuringly at him. “We all know how much Eunsookie means to you. We love her, too. I hope she gets better soon.”

They resumed practice, Hoon slightly more relaxed after speaking with the members, and when Serin did call him around lunchtime, he felt even more relieved.

“She’s just got a regular old cold,” Serin explained. “The doctor said to keep using the medicine you got for her last night to treat the symptoms. She should get better in a week or so.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it had been a little overboard to take her to the doctor for a common cold, but he felt better knowing that she’d seen a doctor and that it wasn’t something else. “Are you going to take off of work to watch her the rest of the week?” he asked.

“I may. But I think Eomma can handle this, so if they need me there, I’ll go in. Otherwise, I’ll stay with Hime.”

Hoon smiled. “Yeah,” he admitted. “Eomma just loves her. Do you think they’ll need you though? You’re always complaining about how you don’t actually do anything worthwhile any more.”

“I don’t though. I probably won’t have to be in. Appa will tell me not to come in once he finds out Eunsook is sick, anyway. But sometimes crazy stuff happens, and it can’t be helped.”

“Yeah. Well, have a nice day and make sure to take extra good care of Hime for me.”

“I will, Hoonie. Have a nice day at practice.”

They finished their conversation on the phone, and he returned to practice, mind clear and at ease now that he knew Eunsook was okay and would be healthy again in a few days.