Seulgi raises her eyebrows as she alternates between the pleading look on both Irene and Joy’s faces. She crosses her arms and says with finality. “No.”

Irene and Joy had adopted Yerim for a while now, and Seulgi loves Yerim like how an aunt loves her niece, don’t get her wrong, but the couple was asking her to take care of Yerim alone (with Seungwan actually), for two days. She had difficulties breathing after playing tag with Yerim for just two minutes, so how is she going to keep up with the toddler for two days?

“Please Seulgi, it’s just for one weekend.” Irene begs.

“Nu-uh.” Seulgi doesn’t budge. She looks at Yerim, who gives her a bright smile and she has to look away before her heart softens. Wendy doesn’t and she immediately coos, bending down while opening her arms, which Yerim immediately reciprocates by running into Wendy’s open arms. Wendy picks the toddler up, swinging her around. “You are going to behave, right?”

Yerim nods, eyes bright as she giggles before snuggling into Wendy’s embrace. “Seungwan!” Seulgi retorts furiously as Irene and Joy breathes out a huge sigh of relief.

“Come on, it will be fun, right?” Wendy asked, more to Yerim than Seulgi. Seulgi closes her eyes and sighs as Irene hands her a duffel bag filled with Yerim’s necessities. It had better be if Yerim’s going to intrude on the only alone time she’s getting with Wendy for the whole week.

--

A small hand falls on Seulgi’s face and she flinches, rolling over to the other side of the bed to avoid the attack. She hears a high pitched giggle and the blankets and mattress shifting a little before feeling short fingers over her eyes, prying them open. Seulgi makes out the silhouette of a small girl through her blurry vision and the raucous laughter of the girl instantly wakes her up. “Wake rup!”

“Yerim? What are you doing her-” Seulgi asks groggily before she remembers the situation. She groans as she buries her head into the pillow, trying to shut Yerim out, thinking the toddler will give up if she ignores her but she is very insistent. Yerim pulls Seulgi by the arm, sits and jumps on her back and laughs, thinking Seulgi is playing a game with her by being stubborn. “Wake rup! You have to bring me to the amusement park today!”

“But I’m tired, Yerim-ah…” Seulgi replies, determined not to lose this battle (and her treasured sleep). The room falls into silence, and Seulgi peeks out from her pillow to see Yerim sitting there with tear-filled eyes while biting her lips. The older girl panics and immediately sits up, flailing her arms in front of Yerim. “Woah, woah don’t cry! Okay I’m going to wash up now, so don’t cry okay!”

Seulgi ends up piggy backing Yerim down to the kitchen. She stands behind Wendy, who is busy flipping pancakes and signals for Yerim to scare her. Both Yerim and Seulgi let out a loud ‘Boo!’ and Wendy nearly drops her pancakes in shock as she turns and stares at the two with lifted eyebrows. The two laugh and Seulgi even twirls Yerim around in her excitement. Wendy pouts and continues flipping the pancakes and Seulgi lets Yerim, who is already squirming down from her back, the toddler immediately dashing off somewhere else. Seulgi takes this opportunity to kiss Wendy, effectively kissing the pout away. She always like seeing Wendy, particularly when she’s flushed red with embarrassment, like now. Seulgi leans her forehead against the other girl and smiles as she stares into Wendy’s eyes. “Good morning.”

“Good morning to you too.” Wendy replies, a little breathless, a little shy. The demeanor was immediately gone as she smells the pancakes burning. She breaks away, flipping the pancake to show a completely burnt face and she groans. Seulgi chuckles and back hugs Wendy as she complains about how Seulgi distracted her, causing her to burn the pancakes but what she doesn't know is; Seulgi loves burnt pancakes if it meant sneaky morning kisses by the stove.

--

Seulgi sulks a little as she holds Yerim’s hand. The toddler was in the middle of the two of them, holding both of their hands as they squeeze through the crowd in the amusement park. The crowd is making her lose her patience and the fact that Wendy isn’t holding her hand to comfort her is making it worse. As the day progressed, her sulk grew more and more as she had to take rides alone while Wendy sat with Yerim, and Wendy seemed to pay more attention to Yerim, not even sparing a glance for her. Call her childish to be vying for Wendy’s attention with a 6 year old, but she just can’t help but get jealous at all the attention that is on Yerim instead of her.

Yerim goes for the indoor ball pit next (only after much fretting by Wendy about how she can’t climb the walls and jump down from high places), leaving the two outside the ball pit, staring in from the glass panel. Yerim slides into the ball pit, and only her face is visible as she smiles and waves at the two. Seulgi just smiles back with a thumb up while Wendy returns it with a huge exaggerated wave using two hands. The latter turns to look at Seulgi, who pointedly ignores her. She intertwines their hands while leaning in to whisper into Seulgi’s ear, “You know I love you, right?”

“I hate you.” Seulgi replies, but a hint of a smile is on her face. Wendy takes a quick peek at Yerim, making sure she’s not looking at them before giving a quick peck on Seulgi’s cheek, hiding her blush by hiding her face in the crook of Seulgi’s neck. She can feel Seulgi’s erratic pulse, and knows that Seulgi is experiencing the same feeling as her even if she looks nonchalant on the surface. She feels Seulgi squeezing her hand and resting her head against her own, and even without words, Wendy knows all is good again.

--

Yerim steps out of the ball pit 30 minutes later, all sweaty and legs wobbly. They sit down at a bench for a while, Wendy fussing over Yerim while wiping her sweat and fanning her while Seulgi comes back with smoothies and snacks for them. Yerim reaches for the smoothies gleefully, and Seulgi smiles a little at the contended grin on the kid’s face after filling up her stomach. She ruffles her hair while slurping on her own smoothie and even Wendy who always had a distaste for unhealthy diets had no complaints this time, nibbling on a nacho. After the short break, they make their way to the game stalls, Seulgi carrying Yerim instead, the two afraid that they will lose Yerim in the crowd if they were to just hold her hand. She holds onto Yerim with one hand, the kid clinging onto her while Wendy holds her other hand, guiding them forward towards the game stalls.

Once they reach the game stalls, Yerim squirms out of Seulgi’s hold and Seulgi lets the girl down, watching her carefully so as not to lose her in the crowd. Seulgi is about to follow after Yerim when she feels Wendy tug at her hand, looking really uncomfortable. “I need the toilet. You will be fine alone with Yerim, right?”

Seulgi chuckles and nods her agreement and sends Wendy off with a pat on her bum. She makes her way towards Yerim, who is already engrossed in catching rubber ducks floating in an inflatable pool, watching the kid amusedly as she tries really hard but still fails. Yerim’s hand-eye coordination reminded Seulgi of Irene’s non-existent hand-eye coordination skills, the young girl still shocking Seulgi sometimes at how alike she is to her foster parents. Yerim gives up on the game quickly, moving to another game stall with an evident pout on her face. She looks around, gasps and runs to a game stall, Seulgi strolling leisurely behind the girl.

“I want that!” Yerim says, pointing to a huge pink Hello Kitty hung in the middle of the store. She looks at the game and chuckles. This game again? “But Yerim-ah you have to play the game in order to win the toy.”

“Then let me play!” Seulgi smiles as she look at how Yerim is barely tall enough to see over the booth of the stall, much less play the game. The little girl clambers for Seulgi and the latter carries her so that she is standing on the table of the booth to be able to play the game. Seulgi pays and the store attendant gives Yerim 10 darts to hit the balloons. Yerim holds onto one carefully and Seulgi explains to her patiently. “Okay Yerim you have to hit 8 red balloons with 10 tries to win Hello Kitty, okay?”

“Hmm!” Yerim agrees enthusiastically and starts throwing the darts randomly, obviously not making the target of hitting 8 red balloons. She tries a few more times and frustration grows, finally giving up on her nth try, nearly bursting into tears as she sulks. Seulgi chuckles at Yerim who has buried herself in Seulgi’s embrace, too embarrassed with her failure and disappointed with not being able to win her favorite Hello Kitty plush. Seulgi pats Yerim on the back, comforting her. “Do you want auntie bear to win it for you?”

She feels Yerim nodding against her embrace and pays for another game. Yerim pulls away so that Seulgi can play the game properly and Seulgi looks at all the balloons carefully. The red ones are purposely placed at the corner and top areas so that it’s hard to pop them, but there is no such thing as ‘hard’ in Kang Seulgi’s dictionary. Her first 7 tries pop the red balloons easily and Yerim’s eyes sparkle brighter with each successful passing try that she counts out. Wanting to tease the little girl, Seulgi intentionally misses the next 2 tries. “Oh no! Ottoke?”

Yerim looks like she is about to cry again, so Seulgi laughs and throws the last dart perfectly to destroy the last red balloon. And Yerim does cry, but it’s tears of joy as she reaches out eagerly for the plush, hugging it tightly before turning around to hug her aunt Seulgi tightly and giving the bear a kiss on the cheek. Seulgi blushes at the sudden kiss and watches as Yerim hops off the table by herself, hopping off to the next store. Before she knows it, she feels someone holding her in a back hug and she hears Wendy sniggering before feeling the girl pressed up behind her. “Seems like you guys were having fun.”

"Not too bad." Seulgi plays it off coolly as Wendy detaches herself from the back hug and loops her arms around Seulgi's. Seulgi didn’t expect herself to enjoy looking after Yerim, but she guesses the little devil has her ways of charming them with her brightness. Yerim comes running back to them, wrapping her arms around Seulgi’s legs.

“Auntie Bear… I’m tired…” Yerim whines and without any hesitation, Seulgi picks the little girl up into her embrace as Wendy smiles at her with an ‘I-told-you-it’ll-be-fun’ smile as she looks at the two fondly while patting Yerim on the head.

--

Seulgi finally sits down on the road pavement, letting go of Yerim to sit on her lap, her arm muscles burning in pain. Ever since she carried Yerim, the little girl had refused to get down and even rejected Wendy’s offers to carry her (to Wendy’s disappointment), and stayed in Seulgi’s arms for a few hours. Now, they are waiting for the carnival to start (again, on Yerim’s insistence), but she has fallen asleep in Seulgi’s arms. She hits her own shoulder in an attempt to get rid of the aches, keeping her movements small, afraid of waking Yerim up. Wendy sees this and massages her, trying her best to lessen the pain.

“It’s so unfair how easily you worm into her heart with just the Hello Kitty plush.” Wendy grumbles as she gives Seulgi a shoulder massage.

“Isn’t it the same for you?” Seulgi chuckles. “In fact, you even have two.”

Wendy starts pressing harder and harder on Seulgi’s shoulders, causing the latter to pull away with a yelp. “Okay, whatever you say player.”

“Come on, you may not be Yerim’s favorite aunt anymore, but you will still be my favorite.” Seulgi says and smiles, eyes turning into crescents and Wendy hits her on the shoulders, turning away while blushing.

The music starts blaring through the speakers, effective waking Yerim up from her slumber as she sobers up to see the first carriage coming down the lane. She points excitedly at the carriages while the two adults just smile and nod at her, unable to hear the little girl over the loud music. Seulgi feels Wendy shift closer to her, and she leans her head on Wendy’s shoulder, despite it being uncomfortable because of Wendy’s shorter height. Their hands find each other and they just sit through the whole show like that. Nevertheless, Seulgi ends up with a sore neck at the end of the carnival, but she feels that it’s worth it. Anything is worth it if it’s with Seungwan.

--

Seulgi finds herself a little upset when Joohyun and Sooyoung appear at her doorsteps on Sunday morning. She has gotten so close with Yerim that she finds it hard to say goodbye to her (even though it’s not forever). She watches as Yerim runs into Joy’s arms, gleeful expression reflecting on both the parents and the child’s faces from finally reuniting after being away from each other. Yerim jumps into Irene’s arms next and the latter almost falls backwards from the force. They bid their farewell, Seungwan already kneeling with her arms open for Yerim. The little girl runs into Wendy’s arms with no hesitation. “Thank you Auntie Wendy!”

“No problem. See you soon, Yerim-ah.” Wendy replies while tightening the hug, the little girl nodding against the embrace before pulling out to kiss her on the cheek. Yerim turns to look at Seulgi, and Seulgi finds herself naturally leveling herself down to Yerim’s eye level by squatting to receive a hug from Yerim.

“Thank you for the Hello Kitty, Auntie Seulgi!”  Yerim says and Seulgi pats her on the head. “No problem. Take good care of it, alright?”

Yerim nods fervently. “Let’s play together again soon.”

“Okay.”

“Pinkie promise?” Yerim asks, pulling out from the embrace to hold up her pinkie finger. Seulgi smiles and curls her pinkie around Yerim’s, “Promise,” and presses her thumb against Yerim’s thumb, “and sealed.”

Yerim giggles and lets go, kissing Seulgi on the cheek. “See you soon!”

She runs back to her parents and they make their way to the car, Seulgi and Wendy sending their guests off at the gate, watching and waving until the car pulls out of the driveway of their house. Seulgi back hugs Wendy and the latter places her hands on Seulgi’s arms, both finding comfort in this position although it’s cold outside and they are not dressed for this weather. They stand in silence for a while, until Wendy breaks it. “So… should we adopt a child too?”

“What?! No!” Seulgi exclaims as she pulls away and looks at Wendy incredulously.

“Aww why not? You enjoyed the weekends with Yerim, don’t even try to deny it.” Wendy tries to reason and Seulgi just shakes her head frantically as she makes her way into the house as a way of escaping from this discussion. Wendy follows, hot on her heels, already listing the positive points on having a child in the house. She’s making her way to their bedroom when she can’t tune Wendy out anymore, and turns around and pins her against the walls and kisses her, effectively shutting her up. Seulgi pulls away, still panting as she looks at the glazed look on Wendy’s face. “Let’s wait a few more years, okay?”

She’s not saying ‘no’ definitely, but it’s not the time yet. Honestly, her mind is already a little swayed by Yerim, but even if it wasn’t, she’s sure Wendy has her ways of persuading her. But, it’s just not the time yet. Seulgi doesn’t want to rush things, indeed, why rush when they are going to have a whole life together ahead of them? She sees Wendy’s soul gradually coming back as she tugs Wendy’s hair behind her ears.

“I don’t want to share you with anyone yet.” Seulgi says and she sees Wendy blushing. The shorter girl hides her face in the crook of Seulgi’s neck. “Okay, but I’m going to convince you.”

“Okay, anything you say, yeobo.” Seulgi places a kiss on Seungwan’s forehead before pulling her towards the direction of their bedroom. “But for now, let’s cuddle and sleep.”

Seulgi plops down onto their bed when she reaches the foot of it, feeling the bed shifting as Wendy got in, covering her with the blanket. She snuggles into the crook of Wendy’s neck, enjoying the warmth Wendy is emanating.

“I love you.” Seulgi confesses and it gets easier and easier each time she says it, but the feeling doesn’t get weaker each time she does. She feels Wendy’s breath hitch, and she likes how she is still able to affect Wendy like this, because it’s the same for her.

“I love you too.”

“I love you more.”

Wendy chuckles, and Seulgi can hear it and feel it reverberating in Wendy’s chest. “Just go to sleep, Kkangseul.”

“Don’t leave.”

“I won’t. I will be right here when you wake up.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Now go to sleep, little bear.”

And Seulgi falls into slumber, into dreams of a hamster taming a bear. She likes the dream, but she decides she likes Wendy more, more than anything else in this world.  

--

A/N: do y'all get the feeling like "omg did i really write this gross fluffy piece of " cos i feel like that all the time...

and this concludes 'Tamed'! i'm sorry for the long wait between updates but i'm thankful i pulled through and finished it!! thank you to all the readers who have subscribed, upvoted, commented on this story!! 

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1103523

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till next time!!