The family of four were up by 8am, sitting around the dining table and eating the breakfast prepared by Jihyo. This time round, the kids had to eat by themselves, making up a horrible mess.

“I’m not working today,” Gary informed Jihyo. “Shall we go out?”

Jihyo smiled. It has been long since they went out to somewhere far, not counting the filming the other day. Recently, Gary had been very busy with his music, and rarely had time for them. “Where to?” she asked.

“The beach? You love the beach,” he smiled. At the mention of the word ‘beach’ Daeyang’s ears perked up and came running over towards them, barking excitedly.

Jihyo laughed. “Seems like he loves the beach more.”

Gary laughed too. It has been long since he brought Daeyang to the beach as well. Actually, he hasn’t brought him to the beach ever since he left him at the training centre back in Canada. And when the dog came over, he was busy with work and the kids and didn’t bring him either. The Labrador retriever, now a fully grown dog, put his front paws on Gary’s thighs and barked at him. He rubbed the dog’s neck and smiled. “Why are you so excited already? We are still discussing,” he , as if he understood.

“So, should we? The weather seems nice,” he asked Jihyo again.

“Shall we go out today,” she asked the kids in response to Gary’s question.

Jiyoung nodded, his spoon clean.

“Will you leave me alone again?” Ji-ohn asked, still afraid. Jihyo’s heart ached. She carried her baby out of the baby chair and sat her on her legs. “No, we won’t,” she said, brushing her hair.

Ji-ohn smiled, feeling assured. “Then we can go!” she said, excitedly.

So, after breakfast, Gary cleaned up their mess at the dining table while Jihyo dressed them up for their outing.

“Should we invite Dong Hoon and Dream along?” Gary asked from the kitchen.

Jihyo pondered for a while. “Let it just be the five of us,” she said.

You miss our alone time, don’t you, Gary smiled.

Just do your dishes, Jihyo pretended to snap back but Gary knew she was just pretending to be annoyed, so he just laughed and continued washing.

Meanwhile, Jihyo was done with the kids. They both wore a tee-shirt with a big yellow sun on it, and a pair of shorts. Blue for Jiyoung, purple for Ji-ohn. She then packed an extra set of clothes for the kids, in case they got dirty in the water. And when babies are involved, diapers are a must, so she packed some extra. And so are snacks, so into they bag the go. And finally, not forgetting some water. And if Daeyang was coming along, dog treats are essential.

After thinking for a while more, she finally decided to squeeze in another set of clothes for herself and Gary, just in case they got wet.

Gary came into the room and laughed at the size of the bag. “Yeobo, we are going to the beach for a day, not a week!”

“I know, but all this things are important.”

“Sigh, where did the careless and carefree mong jihyo go?” he joked.

“Gone with the wind when she became a mother,” she laughed, smacking him in the chest. “Hurry up and change, don’t keep the kids waiting.”

“Ne, eomma,” he said playfully as he kissed her on the cheeks.

Soon, they were ready to go. Daeyang was so excited that he kept jumping about.

“Come here,” Gary ordered. Daeyang went over to him obediently as the latter placed a tag on him.

Assistance dog on duty. Please do not distract me by feeding or petting me, it read.

Like magic, he stopped his mischief and immediately became the alert, well-trained dog that he was training to be in the year at school.

Gary smiled, patting his head. “All grown up, aren’t you,” he said. He was certainly a talented assistance dog, like what they always complimented.

Gary handed Ji-ohn the leash to let Daeyang guide her. Jiyoung followed beside her, holding her free hand.

Jihyo and Gary walked behind the trio, enjoying their little moment of peace.

“Daeyang’s like a second mom to them,” Gary commented casually, as he watched the dog lead the two kids carefully.

Feeling cheeky, she said, “Fine, then go marry him and call him yeobo instead.”

Gary just laughed and placed his hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Soon, they reached the car. Gary drove while Jihyo sat beside him. The two children sat behind, in their baby seats, with Daeyang in the middle. Everyone was excited about going to the beach so the atmosphere was cheerful and light, with the two children singing behind them.

“Jiyoung-ah, Ji-ohn ah! Bwa bwa! Bada ya!” Jihyo exclaimed, pointing out of the window at the sea. Gary smiled at Jihyo looking so excited over a small thing. Then, it hit him that ever since their children were born, she busied herself with their things and rarely had time for herself. A wave of guilt swept over him as he watched how tired she looked now that in the past. Gently, he placed his hand over hers.

“Wae, oppa?”

“Nothing. I just feel grateful towards you,” he said, bringing up her hands to his lips.

“Babo,” she said, but smiling.

They got down their car and walked towards the beach. Similarly as before, the kids were in front and their parents at the back. Once they reached the beach, Gary unleashed the dog, and Daeyang became the playful dog once more. He jumped on the sand, sending it flying all over. Jihyo took out the picnic mat in the giant haversack Gary was carrying and laid it out, while the children played on the sand.

Once done, the parents went to join the kids.

“Is this fun?” Jihyo asked, smiling at the children.

“Ne!” they replied.

“Iggeo mwoya?” Ji-ohn asked.

“Molae,” Gary replied, letting some of the sand in his hands run onto her little palms. She caught it, giggling. It was her first experience with sand. While Jiyoung saw it in picture books before, Ji-ohn didn’t know how it looked like.

“Molae,” she repeated, fascinated. Gary smiled and pinched her cheeks. Meanwhile, Jihyo and Jiyoung were playing Frisbee with Daeyang. Jihyo taught Jiyoung how to throw it properly, but he didn’t understand it and it kept going sideways. Nonetheless, they all had fun and kept laughing.

“Should we build a sandcastle together?” Jihyo asked.

Gary nodded. “Let’s go get some water for the castle,” he said, holding Ji-ohn in one hand and the little bucket in another.

They took small cautious steps towards the shore. Ji-ohn was unfamiliar with the material and was grasping tightly onto Gary’s hands. When the waves hit her legs, she squealed in excitement.

“Do you like that?” Gary laughed. The waves came again and rushed over her feet, and she squealed again.

“Mul,” she said.

Gary nodded. “Eo, it’s the seawater. It’s salty,” he said, dapping his finger into the water and letting her taste it.

“Eek,” she scrunched up her face in distaste, causing Gary to laugh.

Just then, Jihyo splashed some water onto Gary.

“Yah!!!” he yelled.

“I thought you were supposed to bring us back some water,” she laughed. Not wanting to lose out, he splashed some water back at her. While playing, some water splashed onto Ji-ohn and she kept laughing.

“Jiyoung, come and help eomma!” Jihyo encouraged him, holding out her hand to help him enter the water. Although afraid at first, when he saw them having so much fun, his fear dissipated and he joined them.

“Then you must help appa, Ji-ohn,” Gary said.

“Shireo, I want to help eomma,” she squealed playfully, holding out her hands for Jihyo to help her over.

“Keulae, be like that. Appa’s going home,” he joked, pretending to walk away.

Jihyo just laughed at him, each hand holding on to a child. Ji-ohn laughed too, but Jiyoung said reached out to pull his shirt. “Andwae,” he said.

Gary smiled. “That’s why sons are better,” he said, bending down to kiss him. He smiled shyly, before splashing some water onto his father’s face.

“Yah!!” he laughed, amused and shocked at the same time. “What have you been teaching your children, Song Ji Hyo?”

She just laughed and they all engaged themselves in splashing each other.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Daeyang ran into the water, like how he always does, splashing water at everyone.

“What happened to your sand castle?” Gary asked, laughing.

“Ja, let’s go and build it now,” she said, leading Ji-ohn out of the water slowly. Gary, Jiyoung and Daeyang raced back to the shore, but of course Gary slowed down his pace and let his son win. They started to pile up the sand together.

Behind them, Jihyo was asking Ji-ohn.

“Ji-ohn, iggeo ara?” she asked, putting her hands into the sand.

She smiled confidently. “Molae!” she exclaimed.

“Whoa, how did you know?” she asked, surprised. She didn’t hear Gary teaching her just now.

She just giggled and ignored the question, tugging her mother faster to go to her father and brother.

Together, they piled up a ‘sand castle’ which was half as tall as the children. As a finishing touch, Gary put a twig with a single leaf at the top, to make it took like a flag. Jihyo laughed because it looked quite silly.

“Shall we?” Jihyo asked. Gary nodded, knowing what she meant. He carried Jiyoung up while Jihyo carried Ji-ohn.

“Hana, dul, set,” they counted as they put the kids onto the castle, letting their legs destroy the fragile sand castle.

They thought it would be fun, but Jiyoung started to scowl. “Andwae, andwae,” he cried, not wanting their ‘hard work’ to be destroyed, but the damage was already done.

“Wae wae wae,” Gary asked.

“It’s gone,” he sobbed.

“Aniya, kwenchana… it’s not meant to last forever,” he said, patting his back to comfort him.

“But we made it together,” he cried.

“Uljima, uljima… nothing lasts forever,” Gary said. “Except family,” he added. “We’ll love each other forever.”

“Oppa, do you think he even understands you?” Jihyo laughed in exasperation. Gary shrugged. “Come,” she said, reaching out to carry her son. “Uljima, I’ll give you some snacks,” she said.

He stopped crying and held out his hands.

“Say juseyo,” she told him.

He put one palm over the other. (It means juseyo for babies, if I’m not wrong)

“Ani. Say it,” Gary said.

“Oppa!” Jihyo shot him a stare. Don’t make him cry again!

Don’t spoil him, he’s old enough to speak.

“Juseyo,” he said, sofly.

“Keuleoji,” Gary smiled, letting him sit on this legs. He wiped his hands with some wet wipes before passing him the biscuit.

“Ji-ohn, kkakka julka?” Jihyo asked.

“Ne,” she answered. “Juseyo.”

Similarly, she wiped her hands before giving her the biscuit.

You are angry? He asked her, noticing that she kept a distance from him.

“No,” she replied coolly.

Gary sighed, moving closer to her. “I know you are annoyed,” he said gently, brushing her hair behind her ears.

She sighed. “I think you are too strict on them.”

He put his hands around her waist and kissed her cheeks. “I’m sorry, then,” he said, snuggling against her neck.

She smiled. She can’t be mad at him for long. “Aren’t you supposed to defend yourself and say that I’m too lenient or something?”

“This’s why Jae Suk hyung says you’ll have complete control over me,” he pretended to sigh.

“Is it?” she laughed, feeding him a biscuit. Jae Suk said it very long ago, way before they started. They brushed it off then, because they were just an on-screen couple back then and they were merely friends. They thought Jae Suk said it for the sake of the show, but seems like he saw through them before they did.

He bit her hand along with the biscuit. “Yah!” she squealed, smacking him.

“Mianhae, your smells as good as a flower, so I had to try tasting it. It tastes better than the biscuit, actually.”

“Oppa, stop it,” she laughed. Turning to the children, she asked, “Should we hide your appa under the sand?”

They didn’t understand that she meant bury him, but they still said yes.

“Song Ji Hyo!” Gary shouted, but laughing.

They piled sand over his legs and he pretended to scream and shout, much to the joy of the children, causing them to giggle.

When it reached his chest, he pretended to cry and shout for help. Then, the children got worried.

“Hajima!” Ji-ohn said, putting a hand over Jihyo’s. Thinking that she was just joking, she continued. But she started to cry. “Hajima!! Eomma!!”

“Arrasso, arrasso,” Jihyo said, finally stopping. “Appa’s alright, see?”

Getting the hint, Gary pushed away the sand and freed himself. “Jjang! I’m saved! Gomawo, Ji-ohn ah,” he said, kissing his daughter cheeks. She giggled.

Then, seeing the fun in it, Jiyoung started to bury himself in the sand, but only up till the knees because his parents were afraid he might swallow some of the sand. Then they buried Jihyo and Ji-ohn as well. After they got tired out from burying each other, they played Frisbee with Daeyang.

Soon, it was close to dinner time. “Ja, who wants to feed Daeyang some treats?” Gary announced.

Both children raised up their hands. Gary gave Jiyoung some first. He raised it up and Daeyang stood up to eat it, with his front paws on the boy’s shoulder. He was taller than the boy as he stood up, but Jiyoung, like Ji-ohn, weren’t afraid of the dog.

Ji-ohn bend down and held out her palm for the dog to eat from, which he gladly lapped up.

“Ok, now, let’s wash up and then we go for mam ma ok?” Jihyo asked. “You brought change of clothes for us too, right?” Gary asked.

Jihyo smirked. “Who was the one who said I brought too many things?”

Gary laughed. “I don’t know,” he said. “He was so wrong.”

She laughed too, passing him his set of clothing, as well as Jiyoung’s. “Gomawo,” he said. Turning to Jiyoung, he said, “Kaja!” as he led him to the boy’s bathroom, while Jihyo brought Ji-ohn. Daeyang stayed at the beach, taking care of their picnic mat.

Before long, they were all out and ready for dinner. “Baegopa…” Ji-ohn complained, rubbing her tummy.

“Arrasso, we’ll find some mam ma soon,” Jihyo said, carrying her up.

Seeing his sister being carried, Jiyoung stopped and wanted to be carried too.

“Ana jwo,” he said, raising both his hands. Gary carried him with his left hand and held onto Daeyang’s leash with his right.

When they reached the restaurant, a young waiter stopped them.

“Sorry, sir, pets are not allowed.”

“This is not a pet, it’s an assistance dog,” Gary said, calmly, pointing to Daeyang’s tag.

The waiter his lips nervously. He wasn’t sure how to deal with this situation. “I’ll get my manager,” he finally said, disappearing in a flash.

“Why can’t we enter?” Ji-ohn asked.

“Aniya, he’s just checking something,” Jihyo replied, passing her some snacks since she was hungry.

Soon, the manager came out with the young waiter. Gary showed him Daeyang’s tag and leash. He was getting annoyed, since his children were hungry already. “Do you need me to show you the authorization letter? Do you know it’s illegal to deny assistance dogs into any public areas accessible to the rest of the public?” he said, sounding irritated. He wasn’t usually like this, but when it’s regarding the welfare of his children, or Jihyo, he would be very concerned. Jihyo put a hand on his to calm him down.

The manager nodded apologetically.  “Yes, yes, I understand. He is inexperienced, please do not blame him.” He signalled for the young waiter to bow and apologise, which he did.

“Would you like a seat inside or outside?” he asked.

Gary looked at Jihyo. “Outside please,” she said. She knew, even though it was possible to sit inside, customers won’t be pleased. She didn’t want to make things difficult for the manager, or the restaurant. Besides, it was windy outside as well, and they could enjoy the night sky, too.

The waiter let them to a table outside, grateful that she chose to seat there. Otherwise, he would have to explain to each and every customer inside.

“Please be seated. May I take your orders?”

Jihyo ordered a variety of seafood as well as some noodle and two bowls of rice, and soup. Gary poured out some dog feed for Daeyang, after tying the baby bibs on his children.

“Thank you, your orders will be served soon,” he bowed gratefully. Jihyo smiled warmly.

Soon, dinner was served. Like all parents, they prepared the food for their children first, even though they themselves were hungry.

“Whoa, sae-oo ida!” Jihyo said, trying to get the children excited.

“It’s big!” Jiyoung said, amazed.

Gary smiled, all his anger dissipated with the arrival of the food. “Keuleomyo! They caught it from the water we played in just now!”

“Whooa, daebak!” Ji-ohn clapped in excitement.

“Jalmeogget subnida,” Jihyo said, and the kids repeated after her.

Gary took some rice for them, while Jihyo deshelled the prawns for the kids. Gary then took some fish for them, checking that it doesn’t have any more bones.

Jihyo was busy deshelling for the kids that she didn’t have time to eat. Seeing that, Gary smiled, as he fed a prawn to her.

She shook her head. “Eat it yourself,” she said, as she gave another prawn to Ji-ohn.

“You haven’t ate any yet, come on.”

“Then give Jiyoung.”

“I deshelled this with my heart, specially for you,” he insisted.

She smiled, unable to argue with him when he is that cheesy. “Gomawo,” she said, blushing slightly.

He found it cute that she still blushed so easily when they are married for so long. “Why is your face red,” he teased.

“Eat your prawn,” she giggled, stuffing a prawn into his mouth before he made anymore embarrassing comments.

He just laughed and ate it.

Dinner progressed smoothly, under the illumination of the night sky.

Does this remind you of our first date? He asked her.

She smiled at the beautiful memory. Yes. We’ve came so far…

He nodded, grateful for everything that they have been through, because all those were the best things that happened to him.

*By the way, it's a fact that 

1) you shouldnt feed assistance dogs on duty, nor pet them, because as much as they are well trained, it's gna distract them from their duty. so it's a huge nono.

2) assistance dogs are NOT pets. they shouldnt be denied to any place a normal human is allowed to go (save some special places, like sterile operating rooms, etc etc) . that is, as far as korea is concerned of course.

(an astonishingly longgg chapter, I didn’t even expect to write so long!! I kept smiling to myself as I wrote this, because it felt adorable omg I cant even… lolol am I self-praising myself hahahah! Till next week buddies!)