redwcn🍒

Three years later, you spent your mornings strapping your baby girl, Eva (Ha-yun when you're mad), into her highchair whike you waited for the water to boil for her baby food; One that she desperately needed to let go as she was already three years old by now, a growing girl. The problem was that you liked it just as much as she did but didn't want your husband teasing you for buying baby food not for your baby, but for you, his baby.

"How'd you sleep, baby?" You asked, taking the container of powdered baby food from the counter and pouring a generous amount onto a small plastic bowl. Eva babbled with all the seriousness that a toddler could muster, because Eva loved to talk. Eva loved to babble to her parents and listen to their over-the-top reactions to her little incomprehensible stories. It made her giggle.

"Papa," was the first coherent word that had come out of her baby lips for the day. You hummed, pouring boiling water into the bowl to cook the baby food. "Papa's still asleep, baby. He's very tired because of work." you explained to the little girl and watched as her lips formed a little 'o' and nodded, the gears in her head turning as she absorbed the crucial information. "You miss papa?" your voice cut through her moment of concentration, and at the mention of her papa, she squealed and smacked her baby arms down onto the highchair, her giggles ringing throughout the kitchen. "I thought so." you leaned down to peck her forehead, her hands planting on either side of your head to hold you still. It was a habit of hers. Whenever you or Heeseung would kiss baby Eva's little face, she'd hold onto your cheeks or hair for dear life.

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Heeseung doesn't like waking up alone. He likes the feeling of warmth beside him. He likes hearing your deep breaths and snores as you slept. He likes it when you'd steal the blanket from him during a chilly night where you'd toss and turn, and he likes having to wake up everytime to prevent you from rolling off the bed and getting the blanket— plus you— to press against his body and warm him up again.

But ever since the birth of your little girl, he's learned to put his feelings aside. Because if Heeseung was one thing, he isn't selfish, but observant. He sees the eye bags forming under your lashes from breastfeeding in the middle of night. He sees the panic in your eyes once you start to realize that you don't have things under control. He sees the way you look in the mirror a second too long— or the way you'd avoid looking at the mirror altogether. He sees everything.

So he pushes himself to get up at 1:09 AM in the morning and shush your baby girl before you can wake up, while his own alarm was set at 4:00 AM. He's there to save the day when both you and Eva are overstimulated and on the brink of a meltdown, there to brush your tears of frustration away once Eva's tears turn into hiccups. He's there to love your new body, rubbing cream onto your stretch marks and kissing your belly on a quiet night, rubbing the soft skin while you ran your fingers through his hair.

So Heeseung pushes his own wants aside to make space for Eva's needs. He doesn't mention it when you forget to kiss him goodnight after finally putting her to sleep. He doesn't complain when you order takeout instead of cooking a warm meal. He doesn't snap at you when you start complaining about his busy schedule— how could he when you're taking care of a house that your toddler turns upside down 24/7?

Heeseung gets used to the empty space where you should be on the bed, because it's always followed by a sight that makes him feel warmer than any weighted blanket or a steaming hot bowl of Shin Ramyeon.

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You can hear Heeseung's loud dad yawn from a mile away, and judging from the way Eva's highchair rattles under the weight of her excitement, you're not the only one who heard it either.

"PAPA!!!!" grubby hands smack against the tray as her eyes land on the most important person in her whole three years of life alongside her mama, a sense of familiarity washes over her tiny body as her little brain works to tell her that her papa is here. Heeseung faints a gasp that makes the girl giggle, "Eva? Is that you? Is that papa's princess?" he moves to pick up the happy baby, who gladly kicks the air and squirms in his arms from the amount of happiness that's coursing through her veins— because now that both of her parents are awake, her day can finally start. "Papa, papa!" she squeals, hands reaching for her father's neck as he settles her against his chest, finally making way over to where you're standing by the counter, stirring her little bowl of baby food.

"There's she is, my beautiful woman." an arm wraps around your waist and you feel yourself getting pulled closer to your husband's embrace, to which you gladly accept. "And there he is, my pretty boy." you melt into the warmth of your husband and daughter, the scent of cotton candy and baby powder filling your nostrils splashes a wave of comfort over your entire body, and Heeseung can't help but smile at your relaxation— your happiness is contagious, after all.

A lot of things can happen in the span of three years. Change is constant, and you've learned to make the most out of the unpredictable.