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Join the ServerAs expected, Seo-woo’s stubbornness was not a one-day affair. From the moment she woke until she finally fell asleep, she would whine incessantly about wanting a sibling whenever she saw me.
“Seo-woo wants a sibling! I want a sibling! Give me a sibling!”
Even now, she had been rolling around on the floor, shrieking for thirty minutes straight. With her refusing to nap and carrying on like this, I felt like I was losing my mind.
I tried to soothe the child again, deliberately calming my frayed nerves.
“Seo-woo, let’s think about what else might be even better than a sibling, okay?”
“No! Seo-woo likes siblings best. There’s nothing else I want.”
They say that constantly indulging a child’s whims only spoils them. I tried to be as firm as he usually was, but my resolve crumbled the moment I attempted it.
‘Yes, if I keep coaxing and comforting her, her mind will change,’ I thought. Children are notoriously fickle, so this trial would surely pass.
“You said you wanted a doll last time, didn’t you? I’ll buy that for you.”
“Seo-woo wants a sibling, *hiccup*, I want one… Is Daddy a liar?”
“No, Seo-woo. Daddy doesn’t lie.”
“Then why aren’t you keeping your promise to Seo-woo?”
I tried to correct her distorted memory, but the child only wailed louder, shedding tears as tiny as a chick’s. My words caught in my throat.
Truly, it felt as though my sighs had only multiplied these past few days.
“Yoo Seo-woo, are you still at it?”
Seo-woo’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden voice. At the same moment, I turned to see Seon Woo-jung, who should have been at work, having just arrived in the living room.
“Wasn’t it too early for you to leave work?”
“Well, I wasn’t feeling well today, so I came home early.”
Contrary to his words, he didn’t look sick in the slightest. When I shot him a suspicious glance, he merely shrugged.
Just as I’d suspected, he’d made an excuse to leave work early.
“Yoo Seo-woo.”
He draped his jacket over the sofa, his voice dropping to a cold tone. *Hiccup*, the child, who had started hiccuping, scrambled up and hid behind me.
“Daddy’s scary….”
The child whispered, clutching my clothes tightly with her tiny hands. His expression was already quite stern when he didn’t smile, so it was no wonder she was frightened when he deliberately set such a serious mood.
I gave him a subtle look, signaling him to ease up before the child truly became terrified. He winked, acknowledging my silent request.
“I told you a sibling wasn’t an option last time, didn’t I?”
“No! Daddy said he’d give Seo-woo one as a present!”
“Joon-hee has never said such a thing.”
“Daddy doesn’t know anything! You’re mean!”
As Seo-woo shrieked, he narrowed his brows and let out a deep sigh. *Gasp*, the child, her shoulders hunched, began to whimper.
“Is Daddy going to scold Seo-woo?”
“Not right now, but if you keep it up, I will.”
“But Seo-woo…”
Frightened by the mention of a scolding, the child mumbled, trailing off her words. He watched her for a moment, then knelt on one knee and spread his arms wide towards her.
“Stop giving Joon-hee a hard time, and come here.”
The hesitant child ran towards him. Perhaps truly scared of being scolded, she buried herself in his wide embrace, murmuring that he shouldn’t be angry.
“You’re not going to talk about a sibling anymore, are you?”
“…”
“Promise Daddy.”
The child hesitated, then slowly nodded her head. He wiped away the lingering tears and sought reassurance once more.
“What if you don’t keep your promise?”
“A bad person…”
“Seo-woo isn’t a bad person, right?”
The child pouted her lips and replied, “Yes,” in a tiny voice. He stroked her head, praising her, and she smiled sweetly, seemingly pleased.
“Since you’re a good child who doesn’t lie, I’ll let you have ice cream today as a special treat.”
“Really? Then strawberry! Seo-woo wants strawberry!”
“Alright, let’s have ice cream after dinner.”
“Yay! Good!”
Relieved by the promise of ice cream, the child jumped with joy. Our eyes met, and we exchanged silent smiles.
Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief.
****
Joon-hee had gone to put Seo-woo to bed and hadn’t returned for an hour. Seon Woo-jung figured he was probably still soothing the child’s fussing.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should have gone myself today,’ Seon Woo-jung thought. After all, Joon-hee was far too soft on Seo-woo.
‘He could stand to be a bit more firm.’
Though she was his own child, Seo-woo was quite cunning. He admitted it; she had inherited that trait directly from him.
She whined more with Joon-hee because she knew he would indulge her, but she was careful around him because she knew he wouldn’t. ‘She shouldn’t develop bad habits like that.’
‘Should I go check?’
He ought to wait patiently, but his heart wouldn’t let him. Thinking about it, he’d deferred Joon-hee to the child all day, so it was only fair that he got to monopolize him at night.
He had come home early in the first place because he wanted to spend time with Joon-hee, so he’d been patient enough.
He headed straight for Seo-woo’s room. As he carefully opened the door, he saw the two of them lying face to face on the bed.
“Joon-hee.”
There was no answer when he called, which meant Joon-hee had likely fallen asleep while putting the child to bed. No wonder it had taken him so long.
He tiptoed in and gently lifted the sleeping Joon-hee, careful not to wake the child.
Returning to their room, he laid Joon-hee down on the bed and lay beside him. It wasn’t a great feeling that Joon-hee had fallen asleep, making his wait pointless.
‘I should have gone earlier,’ he thought. ‘Then I could have brought Joon-hee back before he fell asleep.’
‘I shouldn’t wake him, should I?’
Contrary to his thoughts, his hand moved to gently poke Joon-hee’s pale cheek. *Mmm*, Joon-hee let out a soft groan and stirred.
He waited, hopeful that Joon-hee might wake, but even after a moment, Joon-hee’s eyes remained closed.
“That’s too much.”
Pouting, he squeezed his large frame close to Joon-hee’s side. He didn’t forget to gently place Joon-hee’s limp arm over his own shoulder.
‘I just want to be alone with Joon-hee for one day.’
Since the child’s arrival, the times they had spent entirely alone together were few and far between. Seo-woo was old enough to be away from her parents for a few days, but now it seemed Joon-hee wouldn’t be able to bear it.
‘He’s such a doting father.’
If only he’d give him half the attention he gave Seo-woo. But as always, the long-accumulated resentment was buried deep within him.
He couldn’t very well show jealousy towards his child, not as a father.
‘Let’s just sleep.’
His plan to spend time together was ruined, so he had no choice but to try and sleep early himself. Yet, as always, sleep didn’t come easily.
He tried to force his eyes shut, even counting sheep in the classic way, but it was no use. His mind was still wide awake, while Joon-hee slept soundly, oblivious to the world.
‘I feel a bit suffocated.’
Even after throwing off the blanket completely, the oppressive feeling didn’t subside. His breath caught in his throat, and his body grew increasingly hot, making him wonder if he was coming down with a fever.
‘Where are the medicines?’
To avoid disturbing Joon-hee’s sleep, he switched the mood light to its dimmest setting and fumbled through the drawers, relying on its faint glow.
After practically rummaging through everything, he finally found a single packet of medicine, still unopened.
‘This should be it.’
He tucked it into his pocket and quietly left the room. Descending to the first floor, he reached the kitchen and re-checked the medicine’s name under the bright lights.
‘It’s a multi-symptom cold medicine, alright.’
He took out a pill and swallowed it with water. It felt a bit large, and a bitter taste suddenly surged up, as if it had scraped his esophagus on the way down.
Only after drinking another glass of water did the acrid flavor dissipate. He placed the empty glass in the sink and turned to leave, when suddenly his vision wavered violently.
“Ugh…”
If he hadn’t quickly grabbed the dining table, he would have lost his balance and tumbled to the floor.
He squeezed his eyes shut then opened them, refocusing his blurry vision. He straightened his unsteady legs and leaned against the table to prevent himself from falling again.
‘Is the medicine taking effect?’
He wondered how the effects could manifest so quickly after swallowing the pill, but if it meant a faster recovery, nothing else mattered.
However, in his current state, trying to force himself up the stairs risked a misstep. He had no choice but to give up on returning to Joon-hee and stay on the first floor.
‘I’ll go to the guest room.’
He stumbled his way to the guest room. Without even turning on the light, he entered and began to shed his constricting clothes one by one.
He tossed his discarded clothes onto the floor like a shed skin and lay on the bed in only his underwear. His body sank heavily, like water-soaked cotton.
‘Joon-hee will look for me.’
Since he’d come downstairs without a word, Joon-hee might wake up tomorrow morning and look for him. So, he would just rest for a bit and then go back up.
After catching his breath, the dizziness and the rising fever would surely subside quickly.
‘I just need to go soon.’
As his tension eased, the sleep that had eluded him for so long finally enveloped him.
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