Chapter 163: Parenting (3)

Eunbyul has grown so quickly and is already 21 months old.

Every morning, around seven o’clock, she wakes up on her own and comes to find us in our room.

Today, she woke up a bit earlier than usual and climbed onto our bed before the alarm clock went off.

“Amma, Appa~”

Pressing firmly on our arms to wake us, the first thing she said was—

“I’m hungry~!”

She’s a lively little girl who never skips breakfast.

“Our Eunbyul, you woke up early today~?”

“Yeees~”

Since my husband worked late last night, I decided to let him sleep a little longer and got up first.

“Eunbyul~ Let’s leave Appa to sleep and head to the living room with Amma. Up we go~!”

Carrying Eunbyul in my arms, I left the room. However, even as I stepped out, she waved her arms toward her sleeping father and called out,

“Appa! Appaaaa~!”

I carefully set Eunbyul down on the mattress in the living room.

“Appa wants to sleep a bit more, so let’s rest here for a while. Eunbyul, wait—hey, Eunbyul?!”

“Appa! Appaaaa!”

As soon as I set her down, Eunbyul dashed back into the bedroom.

It feels like just yesterday that she was crawling, but now she runs around the house so quickly!

In a flash, she grabbed the doorknob, opened the door, and climbed onto the bed to wake her father.

Pressing down on his arms and shaking them gently, Eunbyul managed to get him to open his eyes.

“My little girl is here~?”

“I’m here~!”

“Appa wants to sleep a little longer, though~”

“Nooo~”

Hearing Eunbyul’s firm response, my husband let out a small chuckle.

“Can’t Appa sleep a little longer~?”

“Nooo~!”

“Alright~ Appa will get up. Let’s go~”

In the end, Eunbyul brought her sleepy father into the living room with her.

“Honey, you can sleep a bit longer if you’re tired~”

“But our daughter says no. What choice do I have? Are you preparing breakfast? Let me help.”

“No, no~ Just play with Eunbyul in the living room.”

“Alright. Eunbyul, let’s play with Appa~”

“Okay~!”

“Eunbyul, what do you want to play? Go get what you want~”

At his words, Eunbyul hurried back to her room and returned with a picture book in hand.

The book was filled with animal pictures, which she eagerly handed to her father.

“Alright, come sit on Appa’s lap~”

“Okay~!”

Pointing to an animal in the book, my husband asked,

“Our smart girl, do you know what this is?”

“Bunny!”

“Wow~ So clever! What about this one?”

Thrilled by her father’s praise and gentle pat on her head, Eunbyul beamed and answered,

“Cluck-cluck!”

“Right! That’s a chicken. Another word for cluck-cluck is chicken. Can you say chicken?”

“Chicken~!”

“So smart! And what’s this?”

“Star!”

“Wow, you even know this one? You’re amazing! But I bet you don’t know this~”

Once again, Eunbyul answered confidently,

“Balloon!”

“Correct! It’s a balloon. What color is it?”

“Red~!”

“Wow~ You’re so good at this. Come here; Appa will give you an airplane ride!”

Putting the book aside, my husband lifted Eunbyul into the air.

“Whoosh~ Eunbyul is flying~ Whooooosh~”

Eunbyul giggled uncontrollably as her father carried her around the house, pretending she was soaring through the air.

Watching the happy duo, I turned my attention back to the kitchen and quickly started preparing breakfast.

I made fried eggs, which Eunbyul loves, and carefully plated them on her meal tray.

“Eunbyul~ Come get your spoon! Honey, come to the table, too~”

“Eunbyul, let’s go eat breakfast!”

“Okay~!”

“What do we do before eating?”

“Wash hands!”

“Let’s go wash hands with Appa~”

After washing her hands in the bathroom with her dad, Eunbyul opened the drawer by herself and picked out a small spoon.

She even closed the drawer after choosing it. Once seated in her chair, Eunbyul started eating on her own.

“Eunbyul seems to eat breakfast so well. Maybe she takes after you. You always make sure to eat in the morning.”

“Right? She’s such a good girl. Eunbyul, is breakfast delicious?”

“Yeees~”

“What’s the tastiest part?”

“The seaweed.”

Eunbyul chewed her food thoroughly as she ate. Her favorites are seaweed and eggs.

At first, she didn’t like zucchini, but after watching her mom and dad eat it happily, she now eats it without a fuss.

The saying that parents are a mirror for their children feels so true. Eunbyul mimics many of the actions and words my husband and I do.

“Honey, do you think we should send Eunbyul to daycare next year?”

“Hmm, some families start around this time, but I think it’s better for her to stay at home a bit longer. Let’s keep an eye on her for now. How does that sound?”

“Yeah, nothing’s set in stone anyway. When Eunbyul goes to daycare, you’re planning to go back to college, right?”

“Of course. What about you? Aren’t you planning to go back too?”

Unlike me, who only has one semester left, my husband has quite a bit of college left.

“I’m going to talk to my company about it. I’m thinking of working only in the afternoons.”

“Our whole family will be going to daycare or college, huh?”

“Looks like it~ It might be fun going to college together with you.”

“I think so too~ Let’s take some time off occasionally and go on trips with Eunbyul.”

“Definitely. Let’s make it happen.”

After finishing breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning playing together as a family. Exhausted from all the fun, Eunbyul eventually fell asleep for her nap.

I carefully laid her down on the bed in her room and returned to the living room to spend some quiet time with my husband.

“How long do you think she’ll nap today?”

“If she naps deeply, it’ll probably be an hour. She even got an airplane ride this morning, so maybe longer. Why don’t you nap too? You worked late last night.”

“I’m fine~ Sleeping too much makes me even more tired. Are you okay?”

“I’m always fine when I’m with you~”

I leaned on my husband’s shoulder, and he gently wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close.

“Can you believe Eunbyul is already 21 months old? Time flies.”

“Right? When I was pregnant with her, I never imagined she’d grow this fast.”

“I know~ Before we know it, she’ll be in school and then an adult.”

“Even when she’s 20, we’ll still be in our 40s. I’m glad we got married early.”

“Looking back, yeah. But I was so nervous when I talked to your dad back then.”

“Are you still scared of him now?”

“Huh? Not at all. He treats me so well now.”

I think my dad has felt a little bad about being so stern back then, which is why he’s so kind to my husband now.

“You were so cool back then, though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! You were so cool that I fell for you all over again.”

“That’s embarrassing~”

“You’re still cool. So, so cool.”

“And you’re always beautiful. Not a single moment when you’re not.”

“Hehe. Hearing that from you makes me so happy.”

My husband gently stroked my hair.

His touch always feels so comforting and warm, no matter when.

“You and Eunbyul both love it when I stroke your hair.”

“Yeah, but why does it feel so nice when you do it?”

“You’ve loved it since before we got married.”

“True, from the very beginning and all the way to now. I just love everything Gyeol do.”

Hearing me call him by his old nickname, Gyeol, my husband flinched slightly.

“It’s been a while since you called me that.”

“Right? It just came to mind, so I said it.”

“I like calling you Eun-ha, too.”

When he called me by my name, my heart skipped a beat.

It’s just my name, but hearing it made me blush.

“Wh-why am I embarrassed all of a sudden?”

“Eun-ha. Eun-ha. Eun-ha.”

My heart raced faster.

“S-stop! It’s bad for my heart!”

But my husband didn’t stop.

“Eun-ha, you’re still as cute and beautiful as ever.”

“Gyeol, you’re still so cool…”

“Then why aren’t you looking at me? Look at me properly.”

I shyly met his gaze, and my already rapid heartbeat quickened even more.

“Gyeol…”

“What is it, Eun-ha?”

“When Eunbyul starts daycare and I graduate from college…”

“Yeah? What then?”

I cautiously brought it up.

“Let’s have a second child…!”

“Hmm…?! A second one?”

“Yes! A second one! Don’t you think a three-year age gap is good?”

Han-gyeol’s lips curled into a slight smile.

“Really… you’re as lovable as ever.”

“I-I’m not!”

“Raising Eunbyul wasn’t easy, you know. Do you think we can handle it?”

“That’s why we’ll take our time. Eunbyul might feel lonely being an only child. She might even ask for a sibling later!”

“Alright. Once Eunbyul starts daycare and you graduate, we’ll try for a second child.”

“Hehe. Thank you for agreeing to it.”

“No, thank you. Raising Eunbyul made me want more kids. It’s tough, but it makes me so happy.”

Feeling touched, I gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

“Alright! Let’s keep going until we’re a family of six!”

“Deal~”

Right now, I’m so happy.

And I know our happiness will only grow.

-- The End OF The Chapter --

 

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