After Story 274

After Story 274

“I really can’t cope with you three. There’s a limit to letting you go. How many times did mom tell you not to scratch this? Huh? Don’t turn away and look at mom properly.”

His wife’s voice could be heard from the living room.

Maru stroked down his face and got out of bed. He had such a deep sleep for a mid-day nap.

“Again! Again!”

Hearing his wife’s angry voice, he smiled and opened the door of the bedroom. A dog and two cats were being rebuked. It seemed the mischievous duo had scratched the new sofa they just got.

“They’re kids. Just let them be,” Maru said as he sat down at the table.

The Shiba-inu with a limp leg hurriedly came over to him. The cats went up the sofa and started licking their fur.

“They won’t listen to me.”

“It’d be strange if they did.”

He stroked the head of the dog sitting by his feet. His wife sighed softly before opening the refrigerator.

“How’s your stomach?” his wife asked.

“Somewhat okay,” he said as he received the cup of barley tea that his wife gave him.

“If you of all people can’t pull yourself together, just how much did you drink?”

“I went around all the tables and accepted everything they were giving me.”

Maru grinned before drinking the tea again. His wife nagged him from the side.

“Don’t accept everything they give you and learn to refuse. You’re so good at refusing everything else.”

“The mood was just that good. The shoot this time was pretty hard too.”

Maru handed his empty cup to Haneul, telling her that he wanted another cup. His wife poured the barley tea and spoke,

“Suyeon-unni just sent me a video, and…”

His wife put her phone down on the table. When she tapped on it a few times, the screen changed. A baby wearing a honey bee outfit was sitting on the floor.

“Just look at that baby.”

The video started. The baby on the screen looked at the lens in a daze before struggling to stand up.

Suyeon, come over, hurry! – Ganghwan’s voice flowed out of the speakers.

He rested his chin on his hands and watched the baby on the screen. The baby, who struggled to get up, swayed around before walking over to Ganghwan, who was taking the video.

Suyeon, who belatedly entered the video, was colored in surprise as though she was a pioneer who just discovered a new continent.

“He walks well.”

“Suyeon-unni was slightly worried that he was too late in walking because he couldn’t even walk after turning one year old.”

“One year old isn’t that late.”

“That’s why I told her not to worry about it too much because he’ll walk in due time. There are infants who only manage to start walking at 17 months.”

The baby bee trodding over toppled down on his butt. He looked at his dad before laughing.

“His eyes take after Suyeon-noona. Looks like he’ll have a pretty face once he grows up.”

The proportions of his facial features were pretty. He would probably be called handsome once he grows up a little more and walks around the neighborhood, holding his mother’s hand.

“The boy’s pretty brave. He didn’t even cry once during his one-year birthday. He was smiling in front of the guests too.”

“Compared to that, our Gaeul cried all the time. She’ll be a crybaby this time too, right?”

“Han Gaeul will always be a crybaby.”

He put his hand on his wife’s stomach and spoke,

“Miss Han crybaby, are you listening?”

“She probably is.”

“If you’re listening, remember daddy’s words. If you cry too much, I won’t give you chocolate almonds. You might not know a lot about daddy, but I know a lot about you. So you better listen to daddy’s words. I’ll understand if it’s puberty though.”

He went to the bathroom and took a shower. His wife had changed her clothes to go out and was sitting on the sofa.

“Let’s have dinner on the way back from the hospital. Anything you have in mind?”

“Gaeul says she wants braised mackerels.”

“Are you sure it’s Gaeul who wants it?”

“Probably?”

He went to the OB/GYN with his wife. It was the clinic that Suyeon had introduced them to.

While his wife went through a checkup, he browsed through some women’s magazines in the waiting room. They seemed to have come at a good time as there weren’t that many people present.

“I’ll go register at the counter.”

A seemingly young married couple came into the clinic. The man had a fully pregnant woman sit down on the sofa before walking over to the counter. Even as he registered, the man kept glancing at the woman. He was probably uneasy and worried. Maru was like that at first too. The inflated stomach inflated the size of worries as well.

Having finished registering, the man quickly went and sat down next to the woman. It was nice to look at them grab each other’s hands and ask about many things.

“Uhm…”

He looked at them and ended up making eye contact with the woman. He took off his hat and smiled. The man next to her also looked at him and said hello.

“Mr. Han Maru, right? We’ve heard a few times that you go to this clinic,” said the woman.

“Is it that well-known already?”

“Of course. Actually, we came here because we heard that a lot of famous people come here. It definitely is good. The facility is good and the doctors are kind.”

“That’s good.”

The woman looked at the doctor’s office and spoke,

“Mrs. Haneul is getting a checkup, I see.”

“Yes. I heard that both of them are healthy, but we come here regularly just in case.”

“You came here with her. How sweet of you.”

“I think your husband next to you is just as sweet.”

Hearing that, the husband smiled innocently. The wife also looked at the husband and smiled. They were a nice couple.

“It seems like you’re due soon?”

“Yes. It’s next week.”

“So you’ll meet your baby soon. What’s the baby’s name?”

“Tultul.”

The woman placed her hand on the stomach. At that moment, the door to the doctor’s office opened and his wife came out. The couple sitting in front of him greeted her with a nod. Haneul came over and sat down next to him.

For a while, they talked to the young couple. As they had a lot of things in common, the conversation never seemed to stop.

“Mrs. Park Yoojung, please come to room 2.”

The woman said ‘yes’ and stood up.

“Uhm, can you take a photo with us?” asked the man while fiddling with his phone.

“Of course.”

They asked the nurse at the counter and took a photo together. The young couple thanked them before going into the room.

“Those people just now. They were really kind. I’m sure their baby will take after them and be really kind,” Haneul said as she got in the car.

Maru nodded before asking,

“How was the checkup?”

“She’s healthy and stable now.”

“I’m glad that she never made her mother suffer.”

“True.”

“You said you wanted braised mackerel, right? How about the place we went to last time? You seemed to like it.”

“I was thinking about that place as well.”

He started the car and left the parking lot. On the way to the restaurant, he got a call from Ganghwan.

-If you haven’t eaten yet, come over and eat at our place. Geunsoo is here as well.

“What’s on the menu?”

-Various things.

“Wait a moment.”

He asked his wife. Haneul smiled and said that they should go. He turned the car around, headed home, and went to Ganghwan’s house, which was in the next complex over.

He pressed the bell and waited for a moment. Geunsoo, holding a baby, opened the door for them.

“You’re a nanny today too?”

“Don’t even start. I think this every time I come here, but I think he likes me better than his real parents.”

The baby in his arms giggled while drooling. Geunsoo wiped the baby’s mouth with a handkerchief. Maru stretched the baby’s cheeks once before going inside.

“We’re here.”

“You’re here?”

He saw Ganghwan and Suyeon preparing food in the kitchen. There was quite a lot of food on the table.

“What’s the festive event today?” Maru asked as he grabbed a jeon with his hand.

Suyeon glared at him quietly and shook her head.

“You should get permission before you eat.”

“You’re being too harsh on a guest. Anything I can help with?”

“Yes. Actually, we’re in dire need of your cooking skills.”

“So you called me here for that then.”

“And to have dinner together.”

He took over the knife that Suyeon was holding and spoke,

“Please go over and hang out with Haneul.”

He took over the cooking that the two had started.

“Do you have mackerels?”

“There should be some in the groceries we bought today. What do you need them for?”

“Haneul wants to eat them.”

He opened the freezer and took out some semi-frozen mackerels and braised them. He put the food on the table and called for the people playing around in the living room.

“Look at him,” Haneul said.

The baby walked over to the kitchen.

“Don’t you think he’ll win the gold medal if he does track and field?” Ganghwan said.

Haneul picked up the baby and sat him on her lap. She fondled with the baby’s hand and cheek looking like she found him cute to death.

“You said you went to the clinic. There aren’t any problems, are there?” Suyeon asked.

He replied that both the baby and the mother were healthy. The baby in Haneul’s arms reached out to Geunsoo.

Geunsoo, who was eating, put his spoon down and picked up the baby. Seeing that, Haneul spoke,

“I think you should look after our child too. I think it’s your calling.”

“Stop giving your child to a man who hasn’t even gotten married!”

Geunsoo frowned but then looked at the baby and smiled. Everyone laughed when they saw that.

“Oh, right. Isn’t it the first episode today?” Suyeon asked, probably referring to Haneul’s drama.

“It is today.”

“We can watch it together then. We can have some beer too. Haneul can drink water.”

Everyone agreed with Ganghwan. After dinner, Suyeon and Haneul remained at the table and talked, while the men switched places to the veranda.

“Geunsoo hyung-nim, is your single life fun?”

“Why do you ask? Feel envious after you got married?”

“Sometimes?”

“It’s only sometimes for you, huh? Ganghwan, this guy, he tells me he’s envious of me every single day.”

They laughed while looking at each other before sitting down in front of the TV.

“Missuses over there, come quick. The drama is starting.”

Hearing Geunsoo’s call, Haneul and Suyeon came over and sat down. Once the drama began, they were all so focused on it that they didn’t say anything. Maru smiled as he looked at the people watching the TV seriously. This was why paranoia from work was scary.

“At this opportunity, you should move nearby as well. That way we can meet up often like this.”

“That’s your roundabout way of saying I should look after the kids, huh?”

“You noticed?”

Just as everyone was laughing together,

“Dada!” said the baby in Geunsoo’s arm.

The pronunciation was really clear. It made Ganghwan make a teary face.

“What? He never said that to me…”

“That’s right. I’m your daddy,” Geunsoo said as he picked up the baby.

The giggle of the baby filled the room. Maru watched that scene for a while before grabbing his wife’s hand.

“Gaeul will say daddy first.”

“I said she won’t.”

Haneul was firm about it.

* * *

“Dada!”

“Yes. It’s daddy.”

“Dada!”

“That’s right. It’s daddy.”

“Dadadadada.”

“Yeeeees. It’s daddyyyyyyy.”

If the word ‘impossible’ didn’t exist in Napoleon’s dictionary, the word that didn’t exist in Gaeul’s dictionary was fatigue. She had unlimited stamina, and she was his daughter.

“You must be happy, she keeps looking for daddy,” Haneul said next to him, drinking tea leisurely.

“Gaeul, mommy’s over there.”

“Dada!”

“Won’t you play with mommy?”

“Dada!”

“Okay.”

Maru picked Gaeul up and stood up. While he was really grateful and touched that she called ‘dada’ during her first birthday, the problem was that she kept looking for daddy after that.

“I’m so envious, honey,” said Haneul.

He twitched his nose and looked at his wife before clenching his eyes shut due to pain. Gaeul had slapped down on his nose with her palm. Despite having such a short arm, she was really accurate.

“Dada!”

“That’s right, it’s daddy,” he said, shaking his daughter up and down.