NOVEL NEXT Chapter 149
Just a little over a year after Joo-ha was born, the news of the second baby spread, and it’s already been five weeks.
When this news first broke, both families were in total chaos. The funny thing is, the reactions were quite contrasting.
Our parents were very worried. It’s not an easy task to have a baby, and especially for my wife, who’s young and in the prime of enjoying life, having two babies seemed like too much.
However, my wife dismissed their concerns, saying she had dreamt of having at least two, if not three, children from the start. With that, their worries became pointless, and all my parents said was to ask for help anytime we needed it.
On the other hand, my wife’s family practically threw a festival.
Especially my mother-in-law seemed to be subtly hoping for a grandson, so when the hope stirred, you can imagine how delighted she was.
The day we shared the pregnancy news, she repeatedly expressed her gratitude to me.
Honestly, I hadn’t done anything, so it felt awkward to receive all those thanks, but I figured it was good to take it well since it meant my mother-in-law was happy.
My father-in-law didn’t show it much either, but you could tell he was pleased as well.
“Yeah, Uju. I heard the news. You’re going to have a second one?”
“Haha… It seems that way.”
And today, Gun-ho, who hadn’t visited for a while, congratulated me too.
“We’re too busy managing one, so we didn’t think of having more…. You’re a patriot, a patriot.”
“To be honest, we really didn’t expect to have a second child. I’m still pretty dazed.”
I felt awkward, scratching my cheek as compliments of being a patriot became increasingly common.
Tap, tap.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps filled the house, and our gazes instinctively shifted.
There was my sister-in-law So-yul, running around the living room like it was a playground.
“So-yul! You can’t run in other people’s houses!”
“Eek…”
It seemed like within the family, the more strict one was my wife rather than Gun-ho. As she firmly scolded So-yul, the little girl sulked and sat down on the spot.
What a well-behaved child!
“It’s fine, let her be, sister. It’s nice to see kids playing around.”
“Is it really okay? Ugh, my husband is just so wild.”
As my wife smiled while stopping her sister-in-law—who insisted on being called “sister” even though I couldn’t quite manage to say it—my sister-in-law made an apologetic smile and nodded for So-yul to play freely.
So, with that, So-yul resumed her gleeful prancing around the living room.
I wonder if our Joo-ha will be able to run around like that someday. I hope that day comes soon.
“So-yul is five this year, right, brother?”
“Right.”
“For such an age, she listens really well. I’ve heard that kids around that age often make their parents worry.”
“Must take after her mom. My mother says I was such a brat at that age, she wanted to slap me.”
Hmm, that’s a bit surprising. I imagined Gun-ho to have been pretty calm since childhood. Maybe all toddlers are similar in some ways.
“Dad, Daddy!”
As the girls were deep in conversation, I heard a familiar voice.
Turning my head, I saw Joo-ha, who had crawled over from the sofa, tugging on my pants. This little one seems to be getting stronger by the day.
“Hey, our princess! Did you come to play with Daddy?”
“Uwoo… Onni. Onni!”
“Huh?”
Sister?
That was the first time I heard Joo-ha use that term, and I tilted my head, unsure if I had heard correctly. My wife quietly approached and said:
“I had her call So-yul ‘Onni’ when they were sitting together earlier. Looks like she picked it up.”
“Oh, really? That’s my girl!”
I was amazed at how quickly she picked it up. Isn’t our daughter a genius?
I thought about whether I should send her abroad for study later and found myself alternately glancing at So-yul, who was playing over there, and Joo-ha.
Looks like Joo-ha wants to play with So-yul.
“Joo-ha, do you want to play with sister So-yul?”
“Onni!”
“Okay, then shall we go ask Sister So-yul together?”
Joo-ha nodded enthusiastically.
Whether she actually understood my words or was just reacting to the word “sister,” I couldn’t tell, but I scooped her up and walked over to So-yul.
Since they had met me a few times before, So-yul approached me without much hesitation, tilting her head at me while holding her stuffed toy.
“Hey, So-yul. This is Joo-ha, the daughter of the uncle. Joo-ha wants to play with you, can you play together?”
“Together?”
“Yep, together.”
It seemed she didn’t understand at first, but unexpectedly, So-yul answered with her actions instead of words.
“Joo-ha! Let’s play with this!”
She handed over a rather fancy-looking stuffed animal to Joo-ha and beamed.
“Woohoo!”
Maybe she liked the soft fluffy toy she was touching for the first time. With a puzzled expression, Joo-ha quickly smiled and jumped down from my arms, going over to So-yul.
So-yul then grabbed Joo-ha’s hand and led her to the cozy foam play area in the living room, where she sat Joo-ha down and showed her the bunny stuffed animal.
“Joo-ha, this is Lemon! Say hello!”
“Aw?”
“Right! Lemon! Hehe, you’re smart, Joo-ha!”
“ Hehe—.”
Even though Joo-ha didn’t pronounce “Lemon” at all, So-yul cheered her on, trying her best to get close to Joo-ha. Seeing that made me smile like a proud dad.
Ah, this is why making friends when you’re young is so important—there’s a truth to that saying.
“So-yul is so sweet. So cheerful.”
“Right? Usually, when meeting a kid who can’t even understand much at that age, it would be a hassle.”
Even though she’s just a five-year-old child and not some elementary school student, the way she played so nicely with Joo-ha made So-yul seem incredibly lovely.
I should give her some pocket money on the way back.
“Ah, right…! Since So-yul’s here, we should put that on.”
“Huh? What?”
“There’s something. Just wait a moment.”
As I happily watched the two playing, my wife suddenly dashed into the room, leaving behind some incomprehensible words.
From what she said about putting something on, it seemed she was going to fetch some clothes or something, but what could it be? I had no clue.
“So-yul! Would you like to try this on? It’s a gift from your aunt.”
Before long, my wife emerged from the room with two thick pieces of clothing in her hand. She handed one to So-yul while saying,
“Wow! What is this?”
“Yep, some cute pajamas that’ll really suit So-yul. I was going to buy pajamas for Joo-ha and thought of So-yul too.”
“Wow!”
Being a child, it seemed that just hearing the word “gift” made her excited, and So-yul raised her arms with delight, accepting the pajamas handed to her by my wife.
“So-yul, you should say ‘thank you’ to your aunt.”
“Right! Auntie, thank you!”
“Yep, wear it nicely.”
Seeing that, my sister-in-law came over to So-yul and said something to her, then right there, she opened the packaging and helped So-yul put on the pajamas.
My wife also helped Joo-ha take off her outer clothes and put on the pajamas she was holding.
“Oh…. So-yul, you look adorable in that!”
“Really!?”
“Joo-ha looks great too, doesn’t she, dear?”
“Yep, so cute.”
The sight of the two in their matching outfits was cuteness taken to an entirely different level.
Joo-ha in a cat-patterned pajama and So-yul in a puppy-patterned one… I bet most people would want to grab a camera right away to capture this precious scene.
It was simply irresistibly lovely.
“So-yul, your aunt got you such pretty pajamas! Should we show off what you’re good at?”
“What kind?”
“You know, the dance So-yul always does at home.”
“Yep! Sounds good!”
♪~
With that, my sister-in-law made her suggestion, and as the cheerful, hopeful tune played, So-yul started bobbing her legs rhythmically in place.
Watching that, both my wife and I couldn’t help but smile broadly.
Shake, shake.
“Oh my, is Joo-ha trying to dance too?”
Suddenly, Joo-ha sprang up from her seat and went over to So-yul, clapping her hands and shaking her body.
Being so young, she couldn’t quite keep the rhythm yet, but it looked like she was trying to mimic what So-yul was doing. That alone was adorably charming.
“Wow, Joo-ha dances well!”
So-yul took Joo-ha’s hand, and together they moved side to side, dancing away. The tails of their animal pajamas swayed, adding to the cuteness of the scene.
Seriously, both of them are just too adorable.
Of course, our Joo-ha is a tad cuter. Ahem.
“Oh no…! They’re both too cute…! I need to record this!”
Meanwhile, my wife, looking flustered, rushed to grab her phone off the table to capture this wonderful sight.
It was truly a peaceful and beautiful snapshot of everyday life.