I reached down and picked up a stray sock in the hallway as I headed to the living room. I stopped and stood in the doorway and stared in awe at the sight before me. This is something I never imagined I would have in my life. My perfect husband and 2 beautiful children were cuddled up on the couch and he was reading a story to them. It was the children's book he had written and illustrated, inspired by the stories I made up before JangMi was born. They were on either side of him, each tucked up under an arm. He was reading the story in character, and they were eating it up.
Minhyuk looked up at me when he saw me standing there. He smiled and said, "Jagi, you look beautiful. You are glowing right now."
"Thank you. I am just basking in my three rays of sunshine." His smile grew a bit larger, and he looked down at our children. JangMi was showing her brother something in the book, and he was very focused on it. I dangled a tiny whale-embroidered sock in front of me and asked, "anyone missing this?"
Our 3-year-old son grinned and shrugged at me, then looked at his bare foot and giggled. "Yes, eomma." His sister stuck both feet out and showed me that she had both socks on. I walked over and crouched in front of him. I tickled Gyeong's foot and he giggled. I managed to get the sock back on as he tried to escape.
"See what happens when you lose a sock? Eomma gets to play with your tootsies!" I lilted to him. Minhyuk started tickling both of them, and they squealed and wiggled to get away. They both got off the couch and stood in front of us, so I took advantage of the opportunity and quickly sat beside Minhyuk. The kids giggled and got in our laps... JangMi on appa's and Gyeong on mine. Sherman decided he wanted up too, so he took to his doggie stairs and joined us. He was wearing his formal collar and looked very handsome.
"Come on guys, it is time to go. We can't be late for Samchong Shownu and Tamara's wedding. You know how Samchong Kihyun gets when people are late, and he is in charge of the day." My phone buzzed. I read the screen, "Nikki says that she, Bobby, and Kyun just arrived. Hyungwon stopped to pick up Tori since he was closer, and they are parking now. Honey, Wonho, and Kihyun were there before anyone else. Halmeoni, Harabeoji, Jun, Emma... everyone is there except us!" I lifted Gyeong off my lap and started to stand. Another buzz and my eyes grew wide as I read the words. My head spun back to him as I almost bounced, "Nikki said yes!" He smiled and noted that Kyun had very patient, waiting for his answer. He added that Changkyun had already texted him. He just wanted me to hear it from Nikki.
The kids did not make any effort to start moving. "There will be cake and Immo Tori is there," I reminded them. Now they got up and tried to rush us. We stood and Minhyuk wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. The kids made "ew" sounds and giggled. I looked into my husband's eyes and said, "thank you."
"For what?"
"For making me a mother and a wife. For being my soulmate. For completing me."
He cupped my face with his hand and said, "I should be saying that to you. You guys are my world, and I would not be complete without you. Thank you for making me a father and husband. I truly am the richest man in the world." He gently brushed a tear that slipped down my cheek and kissed me again. JangMi grabbed our clothes and started pulling us.
"Come on, we have to go to now. I want cake!" We laughed at her insistence. Apparently, she had inherited my love for cake. She also had Minhyuk's personality. Our little Rose was hyper and outgoing, just like Appa. Gyeong was a bit more reserved. Although we adopted him at the age of one, you would never know it unless we told you. He was a perfect match to our family. I loved him as much as if I had given birth to him. As Minhyuk once said, family doesn't have to be blood. This was my perfectly imperfect family, and I would not change one thing.
Thank you so much for bearing with me and for reading my little fantasy. I hope it left you with warm fuzzies.
Stay tuned for a new Minhyuk story soon, probably in 2022!!