Loud cries echoed in the Kim household at 3am on a very harsh winter day in Seoul.
Doing everything we could to make Ji eun feel better but nothing was working. It was truly one of those moments where you feel helpless as a parent.
Ji eun recently caught the flu and has been feeling terrible since. She was running a fever, had a congested nose and her voice was hoarse.
The ever so bubbly and happy baby was nowhere to be seen this past week.
"Ji eun, i'm so sorry you feel so sick baby." Yejin said as she carried Ji eun in her arms, soothing her back and kissing her chubby hands to make her feel better.
Yejin stayed at home with Ji eun while Bin sped through the streets of Gangnam to a 24/7 children's clinic to get stronger medication to treat Ji eun's flu.
We sat in the living room, I turned on the TV to play her favourite cartoon as we waited for Bin to come back home.
Just about 30 minutes later, Bin came back home, hands filled with different plastic bags.
"You're home, what did you buy?" Yejin asked
"Nothing much, just her medicine, some soups and your favourite tteokbokki ." Bin replied as he looked through the multiple plastic bags.
Ji eun was still sniffling, with snot and phlegm leaving her nose and mouth. It was one of the most heartbreaking images.
"Come here baby, let's feed you your medicine and you'll be all better tomorrow morning okay?" Bin said tenderly as he looked through the instructions from the Doctor once more before feeding her the medicines.
Just like her appa, she hates medicine and the taste of bitterness. It took a lot of coaxing and swaying to get her to down all of them.
Before we laid her down back in bed, we fed her some chicken soup from a local restaurant that is known to be good for colds.
Thank god she enjoyed the soup, it was heartening to see her finally enjoy some food and not refuse to eat anything due to the loss of her appetite.
As Bin fed her the soup, I began digging into the tteokbokki. Tteokbokki is definitely my favourite food, especially the ones sold in a food cart.
"Thank you, I really needed this." I said with my mouth full of tteokbokki.
Taking care of a sick baby is nothing to joke about, it's not only exhausting but it's also very heartbreaking to see your baby being sick.
"Eat slowly, I'll put her down to bed." Bin chuckled as he looked at me shoving tteokbokkis down my throat.
After our impromptu supper, we retreated back to bed. Fortunately, the medicines seem to be kicking in hence making Ji eun feel better and sleepy.
We settled her down in the middle of our bed and watched her slowly drift to sleep.
Without even realising, tears started to stream uncontrollably down my face as I looked at my baby, her mouth in an adorable 'o' shape.
Bin heard my sniffles and immediately went over to my side of the bed. I didn't say anything, neither did he but we both knew in that moment that this was what we needed.
Just a hug and some reassurance that everything will be okay.
"She just caught the flu. Her fever broke and she's already getting better after we fed her the medicine."
"Everything is going to be okay." He added
"I know, it just breaks my heart to see her so sick and I, as her mother not able to do anything to take her discomfort away." I replied truthfully
"I know.. At least we can spend the next few weeks or god knows how long until the ordered quarantine in Seoul is over." That's Hyun Bin for you, always looking on the brighter side of situations.
The recent Coronavirus outbreak in Seoul has spiralled out of control and it was getting hard to contain the spread of the virus. Hence, Seoul went into a semi-lockdown with only essential workers allowed to leave the house for work.
Of course, they initially freaked out that Ji eun could have possibly caught the virus but fortunately that has been ruled out and she was officially diagnosed with flu by the Kim's family doctors.
The next hour or so, we just watched our beautiful baby sleep peacefully
*******
The next morning, It was already 10am but the house was still dead silent.
The late night supper and coaxing must have exhausted all 3 of them. About 10 minutes later, Bin was the first to get up. He looked over to his right and saw his two precious babies still fast asleep.
Instinctively, he adjusted the blanket so it would cover the both of them more. Second thing he did was to gently touch Ji eun's forehead to check if her persistent fever came back.
Thankfully, she had a normal temperature.
Satisfied that both his babies are sleeping well and feeling better after a rough night, Bin hopped out of bed and into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Prior to this semi-lockdown, they had stocked up a lot of food including basic ingredients like vegetables, meat, eggs and rice. Looking through the kitchen cabinet and fridge, Bin picked out some kimchi, other ingredients and started on making some kimchi pancakes.
He also got Doenjang Jjigae boiling in a pot, ready to be served in about half an hour to an hour.
Not forgetting food for his little princess, he cooked up her favourite egg rolls and steamed some rice.
Looking at the time, it was already 11am. The perfect time to start setting the table, bringing the banchan out and serving the dishes on the dining table just in time for brunch.
After everything was prepared, I went back into our room to see if they had woken up.
The scene that greeted me next was truly the most precious sight to behold.
Yejin was snuggling Ji eun is her arms as she caressed her chubby cheeks and told Ji eun how much she loves her.
"Ji eun baby, eomma was so worried when you were so horribly sick last night."
"I can't remember the last time I felt this concerned. I love you baby, so does appa. We both love you more than you can ever imagine." She added as she leaned forward to give a peck on Ji eun's lips.
Not wanting to disrupt this precious moment between the both of them, I stayed near the door and smiled foolishly to myself.
Awhile later, I approached the both of them in bed.
"You're both awake, come out for brunch" I said as I gave Yejin a morning kiss and reached out to carry Ji eun.
Yejin stretched both her arms out, flashing her most adorable pout.
"Carry me too please"
I chuckled and stretched my other arm out to lift her, before I could even hold onto her, she ran out of the room going straight to the kitchen.
"I'm going to eat all of it first!" She shouted from the hallway.
"Yah, how can you trick me like this, Son Ye Jin!"
Like any other day, they sat together as a family and devoured the hearty breakfast that Bin prepared.
The only difference was that since they couldn't even leave their home, they had spent a longer time eating brunch and goofing around.
After breakfast, they brushed their teeth, hopped into the bath tub together and got ready for their day.
"What do you want today?" Bin asked as he dried off Ji eun with a towel.
"Hmm.. Shall we make another baby?" Yejin replied, a bit too casually
Bin instinctively covered Ji eun's ears, "Love, she can hear you!"
"Relax, she definitely doesn't understand"
********
Lying out on their sofa in their backyard patio, another one of their favourite spots in their home as it's was very cozy and also provided them with a lot of privacy.
It was just the 3 of them, relaxing after a scrumptious dinner, this time prepared by Yejin.
Without even realising, Yejin let out a sigh.
"What's wrong baby?" Bin asked as he pulled her close to him and buried his face into her shoulder.
"My contract with MSTEAM is ending soon, I'm still considering if I should renew again." She replied truthfully
"I will support your decision, if it feels right then go for it." He assured her
"If not, come join VAST." He added
"You're so funny, Bin-ssi."
"No i'm serious actually." He replied, gazing into her eyes.
"Then won't that make you my boss?" Yejin replied, cupping his face with her hands.
"Don't worry, I'll give you special treatment!" He replied, laughing at this ridiculous idea of his.
"Yea, I'm actually kidding. I know you won't want that but I'm just letting you know that Actress Son Ye Jin is always welcome to join VAST" He replied, giving a peck on her lips
"Thank you, now I know where to go if I end up jobless" She jokingly replied.
*********
"Ji eun-ah, are you bored baby?" Bin asked as they laid in bed for an afternoon nap together.
It was day 20 of lockdown and things in the Kim household has been slow thus far. Usually, either one of them would bring Ji eun out to play. Whether it was bringing her to lunch or for a shopping trip. However, they've just been stuck at home.
We try our best not to leave the house during this lockdown because we can't risk Ji eun getting the virus, especially because she's still a baby. So, even grocery shopping has been through online delivery.
Ji eun laid flat on her stomach on Bin's chest as she tried to bite his shirt.
Yes, she's teething.
Yejin could only laugh at the sight of Ji eun trying to bite her appa, meanwhile leaving all her saliva residue on his shirt.
"Ji eun-ah, why are you doing this to appa" Bin said, pretending to cry.
What a bad move on Bin's part.
Pretending that Ji eun hurt him only made Ji eun crawl upwards onto his upper chest, giving Bin a kiss, which only resulted in saliva getting onto his face.
But how could Bin possibly get mad at his little princess for trying to make it up to him by giving him a kiss?
Yejin cracked up looking at Bin's face with all the saliva from Ji eun.
"Baby, do that to appa but not to eomma okay?" Yejin jokingly said to which made Ji eun giggle.
The rest of the was just spent lazing around in bed, eating all the good food that Bin and Yejin would prepare together and of course many cuddles and naps.
AUTHOR's NOTE
hey everyone! i have a very important exam coming up that i'm super busy studying for, that's why updates have been very inconsistent. my exams end mid oct so till then PLEASE BEAR WITH ME:(
see you in my next chapter xx