XXIX. A AND B

"Every corner?"

"Baby proofed."

"The cabinets?"

"They're closed with safety latches."

"Snacks?"

"In the fridge."

"Babysitters?"

The corner of her mouth quirked up. She held her hands up for a high five. "Ready."

Taehyung grinned, fist-bumping her palms. "I just got a call. They're on their way up."

Unable to contain herself, Gyeoul started to jump up and down.

Sungdeuk and his wife were leaving their son with them for that day to celebrate their anniversary. Gyeoul arrived in Taehyung's unit early that day and she found him frantically running around with foam, tape, and paper bags in his hands. Knowing him well, he probably woke up early with everything prepared next to him on the bed like a student leaving for a field trip the next day.

Gyeoul was no less excited to see Siwoo again. Earlier that day while the two friends were putting foam on every corner that the child could get hurt on, Sungdeuk sent her a picture of Siwoo's outfit for that day. The smile on Siwoo's face there screamed trouble, but at the same time, it was so adorable. When she showed it to Taehyung, he cried.

"Do you think we'll scare Siwoo off by waiting for them by the door?" Taehyung questioned.

She was about to make her way to the door to answer, but she then felt her phone vibrate. Pulling it out, she saw that Kieran Park was calling her. Her eyes widened and she smacked Taehyung's shoulder, showing him the caller ID.

"What should I do?"

Taehyung looked at her incredulously, "What do you mean 'what should you do?' Answer it like any normal person would?"

"But they're almost—"

Ding dong!

Gyeoul inwardly groaned. Taehyung smiled, patting her shoulder, "You can go answer the call now. Just don't get jealous when Siwoo calls for his Uncle Taetae first."

She glared at him and answered the phone, going to the room she frequented — her bedroom. It was the idol himself that proclaimed it hers. Earlier in that month of January, Taehyung came over to her house after his busy schedule and just laid on her bed like a starfish. They talked about everything that happened in their day. Gyeoul told him about how she couldn't find her notepad anywhere and he said that she probably left it in her bedroom in his apartment. She was surprised but didn't question it.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Gyeoul-ssi! You took quite a long time to answer, I was afraid that I called at the wrong time."

"Not at all," she replied, trying to keep her voice light.

"That's great! Well, I just called to ask you if you're free on Friday. I wanted to check the progress with you and Yongsik."

"May I ask what time? I have a meeting that day by 1 PM, it will last for about an hour and a half."

"Then it's a good thing that I reserved a studio for 6 PM. Will that conflict with your schedules?"

She ran her hand through her hair, "No, 6 PM is alright with me. Does Yongsik know about this already?"

"He does, I called him before I called you."

"Should we prepare anything?"

"Just yourselves and an open mind."

Gyeoul hummed, a bit wary of his last words. She'd have to ask Yoongi about that later because those words sounded a bit too weird for her. "That's noted, sir. I'll make sure to be there."

Waiting for a few more seconds in case he had anything to add, she hung up the phone and practically ran out of her room. Inwardly, she was annoyed for being summoned for something that could have been a simple text. However, her excitement to see a certain outweighed her annoyance toward the singer.

When she walked out into the hallway, she was met with a little child waddling over to her and Taehyung crouched down slightly as he followed him around to make sure he didn't fall over.

"Aunt Gyeoul!" Siwoo called, a wide, gummy smile spread across his tiny face.

She excitedly ran to him with little steps and open arms. His little stomps became faster until he made it in front of her, jumping (which was basically just bending his knees repeatedly) with his arms raised so she could pick him up. Gyeoul smiled widely, taking him into her arms and spinning him around.

Giggles erupted from Siwoo as Gyeoul did so. She pressed a long sloppy kiss on his chubby cheek and his little hands were placed on her cheeks.

Taehyung swore his heart melted at the sight right then and there.

"Looks like there'll be no problem leaving him here with you?"

Gyeoul placed Siwoo on her hip and looked behind her, seeing the married couple standing by Taehyung.

"Of course," Gyeoul agreed, pinching the child's cheek lightly. "Taehyung and I have everything prepared." She nodded at her fellow babysitter and they started to walk the couple back to the living room. "You two have fun on your anniversary date. Siwoo will be in good hands."

"You're already showing us out of the apartment when you still haven't given me a proper greeting?" Yeonghee raised her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes at the younger woman.

She smiled apologetically, passing Siwoo to Taehyung. Gyeoul patted her shoulder, "It's nice to see you again. I'm sorry for not visiting so often."

Yeonghee scrunched her nose at her, "How can I stay mad at this little baby's face?" She squished her cheeks, moving Gyeoul's head from side to side.

"I'm in my mid-twenties, I'm not a baby," Gyeoul grumbled but let the older woman baby her anyway. Beside Yeonghee, Sungdeuk chuckled and patted the other dancer's head. "Is there anything that we need to know before you leave?"

"Well, Siwoo isn't much of a crier, but it might still happen when we're gone too long," Sungdeuk answered. He placed his hands on his hips, thinking of anything else. "He likes to be cradled to sleep too, so be prepared for that. He's a light sleeper too so you should lightly tap his leg rhythmically after you cradle him to sleep. And he likes Hello Jadoo."

Taehyung nodded, turning to Siwoo with a grin. "We can handle that, right, Siwoo?"

Siwoo only grinned back.

Yeonghee smiled, breaking away from Gyeoul and kissing Siwoo's cheek. "You be good to them, okay?"

"Yes!" he responded, exaggeratedly nodding his head and flashing his mother a smile that showed the little teeth growing on top.

"I love you," Sungdeuk smiled, poking his son's cheek. The toddler kissed his nose. Taehyung closed his eyes and tilted his head away, unable to contain himself from the little human's adorableness. "Be nice and cute enough so they'll agree to another day to babysit you, understood?"

"Yes!"

With that and a few more prolonged goodbyes from the toddler, the married couple finally left Taehyung's apartment for their date and left the two friends with their son.

They were sitting in Taehyung's living room, toys were scattered all around the area since Siwoo kept pulling his things from the bag with him. But the toys weren't his focus. At that moment, Siwoo pulled out a big notebook (with help from Taehyung) out of his bag and made him pull out his crayons. The toddler took Taehyung and Gyeoul's pointer fingers and pulled them to sit beside him on the center table and draw with him.

Gyeoul tilted her head at what the toddler was drawing, "Who are you drawing, coconut?"

It was an abstract artwork. If one would look past the sharp and squiggly lines, and look at the whole picture, they'd clearly see that it was a person.

"Uncle Taetae."

Taehyung perked up instantly, giving his friend a smug look before admiring Siwoo's portrait of him. "Wow, this looks exactly like me! Siwoo, you're the greatest artist ever!" The toddler slid his drawing over to him. The idol delicately held the paper before him, with his eyes bright. "Wah, this deserves to be framed." He patted Siwoo's head, "Thank you, Siwoo. You did a very good job."

The dancer couldn't even bring herself to be jealous because of how wholesome the sight before her was. She swore she could see the stars in his eyes as he gushed over Siwoo's drawing.

Turning back in Gyeoul's direction, he stuck out his tongue. "I'm his favorite."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "We still have the whole day, Kim Tae. Don't assume so fast."

"Before they leave, we ask Siwoo who he likes the most."

"You're no match for my skills."

"That, my dear GoGo, is because I'm way above you. I'm going to win."

"And I'm going to do my best to StopStop that from happening."

The two snorted.

From the corner of her eye, Gyeoul could see Siwoo moving to put the brown crayon in his mouth. She quickly put his hand down, "Baby, crayons aren't for eating." Pulling away, she tried to see if he would do it again. Once Siwoo did it again, Gyeoul gently pried the crayon out of his hands. "No, Siwoo."

Siwoo turned to her with tears threatening to spill. He sniffled, abruptly looking away from her with a pout. Gyeoul's heart clenched. She put down the crayon, making sure to keep it away from him before pulling the toddler to sit on her lap. Taehyung only watched with the corners of his mouth tugged downward as he tried to suppress the overwhelming urge to give her a smug smile. She noticed and glared at him.

Wiping Siwoo's tears away, she explained with an incredibly soft voice, "Eating anything that is not food is not good for you, baby." She jutted her lower lip out, "Oh, please don't cry, baby, Aunt Gyeoul is just trying to keep you out of the hospital." Siwoo hesitantly looked up at her. She smiled, "Maybe you're just hungry?" She turned to Taehyung, "Baby, can you—"

They both froze.

Did she just...? Taehyung thought, a smirk growing on his face.

Gyeoul pursed her lips, shaking her head slightly as if she knew exactly what was going on inside his head.

"Wh—"

She held Siwoo securely with one hand and covered Taehyung's mouth with her other hand. "Don't. Don't say it."

He ignored her words, taking her hand off his mouth. "What did you want to ask me, baby?" Defeated, Gyeoul cringed and shook her head, dismissing her discontinued request. Taehyung nudged her knee with his foot, "Yah, Pengweng-ah, just tell me and get it over with."

Gyeoul bit back a humored smile, "Well, xiaolongbao, I was just going to ask you to get the brownies from the fridge."

Standing up, he asked her, "What's the magic word?"

She thought for a moment, looking at Siwoo's puppy eyes.

"Rock Bison?"

Taehyung gaped at her, somewhat impressed. "Should I be concerned that you know that I was thinking that? Are you reading my mind?"

The dancer inwardly sighed, smiling at him, "Things would be much easier if I did." She shooed him off, "Siwoo's getting hungry."

He went to the kitchen and got the brownies. The chocolate treat gave Siwoo an energy boost.

They all kept chasing each other, one or the other staying behind the toddler to make sure that he didn't suddenly fall on his face or bump into anything.

Taehyung gasped, crouching fully and acting confused. Siwoo turned to him, appearing to be equally confused. The one they were trying to chase suddenly disappeared. "Siwoo, is it just me, or I can't find Aunt Gyeoul anywhere?" He stood up slightly and held the toddler's little fingers. "Let's find her."

They crept around the area, looking for any sign of the dancer anywhere.

"Son Siwoo," her voice sang from somewhere behind the couch.

"Did you hear that?" Taehyung asked. Siwoo nodded at him, his big eyes showing signs of anticipation. "It sounds like she's behind the couch. Let's check."

He picked him up, knowing what was coming next, and crept over to look over the couch.

"Bah!"

Siwoo squealed, bursting into a fit of giggles. His tiny giggles didn't stop there as Taehyung started to run and Gyeoul started to run after them. Taehyung couldn't help but find the toddler's happiness contagious and started to fake-scream as he ran, turning corners and dodging Gyeoul whenever he saw the chance.

"Uncle Taehyung's arms are getting tired, so he's passing the little coconut over to Aunt Gyeoul!" Taehyung announced like a news anchor, holding Siwoo in a way that looked like he was a superhero and made him 'fly' to Gyeoul's arms. "Super Siwoo incoming!"

Once he was in Gyeoul's arms, he squirmed excitedly. She didn't waste any time to rest and immediately started to run after the idol. Running away from Gyeoul and Siwoo, Taehyung started to fake-scream. He purposely tripped over furniture, knowing that his feigned misery would make Siwoo laugh the most.

Taehyung then accidentally tripped over his own feet while running, for real, making slippers go flying. Then he stubbed his toe. Gyeoul pursed her lips, keeping herself from laughing out loud while Siwoo's giggles grow louder. The idol noticed the toddler's amusement and curled up on the floor, holding his foot and fake-crying.

Putting Siwoo down, he waddled over to Taehyung's direction and stood over him, appearing to be concerned. Siwoo patted his foot, making Taehyung's fake cries cease.

Gyeoul gasped, clapping her hands, "Siwoo, you made Uncle Taehyung's booboo go away!" She crouched down and patted Siwoo's head, smiling widely at him. "I'm so proud of you, coconut."

Siwoo grinned back at her and pouted his lips, tilting his head up for a kiss. She chuckled, lowering her cheek and he placed a long sloppy kiss on it, pulling away with an adorable 'mwah!' Taehyung jutted his lower lip out and poked Siwoo's leg.

"I'm the one with the booboo, don't I get a kiss?"

The toddler bent down and also gave Taehyung a kiss on the cheek. Before Siwoo could pull away fully, Taehyung sat up and squeezed him in a hug.

"Your appa told us that you like Hello Jadoo, do you want to watch that on the TV?" Taehyung asked, standing up and holding out his pointer finger.

Siwoo reached up to hold his finger, but the smile on his face shifted into a grimace. The two friends shared a look before crouching.

Brushing her knuckles lightly on the toddler's cheek, she asked, "Is something bothering you, coconut?"

His lips curled into a frown, "Poo."

Before she could volunteer herself to change his diaper, Taehyung spoke up first.

"I'll do it." He picked Siwoo up, leaving no room for objections. "I changed my little cousins' diapers all the time before so I'm basically an expert. You can set up the TV in the meantime."

Gyeoul pursed her lips, "Are you sure? I've done it a ton of times before too, I can do it instead."

Taehyung made a face at her, answering her by getting Siwoo's bag from the couch and making his way to his bedroom. A smile bloomed on his face as he heard her laugh. Looking back after a few steps, he saw her smiling as she finally went in the direction of the living room.

Still holding on to Siwoo, Taehyung set up the 'changing station.' He placed Siwoo on the thick little blanket and started to take change his diaper.

The hair on Taehyung's arms stood, chills suddenly traveling up his spine. He didn't mind it, figuring that it only had something to do with the air conditioning in the room.

But then Siwoo started to giggle for no reason. Taehyung tore his focus away from changing his diaper to coo at the child, but then he noticed that he was looking and pointing at the empty space beside him. The idol's throat ran dry, slowly turning to look where Siwoo was looking out and finding nothing but the black curtains of his room.

He gulped, laughing the creeping fear off. "Siwoo, what are—"

Siwoo giggled again, louder this time.

Taehyung loved children, but he was seriously considering leaving the child and fleeing the room.

"Maybe I should have just let her do this," he muttered shakily, continuing with putting Siwoo's diaper on. The toddler giggled again, and this time, Taehyung laughed along with him to shake the chills off, "Are you joking with me, coconut? It's not nice to play like this."

If there was a world record for putting on a diaper in the fastest amount of time, Taehyung probably wouldn't win it, but he'd come very close. He swore he never changed a diaper this fast ever before.

Once he finished, he rushed to pick Siwoo up, threw the soiled diaper away, and ran back to Gyeoul.

Gyeoul was adjusting the volume to the show when a breathless Taehyung suddenly ran up to her with Siwoo already smiling as he heard the Hello Jadoo theme song playing. She furrowed her eyebrows, slowly patting the space beside her. Taehyung quickly put the toddler on her lap as if he was cursed, but Siwoo didn't seem to mind as he clapped, laughing at the main character hitting someone with her soccer ball.

"You'd never guess what happened."

"What happened?"

Taehyung pointed his hand at Siwoo, "He started laughing and pointing at nothing!"

Her eyes widened, "And you passed him to me?"

"I need to wash my hands!"

Gyeoul stood up, carrying Siwoo along with her, "We're coming with you."

❆

They had no idea how many Hello Jadoo episodes they'd already watched. And frankly, they want no more.

Siwoo sat in the middle of the two 95-liners, staring at the screen as if he was entranced. The two, however, were close to falling asleep.

All of the sudden, Gyeoul's phone vibrated. Eager for an excuse to tear her eyes away from the TV, she immediately checked the notification. Taehyung got distracted by her movements and turned to her with curious eyes. The dancer noticed and turned to him, mouthing 'Yongsik' before turning back to her phone to reply to the message. Taehyung's mouth made an 'o' and nodded, looking at the screen again.

YONGSIK
let's do this on friday

Attached below the message was a link to a TikTok. She turned her volume down and clicked on the link.

Taehyung's ear perked up as he heard her stifle a laugh. Something inside him stirred upon seeing her smiling down on her phone. Smiling because of someone that wasn't him. He gulped, blinking repeatedly and looking back at the TV screen to focus on the silly love triangle between three of the characters.

He shouldn't be feeling such things.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Siwoo yawn. She placed her phone on the center table and brought her attention to the toddler. "Come on, I think it's time for a nap." She picked him up, Siwoo's head laying on her shoulder. "I'll take him to my room. You can go get some sleep."

"Take him to mine instead, the bed is more comfortable there," Taehyung insisted, turning the TV off and taking Siwoo's bottle from his other bag. "I'll make the milk."

If she didn't have an ounce of control over herself, the delusions that ran through her imagination coming from that statement would have made her lose her mind. Everything that happened that day was so awfully domestic and it made her heart expand with such warmth. She was so in love with him that it was suffocating.

Gyeoul smiled softly, walking up to him and ruffling his hair. "I have this strong urge to hug you to death." Taehyung laughed, taking her hand off his head and holding it. He squeezed her hand, smiling back at her. "Thank you."

With that, the dancer walked away with Siwoo. Once she made it to Taehyung's room, she was met with the bag that he must have left when he fled the room. Remembering the reason he fled the room, Gyeoul pursed her lips debating whether or not she should continue inside.

"Inner peace," she murmured, ridding herself of the thought of any paranormal activity. "Inner peace."

"Oh?" Siwoo raised his head, his eyes half-open and lips formed a pout. "Aunt Gyeoul?"

She smiled awkwardly, patting his head and placing it back on her shoulder. "It's nothing, baby, just me being a scaredy-cat."

Kneeling down on the bed, she tried to put Siwoo down, but he started to whine and cling to her. She then remembered that he liked to be cradled to sleep and got up again. Sighing, she stood in front of the bed, closing her eyes and humming a familiar tune that got Taehyung's little sister to fall asleep all the time they babysat her.

A few minutes later, Taehyung appeared, shaking Siwoo's baby bottle. Gyeoul smiled gratefully and moved so Siwoo's face was visible to him. "Is he asleep?"

Taehyung nodded and went to fix the bed, putting the changing station aside so Gyeoul and Siwoo could lie comfortably before laying down himself. Soon enough, the dancer knelt down on the bed and put Siwoo down as slowly and lightly as possible. Taehyung grabbed two of the pillows and put them on either side of Siwoo. The toddler stirred, a quiet cry falling past his lips. Gyeoul shushed him, keeping her tone as gentle as possible, and reached her hand out in front of Taehyung for the bottle.

She took the cover of the bottle off and nudged the nipple on the toddler's lips. Instinctively, Siwoo reached up to hold the bottle up as he drank the milk, already half-asleep. Taehyung smiled fondly and started to pat the toddler's thigh rhythmically.

Not five minutes later, more than half of the bottle's contents were gone and Siwoo's hold on it went slack.

Trying not to disturb his sleep, Gyeoul took the bottle from him and closed it, putting it aside on Taehyung's nightstand. Sighing, she made herself comfortable on the bed, trying to take as little space as possible so she wouldn't accidentally crush the toddler if she falls asleep.

Gyeoul looked in front of her, seeing Taehyung with his eyes half-closed and smiling softly as he kept patting Siwoo's thigh. Feeling someone's eyes on him, he looked up, meeting her gentle gaze. She smiled at him for a moment and turned her gaze back on the sleeping figure between them.

"Have you ever thought about having children?" he suddenly asked, his whisper felt like it was no more than passing wind at how quiet it was.

She hummed, brushing Siwoo's bangs from his face, "I definitely have. I remember when I was a teenager, I thought of the names I'd use." Taehyung leaned his hand on his cheek, urging her to continue. "Well, for a boy, it's Uju, and for a girl, it's Byeol." Her hand traveled down, poking Siwoo's chubby cheek. "But it's something that needs a lot of thought when the time comes. What about you?"

"Becoming a father would be a dream come true," he answered, reaching to wiggle his pointer finger into Siwoo's little hand. "But it all depends on my future wife, if she doesn't want children then I won't mind." He smiled widely as the toddler gripped his finger tightly in his sleep. "And your names are pretty good, do you mind if I steal them if I have children first?"

Instead of a response, he was met with silence. Looking in front of him, he saw that Gyeoul's already fallen asleep. He laughed slightly to himself, observing the way her cheek squished against the pillow and the way she was wearing a small smile in her sleep. Imagine seeing that every day for the rest of your life. He'd be blown away each time.

Reaching over Siwoo, he grabbed the end of the blanket and pulled it gently over Gyeoul's shoulder. He grinned as he watched her snuggle into her pillow, making her look small. Pursing his lips, he laid back on his side of the bed.

"How I wish I was yours, Ahn Gyeoul."

❅

"It's getting late, I better get going," Gyeoul sighed, sitting up straight on the couch. She pursed her lips and leaned her elbows on her knees, placing her chin on her knuckles.

It's been an hour since Siwoo was picked up by the married couple. They couldn't conclude the winner of their little competition for being the favorite because he was still asleep by the time they arrived. Since then, they went back to the living room and tiredly watched whatever was playing on the screen — which was another episode of Hello Jadoo. After some time, they became invested in the main character and her mother's relationship.

They didn't speak of it, but when they woke up from their nap, they were holding hands. The same image burned in Gyeoul's mind. It plagued every inch of her senses that she couldn't focus. Not to mention, she also heard Taehyung say something before she fully succumbed to sleep. It was almost inaudible — could easily be mistaken as a soft whisper of the wind. She would have thought that she was only dreaming about it but it felt so real.

"How I wish I was yours, Ahn Gyeoul."

Gyeoul's heart still fluttered whenever she thought back to it. It was that statement alone that brought her hopes up.

The sound of the film playing on the television became but a hiss of white noise to her. She became more and more aware of her heartbeat, how strong it was pounding against her chest, so strong that the sound reached her ears. Registering what the show was saying turned out to be impossible. All she could think about was the man sitting on the other side of the couch.

Kim Taehyung.

Kim Taehyung.

Kim Taehyung.

Her mind was full of all things Taehyung. What on earth was he thinking about? She had no idea, but how she wished he was thinking about her.

"Gyeoul." Her ears perked up at the mention of her name. The dancer smiled slightly and turned around, giving him inquisitive eyes. "What's on your mind?"

She hummed leaning back on the armrest of her side of the couch, pulling her knees to her chest. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Taehyung perked up, "What is it?" His bright eyes blinked at her, contrasting the colorful glow of the television screen.

Adorable, she thought. "Nevermind. It's nothing."

"Oh, you're the worst," Taehyung whined, throwing his head back with a wide grin stretched across his face. "Even you hate those 'nevermind, it's nothing' type of talk."

"I—" she cut herself off, breathing out an uncertain sigh.

He tilted his head, raising his eyebrows. "You...?"

Her eyes caught sight of a brown crayon that they must have missed while cleaning up. She picked it up and placed it on the center table. Taehyung observed her carefully, eyebrows starting to knit in concern.

"Well," she started off, resting her cheek on the headrest. Her eyes shifted and landed on a small painting of a potted plant on a windowsill that he had on his wall. "A friend of mine came to me asking for advice. I don't really know what to tell her."

"Maybe I can help? What is it about?"

"My friend, let's call her A. A has feelings for her friend, let's call him B." Gyeoul took a deep breath. "B is an idol and got A to work for their group. When they grew close, they found out that they were each other's childhood friend. They just finished babysitting their coworker's son not long ago. Over time, A started to grow feelings for B and hid them for months in fear of possibly damaging their friendship and ruining B's career."

She screwed her eyes shut, instant regret coursing throughout her senses.

"Do you think that there's a possibility that B feels the same? Do you think she should take a leap of faith or not say anything at all?"

She looked back at Taehyung, trying to read his expression. His eyes were glued on her and his lips were slightly parted. Gyeoul held his gaze, smiling sadly.

"What should I tell my friend?"

Taehyung remained unresponsive, blinking slowly at the woman before him. She'd be lying if she said that his silence didn't scare her.

Gyeoul kissed her teeth, "You don't have to answer right away. I'm sure my friend can wait." She stood up and made her way to the door, putting her shoes on and slipping her bag on her shoulder. His eyes never leave her. "I'm off. I'll be seeing you."

The waiting game begins. Here's to hoping that you'll stay.

NOTE

the last scene felt incredibly forced but oh well

the name uju came from hospital playlist and byeol came from law school. the last scene was heavily inspired by hospital playlist.

pre-election anxiety hits diff when you can barely focus on anything but the fate of your country. if i have any filo readers, please vote wisely.