~3 months later~

~Jieun's POV~

"I could get used to this." I smiled, laying back on the sunbed with a large smile on my face, looking fondly at Nari who was picking up shells from the sand.

"Tell me about it." Minho chuckled. "God, you're so beautiful, Jieun. It's like you're glowing these days."

"It's all thanks to the holiday. Thanks for bringing me along, by the way."

"Oh, it was just so you could take care of Nari while I get drunk. Don't flatter yourself." Minho joked and I playfully slapped his arm.

"Mommy! Daddy! Look!" Nari ran away quickly towards us, showing us her findings. "There's a little crab in this shell!"

"Oh my, put it down!" I urged her, noticing the small creature inside as soon as the shell was close enough to my face.

"But I want to keep it!"

"What else did you find, baby?" Minho took the little shell away from her, diverting her attention.

"Oh, look!" She pulled out a few other seashells from her pocket, carefully going through each of them and showing them to us proudly.

"They're so cute! Well done!"

"I'm gonna go grab a beer, do you girls want anything?" Minho grinned and looked at the bar, which made me think that maybe his earlier comment about being able to get drunk free of responsibility was not that off the mark.

"Orange juice!" Nari exclaimed loudly.

"Hmm... and for me..."

"A cocktail maybe?" Minho suggested.

"Oh, no. It's too early in the day for alcohol." I quickly refused. "Just bring me some orange juice as well."

"Got it." Minho nodded and stood up from his sunbed, walking towards the bar on the beach.

"Mommy, can we play together?" Nari grabbed my hand and shook it a few times to make me look at her.

"Of course! Do you want to swim, or should we build some sandcastles?"

"Sandcastles!!!" She held onto my hand excitedly as we made our way towards the ocean, stopping where water met the land to collect fresh sand.

We were focusing on arranging the sand to somewhat resemble a castle, which was pretty difficult to do without a beach toy set.

"It's ugly." Nari said with a slight frown on her face.

"Is it? I think we might need a bucket." I tilted my head. "Oh no!" I exclaimed as I saw our building collapse once again.

Our hands rushed towards the sand to try and keep it together, but of course, for the 5th time in a row, we failed miserably.

"Noooo!" Nari exclaimed as well, and both of us started laughing.

"What's up?" Minho approached us, holding two paper glasses filled with orange juice.

"Daddy, we can't build any sandcastles without a bucket!" Nari complained as both of us stood up and grabbed our glasses.

"Oh, wait! I have an idea!" I drank the whole glass in one gulp, rinsed it in the ocean water, then sat back down and filled it with sand.

"What are you doing?" Nari sat down next to me, curiosity filling her large eyes.

"Look at this!" I grinned and placed the cup upside down, waiting for a few seconds for the sand to stick to the ground. When I removed the paper cup, a small tower-shaped sand figure stood tall in front of us.

"Woah! That means we can make a castle!"

"Not sure if you can make a castle or just lots of towers..." Minho smiled at us, as I tutted.

"If you have nothing better to do, you better go buy a toy bucket and join us in the arts of sand sculpting, or else-"

"Or else?" He raised a challenging brow.

I leaned in Nari's ear and whispered.

"Nari, I think we have to attack daddy."

She looked at me with a mischievous grin, and with a nod of her head, we stood up and put water in our now empty glasses, throwing them on Minho.

"Hey!" He shouted! "Not fair! You're two!"

All of us started to laugh as we splashed Minho some more, until he finally got enough and grabbed Nari from the ground, taking her in his arms and running with her in the water.

"Daddy nooo!!!" She screamed and wiggled, but his hold was too strong, and he quickly enough dipped her in water, teaching her a lesson.

I stood on the shore and watched the scene, amused, before Minho looked me dead in the eyes and said:

"Don't you think you've escaped this! You're next!"

"What?!" I gasped, baffled, watching Nari run away from him and towards me.

Seeing him also come back for me, his eyes burning with determination, I realised that he's serious, so I started running away laughing.

He caught up to me quickly, hugging my back tight.

"Minho, no, please, I'll do anything!" I laughed, pleading with him.

"Anything?"

"Yes, yes!"

"Hmm... no!" He laughed and picked me up as well, doing the same thing that he did with Nari.

I was a bit stronger and managed to hang onto him better, so he decided to just go down with me, submerging both of us into the clear ocean water.

"I hate you!" I exclaimed, rubbing the salt away from my eyes with a large smile on my face.

"I love you too." He kissed my cheek, helping me back to the shore.

~

On the 9th day of our stay, Minho decided we should do some light shopping and get souvenirs for his parents.

The three of us went to the small shopping area of our hotel and entered a few souvenir stores, before he suggested also looking for some new clothes.

"Why would we? We packed a lot anyway." I asked.

"Why not? Shopping is always fun. Don't you think those dresses are cute?" He pointed to a few mannequins.

"I want the pink one!" Nari squeezed my hand and pointed to one of the sparkly dresses, and I caved.

"Okay, fine! Let's look." I rolled my eyes playfully and entered the small store.

Nari tried on the pink dress that fit her like a glove and got some matching shoes with it, ending up looking like a barbie princess.

Minho also found a beautiful white suit that he seemed excited about, and we ended up finding a matching white dress for me, something thankfully flowy and comfortable, that also looked very princessy and elegant.

"Now that we're all dressed up, should we go to dinner?" Minho suggested, grabbing my hand tightly.

I nodded and grabbed Nari's hand as well as we started walking, but instead of the resort's restaurant, Minho was heading somewhere else.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked, confused.

"To the beach."

"Why? The restaurant is in the opposite direction."

"You'll see." He smiled, and Nari started chuckling, making me confused.

I frowned and followed Minho's lead, and soon enough, we made our way through the exit and followed the short path to the beach. It looked different, decorated with beautiful white flowers and small outdoor lamps, creating a beautiful atmosphere contrasting with the azure waters in the background.

The path led to a round white table where three seats were awaiting us, and my heart started beating quickly in my chest.

"Have you prepared all of this?" I whispered, taking in the beauty of the place and looking at Minho, who simply smiled.

After we reached the table, he helped me sit down, and I was expecting both him and Nari to take their places, but instead, they remained standing as a waiter brought a tray with a medium-sized box.

Minho handed the box to Nari, who held onto it tight, her cheeks bright pink and her eyes sparkly.

"Jieun," Minho started, kneeling down on one knee, his hand steadily on Nari's back. "We have something to ask you."

My eyes grew bigger.

"What is it?" I answered, almost holding my breath.

"Uhm..." Nari started, nervously tucking her hair behind her ears with one hand while holding the box firmly with the other, with Minho's help.

"Go ahead, baby." I encouraged her, caressing her cheek.

"It's been, uhm, a few months since I started calling you Mommy, and... can you be my mommy forever?" Nari asked in a quiet, hopeful voice, her eyes glossy, and looking at her, I burst into tears.

"Yes, of course!" I hugged her tightly and she handed me the box. "For me?"

Nari nodded. "But don't open it yet! It's daddy's turn now."

"Okay." I laughed, wiping away the tears from my cheeks. I then looked at Minho, who was still kneeling down.

"Jieun." He smiled softly. "Ever since you came into my life, my world's been brighter. I love you, and I will make this short. Will you marry me?"

I nodded and sobbed some more as Minho stood up and leaned over me to kiss my lips.

"Mommy, you have to open the box now!" Nari urged me.

"Okay, okay. Let's see what's in here."

As I took the lid off, the most beautiful set containing a diamond ring, necklace, bracelet and earrings sparkled in front of my eyes.

"Oh my God, this is beautiful." I said, looking at Minho.

He grabbed the ring and helped me put it on my finger, and I admired the perfect fit.

"I chose it with daddy!" Nari boasted proudly.

"Did you? Thank you so much, Nari, I love it." I said, and the father-daughter combo sat down at their respective places around the table.

"Now, we should eat-" Minho started.

"Wait." I cut him off. "I also have something to tell you two."

"What is it, what is it?!" Nari asked with excitement.

"Nari, do you remember at school when we were talking about families, and you said you really wanted to be a big sister?"

"No way! Really?! Already?!" Minho stood up and kneeled down once more in front of my chair, not letting me finish my explanation to Nari, who looked at us confused.

"Yes, Minho." I chuckled, then turned my attention back to Nari. "I'm pregnant, which means you're going to be a big sister!"

It was Minho this time who started crying, as Nari sat up as well and came to hug me, and we stood there embraced for a few beautiful moments, with Nari squealing with excitement and Minho and I crying from all the happiness we were feeling.

"I was really wondering why you, the biggest wine lover, refused to drink even a sip this whole week." Minho cleared his throat as joked, helping Nari back into her seat and sitting down as well.

"Don't make me sound like an alcoholic in front of our daughter, please." I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Mommy, daddy says drinking is good as long as you do it with moderation."

"Well, I guess that could be true, if you're a responsible adult, unlike daddy." I chuckled, and Minho threw me a look, but decided not to get back at me this time, and simply looked at me, fondness adorning his eyes, and asked:

"So, how far along are you?"

"Do you remember our last conversation about birth control? I surprisingly got pregnant right away, so I'm at 13 weeks!"

"What is birth control?" Nari asked.

"Something you take if you are not ready for a baby so that you don't get pregnant." I explained, and Minho nodded, satisfied with the simple explanation that would surely make his daughter understand.

"Nari," Minho started, "do you want a baby sister, or a baby brother?"

"Hmm, I don't know! Maybee... a baby brother!"

"Really?" I chuckled. "Why?"

"Because daddy would play sports with him and leave me alone in the morning, so I can paint." She grinned, and we all started to laugh.

We continued our conversation as the waiter brought us our food, and eventually, Nari's curiosity took over the evening, and she started asking multiple questions regarding the baby.

"When will we know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"In a few weeks. Should we go together and find out?"

"Yes!!!"

~

~Two years later~

"This is so unfair!" Nari pouted, crossing her arms.

"What is?"

"You're returning to work now, when I start 5th grade and you're no longer going to be my teacher?" She frowned.

"Well, I won't be your teacher, but we're going to be in the same school, and we're going to come back home together. Isn't that enough?"

"No. Daddy, do something!"

"What can I do?" Minho asked, holding Yu-Jun, our 13-month-old son in his arms, struggling to get him to eat his breakfast.

"I want you to be my teacher again, mommy! It's not fair that you got to stay home for the rest of my 3rd and 4th grade!"

"But we're going back together, aren't we?"

"I also think it might be too soon... Yu-Jun is still young." Minho pouted just as the phone started to ring.

"Then you stay home with him. I need to get back to work, otherwise I will explode." I smiled and kissed Minho's cheek, standing up and grabbing my phone to answer the call. "Oh, Ye-Jun! Good morning!"

Ye-Jun, Jinki's wife and my son's godmother he's been named after, called.

"Hey babe, what's up? Getting ready for our date?"

"Yes! I'm almost done getting ready. Minho's taking care of the kids today."

"Yeah, I know. He's meeting Jinki later. Hopefully these 2 will manage four kids." She chuckled, a tint of playful worry in her voice.

"Eh, they'll manage. Let's hope for the best!"

"I'm gonna leave in 15 minutes then and meet you there!"

"Sure! Love you!"

"Love you! Drive safe!"

I ended the call and turned back to my husband, watching fondly as he made airplanes out of the spoon carrying food, tricking Yu-Jun into eating.

"Was that Ye-Jun?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go finish getting ready and see you all later." I went and kissed everyone's cheeks.

"Love you mommy!" Nari waved after me.

"Love you too!" I waved back and finished my make-up.

Once I was all dolled up, I put on my shoes and left the house, looking one more time at the three most important people in my life before closing the door.

I never thought I was ever going to be this happy, and on the short elevator ride, I reflected on how I got here. Who thought that I was going to find Minho, the love of my life, twice, through In the Dark, and through school, and fall in love each time? Who thought that he would also look back at me, love me for who I am, and unconditionally support me in every aspect of my life?

With a smile on my face, I walked towards the car and made my way to the restaurant to have brunch with my best friend, grateful and truly happy about the way life turned out. I was already incredibly content, but I was sure only more happiness was to follow, and I couldn't help but be excited about each and every adventure still to come.

~The End~

(A/N) Thank you for reading 'In the Dark'!

I hope you enjoyed it <3

I consider it a very dear story, that's been at times challenging, but extremely entertaining to write.

I hope I'll see you in my other works.

Until then, stay safe!

Love,

Storm