#Side Story 2 – 12
Muttering as if it were pathetic, Chaehun hyung turned his gaze back to me, who was holding Siwoo. A gentle hand tapped my cheek, then did the same to Siwoo. Chaehun hyung, who had always seemed like an adult, seemed even more mature after the baby was born, which felt a bit unfamiliar.
“Are you not hungry? I should prepare dinner while Cheongmyeong watches the baby.”
“I’ll help.”
“Honey, you rest. I’ll do it.”
With that, Chaehun hyung left for the kitchen. After hearing what sounded like a conversation between a fairly affectionate couple, I let out a small “Oh” in admiration and muttered to Saheon hyung.
“Chaehun hyung must be good at cooking.”
“He was in the cooking unit in the military, that’s why.”
“What’s with calling him ‘that guy’ to me?”
I glared at hyung as I sat on the sofa. I naturally adjusted my hold so the baby was half-lying, but the baby only smacked its lips without making a sound. I wonder how it’s not shy at all. The child, who was staring at me blankly like a living doll, babbled something again. Once more, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Is this your first time holding a baby? You’re doing so well!”
The friendly sister-in-law asked as she sat on the opposite sofa. The baby blinked and looked for its mother when it heard her voice, but still remained quietly in my arms.
“Is that so…?”
“Yes. You’re doing well. Siwoo doesn’t usually stay this quiet with other people.”
As if knowing we were talking about him, the baby made a short “Woo!” sound. For a moment, my heart sank thinking he might cry, but seeing Siwoo looking at me curiously with wide eyes, I couldn’t help but smile again.
“It’s amazing. He’s not crying at all? How cute…”
“I know… I want to have a baby too. Maybe three…”
Saheon hyung whispered meaningfully as he sat next to me. I felt like my forehead was about to be pierced by his suspiciously intense gaze, so I pretended not to notice and said,
“If you want to touch the baby, go wash your hands.”
“Yes, yes.”
Saheon hyung left for the bathroom to follow my instructions. The baby also seemed to chime in, babbling something again. It was clearly meaningless, but it was funny how it seemed to be speaking quite seriously.
“You’re quite the chatterbox.”
“Siwoo likes his uncle. Baby likes.”
Perhaps hearing its mother’s voice, the baby’s babbling became even more intense. It was so cute. I should have brought other gifts too. Clothes, shoes, socks, toys… While I was losing my mind becoming more and more of a doting uncle, Saheon hyung returned after washing his hands.
As soon as Saheon hyung sat next to me after playfully touching my cheek, the baby closed its mouth tight. Where did all that smiling and cute behavior from just moments ago go? With its jaw clenched tight like a walnut, the baby stared blankly at Saheon hyung. Surprisingly, I could see Chaehun hyung in the baby’s face.
“See that? Even the way it looks at me resembles Kwon Chaehun.”
Hyung whispered to me accusingly. I could only nod glumly. I’m not sure how it will turn out when the baby grows up, but if it continues to resemble Chaehun hyung this much, there won’t be any worry about losing its father.
“My mom also said he looks just like his dad. Oh, that’s right. When my mother-in-law came for the 100th-day celebration, she left an album. Would you like to see it? I was surprised because Siwoo and oppa’s faces are exactly the same.”
“She left an album?”
“Yes. Shall I bring it? I saw your photos in it too. Cheongmyeong is in there as well. Ah, and mother-in-law also brought your album. She wanted to give it to you along with oppa’s, but since you couldn’t come, she asked me to pass it on later. Just a moment.”
Although I must have been in the hyungs’ albums since I had been around them since they were born, I was surprised to hear myself mentioned by the sister-in-law. She headed to the small room to get the albums.
Soon after, the sister-in-law returned with two thick albums. They looked quite heavy for the sister-in-law’s delicate frame, especially after giving birth. Saheon hyung quickly stepped forward to take the albums.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Is this mine?”
Saheon hyung checked the name written on the side of the album. It was an album with ‘Saheon’ written in small letters in aunt’s handwriting. While hyung was checking his album, the sister-in-law opened Chaehun hyung’s album.
I think I had seen the hyungs’ albums during that time when I would go straight to aunt’s house after school ended. It was almost 15 years ago, so my memory was hazy, but I looked at the photos of the young hyungs that the sister-in-law was showing me while holding the baby.
Chaehun hyung’s baby photos looked surprisingly similar to Siwoo. If it weren’t for the poor image quality, you might believe it was taken just now. There were also photos of aunt with the characteristic brick-colored makeup of the 80s and 90s, and uncle looking awkward with his thick hair.
I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Chaehun hyung’s baby pictures, who always seemed so adult-like. Hyung smiling brightly at the camera was just too cute.
“We don’t need to take photos of Siwoo. We can just reuse his dad’s.”
Chaehun hyung’s offspring muttered quite self-deprecatingly. The sister-in-law laughed loudly at Saheon hyung’s joke. As I was chuckling softly, I suddenly felt a sucking sensation near my chest and looked down.
“Uh, uh oh…”
The baby was sucking on my chest area, clutching my clothes with its tiny hands. Thinking it wouldn’t be good for the baby to have my clothes, potentially covered in outside dust, in its mouth, I hurriedly tried to detach the baby, but the area it had been sucking on was already wet with saliva.
“Why, why is it doing this…”
The baby who had been sucking on my sweatshirt still had its mouth open. Confused that what it had been filling its mouth with was gone, the baby opened and closed its lips for a moment.
“Ah, sh… That’s mine.”
Saheon hyung grumbled menacingly in a voice just loud enough for me to hear. When I looked at him in surprise, Saheon hyung, frowning, pretended not to notice and reached out towards the baby.
“I’ll hold him. Look at the photos.”
“Uh…”
Before I could say anything, Saheon hyung took the baby. Seeing the well-built Saheon hyung holding a baby just over 100 days old looked so precarious. It looked like he was holding a Subway sandwich still in its wrapper.
Siwoo also seemed to feel uncomfortable. As soon as he was in Saheon hyung’s arms, the baby’s lips, which had been looking bewildered, started to pout. I had a bad feeling about this, and sure enough, after confirming hyung’s face, the baby burst into tears.
The baby, who had been so quiet until now, started crying loudly, and Saheon hyung, with a gesture full of panic, handed the baby to the sister-in-law. She took the baby with practiced ease.
“I think he’s hungry. I’ll go feed him. Just a moment.”
“Oh, dinner is ready.”
“You all start eating first.”
It seemed Chaehun hyung’s cooking was done just in time. The sound of the baby crying pitifully faded as the door closed. Chaehun hyung, who had been looking towards where Siwoo and the sister-in-law had disappeared, turned to us and spoke.
“Alright. You guys eat first… What happened to Mung’s clothes?”
Chaehun hyung, who hadn’t known the situation because he was in the kitchen, laughed out loud. I awkwardly rubbed the spot on my clothes that Siwoo had drooled on with my sleeve. It would dry soon, but it felt awkward as it seemed to emphasize the area where the nipple would be.
“The baby ate it.”
At my answer, Chaehun hyung laughed even louder. After giggling for a while, Chaehun hyung said in a not-at-all sympathetic tone,
“Oh no.”
“We should wipe it with water.”
Saheon hyung interjected abruptly. It didn’t seem necessary to wipe it. I rubbed the damp part with my sleeve once more before giving up.
“It’ll dry soon.”
“If it’s a saliva stain, it’ll leave a white mark. Come here.”
Saheon hyung naturally grabbed my wrist and headed to the bathroom. Even as I was being dragged away making “Uh” sounds, Chaehun hyung calmly waved his hand saying, “Come back soon,” before going to set the table.
Without any interruption, Saheon hyung put me into the bathroom and closed the door. Hyung’s thumb naturally pressed the lock. Hyung had the surprising ability to lock the door without making a sound.
Suddenly, tension filled the air. As I swallowed hard, Saheon hyung turned on the faucet loudly, then first wiped off the part that Siwoo had sucked on. The wet spot that hyung made with water was actually larger than the saliva stain the baby had left.
“Now… that’s enough.”
When I lightly grabbed hyung’s hand that was rubbing as if scraping, Saheon hyung raised his lips mischievously. With one hand holding the bottom of the sweatshirt and the other wiping off the moisture with a towel, hyung hung the towel back up, then covered my mouth and whispered quietly.
“It’s not done yet. We need to disinfect it.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
