episode_0108

“Uwahhh!!!”

Enduring a sound that felt like blood would come out of my ears, I immediately got up.

Jieun was crying loudly.

The crying was so loud that it seemed like it could make Jieun cry if there were any noise between the floors.

But there must be a reason for waking up at this hour.

“Ung~ Okay okay Jieun, what’s wrong~”

It was 3 a.m. at the moment.

“Oh. You pooped a lot~ Quite a lot indeed.”

I forced my heavy eyelids open and immediately changed Jieun’s diaper.

Since Jieun only consumes breast milk, there was no smell at all.

“Hmm… Should we try digesting once?”

While cradling Jieun to put her to sleep, I patted her back and left the bedroom, wandering around the living room.

Casually glancing at the night view, which I usually just pass by while only looking at my brother, I hummed a song.

The large and wide window, which was embarrassing during the day, was usually just closed, but at night, it filled with emotions and romance.

I hummed a suitable melody in a high pitch.

It was spontaneous, without lyrics or music; I sang alone.

Even though it was dawn and my eyes were still heavy, this time of feeling the light of the night view with my eyes closed slightly improved.

“Ung-ah… Hmm.”

It’s been only a few months, so she’s just making cooing sounds, but even that is cute and lovely.

As Jieun cooed, she fell asleep again.

“Phew….”

I laid Jieun down in her crib and then collapsed onto the bed myself.

For a very short moment… I could rest.

*

“Wake up, Oppa~”

Although the morning sun had risen long ago, Oppa still didn’t seem to have any intention of getting out of bed.

Perhaps thinking he can sleep a bit more since his workplace is at home, these days Oppa seems to wake up even later than me.

Well, Jieun woke up first, so I got up too.

“Ung….”

“Eat your food. Eat.”

I need to eat well for Jieun to grow well. And Oppa needs to eat a lot to work hard.

“And~ Let’s feed Jieun her baby food~”

“Uuuh~”

After preparing a simple breakfast, I take care of Jieun first since she woke up wanting to eat.

“Ugh…. Wake up early. You look even more tired.”

“Eung….”

Even though Oppa is someone who works from home, he looks even more tired.

The time we spend together has increased, but Oppa’s working hours have extended into the night.

“Cheer up, Oppa. All I can offer is support and tonkatsu.”

Patting Jieun’s back as she happily coos after finishing eating, I give Oppa a kiss on the cheek.

Everything I can do is thanks to Oppa.

“Thank you always.”

As expected, all I could offer was a word of encouragement and a meal prepared every day.

“Thank you too.”

Oppa hugged me from behind.

His broad shoulders and long arms could even embrace Jieun.

“Always… Thank you so much.”

“Ung. No, I’m more thankful.”

I held his hand that came down.

Oppa’s hands that have endured so much.

Every time they hurt, I twist his wrist and try every possible means to soothe the pain in his wrists.

The same goes for his shoulders and neck.

How could I say I’m having a hard time when he’s enduring so much?

Rather, I want to take care of him even more.

“Uu! Hoohee!”

“Eung?”

“Aww, you’re cute. But why are you laughing?”

“That’s a baby~”

The author was giggling as she watched us.

Do we look that amusing?

“Yeah~ Jieun is the cutest~”

“Giggles~”

I held her soft cheek and grabbed her shaking hand with just one finger.

Jieun doesn’t know how to control her strength yet. She only knows how to grab and let go.

She repeats grabbing and letting go, but once she holds onto something, she doesn’t let go easily.

“Oh. Ah, Jiji, Jiji.”

And it goes into her mouth.

I gently took it out.

“Oops.”

Her little hand accidentally hit her face as it bounced back.

“Uh… Ah…”

“Oops, sorry?”

Ah, I made a mistake.

There were signs.

Jieun soon…

“Ahh!!”

“Oh, oh, sorry. I’m sorry!”

Jieun immediately started crying.

“Uh, um… I’ll go to work?”

“Ah! I want to cry too… Jieun, pout!”

I wiped away her tears and patted her back.

Although I slightly resented my brother, it was about time for work anyway.

Patting her and comforting her was of no use.

Even though I wanted to give her a pacifier, she kept spitting it out as if she didn’t like it.

I laid Jieun down on the sofa.

There was only one way.

“Coochie coo~ Peekaboo!”

“Woah… Waaah!”

Peekaboo is Jieun’s favorite.

“Peekaboo!”

I waved my hands and feet to show her that I liked it.

Even when wiping the sweat off her face with the sleeve of my clothes, if I suddenly played peekaboo, she would be surprised at first but then quickly burst into laughter.

“Phew… That was close.”

Whenever I hear crying now, my body jerks involuntarily.

My body reacts reflexively without even knowing what I am doing.

When cooking, at least there seems to be some sense of what I was doing as I turn off the gas stove.

Remembering the time when I burnt one of my clothes while ironing makes me cautious…

“Our baby… Should we take a nap now?”

A brief break time is always essential.

This break time involves carrying laundry and doing the dishes.

Being able to perform repetitive actions without any thoughts.

Somehow, I’ve come to enjoy it.

My body is still working, but my mind feels clearer.

“Sigh… Phew….”

The house felt a bit livelier or rather cozier.

With just one daughter like Jieun, it feels like the house is filled.

Of course… the noise that fills the house with the sound of five thunderous drums must also be seen from a different perspective to feel cozy.

“Oppa… Here’s your coffee.”

“Ah, thank you.”

After finishing the household chores quickly, she came to find her brother.

“Play with me, Oppa.”

“Well… I think I can rest for about 10 minutes.”

“Can you play within 10 minutes?”

“…Playing is not an option.”

Of course, it’s a joke.

“Hehe. Just come~”

She dragged her brother to bed and lay him down immediately.

“Uh… Time… Uh… Ah….”

“Feels refreshing?”

“Uh… Feels refreshing.”

She pressed firmly from the shoulders down to the feet.

Last time, she did the same thing with her hands, but she only said it felt refreshing; after finishing, she was stretching behind me.

This time, she was truly relying on me for feeling refreshed.

“As expected, you’re good at this.”

“…I won’t deny that.”

Feeling the pressure from her foot, whether it was because she was feeling really refreshed or because of her brother’s meaningful words, made her slightly nervous.

“You even like stockings.”

“…That’s obvious.”

For the record, she wasn’t wearing stockings.

It’s too much trouble… she only wears ankle stockings that go up to her ankles instead of pantyhose she used to wear.

They feel like socks, but they have the texture of stockings, and her brother likes them.

Thigh-high stockings are nice too… No, I just like anything that falls under the category of stockings.

“And… the chest.”

“Alright….”

Lastly, lying down and pressing my back with my chest feels good as expected.

“I’m fine being at home, but… it seems like your workload has increased, Oppa. Is it because of your mood?”

“Well… yeah.”

“Then how about going to the office? I can take care of this on weekends. I have a car for grocery shopping, a stroller, and even a baby carrier in case things don’t work out, so you don’t have to worry about Ji-eun.”

Every time I saw Oppa staring at the monitor all night, I felt sorry for him.

I hope Oppa isn’t too tired.

“It’s okay… It’ll be over soon. I’ll try to finish faster, so take better care of Ji-eun, our wife. Take care of yourself too.”

“But what about you? You need to take care of yourself too.”

Despite my concerns, Oppa seems more worried about me.

“You’re good at cooking. You eat well… Ji-eun also needs to start eating solid food now, I know it’s hard. I wish you could rest as much as Ji-eun does when she sleeps… Maybe it’s a bit selfish of me. I should help too…”

I want to worry about Oppa too.

It’s something you should accept. Worry.

“You’re always working and complaining about being sore!”

I’ve only had a small change in my daily life.

But not Oppa.

“It’s nice to be together… but why did it bring twice as much work…”

There’s something called balance.

The purpose of commuting to the office is to help me.

“…Sorry. It will halve once this is over. Just bear with me this time.”

“How many times have I heard that? So, there shouldn’t be any work next time.”

“No, really this time. Trust me.”

It’s been several months, but it’s still the same story.

I should know about the company.

“Sorry… truly sorry….”

I find myself hoping again.

But if there’s no one to trust, that disappointment will find its way to Oppa as well.

“I’ll trust you. Just don’t collapse. ‘Promise.’ Take care of your health.”

“Yeah… thank you.”

I left the multivitamins on the desk and quietly covered Ji-eun with a blanket as she slept on the couch.