Sue me; I have been bitten by the SoEul babies' bug. Alright, I'm not really. I never really get the fascination with babies. I like them, but I've always thought you have to be responsible and ready to take on such responsibility. A child is not a toy, so even in stories I've always been reluctant to add a child in it. Still, I figured, I'd write something baby-related... Kind of... One-shot!
Baby-sitting was definitely not that high up there on Yi Jeong's list, no, not at all. No, it wasn't because he hated kids or disliked them really, it was just that, well, he just never really knew how to act around them. Still, that doesn't mean he liked them either, to be honest, the jury was still out on that. It was just; Yi Jeong was never good with kids. He was suave, cool, but kids would usually tire him out with endless questions. He never understood their burst of energy. Whatever they are on, he wanted to have some of it. Too bad for him, ever since his return from Sweden a little over two years ago he had been constantly been hanging around kids. He would prefer not to have to do that, but, one look from her; just that one look and he would turn into a puddle of mush and all her wishes would be his command. So, it was not strange to find him struggling around children every now and then, attending to their every whim and answering their questions as if he was even remotely interested in any of it.
No, So Yi Jeong was definitely not going to be involved with children if he could help it. But, by twist of fate and unfortunate group of friends that were lack of tact, he had, unfortunately, find his way into baby-sitting. It was like he didn't have a very demanding life as it was. "No... No... Don't cry," Yi Jeong panicked as a loud cry filled the room. Half an hour; that was how long he was left alone with the child and it was already bawling. Crap. Yi Jeong cursed in his head, attempting to sooth the child. Damn you, Gu Jun Pyo. He continued to chant a number of curses inside his head as he held the child awkwardly close. It was all his friend's fault; Gu Jun Pyo. Honeymoon? Seriously, leave it to Gu Jun Pyo to demand a second honeymoon out of the blue and drag his wife out of the country, leaving his son behind. He could have at least hired a nanny first, but no, he decided it would be better to just agree with his wife. Fantastic.
"Well, you're the Godfather, you can take care of him for a couple of weeks," Jun Pyo stated smugly before taking a sip from his drink. It was one of those boys night out they still have on occasions, where they would sit and talk to catch up with each other. "Hang on, when does baby-sitting fell into the job description of a Godfather?" Yi Jeong replied flabbergasted, to his left, Woo Bin was already howling with laughter while Ji Hoo remained as passive as ever. Alright, he knew almost nothing about children; even less of duties of a Godfather, Jun Pyo had to be joking about asking him to take care of his son for a couple of weeks. All he knew was he had to spoil the kid, but him things and show up for birthdays. Well, that was pretty much all he understood when Ga Eul was explaining things about babies, responsibilities and so on, he must have blocked out half of the day, it was a whole load of it that he was drowning with information overload. Woken up at four in the morning, no coffee and was dragged out of bed because Jan Di went into labour was not exactly how he wanted to start off his day. "Not going to happen, just hire someone," He added quickly, refusing the task. There was no way he would be able to take care of a child.
"Jan Di already asked Ga Eul and she agreed, said you two would be happy to help, Jan Di just doesn't trust hired nannies," Jun Pyo added nonchalantly. Well, he never really tried to convinced Jan Di otherwise anyway, the only way for him to get her to do what he want was to comply with her wishes first. So, if that meant troubling his friend, he former Casanova, he saw no harm in that. "What?" Yi Jeong yelped in surprise, he was on his feet at once. He wasn't sure how to react on the fact that Ga Eul had practically volunteered him along. "Well, it's not that hard to take care of a child, all you have to do is feed them, bathe them and put them to sleep," Woo Bin offered as he tried to muffled a fit of laughter. "If it was that easy, why don't you do it?" Yi Jeong fired back causing Woo Bin to burst into a loud laugh while the corner of Ji Hoo's mouth twitch in amusement. Oh great, there goes any plans to spend quality time with Ga Eul. Yi Jeong groaned inwardly.
"Aish..." Yi Jeong whined as the baby continued to cry. Sighing, Yi Jeong continued to slowly pat the baby, comforting it. "Alright, Seung Hyun if you'd stop crying, I'll buy you a bulk of new toys," He stated after about another good five minutes of wail-filled seconds ensued young Seung Hyun cried grew steadily louder, filling the space. Headaches started to build inside his head. Never in his life had he ever had to do something so exasperating. He could have had put the time to better use, he could even work on his pottery. But no, he was stuck with an eight month old baby who only knows how to wail. All thanks to his friend and Ga Eul who decided that he would be great with the child. Now, he couldn't even ask any of the maids for help or else he would definitely loose points with Ga Eul. Just great.
"Here's the milk, diaper bag..." Jan Di's voice trailed as she handed one thing after another to Yi Jeong. It was not exactly something he had any say in it. Apparently, because of his lovable girlfriend; Chu Ga Eul, So Yi Jeong had won some points with her friend. Geum Jan Di was slowly warming up to him. Well, he can't say he blamed the woman, Yi Jeong knew his track record well enough to know why Jan Di was still very suspicious of him. Still, he had recently found out, thanks to Gu Jun Pyo, that Ga Eul had been telling Jan Di how great Yi Jeong was with her students. What the hell? Was the only phrase that filled Yi Jeong's head as a short silence filled with booming laughter filled the room. Needless to say, it took Woo Bin a good half an hour to finally stop laughing while Ji Hoo was decent enough to remain, well, Ji Hoo.
Mechanically, Yi Jeong took the baby supplies as he nodded on queue when Jan Di went on with her instruction. It took her a while but leave it to Geum Jan Di to be an overly worried mother that Gu Jun Pyo had to drag her off or else they would never leave. Finally, left alone, Yi Jeong's eyes traveled to Ga Eul who was holding the Seung Hyun as she waved at her friends, watching their car disappeared. Yi Jeong wasn't sure how long he spent watching the two, but in that moment in time, he felt that he wouldn't mind if time stood still, fixed so they could just stay where they were. He loved watching the smile on Ga Eul's face. Two years, that was how long they had been together; it was a record for Yi Jeong. To make it even better, Ga Eul had been his one and only, he had kept his promise to see her first when he returned and when he did, he had made her an offer. He still remembered the blush on her face when she nodded, agreeing to date him, officially.
"Young master," A voiced startled Yi Jeong back to reality as he turned to face the Head Housekeeper. He cleared his throat loudly, trying to act as if he was perfectly in control but the knowing look in the old woman's eyes was enough to send a wave of discomfort washing through him. "We should get Miss Chu and young master Gu settled in," He stated quickly, trying to save whatever that was left of his pride. Being with Ga Eul had pretty much crumble that wall down and it was too noticeable to hide. "Yes, of course," The old man stated just in time as Ga Eul turned to look at Yi Jeong with a large smile on her face. Alright, maybe it was worth it to agree with baby-sitting, there are perks to it. Ga Eul had agreed to stay at the So Mansion for the duration of Seung Hyun stay. One point to his Godson.
"Young master," A voice interrupted Yi Jeong and he turned to find his Head Housekeeper looking unfazed. Still, Yi Jeong was at the point where he would even beg for help. Help. Yi Jeong pleaded with his eyes as he walked towards the old man, ready to hand over Seung Hyun over but was stopped when the old man opened his mouth to speak. "You could try to see if he needs to change," He stated easily. "Oh right," Yi Jeong stated quickly, walking towards the laid out table that was made for Seung Hyun's comfort. Surely enough, the moment Yi Jeong opened the diaper was greeted with some unexpected gifts from his Godson. "You can't be serious," He exclaimed loudly and right on queue Seung Hyun started to wail again. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Yi Jeong stated in panic as he turned to look for help, too bad for him, the old housekeeper had left him alone. "I can do this," Yi Jeong declared.
After a battle of smelly poop and wailing cries, Yi Jeong survived in changing Seung Hyun's diaper, albeit a little crooked. Still, he was pleased with the result. Seung Hyun had stopped crying in the middle of the change and had turned quiet. Pleased, Yi Jeong picked the boy up again, singing under his breath and stroked the child slowly as he walked around the room. Soon, Seung Hyun was lost in his sleep and a very tired Yi Jeong finally set the boy down in his crib. That wasn't so bad. He found himself thinking as he stared down at the peacefully sleeping child.
"Sunbae, I'm sorry," Ga Eul's voice burst into the room and Yi Jeong turned sharply, motioning her to keep quiet. Yi Jeong turned back to find Seung Hyun stirred in his sleep but did not move. Ga Eul on the other hand did fell into silence at once as she padded into the room quietly, finding her place beside Yi Jeong. "Looks like you got everything under control," She muttered under her breath, watching the young master Gu sleeping peacefully. She was worried on how Yi Jeong was going to handle the boy when she was held back at school due to some problem but was relieved to see that all of her worries were for nothing. Yi Jeong had everything under control and Ga Eul had to admit, she was impressed. A moment passed before Yi Jeong pulled Ga Eul away silently, leaving the room, closing the door behind them, into the adjacent room which was Ga Eul's.
"Long day?" He asked as he sat at the edge of her bed, patting her to sit beside him. He didn't miss it, the faint red of blush that was creeping on her face. Two years and she was still blushing around him. "I was held back, there was an issue with a child in my class," Ga Eul explained as she took the seat. Yi Jeong sneaked his arm around her waist almost instantly, causing Ga Eul to blush even redder. "Are you in trouble?" He asked worriedly, but Ga Eul shook her head. "It was nothing," She added as she caressed his face with her palm. "How was your day?" She asked in turn as Yi Jeong took her hand and started to kiss her palm. "Do you think I'd be a good father?" Yi Jeong asked instead, startling Ga Eul. Still, she didn't miss a beat. "Of course," She replied with a small smile. That was enough to cause Yi Jeong's heart to misbehave. Ga Eul still had that astonishing faith in him. She believed in him even when he couldn't believe in himself, she had gotten him far, it was all her.
Slowly, Yi Jeong fell back into the bed, pulling Ga Eul along with him. "Yah! Sunbae, if you want to sleep, go back to your room," Ga Eul protested, trying to get up to her sitting position, but, Yi Jeong held her in place. "Five minutes, let's just stay like this for five minutes," Yi Jeong asked. His tone was so sincere, almost begging that Ga Eul stopped struggling and remained still, letting Yi Jeong pulling her even closer.
Five minutes come and go, Ga Eul found how Yi Jeong's embrace was still possessive but loosening. She titled her slightly, finding the sight of the man sleeping, breathing evenly. A small chuckle escaped her lips. Slowly, she traced her fingers on the bridge of his nose, watching the corner of his mouth twitched. The maids' network was amazing; she was bombarded with information the moment she walked into the house. She would have liked to see it, So Yi Jeong, changing Seung Hyun's diaper. Who would have thought? Even if it was a little crocked, it was a good effort. You'll be a great father some day, So Yi Jeong. Ga Eul thought privately as she allowed herself to drift into sleep, comfortably in his arms.
Originally published on "Lovers Unparalleled" 1st October 2011