Believe Again: Three Years Later
Three years later
When Saeran left the apartment this morning, it was clean, pristine and neat. He had left everything in order, having been the last one on cleaning duty over the weekend.
But now… eight hours later, he had returned… only to find that the apartment now looked like it had been completely and utterly ravaged. There was a (thankfully) wrapped diaper lying abandoned in a corner, splotches of milk powder on the floor, and little white footprints mixed with big ones trailing into the hallway. The couch looked like someone had been using it as a trampoline, pillows and cushions had been left on the floor, children's books and toys were scattered everywhere like leaves in fall, and the dining table was a mess of food stains, some of which looked suspiciously like vomit.
Saeran had come home early, skipping out on dinner with his friends at university because MC wanted him home for dinner today. But he was starting to regret his decision when he surveyed the apartment, a grimace forming on his features when he realized he would almost certainly be dragged into cleaning everything up together with his stupid brother. Said man had one simple job today: to babysit his three-year-old child, while MC went out to do some grocery shopping.
And as expected, he had failed spectacularly at it.
The wind slammed the door shut loudly before Saeran could grab the handle. Not thinking much of it, Saeran shrugged and entered, but was promptly startled by a wail—one that belonged not to his niece, but to his brother.
Saeran sighed, carefully tip-toeing his way past the minefield of dirt to avoid getting his socks dirty. He managed past the living room and was about to approach the hallway that looked equally disastrous, when he heard an adorable, heart-stopping voice.
"Ran? Un-ko?"
Saeran froze in his tracks, wavering slightly as he almost lost his balance in the awkward position he was standing in, with one foot directly in front of the other. He was this close to stepping on a puddle of water, and he refused to get his socks wet.
The voice was followed by the sound of little feet running across the floor, like the soft pitter-patter of rain. Saeran's eyes darted to the source of the noise, and there he found his little niece, with her wild bedhead and rubbing her big, yellow eyes. It was the most adorable thing to watch—the moment she noticed him, he watched as the sleepiness in her features evaporated in a flash, her lips parting into the brightest beam he had ever seen.
And then she was running towards him, releasing a high-pitched squeal as she went as if she were a train.
Saeran didn't even have time to register his foot stepping into the water when she practically slammed her face against his calf, her little arms wrapping tightly around his leg like a koala to a tree.
"Unko Ran!" she cried happily, and Saeran didn't even realise he was smiling until he noticed the slight ache in his cheeks. He bent down and scooped her into his arms easily, listening to the sound of her laugh echoing off the walls.
"Were you a good girl today, Eun-byeol?"
"Yes!" she nodded enthusiastically, cheeks turning a rosy pink as she held his cheek with one tiny hand. "Play, play!"
"I was just about to put her to sleep…" Another voice emerged, and Saeran craned his neck to see his brother slinking out of the bedroom, looking like Death itself. His hair was a complete mess, and he had what looked like marker stains on his arms and face—he must have let her use him as paper again.
It took a moment for Saeran to realise what had probably happened, his mind going back to the loud sound that the door created when it slammed shut earlier.
"Sorry, I didn't catch the door handle in time. The wind was too strong."
Saeyoung merely sighed, but it seemed more exhausted than anything else. Saeran could only guess at what on earth happened in this house today. No doubt, his niece must have been a handful—she had inherited her mischievousness from Saeyoung and her stubbornness from MC. And that made for one very difficult and out-of-control kid.
Saeran remembered Saeyoung retelling how Vanderwood had laughed when he first begged him to help babysit, saying something about how "karma's a bitch" before hanging up on him altogether.
As terrible as it sounded, Saeran couldn't help but agree.
The most peculiar thing was that for some reason, his niece had taken an exceptional liking to him, attached to him at the hip and always wanting to play with him. It didn't help that "Un-ko" were her first words, instead of "Mama" or "Papa". That had upset MC and Saeyoung both so much that Saeran almost felt guilty for playing with Eun-byeol whenever she so asked.
But it wasn't like he could refuse her, not when she was so cute. She had big, round yellow eyes, fat cheeks that he loved to poke and pinch, long, wavy red hair that made her look like an angel, and her voice was adorable too. Especially when she called his name. Like she was doing now.
"Yes, yes, I'm here," he chuckled, patting her on the head.
"She was asking about you all day, you know. Ever since we told her that you were staying for dinner today. She even refused to take her nap until you were back."
"You were?" Saeran asked, turning his attention back to his niece, who was beaming at him proudly once again, as if she had achieved something huge. Well, he supposed, to a three-year-old, staying up past naptime was a huge feat in itself.
"Play, Unko Ran!"
"But you need to nap first."
His answer didn't please the three-year-old. Her lips dropped into a pout, and she shook her head. "No, play play!"
"We'll play after you nap," he told her firmly, already walking back to the bedroom where she had emerged from. She started to struggle, and he had to tighten his hold around her lest she fell out of his grasp.
"No! No!"
"If you're good, I'll let you crack the eggs later."
That was the most effective bribe he had up his sleeve. Saeran smiled to himself when he watched her pause thoughtfully, mentally calculating the pros and cons of his suggestion. She had been obsessed with cracking eggs ever since they made pancakes together in the kitchen, of course while she was seated safely in her high-chair and watched Saeran do all the work. She had pleaded and begged for him to let her try cracking the eggs but he hadn't allowed it. It took a while to placate her by giving her a slice of lemon to play with instead.
"Okay…"
She was rewarded with a peck on the forehead. "That's my girl."
It didn't take long for him to put her to sleep—since she had been staying up past her naptime she was already exhausted. Within five minutes she was out cold, although it took another minute for him to carefully wrestle his index finger out from her grasp without waking her.
When Saeran left the room, he was greeted by the sight of Saeyoung wiping the floor with a wet cloth. He took a moment to watch his brother do the work, sighing as he went and looking thoroughly drained.
Parenthood was certainly taking its toll on this inexperienced father who couldn't do anything without his wife.
In an uncommon show of sympathy, Saeran stepped forward, snatched the rag from his brother, who then looked at him, confused.
"Go sleep. You look horrible," was all he said, before he took over and started wiping the same spot that his brother had earlier.
Saeran hated cleaning already, and his stupid brother just had to make it worse by squealing his name and throwing his arms around him in a hug. It took two kicks before Saeyoung finally let go, rubbing at the sore spots on his thigh but still wearing the silly, idiotic grin on his face.
"Thanks, Saeran. I appreciate it."
"Just shut up and go to sleep or I'll knock you out myself."
Dinner was a messy affair as usual, with Eun-byeol being picky with her food and throwing stuff around to mess with her parents. It was only when Saeran stepped in that she stopped and obediently ate every spoonful of food that he fed her himself. Sometimes he wondered if she acted up on purpose just so he would have to take care of her. He wouldn't put it past the scheming toddler, not when she was the product of his scheming older brother.
"I wish I could pay you to babysit," MC sighed, cleaning the food stains from the table with a rag. "I hate to admit it but she acts like you're her dad rather than Saeyoung."
"That's not true!" her husband retorted, immediately turning to his daughter for some support. "Eun-byeol, who's your daddy?"
"You!" she declared, pointing to Saeyoung, who then pumped a fist in the air looking quite ecstatic… even though she had done nothing but state the obvious.
"But the way she looks at Saeran… it's very different from how she treats you," MC snickered, relentlessly adding fuel to the fire. Saeran wanted to tell her to stop. He didn't want his brother getting jealous and acting like a drama queen like he usually did. Just one dinner… all he asked for was to eat in peace.
It was a wish that he doubted would ever come true.
"She just loves us in different ways, right, little star?" he crooned, while Saeran shuddered at Saeyoung's baby voice.
"Me love Unko Ran more!"
It wasn't even a critical hit; it was a one-hit knock-out.
Even though Saeran wasn't that invested in the argument, he couldn't help but puff up with pride when his niece turned to him, beaming proudly, with the words "I did good, right?" written all over her adorable face.
"Eun-byeol…" Her father was now fake-sobbing into his hands, whining in front of the toddler as if begging her to appease him.
"You're right, MC," Saeran said then, and she looked at him, tilting her head slightly in puzzlement.
"About what?"
"You have two babies in the house."
She chuckled at that, not bothering to defend her husband. "Exactly. Will you re-consider helping me babysit?"
Saeran paused to think. "Only for Eun-byeol."
An undignified wail escaped Saeyoung at his cold answer. Saeran couldn't well threaten violence on his older brother in front of his innocent niece, so his next best option was to slide Eun-byeol's food bowl over to Saeyoung.
"You feed her."
"B-But—"
"I'm hungry."
After the disastrous meal, MC took her daughter to the playroom for a bit, leaving the twins to do the dishes together. It went quietly enough, since Saeyoung seemed to have most of his energy drained by his daughter after a full day of babysitting her alone, despite taking a nap in between.
But of course, that didn't stop him from attempting small talk. "How's university going?" he asked, breaking the silence as he usually did.
"It's fine." It really was. Saeran was in his second year now, and when he first entered university he thought it would be difficult having to meet and work with other people in his classes, but surprisingly it was alright. He was able to get by mostly without having to talk to his classmates, since the only times he really left his dorm was to get to class. Social activities weren't his thing, and the few friends he had made during orientation respected that, and they seemed nice and easy enough to get along with—kind of like Yoosung.
"How are the classes?"
"Boring."
Saeyoung laughed at his response. "I was the same too in university. They teach things that you already know."
"Yeah."
"I guess that means you have plenty of time to play and meet people? Make friends?"
"I guess."
"That's good… If there's anything, you know MC and I are here for you, right?"
"Yes, I know. Stop worrying, I'm really fine."
"Okay, okay." Saeyoung handed another washed plate for Saeran to dry, who did it quietly. "Then… has anyone caught your interest?"
Saeran didn't like that tone in his brother's voice.
"Interest? In what?"
"You know… romantically."
Saeran rolled his eyes when he turned and saw his brother wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. Childish.
"No," was his firm answer, as he snatched another clean plate out of Saeyoung's hands to dry.
"Really? Not a single person?"
"No."
Saeran thought Saeyoung would leave it at that, but then he asked another question:
"Are you… by any chance… still hung up over that girl?"
The younger twin hands froze up for a second. He knew immediately who Saeyoung was referring to, and he forced himself to continue drying the plate and to act normal.
"I'm not," he said in the most neutral voice he could muster.
"Really?" As expected, Saeyoung wasn't convinced. "You never opened up to MC and I about her, or what happened after… after everything."
And for good reason. Saeran simply didn't want to talk about it. It was all over, he couldn't do anything anymore since they would never be able to return to Korea and he would never get to see her again. It was pointless to dwell on what was past and even more pointless to talk to his brother and MC about it.
"I'm fine," he said again, though this time he had made the mistake of gritting his teeth a bit too hard. It was unnerving, the way he could feel Saeyoung's eyes boring holes into his head.
Before his brother could ask any further, he left the plate on the dish rack and tossed the rag onto the counter.
"I have work to do," was the flimsy excuse he threw past his shoulder, before fleeing into the safety of his room, where he could be alone.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating... at first I wanted to stuff a lot of plot things into this chapter but decided to leave it for the next one, otherwise the chapter might get too long. :) I hope you liked the family fluff here hehe (i had to re-write the whole damn thing T_T)
I can't make promises for a quick update since finals are coming up in less than a month, but I'll definitely still be working on this story when I can and continue updating regularly after the semester is over (AFTER MY LAST SEMESTER WOOHOO) :) Can't wait to continue writing this story tbh but yeah in the meantime I hope you are all safe and well!