CHAPTER: 013 Huh? How Many?!
CHAPTER: 013 Huh? How Many?!
After coming back from Eulwangri, he rested at home the next day.
But once his younger siblings started crawling all over the house, Yoonseul learned what it meant to have his soul leave his body.
Until the babies got tired out, he held a guitar and did his “acting” routine(?) in front of them.
That night, Yoonseul lay collapsed on the living room sofa like a used towel.
Tiny dewdrops sparkled in his eyes.
His pupils were half-unfocused as he stared at the ceiling.
Childcare hell!
When his seniors told him about it, he’d just thought, Yeah, I guess.
Now he realized he’d been an idiot.
After getting married, having a baby and going through childcare hell again?
The moment he imagined it, goosebumps broke out all over him.
Shiver—
“No… I really don’t want that…”
The words slipped out on their own.
He found himself thinking the babysitter, Teacher Han Mira, was worthy of respect.
“No… not just her.
Everyone in this world who’s a mom or dad—I respect you.”
The word “respect” came out without him even trying.
He remembered Han Mira saying it was only this manageable because Garam and Dasomi were “easy,” and when he realized he’d ignored that at the time, his feet started kicking at the air on their own.
Thump, thump—
He’d just earned himself one point of cringe history.
Honestly, he was scared right now.
The babies were crawling around the house, busy as little bullets…
But what if they started walking?
Sss—!
Without realizing it, his face had turned into that expression a child actor makes in some movie.
He quietly clasped his hands, and prayed in his heart.
‘Please let my little siblings grow up to be calm kids who listen to me.’
Bzzzt—
The phone on the sofa vibrated like it was shaking his whole body.
“Hello—.”
—What are you doing?
It was Han Gangsu, his intern classmate and closest friend.
A friend whose name had caused endless episodes.
A friend who sometimes called, asked around, and brought back news like some kind of messenger pigeon(?).
“I’m stretched out on the sofa.”
—Sofa? Why?
“You said you’re getting married, right?”
—Yeah! This May. Why?
“Later, when you have a baby, treat your wife well.”
—…What kind of nonsense is that?
“You know I’m raising my siblings, right?”
—I do. I do. They’re not even one yet.
“They crawl.”
—…………
Silence on the other end.
He was probably imagining it.
Yoonseul waited.
“Whatever you’re imagining, it’s worse than that. It’s hell beyond hell.”
—They’re not walking yet, right?
“Feels like soon… They’re already pulling up and standing…”
At that, the other side went quiet again.
Then—
—…So the gates to hell are about to open for real.
Yoonseul stared at the ceiling and said,
“Honestly, I ignored what the babysitter told me.
But after staying home with them today…
I get why people want to run away.”
—…You should’ve just sent them for adoption.
“Hey. You’re a beautifully insane bastard.”
He cursed in a low voice as he called Gangsu out.
—Sorry. That was out of line.
“If you know, that’s enough.”
—Are you having that hard a time?
Hah—
At his friend’s words, Yoonseul swept back his bangs, blew air to puff his hair up, and said,
“There’s something I remember hearing from parents of daycare and kindergarten kids.
I finally get it now.”
—What is it?
“When moms get pushed to the edge at home, and daycare or kindergarten teachers’ stress hits the sky, they say, ‘It’s break.’”
—Ahh! Yeah, I’ve heard that.
“I understand it. No—I’m relating to it. Relating!”
Yoonseul got worked up without meaning to.
—So what, you want to go to work?
“Bingo!”
—Doesn’t the babysitter come back in a few hours?
“Yeah, exactly. If I sleep and wake up, tomorrow will be here.
So… if there’s no news about the others, let’s hang up. I’m tired.”
—You must be wrecked. If even you—Mr. Gentleman—are whining.
“Hah… but you know what’s even funnier?”
—What?
“When I’m at work, I start missing their smiling faces.
I want to hold them and kiss them.”
—…………
Gangsu couldn’t process it.
A guy screaming about wanting to escape childcare hell…
but saying he misses them the moment he leaves?
It made no sense.
“You crazy bastard.”
—Yeah. I know. My brain is beautifully insane.
Gangsu snorted a laugh at the voice he heard.
“Self-deprecating comedy?”
—Probably. Ah! My siblings’ first birthdays are this March and April.
I want to throw them a first-birthday party, but… I don’t know what to do.
“A first-birthday party?”
—Yeah. It’s their first birthday ever. Even if they won’t remember, as their older brother, I want it to be meaningful.
“Then rent a party room and invite your classmates and college friends.”
—…But everyone’s busy with residency, aren’t they?
“Still. If it’s your siblings’ first birthday, they’ll come.”
—Ah…
“And take pretty photos too.”
—Photos? Oh!
Gangsu went, as if something clicked, and Yoonseul let him.
“And can I come over soon?”
—To my place?
“Yeah. Your siblings are seriously cute. You don’t look at the group chat, do you?”
—I just lurk.
“Just lurk? And you still spam baby videos and photos?”
—Hahaha.
Gangsu was speechless.
Every time he opened the chat, cute baby photos appeared, so he couldn’t not look.
And the babies had this unique charm you didn’t see in other babies.
“The girls in our class say this.”
—What?
“‘I want to get married and have a baby soon~’”
When Gangsu did the impression, Yoonseul’s muffled laughter came through.
“Anyway, I’m coming over the Saturday after next, so keep it free.”
—I’m not stopping you, but when you come, you’ll have to entertain my siblings a bit. Oh, and if you smell like cigarettes, I’m tossing you into the Samdo River, so clear the smell before you come.
Pfft—
Gangsu burst out laughing at Yoonseul’s warning.
“If you smell like smoke, I’ll send you to the afterlife.”
If he’d added some stronger curse words, the vibe would’ve been perfect—
but living with newborn siblings had seriously cleaned up Yoonseul’s language.
“Alright. I’ll message you before I come.”
—Yeah. I’m going to sleep too. Hang up.
“Okay.”
Gangsu ended the call and entered the class group chat.
The room name was [SeulDolMo].
Aka: “A gathering for Yoonseul’s siblings’ first-birthday party.”
Most of them already knew about the “incident(?)” that happened at Yoonseul’s mom’s funeral.
After that, at the year-end meet-up, a direct senior told them something,
and the classmates were so shocked their jaws nearly dropped.
“What? Seul became an older brother at the funeral, and that wasn’t enough… and now he has one more kid?!”
They asked again.
“Yeah. And I heard the one he’s raising this time is a girl.”
“My god… What kind of saint is Yoonseul? Taking on two kids?”
“This is what I heard… They were originally going to send both overseas for adoption. The lawyer’s side.
But you know how he got one younger sibling at the funeral.”
“Right. The baby’s mom basically dumped the kid at the ER and disappeared.”
“And then Yoonseul quit even though he had one month left on his contract.”
“Yeah… and apparently he took in one more.”
So the classmates who knew Yoonseul couldn’t help being shocked.
Holy crap.
No way.
That must be brutal.
After that, they made a chatroom to help Yoonseul.
Gangsu took the lead, talked to Yoonseul, and handled “reading the room.”
[Gangmul: As expected, looks like he’ll do the first-birthday party around March or April. Told him to look for a party room. In 2 weeks, I’ll go to his place and check the vibe.]
[Hananim: Good work.]
[Jiu: So you talked. How did he sound?]
Seeing the messages, Gangsu laughed.
He remembered his friend, who’d just been shouting about wanting to escape childcare hell.
Meanwhile, after hanging up,
Yoonseul staggered off the sofa, took a shower,
then went into the room where the babies slept and lay down on his bed.
“Sleep well… Garam, Dasomi. Hyung’s kinda tired, but… as long as you’re heal—”
Soo— soo—
He couldn’t finish and fell asleep.
A golden light gathered at Garam’s fingertips, then vanished.
•
The next day, after finishing getting ready for work, Yoonseul waited for Han Mira to arrive.
Dding— ddorong—
“Teacher Han must be here.”
After checking the babies playing in the living room, Yoonseul opened the front gate.
“Hoo… I’m a little late, right? Sorry, sir.”
“No, you’re on time.”
Yoonseul noticed a faint flush in her cheeks.
“Teacher Han, are you not feeling well?”
He sensed something slightly off and felt uneasy.
“Huh? Ah… I think I’m just a bit flushed from running up from the bottom.”
“Is that so? No throat pain or headache?”
“Huh? Ah—! Just a little stiffness in the back of my neck after waking up, but nothing else.”
“Then that’s good. Please take care of them today, too.”
“Yes. Have a good day, sir.”
“Ah— I fed them a thin porridge this morning.”
“Ah! Yes— now we can start mixing in flavors little by little.”
“Yes. Please do.”
“Yes. Garam, Dasomi— say bye~”
When Han Mira held the babies’ arms and lightly waved them, they smiled brightly and saw Yoonseul off.
Seeing that, Yoonseul couldn’t bring himself to leave.
“Yeah… I’m going— Have fun, Garam, Dasomi…”
He accidentally spoke in baby-talk and immediately regretted it.
“It’s okay. Most people do baby-talk.”
“I-is that so? Haha. I’ll be going.”
“Yep! Have a good day!”
Yoonseul hurried out the gate.
As he walked down quickly toward the public parking lot, he spotted the grandma from the neighborhood shop sweeping the alley.
“Hello, Grandma.”
Taesunja stopped sweeping, beamed at Yoonseul, and said,
“Heading to work now?”
“Yes.”
“After you get off, stop by the shop.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve got something to tell you.”
“…Okay. I’ll stop by after work.”
“Yeah. Go on, and drive safe.”
At Taesunja’s warm words, Yoonseul’s heart felt itchy.
“Good morning!”
He entered the clinic with a bright voice and greeted the nurses.
They greeted him back with bright expressions.
“Did you rest well for New Year’s Day?”
“Yes. I rested well with my siblings.”
At that, Nurse Son Miso, who handled injections, looked at him and said,
“Dr. Yoonseul— did you go to Eulwangri on New Year’s Day, by any chance?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Yoonseul stared at her in surprise.
Son Miso smiled, took out her phone, and showed him something.
“Your photo got posted on ‘Moon Drawing.’”
“Huh?”
He was shocked.
His photo was on an SNS called “Moon Drawing”?
It didn’t feel real.
So Son Miso opened the app and showed him.
“This is you, right?”
When he looked closely, it was near Eulwangri Beach.
A photo of him standing beside the stroller, watching the sunset.
“Uh… when was this taken?”
As Yoonseul murmured, Son Miso read the caption posted with the photo.
“It says, ‘A cool baby dad pushing a stroller.’”
At that, Yoonseul muttered,
“…I’m not a baby dad. Haha.”
When he laughed awkwardly, Son Miso smiled and said,
“It has thirty thousand likes.”
“Huh? How many thousand?”