Chapter 60: Baby Care Supporters
"I want to touch too!"
The rabbits spread out around So-eun, and while Samgito was being held by her, Daepodong—who looked envious—stealthily approached and extended his paw.
The sight of a super fan desperately wanting to touch a celebrity’s hand once was nowhere to be seen.
"Kyaa!"
Seeing Daepodong like that, So-eun gently touched the raccoon’s paw that had been extended to her.
"Hwaeoeok! Ppeonggarunda!"
Daepodong, who had shaken hands with So-eun, trembled all over.
"Is our So-eun like a living drug in the animal world?"
"Yeah… even giving catnip to the cats doesn’t reach this level."
Seeing Daepodong’s trembling, Noona and I lightly shook our heads. How could we understand the sight of a baby just having touched hands and trembling as if it would die from happiness? It was beyond our comprehension.
"Out!"
"Kkeok!"
Even Sopodong shoved the trembling Daepodong aside in front of So-eun, tossed him off the bed, claimed the spot, and shook hands with her.
Naturally, Sopodong followed the exact same procedure as Daepodong. He trembled happily, then was thrown out by the other animals fighting to take his place.
After that, the animals kept repeating the cycle: one touch with So-eun, trembling with joy, then tumbling out of the bed.
"Ah, Young Mistress! Me too…! Uheoek!"
Even the composed Cheongho did skinship with So-eun and fell.
Seeing the guy I had trusted betray my expectations, I let out a sigh.
"Kyahueueng!"
Yeah, as long as So-eun is happy, that’s all that matters.
I lightly rubbed So-eun’s cheek as she beamed with joy.
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Baby care for So-eun, who was about to die from cuteness, was surprisingly easy.
Combined with my superpower that could understand the baby’s babbling to a certain degree, and the fact that the animals played with her so adorably, it was all thanks to them.
She rarely cried even when awake, and when she did, she calmed down quickly. The only tiring part was the occasional midnight feedings when the sun was up or down.
"I’ll be back!"
That was why Noona could go out for the first time in ages without any burden. She looked completely carefree even leaving So-eun with me.
Instead, she seemed slightly excited about the long-awaited outing.
"I’ll be back. If it looks like I’ll be late, call me. I’ll come pick you up."
"Okay!"
Thinking about chatting with friends, Noona didn’t seem to hear my words clearly. She gave a vague reply and rushed out. A taxi was already waiting outside, so she vanished from my sight in an instant.
"Hmm… what now?"
It was the first time I had to take care of So-eun alone without Noona, so I felt a bit worried.
"Uaaaaang!"
And, as if to scare away worries, the sound of So-eun crying came from the upper floor.
I hurried upstairs and picked her up.
"Oh my, why is our daughter crying?"
"Uauung!"
"Ah, Samgito ran away, huh?"
From So-eun’s babbling, I understood what had happened. Clearly, Samgito who had been held by her was nowhere to be seen.
While So-eun was dozing off and her grip weakened, Samgito had clearly made a break for it.
"Daddy will catch Samgito for you."
"Ppye!"
So-eun, who understood the words about catching Samgito, stopped crying instantly and smiled brightly. Just looking at her laughing face was like seeing a celestial being.
I immediately called Cheongho, who was waiting nearby.
Instead of the practical reason that there are more inconveniences than conveniences when taking animals out, it should be said that Noona brought Cheongho thanks to her, but since the bodyguard target changed from Noona to So-eun, he was around.
"Samgito… no, bring Ilgito and Samgito."
"Understood!"
Instead of going to the cafe myself, I had Cheongho bring the rabbits. Since it wasn’t yet the time to recommend outings to So-eun, even if it was close, we had to refrain from outing.
Perhaps understanding the reason, Cheongho quickly ran and lightly jumped over the wall that blocked the way between the cafe and the house. Seeing him jump over a 2-meter wall lightly just by scratching his feet a few times, it was clear that military dogs are military dogs.
"But they drilled a hole in the wall, but they don’t use the hole."
Seeing him climbing the wall, it felt pointless that they drilled a hole in the wall to allow animals to come and go freely.
But when returning, seeing the two rabbits being carried in their mouths through the hole, I didn’t regret the hole being drilled. The guy entered the room with the two rabbits in his mouth.
"Hwik! Caught!"
Seeing Samgito, who saw me, jump in surprise, I received the two rabbits from Cheongho.
"Samgito. Why did you run away?"
"I, I wanted to move too! I was held all day! I thought I was going to die! It’s good for the baby but it’s hard!"
"Sigh..."
From Samgito’s words, I had no choice but to sigh lightly. He said he ran because he was tired, so I couldn’t scold him for it. It was also half-expected.
I pondered for a moment, then looked at Ilgito and Samgito and said,
"Then, how about if your Tokkiz group takes turns staying with So-eun for a day each? I’ll bring a lot of fruits."
"…Good!"
At my words, Ilgito and Samgito shook their bodies and expressed approval.
They liked So-eun, not disliked. The reason Samgito ran away was simply that he couldn’t stand being held and unable to move.
"Then, will Ilgito stay by So-eun’s side today?"
"Okay!"
I placed Ilgito next to So-eun, and sent Samgito back.
Samgito returned to the cafe along the same route he had escaped from So-eun’s arms, and So-eun happily grabbed Ilgito’s fur. She seemed to not care which rabbit it was as long as it was a rabbit.
"Ppyaaaa!"
"Do you like So-eun?"
So-eun, who had caught the rabbit again, was so happy that she smiled brightly and wiggled her body.
Ilgito, held in So-eun’s hand, didn’t seem bad at all, and lightly rubbed his nose against So-eun.
In response to Ilgito’s action, So-eun, as if replying, repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hand as if kneading Ilgito’s fur.
"Uaeouung!"
While I was watching So-eun’s interaction with Ilgito fondly for a while, So-eun started to pout. She had woken up from sleep, and because she had moved a little while looking at Ilgito, she was hungry.
I looked at So-eun, who seemed about to cry from hunger in a little more time, and immediately picked her up and went down to the first floor. Although it was a bit inconvenient that the rabbit had to come in because So-eun didn’t want to let go of Ilgito, feeding was more important.
Coming down to the first floor, I placed So-eun and Ilgito on the baby crib placed on the kitchen table in advance, and prepared the breast milk that Noona had pre-made.
With Ilgito in hand and the bottle ready in a hungry state, So-eun sucked the bottle with enthusiasm.
So-eun’s face, with her eyes wide open, still holding Ilgito in one hand while sucking the bottle, was so cute that I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I took a photo of So-eun with one hand while being careful not to let the bottle she was holding move.
Perhaps because it was the shutter sound I had heard right after birth, So-eun didn’t care at all and sucked the bottle while being the subject of the photo diligently.
And thanks to diligently sucking the bottle, So-eun soon felt full and pushed the bottle away.
"Oh my, you ate a lot."
Seeing that she ate a little more than usual, I felt a bit of fondness. I wondered if parents keep feeding their kids more because they want them to eat more.
Anyway, after finishing So-eun’s meal, I lifted her and induced burping.
While holding her and lightly shaking her body and rubbing her back, a "kik-" sound came from So-eun.
"Uuu..."
"Are you sleepy because your stomach is full?"
So-eun began to babble with a full meaning of being sleepy. At this point, while holding So-eun and shaking her body to induce sleep, I thought I should put her to sleep and eat something myself-.
But I had ignored the young child too much.
"Kyaa!"
Instead, that action of trying to induce sleep brought joy to So-eun, and she laughed brightly with a wide-eyed expression as if she had discarded the sleepy look.
"Ah… now you’re not sleepy..."
Feeling a bit distant from lunch, I sighed lightly and held So-eun and shook her more.
Seeing So-eun happy when shaking her body left and right, I felt fondness, but when it exceeded 20 minutes, it started to become difficult. Not only So-eun in my arms, but also Ilgito held by So-eun, so it was even harder.
But when I tried to put her down for a moment because I was tired, So-eun immediately started to cry, so I couldn’t put her down.
"Are you tired, Young Mistress?"
"Eh..."
Thanks to Cheongho standing firmly by my side, it was fine, but if it was just me, it would have been even harder. This time, I seemed to know why baby blues occur.
At that moment, a brilliant thought occurred to me. While still shaking So-eun’s body and playing with her, I looked at Cheongho.
"Cheongho, stand up."
"Huh? Understood."
At my words, Cheongho, who was sitting with his butt on the ground, secretly stood up. I quickly placed So-eun on Cheongho’s back.
"Young, Young Mistress?"
"So-eun-ah, Cheongho is playing with you?"
"Kkyua!"
So-eun seemed to like sitting on Cheongho’s back quite a bit, and with a bright laugh, she grabbed Cheongho’s fur. Also, she held it with both hands after letting go of Ilgito’s fur.
"Cheongho. Please."
"…Understood."
Cheongho hesitated for a moment at my words, then quickly started shaking his body like I did. Perhaps because of that, So-eun enjoyed herself on Cheongho’s back for a while, then gradually fell over and fell asleep with a "goronggorong" sound.
"Good job, Cheongho."
"No. I am happy to be able to escort the Young Mistress."
Despite being quite tired, Cheongho gently shook his body without any bad expression and put So-eun to sleep on his back.
But at the moment I was watching So-eun fall asleep on Cheongho’s back without saying a word, suddenly a clattering sound came from the shelf under the sink.
"What? Wait, ma. I was scared thinking I was caught stealing snacks..."
"I was going to speak but stopped… Ah, it’s a raccoon..."
At the same time as the shelf made a "kik-" sound and opened, two raccoons appeared by knocking over a pot.
"Uaaaaaaaang!"
"Usseukdeul..."
"Today is the day of the raccoon festival."
So-eun, who had barely been put to sleep, cried out in surprise at the noise, and I and Cheongho glared at the two raccoons.
"S-sorry..."
"You two, clean it up!"
Seeing the raccoons crouching, as if knowing they were wrong, I gave them a rattle.
"Agiya! Don’t cry, okay! Stop it stop!"
"Please stop crying! You’ll get hit by the auntie!"
The two raccoons desperately looked at So-eun and shook the rattle "tallang tallang".
Thanks to all their strength as if their lives were on the line, So-eun stopped crying and slowly fell back asleep.