Chapter 16
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The 48-Hour Mission Begins
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To have a calm discussion, Seojun first went into his father's arms.
Brown Black, finally calm, collapsed onto the floor, looking utterly exhausted. They weren't just relieved; they were practically dazed.
“It hasn't even been ten minutes. If you're this tired already, how will you manage for forty-eight hours?”
Seo Eunchan laughed. The color drained from Brown Black's faces.
Only ten minutes? Forty-eight hours is 2,880 minutes...
Park Seojin's hands trembled as he did the math in his head.
“It's okay. It's only a little tough at first, you'll get used to it quickly.”
The four men found a tiny bit of comfort in Seo Eunhye's words.
Seo Eunhye took out a stack of A4 paper and placed it on the table. The eyes of Brown Black, Seo Eunchan, and Kim Hwaryeon turned to the stack of paper.
Seojun knew. That stack of paper was a book his mom and dad had painstakingly created last night, putting their heads together.
It was a custom childcare manual for Seojun, written for Brown Black who would be looking after him, detailing even his most specific preferences to ensure a comfortable and safe forty-eight hours without his parents.
“What's this?”
“Things you'll need while looking after Seojun. First off.”
Answering Seo Eunchan's question, Seo Eunhye opened the book. The very first page.
“I've broken down Seojun's twenty-four-hour schedule: meal times, nap times, play times, bedtime, and so on.”
Brown Black listened to the explanation as they looked at the first page. The A4 sheet was filled with the baby's daily schedule.
*Wow, he eats every three hours. And takes two naps a day.*
“Mealtime is especially important. Seojun knows it to the minute, so you have to feed him on schedule before he starts crying. Not even a minute late.”
“Before he cries...”
The members of Brown Black swallowed hard.
“And in the back, there are instructions on how to prepare formula, baby food recipes, how to warm up cold baby food, the right amount of snacks for Seojun...”
It was written with frightening thoroughness. Seo Eunchan looked at his sister, aghast.
*She wasn't this meticulous before she got married. Is this the power of a mother?*
The pages fluttered as they were turned.
“Seojun's favorite games and dolls...”
Seo Eunhye paused for a moment before speaking again.
“...You probably won't need those, right?”
She couldn't bring herself to show them Kim Heesung's monster dolls. How could she show them a doll with two heads and menacing, gleaming teeth?
She had already hidden all of Seojun's dolls in the back seat of their car. All except for one teddy bear.
“Yes! We brought toys and dolls too!”
Hwang Yejun said, raising his hand high. Most of the luggage was filled with toys, dolls, and other things for Seojun. Seo Eunhye smiled brightly.
“That's great. Maybe this will be a chance for Seojun to...”
*...start liking normal dolls.*
Seo Eunhye's voice trailed off, her last words nearly inaudible.
Sitting next to her, Lee Minjun, who had heard her, nodded in agreement. Seojun, who had been deprived of his dolls, pouted.
It seemed he would have to give up Uncle Heesung's dolls for the next two days.
*Good thing the doppelgänger teddy bear is still here!*
Unlike other ordinary dolls, Uncle Heesung's monster dolls gave Seojun a sense of satisfaction that filled his soul. For some reason, he felt like he couldn't be without them.
“This part details the bath routine.”
“B-bath? We have to give him a bath too?”
Seo Eunhye and Seo Eunchan nodded at the flustered Choi Siyun's question.
“Of course.”
“Obviously.”
Seo Eunhye's explanation continued. Accordingly, the color in Brown Black's faces grew worse and worse.
They had braced themselves, but the list of precautions and tasks was enormous.
It was finally sinking in. For forty-eight hours, this tiny baby's entire well-being was in their hands.
They, who had never even raised a pet, now had to care for a baby who couldn't speak. The mere thought made them feel faint.
“That's about it. What do you think? Can you handle it?”
“...We'll do our best.”
They couldn't, in good conscience, say they would do a *good* job.
“Alright, then. It's Seojun's feeding time. Who wants to try?”
At Lee Minjun's words, Brown Black turned to stone again. Seojun, with an alarm clock in his belly, got ready. *If they're even one second late, I'm going to cry!*
“You have to feed him before he cries. You haven't even made the formula yet, have you?”
“Me! Me! I'll make the formula!”
“Me too! I have a thermometer!”
Hwang Yejun shot up and ran to the kitchen. Choi Siyun grabbed a thermometer from his bag and followed. Seo Eunhye and Kim Hwaryeon followed with their cameras.
Lee Minjun's eyes turned to Kevin and Park Seojin. Like mice before a snake, the two men were frozen solid.
“So, which of you two?”
“I'll yield to the leader.”
“I already held him.”
“Then shall we have Kevin hold him?”
Kevin flinched in surprise at Lee Minjun's words.
“Here you go, Kevin.”
“Oh...”
Lee Minjun handed Seojun to Kevin. Kevin's hands trembled, but thankfully he was sitting, so Seojun landed safely between his knees.
“Just lay him slightly on his side like this...”
“Hngh...”
“...!”
“If he seems uncomfortable, put a cushion under him.”
Seojun got fussy, his back uncomfortable in the awkward position.
Lee Minjun, the competent father, expertly grabbed a cushion from the sofa and placed it under Seojun's back.
Seojun's expression relaxed. His posture was now comfortable, but Kevin's posture was, in a word...
...strange.
The joints in his arms moved independently, like a puppet on strings.
“You look like a marionette, Kevin.”
“Hmm. How about we lower your right arm a bit like this?”
Park Seojin and Lee Minjun tried moving Kevin's arms around, but they couldn't find a comfortable-looking position. When they moved one arm, the other would move on its own.
“Hmm... What should we do?”
“I-I'm fine.”
Lee Minjun and Park Seojin were troubled by Kevin's uncomfortable posture, but Kevin himself was actually fine with it.
It was the heavy weight of the baby on his lap that was more unsettling. He wanted to shake his leg but couldn't, afraid the baby would fall. He chewed his lip anxiously.
*Cramp... I think I'm getting a cramp...*
In contrast to the living room, which was filled with panic and anxiety, the kitchen was cheerful.
“This is his favorite brand of formula.”
“I know! Elephant Formula! I've seen the commercial!”
As Seo Eunhye showed them how to prepare the formula and where the bottles were, Hwang Yejun and Choi Siyun got to work.
They spilled some powder and water on the floor since it was their first time, but a warm bottle of formula was soon ready.
Seo Eunhye checked the temperature of the formula as a sort of inspection. Seeing her nod, Choi Siyun discreetly checked the temperature with the thermometer.
*40 degrees!*
“Just make it like this from now on.”
“Yes! Leave it to us!”
When they returned to the living room with the bottle, Seo Eunchan was collapsed in a corner, stifling his laughter, while Lee Minjun and Park Seojin were staring at Kevin holding Seojun with troubled expressions.
“This is the best we can do.”
“I guess so.”
Park Seojin shook his head at Lee Minjun's words. They had tried many different positions, but this was the best one.
“What on earth is this?”
Hwang Yejun, who had been vigorously shaking the bottle to mix the formula, said with a baffled expression.
Kevin, who hadn't known where to put his arms, now had them stretched out straight like the armrests of a chair.
Seojun was sitting as if in a comfortable chair, his back against Kevin's stomach, holding the "armrests" with his short, stubby arms. With his chubby legs stretched out, it was the most comfortable posture in the world.
“He's a human chair. A human chair.”
The others burst into laughter at Choi Siyun's comment.
Seojun liked the soft cushion and his comfortable Kevin-chair. Excited, he grabbed Kevin's arms-turned-armrests and bounced his bottom up and down.
He was eight months old now. The age where Seojun could grab onto something and pull himself up.
“Here, hurry and feed him.”
Seo Eunhye, checking the time, spoke up to get them to feed Seojun before he started crying.
Lee Minjun laid Seojun back down on the cushion. He moved Kevin's arms around until he finally managed a natural-looking posture.
“Here's the bottle.”
Hwang Yejun, who had been shaking the bottle, handed it to Kevin.
Taking the bottle with a slightly trembling hand, Kevin slowly placed the nipple in Seojun's mouth.
“Nom!”
*Suck, suck-!*
All of Brown Black's eyes were fixed on Seojun. Seo Eunchan and Kim Hwaryeon slowly moved the cameras, filming the four men's faces.
The expressions of the four men, who had been lost in anxiety and panic, slowly relaxed.
The small baby held the bottle with his eyes closed contentedly. The rest of Brown Black slowly gathered and sat in front of Kevin, who was holding Seojun.
A tiny baby was diligently sucking on the nipple, eating his meal. It was a completely new and unfamiliar feeling. They even felt a sense of being moved.
Brown Black was mesmerized, unable to take their eyes off Seojun for even a moment.
The awkward posture and the tense atmosphere both became natural and comfortable.
Watching the four men and the baby, Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun quietly got up from their seats. As per Seo Eunchan's suggestion, the couple had decided to leave while the baby and Brown Black were distracted.
Seo Eunhye waved to get Seo Eunchan's attention.
Seeing the two of them getting up, Seo Eunchan mouthed his words.
*Leaving now?*
*Yeah. We've taught them everything we needed to, there's nothing else to do.*
*Brother-in-law. Please take good care of Seojun!*
Kim Hwaryeon, who was filming Brown Black, seemed to notice the couple was leaving and bowed his head in farewell. Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun quietly returned the gesture and headed for the front door.
The door, which had been left slightly ajar by Seo Eunchan's trick, closed without a sound.
“Haa. They'll be okay, right?”
“They'll be fine. They have a doctor and my brother-in-law with them.”
“I believe so, but... still...”
Forty-eight hours.
The family had never been separated for this long. They couldn't bring themselves to leave the door.
Guessing his wife's feelings, Lee Minjun wrapped an arm around Seo Eunhye's shoulder as she stared at the firmly closed door.
“When else will we get a chance to rest, just the two of us? Should we take a trip?”
“We can't go far.”
“I know. So, where should we go first?”
On their first date in a long time, Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun looked at each other and smiled.
* * *
“Wow. He finished it all.”
“He's a really good eater.”
Brown Black, who had been blankly watching Seojun eat, snapped back to reality when the bottle was empty.
Hwang Yejun smiled brightly and looked behind him.
“What do we do nex...? Huh? Huh?!”
The two people he expected to be there were nowhere to be seen.
At Hwang Yejun's surprised voice, the other three, who had been watching Seojun, also turned to look.
“They're... g-gone...”
The quiet, calm atmosphere vanished in an instant. The eyes of Brown Black's members widened with anxiety and panic.
Park Seojin's eyes quickly darted to Seo Eunchan, who was holding the camera. He was so shocked he couldn't speak, his mouth just opened and closed.
The other three, not knowing what to do, followed Park Seojin's gaze and looked at Seo Eunchan.
Seo Eunchan, with a mischievous smile, mouthed the words.
*Brown Black and Jun's 48 Hours! Begins... now!*
“WHAAAAAT?!”
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