Bonus part ...
The very first thing Mark saw when he woke up was not the baby's crying on the monitor - it was the missing warmth on his left side. He opened his eyes to see the vacant space where Aeri ought to be, the sheets now cold. It was 4:22 AM in bright red numbers staring at him.
He discovered them in the nursery.
Aeri was in the rocking chair they'd purchased secondhand, her slender frame making the wood groan gently. Little Yewon - their surprise, their impossibility - was nestled against her, that soft snuffling noise that always made Mark's throat constrict. Silver stripes from the moonlight through the half-blinds striped them both.
"You were supposed to wake me," Mark whispered, his face against the doorframe.
Aeri glanced up, circles under her eyes but a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "You finally fell asleep at 2. I was already up."
Yewon elected that moment to scrunch her entire face, her tiny fingers curling into fists as if she was preparing to fight with them about something.
"See?" Aeri chuckled gently, blowing air through the fine dark hairs on their daughter's head. "She supports me."
The kitchen at 6 AM smelled like burnt toast and regret.
Mark glared at the burnt remains of what was to be breakfast as Yewon fretted in her bouncer on the counter. "We purchased that toaster because it had 'perfect toast technology'," he grumbled. "Lies."
Aeri ambled in, clad in one of Mark's older college sweatshirts and mismatched socks. She leaned over his shoulder. "That looks. carcinogenic."
"Fine, it's rural," Mark protested, shoveling black crumbs into the sink.
Yewon let out an instant, formidable belch.
Aeri laughed outright, the sound ringing and sleep-raspy. "Okay, that was most definitely you instructing her on that."
Mark didn't even attempt to conceal his smile as he grabbed the cereal box instead.
Diaper changes had turned into an extreme sport.
"Hold still, little terrorist," Mark begged as Yewon kicked with more strength than he had expected, her face reddening with the effort. "Why are you so strong? You're eight pounds!"
Aeri braced against the changing table, catching her lip between her teeth to keep from laughing. "She's going to be a soccer player."
"Or a MMA fighter," Mark growled, ducking a tiny kick to the chin.
When at last he pinned the diaper (crooked, but useful) into place, they both fell onto the nursery floor in spent triumph. Yewon cooed contentedly from the changing pad, obviously satisfied with herself.
Aeri's head fell onto Mark's shoulder. "Remember when we thought we were exhausted before having a baby?"
Mark laughed harshly. "We were such cute, rested fools."
3 PM saw the Great Nap Rebellion.
Yewon had concluded sleep was for wimps.
Aeri walked back and forth in the living room, the baby squirming against her shoulder. "Please," she begged, her voice shaking. "Please just close your eyes for ten minutes."
Mark showed up with two mugs - coffee for her, tea for him. He laid a kiss on Aeri's temple before collecting the baby. "Go shower. Or nap. Or stand in front of a wall and be silent."
Aeri wanted to protest. "But-"
"We're fine," Mark reassured, sitting down on the couch with Yewon snuggled into the crook of his arm. "Aren't we, little terror?"
When Aeri came back forty minutes later (freshly showered, in clean pajamas at 4 PM without embarrassment), she discovered both of them asleep - Mark leaning on the cushions, Yewon on his chest in a starfish-like pose, both of them breathing in harmony.
Her phone camera snapped before she could rein herself in.
Midnight found them in the kitchen once more.
Yewon was finally, against all odds, asleep. The house was silent except for the quiet rumble of the refrigerator and the every-so-often creak of the settling walls.
Aeri stood at the counter, cutting cheese with the precision of one who has been awake for three hours. Mark silently retrieved the crackers, their nighttime snack routine firmly in place by now.
"She smiled at me today," Aeri announced abruptly, voice soft but radiant. "Like, really smiled."
Mark's fingers froze. "When?"
"While you were getting something at the store. It was-" Aeri's eyes became suspiciously shiny. "It was the best thing I've ever seen."
He'd missed it. Their daughter's first genuine smile, and he'd been shopping for diapers.
Aeri appeared to read his expression. She stretched across the counter, her fingers soft against his wrist. "She's going to do it again tomorrow. And you're going to be there for that one."
Mark turned his hand to intertwine their fingers. They stood there in the dark kitchen, three people who had been two, snacking on cheese and crackers at midnight, happier than they'd ever been.
Down the hall, Yewon made a soft sighing sound in her sleep.
just like that They all lived happily...
The End .
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