Chapter 5

Auntie and So-yul slept in our master bedroom.

I covered the drawing with a blanket in the morning and saw them off as they left.

"Hey, can I come over again?"

Before leaving, So-yul asked me, and I figured it would be fine as long as my parents agreed.

I nodded slightly, and with a bright smile, she said she’d come again later.

Why does she want to come over when there’s nothing to do at our house? Could it be that she wants to see me?!

‘That’s not possible.’

As painful as it was, this kind of delusion is why people who are still virgins get mocked.

The fact that I like that person might actually hurt them...

Anyway, I pushed those silly thoughts aside. I had to kill time until Dad came home.

What should I do? I wasn’t really in the mood to draw.

And the TV was boring, so that was a no-go too. What a hassle.

Scratching my head, I flopped onto the couch.

There was nothing to do right now, but I had to pass the time.

...I don’t even feel like going out to play.

Maybe I should just take a nap. I ate lunch with the two women, so I was starting to feel sleepy.

My eyes, which were slowly closing, felt heavy, but I didn’t try to stop them.

I’ll just sleep until Dad gets here.

***

My resolution to sleep soundly failed spectacularly.

"Son~. Good evening."

By the time Dad came home, I was already fast asleep, with no sign of waking up.

Dad just covered me with a blanket and didn’t bother waking me up.

"Why not just wake me up?"

"How could I wake you up when you're sleeping like an angel?"

Flattery. When I looked at the clock, it was just before dinner. I felt like I had turned into a food-obsessed glutton.@@novelbin@@

It wasn’t wrong, though...

"How’s Mom and the baby?"

I thought about Mom and the baby, still at the hospital. Dad must have been with them all day, so he knew how they were doing.

"They’re both fine~. And, how about you? Do you want to sleep with Dad tonight until Mom gets home?"

"Yeah, why not."

After hearing about them, I agreed to Dad's earnest(?) request.

It wasn’t uncomfortable, even though I wasn’t used to sleeping with my parents. It was actually cozy and warm. Besides, I would be sleeping alone later, so it seemed better to do it now.

After dinner with Dad, we watched some boring TV together.

"Hey, Eun-ah, I have something I want to ask you. Is it okay if I ask?"

Dad looked at me as I was watching TV.

I didn’t think anything would be wrong, but what could Dad possibly want to ask me?

I nodded, figuring I’d have a better idea once I heard the question.

Dad hesitated a bit, opening and closing his mouth. Was it something sensitive?

Could it be that Auntie talked about the drawing? That old auntie-! I trusted her!

"You know, Eun-ah got a little sibling, right?"

After a while, Dad spoke, and I let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness it wasn’t about the drawing. By the way, the drawing was still on the bed in the master bedroom.

I had already told Dad to sleep in my room.

"Right? But why?"

What was the point of asking this question?

Dad paused for a moment before continuing.

"Well, Eun-ah might feel a little neglected by Mom and Dad now that there's a new sibling."

"......"

I more or less understood the tone he was using.

"The love and affection we’ve been giving Eun-ah won’t be just for her anymore. Now there’s Hae-yoon, too."

So, Dad was saying that...

"Because of the new sibling, there might be some unfair things, and she might have to give in and let her younger sibling have some things."

He was unnecessarily worrying.

"Still, we’ll try to treat both of you equally. If Mom and Dad ever scold you unfairly, Eun-ah, then don’t just hold it in. Get angry and speak up, okay?"

In my past life, I had always given everything to my older brother because I was the second child. Just because he was the first.

Maybe that’s why Dad’s words didn’t hit me as hard. I’d already done it before. And it’s okay to give up a little for my younger sibling.

Still, it wasn’t easy to just accept and nod along. I didn’t want to say anything, but I felt like shaking my head instead.

Yeah, maybe it’s just the fact that my current body, 'Lee Ha-eun’s' body, doesn’t like it and is rejecting the idea.

I’m still just 4 years old. I can’t control myself yet. This is bad, what if I end up crying?

"Eun-ah...?"

I knew it in my head, but my body didn’t follow. So I just...

Thud.

I leaned on Dad and tried to collect myself.

Dad, startled, gently patted my back to calm me down.

"You’re so mature, Eun-ah. I shouldn’t have said all that. You’re only 4 years old. You’re still so young."

I shook my head. I could handle it.

"I’m sorry, son. Forget everything I just said."

"...I’m okay now."

My breath was still a little heavy, but I had calmed down. It was my fault for overlooking how young I was.

"Now that you're the older sibling, it's natural to think of your younger sibling first. You don’t need to worry about it."

At my words, Dad froze for a moment.

Then, in a low voice, he said,

"...I regret it."

"??"

Of course, it was a small voice, so I couldn’t hear it clearly.

"Then, will you only trust me, our son?"

Dad, with a playful smile, looked at me.

I smiled back, gave him a thumbs up.

And that’s how tonight passed.

***

A week passed since that tearful night.

"Yay!! We're home!!!"

Finally, after staying in the hospital, Mom was discharged and came back home.

She was holding a bag, and through the transparent plastic bag, I could see it — Hagen-Dazs! The kind of ice cream kids go crazy over!

"Son~!"

Mom rushed over, slipped her arm under mine, and lifted me up to hug me.

"It's been a while!!"

Has it only been a week?

"I missed you. How could you not come even once?"

Mom glared at me with fire in her eyes. I mean, I wanted to go too, but...

"I had nothing to do if I went..."

"You should have played with me!"

Her eyebrows lowered even further, and Dad, who was standing nearby, couldn’t hold back his laughter and collapsed onto the floor holding his belly. Really, just one punch to the head would do.

I was suspended in midair, and although I couldn’t do anything, I just stared up at her.

"No, you’re not coming down. This is the punishment for not visiting me. You’ll be with me all day today."

She wrapped me in her arms and started moving. Am I a teddy bear or something?

Ha-yoon was still in the incubator. They said I could bring her home in three weeks.

Mom, who hadn’t been able to do much during her pregnancy, was now happily bouncing around and doing things like rolling over or jumping around the house.

"You’re going to get reported for the noise complaints."

"Who, me?"

Then, a fist landed on her head, but I didn’t feel bad about it.

Mom leaned back on the couch. It felt a little strange sitting next to her on the couch.

‘I should’ve had a big round belly. Where did it all go?’

"Eun-ah~."

Mom’s voice above me snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Do you like having me back?"

Look at that playful expression. Is this what postpartum depression is like? It’s really confusing.

"Yeah. It’s nice."

I answered bluntly, but Mom smiled brightly, looking happy.

Still, it was strange how this energetic person seemed so different during pregnancy.

When it comes to who’s the center of attention in our house, it’s naturally Mom. How could I have overlooked that? Seriously!

I felt a little drained.

As I sat there with a drained look on my face, Mom stood up and walked to my room.

Where is she going? I watched as she entered my room.

There wasn’t much I had drawn, but...

I followed her in, and she was already looking at the paintings I’d done on the canvas.

Dad followed behind, watching with a proud smile.

"Our son really draws well."

Mom said this calmly, unlike earlier, when she was full of energy.

The smile she had now was more gentle and peaceful.

There were seven paintings in total, and Mom was looking at each one carefully.

Some were of the view outside the window, others were painted from my imagination.

When she reached the last painting, she burst out laughing.

"Heh. You really captured how handsome our son is in this drawing, didn’t you?"

My looks are practically state-level. But even I felt a little embarrassed as I looked in the mirror while drawing it.

"Can I keep this?"

She could take all seven, but it seemed like Mom particularly liked the self-portrait.

Though with my baby body, I didn’t think it looked particularly handsome... Was it because of the face shape?

I nodded at her faint smile. Now Mom had two of my paintings, I guess?

"One day, even if they offer a billion dollars, they won’t be able to buy my son’s art."

"Hahaha. Of course! Who’s son is this? We can’t sell it to anyone, right, son?"

Dad agreed with Mom and then asked me for confirmation.

I just nodded.

Who would even buy my drawings? If I made a career out of this, I’d probably end up with a bruised ego. Who’s going to take responsibility for that?

If I were to do anything, I’d just post the process and the finished result on YouTube to make some money.

Maybe I should start when I enter elementary school?

Mom took my drawings and went out of the room. I trailed behind her and ended up in the storage room.

Mom was rummaging through the area where the frames were stored, looking puzzled.

"Huh? Why isn’t it here?"

"What’s missing?"

I remembered when we bought the drawing supplies; we also got frames. Who would have guessed that?

"I already used it."

I told them as they were looking through the frames.

Mom and Dad turned to look at me.

"Eh? Eun-ah?"

"Yeah... I needed it."

Mom blinked and asked where I had used it.

Ah, the time has come, hasn’t it?

"I used it to put the drawing I made for you and Dad in a frame. It’s in the master bedroom."

"Oh, really? A gift for us? How thoughtful!"

Dad also smiled brightly and patted my head. It seemed like he understood why I hadn’t let them into the master bedroom before.

"Then let’s see the gift our son prepared."

With Mom’s nasal voice, we all entered the master bedroom.

There was still the bulging part of the bed where I had placed the drawing.

Thinking about it now, I wished I had just drawn myself in the picture too.

I watched as my parents eagerly opened the gift box.

From a distance. Right by the door.

‘Will they be hurt?’

Not me, but my parents.

And my guess was right.

Both of their movements froze. The blanket had already been pulled down.

The house became quiet for a moment.