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“No, Mommy, I want to wear that one!”
Jeongyeon turns to see what Mina was pointing to. She picks the beret, and hands it to Mina, “You want to match with Mama?”
Mina nods excitedly, letting Jeongyeon help her wear the beret properly. Jeongyeon leaves Mina to watch television on her own while she gets ready herself. She takes a moment to check her phone and she smiles fondly at the texts on her phone.
Fansign’s starting now
Don’t forget to feed Mina her vitamins!
Love you
Mina comes into her room just then, clutching at her treasured penguin plushie, “Are you done yet, Mommy?”
“Yeah, baby,” Jeongyeon smiles, “Let’s go.”
Alright
We love you too
*
Jeongyeon is greeted by Sana when she reaches the backstage door, Mina in one hand and car keys in the other.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Jeongyeon chuckles, letting Mina get carried by Sana, who had happily greeted Mina instead of Jeongyeon.
Sana shrugs after giving Mina a peck on her cheek, “Didn’t have any schedules. Besides, Nayeon’s taking me out for dinner once the fansign’s done.”
“Do any fans know you’re here?” Jeongyeon asks, laughing, “I didn’t hear about the famous Minatozaki Sana at my wife’s fansign. So I’m guessing it’s a no.”
“Aunt Sana is here to support Mama too!” Mina exclaims.
“That’s right,” Sana grins, “How about we get you inside? There’s your favourite jelly in the waiting room. But you can’t tell your Mama I gave you them, okay?”
Jeongyeon laughs when Mina nods in agreement, eyes twinkling in anticipation as Sana leads them to the waiting room, “Who taught you to lie to your Mama, Minari?”
Sana grins, playfully side-eyeing the other, “I wonder.”
*
The venue is pretty noisy when they reach the waiting room. There’s yelling and there’s occasional talking throughout the time that they’re waiting, and there’s always the constant of the camera shutters as Jeongyeon watches Mina munch happily on the pack of jelly Sana had provided her with. Mina is now sitting on Sana’s lap, watching Sana play a game on her phone as she eats. There’s a warmth that spreads through her chest, somehow, as she watches the way Sana entertains Mina so well. Her lips unconsciously form a fond smile and Sana catches her eyes when the game round is over.
Sana raises an eyebrow, smirking and Jeongyeon rolls her eyes in response, which earns her a soft laugh from Sana. Mina calls for Sana’s attention again, and Sana continues her game as Mina continues eating.
Sometimes Jeongyeon thinks she doesn’t deserve to have the people she loves.
Mina and Sana both yell dramatically when they lose the game, disappointed pouts on both their faces.
But she’s happy they’re around anyway.
*
Nayeon comes into the waiting room barely five minutes later, greeting Mina with her usual excited yelling and dramatic running towards Mina, who surprisingly reciprocates the action this time. She jumps off Sana’s lap, pack of jelly still clutched in her hand as she runs towards Nayeon at full speed, allowing Nayeon to sweep her up and carry her easily, before most literally attacking Mina with kisses. Mina wriggles as she laughs, squirming to stop the kisses, which eventually stops.
“There’s only about fifteen fans left. You should go now,” Nayeon says, when she catches her breath.
“Hello, how are you, Jeongyeon? Oh, I’m doing fine. Thank you for asking,” Jeongyeon says mockingly, earning her an eye-roll from her best friend.
Sana snickers from her seat, “As if Nayeon would ever ask how you’re doing, Jeong.”
“Hey!” Nayeon retorts in defence, until she deflates, saying, “You’re right, I wouldn’t.”
“Whatever,” Jeongyeon scoffs, getting up from her seat and holding a hand out, “Minari, let’s go see your Mama now.”
Nayeon lets Mina down after Mina feeds Nayeon a jelly, and Mina runs towards Jeongyeon at full speed, a gummy worm hanging out from between her lips as she takes Jeongyeon’s hand. Nayeon and Sana follow behind as they head towards where the stage curtains are. They spot Jihyo animatedly talking to a fan, laughing when she receives a penguin plushie – a regular gift she receives which makes her wonder whether the fans are her’s or Mina’s. In the box behind Jihyo, there’s already several penguin-related items, ranging from a bag to dolls and such. Jeongyeon feels her lips pull up into a smile as she watches the way Jihyo’s eyes twinkle as she interacts with the fan – the way her sincerity oozes from the way she pays full attention to the fan. Jeongyeon wonders if Jihyo looks at her that way too.
“Here you go,” Nayeon says, passing Mina and Jeongyeon an album each, “Mina can go first after the last fan. Then you can go after.”
Jeongyeon flips through the album as they wait for the last few fans to get their turn. She ends up on Jihyo’s thanks to page. It’s a long paragraph, which is expected of Jihyo, knowing how she’s thankful for everyone in her life. There’s mentions of Nayeon, Sana, Momo, Chaeyoung, Dahyun and Tzuyu, for constantly being there for her. And at the very end, there’s Jeongyeon’s and Mina’s names, written with a simple ‘Thank you. I love you both so much.’
Jeongyeon chuckles a little, at the way her heart is squeezing at the emotions conveyed in those simple words. The way she feels like a teenager experiencing her first love all over again.
“Minari,” Sana calls, “You can go to Mama now.”
Jeongyeon raises her eyes, watches as Mina waddles onto the stage, album clutched tightly in both hands (with a pack of jelly in one). The last fan walks off, and Jihyo only notices Mina’s presence because of the chorus of awws from the fans. Jeongyeon didn’t know it was even possible, but Jihyo’s face brightens when she registers Mina’s presence.
Mina climbs onto her seat, setting the album down in front of her mother before fidgeting until she’s comfortable. Jihyo laughs as she signs the album, not taking her eyes off Mina, “What are you doing here?”
“To support Mama!” Mina grins brightly, gummy smile on full display as she feeds herself another jelly.
“Who gave you the jelly, Minari? You know you’re not supposed to eat jelly. You’ve already eaten one in the morning,” Jihyo says, though there’s no real anger in her voice – she’s much too happy by the fact that Mina’s there at the fansign in the first place.
“Aunt Sana!” Mina smiles innocently, “Aunt Sana told me not to tell you that she gave it to me, because she knows you’ll scold her.”
Jihyo laughs, capping the marker and leaning forward when she finishes signing the album, “Did you eat anything else you weren’t supposed to eat today?”
“Aunt Momo and Aunt Chae bought me ice cream,” Mina replies without hesitation, swinging her legs.
“Mina,” Jihyo mutters, “You know what I said…”
“But I ate my veggies first!” Mina quickly says in defence, and Jihyo sighs in defeat, “Alright. You know it’s not good to eat too much sugar, right?”
“Right!” Mina answers, feeding herself another jelly, earning laughter from Jihyo.
“Okay, baby,” Jihyo smiles warmly, handing the album back to Mina as she leans over the table to kiss Mina’s forehead, “Wait for Mama backstage, okay?”
Mina nods, jumping off the chair before saying, “Love you, Mama!”
Mina runs off before Jihyo can respond properly, but she says it back, even though Mina can’t hear it.
When Jihyo turns back to the front of the stage, she meets eyes with Jeongyeon, who is shamelessly, blindingly grinning at her with the brightest smile and the fondest eyes. Jihyo’s eyes soften immediately, taking the album from Jeongyeon’s hands before smiling widely, “Hello. What’s your name?”
Jeongyeon laughs, replying smoothly with a, “My name is Jeongyeon.”
“Ah, how old are you?” Jihyo asks, signing calmly.
“I was born in 96. We’re friends.”
“That’s good,” Jihyo chuckles, “So, are you dating anyone?”
“Oh?” Jeongyeon grins, “Is your company okay with you flirting with fans like this?”
“Who says I was flirting, Jeongyeon-ssi?” Jihyo caps her marker, setting it down on the table before smirking at Jeongyeon, “I was simply getting to know you. Besides, I’m married.”
“Married, huh?” Jeongyeon leans forward, “How’s your wife like?”
“She’s great. She’s pretty and tall, and she takes care of our kid well. Works as a model. I think you must’ve heard of her before,” Jihyo replies, reaching out to take Jeongyeon’s hand.
“Sorry to bother your absolutely disgusting roleplay right now,” Nayeon cuts in, startling both Jeongyeon and Jihyo, “But there are fans waiting for Jihyo’s closing ment, and Sana wants her turn before that.”
“Yeah,” Sana huffs, arms folded as she stands next to the table, “No special privileges.”
“I’m her wife,” Jeongyeon deadpans.
“Exactly, you’ll see her at home,” Sana retorts, playfully shoving Jeongyeon, “Move.”
Jeongyeon huffs, picking up the microphone, “Look at this! Sana is telling me to get lost!”
The fans laugh, and Mina runs onto the stage again to come to Jeongyeon’s defence, standing between Sana and Jeongyeon and frowning up at Sana, “Aunt Sana, bullying is bad!”
Sana gasps in faux offence while Jeongyeon copies Mina’s pose, frowning at Sana and agreeing, “That’s right!”
And maybe people would say that her family only consists of Jeongyeon, Mina and her. But as she watches Sana whine for Nayeon to come to her defence, which she does, Jihyo decides:
Her family is much bigger than that.