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It was an awfully quiet Sunday.
Sundays are generally supposed to be family days where parents would run family errands together with their children before the new week begins. It was no exception for Chaeyoung’s family.
There was no one in the living room except for little Chaeyoung who was doodling, while faint whispers could be heard coming from the master bedroom.
"Okay so, I'll cut her hair and-"
"No! That time you were gonna cut her hair, I was the one who got punched!!" Nayeon retorted, cutting Mina’s sentence off midway.
"But I accidentally cut myself too because she pushed my hands away!"
It has been months since Chaeyoung last had her hair cut. Both Nayeon and Mina were in their bedroom forming a plan on how to cut their toddler's hair - her fringe had been growing for too long and it was now hindering her vision. They had been too busy with their jobs in the past few weeks and a haircut for Chaeyoung was long overdue.
They thought back to the last time Chaeyoung had a haircut. She had conjured a storm of a huge tantrum, fiercely refusing to have her hair trimmed.
She had pushed her parents away, thrown a fit and accidentally landed a punch on Nayeon's face while she was just trying to get ahold of Chaeyoung as Mina attempted to cut Chaeyoung's hair.
"Why can't we just go to the hair salon for kids and get an experienced hairdresser to cut her hair?" Nayeon folded her arms and rolled her eyes. “It’ll be way easier for both of us!”
"Have you forgotten just how much it costs to get a haircut at a child hair salon? I don't want to waste any more money!!"
Nayeon sighed, pondering her wife’s extreme frugality. There was nothing wrong with spending some money on a haircut. "Come on, Mina, we're not thaaaat poor."
"We're not spending $60 on just to cut a fringe. Besides, Chaeyoung might even throw a bigger fit in the salon..." Mina grumbled as her voice softens. “I really don’t want us to create a big scene in a salon..”
"Well... Yeah, that’s true..." Nayeon muttered, defeated.
Nayeon looks out of the bedroom and saw little Chaeyoung doodling on the floor, fidgeting every second to free her vision from her obstructing fringe.
"Okay, we can do this!"
Nayeon chuckled. "I find it hilarious how we're discussing as if we're gonna fight a war when we're actually just trying to get a trim on our daughter's fringe."
"Of course! We have to plan this right or else Chaeyoung is gonna end up with a ruined haircut!!"
"Okay, chill. Let's not fuck it up this time, okay?" Nayeon smiled as she leaned in, giving Mina a peck on the lips, before heading out to distract Chaeyoung.
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"Chaengie~ would you like to have some strawberries~?" Nayeon cooed at her daughter, receiving a bright smile following a dainty nod.
"Strawberry,,,, apples!!"
"Strawberries and apples it is~~!" Nayeon coaxed and cheered as she lifted little Chaeyoung up from the floor and onto her baby high chair.
Nayeon took out the mentioned strawberries and apple from the refrigerator and cubed them before placing the fruit in a small bowl.
“Chaengie, do you want to watch Baby Shark?”
“Yes! Yes! Du Du Du Du!” Chaeyoung exclaimed as she began mimicking the shark dance, warming Nayeon’s heart with her cuteness. Chaeyoung’s tiny arms could barely touch each other on top of her head.
Knowing how difficult it was to keep a child entertained, she had downloaded all the most recent videos of nursery rhymes on her phone for emergencies just like this one.
With Nayeon’s phone placed on the table and the song resounding around the entire kitchen, both Nayeon and Chaeyoung started following the shark dance onscreen.
Baby Shark du du du du du du~ baby shark du du du du du du~
Seeing little Chaeyoung being seated on her high chair, engrossed with the song playing from Nayeon’s phone, Mina sneakily swooped in, trying to pull a fast one on Chaeyoung and quickly cut her fringe.
However, as soon as Mina pulled out her snipping scissors, Chaeyoung immediately spots it and shakes her head vigorously in an attempt to avoid the haircut.
Mina relentlessly tried to snip little Chaeyoung's fringe but pulled away after seeing the toddler’s reactions. It was definitely dangerous to use scissors on a convulsing child.
Mina heaved a sigh, silently reprimanding herself for thinking that she could quickly accomplish her mission without Chaeyoung noticing her. Mina then stood silently, seemingly in a daze, devising a new plan to cut Chaeyoung's hair.
“Nooo haircut!!” Chaeyoung screamed, vigorously swinging her head right to left.
“C’mon Chaengie, it doesn’t hurt at all. Your fringe is getting too long and it’s bothering your eyes.” Nayeon literally begged Chaeyoung, frowning.
“MAMA HAIR LONG TOO!” With tears streaming down her cheek, Chaeyoung pointed her index finger towards Mina’s long straight hair.
Ah, it all made sense to Mina now. Chaeyoung feared getting her hair trimmed because she had never seen anyone else getting a haircut.
"Would it make you feel better if Mama cuts her fringe too? Because I promise you sweetie, it’s not painful at all~"
Chaeyoung’s sobbing quietened down as she slowly nodded her head.
The last time Mina had a fringe was when she was going through her thirteen-year-old emo phase. She had used to hide her face with her long side bangs because she did not want people to look at her, but with her soon-to-be new look, she’ll definitely get all the attention in the office because they all know how Mina hates doing things out of her comfort zone, but if it was for Chaeyoung, she’d do anything for her.
Nayeon’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Mina, and then back to Chaeyoung, “Are you sure you want to cut your fringe?”.
“Yeah…”, Mina muttered as she looked at Chaeyoung and gives her a reassuring smile before lifting her up from her high chair and to the bathroom, “C’mon Chaengie, you can watch Mama cut her fringe.”
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In the bathroom, Mina placed Chaeyoung, letting her sit on top of the sink. Chaeyoung’s eyes were still puffy and nose runny from the sobbing earlier.
Nayeon followed them to the bathroom. “Do you want me to help you?”
“No,” Mina gathered her front hair, preparing to cut them. “It’s alright, I can do this.”
Snip. Snip.
Chaeyoung’s eyes widen and her jaw dropped looking at her Mama. It was the first time seeing Mina with a new hairstyle.
Mina looked up to the mirror and saw her reflection with her newly cut fringe. She swore when she was thirteen that she was never going to have bangs again, but here she is now, twenty years later with bangs, because of her daughter, and probably going to regret the decision when she gets to work tomorrow.
“Mama pretty!! Chaengie want pretty too!” Chaeyoung exclaimed, breaking the train of thoughts in Mina’s head. Chaeyoung was touching her fringe, indicating now that she’s ready to have her hair trimmed.
Mina’s heart swelled and fluttered hearing her daughter’s remark, which really boosted Mina’s confidence and made her feel assured that she looked fine with bangs.
“Aww, thank you baby.” Mina replied, patting Chaeyoung’s head. “Do you want to cut your fringe now?”
Chaeyoung nodded her head excitedly.
“Okay, baby, don’t move your head alright? Mama promise you that this will only take 10 seconds.”
Lips pursed together, eyes shut tight, a soft “hmm” escaped Chaeyoung’s mouth. Mina held and quickly trimmed her hair, a few inches above her eyebrows.
Nayeon, who has been admiring this picturesque mother and daughter scene from the bathroom door, couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Chaeyoung’s new hairstyle. “She looks like a coconut!”
Mina who was confused with Nayeon’s comment, looked at Chaeyoung and realized how she had cut her fringe way higher than what she expected and how it had curved.
An “Oh?” was the only word that left Mina’s mouth as Nayeon chuckled, walking towards her.
“She still looks cute!” Mina defended herself, not wanting to be blamed by Nayeon for giving their daughter a bowl haircut. “Chaengie, you can open your eyes now. Do you like your haircut?”
Chaeyoung slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to face the mirror, and a huge grin escaped her face.
“Cute!!! Like Mama!!” Chaeyoung shrieked, hands raised in excitement.
“See? It wasn’t painful at all, right?” Nayeon said softly, pinching Chaeyoung’s cheeks. “Now, let’s get you all cleaned up and prepared for nap time~”
Chaeyoung nodded and lifted her arms, allowing Nayeon to carry her to the bathtub.
Mina was glad that Chaeyoung likes her new haircut, but since she was still standing in front of the mirror, she finally realized how badly cut her fringe was. She was scrutinizing every little detail of how imperfect her hair was.
Mina frowned.
It was not perfectly aligned, too high and thick. Her fringe was tilted, and a tad bit too crooked. In short, it was (definitely) not to her liking.
The immense waves of insecurity and dissatisfaction hit Mina and it made her want to bury herself under her sheets forever.
“Hey,” Mina felt a sudden warmth behind her as Nayeon’s hands snaked around her waist. “You look beautiful with your new fringe.”
Turning around, she saw Nayeon smiling, carrying Chaeyoung who was wrapped with her towel on her right arm. Nayeon must have sensed how insecure Mina felt, from how intensely Mina had been studying her appearance in front of the mirror, for longer than the duration of Chaeyoung’s bath.
“C’mon,” Nayeon breathed as she held Mina’s hand and lead her to the bedroom.
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“Sleep tight, Chaengie~” Nayeon hummed as she strokes Chaeyoung’s hair.
Chaeyoung had asked both of her mommies to tuck her in to sleep. Impossible to refuse, the three of them ended up cuddling together in the master bed with Chaeyoung sandwiched cozily in between Nayeon and Mina.
As Nayeon continued to sang and Mina occasionally patting Chaeyoung, Chaeyoung’s eyes fluttered to sleep with drool soon enough, slipping out of her opened mouth.
With the quiet and serene atmosphere, Mina could not help but feel sleepy. Her eyes closed and blanket fully covering her, she drifting off to sleep, just as she heard Chaeyoung sleep talking.
“I love both of my mommies...” Chaeyoung mumbled.
Hearing this, Mina felt the wave of insecurity from earlier washed away, being replaced with love and contentment.
Mina turned around to see both Nayeon and Chaeyoung snoring away. Her heart throbbed, filled with tenderness. All her worries and doubt were nothing compared to this moment.
Sundays are quiet.
Sundays are peaceful.
Sundays are when families bond together.
Mina would give up everything she owned to keep on experiencing family Sundays.