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“Uncle. I have a question.” The bright young girl with pigtails as dark as night wiggles out of her pink duvet to sit upright.
“What is it, Seonghee?”
She watches as her uncle tidies up her desk, making sure her homework is neatly tucked in colorful folders for school the next day. “When are you going to marry Uncle Joongie?”
Seonghwa loses his balances, and he would have hit his chin on the wooden table if his reflexes weren’t fast enough. But he catches himself in time, but the shock isn’t dissipating in the slightest. He turns to the young girl he’s been raising for almost all of her life, eyes wide. “What?”
“You.” She points to him as if he doesn’t understand basic Korean. “Uncle Joongie.” And then she smashes her palms together. “Marry. When?”
“Seonghee—I…” He stands up, cheeks red and startled, before sitting on the edge of her bed. “Why do you think that?”
She just frowns more. “Do you not like Uncle Joongie?”
How an eight-year old even begins this kind of thought process is difficult to understand, but she’s so adamant that he doesn’t even know how to respond. “I do...like Uncle Joongie.”
“And you kiss him a lot.”
Well, she’s into eavesdropping now. “Y-yes...Seonghee, what—”
“So...are you going to marry him?”
Seonghwa is completely flabbergasted. How his niece even picks up on these things is incredible; and then a terror strikes through him. “I don’t know, Seonghee. But...why are you asking this?” He reaches out to sweep her straight-cut bangs from her forehead. “Am I not good enough for you anymore?”
Then Seonghee gives him a look like he has just admitted to finding her not-so-secret candy stash and ate it all. “Uncle, are you dumb?”
“Dumb? Who taught you such a word?”
“Uncle Joongie.” She crosses her arms, disappointed in him. “He says that you’re dumb sometimes.”
“Seonghee.” Seonghwa isn’t sure whether to be angry at Hongjoong or amused that Hongjoong’s personality is rubbing off on her. “Did he tell you he wants to marry me?”
Seonghee kept her arms together. “No. But someone has to. It’s kind of embarrassing to tell my school friends that my uncle is all alone and doesn’t know how to marry somebody.”
Seonghwa couldn’t help laughing at that. “Seonghee, marriage is not that easy.”
“It’s not?” She frowns even more, her little brian not understanding why it’s hard for two people to admit they like each other. “Yerim-ah told me all you have to do is get a ring and say ‘I love you.’ Is there more than that?”
“ Yes, Seonghee. There is a lot more than that.”
She looks between her uncle and her lap, brows furrowed as little ideas start sprouting in her head. “Can I help?”
“Seonghee.” He climbs onto the bed with her, sitting so he can wrap an arm around her shoulders, legs stretched out so that his heels dangle slightly over her bed. “Why are you so interested in me marrying somebody?”
“Well…” She looks away from him, but doesn’t shy away from his touch.
Seonghwa hums. “Do you like Uncle Joongie?”
She looks back at him with a bright smile. “Yes. He’s very fun to play with.”
“Hmm.” He uses his other hand to stroke his chin. “Do you want him to live here? With us?”
Seonghee fidgets a little, still not looking up at her uncle. “He’s here a lot.”
“Yes.” Seonghwa smiles, encouraging.
“He...must be lonely.” She says finally before looking up at him with worry in her eyes.
Seonghwa hums a little. “Maybe.”
Her eyes don’t stray again. “Can you not marry him because he doesn’t want to live with me?”
Oh. That isn’t the kind of reaction he was expecting from her. “Oh Seonghee, of course not.” He leans down to pull her into a hug. She curls her little hands into his shirt on his back. “There are...many reasons why marrying somebody is hard. But I promise it’s not because of you, darling.”
“He likes me a lot?”
“ Yes, of course.” Seonghwa reassures her, petting the top of her head softly. “Uncle Joong really likes playing with you and putting pretty flowers in your braids.”
Seonghee is quiet for a while before she pulls away from her uncle’s embrace. Her eyes are slightly watery but she doesn’t cry. There’s a small smile on her face, so Seonghwa is a bit relieved that he’s able to reassure her. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Seonghwa pets her head again before she nods a bit triumphantly.
“Okay.” Seonghee yawns a bit when Seonghwa kisses her on the forehead.
“Get some rest, okay? You still have school tomorrow.”
She nods slowly, yawning again before sliding underneath her fluffy blankets. Seonghwa helps tuck her in until she’s covered, eyes closed as she already begins to drift off. “Goodnight Uncle.”
Seonghwa watches her fondly from the doorway, flicking the light off so that the stars painted on her ceiling grow bright. “Goodnight.”
He closes her door quietly before escaping to his room. Seonghwa grabs his phone before plopping atop the bed, sending out a text before he rolls onto his back to await a response.
“What’s up? You told me to call you as soon as I got off work.”
“Yeah.” Seonghwa yawns, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s kind of important.”
“Uh...okay. Let me swing by my place and grab some clothes.”
“Can you just—” He cuts himself off, sucking in a sharp breath. “Can you come straight here? I’ll let you borrow my clothes.”
Hongjoong snorts on the other line. “Seonghwa, I would look like a child in your clothes.”
“Just…” Seonghwa takes another deep breath. “I’ll wash your clothes in the morning.”
“ Okay, okay, fine.” There’s a small moment of pause between both of them. “Is something...up? What’s the matter?”
Seonghwa sighs softly. “It’s not something I want to say over the phone.”
“‘Kay.” Hongjoong chuckles. “You horny or something?”
“NO!” Seonghwa blurts. “It’s not that, it’s just...can you get here quickly?”
“Give me a break, I’m not as quick as you with my tiny little legs and this heavy work bag I have to lug around all day, thank you very much Mr. Long Legs.”
“Sorry.” Seonghwa giggles a little at the mental image it brings him. “See you soon?”
“Yeah. See ya.”
When Hongjoong arrives about twenty minutes later, cheeks red from walking in the cold up the stairs to Seonghwa’s place, he doesn’t waste time in finding his boyfriend. He’s quiet, assuming Seonghee is sleeping, before dropping his things in Seonghwa’s room and closing the door behind him. “You got cozy without me.”
“It’s cold.” Seonghwa pouts, unfurling the blankets next to him for Hongjoong. Said man kicks off his shoes and his coat, not minding the mess for now since Seonghwa seemed so concerned over the phone. “Come here…”
“I hope you know that I’m going against all common sense and jumping into your nice clean bed without showering because you asked for it.” Hongjoong adds, stripping down to his boxer briefs but leaving his sweater on as he climbs onto the big queen-sized bed.
“‘S fine.” Seonghwa mumbles, wrapping an arm around Hongjoong’s shoulders once the smaller male slides against him. “Comfy?”
Hongjoong groans softly. “Your bed is so much better than mine.”
Seonghwa lets him shift around until he finds the spot before speaking. “You’re rubbing off on Seonghee.”
“Oh?” Hongjoong chuckles. “How so? Did she call you dumb?”
“ Joong-ah. I was so taken aback!”
Hongjoong snickers. “She’s learning well.”
“ Joong-ah.” Seonghwa whines in protest. “She’s becoming so much like you.”
“Are you saying it’s a bad thing?”
Seonghwa sucks in a sharp breath. “She said something strange today.”
“Hmm? What kind of strange?”
“She…” Seonghwa clears his throat, “she asked why I don’t want to marry you.”
Hongjoong chokes on his own saliva, which then turns into a mild coughing fit before he pushes himself up to look at Seonghwa. “She said what? ”
“I didn’t think it came from you, but...I was surprised to say the least.”
Now Hongjoong’s face is red. “W-who...why? Did she say why?”
Seonghwa looks at his boyfriend’s face and smiles. “She thinks you’re lonely and wants you to stay here all the time.” Hongjoong just stares at him. “She thought that she’s the reason why I won’t marry you...because you don’t like her.”
Hongjoong sat up fully, gasping in disgust. “I love her to bits! Wha—who put such a gross thought in her head? I’m basically her second uncle!”
“I don’t know.” Seonghwa shrugs, hand rubbing along Hongjoong’s back. “I know you love her, but...I’m not sure why she could say or even think such a thing.”
“I...I will wake up early just to go send her off to school with you and cover her cute little face in hundreds of kisses until she never thinks I dislike her again.” Hongjoong frowns before laying back down to settle against Seonghwa. “I can’t believe I wasn’t trying hard enough before.”
They lay like this in silence for just a bit longer, the dim nightlight still on as they enjoy each other’s company. Seonghwa still has his arm around Hongjoong’s shoulders, thumb rubbing his shoulder. “Hongjoong.” Seonghwa says after some time.
“Mm?”
“Do you...wanna get married?”
Hongjoong tenses up slightly at the question, but he doesn’t sit up. He stays huddled against Seonghwa, chewing on his words until he finds the right ones. “I...wouldn’t mind that.”
“With me?” Seonghwa’s voice cracks a little, making Hongjoong laugh.
“Who else would it be?” Hongjoong replies sleepily. “You’re dumb, Park Seonghwa. Are you implying I’ll marry someone else?”
Seonghwa tries to hide a big smile on his face, but it’s so hard when his sleepy boyfriend agrees to a tiny proposal. “Well...if Seonghee approves you, then I guess you must be a good match…”
Hongjoong chuckles again but he’s almost too far gone to come up with a lengthy reply. “Can I move in now?”
“You practically live here.” Seonghwa sighs, reaching over briefly to turn the nightlight off, and he goes back to hug Hongjoong as he whines at the brief five-second loss of contact. “But...you can at least break your lease.”
“Mmm...that means...this bed...is mine too.”
Seonghwa chuckles softly and plants a kiss atop Hongjoong’s head. “Everything of mine is yours.”
“Better watch out…” Hongjoong yawns again. “Seonghee is going to call me her favorite uncle.”
“In your dreams.” Seonghwa teases, but Hongjoong doesn’t talk back anymore. Instead, his shoulders heave gently with heavy breaths, finally lapsing into sleep. Though they’re both half asleep...Seonghwa feels his heart thrumming with joy after such a big step in their relationship.
Now...maybe Hongjoong could quit his job and become a fashion designer like he’s always dreamed of becoming. He can stop coming home so late at night...and Seonghwa could make him breakfast every morning...for his favorite man...and his favorite little girl.