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The first time it happened was on an early winter morning.
Sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains of the nursery, casting golden patterns on the wooden floor. Jimin stood in the doorway, as her heart skipped a beat when she looked at her wife with their daughter.
Ten years ago, Jimin couldn't even dream of such a scene. And now, waking up, she could watch the two most important people in her life right here beside her.
Minjeong sat cross-legged on the soft carpet, her freshly dyed dark brown hair falling over her eyes as she helped their three year old daughter, Jiwoo, stack colorful blocks into an increasingly unstable tower.
The little girl's face was taut with concentration, her tiny fingers carefully placing each block with great seriousness.
"That's it, sweetheart," Minjeong whispered in a soft voice. "Can you stack one more?"
"Love," Jimin called from the doorway, unable to hide the smile in her voice. "Breakfast is ready."
Minjeong looked up, and even after four years of marriage, Jimin still felt her breath catch. Those same dark brown eyes that had been passed down to their daughter were looking at her.
Truth be told, Jiwoo was a complete copy of Minjeong, from her appearance to her temperament. Only the unruly hair came from Jimin.
"Coming," Minjeong replied, then turned to Jiwoo. "We'll finish our tower after breakfast, okay sweetheart?"
Jiwoo's face lit up. "You too, love?"
Both Minjeong and Jimin froze.
Jimin blinked, trying to process what was happening. Minjeong's expression shifted from confusion to understanding, then to something so tender it made Jimin's chest tighten.
"What did you say, baby?" Minjeong asked carefully.
"Love come too!" Jiwoo repeated, stretching both hands toward Minjeong's hand. "Love eat!"
Jimin watched as realization bloomed across her wife's features. Their daughter thought Minjeong's name was Love. Because that's what Jimin called her.
Constantly.
Laughter burst from Jimin's chest, helpless and joyful. "Oh my god."
"Don't you dare," Minjeong said, but her lips were trembling. "Don't you dare..."
"Our daughter thinks your name is Love," Jimin managed between chuckles. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Better than our wedding?" Minjeong asked, but now she was smiling too, with that genuine smile that Jimin treasured.
"On par with it," Jimin corrected, crossing the room to lift Jiwoo into her arms. She squealed with delight, her dark curls bouncing. "Though this is pretty perfect too."
Jiwoo patted Jimin's cheek. "Mama silly."
"Very silly," Minjeong agreed, rising gracefully to her feet. She kissed Jiwoo on the forehead, then quickly and tenderly kissed Jimin on the lips.
"Come on. The pancakes will get cold."
As they descended the stairs, Jiwoo chattering happily about her blocks, Jimin couldn't stop smiling. Minjeong caught her gaze and shook her head, but tenderness was written in every feature of her face.
The kitchen was warm and bright, the air filled with the aroma of vanilla and butter. Jimin had outdone herself this morning. On the table lay star-shaped pancakes and fresh berries.
"Mama made stars!" Jiwoo exclaimed as Jimin settled her into her high chair.
"Yeah she did, baby," Minjeong confirmed, sitting down next to her. "Because Mama likes to show off."
"I prefer the expression 'demonstrating my love through culinary excellence,'" Jimin said loftily, placing plates before them both.
"Love!" Jiwoo chirped, pointing at Minjeong.
Jimin had to bite her lip to keep from laughing again. Minjeong shot her wife a defiant look, but she was patiently cutting Jiwoo's pancakes into smaller pieces.
"Jiwoo, baby," Minjeong said slowly. "Do you know what Mama's name is?"
Jiwoo thought about it for a while before nodding vigorously. "Jiii... min!"
"And what's Mommy's name?"
"Love!"
Minjeong sighed. "Of course." She glanced at Jimin. "This is your fault."
"Absolutely," Jimin agreed cheerfully. "But can you blame me? Look at yourself." She waved her hand vaguely in Minjeong's direction.
"You are love. My love. The love of my life. I'm just speaking the truth."
Minjeong rolled her eyes, but the flush on her cheeks gave her away completely. She focused on spreading some maple syrup on Jiwoo's pancake, avoiding Jimin's direct gaze.
"You're actually impossible," she muttered, but there wasn't a drop of real annoyance in her voice.
Meanwhile, Jiwoo was already devouring her breakfast, smearing berry juice across her chin and cheeks. Jimin watched her with adoration that hadn't lessened for a minute since her birth.
The three year old had recently begun trying to eat by herself, stealing the utensils from Minjeong's hands any chance she could. Every movement, every sound, every smile of hers was a little miracle to Jimin.
"Love," Jiwoo called, stretching out a syrup-sticky hand toward Minjeong. "More berries."
Minjeong obediently placed several blueberries on the edge of her plate. "Here you go, baby."
"Thank you, Love!" Jiwoo replied cheerfully, messily popping a berry into her mouth.
Jimin covered her face with her hand, her shoulders shaking with laughter. "Babe, I can't. This is too good."
"You're enjoying this far more than you should," Minjeong grumbled, but even she couldn't completely hide her own amusement.
-
The second time it happened was during the holidays.
Christmas came with a flurry of snow and magical lights, and the Yu household was full of life.
Aeri and Yizhuo arrived with gifts wrapped in garish red and gold paper along with cookies they baked themselves. Ryujin and Yeji brought some food and drinks. Even Chaewon and Yunjin stopped by for an hour before heading to visit their family's home.
Jiwoo was thrilled by all the attention. She raced between guests in her new red dress, showing everyone her new doll, new books, new toy scooter, which she, at Minjeong's insistence, was only allowed to ride with full body protective gear.
"Look, Auntie Aeri!" she shouted, shaking the scooter. "Look what Santa got me!"
Of course Aeri, aka Santa, was the one that went ahead and gotten her favorite niece a scooter that Minjeong was against.
"That's amazing, little one!" Aeri scooped her up and tossed her in the air, making the toddler squeal with delight. "Soon you'll be zooming around faster than your Mommy can catch you!"
"She won't be riding that scooter fast for a very, very long time," Minjeong muttered from the kitchen, where she was making hot chocolate.
"You're too overprotective," Yizhuo shouted back.
"She almost broke her arm five months ago after you and Aeri bought her that jungle gym swing set," Minjeong replied in an even tone.
Jimin watched it all from an armchair by their christmas tree, holding a cup of coffee and feeling warmth spread through her chest, not from the coffee, but from the sight.
Her daughter, laughing in her best friend's arms. Her wife in the kitchen. All of their friends and family, together in their home.
Jimin didn't know what she did in her past life to deserve this. But she'd gotten it anyway, and she was grateful every single day.
"Mama!" Jiwoo broke free from Aeri's embrace and ran to Jimin, climbing onto her lap. "Auntie Aeri and Auntie Yizhuo says I can get a big girl bicycle when I turn five!"
"Well, Auntie Aeri and Yizhuo can go straight to big girl jail," Minjeong muttered, entering with a tray full of steaming mugs of chocolate.
"I heard that!" Aeri shouted.
"Good."
Jiwoo giggled and turned to Minjeong as she set down the tray. "Love made hot choco?"
All conversation in the room fell silent. Aeri looked puzzled and Yizhuo raised an eyebrow.
"Did she... did she just call Minjeong.. Love?" Aeri asked aloud slowly.
Minjeong's face flushed. "She... it's not..."
"She thinks that's her name," Jimin explained cheerfully. "Because I always call Jeongie that. My love. Love. My love."
There was a pause. And then both Aeri and Yizhuo burst into a sharp, high pitched, booming laughter that made Jiwoo jump on Jimin's lap.
"You... you're serious?" Aeri wiped her eyes. "That's just disgustingly cute. Can you imagine how it'll be when she starts pre-school? 'My name is Jiwoo, and my mama's name is Jimin, and my mommy's name is Love.'"
"That's exactly why we need to correct her," Minjeong turned to her daughter with a determined expression. "Darling, listen carefully. Mommy's name is Minjeong. Min-jeong."
Jiwoo tilted her head to the side, confused. "But Mama says Love."
"Mama's an idiot."
"Hey!" Jimin protested.
"Let's try this," Minjeong crouched down in front of them. "People can have multiple names. Like how your real name is Jiwoo, but I sometimes call you sweetheart, and Mama calls you princess."
Jiwoo nodded, listening.
"So, Mommy's real name is Minjeong. But Mama sometimes calls me Love because..." She glanced at Jimin, and something in her face softened, "Because she..."
"Because I love you," Jimin corrected.
"So your name is Minjeong, but Mama calls you Love because she loves you?"
"Exactly," Minjeong exhaled with relief.
"Then I'll call you Love too," Jiwoo declared decisively. "Because I love Mommy too."
The room fell silent, but this time of a different kind. Jimin felt something tighten in her throat, her heart melting instantly.
Minjeong froze, staring at her daughter with an expression as if she'd just said something unimaginably profound. Her hand trembled as she reached out to caress Jiwoo's soft chubby cheek.
"Okay," She whispered, and her voice was unsteady. "Okay, baby. You can call Mommy Love."
Jiwoo beamed and reached out for her, asking for a hug. Minjeong cradled her in her arms, hugging her precious daughter close to her chest, and Jimin saw her eyes close.
-
The third time it happened was when Jiwoo started kindergarten.
Jimin sat on a too-small chair, clutching her knees and trying not to look as awkward and nervous as she felt. Next to her, Minjeong looked much more comfortable, her posture straight, hands neatly folded on her knees.
This was Jiwoo's first parent-teacher conference, and the teacher, a young lady named Miss Park, was going through a folder of drawings and notes.
"Jiwoo is a very bright girl," She began with a smile. "She learns and adapts quickly, gets along well with other children, and her imagination is simply astonishing."
"That's really good to hear, initially we were worried that she'd have a hard time adjusting to the new environment." Minjeong smiled warmly, and Jimin could see her shoulders relax with relief.
"However," Miss Park continued, her smile became slightly embarrassed, "There is one small thing I wanted to ask you two about."
Jimin felt her heart sink a little. "I– is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, it's nothing bad!" The teacher assured them. "It's just... Jiwoo keeps calling one of you 'Love', and I wanted to make sure I'm filling out the paperwork correctly. Is it a nickname or...?"
Jimin immediately bit her lip, trying not to burst out into a fit of laughter.
Minjeong covered her face with her hand.
"It's... complicated to explain," Minjeong began.
"Actually, it's very simple," Jimin interrupted, unable to help herself. "I call my wife 'love,' and our daughter decided that was her real name."
Miss Park blinked, then her face broke into a wide smile. "Oh, that's absolutely adorable! I must admit, we've all been a bit puzzled by it here. Some of the other teachers thought perhaps it was some sort of family tradition."
"No," Minjeong scratched the back of her neck, her face so red she was starting to look like a tomato. "It's just my wife who can't control her words of affection."
"And I'm not going to apologize for it," Jimin declared with a proud grin.
The teacher laughed. "Well, I think it's sweet. And honestly, Jiwoo isn't the only one with interesting names for her parents. We have one boy who calls his father 'Big Boss' because that's what his mother calls him."
"See babe, Love is definitely better than Big Boss–" Jimin whispers into Minjeong's ear, which earned her an immediate slap on the shoulder. "Ow! Okay, I'm shutting up now."
They continued discussing Jiwoo's progress, looking through her drawings– mostly depictions of stars, puppies, dinosaurs, and what was presumably their family.
In one drawing were three figures holding hands, a big heart shape surrounding them.
Minjeong stared at that drawing for a long time.
"May I keep it?" She asked quietly.
"Of course!" Miss Park handed her the drawing. "She was very proud of it."
-
The fourth time happened on Jiwoo's birthday, when she turned five.
The house was full of children from kindergarten, balloons, and the chaos created by a dozen five-year-olds pumped full of sugar and excitement. Jimin organized games in their mini garden while Aeri circled around her.
Minjeong was in the kitchen, watching over the cake, a three-tiered creation decorated with stars and puppies that she had insisted on baking herself. Jimin had offered to just buy a cake, but Minjeong refused.
Jiwoo was playing tag with her friends when one of her best friends, Minju, fell and scraped her knee. The girl broke out into a heap of tears instantly at the sight of her injured knee stained with a little blood.
Jimin was already heading toward her to help, but Jiwoo was faster.
She crouched down next to Minju. "Don't cry," she said. "I'll get Love. Love fixes everything."
And before Jimin could even say anything, Jiwoo ran into the house, shouting. "Love! Love, need help!"
Minjeong appeared from the kitchen. "What happened, darling?"
"Minju fell!" Jiwoo grabbed her mother's hand and dragged her into the garden. "She's hurt!"
By the time they reached Minju, the girl's sobs had already begun to calm down into sniffles, but Minjeong still knelt beside her, examining the scraped knee.
"Hey sweetheart, you're alright. Let's have a look, hm?" She murmured, wiping the dirt off the girl's wound gently with a clean wipe.
"I- is it bad...?" The little girl asked, tears welled up in her eyes again as her bottom lip trembled.
But Minjeong shook her head and smiled warmly, reaching out to wipe the tears off Minju's tiny face. "It's not as bad as it seems, I promise. After cleaning it and putting a pretty bandaid on, it'll be like the scrape was never there."
"See?" Jiwoo said to Minju triumphantly. "I told you Love would fix everything."
Minju stopped sniffling and stared at Minjeong with big teary eyes. "Is your Mommy's name really Love?"
"Yup!" Jiwoo confirmed.
"Wow," Minju said with genuine admiration. "That's a weird name."
Minjeong secured the puppy patterned bandaid over the girl's knee, then helped her up. "Be more careful now, okay?"
"Thank you, Miss Love," Minju bowed before going back to playing with Jiwoo and the other kids.
All this while, Jimin was standing at the side watching the scene unfold before her. She bit her lip so hard from trying to hold back her laughter that she nearly drew blood. Next to her, Aeri and Yizhuo were quietly giggling.
"Miss Love," Yizhuo repeated breathlessly.
"Shut up." Minjeong muttered, walking past them back to the kitchen, but her ears were red.
The rest of the party passed without incident, except that now all the children were calling Minjeong 'Miss Love', and she couldn't find it in her to correct them.
By the end of the evening, when the last guest had left and Jiwoo was almost falling asleep in her arms on the couch, head tucked deep against Minjeong's chest, she mumbled.
"I love you, Mommy."
Minjeong smiled, looking both exhausted yet happy. "I love you more, darling."
-
Life had a way of bending without breaking, of testing her, then surprising her with gentleness when she least expected it.
After every stumble, every moment where the ground felt unsteady, it offered her something luminous enough to make waking up feel like a gift. Love was no longer fragile or fleeting. It had substance now.
It was the warmth of a hand reaching for hers in the dark, the quiet strength that stayed through scraped knees and whispered fears, the steady presence that never let go even when the world felt loud.
And if someday Jiwoo grew up and stopped calling Minjeong 'Love' out loud, it would still remain in her heart.