Work Text:
Seungmin sighs softly when he sees the sharp, sulky glare he receives from his wife. She is currently crossing her arms in defense, refusing to move, and the family is currently standing in the middle of a sidewalk in front of a long line of shops.
"I want the fried cream sando" she states again, standing firm with her decision as if her husband didn't hear the first time. Seungmin tries to calm her down by holding her shoulders and looks right to her eyes.
"I know, babe. But the shop said they are handling a big order right now and we need to wait for 25 minutes. That's why I suggest we bring our daughter to the toy shop first" Seungmin explains for the nth time, but still as soft as ever. It doesn't work on Minho, by the way. She is genuinely craving that fried bread right now.
"We can wait for it, can't we? If we leave and come back later than 25 minutes, they might give the bread to other people first. Then what? If suddenly there is another bulk order by the time we come back then what? We gotta wait again?" She nags as she wriggles her body aggressively to reject Seungmin's calming touch. The husband listens to the body language, so he puts down his hands. At that time, he feels a tug on his shirt which makes him turn around and see his little girl looking up at him.
"Papa, why are we still here? I thought you were bringing me to the toy shop?" The little girl whines. It's in the middle of noon so the heat from the sun starts to irritate her. Seungmin is stuck in the middle.
"Princess, can we wait for a bit until we get Mama's bread?" He asks softly but it makes the little girl furrow her brows.
"The uncle said they need to make a lot for someone else. Can't we go to the toy shop in the meantime?" She repeats what she heard from the bread shop's owner. Even the second part of her words comes from Seungmin's original idea before Minho disagrees with him. Why the sudden change of plan if she is already looking forward to it? Seungmin sighs softly and is about to reply to his little daughter but Minho's voice makes him turn around to see her.
"Kim Seungmin.This is my pregnancy craving. I'll get really upset if I don't get it later" she threatens with an obvious hint of sulk in her intonation.
"Papa, Mama has a checkup later, we're not gonna make it to the toy shop if we only wait for the bread, doing nothing" Yongbok speaks up this time and Seungmin looks at her. Her intonation is almost the same as her mother.
"Babe, princess, will you allow me to think of a solution, please? I don't want to favor just one side and hurt the other" He mumbles in pure confusion and panic because his girls rarely act up like this in public.
"Kim Seungmin" Minho calls threateningly.
"Papa" Yongbok calls like she will cry in a minute.
Seungmin is speechless. His head is trying his best to come up with a solution but before he can respond to anything, the girls speak up first.
"Fine, you go love your daughter all you want. I don't want to eat the bread anymore" Minho mumbles and walks away.
"Fine. Papa choose Mama. I will go to the store myself" Yongbok mumbles and stomps away, the opposite way from her mother. Seungmin widens his eyes when he realises this situation is way worse, because now his wife is walking away from his right side and his little girl is walking away from his left side. He looks at each of them back and forth, speechless.
"No, but- guys-"
He can feel his frustration piling up. There will surely be a day like this in a family. Quarreling is normal. But that doesn't make him less frustrated than he is now. He can't help but to close his eyes out of natural response to calm himself, then he heaves a deep sigh. Hold yourself together, Kim Seungmin. This shouldn't be a reason to get mad at them. He makes a self reminder quickly, then and only then, he decides on what to do.
He runs to his left, towards his little girl first. He calculates everything. He can't get Minho first because that means she has to walk quickly all the way towards Yongbok and it will make her tired, especially when she is four months pregnant now. So, he gets Yongbok first, since it is easier and faster to handle. He quickly grabs the little girl and lifts her up in his arms before instantly turns around and runs to get his wife. He grabs her wrist to make her stop and turn around.
"Kim Seungmin, let me go" Minho glares at him.
"Papa, put me down" Yongbok glares at him as well.
And here's what Seungmin does.
"I will never break my promise to both of you. Ever" he emphasizes, making the girls lose their glares almost simultaneously. Seungmin seizes that chance to set things clear.
"But please don't walk away like that. Do you know how dangerous that is? You can stay mad at me while I'm thinking for a solution but don't go anywhere by yourself"
He still speaks ever so softly, and the worries in his intonation make Minho and Yongbok feels bad for acting up. But that's not Seungmin's intention. He doesn't want to guilt trip them into thinking that they burden him. They will never burden him in any way. So, he makes his tone lighter this time.
"Unfortunately, I think the heat is making me dumb, I can't think of a solution that quickly" suddenly he blames the sun, and Minho chuckles at the ridiculous statement.
"You're always dumb" she responds instantly, and that makes the little girl giggle. Seungmin grins wide when he hears those beautiful sounds from his favorite girls.
"Okay, then, babe, you think you can help me find a way to not upset our daughter? And princess, can you help me find a way to make Mama feel better?" He requests as he looks at them. Their eyes light up at the request, as if it is a task they know they can solve and their minds are running fast to come up with an idea.
"I'm craving for the chocolate strawberry one. But my second option is the original. If they can make the original one for me first, I can eat it while we can go to the toy store and we can come back later to get the chocolate strawberry. After checkup works too, if that's the case" Minho mumbles, unconsciously softer because she does feel a bit embarrassed for acting so childish just now when she can come up with a solution by herself.
"I only want to find my chucky's wife. The one we saw in the movie. We can ask the uncle that works there and if the shop doesn't have her, then we can go back and wait for mama's bread" Yongbok excitedly gives her idea this time, and she feels so eager now she gets to solve her father's dilemma. Seungmin has never been so proud of his girls. He cannot help but to give Minho a peck on her lips and a kiss on Yongbok's cheek.
"You are my lifesavers. I literally can't live without both of you" he praises and the girls chuckle at the cheesiness. Finally, all of them feel so much better now.
"Okay, now should we order the original cream sando first?" Seungmin puts his daughter down as he suggests.
"Yes!" Unlike just now where he has to grab them from walking away, now both of them holds his hands tightly. They proceeds to walk towards the shop while the little girl asks if she can share the bread with her mother and of course, her mother allows without a doubt. But the moment Seungmin asks the same, she rejects just for her and Yongbok to laugh at his misery.
- The End -
Bonus :
Seungmin literally watches his wife eating the cream bread with hearts in his eyes. They come back to the store after the checkup and they decide to try a few different flavors and take a seat at its dining area. Minho is too busy enjoying the food, she doesn't notice the stare or even the cream around her lips. She has a small mouth so one little bite is enough to make the cream get on her face. So adorable, he cannot help but rest his chin on his hand.
Then he steals a glance at his daughter. Like mother, like daughter, because she also has cream on her face, even on the tip of her nose. He chuckles softly, then he grabs the tissue from the box on the table and offers it to Yongbok.
"Princess, you have cream on your face"
Yongbok is finally distracted from staring at her cream bread when she hears her father voice, then she puts down the bread in her hands to take the tissue. Minho becomes self-conscious after she sees the interaction, so she also put down her bread. She is about to grab a tissue but Seungmin's free hand stops her. She looks at him in confusion, while he is still focusing on their daughter.
"You got it on all over your face. You got some on your eyelids too" Seungmin says solemnly but the hidden smile on his face shows that he lies intentionally.
"On my eyes?" Yongbok repeats. How can she eat so messily that the cream reaches her eyes? She quickly closes her eyes and wipes whatever on it, not realising anything happen around her because she is too focus to clean up her mess.
"Did I miss a spot?" She opens her eyes and looks at her dad, and she notices that he just leans back to his backrest with a satisfied look on his face. Then, she looks at her mother, who now has no cream on her lips. Probably she eats them because she is currently licking and biting her lips, Yongbok assumes. Why is Mama so blushing, though? Is the heat bothering her?
"Uhm... There's a little more on your eyelids. The cream is hard to disappear, so maybe you need to wipe a bit longer" Minho answers the question instead, and Seungmin laughs at the answer. Innocently, the little girl just replies a short 'oh, okay!' and proceeds to cover her eyes with the tissues again, simultaneously with Minho leaning forward. The little girl can't see what her mother is doing, so she just assumes Minho leans forward to grab a different cream bun.
The End <3