Chapter Text
Seong Huiju rarely went to her brother's house. It wasn't like she had any purpose of visiting the place, much less even find her brother and sister-in-law in it anyways. The two of them were always in their father's house, which sometimes made her think that Taeju and Da-yeong simply use their marital home as a gigantic bedroom.
Today though, Huiju made an exception. Despite her typical lack of enthusiasm in visiting Taeju's house, she had agreed to come over when he called and invited her. After all, his request did merit a visit despite her very busy schedule.
'Seong Huiju gomo, come over and visit, eo? Our liitle Ha-yeonie is home, you should come see your niece!'
Niece. Huiju snorted in amusement at the word. Never in a million years did she ever think she'd hear her brother call her over to see a child—his child—and tell her that she was already an aunt. She would've outright laughed if someone told her this when she was younger and she abhorred being in the very presence of her brother. But eh, times have indeed changed. Her brother is still a pain in the ass, but they do talk more than they used to and... well now, she's heading to his house to see her first niece.
"Jagiya," the warm baritone voice of her husband broke through her musings, and Huiju looked up to find Wan looking at her in curiosity. A regal eyebrow was raised in question, his head tilted to look at her fully. "You're awfully quiet."
Huiju huffed. "I was just thinking about how I never would've thought that oppa would even consider calling me to visit his baby."
"Why would you even think that?"
"Just..." she pursed her lips in thought. "We weren't exactly close as siblings, were we?"
Wan chuckled softly. "But you are quite close now, aren't you?" he asked, to which the fiery female beside him replied with a slight roll of her eyes. "You can deny it all you want, jagiya, but it is true."
"Fine," Huiju huffed again, the elevator ringing their arrival at Taeju's floor. "I still think oppa is a pain in the ass."
Wan laughed as he took her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers as they both walked the hallway towards her brother's apartment. He didn't reply, and over four years of marriage with him told Huiju that her husband has simply decided to just accept whatever point she's defending without argument. She'd never let him win anyway. (Okay, maybe she does... sometimes.)
The apartment door opened when Huiju was about to press the doorbell, causing her to shriek and step backwards in surprise. Wan, bless him and his enormous build, managed to steady her in time, holding her by the waist as they both stood by the door in confusion. Seong Taeju had opened the door briskly without warning, not knowing that his sister and his brother-in-law were just outside.
"Ya!" Huiju screeched and Taeju lunged forward, covering his sister's mouth quickly before letting go. She glared at him. "What was that for!"
"The baby just fell asleep!" Taeju hissed. "I was going to wait for you outside because I didn't want you ringing the doorbell and risk waking her up!"
"What kind of stupid—" Huiju gritted her teeth. "You could've just called or messaged me not to ring the doorbell, why didn't you just do that?"
Taeju paused, mulling over what his sister just said. Yeah, why didn't he think of that?
He glanced at his sister again, choosing to ignore her outburst. "Well, it's done anyway," he muttered, clearing his throat before opening the door. "Come inside."
Huiju and Wan followed Taeju inside, the two of them slipping off their shoes by the entryway to wear slippers. They both followed her older brother inside the house, pausing by the living room to find Da-yeong waiting for them with the tiniest bundle in her arms. She smiled brightly, stepping forward to meet them.
"Agassi! Seobangnim!" she exclaimed, bowing her head in greeting. "I'm so happy you came by!"
"Sae-eonni," Huiju replied, smiling at her sister-in-law. "How are you, I hope you are doing well?"
"Tired, but everything is wonderful!" Da-yeong said, shifting to show the baby nestled in her arms. "Here she is, agassi! Our little Seong Ha-yeon."
Huiju peered at the tiny face swaddled neatly in her mother's arms and she smiled. By no means was she an expert on how newborns should look like, but Huiju thinks this little baby looked like a generous mix of both her brother and sister-in-law, albeit a little scrunched and wrinkly. Ha-yeon had her mother's lips and her eyebrows, but the she seems to have inherited her brother's nose and ears.
"She looks beautiful, ajumeonim," Wan said softly as he looked at the baby as well. He smiled at Da-yeong. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, seobangnim," Da-yeong replied. She paused, eyes widening when she realized they were all still standing in the living room. "Oh! What has gotten over me, why aren't we taking a seat?"
She briskly leads Huiju and Wan towards the sofa, grinning apologetically for the delay. Huiju then realizes her brother appearing from the kitchen with a tray in his hands, clumsily balancing a tea set with some food. She lifts an eyebrow in surprise, her gaze following her older brother as he slowly inches his way towards them.
'How domestic of oppa,' she thinks.
Of course, there were still moments where things surprise Huiju, especially with this newfound relationship that she has with her brother. Sure, she is still ticked off with him at times, but she does find it endearing how vastly different he is from what she thought. Of course, she already knew that he was head over heels madly in love with his wife, but to see him in this kind of domesticity does kind of suit Seong Taeju. In a kind of endearing way.
"Ya, Seong Huiju. I got you and Wan some tea and some tteok," Taeju mumbled as he set the tray on the table before them. "The jeolpyeon and gyeongdan taste good. You should try them."
"Thank you for the food, hyung-nim." Wan says politely and Taeju smiled, pointing at the table. "Enjoy then."
"This seems a lot, oppa," Huiju remarked quietly.
Taeju shrugged. "Why not? You are our Ha-yeonie's first guests," he tells her, before chewing his lip in thought. "But ah, not really now that I think about it. Her grandparents came to see her first, of course."
"And abeoji?"
"Came earlier this morning," Taeju replied with a grin. Da-yeong is now seated on the seat beside him, the baby still cradled in her arms. "Can't believe he dropped by before even going to the company."
Huiju wasn't even surprised. After all, this was Seong Hyeonguk's first granchild.
"Ah," Wan interrupts when he remembers the paper bag he was holding, handing it over to Taeju. "Hyungnim, Huiju and I have a few gifts for Ha-yeon."
"Oh," Taeju exclaimed, his eyes widening at the gifts he found inside. "Ya! Seong Huiju, Lee Wan!"
Huiju shrugged. She had picked up a stuffed animal from a luxury store while she and Wan were on vacation to Italy a few months ago, and she had also grabbed a few baby clothes she'd seen along the way. She had absolutely no idea what babies actually needed and neither does her husband, so the two of them simply bought whatever the associate said would be a great gift for a newborn. Admittedly, they might have gone a little overboard.
"What?"
"Nothing," Taeju says, setting the gift on the table. "Thank you."
They fall into some light chatter, one that surprisingly interests Huiju. Da-yeong was telling a story about how she was absolutely terrified when she realized that she was actually about to have the baby, and was quite thankful that Taeju was there to keep her calm throughout the whole thing. Taeju says he was rightfully freaking out, though he didn't have actually time to do so because Da-yeong was already screaming her lungs out. Huiju also learns that little Ha-yeon was born just before midnight, to which Da-yeong jokes that the baby probably inherited Taeju's penchant for doing things at the last minute.
Their conversation breaks when Da-yeong paused, tilting her head to look at Huiju.
"Agassi," she calls out and Huiju meets her gaze. "Would you like to hold the baby?"
At that moment, Huiju's eyes widened in surprise and she gasped softly. "What?" she squeaked, holding her hands up. "Wait, no. I can't hold the baby. I don't even know how to hold a baby."
"Come on, it's really easy," Da-yeong insists and she gets up from her seat, making her way towards Huiju. "You're seated anyway so it's a lot easier to do this. Don't worry, I'll help you, agassi."
Huiju's eyes widened comically as her sister-in-law lowered the baby in her arms, both limbs angled stiffly in front of her. She sneaked a glance at her husband who was serenely seated beside her, his gaze soft as he looked at the baby. She lookeed up again at Da-yeong when she felt Ha-yeon's weight settle completely in her arms, her sister-in-law carefully moving one of her hands under the baby's head and neck to support her.
"Just relax, agassi, Ha-yeon is fine," Da-yeong says, patting her arm to put her at ease. "You're doing really well."
It was then that Huiju actually allowed herself to relax, her eyes dropping to look at the baby in her arms. She was thankful that Ha-yeon wasn't fussy nor was she wriggly in the way she thought babies were. In truth, this was actually the first time she has ever held a baby and it was quite... different. Huiju felt this unusual warmth settle in her chest, a kind of feeling she couldn't really place.
Seong Huiju was holding a baby in her arms. All her life, Huiju never really thought that she'd ever do this. She never really imagined holding a bby close to her chest and feeling all these strange things.
Growing up, Huiju never had a mother. After all, her own biological mother had abandoned her outside of Seong Hyunguk's building, leaving her to fend for herself. Taeju's mom had also fallen sick, so it wasn't like she also experienced having a step-mother in her life.
She never knew how to be loved by a mother. All throughout her youth, she had always felt like she was an obligation, a child that was born simply to exist without knowing what it feels like to be loved and cared for. It was also the reason why she never really envisioned herself becoming a mother herself. How was she going to be a mother when she doesn't even know how it feels like to have one?
Holding a baby in her arms was making Huiju think of a lot of things. It's been four years since she and Wan had gotten married and in the beginning, they had both fallen into the consensus to not to have children... yet. Wan was in the midst of learning how to live a life outside the shackled walls of the palace, and they both knew that having a baby would make it difficult for both of them to adjust in this new life that they had. She was also away from Castle Beauty at that time and it was going to take some time before the management and leadership of the company would be given back to her. They both knew that they were not yet ready for a baby during that time.
It's been a while since they've had any discussion about having a child. But right now, as she held her niece in her arms, it got Huiju thinking... what if?
Ha-yeon squirms a little in her arms and she glanced up just in time to see Wan looking at her tenderly, a small smile gracing his face, one that she has never really seen on him before. The way her husband is looking at her tugs at her heartstrings in a way that isn't quite sure what to make of, yet she couldn't tear her eyes off of him.
"How about you Wan?" Taeju interrupts Huiju's musings and she blinks, turning to look up at her brother. "Would you like to hold her too?"
"I can?" Wan asked and Taeju nodded before asking. "Do you know how to hold her or should I help you?"
"I should be able to manage, hyungnim,"
It took a moment, but Wan shifted in his seat to move closer to Huiju, smiling at her as he slid his hand gently under little Ha-yeon's body. In seconds, Huiju watched Wan scoop the little bundle in his large hands before cradling her close to his chest. Huiju could feel the breath leave her as she finds herself mesmerized at the sight of Lee Wan holding a fragile baby with such gentleness and care.
"I didn't know you knew how to hold a baby," she whispered, shifting closer to him as he settled in the seat. Wan smiled shyly.
"I was allowed to hold Yoon when he was born," he murmured softly. "Sometimes, Jung sanggung would allow me to carry and play with him when he was a baby. It wasn't very often as much as I had wanted though since he was always with the palace attendants."
The corner of Wan's lips lifted as he looked at Huiju while cradling the baby closer to his chest. His one hand was big enough to carry the entirety of the baby, and yet he carried Ha-yeon with care as she laid nestled in his arms. The sun cast a warm glow from behind Wan, leaving him in this halo of light and Huiju was entranced with the way her husband held a beautiful baby in his arms.
It was devastatingly beautiful. As Huiju continuted to watch Wan with absolute admiration, she couldn't help the feeling of want bloom in her chest. She could feel her heart tighten a bit as she yearned for this desire, for her to see this image a little longer and not just for a fleeting moment like this. Wan was cooing at the baby and Huiju couldn't help but wonder, how beautiful is my husband if he was a father?
After a few minutes, Wan had relinquished his hold on Ha-yeon by handing her over back to her mother. He sat back on the sofa beside Huiju, one arm slung over her shoulder as they all continued to talk, yet her mind was somewhere else. That chance that they had earlier, one which created a vision of a child in their arms made Seong Huiju think...
How would it be if we had our own family too?