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Today Sophia had to leave the house, and Daniela volunteered herself to be in charge of babysitting little Yoonchae. The Korean means the world to Sophia, a blood baby sister, almost like a daughter. She was literally her official guardian in the US until recently, when she turned eighteen, so taking care of the fragile version of this girl meant so much to Dani. It meant her relationship with Sophia was improving.
She had already seen Yoonchae little with Sophia sometimes, or quietly playing with Megan, but never got the chance to fully know her in little space.
Well, today is the day!
Her girlfriend had just walked through the door after kissing her goodbye and hugging the little one.
Yoonchae decided she was going to draw. She opened the crayon box, counting all of them to make sure everything was there. "Thirty-four?"
She looked for the two missing ones and counted them all again. "Thirty-six," she mumbled, then started organizing all the crayons, counting them once more after lining them up in shade order.
Daniela watched attentively, not sure if she should ask why, so she just watched the little's weird fixation on organizing everything before actually drawing. "Do you need something?" Daniela asked.
The room sat in silence before a small, "No, thanks," was heard.
Yoonchae was now scribbling in her little space sketchbook. The drawings were so good they would've made little Daniela frustrated at even trying to hold a crayon.
After a while she decided she would try again. "So... what are you drawing, Chae?"
Another beat of silence she even wondered if the younger one had heard her. "Rabbit," she simply answered without looking up.
"Wow, it looks pretty nice!"
"Thanks."
Tired of not really doing anything, Daniela went to the kitchen, opening the fridge to see which snack and lunch she could prepare for the little, only to find small containers with sticky notes labeled 'Yoonie - Apple slices', 'Yoonie - Lunch', and 'Yoonie - Juice', obviously in Sophia's handwriting.
Weird house of organized people.
Anyways, it helped tons. She picked the container with the apple slices and a small fork because little Yoonchae didn't look like she'd eat with her hands.
She handed it to the Korean with a small smile. "Here, I thought you would want it."
"Oh, thanks." She munched on one slice and went right back to drawing and coloring, occasionally eating another apple slice.
Daniela just sat there. She didn't know if it was okay to watch TikTok, so she scrolled through Twitter instead because there wasn't really much she could do. Yoonchae looked too good by herself... or maybe she just didn't like her. Or maybe she just missed Sophia.
It's not that deep... right?
Because Daniela would've been demanding attention from whoever was close; Manon would've been throwing herself into random silly games and Megan would've been asking for cartoons and laughing loudly at every joke.
When she looked up from her phone a bit hesitantly, she found Yoonchae sleeping on top of her sketchbook, still holding the pink crayon.
That was sudden, she had just been awake and dhe looked so cute.
So Daniela did the mature thing... She took a picture.
Then she slowly tried to wake her. "Chip?" She was still asleep "Chae?"
The girl slowly blinked one eye open, confused, rubbing both eyes with her fists. "...Soso?"
"No... hm... it's me, Dani, Yoonchip," Daniela answered a little shyly.
The Korean only nodded once she understood.
"Come on, little one. It's better to sleep here on the couch."
The caregiver gently helped her stand up and guided her to the couch. Yoonchae simply pulled her legs into a little ball and fell back asleep almost immediately. Daniela grabbed the blanket resting over the armrest and carefully tucked her in.
The following minutes were just as quiet, Yoonchae, like everything else she did, slept quietly. No mumbling, no nightmares, no asking for cuddles.
During that time Daniela washed the dishes from the apple slices, trying to keep the house organized, but she didn't dare touch Yoonchae's crayons or sketchbook, the little looked too particular about them, and Daniela didn't want to make her hate her even more.
After a while Sophia opened the front door and stepped inside, the sound making Yoonchae stir awake and slowly sit up on the couch, her eyes barely open. "There's my girls," Sophia said softly as she walked over to them.
Daniela smiled, and Yoonchae stood up and quietly walked to her main caregiver, wrapping her arms around her.
"Hi, baby," Sophia mumbled, hugging her back.
"Missed you."
"Oh, I missed you too. A lot." Sophia kissed the top of her head. "Did you have a nice afternoon?"
The little nodded, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"I think someone still needs a nap."
Daniela watched the interaction from afar. They looked so cute together, It was clear how much the youngest adored Sophia.
Yoonchae nodded and raised her arms, and Sophia simply picked her up and carried her to her room. She didn't take long to come back, had probably gone right back to sleep as quickly as before.
Daniela stayed in the living room waiting for Sophia. Time somehow passed even slower because she was nervous.
Actually...She was taking too long. It felt like they'd been there for fifteen minutes.
Daniela checked the clock.
...Oh. Only three minutes had passed. Okay she could wait.
After a bit she heard a very soft, "Love you too," before the bedroom door quietly closed and Sophia came back into the living room.
Daniela gave her girlfriend a nervous smile as she stood up. Sophia immediately hugged her, pulling away only to kiss her cheek before giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
"So... how did it go, babe?" Sophia asked, gently caressing her face.
The Latina looked down. "I don't know, amor... I mean..." She sighed. "I'm sorry."
Sophia only looked confused. "Sorry for what?"
Daniela took a deep breath before looking back up. "I don't think little Yoonchae liked me very much... I think she was just waiting for you."
"What? Why would you think that?"
Daniela sighed again. She didn't want to look like a bad caregiver... or a bad girlfriend. "It's just... she never really talked to me. Every time I asked her something she barely looked up. She didn't play or cuddle, she just stayed drawing... and then she fell asleep." She looked up at Sophia. "I think she just dislikes me as her caregiver."
"Oh, Dani..." Sophia reached for the dancer's hands and gently squeezed them. "I think you were expecting her to be little like you."
Daniela thought about it for a moment before nodding.
Sophia smiled. "She doesn't climb into everyone's lap or ask for cuddles and bottles like someone I know."
Daniela smiled, a little embarrassed. "...I noticed."
"But you know what she said when I asked about her afternoon?"
The Latina shook her head, still wearing a small frustrated pout.
"She said, 'Dani gave apples.'" Sophia let out a small chuckle. "If Yoonie didn't like you as her caregiver, she wouldn't have accepted the apples or slept next to you. She would've probably hidden in my room."
A smile slowly spread across Daniela's face. She couldn't believe all of that actually meant Yoonchae liked her. "Really?"
Sophia nodded. "Look... don't tell anyone, but last month Megan wanted to try taking care of little Yoonchae all by herself."
Daniela laughed softly.
"It... didn't go very well...Yoonie got overwhelmed and hid in my room until I found her and talked her out." Sophia chuckled, and so did Daniela. "So now they've both agreed they're much better as playdate buddies."
Daniela giggled, finally feeling the heavy weight lift from her chest. "But she hugged you."
"I mean... yeah. I've been her safe person for years." Sophia shrugged. "It's natural that she opens up to me more." Then she rested both hands on Daniela's shoulders."But that doesn't mean you did anything wrong." She smiled warmly. "I'm really proud of you."
Daniela smiled back before hugging her again, but the sound of footsteps made them pull apart.
Yoonchae stood there holding her kitten plushie.
"Hey, I thought you were asleep, Chip," Sophia said, gesturing for her to come closer.
"...Was." She shuffled a little closer. "Forgot..."
"What did you forget, baby?" Daniela asked, much more confidently this time.
Yoonchae walked over to where she'd left her sketchbook, picked it up, and held it out. The rabbit had little colorful flowers all around it. "I forgot show you the flowers," she mumbled. "They're for the rabbit."
Daniela's face lit up."It looks so pretty, Yoonchip! We should put it on the fridge."
The little tilted her head. "...Fridge?"
"Yeah. So everyone can see your beautiful drawing."
Yoonchae quickly shook her head. "Nu-uh." She gently pushed the sketchbook page toward Daniela instead. "You."
"You want me to keep it?" A tiny nod.
Daniela felt her chest warm instantly. "Thank you." She carefully hugged to herself. "I'll keep it somewhere very safe."
Yoonchae seemed satisfied with the answer. "Okay..." Then she quietly wandered back toward her room, hugging her kitten plush.
Daniela looked down at the drawing before smiling to herself. "Thank you."
Sophia looked at her with a fond smile. "For what?"
She smiled at her girlfriend. “For explaining, it was a nice afternoon, I'm looking up for more"
Sophia smiled holding her close again pressing kisses to the side of her head
“See? I said she liked you, mahal!”
The couple sat down talking about other things that happened during this afternoon
Maybe babysitting Yoonchae wasn't about keeping her entertained...maybe it was just sitting beside someone until they felt safe enough to fall asleep and Daniela loves to know that