126 - Sarang's Mommy is Jealous of Sarang Too! (2)
126 - Sarang's Mommy is Jealous of Sarang Too! (2)
TL/Editor: looloo
Status: ongoing
Illustrations: posted in discord
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"Wait a minute. Sarang is waiting for my kiss with such earnest eyes, should I really kiss you first?"
Pointing at Sarang, I said that to Heena, who seemed like she was about to grab my head and plant a kiss on me any moment. Of course, Sarang wasn't actually looking at me with those eyes; she was just curiously looking around again.
Despite my words, Heena started approaching me slowly.
"You said I'm pretty, right? Your pretty wife is waiting for a kiss, and you're saying you'll kiss Sarang first?"
"Since you're the mom, you should yield to your daughter once..."
"You've yielded already! You kissed Sarang, so it's my turn now, isn't it?!""That's true."
When I kissed Sarang earlier, she stayed calm. It was just a little playful moment. There was no reason I couldn't kiss Heena, but now the situation had gotten awkward.
Because Heena's voice had suddenly gotten louder, the moms with their babies and the elderly people sitting a bit away were whispering and looking our way.
"Can't we do it later? People are watching."
"What does it matter? You kissed Sarang without any problem. You love Sarang more than me, don't you!"
"I love both you and Sarang equally. There's no question of who I love more."
"Then why won't you kiss me!"
"People are watching..."
"See, you do love Sarang more, don't you?!"
"Oh, for God's sake."
-Smooch!
Thinking this would never end if it continued, I grabbed Heena's back of the head and kissed her. At the same time, I faintly heard someone whispering, "Oh my goodness~."
Ignore it, ignore it.
After that brief kiss, Heena finally calmed down, though she still sounded a bit regretful.
"I wanted to kiss longer..."
"You know that's not possible. I'll kiss you at home later."
"Will you kiss me first at home?"
"Yes, yes."
"Hehe... Sarang~ Mommy will kiss first at home, okay?"
"You're boasting to Sarang now."
As I looked at Heena rocking the stroller back and forth, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Still sitting on the bench, I turned my head to look back.
"...Should I come back later?"
"No, it's okay..."
It was Jooeun's mom, who I had recently gotten acquainted with, standing there with the most awkward expression in the world.
Well, she had seen that up close, so it was understandable!
Although there was a brief moment of awkwardness, we cleared the air with a cough and started our first conversation in a week with Jooeun's mom.
"Seeing you two like that... it was hard to interrupt..."
Jooeun's mom, whose name was Jaehee, said this helplessly. I didn't know what to say. If it were me, I would have just turned around and left.
Of course, Heena considered that level of affection and conversation between couples to be normal, so she welcomed Jaehee as if nothing had happened.
"It's been a while, Unnie."
"It's been a while, Heena. By the way, you came together today too?"
"Yeonho has no lectures on Thursdays."
"You must be really busy though... Yeonho is so sweet. I'm really jealous~"
"My hubby is just like that!"
"I'm embarrassed, Heena..."
This was the second time meeting Jaehee unnie, but we had a good conversation last time and talked for quite a long time. We also exchanged some vivid parenting tips as beginner parents.
Moreover, she didn't seem to have any bad opinions about our early marriage, so we were hoping to get closer by meeting again.
As parents raising children of the same age in the same neighborhood, there was no harm in building friendships.
"Do you come out every day, Unnie?"
"Almost? After finishing housework, there's nothing to do. Staying inside feels suffocating, and Jooeun likes going out."
"Our Sarang loves walks too... Should I come out alone? I'd love to do it together, but..."
Heena furrowed her brows, thinking for a moment. I understood her sentiment since I also enjoyed spending time like this together. However, coming out every day wasn't feasible because I was also busy.
Would it be okay to come out very early or late? But since a night walk seemed a bit off, we could go out in the morning when Sarang's crying woke us up.
"How about a quick walk at dawn? It's not that chilly in the mornings these days, and since Sarang cries around that time anyway, we get up. Taking a lap around the neighborhood at that time wouldn't be a burden for me either."
"That's a great idea! Yeah, let's do it! Shall we start from tomorrow?"
"Okay~"
Seeing us quickly set a schedule for tomorrow morning, Jaehee unnie sighed with a face that screamed envy.
"I'm so jealous... You two are so sweet together that it kills me with envy..."
Seeing her say that with such a dark expression made me feel sorry. Most husbands couldn't do this because they had to go to work.
"Unnie, can't you come out with your husband on weekends at least...?"
"He's really busy these days, so he goes to work even on weekends... On the days he's off, he's usually very tired. He earns a lot of money, so our living conditions are comfortable, but honestly, I wish he earned less and spent more time with us."
"I understand, Unnie. Sometimes I think I'd like Yeonho to just be by my side and forget about studying and everything."
Heena nodded in agreement, and Unnie looked at her incredulously.
"Isn't that a bit much? I'd be happy if I could just take a walk with the baby once a week like you do with Yeonho."
"But as time goes by, I want more..."
"What if Yeonho gets too exhausted?"
"I'm sorry for always being so stubborn..."
"Don't be sorry. Taking Sarang out with you like this is a break for me. Without this, I couldn't handle my assignments."
"Honey...!"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. Can we stop? I'm so jealous I want to go home now!"
Hearing Unnie's outcry filled with envy, we decided to refrain from being too lovey-dovey here. We weren't trying to show off or anything.
After that, the three of us sat side by side on the bench and chatted about how we had been and about each other's kids.
"Did you know our Jooeun succeeded in rolling over?"
"Really?! Sarang failed yesterday too! It was so close though~"
"But isn't Sarang super cute when she's struggling to roll over? Honestly, I wish she couldn't do it forever."
"I know that feeling! We recorded at least a hundred videos of Jooeun trying to roll over because it was so cute!"
"Wow, everyone does that. We recorded about the same amount, right?"
"I guess so? You and Dad must have recorded just as much."
Talking about parenting like this could be done on the internet, but it was much more fun to meet in person and hear each other's vivid stories. We could also exchange opinions on whether our baby was late in development or what was normal behavior.
"I wonder how Sarang did... Do you have any videos of it that you could show us?"
"Yes, just a moment."
At Unnie's request, I took out my smartphone and played the video. In the video, our whole family gathered around Sarang, cheering her on.
[Uweeuu!!]
[Go, Han Sarang! Just a bit more! Hey! Shouldn't I help her?!]
[Heeseong, from now on, you're banned from approaching Sarang. How dare you try to interrupt her rolling over attempt.]
[Our princess, fighting~ Move your arm! Just a little more to the side!]
[Pfft... Honey! Look at Sarang flailing her arms and legs! So cute~]
[Yes, yes! To the side! She made it to the side! Pfft, ahahaha! How can she not roll over because of her right arm?!]
[This is killing me. I want to help her so bad... Sarang, hang in there! Daddy is watch... Oh, she's crying.]
[Uwee... Uwaaa!!]
[Oh no~ Is she frustrated because she can't do it? Hang in there, Sarang, you'll be able to roll over soon~ Don't cry~]
[So close, she almost did it.]
The short video ended with Sarang failing to roll over and crying as she was held by Heena.
And as soon as Jaehee unnie saw that, she burst into laughter.
"Ahahaha!! Sarang is really too cute!"
"Right?"
"Your family seems really peaceful~ Didn’t you stay at Heena's place? Must have been easy for you to live with your in-laws."
"After a year, it's easy... And everyone helps a lot with taking care of Sarang, so there’s no way to leave."
"Oh~ Having many people around really helps. It was the same for me when I stayed at my parents’ place..."
As we talked about such things, we turned our gaze to the two babies lying quietly in their strollers. Jooeun seemed fascinated by Sarang, who was right in front of her, while Sarang's gaze was...
"But isn't Sarang looking at Yeonho right now?"
"Seeing as she's making eye contact with me, I think so."
"Doesn't she want to be held by her dad?"
"Maybe? Sarang~ do you want Daddy to hold you?"
"Ahh..."
Sometimes I lost to the cat, but when I was around, Sarang often looked at me. Ever since she started recognizing people around her.
"Only the two of you make eye contact like that..."
Because of that, Heena would get jealous sometimes. Whether she was jealous of Sarang or me, I didn't know.
"Come to think of it, I'm thirsty. Should I buy some water..."
Hearing that uneasy voice, I stopped approaching Sarang and subtly avoided Heena's disgruntled gaze. As I thought of going to a nearby convenience store, Heena grabbed me.
"Forget it. Why don't you stay with Sarang? I'll get the water since I'm the second to both you and Sarang."
"You know that’s not true~ Why are you acting like this again?"
"Hmph, I'll just go. Do you want anything other than water? You like the fried stuff they sell at the convenience store up front. Should I get one?"
"No, it's fine. I can go."
"You've been pushing the stroller and carrying Sarang all the way here. I'll be quick!"
And with quick steps, she disappeared from sight. Jaehee unnie quietly watched us, then smiled softly and spoke.
"Heena is really good to you. You too... Well, that’s why you two get along so well~"
"Haha... Well, sometimes she gets jealous of Sarang, but it's kind of cute."
"...Why does my heart hurt when I talk to you two? My husband has been busy lately, so we haven't spent much time together... He used to be so good to me, and my friends were always envious! We still get along really well!"
I could only laugh awkwardly at Unnie, who expressed her recent frustrations with a bitter tone. Internally, I pondered her words.
Heena is really good to me.
Indeed, she was. Compared to when we first started dating, Heena now showed much more emotion and desire, but she still treated me exceptionally well.
She took care of even the smallest things in our daily life to the point where I took it for granted, and she helped me with my university studies and assignments more diligently than her own tasks.
Honestly, I studied hard, but the reason I was able to keep up at this university, which was a bit above my level, was because of Heena's support.
She coordinated my outfits so I didn't have to worry, kept track of my consumables better than I did, and helped me with my studies.
Moreover, perhaps because she felt guilty that I did most of the cooking when we lived on our own, she worked hard to improve her cooking skills with her mother. Thanks to that, she was getting better and better.
Given these circumstances, I couldn't even imagine a life without Heena.
If Heena were to be absent for just a day or two, I knew I would be lost from the moment I woke up in the morning.