The second childbirth was full of strange occurrences.

Unlike the first time, there were no accompanying false labor pains or gradual progression to real labor. From the moment she felt the first contraction, the delivery proceeded swiftly.

Professor Jo Soo-jin, who happened to still be on duty, greeted Hae-in in the delivery room, and Soo-hyun, recalling his previous experience, assisted Hae-in more calmly than he had with Jun-woo.

However, even though it was her second time, Hae-in’s face contorted in pain just as much as before during the contractions.

“Hae-in-ah, just a little more strength.”

“Ugh.”

Her whole face was swollen from straining. Her complexion was flushed red and blue, and her lips were white from being tightly pressed together.

“Mother, just like you did with your first. You’re doing great.”

Amidst the nurse’s encouragement and Hae-in’s groans of effort, Soo-hyun stayed by her side, gently brushing away her sweat-soaked bangs.

Time seemed to stretch on for days, and finally, the nurse spoke to Soo-hyun.

“Sir, could you please wait outside the curtain?”

Just like before, Soo-hyun went behind the curtain and waited for the final moment of the baby’s birth. He clasped his hands tightly, wishing with all his heart that the baby wouldn’t make his mother suffer too much and would be born safely.

Each time Hae-in’s moans continued from inside, Soo-hyun squeezed his clasped hands even tighter. He had to exert so much force that his knuckles turned white to calm his trembling heart.

He felt like rushing out from behind the curtain at any moment and shouting to take away her pain instead.

While he was thinking of Hae-in gritting her teeth, in pain, and using her last bit of strength.

“Waaah!”

Finally, the baby’s cry erupted, and he clenched his fists tightly.

Just as they say the second child comes faster, their second child, Sarang, was born only four hours after they arrived at the hospital.

The nurse brought Sarang to Soo-hyun.

Perhaps because she was a girl, she was smaller and more delicate than Jun-woo had been.

But the biggest difference was that unlike Jun-woo, who was born with a lot of hair and a dark head, their second child, Sarang, had hardly any hair.

“Why doesn’t she have much hair?”

As Soo-hyun, flustered, muttered to himself while looking at the baby, the nurse assisting him smiled gently and replied.

“It’s different for every baby, and especially for girls, their hair is thinner, so it can look like they have less. Don’t worry, it will all be the same when she grows up.”

“Ah.”

Thinking he knew what it was like to hold a baby once was presumptuous.

He thought that even though they were parents for the first time with their first child, this was also a first for their second, and Soo-hyun still had much to learn as he looked down at Sarang.

The nurse checked the baby’s fingers and toes, gently held her up, and took her to Hae-in, who was waiting.

The small, soft bundle of blood was placed on Hae-in’s chest.

The baby on Hae-in’s chest stopped crying almost immediately, as if she knew she was in her mother’s arms, and her face became peaceful.

“It’s amazing, she seems to know this is her mother’s embrace.”

Soo-hyun placed his finger over the four tiny fingers that were neatly arranged like a doll’s. The small, slender fingers, like transparent crystal crafted from glass, rested on Soo-hyun’s finger.

“Look at this. Do you remember? Just like with Jun-woo, so small and tiny.”

Hae-in’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the baby’s fingers.

Her face, covered in sweat, had burst blood vessels and was swollen. If Hae-in had seen herself in the mirror, she would have hidden her face, thinking it was ugly, but to Soo-hyun, Hae-in looked more beautiful than anyone else in the world right now.

Watching his wife, who had gone through such a great ordeal twice, Soo-hyun had to rub his choked-up chest.

“You worked hard. It was the hardest for you.”

Soo-hyun gently kissed Hae-in’s forehead and encouraged her.

“Guardian, please step out for a moment. We need to do some procedures and then move her to the ward.”

At the nurse’s words, Hae-in said to Soo-hyun with concern, “Please go out quickly and check on Jun-woo. He must have been waiting alone.”

“Then I’ll see you in the ward with Jun-woo.”

Only then did Soo-hyun remember Jun-woo, and he hurried outside.

Jun-woo was asleep, using Tae-hoon’s lap as a pillow.

“She’s been born healthy.”

As Soo-hyun announced this outside, the tension disappeared from the faces of the adults who had been anxiously watching only the delivery room door.

“Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Even though medical technology has advanced so much these days, childbirth is something we can’t control.”

Hye-yeon stood up as if she had been waiting for this moment. And she held Hae-in’s mother’s hand tightly, who had been standing anxiously by her side the whole time.

“Madam, you can rest assured now.”

“Oh, yes, yes.”

To the relieved mothers of both sides, Soo-hyun shared another piece of good news.

“The baby looks just like her mother.”

At Soo-hyun’s words, Hae-in’s mother grabbed her son-in-law’s hand.

“Oh, Jung’s husband, you’ve worked hard too.”

Beside them, Hye-yeon held Hae-in’s mother’s hand, and Tae-hoon also nodded, looking deeply moved.

“Then shall we go eat quickly and come back to wait for the baby?”

It seemed that all the adults had been waiting without eating anything since Hae-in arrived at the hospital.

“Jun-woo has also been waiting for his younger sibling all this time and just fell asleep a moment ago.”

Tae-hoon said, stroking the hair of his grandson who was lying with his head on his lap. As if he had been waiting for that, Jun-woo opened his eyes.

“...Where?”

Jun-woo, who had groggily gotten up, found his dad and held out both his arms. Soo-hyun approached Jun-woo, knelt down to his son’s eye level.

“Jun-woo-yah, your little sister is born.”

“Woong?”

Jun-woo, still half-asleep, blinked, his face showing that he didn’t understand what his dad was saying.

“Later, you’re going to say hello to your little sister with Dad, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Look at this rascal, agreeing to everything his dad says without even knowing what it is.”

Tae-hoon clicked his tongue, watching Jun-woo nod vigorously even though he didn’t understand.

“I was going to take Jun-woo to eat first, but this little guy wouldn’t let me, saying he had to wait until his dad came out.”

As Tae-hoon complained lightly, Jun-woo seemed to understand and quickly raised his hands to block his grandfather’s mouth, jumping up and down. The adults around Jun-woo all laughed at his cute gesture.

It was a pleasant afternoon for everyone with the birth of the baby.

________________________________________

The second child, whose fetal name was Sarang (Love), was named ‘Jun-hee’.

They used the same Hanja for ‘bright’ (俊) as in Jun-woo, and the Hanja for ‘joy’ (熙). Just like with Jun-woo, it was their wish for her to grow up as a bright and joyful child.

While naming the baby, Tae-hoon said he hoped the lives of his two grandchildren would be filled with happiness, unlike the previous generation.

When Jun-hee first came home, Jun-woo was very wary, but after some time, when Jun-hee started crawling around, his wariness disappeared.

It seemed that only when the baby started moving did he realize she was his younger sibling.

One night, both children had fallen asleep early.

Hae-in was lying on the sofa, leaning back as if she would doze off, staring blankly at the ceiling for a moment.

“What are you doing?”

Soo-hyun, who had just finished putting Jun-woo to bed, asked Hae-in as he looked at her.

“I don’t know how the day went by.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Soo-hyun plopped down beside Hae-in and leaned over, putting his arm around her shoulder.

“You don’t have to push yourself to come home early anymore.”

Hae-in’s small head nestled snugly against Soo-hyun’s side. Soo-hyun gently tickled the top of her head and leaned his face towards her.

“I have to come home early, even if I have to push myself.”

At Soo-hyun’s words, Hae-in turned her head and pouted.

“Do you like the babies that much? You’ve been coming home early almost every day since Jun-hee was born.”

“Huh?”

Soo-hyun carefully studied Hae-in’s expression and then chuckled.

“So, you thought I was coming home early all this time because I missed the kids?”

“...Then, isn’t that it?”

Hae-in looked at her husband, her face full of question marks.

Soo-hyun sighed and shook his head, then went down and sat at Hae-in’s feet.

“I was coming home because I wanted to see my wife’s face for even five minutes longer.”

“Me?”

As if asking what he meant, Hae-in frowned, her face saying he was lying.

“Of course. The kids are always second to me.”

“Are you saying that to make me feel better?”

Soo-hyun’s way with words had improved since some time ago. The man who used to hardly say anything beyond what was necessary and didn’t know how to say sweet things had changed somewhat after having two children.

Hae-in didn’t care if it was a lie; she alternately wiggled her feet in the air. Then, Soo-hyun held both of Hae-in’s ankles and pressed them gently, making a wronged expression.

“Actually, you know, when I see you with the kids, I get so jealous I can’t stand it.”

“Huh?”

What was he talking about now?

Hae-in looked down at her husband with a puzzled expression. Soo-hyun, with an impassive face that made it hard to tell if he was serious or not, started massaging one of Hae-in’s legs.

“I feel like I’ve fallen to the very bottom of Yoon Hae-in’s priority list.”

Then he lightly kissed Hae-in’s knee and looked up at his wife again.

“But it’s okay, Hae-in-ah.”

Soo-hyun held one of Hae-in’s hands that had been resting on the sofa, then the other, and looked up at her as he spoke.

“No matter how you think of me, and even if your affection for me fades over time, I will always love you without change.”

“...What day is it today?”

Startled by the sudden confession, Hae-in asked back, feeling awkward.

“I just wanted to say it once. I also wanted to tell you that I’m always supporting you from behind, you who are tired from taking care of the kids.”

As soon as Soo-hyun finished speaking, Hae-in leaned down and kissed her husband’s lips.

“Do you think I wouldn’t know?”

“I thought you wouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because last time I saw you, you didn’t even look back once while walking with the kids.”

“Ah, that was...”

Watching Soo-hyun feign a sulky expression, Hae-in burst into laughter.

“Looking at you now, you really do resemble Jun-woo. Your face.”

“Jun-woo probably resembles me.”

“That’s right. That’s why I like Jun-woo. Because he looks like you.”

At Hae-in’s words, Soo-hyun hugged her and pulled her close. Due to his force, Hae-in, who had been sitting on the sofa, was pulled right into Soo-hyun’s embrace.

“Hae-in-ah, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

In the deepening kiss, Hae-in slowly closed her eyes.

This man probably doesn’t know that even in his busy day, there isn’t a single moment when I forget about him.

Hae-in hugged Soo-hyun’s arms, which radiated warmth, tightly, putting all her strength into the embrace.

As if asking him to know her heart.