TL/Editor: looloo
Status: ongoing
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As noona said, the amount was enough to actually make someone sick.
From what I heard, it seemed that Sunhoo hyung bought it all by himself, but I didn't know what to say.
I was really grateful for his heart, though.
"Yeonho, doesn't Sarang not eat those well?"
"Yes..."
Both my father-in-law and I had tried giving Sarang those rice snacks before, so we knew well.Our Sarang, she doesn't really eat those.
If you give it to her once or twice a day, she might nibble on it, but she didn't particularly enjoy it. No matter how organic the snacks were, it wasn't good to feed her too much of it.
Even if we did buy them, it took us about two days to finish one bag, and that was with us eating them too. If we left it to Sarang alone, it would take her a week to finish one bag.
But seeing Sunhoo hyung, who rarely liked going out, proudly bringing that much for his niece, I couldn't bear to tell him the harsh truth. Heena and mother-in-law seemed to feel the same way, wanting to say something but holding back.
"Second son, but Sarang doesn't really..."
"Mom!! Sarang! Sarang seems to want to eat one!!"
"Huh? Our granddaughter, do you want a snack?"
"Pa-jja!"
"Sunhoo, can you give her one?"
"Oh~ This little one, already craving snacks~"
I barely managed to stop mom from ruining the mood and watched this bittersweet situation unfold.
How could I tell Sunhoo hyung, who was joyfully opening the snack, such a thing?
Fortunately, today Sarang hadn't eaten any snacks or formula yet, so she was interested. Thanks to that, she took the snack that Sunhoo hyung offered with both hands and put it in her mouth.
In the meantime, Heena came to my side and whispered quietly.
"Honey, what do we do...? I don't think we can finish these even by the time Sarang goes to kindergarten..."
"Let's reduce it a bit now. Since it's rice snacks, we can eat some too. Let's open a few bags and snack on them while we talk."
"Okay!"
And from that moment, an unexpected rice snack party began. Although Sunhoo hyung seemed a bit upset seeing me open the snacks, he soon joined in, realizing it was too much.
I watched Sarang sucking on the rice snack and whispered softly to her.
"Sarang, is it tasty?"
"Oobbub..."
"...I know. You're just eating it, right? Our Sarang! Hang in there a little longer! Eat just a few more...!"
For Sunhoo hyung's sake!
Despite the brief awkward moment, we took the opportunity of everyone being together to discuss future plans.
Christmas was just a few days away, and early next year was Sarang's first birthday celebration.
Actually, Christmas was something we had celebrated together every year since Heena and I started dating, so there wasn't much to discuss. We'd naturally gather at one house, have a meal, chat, and then go back the next day.
The important thing was the first birthday celebration.
"I checked a few places, and the Joosung Hotel nearby seems good for the venue and the food."
"What about the number of people? We agreed not to make it too big."
"Just a few from my side of the family. What about yours?"
"Same for us. Then we can skip the invitations."
All we could do was listen quietly as our mothers discussed and decided everything.
We had suggested taking care of it ourselves to avoid burdening the family, but that was instantly dismissed.
They said kids who didn't even know the first thing about first birthday celebrations had no say.
It was frustrating. Heena and I had been researching diligently for a month. But the more we researched, the more daunting it seemed.
Renting a hotel hall involved venue fees, we had to order a separate dolsang (first birthday table) from a company, and there were costs for renting baby hanboks (Korean traditional clothing), and so on.
There were more expenses than we had anticipated. No matter how simply we tried to keep it, the costs were substantial.
Still, we tried to cut down on unnecessary expenses and manage things ourselves, but that plan was discarded in a second by Mom and my mother-in-law.
They insisted that although a family-only gathering was nice, it should be more beautiful and grand.
Even Dad and my father-in-law had no say in this matter. So, the two of them, along with my brothers and sister, played with Sarang while we sat quietly listening.
"I heard they do special makeup for kids these days."
"Oh, come on. Heena and Yeonho both have such fair skin, they don't need that to look pretty."
"Then how about just dressing them up in hanboks?"
"That sounds good~"
"And the next step... a video? It's nice to have something like that to look back on. Heena?"
"Yes, Mother!"
Heena responded energetically to Mom's call, her eyes sparkling.
Although she felt guilty about burdening the family, she was also very happy about having a big celebration for Sarang. She sometimes got jealous, but she loved Sarang as much as she loved me.
"How many photos do you have of Sarang, both alone and with you? About a thousand? If you send them, they can make a video."
"Yes! We have about ten thousand."
"Okay. Ten... ten thousand?"
"Did you take that many?"
"What? Did we take that many?"
Mom was shocked at Heena's response. Mother-in-law was shocked. I was shocked.
Heena did take photos at every opportunity, but over ten thousand in less than a year? Knowing Heena, she wouldn't have kept any poorly taken photos either... Oh my.
Even though I had taken hundreds of photos myself, ten thousand seemed overwhelming. But, if we took a hundred photos a day, that would be... a hundred days... Maybe ten thousand isn't so far-fetched?
"Right... But sending all of them might be too much, so just send about a thousand."
"I'll send them right away!"
Although Mom and Mother-in-law were quite flustered, having many photos wasn't a bad thing since they were memories to cherish forever. After discussing hotel menus, the dolsang (first birthday table) company, and other details, they calculated the total expected cost.
The amount was far more than I had imagined, and I couldn't lift my head.
Whenever I felt ashamed about financial matters, Mom would tell me, "You went to Seoyeon University, so don't worry about it," but this was different.
As guilt surged within me, Heena grabbed my hand.
"Remember, we talked about this. We'll repay everything in the future. Don't get too down, honey."
She comforted me, knowing exactly what I was thinking.
"I know. Still, I need to work harder."
"Yes. I'll help too. Let's do our best together."
Despite the reality of only receiving help, I was grateful for Heena, who always encouraged me.
As we smiled at each other, Mom and Mother-in-law, having finished their conversation, started throwing comments our way.
"When they move out, I wonder if they'll end up neglecting Sarang."
"Right? If they're always like this, Sarang might feel left out."
"Are they still like this?"
"Oh, don't even start! Every day it's 'Yeonho~ Honey~,' they're a handful!"
Please stop! It's so embarrassing!
After the family gathering ended, that night, Heena and I looked at the hanbok list Mom sent us. Since Mother-in-law had taken Sarang to put her to bed, Heena and I lay in bed, excitedly chatting.
Mom told us to choose the ones we liked from the list, but even if we chose, it wouldn't be finalized until it passed her and mother-in-law's review.
"Oh my gosh, honey, look at this! It's so pretty!"
"Do you like this one too? Don't you think you're liking too many?"
"But they're all so beautiful! The coral beige has a nice color... I thought a white jacket would be nice, but the colored ones are beautiful too!"
"This one has a white skirt. Wow, you would look really amazing in this. And so would Sarang."
"Really? But I also like the boy's outfit. The purple pants make it look more stylish."
"Should we register it as a candidate for now? We still have some left to look at."
"Yes! Let's do that!"
As we lay there, looking through the hanboks, we lost track of time. We had never looked at hanboks this closely before, and they were much prettier and more stylish than we thought, making it harder to choose.
In the end, we couldn't decide between three sets, so we left the final decision to the adults.
After we finished choosing the hanboks, Heena climbed on top of me, unable to hide her excitement.
-Thud! Thud!
"Ow! Heena, that hurts!"
"Huhuhu... Sorry! But I'm too happy to hold back!"
"Ugh, it hurts. Are you that excited about Sarang's first birthday?"
"Yes! It feels a bit like a wedding too~"
"Well... that's true."
Having other relatives come, dressing up in hanboks, and holding a ceremony—it did feel somewhat like our wedding.
Of course, the main focus was Sarang, but it also felt like a celebration for us.
"Do you want to have a wedding?"
"Huh? Of course! But I can wait. I just like the idea of dressing up with Sarang and doing something together."
She said this with a bright smile, lying on my stomach.
Since our wedding was still uncertain, I thought she might be longing for it more, but it seemed like she simply enjoyed the family event.
"And I'm really looking forward to seeing you in a hanbok! Why didn't we think of this before?"
"I totally agree. I really want to see you in a jeogori (upper part of a hanbok) too."
"Right? But honey."
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to see me in a jeogori or just the jeogori taken off~?"
Taking advantage of Sarang's absence, she asked mischievously with a sly smile.
There was only one answer I could give to Heena, who was grinning like that.
"Of course, taken off! Hiya!"
"Kyaa~"
And so the night continued. Although I couldn't see Heena take off a jeogori at that moment, I had fun with her wearing only a T-shirt instead.
Until the morning came.
Author's Note:
I will definitely send Yeonho to the military!!
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