PIA 153 Side Story 2.5

Side Story 2.5: Jeong Hae-yi

Finger length 3.5cm, foot length 10cm, standing height 72.5cm.

These are the approximate measurements of baby Hae-yi, who will soon celebrate his first birthday in about two months.

Hae-yi was deeply absorbed in something, his head bowed low. His protruding lips, focused in concentration, resembled a bird’s beak, and his plump white cheeks looked like steamed buns. Every time his thin eyelids blinked over his glass marble-like eyes, his long eyelashes swayed gently.

Pop! A bubble of saliva burst above his lips. Hae-yi stopped kneading and squishing, and spread his sticky hands wide.

“Bu……”

A single vegetable zucchini and beef rice ball made by the housekeeper met its fate in his tiny hands. Grains of rice and minced meat squeezed through between his fingers. Hae-yi stared blankly at his palms where the savory aroma wafted up, then suddenly flapped his hands vigorously. Moist rice grains scattered everywhere.

Rolling his soft lips inward to suck on them, Hae-yi looked up. He reached out his sticky hands toward the housekeeper, who was dozing off right in front of him, but she was unlikely to wake up and clean him.

“Mammang.”

Having given up on waking the housekeeper, Hae-yi picked up his sippy cup decorated with a chubby bear and took a sip of water through the straw. Then he began fiddling with his feet. On his tiny feet were blue shoes that Hee-seo’s dad had bought – they were amazing things with soft soles that made “pyok! pyok!” sounds with every step.

Since Hae-yi started walking, these things had been attached to his previously free feet. They were a kind of shackle placed on Hae-yi because the house was spacious and he would disappear somewhere in the blink of an eye. Whenever he discovered something interesting and tried to quickly touch it, the “pyok! pyok! pyok! pyok!” sounds would give him away, leading to immediate capture.

“……”

From Hae-yi’s perspective, it was truly nothing but an annoyance.

Hae-yi tried pushing his fingers between the shoe and his ankle. The sticky rice on his hands conveniently wiped off as he wiggled and fiddled. After much struggling, he lost his balance and toppled sideways. This actually worked out better – looking down while sitting had been difficult with his heavy head, but lying down made it easier to apply force.

Somehow in the process, his right shoe came off suddenly. Hae-yi’s eyes went wide as he let out a puff of breath through his nose. Building on this momentum, he applied force to the other shoe. Only after straining until his furrowed brow turned bright red did he finally gain his desired freedom.

Taking advantage of the moment, he pulled off his bothersome socks and threw them away. When one sock flew and landed near the housekeeper, she flinched momentarily, but fortunately, the woman didn’t wake up.

How refreshing!

Hae-yi stood up, flexing his fair toes that Ji-an’s dad would never miss a chance to nibble on.

Just as he was about to embark on a proper exploration, his thick diaper caught his attention. Should he take this off too for complete comfort? The deliberation was brief. Standing while holding onto the sofa, he began feeling inside his pants with his other hand.

Rrrip- By chance, when he pulled on the part that bothered his hand, the previously tight fastening loosened. Once he figured out the trick, the rest was quick. Focusing his attack on the same spot, the diaper promptly fell from his waist.

Whenever Hae-yi would break, spill, tear, or knock something over, Ji-an’s dad would marvel, saying “You’re human too, you clever little one,” though he didn’t yet understand exactly what that meant. He just felt the love.

However, even Ji-an’s dad had shouted with wide eyes when he carried around and sprayed the bottle with the savory smell all over the living room. Dads wore the scariest expressions he had ever seen when they said, “It’s dangerous!”

Pulling out an already loosened diaper was child’s play even for a young baby. Hae-yi flung the white paper diaper behind his back.

The breeze felt refreshing on his bottom that had been confined in the paper diaper all this time. He got momentarily distracted playing with the soft, squishy thing, but soon lost interest. Unlike the rice ball, squeezing it too hard hurt.

As Hae-yi wandered around, the popping sounds were replaced by the soft patter of his footsteps in the living room. The housekeeper had fallen into such a deep sleep that her head was completely tilted to one side, and the spacious living room was absolutely silent. It was so quiet that even the sound of the large ceiling fan spinning above could be clearly heard. Hae-yi looked around and pushed out his lips in a pout.

He approached the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the playground in the garden, placed his hands against it to stand, and suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion.

“Pa…”

It had been quite a while since the dads left home. They disappeared after that day of clapping enthusiastically while wearing uncomfortable clothes and listening to loud music. Looking at the playground reminded Hae-yi of falling asleep on the swing in Hee-seo’s dad’s arms, and Ji-an’s dad’s bright laughter while taking pictures of him in the flower bed.

Just as Hae-yi was about to cry in frustration, he suddenly noticed wetness below and looked down. His feet were getting warm and wet. Splash splash, as he waddled around, there was the sound of water. When he patted the floor with his palms, warm water splashed everywhere.

“Oh my, Hae-yi!”

Just as he sat down completely and was about to taste the splashing water, the housekeeper came running with a scream. Hae-yi’s body was instantly lifted up. The sudden change in eye level was so fun that he burst into giggles. His gloomy mood was quickly forgotten.

The small baby bathtub was filled with warm water. Hae-yi always got really excited when he got into the tub, sitting in the plastic support chair that held his waist. He would splash the water vigorously and laugh, and the housekeeper would laugh along with him.

The only disappointing thing was that he wasn’t allowed to eat the bubbles. Even the always-gentle housekeeper would frown when he tried to put the bubbles in his mouth. So today was another failure. Hae-yi was determined to taste them someday.

After changing into soft, dry clothes and being held in the housekeeper’s arms, sleepiness began to creep in. Though he missed his dads, it was hard to resist the warm, cozy embrace. His eyelids started to droop.

“Hae-yi, do you miss your dads?”

“Am mang mang.”

“Yes, yes. No matter how well auntie takes care of you, it’s not the same as being in your dads’ arms. I know, I understand that feeling.”

As the housekeeper patted his back, Hae-yi buried his face in her shoulder.

The feeling of warmth and softness mixed with emptiness and loneliness was too complex for Hae-yi to handle. At times like this, he needed to have a good cry. Just as he was taking a deep breath in frustration, the housekeeper’s phone rang loudly.

“Yes― hello.”

FACECALL

—Housekeeper! Hello!

Hae-yi suddenly sat up straight. As he twisted his chubby waist to look toward the sound, the housekeeper kissed his cheek.

“Hae-yi, it’s daddy calling. Say hello―”

“Pa! Papa!”

FACECALL

—Hae-yi!

Ji-an’s dad’s face filled the small rectangular screen. It was the video call that came every morning and evening, but as soon as he saw dad’s face, Hae-yi’s large eyes welled up with tears.

“Pua―!”

Waaaaaah! When his sorrowful cry burst out, all the adults were startled.

FACECALL

—Hae-yi. Why are you crying, why is our baby crying? When Hae-yi cries, daddy wants to cry too.

“Oh my, he was playing well and even had a bath, why is our Hae-yi crying?”

As the housekeeper gently rocked Hae-yi to comfort him, the screen shook too. Even while crying, Hae-yi reached toward the screen.

“Paaa…”

FACECALL

—I should have brought our Hae-yi along. I feel so sorry. Hae-yi, do you miss daddy?

Ji-an’s eyes on the screen quickly turned red.

FACECALL

—Daddy cries every day because he misses Hae-yi too.

With father and child crying earnestly with the phone between them, the housekeeper became flustered. She couldn’t help but laugh as it looked like a big baby and a little baby with the same face crying while facing each other.

FACECALL

—Ji-an, what are we going to do if you cry?

—Hyung, Hae-yi is crying. Hae-yi is crying.

—Let me see. Hae-yi, Jeong Hae-yi. Are you crying?

Jeong Hee-seo’s voice cut in from outside the frame. As a large hand wiped away Ji-an’s tears with one stroke, Ji-an made a nasal sound, “hyung―”

“Paa! Hee!”

FACECALL

—You’re playing so well. Why are you crying? Daddies aren’t going anywhere.

But you did go somewhere!

“Paaa―!”

Hae-yi called out to his dad while taking sharp breaths.

FACECALL

—Jeong Hae-yi. You’re not giving auntie too much trouble, are you?

Jeong Hee-seo appeared on screen, wrapping his arms around Ji-an’s neck. The two men wearing matching colorful Hawaiian shirts looked exactly like the appearance Hae-yi loved most in the world.

FACECALL

—Hae-yi, just one more night to wait. Daddy will take the airplane back.

Jeong Hee-seo firmly pinched Ji-an’s nose as he continued sniffling.

FACECALL

—It’ll be two nights because of the time difference. Hae-yi, let’s wait just a little longer.

“Boo-hoo…”

FACECALL

—Still, daddy made a big compromise. Daddy wanted to stay longer, but Ji-an’s daddy said we should go back to Hae-yi. Later, you’ll have to be good to Ji-an’s daddy, Jeong Hae-yi.

—Ah, hyung, why are you so calm about it? You missed him terribly too, didn’t you?

Jeong Hee-seo’s laughter scattered through the screen. Hae-yi bit his lips and stopped crying. Though he didn’t understand everything being said, he recognized well the tone used to soothe and comfort him.

There was a strange power in daddy’s smiling face and warm, comforting voice. As always, just waiting a little while would resolve any discomfort or difficulty. Hae-yi could tell this time would be the same.

FACECALL

—That’s our good baby.

Hae-yi nodded along as he listened to both of them comforting him.

FACECALL

—We’ll be back soon. Just wait a little longer.

“Papa!”

FACECALL

—Love you.

The feeling of missing each other was the same for both the dads and Hae-yi. Drawing strength from the warm and gentle smiles of the two, Hae-yi felt he could wait a little longer. He spread his tiny hand and bravely waved bye-bye―, giving them a bright smile.