Work Text:
Quiet time in the household was rare.
The sun showered through the small window, heating the small apartment. Children’s drawings covered the fridge, the floor was covered in toys, and the air conditioning unit made a strange noise occasionally, but to the couple, this was the dream. After all that was endured, this was all they could ever ask for.
Gyeong-seok observed at the lady before him, pausing his sketching work to admire her. Despite being short, her hair was up in a messy loose braid, the work of their daughters combined. Song-i had learned how to braid hair from a classmate and was eager to show her mother, and was kind enough to do Na-yeon’s hair in two braids for school that morning. No-eul had never been one for fashion, but now that she wasn’t focused on survival, she came to enjoy the little things, remarking that the braid would make her hair curly later, if she ever took it out again. She had also stolen one of the man’s shirts too, wearing it oversized and letting loose.
It took an incredibly long time for the two to become romantically involved. But soon after Ha-neul had brought her daughter back with her to South Korea, she returned to get her portrait finished, which led to their daughters becoming friends, which led to playdates, which led to the two parents spending an awful lot of time together. Date nights were rare for the two since life kept them busy, but neither of them minded, and it eased Ha-neul into letting her guard down, allowing her to show some emotion instead of bouncing between completely jaded or worried.
He broke into a smile, seeing her so free like this. The two tried not to discuss the past excessively, but after all of her mentioned hardships, he was happy to see her fully relax like this. They were at a point where food was consistently on the table, there was always a home to return to, and there were no longer physical threats. The ache in his side still wore at him whenever it rained, the gunshot wound from his lover was long forgiven, and there was still times she would awake in the night distraught and ridden with guilt, but the fears of medical bills and the hopeless cutting never returned.
It was terribly difficult to focus on his drawings when she was so peaceful in front of him. He was a grown man, but he couldn’t help but blush and be clumsy around her when they were living like this. He opted for crayons this time, he had just grabbed whatever was closest off the floor from when the girls’ were drawing yesterday, but despite using children’s equipment Ha-neul was always impressed by his work. Then, of course, she would scold him for “working” on his days off, saying he’d injure his hand if he didn’t rest enough.
Ha-neul stirred awake on the couch, stretching and rolling onto her back. Gyeong-seok compared her to a cat in his mind, but wouldn’t dare to say that out loud. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting and registering the view before her.
“Good morning, princess,” he cooed at her, she only shot him a glare. Goodness, too early after waking up for pet names, noted. She looked him up and down, spotting his sketchbook and the crayons.
“Are you drawing on your day off?” She interrogated, “your arm is going to hurt, then you’ll get a work injury, then we can’t pay for the apartment, and-”
“You’re panicking again,” he had moved closer, gently lowering his hand above her head. Her eyes softened, and she averted her gaze.
“I’m sorry, I trust you,” she said bashfully, leaning into his touch as he gently pet the top of her head. “And, I think it’s sweet when you go out of your way to draw me, and you’re sweet with the pet names, and I appreciate you,” she was trailing off now.
Gyeong-seok understood it was a game of patience with her, it was often hard to get her talking, but when she had an attitude she knew to cover it up with her words and try again. To her, he was too good to lose, and even if she was terrible with the romance and communicating and everything feelings, she would try her very hardest.
She gently grabbed at his arm, looking at him with big eyes. He just kissed her on her forehead, “I hear you, it’s alright.” Gyeong-seok always knew what he signed up for, knowing that the girls would always be her top priority, and he was mainly along for the ride. But they were both okay with that, and he always valued a stable domestic love over a fast and passionate summer romance. Both of them knew they were in it for the long run, making it work however they could.
“The girls will be off school soon, I should go shower,” Ha-neul offered, throwing her legs off the couch.
“I’ll start preparing dinner and, maybe clean up a bit,” he looked at the floor, still a complete mess. Ha-neul was never the housewife type, but the responsibility often fell on her due to work scheduling, which she accepted begrudgingly. He didn’t want to torment her any more than necessary, and happily took on the house work for the day.
She was already up and making her way down the hall, before turning around and calling for him, “Gyeong-seok?”
He looked up at her, knowing these moments were rare, he just made a soft noise of acknowledgement and waited patiently.
“Thank you, I love you.”
There it was, he was blushing again, smiling all over. He tried to contain himself, clearing his throat before replying, making his way to the kitchen.
“I love you too,” he called after her, knowing that even if they were already going to separate rooms, the feelings were always shared.