Kim Family

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Aera and Arang : 2 months old

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Jennie had never been a morning person. Until she became a mother

Sleep was now a luxury for both her and Taehyung, and suddenly, staying in bed until noon sounded like heaven to Jennie

Of course, there was no way she'd ever be able to achieve that now. Not that she needed the reminder at 4:30 in the morning. It was at that all too early hour that she was awoken by the sound of one of her babies wailing, and she knew it was her turn to tend to the little one. She also knew that if she asked Taehyung, he'd probably take over for her without question, but she felt too guilty to do such a thing

After all, he never tried pawning any of his turns off on her. So, she forced her eyes open and slunk out of bed, leaving behind her blissfully sleeping husband and trying her best to ignore the jealousy that was rising in her chest

As soon as Jennie reached the nursery down the hall, she walked towards Aera's crib. She was slowly beginning to be able to tell the difference between the twins cries, which was quite liberating. Not only was it helpful, but it also made Jennie feel like a better mother

One peek into the crib showed Jennie that her initial assumption was correct, however, and she let out a sigh of relief

"Alright" Jennie breathed, reaching over and lifting the baby girl out of her crib "Hey, hey, it's alright. What's wrong, baby?"

She knew Aera couldn't have possibly been hungry; she'd just fed the girl about two hours ago, and Aera never wanted to eat again that quickly, unlike her gluttonous brother. And she also knew it couldn't have been because the girl needed a diaper change; Taehyung had taken care of that an hour ago

Isolation was the only other thing Jennie could think of that would be bothering Aera. She was just barely two months old, but Jennie was quickly figuring out her daughter's personality, and she knew for a fact the baby didn't like to be alone

Aera seemed to be very attached to both her and Taehyung, and not being able to see either of them set the infant off like no other. Being put to bed and waking up in the middle of the night or early in the morning seemed to be the most frustrating for the child and led to the most intense tantrums

Those fits were actually worse than Arang's when he wasn't being fed quickly enough

The longer Jennie held Aera and gently bounced her, however, the baby stopped crying and resorted instead to soft cooing

Jennie glanced down at her daughter, finding that the little girl now had a content look on her face, her lips bent into the faintest of smiles

"That answers that" Jennie giggled softly to herself

Her voice caused Aera to look up at her and as soon as her mother was in her vision, the baby's smile widened and she unleashed a squeaky little laugh

"Oh, hello. That's a new sound, isn't it? You're learning how to giggle now?"

Aera gurgled and grasped at her mother's shirt, her smile faltering for a moment before growing wide again

Jennie felt her heart swell with joy. Watching Arang and Aera smile for the past few weeks had been delightful, but now hearing the baby girl trying to laugh on top of it was enough to make her want to melt. Jennie was still able to process that this meant her daughter was wide awake, however, and unlikely to go back to sleep very easily, if at all

"Guess Mommy's morning starts now" Jennie conceded with a sigh "Come on, baby girl. Let's go downstairs"

She figured that was the best place to go, considering she didn't want to disturb her still sleeping son. Jennie carried the baby down the stairs and into the kitchen, not wanting to do anything else until she was able to make herself a cup of green tea

Fortunately for her, she had mastered the art of doing so with only one free hand and managed to prepare the beverage in what she deemed to be record time. Jennie smirked when she noticed her daughter gazing curiously at the steaming cup on the counter, quipping

"Impressed by Mommy's skills? Pretty good, huh?"

Aera looked back at her mother and grinned once more, causing Jennie to squeal "You are just so cute!" She marveled "And so alert, too! I think this is the most aware I've seen you so far. Daddy will sure be so proud when he hears all about this"

The baby let out a throaty noise and waved one of her arms around, her wide eyes inquisitively following it

"You're showing off now?" Jennie asked amusedly "Well, since you're so energetic, should we go play?"

Aera mumbled and rubbed her cheek against Jennie's collarbone, her mother giggling softly

"Okay, let's go play" Jennie breathed, using her free hand to pick up the steaming cup by its handle

Entering the living room, she placed the cup down on the table before kneeling by the twins' play gym and gently laying Aera down on the mat of the structure. The play gym was easily one of her favorite things for the twins; not only because it kept them totally entertained but because it was so adorable

Lisa had sent it as a gift before the babies were born. The blue, white, green, and yellow color scheme had proven to be soothing for both Arang and Aera, and it had come with various activity toys

At her tender age, however, Aera's favorite thing with the play mat seemed to be the stuffed duck that hung above her head. As soon as Aera was placed on the mat, her eyes widened upon seeing the hanging toys, and she began bouncing herself, reaching up for them

"Look at you go" Jennie babbled "You're so happy to see your little friends"

Jennie reached out and gently shook the stuffed duck, which had a belly full of beads. It made a soft rattling sound, getting another uncoordinated smile and squeaky little laugh from the baby lying beneath it

Aera shifted her gaze over to the largest toy in the middle of the play gym, the teddy bear

"Oh, you like this?" Jennie asked

The baby cooed and tilted her head, poking the tip of her tongue out of her mouth

Smirking, Jennie pressed the stuffed bear and watched Aera as the toy began to light up and play music

The little girl's face instantly changed to one of amazement; her eyes set wide and sparkling and her mouth forming a gentle 'O' shape

"You are so precious" Jennie murmured to herself, resting her head in her hand as she smiled at her daughter. Using her other hand, she reached down to gently tickle the baby's belly, managing to get another smile and more clumsy giggles out of her "Ticky ticky!"

Aera swung her arms up and down, wiggling on the mat as her mother tickled her. The smile on her face had managed to grow bigger, and Jennie was sure she'd never be able to get enough of it. Just one look at that sweet little face and everything felt right in the world

Even at this unearthly hour of the morning

Still beaming, Jennie sat up straight in order to pick up her tea and was pleased to find it was now cool enough to drink. She worried that taking her hand away from Aera would cause the baby to become upset, but it didn't seem to matter

The baby was still smiling up at her, gurgling lovingly and now far more entranced by her mother than the toys dangling above her. Taking a slow sip her drink, Jennie leaned back against the couch, her shimmering eyes set on her joyful little daughter, and murmured

"Maybe sleep is overrated"