Love Lock | Michaeng

Chapter 68 - No avail

Mina

*Three missed calls from Chaeyoung*

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"Ma."

I wake up to Vivi sticking her finger up my nostril in a darkened room. "Vi, what are you doing?"

I roll toward her, hoping she'll doze back off, but she fights my hugs like I'm an assailant she needs to escape, so I let her go.

The first thing she does is honk my boobs, like she wants to know the milk is there and it's an option. Then she crawls under the covers, and I know what she's seeking.

Peter.

He's curled between my feet in my bed, where I clearly crashed while putting Vivi to sleep. I haven't tried to put her in her crib since Chaeyoung left. I've grown attached to having the firm heat of her next to me, and I'm basically using Vivi as the world's tiniest body pillow.

One who picks my nose and grabs my boobs in the middle of the night.

"Why do you love being awake so much?" I groan, scrubbing at my face and checking my phone for the time.

Midnight.

Memories trickle in as my awareness returns. The rodeo. The paternity test. Chaeyoung and her bitchy attitude.

She's going to get an earful for the stupid little dig.

"Hey?" The door cracks open, and I see Sana's petite figure silhouetted in the doorway. "Are you awake now?"

"Apparently," I mumble from behind my hands.

"Okay, cool." My sister sounds wide awake.

When the bed sinks down beside me, my hands fall away from my face.

Sana crawls right under the covers—without asking—and I can't do anything but stare at her. It's something I wished we did as children. 

She lies down and faces me, hands folded under her cheek. Vivi giggles from under the covers.

"At least she's in a good mood. That's something."

"She's always in a good mood. She's like her mom."

Sana rolls her lips together and stares at me. "Do you think that's why—"

"She said what she said tonight?" Tattling to her mom felt terribly immature, so I stewed until everyone but Sana left. Then I ranted and raved to her about what she said on the phone.

"Yeah. Are you mad at her?"

"Maybe. But not like you might think. I'm also relieved, because I've been waiting for this shoe to drop. Her patient and unwavering commitment is superhuman. It's not normal. For the first time, I got a flash of her being a regular insecure human and I find that relatable. I know how to react. This happy, sunny, constantly upbeat person is lovely, but I feel like it's... a façade."

"Has she asked you that before?"

"Not since the first night when she kept asking if I was sure. But never a direct question about Vivi being hers or the timing. And that's the first thing I'd have asked."

"So you've been waiting for this to come up?"

I nod. "Yeah, I think so. It seems like a natural progression for how we were thrust into this. I think the Sehun news was a threat to this new normal we've created. She just... fuck, Sana. She just rolled up out of nowhere acting like this big hot Boss Daddy who swooped in to fix all my shit. She didn't even bat an eyelash."