Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

29

San took the little one in his arms after the woman from the welfare department had held her out to him, then she came in and checked that we had everything ready and sat down with us in the living room after she was satisfied with our set-up. She put a folder on the table and then looked at San, who paid her no attention at all and instead made the child in his arms laugh and grimace.

"The little one is almost 11 months old now, can crawl and pull herself up everywhere, she can also climb onto beds or sofas, so you have to be especially careful there. She doesn't have a real name yet, you are free to choose one, but the nurses have given her the nickname Sunny because she has such a sunny disposition and is always smiling. As you have a doctor in the house, I don't need to tell you anything about medical matters or necessary examinations and otherwise you can just call me if you need help or tips," she explained and then got up, said goodbye and left again pretty quickly.

"She was in a hurry..." Seonghwa said, shaking his head, and I shrugged my shoulders while Lee sighed.

"They're probably totally overworked for all the orphans created by the pandemic, they have a pretty tough job right now." Lee tried to explain and we nodded, because it made sense. San was completely absorbed and we watched him and Sunny with fascination. She just reached for his ears and he laughed just as long until she pulled him closer and bit his nose. His exasperated cry then made us laugh even harder.

"She's got teeth too, so that's settled," Mingi said dryly and I fell onto Seonghwa's lap, laughing, as he was already hanging in the sofa cushions. Even Lee smiled as she watched Sunny trying to eat her new dad.

"Could someone maybe help me instead of laughing at me?" San asked us a little tearfully and Mingi probably took pity on him and gently tried to remove her teeth from his nose, which he managed to do after a short while.

"You little cheeky brat, if you want to eat, I'll give you something, but I'm not food." he lectured his child as soon as he was free again and took Sunny into the kitchen.

Mingi started a movie and then sat down next to Lee, who immediately leaned against him, so he put an arm around her with a smile. I was still resting my head comfortably on Seonghwa's thigh while he stroked my hair.

"Normally I'd feel really single when I see them like this, but I don't feel that way right now when you're lying with me," I heard him say softly and somehow it made me happy that I made him feel less lonely. I gave him a small smile and suddenly he leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. I almost didn't notice the two beats my heart skipped because I was so surprised; I quickly dismissed the warm feeling that ran through me by saying that you just felt good when you were cuddling with your best friend.

"Did Sunny come crawling in here?" asked San, who suddenly came running into the living room, but we hadn't seen her. We immediately jumped up to look for her, looking in all the rooms until we heard Lee calling.

"Found her."

We all ran in that direction and ended up in the room where Yunho, Jongho and Hongjoong were lying, where she was standing with Sunny in her arms, looking at her patients.

"What's she got in here... ohhh OHHHH." San said as we entered and Mingi burst out laughing.

"Well, whoever falls asleep gets painted..." I tried to explain while I could barely control my face to stay serious.

"Why do you let her crawl around with a felt-tip pen?" Seonghwa asked with a grin.

"I let her draw on the floor to cut her fruit," explained San, looking guiltily at Yunho's painted face while Mingi was happily taking pictures with his cell phone.

"He'll never forgive us if he can't see it so he can laugh about it himself when he wakes up."

"Well, at least felt-tip pen comes off well with window cleaner," Lee said with a grin.