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A, C, E
Tuesday nights at the library were supposed to be staff-free and vacant since those were the nights everyone seemed to be out and about. This was the weekly, monthly, ritual that Bae's luck had struck consecutively without fail and yet, for the first time, here she was, dodging irritated looks upon irritated looks by students who altogether decided to come.
Juny's colic had hit suddenly, something late compared to newborn infants, as she was about to turn 11 months.
All Bae had wanted to do was study for her Composition class since apparently, she did have to memorize every term that they had been given through school so here she was, force feeding her mind with double dipped diction brimming over the line. The line was her limit, and she had ventured past it long ago.
Of course, Juny just had to catch a cold from that her friend, who had babysat her just a week before, since she had had to come into work late simply just to cover a shift for her coworkers to bail on her. This simple cold would have been cured had she let Bae give her the medicine as instructed but no, little Juny just had to have her way and only take a lick rather than the 3 tablespoons prescribed.
The cold promised fever, sneezing, coughing, and of course, the irritability, the fussiness that all triggered babies encountered.
It wasn't her fault that the school failed in securing effective heating around the entire campus, let alone the library, which is where they were near getting kicked out from. No matter what she did, every attempt to soothe Juny only seemed to enflame her crying.
"Juny, Juny, please listen to Mama, please listen to me, darling. Just take the pacifier please and my blankets, please." Bae pleaded, meeting the glares of the attendants who only seemed to be repelled by her daughter's crying.
The periwinkle flurries of ice contrasted with the indigo of the overcast night from outside. And then it struck her.
How long had it been since she had rested? How long had it been since someone would take the lead and fix the meals, clean the night, take care of not only Juny but also Bae herself? How long had it been since getting anything above a B had required blood, sweat, and tears?
Her hormones were probably tipped off due to yet again, her inability to keep up with time. It had been a whole month since she had even seen Younghyun.
"Young lady, you need to fix that child. Fix your life." A middle aged woman spat at her as she walked past the duo.
In any other circumstance, Bae would have jump kicked her and defended her daughter to no end, but her armor was cracked, for the moment, at least.
