WITH GRACE.

16장

happiness was written on the children's faces as we roamed the grounds, visiting booths that catch their attention, tasting yummy sweets and playing with each other. seeing them enjoying the afternoon in the company of their chosen guardians felt relieving. after all, i feared that the kids might feel left out as teens and young adults surrounded them in this large campus. thankfully, the crew came to aid as if they were angels sent from above.

the group had also become bigger. k oppa, ni-ki, and taki joined the babysitting company when they caught site of us somewhere at the booths. they played with all the kids, with siho and liho as an exception.

siho was naturally shy and hardly ever finds comfort in strangers so it didn't come out surprising to see him hide his face on sunghoon's neck everytime one of the other guys came close to play with him. liho, on the other hand, didn't seem to be in the mood to meet and interact with other people. he loved staying in my embrace today.

sunghoon and i have been carrying these two for a couple of hours already, wiyh sunghoon enduring the additional weight better than i did. it was a good thing that i remembered miss lee handing me a baby carrier before we left. i had sunghoon hold liho for a moment while i slung the baby carrier on my body. once i was dome putting it on, i took the baby back and positioned him comfortably on the baby carrier which was in front of me.

a little while later, the company was split into factions. the children wanted to explore different places. i knew i could trust the guys so i gave the kids permission to roam around for as long as they have a guardian with them. that's how our babysitting company was disunited.

liho started yawning and siho was getting whiny. sunghoon and i decided to rest on one of the kiosks. we found a vacant one and brought down the bags containing the kids' belongings. sunghoon sat down and made siho sit on his lap. siho, who was whining since moments ago, stopped and leaned his head on sunghoon's chest. sunghoon chuckled at the little boy's drama.

i realized it was also time for me to feed liho with milk. earlier, the two of us went to the bathrooms to change his diaper. i carefully removed the carrier's straps on my body, leaving only one that's secured across my waist and served as the baby's seat. i held liho in one hand before i removed the carrier entirely. i fished liho's milk bottle in his personal bag, sat down and gave it to him.

siho raised his head and turned to me.

"noona... i want milk too," he requested.

i searched for siho's sippy cup which was the only bottle left in the other bag after the other kids got theirs when they decided to roam around separately. thankfully, siho's milk was still a little warm.

liho finished his milk earlier than siho. i let the baby burp before i carried him again and lull him to sleep. he nestled his head on the crook of my neck, finding comfort. i swayed side by side to induce sleep to the baby.

i turned to look at the other two and found that siho was also sound asleep. sunghoon laid a little mat on the seat and settled the little boy there.

"is the baby asleep?" sunghoon inquired.

"think so. can you help me put the carrier back on? i think it'd be more comfortable for us both,"

"i can carry him, if you want,"

"it's alright. i love carrying babies. it's just a bit uncomfortable,"

sunghoon helped me put the carrier back on and settled the sleeping liho. i continued swaying.

"how are you so good with children?" he asked in a soft voice.

"i have a natural inclination to children. i practically spent my childhood observing my mother taking care of dongkyu,"