Kim Taeyeon was getting slightly irritated.

“Yeah, yeah. You can stop laughing now, Mommy.”

Jessica tried really hard to contain her giggles but was failing at it, even though it was evident that her wife was getting cranky on what was supposed to be a beautiful Saturday morning.

The younger mother might have forgotten to remind her not to tire their daughter too much during the day because her little body would be too sore to sleep comfortably throughout the night. Apparently, Taeyeon forgot that little detail and wasn’t prepared to hear her daughter crying in the middle of the night complaining that something was hurting, resulting in multiple waking spells for the two of them despite their exhaustion.

“That’s why nap times are important, Honey.” Taeyeon just stayed mum as she rested her head on the kitchen counter, listening to Jessica get ready for her day on the other side of the screen.

“How did you do this every day for the past three years, Sica?” Taeyeon asked as she looked up and glanced at her phone, a cute pout on her face. Jessica laughed again as she finished blow-drying her hair.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Baby. You’ve been with me every step of the way. And you have to admit that she wasn’t as difficult as some of the neighbors’ kids during her first two years. We only started taking her to longer trips this past year, and you were there when she had her first fit, remember?”

“Obviously not, my eye bags are proof of that,” Taeyeon grumbled, earning her an amused yet sympathetic look from her wife.

“I’ll be home tomorrow, Honey. You can rest all you want when I return.” Taeyeon frowned.

“I don’t mean it like that, Sooyeon. I really love spending time with Soojung! I’m sorry if all I do is whine about it. You know I’m not really confident in my parenting skills, especially when you’re not here.”

“I understand, Taengoo. Goodness knows how high my phone bills were from all the times I’d call Mom when I needed advice, even when she’s overseas. Or the times I’d ask your mom to visit just to help me out. We’re both learning as she grows, Love. Stop doubting yourself,” Jessica said reassuringly. Taeyeon smiled and caressed her wife’s face through the phone.

“What will I do without you, Baby?”

“You’d be lost, obviously,” Jessica answered haughtily with a flip of her perfect hair, and Taeyeon couldn’t help but laugh loudly at her wonderful wife. She then heard light footsteps slowly moving upstairs, so the young mother said that she’d be back and hurriedly went to fetch their daughter.

“Hi, baby girl! Mommy misses you so much!” Jessica cooed as soon as her girls came into view, Taeyeon carrying a newly-awakened Krystal in her arms.

“Mommy!” the little girl immediately lit up as soon as she saw her younger mother. Taeyeon carefully seated Soojung in her chair and handed the phone to her, leaving her girls to talk animatedly with each other while she prepared breakfast. She wouldn’t understand much anyway since Jessica liked to talk to Krystal in English.

As soon as she was done with the food, she told Soojung that Mommy needed to go now and that they’d talk to her again soon, which earned a pout from the little girl but nodded her head anyway, sending flying kisses towards her mother before saying goodbye.

“Umma, where we going?” Soojung asked as her mother led her inside a big building she’d never been to before.

“We’re going to see Umma’s doctor, Sweetheart.” She felt her daughter pulling at her hand, but when she looked down, Soojung had a worried expression on her innocent face.

“What’s wrong, Soojungie?” The little girl continued to pull her mother’s hand until Taeyeon was forced to kneel down in front of her daughter, wondering what was troubling her all of a sudden. She was startled when Soojung started her face, the same way they would check if any one of them had a fever.

“Why see doctor? Is Umma hurt? Where does it hurt, Umma? Soojung will kiss it better.”

Understanding dawned on the young mother and her heart melted knowing that her daughter was worried about her. This was why she was so happy to have Soojung in her life. Taeyeon quickly reassured her daughter that she was fine so as not to upset her further.

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart. The doctor will make sure that Umma’s not sick, okay?” Soojung nodded her head, temporarily placated, and followed her mother until they reached the doctor’s office.

 “Hey, Doc.”

A middle-aged woman looked up and greeted her patient with a warm smile. Her smile grew bigger when she noticed the little girl hiding behind her mother’s legs, curious eyes roaming around the room.

Soojung was fascinated by all the new stuff she was seeing inside the clinic. She didn’t really like meeting her doctor because she would always give her painful shots and icky medicine, but at least she had bright toys and fairytales and lollipops. This place had weird-looking dolls and picture-less books and other strange toys.

“Good morning, Miss Kim. You’re quite early today. And who’s this pretty little princess?”

Taeyeon gently pushed her daughter forward. Soojung saw the doctor and automatically bowed in greeting, a smile on her face. She was such a polite child and wasn’t really shy when meeting new people, for which her parents were thankful.

“Hello, Auntie. My name Soojung! Me three!” the little girl said proudly, lifting up three cute fingers.

Taeyeon made sure her daughter was preoccupied with her coloring books before proceeding with the check-up. The young mother had an unfortunate fall one month prior that bruised her hip but nothing therapy couldn’t fix. The couple didn’t see the need to tell their daughter so she didn’t know that her Umma had been hurt and was attending therapy sessions.

When it came to the physical aspect of the check-up wherein the doctor asked Taeyeon to do some stretching exercises, she was partially surprised when little Soojung stood up and started copying her mother, earning laughs from the adults.

But the little girl’s anxiousness returned when she saw her mother laid face down on a bed, the doctor hovering over her with scary-looking toys.

“Umma, are you going to get a shot?” Soojung asked timidly. Taeyeon smiled, reminding herself that the child didn’t know what acupuncture was. She reached out her hand, beckoning her daughter to come closer.

“Yes, Baby. But it will make Umma feel better. Can you please hold my hand so that Umma won’t be scared?” Soojung nodded and nervously went over to sit by her mother’s side, grasping her hand tightly.

The session started and, despite Taeyeon’s attempt to not show how painful it was, she couldn’t help but wince every time a needle went in. She glanced towards her daughter and saw that she was almost in tears as she watched the doctor continuously stick the pins into her mother’s skin.

When a particular needle made Taeyeon yelp involuntarily, Soojung got alarmed and cupped her Umma’s face, raining her with wet kisses and telling her that she was there and everything would be alright.

Taeyeon was reminded of how much she could see Jessica in her daughter, both overly compassionate towards her, making her heart explode with even more affection for her girls.

When the therapy ended, Soojung mimicked her mother and thanked the doctor for making her Umma feel better.

“Does it hurt, Umma?”

“Not anymore, Baby. Umma’s all okay now.” Hearing that, she was rewarded with her daughter’s precious smile and tight hug, and she was extremely happy that her baby girl was there with her.

“How was your day, Love?”

Taeyeon just returned to her room right after Soojung finally went to sleep, phone in hand. Jessica called as soon as she saw her wife’s message that their daughter refused her bottle and was frantically searching for her Mommy, the parents able to successfully calm the child down while singing her a couple of her favorite lullabies.

“Aside from this small tantrum, I’d say it was actually better than yesterday!” Jessica chuckled, happy that Taeyeon looked a lot more confident with herself compared to that morning.

“She’s a lot like you, you know,” the older woman whispered tenderly. Jessica laughed at that.

“What, the loud part? Here I thought she was more like you, to be honest.”

“She’s our Mini-TaengSic. She didn’t let go of my hand during the therapy even though she’s afraid of shots, she pulled my hand when she thought that I was too close to the road, and she gave her ice cream to a kid who dropped his when we visited the park. You know I never like sharing my ice cream except to you and Soojung, so obviously she got that from you.”

Jessica couldn’t help but blush and smile widely at the words her wife affectionately said, hearing the amount of yearning Taeyeon had for her.

“Maybe I will bring the two of you with me the next time I leave town. I can really tell how much you miss me, Miss Kim.” It was Taeyeon’s turn to laugh.

“I’m grateful to have this chance to spend more time with Soojung, but yeah, I guess I do miss you a lot, Sooyeon-ah.”

The two couldn’t help but laugh at how cheesy they were being just from being apart for a few days.

“I expect something special when I return home tomorrow, Kim Taeyeon. Special enough for me to not take another business trip anytime soon.” Taeyeon smirked as she smugly stared at her wife while leaning back on the headboard.

“Oh, I’ll make sure to make it worth your while, Baby.”

A/N:

okay, so i honestly didn't expect this to be this long. should've made it into a one-shot and posted it separately if i knew it wouldn't count as a "short short." lol.

last part tomorrow! <3