The baby rested its head and neck securely against Liu’s left shoulder and the nape of his neck. Its chubby little arms wrapped around Liu’s thick upper arm, tightly gripping the hem of his T-shirt. Liu turned his head to kiss the top of the baby’s head and gently stroked its back with his large palm.
Leo tugged on the waist of Liu’s pants and looked up.
“Parang looks happy because Kun is holding him.”
“Should I hold you too, Leo?”
“I’m not a baby.”
Though he pretended to hesitate, it was clear Leo wanted to be held too. He was just deeply engrossed in his role as a big brother lately; after all, he was still only a six-year-old child. Leo, scratching his lips with a finger as he pondered, shrugged his small shoulders and came to a conclusion he could accept.
“Then again, Yeehyeon isn’t a baby either, but Kun holds him all the time.”
“……”
Liu was momentarily speechless with surprise.
It was fascinating to reflect on his own behavior through the child’s remark. It was always surprising to realize that children were carefully observing even the most ordinary parts of daily life. Liu smiled and stroked the hair of Leo, who was clinging to his leg.
“Yeehyeon is special. Forever.”
“Because you love him?”
“Yes, because I love him.”
Then, still holding the baby in his left arm, he bent down and opened his right arm for Leo. Mindful of the baby in Liu’s left arm, Leo carefully climbed into Liu’s right arm. With his arms full of children, Liu returned to the kitchen. He then set Leo down on a dining chair.
Parang, sarang, gomawo… The dictation test went on for ten words, and just as Leo was finishing his cake, the doorbell rang.
“Who could that be?”
Leo was the first to react cheerfully to the visitor. Liu, checking his watch, lifted Parang, who was in his arms, up high.
“Parang, I think your daddy’s here.”
■ ■ ■
Even after promising to marry, Liu and Yeehyeon couldn’t live together right away. There were practical matters to take care of. But the fact that they had clearly promised to marry certainly made the time they had to spend apart less agonizing.
After their promise, the two first came to Bali and signed a contract for their current house. The property, consisting of two buildings, had captured their hearts the moment they saw it. The building facing the road was perfect for a gallery, and the one in the back was just right for their home. They decided to renovate the small warehouse between the two buildings into Yeehyeon’s atelier.
An extensive remodeling project took place before Liu and Yeehyeon wrapped up their respective lives in Seoul and Paris and moved to Bali. They even built a swimming pool in the courtyard of their home. There had been some trouble getting the permit, but it was a decision they were satisfied with for a long time to come.
A separate gate was installed between the gallery and the house to ensure their privacy. They always welcomed interactions with their affiliated artists and neighbors, and the gallery had indeed become something of a neighborhood living room. However, Liu wanted their home to be an entirely private space for Yeehyeon and himself. While anyone could come and go from the gallery during business hours, not just anyone could pass through the gate leading to their home.
The person who had just rung the doorbell at that very gate was Seo Yeehan.
“Parang! Did you come out to greet Daddy?”
The moment he saw the baby who had come to the entrance in Liu’s arms, Seo Yeehan’s face filled with emotion.
“Daddy got even darker than this morning. Right, Parang?”
Liu turned his body so that Seo Yeehan could get a better look at the baby’s face in his arms.
“You’re right. I didn’t think it was possible to get any darker, but apparently, it is.”
Dressed in a tank top and shorts, Seo Yeehan’s skin looked less brown and more like a deep gray.
“Don’t just stand in the doorway, come in. You need to pack Parang’s things. Should I get you some tea?”
“Ah, I’m so exhausted right now… Hyung, can I have a cup of coffee instead of tea?”
Indeed, Seo Yeehan looked extremely tired. It was understandable, as he had been teaching all day. As he took off his shoes and stepped into the house, Seo Yeehan looked down at Leo, who was clinging to Liu’s leg, and smiled brightly.
“Leo, hello.”
“Hello.”
Leo also greeted him shyly.
“Did you help a lot with watching Parang?”
While Leo was familiar enough with Liu and Yeehyeon to call them by their names, he seemed to find Seo Yeehan a bit intimidating and treated him in the Korean formal manner.
“I fanned Parang for him.”
“You did? Thank you so much. Please take good care of our Parang in the future, too.”
Parang was the son that Seo Yeehan and Lim Morae had after much difficulty.
As a male beta and a female alpha, they had long since all but given up on having a child. It was Liu and Yeehyeon who had introduced them to Marcus. They thought he might be able to help, since Marcus and Ellen, who were in the same situation, had also succeeded in having their son, Jonas.
They soon began tests to see if they could really have a baby, and the results brought a rollercoaster of emotions.
Fortunately, like Ellen, Lim Morae also had mature eggs. However, her uterus was not well-developed. The doctor’s first recommendation was to retrieve eggs from Lim Morae and have a child through a surrogate.
After long deliberation, the two decided to choose that method.
The enormous costs of the complicated pregnancy and birth process were covered by Lim Morae’s father, Teacher Im.
The very person who had opposed their relationship for so long, who had made them flee all the way to Bali, had willingly paid for their child. It was a gesture of reconciliation.
The procedure took place in Australia, where surrogacy was legal and which was close to Bali. Teacher Im even flew to Australia for the surrogate’s delivery to hold his grandson in his arms. Now, he was an ordinary grandfather who lived with the satisfaction of watching his granddaughter in Donghae and his grandson in Bali grow up. Though there were still times when his stubbornness exasperated his children.
In any case, Parang was a miraculous baby who had come to them after so much difficulty.
The baby’s name was Parang. Waves.
Ripples and large waves. In other words, a wave. It was a fitting name from surfer parents.
As they moved to the kitchen, Parang, held in Liu’s arms, stared intently at Seo Yeehan. Then, as if judging him to be someone he knew, he stretched his arms out toward his father.
“Parang, do you recognize Daddy? You want to come to Daddy?”
Deeply moved, Seo Yeehan took the baby and held him preciously in his arms.
“I missed you like crazy.”
Watching Seo Yeehan carefully kiss the top of the baby’s head, Liu felt a mix of complex emotions.
“He cried if I was out of his sight for even a second. Kept wanting me to hold him.”
“He did? That must have been tough for you, hyung.”
“He was my little shadow all day, so it’s a bit sad to see him go right into your arms.”
Patting the diapered bottom of Parang, now held by his father, Liu smiled wistfully.
“You should become a dad too, hyung.”
At Seo Yeehan’s suggestion that he have a baby, Liu just gave an unreadable smile. Turning his back on the pretext of putting water on in the kettle, he changed the subject.
“Sit down, I’ll make you coffee in a minute. How was the class? Did it end well, without any accidents?”
“Thanks to you. Morae said to tell you she’s very grateful, too.”
Seo Yeehan and Lim Morae ran a surfing school at Kuta Beach, one of Bali’s famous surfing spots. Since they had other instructors, the two owners didn’t schedule classes on weekends when their nanny was off. But this weekend, there was a special advanced class that Lim Morae and Seo Yeehan had to attend. That was why they had left the baby here.
The distance from Kuta to Ubud was not short. Even in good traffic, it took at least an hour and a half. But whenever they were asked, Liu and Yeehyeon would gladly visit Kuta to look after Parang.
Today was the second time they had brought Parang to Ubud instead of going to Kuta.
“It’s Sunday, is Yeehyeon still working? The light was on in the atelier.”
“He should be wrapping up and coming over soon.”
Liu checked his watch and replied with a barely-there smile at the corners of his lips.
“His solo exhibition is about a month away now? He must be swamped.”
“He’s the type to work diligently every day. He’s not behind on his work, but I guess he wants to do even better since it’s his first exhibition here. He hasn’t come out of the atelier all day.”
Leaning against the counter, Liu looked worriedly at the window facing the atelier. Except for a brief stop at the house for lunch, Yeehyeon had been cooped up in the atelier for eight hours already.
“So that’s why you brought Parang home today? Because Yeehyeon had to be in the atelier.”
“I can’t just leave the house empty with Yeehyeon alone.”
Seo Yeehan snickered at Liu, who shrugged and spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Is Yeehyeon your baby, hyung?”
Feeling a bit sheepish, Liu just smiled without answering as he placed a filter in the dripper.
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