Hobi's Demands • JHS

Three

After Nabi's afternoon bottle you put her in the swing and changed your clothes. You knew you were acting silly, J-Hope was going to be worried about his father, not paying attention to you when he arrived.

You replayed the conversation in your head, sighing when you got to the 'babe' part. That was really familiar cute language for someone he'd only met once. You believed him when he said he always won, but only against women who were attracted to him. Whether or not he could beat Ji-woo was yet to be determined.

Nabi was comfortable in the swing, her eyes relaxing her fists uncurling, you knew she'd be alright another few minutes strapped into it carefully. You hurried to the bathroom, swiping at a stray smudge of eyeliner and after using the toilet, which was difficult with an infant, washed up and checked your outfit in the tall mirror.

The bright colors of the blouse made your skin look full of life, and the shape of the pants accentuated your favorite curves. You dabbed a bit more lip gloss on, then rubbed it off with a tissue. You and Nabi were going to end up sticky with it when she touched your face going down for her nap.

Back in the nursery the clock said four thirty and before she could complain about the swing you tidied up your clothes shoving them into your bag. For once she was quick to go to sleep when you rocked her, but your instincts had been right, several times she'd pinched your chin and lips with her tiny fidgeting fingers.

With Nabi laid into her crib you started your final afternoon chores, and told your heart to calm down. While you dried the bottles in the kitchen you fought with yourself to ignore your phone. Looking at the slowly moving clock would only add to your anxiety.

Bottles done, counters wiped, and the living room toys returned to their designated places you heard the front door open. You quickly dumped out a basket of stuffed animals and started reorganizing them, you didn't want to be awkwardly doing nothing when he arrived.

"Hello Y/N-ah." You stiffened but caught yourself letting the disappointment conceal itself as you turned seeing Ji-woo's mother. "You look lovely! Are you going out tonight?"

"Yes ma'am I'm having dinner with a friend right after this," you stood brushing your hands across the front of your pants as you stood, "I think I might have made a mistake." You flinched stepping into the kitchen with her.

"About dinner with your friend?" She was pouring herself a glass of water but turned to give you her attention.

"No, Ji-woo asked me to order food for your family dinner tonight to be delivered at seven, but then your son called and said he'd made restaurant reservations for all of you. He said he'd be here before she got home but now I'm worried I should have just ordered the food." Your words came out too quickly, you suddenly worried you were going to lose your job.

Hadn't Ji-woo warned you about her brother? Now she was going to be home in an hour, the food wasn't ordered and J-Hope wasn't even here to deal with her.

"Those two! They can never agree. Look I'll tell Ji-woo you didn't want to be in the middle so I told you we'd order when everyone got here, let my husband pick what he wants." Her smile was kind and she squeezed your wrist.

"Thank you so much, I love this job and I hate letting your daughter down." Relief had flooded you, but the bitterness that J-Hope had messed with you tickled at the back of your mind.

~

You were getting ready for bed, hair pushed back with a silly panda hairband so you could wash your face. You were staring into the mirror thinking about the evening and trying not to be irritated.

You'd come home and gone for a long walk, trying to let the exercise exorcise your emotions. Back at home you'd made soup, carefully chopping and adding ingredients to the pot, another healthy distraction. Just the act of stirring and mixing made your pulse ease and the tension drain.