In Seven Days

Tuesday; 7:45 AM

some changes in the timeline its only been 14 months since the break up bby seokmin is about 8 months old

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"Is he always this fussy when bathing?" Jin asked with his hands crossed over his chest, his shoulder leaning on the doorway of the bathroom as he watched the mess that Seokmin was making.

Byulyi fought to keep her face neutral as a naked Seokmin continued to cry bloody murder. His face bloomed red from his words outwards, his lips curled to reveal his pink gums and two sets of teeth on each of his jaws.

"He doesn't like being wet," she grimaced as she shushed the crying infant in her arms who seemed to have immediately understood what was about to happen the movement his mother took off his ruined shirt.

"I can see that."

Byulyi turned to glare at him, her lips set to a hard line.

She smoothed the wisps of hair on Seokmin's head as she swayed him back and forth. "This will be quick Min-ah, I promise," she murmured to the child whose lips were trembling. She began to lower him down to a smaller white tub she placed inside the bigger ceramic bathtub, his cries getting louder and louder, his grip on her shirt tighter, as she did so.

Byulyi stood up again and went back to soothing the child in her arms. It had been like that for the past few minutes Jin noticed, Seokmin would cry, Byulyi would shush him, she would attempt to place him on the bathtub, then they would go back to the start.

Jin pushed himself off the doorway to stand next to Byulyi. "Do you need help?"

"No."

Seokmin screeched again, trying his best to clutch to his mother's shirt much to her displeasure.

Byulyi sighed.

"Can you get his submarine?" She nodded to another one of those stacked shelves. On its topmost level were several bottles of soap and lotion and other cleaning materials. From there on, the lower shelves contained an assortment of colorful toys like ducks, big-eyed sea creatures, and boats.

Jin took the chunky yellow submarine from the shelf just beside the purple octopus and extended his hand to Byulyi.

She shot him another irritated stare. "Does it look like I can hold that too?"

"Well what do you want me to do?"

"Gosh I don't know, maybe make him stop crying?"

An angry Byulyi with a loud Seokmin was not a good mix. He had to remind himself that he volunteered so that he wouldn't get annoyed too.

Jin walked around in front of Seokmin to show him the toy. He wiggled the submarine, imploring his son to take the damned toy and stop crying so that his mother would stop glaring at him.

"I don't think he likes the submarine."

"Jin for fu—" Byulyi closed her eyes as she regained her composure, breathing through her nose loudly. When she opened them, she was much more calm and her lips wore a forced smile, "Would you please help me stop his crying?"

Jin scratched his head as he looked around. How in the world could he stop a child from crying without gagging his mouth?

His eyes fell on the white tub and on the faucet just above it. A thought popped in his head. He opened the tap water so that the bigger tub will be filled with water. He kneeled next to the bathtub to submerge the submarine on the water.

"Seokmin-ah, look!" he called out in a voice he noticed he only used whenever he spoke with Seokmin, "Wow! Look submarine!" he continued to babble in this high-pitched energetic voice and if Seokmin's weakening cries were any indication, Jin would say that it worked.