jaeyun’s been bringing it up for weeks now. first, it was little hints — a picture of baby shoes left on the kitchen counter or him scrolling through old photos of jae as a newborn with a dreamy smile. whenever their son, now a sturdy two-year-old with his dad's wide eyes, would wobble around the living room, jaeyun would sigh a little too loudly and say, “wouldn’t it be nice if he had someone to play with?”

she pretended not to notice, not at first. it’s not that she didn’t want another baby, but life was finally settling into a rhythm. jae was just sleeping through the night, and she was finally catching up on sleep. yet, every time she saw the way jaeyun looked at their son, she felt something twist softly inside her.

one evening, she found him staring out the window after putting jae to bed. he looked over when he heard her footsteps, a quiet hope in his eyes. “i know things are easier now,” he began, hesitating. “but… i just keep thinking about how much love we still have to give.”

her heart ached a little at his words, seeing how much he wanted this. she reached over, gently holding his hand. “you really want this, don’t you?”

he nodded, his gaze dropping, almost shy. “i think i do. i keep thinking about another little one, you know? someone for jae to grow up with, to have adventures with.” he squeezed her hand, his voice barely a whisper. “another piece of us.”