hard worker - 3mix
"even when there were no comeback preperations or promotions in sight, jihyo worked her very hardest."
word count ─ 1k
tags ─ little!jihyo, cg!nayeon, cg!jeongyeon, im not good at tags grr uh..
notes ─ this is a bit shorter than my other works sorry 🤫 hope u enjoy!! <3
( carrd )
even when there were no comeback preperations or promotions in sight, jihyo worked her very hardest. as the leader, she felt that she needed to not work to improve herself but her fellow members, pushing them (but not too hard) to do their best. as the leader, she felt responsible for everything and everyone, so stress was bound to come upon her. when she came across the idea of age regression, she decided to give it a spin, falling in love with it immediately. what wasn't so immediate, though, was her telling the members about her newfound coping mechanism. however, with time, she found it in her to tell them, recieving immense support from all of them.
she and the others noticed she was especially clingy with nayeon and jeongyeon, getting whiny when not with them for a while. lucky for her, the oldest two were just as in love with her. they found great joy from taking care of the little, loving her sweet, high pitched giggles and her big smile when they'd tickle her or her soft snores they'd recieve as their own lullaby when she napped with them.
however, sometimes, she resisted regressing, and now was one of those times.
she was in a vocal booth, practicing a cover she was soon to record. had she been practicing a little too long? yes, and she knew it. all of the members and even some company-mates had told her she had aced it, but she thought she could get even better, much to the dismay of her members. she'd refused to listen when they said she was doing perfect already.
as she groaned in frustration, starting from the top once more because she "messed up" (she didn't.), she didn't notice jeongyeon enter the room, arms crossed. "jihyo, don't you think it's time you take a break? you've been at this for how long now?" jeongyeon suggested, worry obviously laced in her voice. jihyo sighed, maybe jeongyeon was right. "can i just finish up real quick?" jihyo said pouting. "you've been working long enough, let's just get home, i know you want to, doesn't tv and cuddles sound great?" jeongyeon said softly, approaching jihyo and rubbing her back. meanwhile, the leader immediately felt small at the others tone.
she took a deep breath in attempt to clear away her fuzzy feelings. she looked the older in the eyes and nodded. accepting her hand.
soon, they made it back to the dorm, being greeted by the oldest of them all, nayeon, as they walked in. "there you are, how'd your practice go?" jihyo nodded at her, smiling, as a response. there was no denying how she was feeling at the moment and she knew if she spoke her little lisp would show. she immediately made her way to the kitchen, making an instant ramen cup. she had hardly eaten all day, this would work for now.
once it was done, jihyo took her cup and walked into the living room, plopping down next to nayeon, who was heavily invested in some drama. the leader quickly downed the cup, which the two oldest noticed. "jeez, have you eaten today?" nayeon asked, eyes widened at the speed in which the other ate at, when she usually takes her sweet time when it comes to eating. jihyo shook her head. she immediately regretted her action, stomach aching a bit. she leaned on nayeon, whimpering ever so slightly.
nayeon's caregiver senses kicked in right then and there, attention being ripped away from the tv and straight to the little next to her. "thats why you've gotta eat slowly, hun." she cooed, patting the younger's back, hearing a soft burp from her. jihyo only hummed in response. "how about we get you a bath going, hm?" jeongyeon proposed, tilting her head to the side. "bubb'es?" the regressor asked. "of course, babes, let mommy run you your bath and mama'll get your clothes and cartoons all ready for you." jeongyeon smiled, booping jihyo on the nose, eliciting a short giggle from her.
nayeon picked up jihyo with ease, setting her on her hip, going straight to the bathroom. the little leader was set on the toilet while nayeon filled the tub with warm water, bubbles, and various toys. after giving it a little test, nayeon decided the bath was ready and started undressing jihyo. once she was bare nayeon set her in the tub, the younger sighing happily as she was engulfed by the warm, soothing water. the sweet scent of the bubbles filled her nostrils, clearing her mind of the stress it was going through previously.
the caregiver felt as if her heart was melting as jihyo smiled ear to ear, picking up the ducks in the water and splashing them around. "you having fun with your duckies?" she was asked. "lotsa fun!" jihyo laughed, picking up bubbles and setting them on one of the ducks' head, giving it a head of hair. "'ookie mommy! 'da duckie's got hair!" she announced, pointing dramatically. "he's got beautiful hair baby!" nayeon exclaimed, starting to suds up a rag to wipe down jihyo. it was strawberry scented, which the leader loved.
soon, bathtime was over, to jihyo's dismay, and she was wrapped up in a towel, being set on the toilet again. "do you want mommy to braid your hair?" nayeon asked, running her fingers through jihyo's hair. "yes p'ease!" jihyo said, nodding frantically.
once her hair was done, jihyo was put into the soft, fleecey pajama set jeongyeon set on the counter during the bath, along with a pull-up just in case an accident were to happen. once she was all ready, nayeon carried jihyo back out to the living room to see jeongyeon sitting on the floor, with tons of blankets and pillows. jihyo gasped dramatically at the sight, smiling widely when she saw her favorite cartoon playing on the tv. "t'ank you, mama!" jihyo said excitedly.
jihyo was set onto the ground next to jeongyeon, just to be squished between both her and nayeon once the oldest sat down, not that she was complaining. jihyo had both of her hands occupied, holding her caregivers' hands, her knuckles getting caressed by their thumbs. in the moment, it felt like all of the pent up stress jihyo had from the past week had vanished, she felt more relaxed than she had in quite a long, long time.










