Chapter 8. Wishing Well

“Appa,” Joohyun spoke softly since he was talking to some of the directors.

“Joohyunyah… where are you going?” Chairman Seo frowned at the sheepish smile his daughter was giving him, “You promised—“

“Changmin Oppa phoned,” she pouted still hoping her appa won’t feel that bad, “I need to sign some documents. He badly needs them since he’s flying to New York tonight…”

“Then tell him to drive here,” he insisted, “He can drop it over so you won’t need to go.”

“Aigoo…” she crooned massaging his shoulder, “Don’t be stubborn, my handsome appa, I will be back as soon as I can, okay?”

Chairman Seo sighed, his daughter never outgrew her secret weapon over him. “What else can I do? You always do it your way…”

“I won’t be your Joohyun if I don’t,” she giggled when he groaned out loud so she pecked a quick kiss on his temple, “Thanks, you’re the best!”

~~~

“Appa, hurry up, please!” Euna continued to drag him and he almost stumble on the steps.

“Eunayah! What’s the meaning of this? I was talking to your Uncle Jonghyun and you just dragged me away, you know how rude is that.”

“I know…” she retorted not even giving her daddy a look as she almost ran to where she saw her new mommy, “I will say sorry later but you have to stop talking first…”

“Ya, Jung Euna!”

Her appa suddenly stopped and tugged her hand. Euna knew she made him even more upset with what she said so she turned and scrunched her face like she was about to cry. She sniffed then whispered, “I’m sorry, Appa. But I really want you to go with me fast, please?”

Yonghwa saw the determination in her eyes or maybe it was that very expression that he could not say not to. Sighing, he nodded, “Its better be worth all this trouble Jung Euna or you’re really going to get it…”

“Uh-huh!” She smiled widely and dragged him again much to his amusement. Euna was so excited yet nervous that she could hardly think of the right words to explain to her appa about her umma. At last they are going to meet! When they reached the place there was no longer any sign of her but she still looked around hoping that she was just somewhere among the crowd.

Her heart sank. Now she really wanted to cry.

“Euna, what is it?” Yonghwa noticed how confused the little girl was as she looked around the crowd. There was this sudden thud in his chest because it was the first time he saw her looking lost and unsure. He sat on his heels so that she would be at eye level. It was then Yonghwa noticed the tears forming on both corners of her eyes. Brushing them with his thumb, he asked gently, “What is it, sweetheart? What do you want to show, Appa?”

Euna looked down and slowly shook her head, “Nothing… I’m so sorry, Appa, you can go back and play now…”

He cupped her cheeks and lifted her little head to make her look at him again. “We promised before that we are not going to keep any secrets from each other, remember? You look very upset, sweetheart. You can tell Appa. I won’t get mad, I promise.”

“Nothing… it was nothing,” Euna sniffed three times because she didn’t really want her appa to see her cry. Maybe she was just dreaming. Maybe she wanted so much to see her again that she thought she saw her talking to Chairman Harabeoji. By the corner of her eyes, she saw a couple of kids playing so she pointed at them, “Appa, I wanna play with those kids over there… you can go back and play with Uncle Jonghyun.”

“Arasso…” he finally nodded then ruffled her hair, “Baby, if you see her again, I won’t go that far so call me, okay?” Yonghwa smiled when she nodded and skipped towards the other children.

Yonghwa realized that it was about the woman again. He sighed remembering how dejected she looked when she could not see her anywhere. He was now even more curious about this mystery woman. If it was really her that Euna saw, then she must be working in the same company. He sighed; it was just going to get complicated.

~~~

Euna smiled. He knew what it was all along but he didn’t get upset. She loves her appa even more. Maybe she did really imagine it; Euna sighed. She tried to play with the other children for a couple of minutes but she was just really sad that she imagined seeing her new mommy. She wanted to see her again so bad.

It has been weeks since she last saw her so she prays hard every night. She just hopes that her angel would talk with the lady’s angel for them to meet again. She walked away from the other kids and stroll around the huge garden. Then she found a quiet spot a little far away from the people in the party. There were even more flowers there and Euna loved it so much especially that it reminded her of Mary and her secret garden. Maybe it could be her secret garden—it smelled so good and it was all hers. Her Appa told her not to pick any flowers so she just walked around, chased a few butterflies then found pretty pebbles that she lined on one even stone path. Then it started to drizzle and she thought it was going to rain so she looked around for a shade.

Moments later, she found herself in a little corner with a well just like in her storybooks! Vines were crawling all over its body and a little angel sat on guard on the well’s edge. The angel had her hands on her face as if thinking and her eyes were closed. Euna giggled when she copied the angel. After a moment, she just sat beside it and waited for the tiny drizzle to go away.

Then, she hopped down on the ground and bowed her head to inspect the well. It didn’t look that deep because she could see silver and gold coins glistening under it. “Ah… ah… I’m Euna Jung…” she said on the well and she giggled hearing the