A month had passed since Seunghyun had become a part of their lives.

He insisted on being involved in every aspect of Hana’s daily routine: he drove her to school in the mornings, and then Nari picked her up after she finished work and Hana had finished school. Seunghyun liked to drive with Nari in the passenger’s seat, too, and made sure that she came with him when they dropped off their daughter before he drove her back home so that she could get ready for work. Every time, without fail, he asked if she wanted to be dropped off to work – but Nari declined each offer as they came, driving in her own car which looked like dirt compared to his own big flashy one. Seunghyun went to work with a smile on his face and came to Nari and Hana’s home with an even bigger one.

“Where are my girls?” he’d say, dimples making their cheerful appearance. Happiness would glitter in Hana’s eyes as she left her mother to run to Seunghyun who was there to catch her without any hesitation. To his question, Nari would slightly cringe. She wasn’t his girl. She wasn’t… Anything to him.

It was nice to have Seunghyun around, she admitted – but it also made her uncomfortable at the same time. It was like it was instant; he was no visitor… He was permanent. She just had to now come to terms with this. She was learning to trust him. After all, he was helpful, attentive, and active in Hana’s life. It was no longer only Nari that was watching her daughter grow, now there was a dad in the picture. Seunghyun.

Seunghyun was there every single day. On weekends, he came early in the mornings and left after tucking Hana in bed, which eventually left only the two of them alone.

And tonight, he waited for Nari to come downstairs. He had something big to ask of her, something he knew she wouldn’t agree to straight away (if at all). Seunghyun wasn’t leaving so easily tonight.

Nari came down in her silk nightgown and robe; the latter floor length while her robe only knee length. She was stunning.

Utterly stunning.

When she appeared in the living room, he had to blink a few times before calling her over. “Sit with me,” he murmured.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to go?”

“Trying to get rid of me so quickly?” Seunghyun asked with a smile.

Nari sat next to him, shaking her head with an almost untraceable smile. Her plump lower lip she bit before she leaned back.

It was strange to be alone with him every night.

Especially when she was scared that he was going to truly leave when he left for the night.

“No, no, not that. It’s Sunday. You have work tomorrow, don’t you?”

“As do you, Nari.”

She shrugged, her lips.

He looked at her softly, saying, “Speaking of which… Are you happy? Happy to be working two underpaid jobs?”

Nari cast him a sour look. “What does that mean? Seunghyun, I’m certainly no CEO of a massive designer firm, but I’m not so low anymore, you know.” She scoffed, clearly offended. “You don’t get to look down on me anymore. I’m Hana’s mother. Before she wants you, she needs me.”

Seunghyun edged closer to her, looking at her exposed, smooth legs before at her face. Warm-cheeked, and hurt, and angry… She was still breath-taking. He knew that he was starting to feel for her. Truthfully, he wasn’t going to reject these emotions if they came.

All those years ago, he knew she was beautiful. But now she was astounding to him.

“Who’s looking down on you, Nari?” He reached out to touch her cheek. Nari moved back immediately. He dropped his hand. “Certainly not me.” Nari wouldn’t look at him – did he have to ask her things like that? So what if she was still working ty jobs? It wasn’t as if he was going to change that. “You’re so protective over your position as Hana’s mother. I know, and I agree with you. Please don’t be so insecure about it. I’m not stealing anything from you. I’m here with you, rather than against you.”

The words were comforting. Her anger cooled, and she brought her knees up to her chest which made her little silk nightgown slip down. Was she trying to drive him crazy?

No wonder he wanted her so badly so long ago, Seunghyun thought. She was a temptress without even knowing it.

“I know… I’m just….”

“Just what?”

Nari finally looked at him, searching his eyes. Seunghyun’s dark gaze was impenetrable. Constantly his feelings were hidden except for when he was with Hana… Though sometimes, she could see into them in moments like these, when they were alone. What she saw was honesty, concern, and maybe even hesitance.

And something else as he looked at her chest.

She batted him away. “What are you doing?” Nari whispered, pushing him back slightly. She went crimson.

Seunghyun chuckled. “I’m sorry.”

He definitely wasn’t.

But then things were serious once more as he asked: “Nari… I want you to think on something carefully.”

Nari looked at him unsurely. “Think about what?”

“This is an enormous step, I’m aware – but I need you to consider this. I want you to live with me. I want you and Hana to live with me.”

Her jaw dropped, lips parted.

“What? WHAT? Seunghyun…! How can you even ask something like that of me?”

She stood up, fists clenched and teeth gritting together. Seunghyun stood too, towering over her easily and grabbing her shoulders. “Get off me.”

“No.”

“Seunghyun… Get. Off. Me.”

He suddenly swooped her up in his arms while she thrashed around, attempting to get down. “What…? What! What are you doing?”

“I’ll put you down when you’re calmed down.”

Nari hissed and wanted to claw at his neck. Maybe even tear his throat out. He looked amused – as if this was all a god damned game to him.

“Seunghyun.”

“Nari.”

“Down.”

“No.”

He grinned while she shoved at him and finally managed to jump onto her feet. “You seedy little…” Nari wagged her finger at him but appeared calmer, if out of breath. “It’s definitely not happening.”

Seunghyun sighed, letting go of his playful demeanour. He approached her again. Nari sat stubbornly in the individual sofa, allowing him no choice but to sit away from her.

“It’d be good for you, me, for our daughter.”

“I know fine and well what is good for my daughter, Seunghyun. Don’t get too comfortable yet. Hana might have accepted you – I’m a different story.”

She was strong-willed, stubborn… So ing y when she looked at him like that. Her robe had come off sometime during her struggle against his hold, and now she was left there in her gown, chest rising and falling… A sight to behold.

“Hm,” he murmured. “I know. Tell me why you’re so against it.”

Nari looked at him as if he told her that there was a dragon in the room. “Are you truly asking me that? How can you even think I’d say yes?”

“Well—”

“You idiot.” Seunghyun’s jaw clenched, but he let her continue. “Don’t you understand? Hana would be at home, you are her father after all – but me? Me? What the hell am I to you?”

“The mother of my child,” he replied instantly.

Nari’s eyes watered… But from anger, not upset. “I’d just be an accessory. What happens when you have women over, Seunghyun? What will Hana think then? She already asks questions about us and you’d just give her more reason to.”

“I don’t bring women home.”

Nari swallowed. “That means you take them elsewhere then. Like you took me.”

They both breathed heavily.

The tension was unbearable.

“Nari… Try to find some common ground here. It seems I make you cry more than I make you smile.”

“Stop talking to me like that.”

He crouched at the singular sofa, arms on each rest; trapping her.

“Like what?” Seunghyun challenged.

“Like… Like I’m something you should care about. Don’t toy with me, Seunghyun. Have some respect. Please.”

Why was she so stubborn? So difficult? And so insecure?

Seunghyun sighed, dropping his head. “I do care, Nari. If I didn’t, I’d have found some way to take Hana from you long ago.”

Nari gasped, horrified.

He immediately took her hands in his, internally smacking himself. What a thing to say. “No, no – Nari, don’t look at me like that. I wouldn’t do that to you. Not now, not ever.”

Her hands trembled in his.

“We are bound by Hana, like it or not. I don’t believe that any child should have to live parentless or with only one parent. My views wouldn’t be like this long ago – but you… Nari, you’ve changed this. You have changed so much for me. You don’t even know how much.”

How could this rich man say things like that to her? Nari shook her head, silently protesting, but he went on.

“Look at what you’ve given me: a beautiful, beautiful daughter. As sharp and clever as you described her to me over the phone. I’m different now, and you know it too. You just need to let me in and show you how much I’ve changed.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I know you’ve worked hard for this house… Of course I’m aware. And so I won’t simply tell you to up and go from it: I will keep it under your name, anything. But I’m asking you to try for our daughter. You and Hana – both of you… I can give you two everything. Everything.”

Nari flinched away from him. It was too much. But he kept his hold on her hands, and stared deeply in her eyes whenever he was able to catch them.

“It’ll be strange for me too, but I knew, before I even met you again or even our daughter… I knew that I would eventually ask this.”

She had enough. “Seunghyun, go.”

“… Nari…”

Pulling her hands out of Seunghyun’s, she pushed her way off the sofa and told him he had to leave.

“Please just go. I need to think about this.”

As he put his shoes on, grabbed his things and threw his jacket over his shoulder, Seunghyun glanced at her once more.

“Think hard.”

And then he left. As soon as the roar of his engine died away, Nari burst into tears.

She had nothing as a child. Her parents… She didn’t like thinking about that.

But she always pictured growing up, and being financially stable, and having a nice big house.

Now suddenly the opportunity had arisen out of nowhere.

Was this another game fate wanted to play?

Or was she finally experiencing the kindness of fate for the first time in her life?

Her hard sobs made her fall to the floor weakly, grasping the carpet strands desperately like her life depended on it.

Tiny footsteps meant Hana was downstairs.

“Mom? Are you crying again? You’re too happy! You always cry now!”

Nari wiped her tears away but more fell anyway. She turned around, laughing softly. “Hey, you. What are you doing awake, hm?”

“Couldn’t sleep, Mom. Where’s Dad?”

“He’s… At…”

“Where is he~?”

“Home.”

“But this is home.”

Nari looked at her daughter. Taking a deep breath, she asked: “Do you want us to stay with your Dad from now on? In a nice big house?”

Happiness flooded through her daughter who excitedly exclaimed, “Yes, yes, yes!” and threw her arms around her mother who had to fight to not cry again.

There was that happiness again that her daughter displayed – the one that Seunghyun could bring, and she couldn’t.

What kind of mother was she?

“But don’t you like it here, sweetheart?”

“Yes, but it’s… Small! And Dad has a reeeally big house, doesn’t he? I can’t wait, Mom!”

But darling, I bought this house for you more than me. I’m sorry that it’s all I could afford.

“I see. Well, someone’s excited, aren’t they?” Hana nodded. “That means you need to go to sleep now, so that when you wake up again, your Dad will be here, telling you about how nice your bedroom will be over at his house.”

Hana clapped, running back upstairs before she jumped into bed.

Nari stood there, grabbing for her phone. She dialled Seunghyun’s number.

“Nari? What is it?” she heard on the other end.

“Yes. We’ll stay with you,” was all she said before she hung up. He rang incessantly after that, but she switched her phone off.

Sitting on the sofa, she could still smell Seunghyun’s cologne.

She could still feel his hands over hers.

She could still feel him.

She should’ve been happy – so why was she hurting so much?

AN: Aaah, hey everyone. Hope you liked this chapter. In the next chapter, we'll see more of Nari's own past. We might even get a special moment between Nari and Seunghyun near the end. ^~^ If you'd like to see that, please leave a comment! I love reading them and responding to them. When I get a few on this chapter, I will update again. Have a lovely day/night. <33