Chapter Six

"The Lullaby"

Yoona slammed the door shut and leaned her back on it, breathing heavily with a hand over her racing heart. She could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes, tears she's been trying so hard to hold in from the first time in five years her eyes laid on Jonghyun in the theme park. She couldn't hold it in anymore when they were in the restaurant, and it feels like she couldn't hold it in again anymore now.

" Yoona?"

Her eyes snapped back down from her gaze on the ceiling.

"Yeah?" she asked, thankful her tears didn't escape her lids.

"Are you okay?" Kyuhyun asked with knitted brows in worry for the woman who looked like she was about to break down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured, trying to calm herself. "I just ran back in so I wouldn't get caught in the rain that's all," she lied, which perfectly explains her short and shallow breathing.

Kyuhyun looked at her, not convinced, he knew this woman for five years now after all, but decided to let it go.

"Anyway, I better get going. I have to go back to the hospital. The family of one of my patients has been asking for me since noon."

Yoona smiled at the man and bowed her head lightly at him. "I'm sorry for taking you from your work for the whole afternoon."

"Are you kidding? I haven't had this much fun for a while now. I mean, I would never have met Lee Jonghyun if I had been stuck in the hospital all day," he said with a grin.

With a small smile, Yoona kept silent, not knowing what to make of his statement.

" Yoona, are you really okay?"

She nodded with a sure look on her face. "Yeah, I am. I'll see you again tomorrow for Hyuna?"

Frowning slightly at her change of subject, he sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Like I said earlier in the car, be there by 8 o'clock, or 9 o'clock at most. I've already just contacted my other colleagues."

"Alright, thank you again Kyuhyun. And here," Yoona pulled out one of the large umbrellas from the rack just beside the front door. "It's raining cats and dogs out there."

"Thanks. See you girls tomorrow!"

Lightly closing the door behind him, Yoona sighed yet again, feeling uneasy and slightly guilty.

She really didn't want to let the boys spend more time with Jonghyun, it would ruin everything, but she can't deny him or the boys' time with each other either.

Yoona knows Jonghyun isn't stupid. He must've already figured out that Jonghyuk and jonghoon really were indeed his and Yoona's children from the minute he saw her earlier. But she still held on to that tiny hope that he would just go along his way without bothering her or the boys ever again. And personally, she didn't at all want to face him ever again if she could help it, which is why she specifically told him to pick the boys up tomorrow when she was sure she was out of the house herself.

Scratching her head lightly, Yoona couldn't believe this sudden turn of events. She's been living quite peacefully over the last five years. Well, she's not living in luxury like he was, but she's getting by with her children at a normal pace and she was already contented with that. So, why is this all happening now?

"Oh God, help me," she whispered, resting her forehead on the front door.

" Jonghyun?"

At the sound of his name, Jonghyun snapped out of the trance of his own thoughts, only to be met by a lot of worried looks directed at him.

"Yeah?" he said, still a bit absentminded.

Nana looked at him, concerned before turning to everyone inside the room. "Can we reschedule this?" she asked the group with an apologetic smile.

The two women and three men nodded at her and proceeded to pack their equipment. They'd rather do the interview on another day than do it now when their main subject seemed out of it.

"I'm so sorry," Nana told them with a bow as they made their way towards the door of the hotel suite.

Sighing, she went back to the lounge where Jonghyun sat, his look deep in thought yet again for that night.

" Jonghyun?"

"Huh?" he said, sounding lost. "Where is everyone?" he asked, slightly shocked that the reporter and camera man and their assistants were gone.

"They already left, I'm rescheduling the interview," she replied, her brows knitted together in worry. "Are you alright?"

Exhaling a long breath, he stood up and stretched his long arms up in the air. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" he said casually.

"You've had this very thoughtful and preoccupied look on your face ever since you got back here. Why? Did something happen when you went out?"

Jonghyun shook his head and flashed a reassuring smile. "Nothing. I'm just a little tired from everything that happened today, that's all. I'm going to bed."

Without another word, and not waiting for her to say another word, Jonghyun quickly made his way towards the large master bedroom on to one side of the lounge.

Nana sighed, watching his retreating form until the door closed behind him. "Something's wrong," she concluded surely.

"Hey mom! Mom!"

Yoona looked back as her boys ran through the kitchen door with big smiles on their faces. They were clearly excited for the day's activities.

"What do you think?" they asked in unison as they posed about in their matching outfits of white sneakers, light denim blue jeans and striped polo shirts. Their hair was even combed down. At least, as combed down as they could manage to make it.

"Both of you look positively handsome," she said with a grin before pulling them into hugs. "You two are too cute!"

"Mommm…" they both complained, trying to push her away.

"We don't want 'cute'…"

"…we're trying to look cool!"

Yoona merely laughed at them and nodded. "Yes, yes, you look cool too," she said, earning a grin from the boys. "Now, come on, eat your breakfast. Hyuna and I have to leave in a while."

Hyuna, who was sitting silently on her seat at the dining table, smiled as her mother looked over towards her before turning to her brothers. "Have fun today, Jonghyuk, Jonghoon" she said in gentle sincerity.

The twin boys looked at her with identical grins, which slowly started to fade.

"I wish you could come with us…"

"…yeah, we haven't spent time together lately."

"Don't worry, we can play together tonight!" she assured them with a big smile upon her face.

"I hope so, but what if you fall asleep early again?"

"Just like last night?"

Hyuna shook her head. "I'll stay up with you tonight for sure!"

Jonghyuk and Jonghoon grinned at each other before winking at their little sister, making her blush a little and giggle.

"Now, what were you three talking about?" Yoona asked, seeing the smiles on all her children.

"Nothing!" all three of them replied when their mother started placing their meals in front of them.

"With you three? It's never nothing," she pointed out.

The children remained in silence at this, instead closed their eyes in individual prayers before digging in their breakfast.

Yoona watched them, a smile never leaving her face. This is her family, and she liked it just the way it was. Just watching her kids eating their meals, playing with them during her free time, reading them stories and singing to them songs at night. This has been her life for the past five years, and she never complained. Even if it was a burden, she still enjoyed it and she loved every minute of it nonetheless. She can't even imagine if anything were to change from this life of hers.

Thinking about change only made her smile slowly fade. She knew it was inevitable, especially now that she's met with Jonghyun again. But she had already decided to herself yesterday that she won't let him change anything, which was why she played dumb yesterday as if she had only met him for the first time. If he believed her little act, she was hoping he'd just leave them alone as soon as he was done with whatever he was doing here in Korea. She didn't go through all the trouble of not letting the kids watch TV or video games or restricting them from certain places all these years for nothing after all. She did all that so if in case Jonghyun's pictures or posters would get posted somewhere, they wouldn't see it and would never question their resemblance.

"Mom?"

Yoona shook her head and was met with three pairs of eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"You're not eating…"

"…and you look kind of…"

"…lost," Hyuna finished for her brothers, making the male pair nod.

"I was just thinking that's all," she assured before putting a bright smile on her face. "Shall we go Hyuna? The sooner we go, the sooner we finish, and the sooner we get back, the sooner you can play with your brothers."

Hyuna smiled at this and nodded enthusiastically.

Looking up from her morning paper, Nana looked over at Jonghyun as he headed out of the door to his room.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked, noting his attire.

Jonghyun nodded in her direction before turning to the decorative mirror in the lounge and positioning his gray Fedora hat on his hopelessly messy hair. Clad in a white wife beater underneath a short-sleeved gray button-down shirt that he left open and ed, dark denim jeans and gray leather shoes, he was ready to go on his first official father-son outing with his boys.

"Where are you going?" Nana pressed, seeing as she didn't get a verbal answer to her last question.

"Out," he replied vaguely, before positioning a pair of dark aviators on his nose, totally blocking his amber eyes.

Sighing somewhat irately, Nana folded her paper and set it on the breakfast table and walked over to him. "You're not seeing some girl are you?" she asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice. He had just agreed yesterday that he would give their relationship a chance and now, he was out and about looking very handsome and she didn't know where he was going and with who.

Jonghyun raised a brow at her. "Of course not," he answered truthfully. "You know I don't have any interest in the female population," he reminded her.

"Good! Because you already agreed just yesterday about us."

Totally forgetting such a conversation, Jonghyun mentally cursed. "Err…you don't mind that I go out do you?" he asked, unsure if he even had to ask her in the first place. He's always been used to doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Seeing his effort, Nana can't help but grin. "No," she said, shaking her head. "As long as you don't go out with some girl."

"Yeah?" he answered into his cell. "No, he told me he wanted some privacy today…Huh? But…Hmm…well, if you're sure…yeah, okay."

Joe slowly got up from his seat with a sigh.

The three men around him looked up at him as he started to leave.

"Hey, where are you going? We're far from finished. We only just started!" one of the men still situated at the poker table called.

"I'll be back, I just have to check something out!" he called back from the doorway to the hotel room. "And don't touch my chips! I already counted them!"

"He's here!" the twin boys exclaimed when the door bell rang.

Jumping off the couch, they dashed straight to the front door.

"Don't run too fast! You might trip!" Eunhye called out although they were out of her sight.

Whistling to himself, Jonghyun was in a jolly mood. He waited outside his sons' home, playing with the identical and smaller white Fedora hats with his hands.

"Hey!" he greeted with a grin matching the twins'. "Here."

Holding up their small hands, they took the hats from him and placed it securely