Chapter 4

The alarm from my phone droned in my ears as I tried to silence it.

A small groan escaped from my lips as I slowly sat up. My vision zeroed in on the teddy bear next to me. I remembered how Siwon grabbed my hands so that I would be able to accept the bear even though I felt extremely embarrassed about the whole thing because I knew right then that I went red.

The door to my room slowly creaked open and a little head poked in. It was Shi Hoo. A small smile played on my lips as I gestured him to get on the bed. He happily skipped towards me and struggled to get on the bed, much to my amusement.

When he was about to give up climbing up, I decided to carry him up. He hugged my neck and when I felt his small breaths on my ears, part of me felt happy because kids like Shi Hoo is the reason why I decided to take up education. “Good morning, Shi Hoo.”

He smiled at me and cupped my cheeks with his little hands. I chuckled a little and cupped his cheeks as well. “I really wish that you can speak so that we can talk about what it’s like in your little whimsical world.”

He looked at me with his wide eyes and let out a mewling chuckle.

“Mama…”

I felt my throat constrict at what I’d just heard.

Was he just spewing out nonsensical sounds or did he really just say the word Mama?

Suddenly my phone rang. I took it out of my bag that was sitting on the night table and looked at the caller ID. I rolled my eyes.

It was Eunhyuk. The single most annoying man in all of South Korea.

I declined the call because I still have a bitterness in me that I’ve yet to expunge. You see, he and I…we used to be an item but he ended up just ending things abruptly like it was a game.

As I was about to turn to Shi Hoo to analyze if what I’ve heard was correct, my phone rang once more. I grabbed it, knowing who it was. Deciding to just get things over with, I finally accepted the call.

“What do you want?”

“That’s not exactly what I was expecting to hear from you.”

See what I mean? So freaking annoying.

“Look, I don’t have time for your games, Eunhyuk, have I not told you a thousand times? Leave me alone already.”

He scoffed at the other end of the line. “I just need someone to talk to, okay?”

Don’t fall for it Kyuhyun. He’s not worth it. You’ve moved on and that’s enough already. Remember what your mom and your dad told you the last time you visited them with a broken heart.

“Never let other people make you feel inferior, even in love.”

“Look, Eunhyuk, I’m done with the talking…all the talking is done. You’ve made me cry multiple times already and I don’t want to experience that anymore.” I said through gritted teeth.

There was a long pause on his end of the line but as I was about to end the call, he spoke up once more.

“I’ll win you over again…somehow…”

Someone cleared his throat and I looked up and saw Siwon in front of me just on the foot of the bed. He looked serious a heck while wearing a mickey mouse long sleeved sleep wear and pale blue jogging pants and his hair was a little messy.

“Sir…I…”

He shook his head. “No need for explanation, it’s your personal life and I don’t want to meddle with it. I was just surprised that Shi Hoo is here in your room because he wasn’t in his and he didn’t wander in the playroom like he used to do so I got worried, thankfully he’s here with you.”

“Mama…”

Both Siwon and I turned to look at the Shi Hoo. I was mortified because his little index finger was pointing at me.

“Mama…”

I turned to look at Siwon and was surprised to see that his expression hardened as a tear leaked out from his right eye. He’s body went rigid and still. “Sir…I…”

“What did he just say?” He asked me with a very unrecognizable, hoarse voice.

“Uh sir, maybe it was just jibberish…” I tried to lightened the mood by saying that but Siwon remained stone like.

“Did…did you teach him that…that word?” Siwon’s voice was trembling and I felt like I may have caused this because of how I talked and acted around Shi Hoo. Maybe I really did trigger this out of the little one.

“Sir… I never spoke that word to him…ever.”

Siwon nodded and just as when he was rigid earlier, his shoulders slumped. “Can you take him to his bedroom?”

He turned away and just left the room.

What just happened?

After I fed Shi Hoo and played with him until he was sleepy and I took him to his bed for his mid day nap, I snuck a sneaky little peek in Siwon’s office.

He was still slumped.

What did I do anyway?

I knocked softly and he looked up. His eyes were red rimmed and I felt myself getting taken aback.

A man of his caliber crying?

Then again, who wouldn’t cry when the person you loved disappeared without a trace. I felt this surge of hurt for him because he seemed to be a genuinely good person and he shouldn’t be treated otherwise.

“What can I help you with?”

“I think it’s me who should be asking that…” I said as I slowly entered the room.

He let out a small chuckle and nodded. “Sorry, I was out of it a little because of what came out of my sons’ mouth. That’s the first time he ever said a word and he called you mama.” A tear trickled down his cheek as he said this.

“Sir, maybe I was too much when I was taking care of him…”

He shook his head. “No. You weren’t. You are great with him and he loves you already. If he indeed calls you mama again, please don’t hold it against him. I know it’s weird for my son to do that but that’s the first time I ever heard his voice…”

I felt choking up as well because I was really astounded by the amount of love Siwon has for his son.

I nodded, knowing that I made someone feel happy.

End of Chapter