Wednesday, 2nd of July 2014.

Two days had already passed, and it was time for Minah to say goodbye to her older brother and sister-in-law. Their son, baby Minwoo, was cuddled up in her arms whilst on his thumb in his sleep.

Minah thought back to the exact moment it had happened. Two days ago, on the last day of the financial year (it was amazing that Minho had been able to get a day off work),  the 30th of June, Minho and Hyewon had planned a family outing to celebrate Minwoo’s 2nd birthday. Minah couldn’t get time off her part-time job and had said she would join them for dinner. To make up for missing out on the road trip/picnic, she had ordered in advance a beautiful cake, custom made with a photo of a smiling Minwoo at the centre of the icing.

Minah had been on the phone with Hyewon when the accident happened. Hyewon had been nagging Minah for missing out on the road trip, telling her jokingly that she was a terrible aunt. The sudden scream on Hyewon’s part almost deafened the girl on the receiving end of the phone. Sounds of metal crushing against metal filled Minah’s ears. She had rushed to call 119 answering the questions in a trembling voice, stating that there was an accident on the way up Seorak Mountain.

Investigations reported that they had crashed into a car that had been speeding along the road which resulted in it ending up on the wrong side of the road because it couldn't turn sharply enough at the terrifying speed it had been maintaining. Three people had died that fateful day. Kang Minho, Kim Hyewon and the man who had been speeding recklessly up the mountain road that wound tightly across the mountain’s surface. Minah hadn’t bothered to learn the name of the man who had taken away her only, beloved brother and sister-in-law. She could only be grateful that, for some miraculous reason, her nephew had survived the horrific accident.

Minah said one final goodbye before the mangled bodies of her brother and sister-in-law were sent in to be cremated. They would then bury the urns containing their ashes onto the plot of land her father’s family had bought generations ago later today, the third day of their passing.

 

Friday, 4th of July 2014.

Two days had passed yet again. Minah clutched Minwoo’s small hand in hers as she lay offerings of food and drink at the base of the graves. She bowed a few times before pouring rice wine around the two large mounds that now housed the bodies of Minwoo’s parents. She then said a quick prayer for their spirits to get to the underworld safely before bowing once again. Tears stung her eyes when she heard Minwoo whimper for his mummy and daddy. Minah packed everything up before reaching out to Minwoo. He toddled over the short distance quickly to get into her embrace. Now weeping softly, she nuzzled the top of his head for comfort as he burrowed into her chest.

“Let’s go home sweetie.”

Kissing his soft hair, she walked slowly toward the taxi driver who was waiting patiently for her to walk back. Minah rocked Minwoo’s small body until she reached the taxi, by which he had fallen asleep, before settling him into the baby car seat. Her sister-in-law had been very meticulous when it came to Minwoo’s nap times, and Minah was definitely grateful. It meant a quiet drive home. Thanking the taxi driver for his patience, she climbed in through the other door and softly held Minwoo’s hand.

Once home, Minah paid the taxi driver before clambering out, and gently pulling a sleeping Minwoo into her arms.

 

Saturday, 4th of April 2015 13:00 - Jung Yunho’s Residence.

Yunho paced back and forth in his living room, shooting glares, that could probably send the devil bolting, at his four friends. The just sat wherever they were sitting and smirked back at him lazily in response. The silence was intense, and the only sound that could be heard was the muted steps of one very annoyed Jung Yunho (in Bart Simpson socks). He could not believe, his friends had barged into his penthouse (he really needed to change his passcode), and ruined a very enjoyable moment he was having with a gorgeous lady friend that he had finally managed to seduce (to be more exact, barely convinced) after many months of… trying (grovelling). That’s right. Jung Yunho grovelled because this woman was definitely worth it. He was so, so, so, sure, that she was the one. She had half accepted, saying if he could satisfy her, she would try dating him. Hopefully he’d be able to convince her to marry him too because he was not going to be happy with just ‘dating’.

It was in the midst of “satisfying her”, that those irritable bastards he called friends had interrupted. Instead of backing out of the penthouse when they would SURELY have heard some obvious noises, they had called out to him.

“OI YUNHO, COME OUT SO WE CAN TALK!”

them to hell and back. His companion had not minded the interruption it seemed. She had, however slithered back into her clothes and left the room mouthing “next time” and sending a wink. MONTHS of effort. Gone. Poof. Into thin air. He didn’t want to think how he was going to get this chance again. Groaning, he put his clothes back on and followed her out. He forced a smile and walked her to the door, pleading with his eyes to give him another chance. She whispered, “I don’t break promises,” which led to him sighing in relief. She pecked him on the cheek before striding away.

Yunho finally broke the silence, voice laced in poison, “You guys better have a VERY good reason for barging in on me like that.”

“You can’t be the only one getting laid, we’re going to ‘MIDNIGHT’ around 8,” Changmin laughed.

Yunho’s head was about to explode, and everyone in the room could see it. Of course, they all burst into laughter seeing him angry like that. Of ing course. To calm down the extremely irritated Yunho, Jaejoong cooked. It was, and still is, the ultimate rule of the universe. No-one stays angry after eating a meal cooked by Jaejoong, no-one. They managed to get Yunho to come along so that they would have a driver. They knew he was too obsessed with this girl he was trying to seduce to get it on with anyone else. In fact, they were surprised he was so serious. This was the first time that they had ever seen Jung Yunho completely invested into someone (excluding business partners/rivals). It also meant they wouldn’t need a taxi and could rely on their now celibate friend to drive them all home. To his penthouse. Where they could crash and get even more drunk. Unless some of them managed to find someone they wanted to spend the night with. Which would be even better.

Happy either way, the four spent the afternoon annoying one Jung Yunho who kept threatening to ditch them in the middle of the night. He was more bark than bite, and they all knew that.

 

Saturday, 4th of April 2015 18:30 - Han Siblings’ Residence.

Three girls hugged the young man standing awkwardly with gratitude. Minah had been feeling stressed out recently and her two best friends had decided they would need to drag her out clubbing. She could dance it all out. The only problem was, little Minwoo who would need a guardian overnight. So Chaeyoung planted the idea of sacrificing Sanghyuk into Sangha’s head. It was also a way of making sure he didn’t go anywhere with friends and girls who would probably be all over him.

Chaeyoung’s crush on Sangha’s younger brother was not unknown to the other girls, and her ulterior motive was seen through immediately. Even though Sangha had no idea what Chaeyoung saw in her younger brother, she wasn’t going to stop her from chasing him. In fact, it would be amusing to see how it would turn out. Sanghyuk and Chaeyoung were the most oblivious idiots to exist on earth in her opinion, and watching them try to win each other’s hearts when they were already won would be beyond hilarious. It also meant they would get their girls’ night out too. A total win-win situation.

“Sanghyuk, you are the best brother, EVER!” Sangha cried out, latching onto her brother.

“Yes, yes, now could you please get off of me sis?” an exasperated, and kinda grossed out, Sanghyuk sighed. His sister would rather whack him over the head with a metre long ruler than touch him with her foot, so all this affectionate touching was weird to say the least. He was appreciative of his long time crush, Chaeyoung, hugging him like no tomorrow though. And Minah was like, the affectionate older cousin kind of girl, so he was used to her hugging him all the time. (What he didn’t know was that, Minah thought if she could get Chaeyoung a little jealous, she’d actually make a move on lover boy.)

Yes, using puppy eyes (on Minah and Chaeyoung’s part) and a little bribing (on Sangha’s part) they had convinced the poor college student into looking after Minwoo for the night. Sanghyuk was also rather fond of the brat so he didn’t mind too much. He played hard-to-get? convince?  knowing his sister would try to bribe him. Sly motherer.

Once they had hugged Sanghyuk enough (or not enough in Chaeyoung’s case), they headed out to wait for the taxi they had called. They waited, talking without a care in the world.

“Man, I need to get laid. I’ve been celibate for over a year now. I’ve got to release all this tension inside before I explode,” Minah sighed out.

“You do… Hopefully you’ll snag yourself a big one with some decent skills,” Sangha winked.

“Lord, please forgive these sinners,” Chaeyoung stage whispered into the night air.

WHACK!

Small whimper could be made out from the small figure known as Chaeyoung, as she rubbed her head in an attempt to rid herself of the pain. Once she stood up properly, the three girls clambered into the taxi that had arrived.

Let’s just say, they had one hell of a night.

 

Wednesday, 2nd of March 2016 07:30.

“NO MUMMY!”

“Minwoo, baby… Kindergarten isn’t scary, and you get to make lots of friends.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! DON’T LEAVE ME MUMMY! YOU’RE MY FRIEND. I DON’T WANT ANYONE ELSE!”

“Baby… You like Auntie Chaeyoung and Sangha. And Uncle Sanghyuk. You get to make friends your age here.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

The wailing shrieks of one Kang Minwoo rang through the entrance of the kindergarten. The poor receptionist winced but to her credit, did not raise her hands to cover her rather numb ears. A flustered Minah mouthed a silent apology whilst trying to calm down the hysterical boy who was clutching at her in an almost painful grip. His tiny body trembled from all the sobbing.

When Minah had registered Minwoo for kindergarten, she had thought he would be ecstatic. Instead, he had thrown one of his rather rare tantrums. It had subsided after a while, and Minah had been convinced he had come to terms with the inevitable part of life known as kindergarten. What a big mistake. She should’ve known he wasn’t the type to back down so easily. In fact, an undeniable truth was, he is a Kang. She is a Kang. HER BROTHER, ALSO KNOWN AS MINWOO’S FATHER IS? WAS? ALSO A KANG. THE KANGS KNOWN FOR BEING STUBBORN S THAT COULD BEAT A MULE IN A ‘BEING STUBBORN’ COMPETITION ANY DAY. How could she have been so dumb?

It clicked in her brain. Kang’s were also known for being competitive for the dumbest reasons. She could make use of this.

“Baby. If we go home like this, you’ll be home alone. I have to go work. And it also means you’ll be absent on the first day of kinder. You won’t be able to get the prize at the end of the year.”

“What’s absent? What prize?”

Success. He was baited. That’s right. Minah did not feel an ounce of guilt for doing this to her son. Because he could be a stubborn brat when it came down to it. A trait in herself that she hated, but was rearing its head right now in Minwoo. It made it easier to bait him.

She briefly explained what being ‘absent’ and the prize at the end of the year was. No need to tell him, that prize was only given out after entering primary school.

 

 

 

 

 

2017.01.24
AN: bit angsty at the start but I promise it’ll start to be more (kinda) crack-ish. I have found writing in Korean and translating into English balls. Swearing in Korean is so much more creative /sighs. I should also mention, please be aware of the dates. It might go forward or backward. I like jumping around all over the place. Soznotsoz. Thanks to those who subscribed (no idea why but I ain’t complainin’).