Yuri strolled down the path of the outdoor supermarket. It was still the same as she last left it. The smell of fish in the corner and the colorful clothing at the other end of the street made her smile at her childhood long behind her. She hadn’t been in her neighborhood in years. Her fingers played through little pieces of homemade jewelry neatly placed on the table. The seller stared at her in the hopes that her customer would buy one.

“I’ll buy this,” Yuri told the shop seller while handing her a blue bracelet. She was stuck in a gaze as she contemplated the piece of cheap jewelry. Her mind wasn’t with her at that moment. She just couldn’t seem to believe that her son was in the area. It felt so surreal. The last time she had a chance to hold him was 5 years ago. 5 years!

After unconsciously handing over the money and purchasing the bracelet, Yuri looked behind her and paused. “Lord, protect my father,” she mumbled to herself.

She still thought about him, even if deep down, she knew that he deserved this punishment of being on the run. Yuri strolled down the streets and stepped into a small restaurant. There was a line-up at the counter. She hurriedly stood behind the last person in line. Crossing her arms while observing her surroundings, Yuri first noticed an open back pack. The person on front of her forgot to close their bag. Yuri peeked inside out of curiosity and spotted an interesting piece of possession: a wallet. It was for hers to take.

Tempting.

The urge to grab in went through her veins. She observed the owner of the backpack for a moment. He was a student with a clean cut uniform from the wealthy high school a few blocks away. Yuri looked at the remaining of the line and the rest of her surroundings to make sure that nobody was looking. As much as she hated to do this, she knew how much her family needed the money badly.

She carefully inserted her hand into the opening of the bag and reaching for the piece of leather. At the same time, her eyes remained observant for a possible witness. Yuri finally got a grip of the corner of the wallet and fished it out.

Suddenly, Yuri felt her arm tugged by another. She looked behind her to find a strong man blocking her hand from completing the action. Her wrist was locked between his fingers and palm. Her sweat drained down her cheeks.

Busted.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he pressured for an answer. Yuri swallowed and nervously stared deep into his eyes. He was awfully handsome, yet awfully familiar. His soft breathe blew on her nose.

“I-I umm,” she stuttered heavily. The teenaged boy finally ly to gasp in panic when seeing his wallet with Yuri. The young boy took away what rightfully belonged to him and shoved it in his pocket. He began to shout at her with insults and curses. Yuri felt so ashamed of herself.

People began to stare at the scene as the boy even attempted hitting her with a fist. Lucky for Yuri, the man who had caught her in the act held the boy back and attempted to calm him down. He soon shifted his attention back to her and gave her a powerful glare.

“Are you so desperate that you need to pickpocket a teenager?” asked the man. Yuri could feel his voice vibrate in her ear. His unique eyes, his defined lips, his well shaped nose. She recognized him now. Nichkhun?

 She felt pain surge in her blood as her heart began to pound through her chest. She didn’t even hear his question anymore. Her eyes were glued to him. Him. She hadn’t seen him in forever and now, he was holding her wrist with such anger that she couldn’t even notice. Who would have thought that on the same day she visited her hometown, she would cross paths with the man she loved the most in the world?

“I’m talking to you, miss,” continued Nichkhun as the woman remained unchanged. went dry and her eyes were glued into his stare. They stood in silence. “Say something before I call the police to deal with you.”

Yuri bit her lip to avoid showing her trembling teeth. Nichkhun?

“Nichkhun?” said someone at the same time as Yuri’s thoughts. They shifted their heads to find the owner of that high pitched voice. There stood a beautiful young lady with dark hair and big brown eyes. No surprise Victoria wasn’t far away. From the exchange of glances, Yuri knew that Victoria was alarmed by her presence as much as Yuri was with hers. “Yu-“

Victoria almost slipped her friends name until Yuri made a dreadful expression to stop her.

“Yu- I mean, Eun Seo?? What are you doing here?”

“Nothing. I was just…” was all she managed to say until someone caught her eye. A small boy stood right beside Victoria with an air of confusion swirling around him. His head tilted to the side as he observed Yuri with a blank look. She looked closer and could match his face with the child on Victoria’s pictures. That was him; her son.

“You know each other?” asked Nichkhun, but Yuri ignored him. She pulled out of his tight grip and clumsily made her way to the boy. He was all Yuri wanted to see at the moment. She wanted touch him and hold him, especially after the long years they spent apart. She gripped Nihyun’s shoulders and held him for a while. The little boy tried to wiggle out of Yuri’s arms.

“Appa! Help.” he managed to murmur between breaths. Yuri held on tighter. The whole restaurant stared at her in wonder. This was distinctively odd to watch.

Nichkhun decided to step in and pull Yuri away with his strong arms. He protectively pushed her away from his son and frowned heavily while bending beside Nihyun. Yuri’s face was covered in drops of liquid squinting from her eyes. She kept her guard on her child and stood helplessly where Nichkhun had pushed her.

“Honey! Why did you hurt my friend?” shouted Victoria with nothing but a boiling temper.

“Victoria, did you see what that woman just did? And you call her your friend and even allow her near your child?”

His harsh words finally clicked in Yuri’s mind. She directed her helpless stare towards Nichkhun. He had changed so much, especially because his eyes were functional. Now, his eyes were what made him the most scary. To say that they made him seem awfully weak in the past.

Victoria ran to Yuri and hugged her left arm, bringing them close together like real sisters. She wiped her friend’s tears dry from her cheek.

“I can be friends with whoever I want to. I don’t need you to tell me what’s good for me,” fought Victoria. Her voice resonated throughout the entire room.

“Ok, fine. You can hang out with a bunch of murders for all I care, but I will not let a thief get near Nihyun.”

Yuri lips trembled, but not a single word came out. She had so much going through her mind that she couldn’t put her thoughts in order. Victoria sat Yuri down on a nearby chair once she saw her legs twitch.

“Eun-seo, don’t worry about him. He’s just being an over protective father. Don’t feel hurt. He doesn’t mean it, okay?” reassured Victoria with a fairly low voice, not allowing anyone around to fully understand. However, Yuri’s eyes didn’t leave the father and son a few meters away.

“They’ve grown to be so handsome, both of them,” she said in a low voice, without really answering Victoria’s question. She smiled weakly at the sight of her family with her at that moment, even if neither of them recognized her, to the extent, both probably looked down on her after what she just did.

From afar, she watched Nichkhun mumble a few words in his son’s ear, although, she couldn’t hear a word.

“Be carefully. Nihyun, you cannot trust that lady no matter what your mother says. She could be dangerous. She’s a thief. Understand?” were the words of advice that Yuri failed to understand from the moving of his lips.

Nihyun nodded lightly in obedience, without even questioning his father’s authority. Victoria sweetly called her son over to the table where she sat with Yuri and he escaped from his father’s arms. As he came near the table, Yuri’s smile became wider.

“Say hi to auntie Eun Seo, Nihyun.”

The boy frowned like most 5 year olds do when they don’t want to do something. His expression looked exactly like the one of Nichkhun when he stopped Yuri from taking the wallet earlier.

“I don’t want to. I don’t like auntie. Appa said that she isn’t a good person,” he simply blurted out carelessly as he took a seat furthest away from Yuri.

If anything hurt her the most in her life, it was the words of her son, whom she left for the better, that expressed all his hatred towards her.

Nichkhun came from behind and sat beside the little boy. Yuri just wished at that moment that Nichkhun could go back blind. He was sweeter, calmer, and lovelier that way. He had changed. Now, he was someone completely different. He had forgotten all about Kwon Yuri. Both her child and his father were no longer hers.

It's been almost a year. I've been reading a lot to get inspiration. Hope you guys still remember this story. :) <3 Thank you all for reminding me that I still had to write this. I nearly forgot it existed.