"Overcoming our fears is one step closer to happiness"

Chapter 3

A confession that no one had expected from the high-schooler, yet it brought them closer to piece the puzzles together. No one at her age should have experience death right in front of her, it's no wonder that Hayoung wasn't afraid at all when confronting it. Even to the point of inflicting harm towards others and herself, committing crimes and just being a bad kid, was all a diversion for her to escape from reality. It was because she did not want to move on, she was stuck in the deep trauma with the memories of her dead friend, Kim Namjoo.

It was all they needed to know for agents Chorong and Eunji to understand in order to help her out. Although they were doing it simply because it is a mission and they are paid to do so, they were able to understand it on a personal level. Hearing Hayoung's story where she mourned and regretted her mistakes that lead to her friend's death, it reminded the older girl Chorong of her once, best friend who also died in similar causes. With the sudden rush of memories flowing into her mind, she too, cried along with Hayoung.

"Unnie..." said Eunji, knowing fully well what those tears meant.

"W-Why are you crying?" stuttered Hayoung as she sniffed and looked at Chorong with confusion.

"I understand your pain very well Hayoung-ah, I too...lost a friend so precious to me because of a mistake." said Chorong quietly as she hugged the high-schooler, able to know how much the girl must've went through at such a young age.

"Did you lose a friend too?" the high schooler asked.

"Mm. She was a very good friend just like yours. A cheerful, bubbly girl who always make jokes and was silly most of the time. She's gone now but I'll always remember her in my heart."

"But how can you move on? How can you just continue living with such an empty hole in here?" asked Hayoung, her eyes all red as she pointed towards her chest.

"You have to live on. Because I'm sure your friend would want to see you live happily." said Chorong with a smile.

"This girl, Namjoo that you talk about, Hayoung-ah, why do you think she would've chose to take her own life just to make sure that you didn't die?" asked Eunji calmly.

The high-schooler was silent, her mind completely blank as she did not know the answer.

"It's because she loved you. She loved and cherished you like her own sister." said Eunji.

It was upon that realisation that the girl realised, she did have a family. Her family was right there yet she did not know. And now, it was too late. 

There was no words needed for the two girls as they sat in a long silence, trying their best to comfort the high-schooler as she cried and cried. Never before had the girl cried so much as everything she kept bottled inside her chest, exploded.

~X~

"Is she asleep?" asked Chorong with tired eyes while looking at Eunji who finally came out of Hayoung's room, closing the door.

"She finally stopped crying and is already deep in her sleep." smiled Eunji as she proceeded to sit down on the couch, right next to her unnie.

"What about you? Are you going to be alright?" she asked. "You thought about her again, didn't you?" 

"It's okay Eunji-ya, it's already been three years since her death. I'm okay."

"Don't always say that you're okay when you're not. I've already promised Bomi to take care of you when she's gone." said the younger girl with a frown.

"I really am. Really." the older girl nodded.

"What are we going to do with Hayoung? As according to the mission plans, she's supposed to start training immediately at the government centre tommorow. There's no way she's going in that condition"

"Don't worry, I've already called them to postpone her training."

"Really? Wow, as expected of Chorong unnie."

"I think she needs time to adapt herself, she needs to know what it's like to be part of a family, to have a mom, to have a dad. She needs to understand how it feels like to be loved."

"Mm, so I guess you're the mom then." the younger girl giggled. "I'll be the dad cause I'm not good at all the things that you do like cooking, cleaning-"

"Okay, stop. You don't need to explain that." said Chorong as she covered the girl's mouth.

"But unnie, we have one problem." she said with a snicker.

"What?"

"We have to sleep together. The bed in the other room is a king size bed."

A sigh escaped from Chorong's mouth.

"Looks like we have to shower together too~"

"No, we don't!"

"Don't married couples do that?"

"We're not married..."

"Technically we are unnie."

"That still doesn't mean-"

"It's a joke unnie." Eunji said with a straight face before laughing it off as Chorong tried to tickle her neck as a form of punishment. She knew that the girl was very playful and cheeky. At times, it did remind her of Bomi too.

With the night passing by after a long day, the two agents slept together despite the younger girl's teasing, she respected Chorong's space and they each slept at the corner of the bed, awkwardly. 

~X~

It was a start of a new beginning, the girl who was saved by Chorong and Eunji and confessed everything that was kept locked in her heart. She wanted to try, she wanted to trust and believe in someone again, in hopes of healing her wound and also in hopes of finding a new meaning to live again. The high-schooler was still in a daze but only with time, she could get better. Waking up in the comfort of a bed that she hasn't felt in a long time, to actually believe that she had a home now, she got out of bed and hoped that it was not a dream. Opening the door, she could smell the aroma of beautiful breakfast in the making. Walking up to the dining table, she could see Chorong busy cooking something in the kitchen while Eunji sat down, reading the newspaper. 

She has a family now.

"Oh? You're finally awake. I was thinking of going to wake you up but I guess you needed all the sleep." said Eunji with a smile.

"Morning Hayoung-ah, just wait a bit more and breakfast will be ready." said Chorong.

"How long was I asleep?" the younger girl asked.

"Well, 10 hours? No, I think it's 12. Are you feeling better now?" Eunji asked as she stood up to look at her. "Oh my, your eyes are swollen. All that crying last night, really hurt my heart y'know?" the girl said with a pout.

"I-It's okay...I'm feeling better than before....." nodded the girl as she sat down. "What are we doing today? You said that the government wants me?"

"Well, we're postponing that. Today, we're going to do everything that you want. Everything that you have missed as a child, we will do it together. We're a family now after all." said Eunji.

"Unnie...."

"It's your day Hayoung-ah. Oh and don't worry about going to school. you don't need that anymore. You're free." said Chorong as she came over to serve a simple breakfast. "Be careful, it's still hot." she continued.

"Thank you for the meal~" grinned Eunji as she dug straight in, followed by Chorong and Hayoung who was hesitant once again, but decided to take one bite. Indeed, the high schooler has been so surprised by the flavours that she had never come across before. The taste of home-made food that she wanted to eat forever. She had enough of eating instant noodles and foods cooked by a microwave, she wanted to eat Chorong's cooked food all her life.

"Have you thought of what you want to do today?" asked Chorong.

"We can go shopping, take a walk at the park or even go to the arcade. You like playing games don't you?" asked Eunji.

"I want to watch a movie." the girl answered.

"A movie? What kind of movie? Action?" said Eunji, trying to make use of what information she knew of the girl. She thought that she must've liked shows that had guns, fighting and sorts.

"Hey, I can't watch those kind of shows with the blood and everything..." mumbled Chorong with a frown.

"But you can watch horror movies totally fine unnie. This ain't nothing." said Eunji.

"I want to watch Pororo." said Hayoung as for the first time ever, she smiled. It was a smile that a happy child would make, it was a smile that was full of innocence.

Upon hearing the girl's answer, Chorong and Eunji looked at each other and broke into a laughter. It was completely unexpected, the high schooler who would fight and was feared by her classmates, was still a child at heart.

"Is that so? If our Hayoung wants to watch Pororo, then we will watch Pororo." said Eunji with a motherly smile as she caressed the high schooler's head. She had never expected her to have such adorable charms, it was impossible to resist.

"Then let's head to the shopping mall nearby and catch the earliest movie." suggested Chorong.

"Sure thing. How's that Hayoung-ah?" asked Eunji.

"Mm, I want to eat fried chicken too after the movie."

"Alright then, it's been awhile since we ate chicken." said the older girl agreeing to the plan.

Eunji cheered in joy, because chicken was her most favourite among all of the foods in the world. With all three leaving the house and heading to the nearest shopping mall, it was the first time they were truly spending time together like an actual family.

~X~

Queuing up to have their tickets verified before they could enter the cinema, Hayoung was becoming more livelier as she talked with excitement, explaining every single bit about Pororo to both Chorong and Eunji. In moments like these, she was like a young child who was completely in love with cartoons. Never before had they seen her, smile so much. The Hayoung now, was happy and the two hoped that she would continue to be like this forever.

Hugging popcorn with her right arm and holding Hayoung's hands with her left, Eunji took a glance at Chorong who wasn't holding anything. She wondered if the girl might've felt left out since she was indeed much closer to Hayoung. It was similar as to how a father would be so endearing to the daughter and somehow, ignoring the spouse. Without much thought, Eunji suddenly used to hold the popcorn, spreaded her arms out wide and wrapped them around Chorong and Hayoung's arms, pulling them close to her as she held the popcorn tightly back in her hands.

"What are you doing Eunji-ya?" asked Chorong as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Because we're a family right?" asked Hayoung with a smile.

"Bingo~ we can't leave anyone out. Come on, let's go in~" said Eunji with a grin as she pulled the two girls along.

Soon, they entered the cinema, got their seats and the screen turned dark. It was time for Pororo the Movie to be screened. It was rather strange because they were surrounded by a lot of children obviously but that didn't matter as long as Hayoung had a good time. 

"You want some popcorn unnie?" whispered Eunji to Chorong. She was seated in the middle and was busy to both sides. On one end, she had to listen to Hayoung who kept explaining about each character in Pororo. She didn't find it annoying at all. In fact, it was adorable that a girl her age was still so excited and fascinated with cartoons. On the other end, she also had to make sure that Chorong was enjoying the movie or needed any popcorn. Knowing her partner well, she knew what kind of things Chorong disliked.

"Mm, it's okay Eunji-ya." whispered Chorong back.

"Sorry, i just don't want you to feel left out."

"What do you mean? I'm not left out at all."

"Really?"

"Mm, in fact isn't this the first time we watched a movie together?"

"Oh yeah, we've been so busy. At least today, it marks our first." smiled Eunji as she held onto Chorong's hand.

"We kept working and working, this is our only chance to rest for a bit."

"Yes we need to rest otherwise unnie will grow a lot of wrinkles" she giggled quietly.

"Hey, do you want to die?" smirked Chorong quietly as she pinched Eunji's hand.

"Ah, okay okay unnie, we're in the cinema let's not-" said Eunji as she quietly endured the pain. But she was enjoying this, teasing and fooling her favourite unnie gave her so much happiness despite the punishments she gave.

Chorong too, smiled. Although it wasn't obvious, but she was grateful for Eunji's teasings even though it does annoy her to a certain extent. Her teases make her forget about her busy life for a moment. The stress that she suffers from, all gone for a small minute because of that girl. The girl who brings her happiness, just like someone who used to do the same, Yoon Bomi.

Hayoung who heard everything, smiled. She had just figured out the perfect plan to bring her "parents" closer. She was more than intelligent enough to know that the two didn't have any "romantic" feelings for each other, but just what if? What if? After all, they are her family now. There's no way a father and mother would have no chemistry together.

With a smirk while watching the movie, Hayoung's hidden cheeky side was slowly showing.

~X~

After the movie, the three headed to get chicken as promised. Heading out to the streets of Hongdae where one of the most popular chicken restaurants were, they got a seat and order four sets of chicken.

Indeed, like a father and son, both Eunji and Hayoung agreed to compete and see who could eat the most chicken while Chorong had no choice but to look onto them with worry. She had to prepare tissues, knowing fully well that their hands would be extra oily after the heated match. At times, Chorong did wonder if she was taking care of not one but two big-sized children.

"Hey, eat slowly! Otherwise, you'll get indigestion!" said Chorong as she ate her chicken calmly.

"I can't! Eunji unnie has already finished four pieces! I can't lose!" said Hayoung, talking while chewing the meat.

"Don't talk with your mouth open." scolded Chorong.

"Ah, it would be good if we order some soju. It goes so well with chicken." mumbled Eunji while deboning her piece.

"You can't drink with an underaged kid." scolded Chorong once again.

"Gosh, you two..." she sighed after that, staring at the two girls who kept eating and eating to see who could eat the most. But for some reason, she was smiling. Just by watching the two bicker about, made her happy.

For the next 10 minutes, the two girls ate until they could no longer swallow a single piece down their throat. It was a tie. 

"I can't move.." groaned Eunji.

"I feel like throwing up..." mumbled Hayoung.

"I knew this would happen. Come on you two, open your mouths." said Chorong with a sigh as she took out something from her purse.

"Say ah~" she continued as she shoved a pill into both Eunji and Hayoung's mouth. "Chew it."

Obediently, the two did as they were told.

"What's that unnie?" asked Eunji.

"I suddenly don't feel the bloating in my stomach anymore" said Hayoung.

"It's to help with indigestion so that you two won't fall sick when we go back home." said Chorong. "You girls are really..." she sighed.

"As expected of our Rong unnie~" grinned Eunji proudly.

"Wow, I didn't know Chorong unnie carries stuff like that around. Indeed, I guess this is what mothers are like." said Hayoung with fascination in her eyes.

"Hey, not all mothers are like that" said Chorong.

"But you're my mother now, Chorong unnie." said Hayoung with a straight expression. All it took was one word from the girl, to have her heart melted in this warmness that she felt. It was strange to be called that but to see Hayoung smiling after that, perhaps this is what mothers felt like to their daughters, sons, children alike. It made her want to protect her, watch her grow into someone admirable and wished that she had all the happiness in the world.

"Oh~ Hayoung~ I didn't know you were good at words~" grinned Eunji as she caressed Hayoung's hair with motherly look.

"W-What do you mean, I'm just saying whatever's in my heart...." mumbled Hayoung in embarassment afterwards.

"Cute.." said Chorong quietly with a laugh.

"A-Anyways, let's do something else!" said the younger girl with a stutter, rummaging through her bag.

"What is it Hayoung-ah?" asked Chorong wondering what she was finding.

"Since you said it's my day today so we get to do everything that I want to do right?" Hayoung asked. "You can't say no right?" she asked.

"Mm. That's right." nodded Eunji.

"Then.." said Hayoung with a smirk. "I want mom and dad to play this game." the girl took out a pepero box and placed it on the table.

Upon seeing that, Eunji giggled while Chorong sighed.

"Where on earth did you get that?" asked Chorong.

"Doesn't matter, I want the two of you to play this game." said Hayoung with a cheeky smile.

"I mean, I know we are your parents but, we also not your parents too y'know? Like me and Eunji, we're not-" Chorong tried to find excuses but was cut off.

"Come on unnie, we can't upset the girl by not playing this game. It's what she wants and we promised. Promises can't be broken." said Eunji with a snicker, taking out a piece of pepero stick and already putting one end into . The girl was already making use of this opportunity to tease Chorong even more.

"Eunji unnie is right, I want you to play the game." said Hayoung.

"Fine." the older girl said with a sigh. Turning her body to face Eunji's, her heart started to beat quickly. It was then, she felt Eunji holding tightly onto her hands as if it was a message to encourage her. With that, she reluctantly bit on the other end of the stick while her eyes stared deeply into Eunji's eyes. They were so close to each other, despite having the pepero stick in the middle of the path.

"Alright, and.....go!" said Hayoung with excitement as she watched her two unnies slowly biting and moving closer to each other. It was going in a very slow speed because obviously, it felt awkward and the possibility of them kissing on the lips made them nervous.

Eunji whose heart wouldn't usually flutter at things like these, skipped a beat. It was the first time she felt her heart like that and she loved that feeling. This adrenaline rush between her veins and excitement that awaited as the pepero stick got shorter, she was thrilled to find out how long Chorong would keep biting until she gave up. 

With her surprise, the two had already reached the point where their noses touched. All it took was three more steps and their lips would really meet. They were so close to the point where they could feel each other's breath under their noses.

It was at that moment, Hayoung sneakily moved her two hands behind Chorong and Eunji's head without them knowing. With a cheeky smirk, her plan had succeeded. In just a split second before Chorong wanted to stop, Hayoung gently pushed their two heads together, forcing their lips to touch. 

Thanks to Hayoung's sneaky move, her "parents" kissed.

~X~

The walk back home, was awkward. Hayoung stood in the middle between Chorong and Eunji, arms around their shoulders as she hummed to a children's song happily with a bright grin on her face.

"Wow, I didn't know you were like this Hayoung-ah. You really got me surprised there." said Eunji while avoiding Chorong's gaze.

"I can't believe you did that.....I really just can't believe you Hayoung-ah..." said Chorong, clearly taken aback.

"I mean, I watched many movies and the kind of parents that I knew from television always kissed and acted sweet around each other. I wanted to have a mom and dad who did that and I'm glad that my dream came through. Thank you unnies~" said Hayoung.

"Ah, what do I do? I have no words to say really.." said Eunji with a speechless laughter as she touched her lips, remembering that moment where it touched Chorong's. That girl whom she kissed, stayed silent during the whole walk.

"Thank you." said Hayoung in the middle of the silence.

"Hm? What for?" asked Eunji.

"You really did as promised. Everything that I really wanted to do, it happened. I thought that it was all a lie, i thought that you two were just fooling me to pull me somewhere that would make my life even worse. At times, I doubted you but now, I have learned to trust again. I'm sorry for giving the two of you a hard time and you don't need to tell me, I know this is all temporary. But even so, both Chorong and Eunji unnie will always be my mom and dad, it's a dream that came through. I can't express how much I'm thankful for this." confessed Hayoung.

"What are you saying? We may seperate one day but it doesn't mean it's over. We will be your parents forever, even when this mission ends! Don't worry you little brat!" said Eunji with a wide grin, caressing Hayoung's head.

"At first, we were only doing this simply because it's a long-term mission. But now, I don't want this mission to end. I want to have a daughter like you, Hayoung-ah." said Chorong with a smile.

"Then why isn't mom and dad in love with each other? Hmm, I hope you two won't file for a divorce anytime soon" joked the younger girl.

"W-W-What are you saying?!" stuttered Chorong.

"Aigoo, this kid watched too much movies! You're thinking too much. Come on, let's hurry up and go home!" said Eunji as she gently pinched Hayoung's cheeks as a form of punishment.

If only this moment lasted forever, a moment that gave them happiness, a moment that made Hayoung realise what having a family is like. If only, she could frame this onto an ice cube that will never melt. But of course, life is so unexpected that you have to cherish every single second together before it's too late.

~X~

By the time they had returned to their apartment block, there was something amiss in the air. The lights along the corridor were switched off and is was awfully quiet without a single sound. Walking carefully towards their door, both agents Chorong and Eunji could already sense something suspicious. With years of experience in this field, they still had to remember that they were still working. They were working in a job that had so many dangerous risks to lives, because anything could happen in the midst of their peaceful life.

"Unnie, what's wrong?" asked Hayoung noticing the sudden change in behaviour between her two "parents".

"It's okay. Just follow us Hayoung-ah." said Chorong as she gently placed Hayoung's hand on her waist, as if to make sure that she was with her as they walked nearer to the door. Eunji who was leading in the front, saw it first and halted her steps. The door was wide open, obvious that someone had broken into their house.

"What-" before Hayoung could even say anything, Chorong covered and shook her head, signalling her to not make a single noise. Eunji glanced at her partner, nodded and took out a gun that was hidden inside her sweater. Pointing the gun while entering the house, it was trashed everywhere. It was a huge mess.

"Is someone else also out there to catch Hayoung? Is there someone who wants to capture her because of her intelligence? We were not informed of an enemy." thought Eunji to herself as she wanted to analyse the situation while still keeping her guard up. 

It was then, at that very moment, a shadow was spotted against the light. It all happened too quickly within a blink of an eye.

Eunji who was slightly slower in terms of reflexes, was immediately pulled by someone from the back and tossed to the side as someone else stood in her way. That girl acted as shield against her while she too, pressed the trigger that lead out a loud noise. However, two gunshots were sounded at the same time, one after another.

With the gunshots echoing loudly, someone fell to the ground. 

Eunji who quickly took a glance, saw the shadow-like figure jump out of the window. She wanted to chase after that person, but the one who was injured was far more important. Clearly shocked and surprised as to what happened, the girl held her closely in her arms and used both of her hands to stop the bleeding.

"What are you doing Hayoung-ah?! Call the ambulance! Chorong unnie has been shot!" shouted Eunji as tears rolled down her cheeks.

[END OF CHAPTER 3]

A/N: Just when we thought it was going to be a happy ending for the three of them, this happened all of the sudden! Do share your thoughts on this chapter! Thank you for reading and subscribing!