Taeyeon's POV:

 

 

I must admit the fruitcake that Ahjumma Taeng baked for me is very rich in flavor. But even after five days later, I still can't finish them. I have quarter from the fruitcake that I store in my fridge. Maybe I will cut it into two pieces. I will eat half from it later with my mom and save the other half to share it with my baby girl. She can have it after she returns from Tiffany's house.

 

I felt so excited.

 

Only one and a half day till Hyomin returned to my place. I really missed having her around in my life. Whenever she was around, I never missed to discover things that bring her an enjoyment. And she really loves to follow me around to do things, or to learn something from me too. A young kid like her should just play a lot and rest a lot. However, she chose differently.

 

My kid has a heart of gold.

 

When she stays with me, she never failed to join me cleaning our house and join me preparing our meal for lunch or dinner. For the cleaning part, she knew how to put her dirty clothes in the laundry and she knew how to turn on the robot vacuum to clean the floor in her room and our house. Her room and bed are always clean and tidy. She says she loves it like that because she saw I did the same to my room. And she says again, she wants her room to look the same like mine.

 

Every week when I have to clean the toilet, she will follow me along and ask me what else she can do to help me better. If I decline her offer, she will start to whine at me and begging me by reasoning she wants it to end quickly so I can play with her. As a result, I gave her the easiest part to wipe the bathtub - the place that I already cleaned beforehand. When we were done and I questioned her what she wanted to play with me, she told me what she did together with me considered as playing too. I can't complain more, because I know she sweated a lot and felt drained out from our cleaning activity. The thing she did urge me to give her a treat. Like eating her favourite ice-cream, chocolate, or her favourite cake will happen every once or twice a week, whenever when she felt she wants that. It must be nice to have that as a treat, I thought. Because her effort to help me clean the house is considered big enough for a young kid in her age. I know I'm not a perfect mother. But I always try to be the best for her. Because I know loving her really worth my time.

 

My kid is a considerate person too.

 

She ate whatever food that I cooked without demanding much. But honestly, I don't want her to feel like she needs to be like me when I know how she loves to eat other food too. So, sometimes, I called the chef that worked with us in Tiffany's house in the past to prepare Hyomin something delicious to eat. The chef that I paid handsomely every time when he visited our house. Choi Minho, or Minho. He is Sooyoung’s first cousin. He is also a close friend of mine. He had an experience working with us since Hyomin was still an infant. Now, he works full-time at grandpa's flight catering service. I helped him to get the job because I believed his work never disappoint anyone. Every time he was in the house, Hyomin was able to eat more than her average meal.

 

I know Hyomin will decline my offer if I asked her directly if she wants to eat other food or not. Because I already did that last time. She refused my offer to order other food online because she wants to eat what I ate and she says she can eat other food when she stays with Tiffany. By having Minho in the house, my kid will eat all her favourite food with Minho's supervision. Not eating alone or by herself. Hyomin considers Minho as her samchon or uncle. Because he was so nice to her like her other aunties. He always prepared something special for Hyomin to eat during her birthday other than giving her a birthday present.

 

By having Minho in the house, I learned a few tricks and menu in preparing Hyomin a lunch box too. The thing that Hyomin always loves to see these days. I made her minion, olaf, or dookong rice balls mix with shrimp, baked potato, mushroom and one choice of fruit she likes. The menu which I will change every day, unless if Hyomin wants them the same. Sometimes, I baked her bun or gingerbread cookies. I will make sure to pack them extra, so she can share it with her friends.

 

This afternoon, I have a chance to do facetime with her. We always do facetime every day, even if she stays in Tiffany's house. Usually, in the afternoon or before she went to sleep. She updated me about her morning activity. Tiffany sent her to a self-defence class two minutes late because of the traffic. She learns Taekwondo for about two months now because Tiffany wants our daughter to be ready for the future. I didn't disagree with what Tiffany wants, but I did say to her that it depends on our daughter. If the practice is too harsh for Hyomin to take, I will make her discontinue the lesson and maybe to continue it again when she was six or seven.

 

All I know, Hyomin is always excited to attend her self-defence class. Her sabeom or instructor is like an older sister to her, she says. Her sabeom always treat her and every kid who attends the lesson very kindly. That's why she loves to learn more from her sabeom. And her lesson is only for a beginner level as of now. She says it's okay for her to go to each class. Anyway, I always check with her what she learns in her class or if she does feel discomfort in any way during her class. I asked, just in case if we need to reconsider about sending her to a self-defence class. But so far, she never says anything that worried me. I guess that she was doing alright learning a self-defence at the age of four. Because they have two other kids in the same age as Hyomin who learns Taekwondo in the same club.

 

Self-defense class is not the only thing that Hyomin attended these days. She also went to a music class. Her teacher is no other than her favourite person. She followed my schedule that I created specifically for her. But sometimes, she learns extra on her own, especially kalimba and flute because they are small in size and very easy to bring anywhere. Right now, she can play less than twenty songs with ukulele, guitar, kalimba, or flute. She told me, she's also interested to learn playing drum, violin, and piano in the future. My kid is so amazing. She never gives up and always works hard to learn a new thing that bring her an interest. You may never believe me if I say, she self-taught herself from YouTube, sometimes.

 

In her pre-school class, she's one among two kids who can read. She knew alphabets and numbers in Hangul and English which she already learned from us. But even if she knew that, she never complained about learning the same subject to us. I got to know this from her teacher who was amazed to know she can read a children's story book. From her teacher's message, I was aware that Hyomin is very bubbly to have friends around her age who went and learnt something together with her in her pre-school. She made a lovely friend in there. A kid name Eunjung and Jiyeon. They're her best friends as what she told me. Her friends who went to the same Taekwondo club like her.

 

These a few days, other than working from home, I spent my time consistently helping people in agony. The time I spent on the chat platform always occurred at night. Usually, after my dinner. I must say, it's been a peaceful day and night with no interruption I faced by anyone. Either the case I handle did not bring any interest to them or maybe because the personality who wore a crown had appeared again one day after ahjumma Taeng comforted my feeling of loneliness. From the CCTV in the house, I saw the alter just sat at our dining room chair for the period of half an hour without doing anything. It's the same like what she did previously when she happened to come out.

 

Yuri was the first to call me after I gained consciousness. She and my mom knew about what happened in my house. The CCTV I have in the house, actually, it can be streamed live by Yuri, Yoona, Sunny, and my mom. We made this as a precaution. Just in case, if the Kid Leader came out and she did something as what we scared of. And also, to record and to study everyone’ behaviour. Ever since I lived in the house, most of them never try to leave the place for no reason. It seems like they know our house very well. If they went out, they will always make sure to come back. The only alter that used to leave and return to the house are TY, Byuntae, and Ahjumma Taeng. TY went in and out of the house while I believe he was on a mission trying to make sure Donghae and his parents stayed in jail. While Ahjumma Taeng and Byuntae, they went out for grocery shopping. Buying things that I don't have in the house.

 

On that day, Sunny appeared in my home while I was having a phone call with Yuri. She wanted to check on me physically because they knew the information that I gave to them last time after the personality with a crown appeared. I have a difficulty of breathing like I don't have enough oxygen in me after the personality let me handle the body again. That's the reason why Sunny came. Now, I need to stay home more which meant no grocery shopping or sending or taking Hyomin from school. My mom will help me with that. She decided to take a break from her job for awhile just to watch me closely. I never leave the place since it happened as well. Same goes to my mom. Because Sunny already helped us to stock up enough food for a couple of weeks. The reason why I need to stay home more is because they wanted to prove if our assumption about the personality that might possess the power to control everyone in me. The personality that we never discovered in the past. She might be the reason why no one else was taking my time for four years before.

 

I can say, my homebody level was upgraded again. As a homebody, I don't really have time to get bored in my own house. I always filled my time doing something. I care about my physical fitness. So, I will make sure to exercise at least one hour daily. Thirty minutes of cardio training and thirty minutes of weight training. The other time I have, I spend them joining my mom doing gardening in our backyard, learning to cook new vegan recipe, or just our normal routine, having a therapy day and night to share my thoughts or emotions. Other than playing music for fun, I did try to write a lyric and composing a song again. Within three days, I managed to write two songs. The two demo songs which I will send to Tiffany's label. I don't really need to earn money to pay my debt to her anymore. I have more than enough income deposited into my bank account every month. I just did it for fun. And also, to fill my time. If they plan to buy my song, I will donate all the money to Yuri's orphanage house, old folks home, and others organization who needs resources.

 

My mom was very supportive to my intention. She is the best for making me feel so special too. Having her in the house is always wonderful. She creates warmness whenever she’s in the house. Ever since I was a kid, I always feel closed and attached to her. Because she never did me wrong, even a little. She's always watched my back. She is a mother and she is also my best friend. She is the person that I feel comfortable to share about my feeling or emotion. She always listens to me before giving me a word of advice.

 

For the past two days, she has been trying to tell me something about the past. She said, she wants me to be ready with it. If it’s not Jessica, maybe she can help me. Because she holds a story about the past that she never revealed to us before. The story that she didn’t tell everything to the police. She reasoned out, since we have a record about the personalities in me, and none of them were seemingly dangerous, she thinks, it’s about the time to share her story. She trusted her story could help me to bring back my old memory. It's about her, her husband, my biological mother, and my biological father. But I wasn't ready to go back to the past yet. I insist, it's already past. I don’t want to know about the past because I was afraid to hear the reason why I have a mental issue.

 

Truthfully, I really want to focus more on my future. Not only me, but I believed everyone was going to the same direction. Towards the future. Anyhow, I made a promise to her. I informed her that I will ask her about the story if I feel I want to know or if I already ready to hear them from her. She agreed to my request. She stated that I have the right to choose the information that I want to hear. She’s really the best mother that I have ever known. I really love her for respecting my decision.

 

 

 

*******

 

 

Time passed and the seasons changed. From spring to summer, to autumn, and now to winter. Now is already mid-January of 2019. It's been seven months I haven't split to the other personality that I have in me. The last when my time was taken, it happened after the alter who used a crown appear to take control of us. It occurred one day after Ahjumma Taeng made me a delicious fruitcake. The alter just sat at the dining table chair for the period of half an hour without doing anything. My mom helped me to assess my condition from the CBT therapy that I took regularly after that. The result doesn't look bad after a month later. I didn't feel melancholy about Jessica whom I lost contact. It seemed that I have conquered the bad energy in me after I become active with my job to help people in agony.

 

Mostly, I handle a suicide case which required me to stay in their place. I did that when Hyomin was in Tiffany's custody. But the period I stayed with them only last less than a week. In between two to five days. Based on how serious their case was. I never trapped the whole two weeks in the same place as them anymore. So far, I have helped more than fifty cases. Looking after them made me extraordinarily busy again. My responsibilities increased. Not only catering to my daughter’s needs, but also be resourceful with my theme park project, my job as a director of the academy, and my side job as crj captain and flight instructor. I can't deny how occupied I was these a few months. I felt like the others were giving me a full cooperation similar to six years ago because they know I was back on the right track in my life, especially in helping people.

 

Since I have no one taking my time, and my CBT therapy show no depressive sign, I begin to fly solo a few times to get the feeling at high altitude again. That happened one month after the personality using a crown last appeared. All this while, I always flew using my home flight simulator, even if I can't fly the real airplane yet. My landing skill still tip-top as it used to. Hyomin was with me during my third take-off. She finally got the chance to see her favourite sunset from a cockpit view. Experiencing that for her age, must be nice, I thought. She got mesmerized so much during our take-off and landing. She pointed out it's like riding a rollercoaster similar to what she had seen on T.V. When we were above the sky, she said we are like a gigantic bird that flew steadily. The feeling to sit inside the cockpit area is obviously different than her passed experience to sit in a passenger plane or a private jet seat.

 

When we went home that night, she asked me to tell her about my journey to become a pilot as her bedtime story. She told me she has lots to think now. She doesn't know if she wants to become a chef, or a doctor anymore. Because she wants to become a pilot like me too. I almost laugh to her adorable whiny. I explained to her that we will figure out her ambition more in the future. It's not necessary to choose only one profession. She can learn a few if she has an interest in them like how she learns different music instruments. And she should not be stressed out to choose them now. Thankfully, she felt calm and got into her beauty sleep after saying she felt happy to have me. I felt the same. I thanked