Disclaimer: All credit goes to The Literary Dragon!

Jiyong glanced at Dara out of the corner of his eye for the tenth time. She looked really cute wearing his jacket. God, where were these thoughts coming from? The feelings she evoked in him. She made him feel calm, and nervous, and happy, and annoyed, and a host of other things. It was thoughts like these that made him want to bang his head against a wall. There was no way he could be thinking these things about Dara Park. She was Hojin's babysitter for Christ's sake.

Dara sighed, a contented sound. She intercepted his gaze and smiled. Jiyong felt his breath catch at the trust in her eyes. His footsteps slowed. If you looked closely, you could see snails overtaking them. Moonlight gilded her features with a ghostly beauty. Unconsciously, Jiyong tightened his hand around hers.

"Well, well, if it isn't Jiyong." Jiyong looked up sharply at the sound of the voice. "Who's you're little playmate?"

Jaejoong strolled out of the shadows into the circle of light cast by a streetlight, Kiko on his arm. Jiyong mentally slapped himself. With most of his attention on Dara, he hadn't heard them approach. Kiko's eyes glittered coldly as she studied Dara. Jaejoong ignored the girl, keeping both eyes on Jiyong.

"Do you know them, Jiyong?" Dara asked, innocent curiosity in her voice. Jiyong pushed her behind him, farther away from Kiko. As much as he would like to ignore her question, he had known, deep inside, that someday she and Kiko would meet. At least here, it was on neutral ground.

"This is my ex-wife Kiko." He paused. "And Jaejoong," he spat out as if tasting something vile. Dara released his hand and stepped around him before he could stop her.

"Hi," she chirped. "I'm Dara." She held out her hand. Kiko ignored it. But Jaejoong seized it in a firm grip.

"Nice to meet you, girl." He looked into her eyes. She bent her head. He still held her hand. She made an abortive attempt to retrieve it. Jiyong pulled her free, shoving her behind him again.

"That girl looks a little young for you, Jiyong," Kiko commented. "Are you into dating babies?"

Jaejoong peered at Dara's face in the weak light of the streetlight. Suddenly, he chuckled. "Look closer, Kiko dear. That girl could pass as your twin."

"Trying to replace me, Ji darling?" Kiko pouted. Her smile turned sly a moment later. "Does she know about the child?"

"For your information, I am Hojin's babysitter," Dara stated. Jiyong glared at her, wishing she would take the hint and shut up.

Kiko threw back her head and laughed. "You're dating the babysitter?"

"And we're not on a date," Dara shouted. "We just went to the movies together. And he gave me his jacket because I forgot mine and I was cold." Jiyong rolled his eyes. He should have known that she wouldn't know when to stop.

"I suppose he was holding your hand because it was too heavy for you?" Jaejoong said, his voice loaded with sarcasm. Dara flushed. In the uncertain light, Jiyong couldn't tell if it was with anger or embarrassment.

"Why should you care?" Jiyong cut in before Dara could dig herself even deeper into a hole. "You're dating a bitter woman who can't even remember her son's name. Why don't you go get a real job, instead of collecting other people's cast-offs."

Jaejoong turned a lovely shade of purple. "You'd better watch your back, mongrel." Jaejoong's voice shook with barely suppressed rage. "I will have that sword of yours. Even if I have to go through your friends and loved ones to get it."

Jiyong didn't relax until the clicking footsteps had faded into the distance. Dara laid a hand on his arm and started to speak. He grabbed her by the arm, ignoring her pained wince, and pulled her down the sidewalk after him.

"Let's go, Dara," he ground out between clenched teeth. Dara shut , perhaps startled by the tightness in his face, and meekly lengthened her stride to keep up with him.

Jiyong loosened his hold on her arm before reaching her house. The last little bit they walked in silence. Stony on Jiyong's part, confused on Dara's. He pulled her to a stop just outside the glow of the porch light. He struggled to regain control before facing Makiko. She was like the mother he barely remembered. He didn't want to frighten her or her daughter with his temper. Several deep breaths eased the tautness in his shoulders and calmed the roiling of his gut. Dara cast concerned looks his way as she dug in her purse for her key.

She didn't speak, merely opened the door. Makiko was there to greet them. Gentle motherly teasing amidst a warm welcome faded as she got a look at their faces. Bless her heart, she didn't insist on an explanation.

"Hojin's asleep on the couch," Hyejin whispered. "He insisted on waiting up for you. He's a little angel. You're both welcome to drop by anytime."

Jiyong brushed past her to collect Hojin. He heard Hyejin whisper a question to Dara. She answered- her voice too low for him to make out the words. Hojin snuggled closer into his arms and mumbled something that ended in ''Dara.'

Hyejin had vanished by the time he returned. Dara stood uncertainly by the door, his jacket held in her hands. He accepted it with a curt nod of thanks. She followed him outside, shutting the door behind them. Jiyong hesitated. There was so much that needed to be resolved- that flash of hurt when she had been compared to Kiko for one. That thought brought his simmering anger to a full boil.

"Jiyong. . . I'm sorry," Dara whispered, averting her face. His brain slammed to a halt. What did she have to be sorry about? "I should have a lock on my tongue. I didn't mean to embarrass you in front of your ex."

Jiyong shifted Hojin into one arm. He grabbed her chin with his other hand and forced her to look at him. "Dara, you have nothing to be sorry about." Before he could lose his nerve he closed the distance between them. He swallowed her surprised gasp, his hand coming around to cradle the back of her head and prevent her from pulling away. The kiss was all too short. Without giving her a chance to respond or to reject him, he released her. His hand slid to her cheek in a gentle caress. Her eyes were wide open and staring at him. He refused to try to read the emotion he saw in them.

"Goodnight, Dara." Already regretting what he felt was an unwelcome advance, he turned and walked away. He resisted the temptation to look and see if she was still watching. It was late and he needed to get Hojin into his bed.

^**^

"Daddy?"

"What is it, Hojin?" Jiyong didn't look up from the tower he was meticulously constructing with brightly-colored building blocks.

"How come I don't gots a mommy?"

"Don't have a mommy," Jiyong automatically corrected. Then the sense of Hojin's question penetrated his pre-occupied mind. He dropped a block. It hit the tower and the whole thing came tumbling down.

"Tower go boom!" Hojin yelled, clapping his hands.

Jiyong ignored the fallen blocks to stare at his son. "You have a mommy, Hojin."

"She's a mean mommy." Hojin made a face. "She don' like me an' I don' like her. I want a new mommy."

"What brought this on?" Jiyong asked. He hadn't realized that Hojin had picked up on Kiko's attitude towards him so well.

"Harang." Hojin started to rebuild the tower.

"What did Harang say?" Getting information out of Hojin today was like pulling teeth.

Hojin eyed his tower critically. He moved a block, shook his head, and moved it back. He looked up at his father brightly. "Harang said that when his first mommy died, he and his daddy were real sad. But then his daddy brought home a new mommy. Now Harang and his daddy aren't sad no more."

"Harang talks too much," Jiyong muttered under his breath. He ignored Hojin's expectant look. At least he wasn't asking where babies came from. Jiyong didn't think he was ready to handle that one.

"Daddy?" Hojin prompted. The blocks were forgotten in favor of getting an answer.

"Did you have somebody in mind?" Jiyong asked, curious as to how much thought Hojin had put into this.

"I want 'Dara-noona to be my new mommy," Hojin stated without hesitation. Jiyong choked.

"I don't. . .um. . .don't think that's. . .um. . .such a good idea." Jiyong could feel his face heating up.

"Why not?" Hojin said with the air of a child who felt that he had found the perfect solution.

"Dara has school. . .and. . .other things. . .and. . .it wouldn't work out," Jiyong finished, fervently praying that Hojin would accept his lame excuses. The thought of Dara as Hojin's new mommy made his heart beat faster. It also scared the out of him.

Hojin didn't look convinced. "Okay." He stacked blocks for a few minutes. "Daddy?"

"Yes," Jiyong mumbled distractedly.

"Then, can I have a baby sister?"

Jiyong resisted the urge to giggle insanely. Or to beat himself into insensibility against the coffee table. Only a little kid could ask such awkward questions. This was probably revenge for wrongs done in past lives.

"Maybe when you're older," Jiyong said as if Hojin had asked for a pet hamster. Hojin didn't look satisfied.

Jiyong left to find some aspirin. 'Only fourteen more years of this.' Jiyong chanted silently. 'God, I hope I make it that far without going insane.'

----- Okay I am TERRIBLY sorry for making you guys wait so long for an update, it's just I've been really busy since I just started uni, adapting and moving to a new house, etcetc and Big Bang's comeback is not helping! LOL so here's the long awaited update! Sorry again, to make it up I'll be posting a triple update! This is the first :)