Monday Mornings

Please Stay

 

BEEP

BEEP

            Taecyeon groaned as he turned to his right side to shut off his alarm.  For a few moments, he laid in bed by himself to think to himself.  Today was his first day back at the Seoul Legion offices since five years ago.  Only last Thursday did he move back from Los Angeles with his wife Yoona.  The company board told him to take a break first.  However, Taecyeon was eager to start again.  He had always drowned himself in work.  Besides he wanted to leave his apartment as soon as possible.

            Once his body was ready to sit up, he got out of bed.  Putting his robe on, Taecyeon left his room.  Then he went to the room next door.  Taking a peek, he saw that it was empty.  Yoona must have stayed at her parents’ house again.  Not many people knew, but the couple had their own rooms. 

            Seeing that he was alone, Taecyeon decided to make himself a hearty breakfast.  Looking in the fridge, he saw that his assistant Seungyeon remembered to stock him with turkey bacon.  It was something he liked to eat in the mornings with grilled veggies, eggs, and rice.  This was not always common though.   Yoona did not like the smell of grease.  Nor did she like the idea of cleaning it up, despite the maids they hired.  If she was around, he would have to wake up early in order to get rid of the bacon evidence.  However, she was not there and he needed to start his week right.  Why not with some turkey bacon?

            Six strips of bacon, some asparagus, two sunny-side up eggs, and a small scoop of ten-grain rice definitely cheered up Taecyeon.  Like he always thought, food was the ultimate happy medicine.  He needed some cheering up after what happened on Friday.  Seeing Gyuri while he was on stage made his heart go funny.  It twitched and beat in different tempos.  He knew that he still loved her after all these years.  How could he not?  Gyuri was always the one, the only one.  Yet he could not have her.

            He tried to recapture those moments again.  They almost succumb to one another.  However, being the smart one she was, Gyuri stopped it.  He understood why.  She was trying to be faithful to Eunhyuk.  Even though Taecyeon strongly disliked his cousin, now he could not explain the hate towards him.  Before they competed against one another.  However, none of it mattered because Eunhyuk had Gyuri. 

            Thinking this to himself, Taecyeon suddenly felt guilty when he passed by a photo on his dresser.  It was of him and a little boy, who looked about three.  In the background, one could tell it was a sunny day in California because of the Hollywood sign in the back.  Both had cheesy smiles and posed with the v-sign.  That day they were really happy.  It was one of the few times he was truly happy.  Then the memory of the photo brought him back down again.

            “Bye Jin,” Taecyeon said before he put the photo down.

-------

            “Taemin!” Gyuri called from the kitchen, while she was staring at her stove.       “Here I am Mommy!” a little boy ran into the kitchen.  Dressed in long cargo pants and a Pokémon t-shirt, Taemin was ready for the day.  Suddenly he had his arms wide open and wrapped them around Gyuri’s legs.

            Seeing her little boy, Gyuri bent down and hugged him tightly.  Once they were face to face, the little boy rubbed nose against his mother.  She smiled at her son, who then kissed her.  Since he was still young, he was very affectionate.  Gyuri loved this.  Eunhyuk said he was becoming a momma’s boy.  That did not matter to her though. 

            “What’s for breakfast?” Taemin asked while Gyuri held on to him.

            Gyuri broke away from her son and looked at him, hoping he would not say the same answer, “Well what does my Tae Tae want?”

            “Turkey bacon!  Please Mommy?” the little boy begged.  He always asked for the same thing every morning, even though she and Eunhyuk were tired of it sometimes.  She did not mind though.    Especially when he flashed his cute smile, it showed off all of his teeth.  Despite being baby teeth, they were quite big.  Gyuri knew that those chompers were like his father’s. 

            “Okay, I’ll make it.  Scrambled eggs and rice with it?” the loving mother doted on her child.

            Taemin nodded his head in an exaggerated motion.  While Gyuri was cooking, Taemin walked around the kitchen.  He grabbed two of each; placemats, spoons, forks, napkins, and cups.  Very carefully he would place each item on the table.  It had to be perfect.  Once he was done, he carried a jug of milk by himself to the table.  Even though she did not see all of this, Gyuri knew what he was doing.  Every morning while working on breakfast, Taemin would help setup without asking.  It was in his nature.

            Once Gyuri finished cooking breakfast, she placed his plate in front of him.  However, he did not start eating yet.  He always insisted on waiting for his mother.  Gyuri sometimes would not breakfast, but this morning he insisted that she eat something.  More like he flashed a puppy look.  Easily convinced she looked in the fridge, finding a papaya and container of grapes.  She decided to have that with a glass of milk.  Even though it was not something as delicious as turkey bacon, Taemin was happy to see his mom have breakfast with him.

            After morning prayer, the two would start their meal.  The little four year old wolfed down his meal, happy to eat such delicious food.  Every few minute he always made sure to eat a thick slice of turkey bacon.  It was one of his favorite foods, along with many kinds of meat, so Gyuri called him her little beast.  At times during breakfast, Gyuri had to remind Taemin to slow down, but that did not stop him.  While she was eating, she rubbed his hair in adoration.  There was so much on her mind. 

            Lee Taemin was like his dad in so many ways.  Both had thick wavy hair when grown out.  For some reason, Taemin never liked cutting his hair.  He liked to keep it long.  His father was not always like that, but they were stubborn.  However, their hair colors were different.  Her little one had dark chocolate hair when he was under the sun.  His father’s hair was sometimes like that, but it more noticeable when dyed. People explained that it must have been from her side since she was known to have exotic features.

            “Mommy, look I drank all my milk!” Taemin grinned, baring his teeth and white mustache.    Gyuri grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth.   Another thing was the teeth.  Taemin liked goofy smiles or acting like he was an animal or monster.  It was dorky at times, but she loved that.  He picked up his father’s playful side.  That also meant Taemin had a moody side to him at times. 

            By the time they were done eating and cleaning up, they saw that it was time for school.  Taemin ran to the living room, where he found Eunhyuk.  Since the business executive was reading a newspaper, the little boy tugged on the man’s pants, “Are you ready to go?”

            Setting the paper down, Eunhyuk smiled at the child, “I sure am.  Get your backpack and coat.”

            Before they could start leaving, Gyuri stopped them.  “Hyukkie,  I’ll drop him off today.”

            “Are you sure?  I always do this,” her husband was thrown off for a second since he always dropped Taemin off at pre-school.

            Gyuri assuringly put her hand on his arm, “Don’t worry.  Besides you can come in early, so you can help…”

            “I understand, you don’t need to say it,” Eunhyuk whispered when she could not finish her sentence.  After the dinner party last Friday, both were shaken up by the surprise.  Gyuri left the party and did not come back.  He understood.  Since then, Gyuri avoided talking about that.  Eunhyuk did not push her.  When she wanted to talk about it, she would.  To be honest, he knew it would be a long time before that would happen. 

            “Say bye to Daddy,” Gyuri told her son.  He listened and hugged his father.  It was not as loving like the ones were given to Gyuri, but he tried.  It was difficult for her to admit, but Taemin and Eunhyuk did not click all the time. 

            After Eunhyuk left, Gyuri and Taemin were about to leave the house.  However, Taemin suddenly wore a large Angry Birds hat.  Despite his silly side, this was a bit too much for him.  Like many mothers would do, Gyuri took off his hat.  This caused the boy to throw a fit.

            “I want to wear my hat,” he stomped his foot.  Stubborn like his father.

            “Taemin, you can’t wear this hat to school,” the worried mom tried to convince her son.

            “But the kids call me Dumbo because of my ears.  They’re big and ugly,” Taemin pouted with his arms crossed.

            It hurt Gyuri to hear about her son being teased.  Both generations of the family had big ears, which his father adjusted to.  However, Taemin was still young.  Trying to console him, she touched his ears, “They’re beautiful and make you unique.  Whenever someone is mean towards you, they’re probably jealous.”

            “I guess so Mommy.  Besides my good looks make all the girls like me.  This girl from the other class gave me her choco pie,” Taemin blushed.  One thing he had from his mom was her confidence.

            “Well I hope you were a gentleman and gave her something nice,” Gyuri fixed her son’s hair.

            “I did!  Always treat a girl right like you said.”

-------

            While driving Taemin to school, Gyuri would glance at him through her rearview mirror.  Usually, Eunhyuk drove Taemin to pre-school, but this morning Gyuri insisted on it.  Ever since Friday night, Gyuri spent her entire weekend with her son.  Just the two of them.  They went to different places like the zoo and the children’s art museum, where they had mother-son time.  It was not like they never spent time together, in fact, people always noted on how Taemin followed Gyuri.  However, Gyuri felt like holding onto him much more. 

            During that weekend, it seemed like she noticed the similarities between father and son.  She was always reminded of his father whenever she looked at him.  Now though there were an unexplainable confusion and mix-up of feelings.

 

 

 

Five Years Ago

            “Why are you here?” Gyuri muttered when she saw her long-time best friend.  It was shocking to see him at the wedding because she knew that Taecyeon and Eunhyuk hated each other.  Then she remembered that they were cousins.  Still, it was weird to see her friend at his enemy’s wedding.

            “Well I was on my way, but I saw you.  How are you holding up?” Eunhyuk rubbed her back.  When he was invited to Taecyeon’s wedding, the first person he thought about was Gyuri.  He thought that she was with Taecyeon, but something must have happened.  At first, he wanted to call her, but he remembered how he left on bad terms.  She must have been feeling uneasy right now with him, by themselves.  “Before you say anything, I’m sorry about what happened.  I should not have violated your trust and friendship like that.  I was just being an idiot-”

            “It’s okay, Anchovy.  Right now I just need someone to talk to,” Gyuri shushed him.  Even though what he did was wrong, she had forgiven him awhile back.  She understood the feeling of loving someone one-sidedly.  She also understood the pain of losing a loved one.  At that moment, Gyuri was hurt and did not know who to talk to.  Eunhyuk seemed perfect.  He always was.  Whenever she had issues, he was she talked to.  Now it was like a repeat of many conversations.

            “Gyul, if you ever need someone to talk to, you have me,” Eunhyuk hugged her.  When she was in his arms, she felt vulnerable and weak.  She needed to tell someone what she was hiding since this morning.

            “Can I tell you something?”

            “Don’t you usually?”

            “True.  It’s just that… just that.”

            “Are you okay Gyuri?  Is it serious?” Eunhyuk started to worry.  Before he left Macao, he always said that he would get Taecyeon if something happened.  He should have done something before the wedding.  However, he thought about Gyuri’s feelings.  She probably would have been mad at him for such “irresponsible actions”.  To him though, he was protecting and defending her.

            “I’m pregnant.”

            “Oh my gosh…” Eunhyuk’s heart was crushed, he had to be strong though.  He hugged her again,“Congratulations.”  Then it hit him, “It’s Taecyeon’s isn’t it?”

            Gyuri slowly nodded.

           

 

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Comments

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CK8ALen #1
Such a nice story. I've been reading this 4 times over and over already, still hoping Taecyeon and Gyuri will be together in this story ^^
Hope you can update this soon.
leichanla #2
Chapter 39: Have you been well? Just want to say I reread this story again today and I love it. Thank you!
GyulPrincess
#3
Chapter 39: please update author ~ shi.. Ive been waiting for the other chapter ~
ShinNeulAh
#4
Plsss update
simba1 #5
Chapter 39: Hi :) this is my very first comment after i made my account few days ago. i "accidentaly" slip into your story, and got hookedup as soon as i read the first 3 chapters. Just for your knw, im amazed by your imagination to create such a nice fanfic. im your new fan!
please do keep writing, and i'll b wait for your new update!
ps : i also read you "to care" fanfic. and im inlove!
cheers!
brinaabean #6
I love this fic more than I love some of my favorite dramas. ;__; It's fantastic! Keep up the work authornim! I am definitely looking forward to more.
CielduSoir #7
Sigh... if Taecyeon and Gyuri got back together, both of them would have to have a divorce. Things just got so messy. I definitely ship Gyuri with Taecyeon still. I am really anti Hyukri so I hope she doesn't end up with him.
ShinNeulAh
#8
Chapter 39: damn.... yoong can be ....
plzzzz update.....
more gyul and taec love....
cute taemin....
NicoriLove
#9
Chapter 39: Bad Yoona! I thought she was having other guy's baby but then not at all which means she fools everyone and got away with it urghh! I couldn't wait for taecyeon to know both secrets.