”Mom, she will be alright, isn’t she... Dad?”

            Jiyong looked at his son who sat on his laps. The child had a worried look on his innocent face since he saw his mother suddenly collapse till she got brought to the nearby hospital. Even till now, when the doctor still in the same room with his mother, the little boy named Kwon Sanghyun still worried sick of his mother.

            ”Don’t worry. Mom is strong. She will be alright.” Jiyong said, as he patted his son’s head lovingly. Actually, deep down in his heart he’s worried too. It has been almost fifteen minutes after they arrived in the hospital, yet he still got nothing about his wife’s condition other than waited for the doctor.

            ”Mr. Kwon?” The female doctor – his wife’s doctor – came out from the room where his wife rested, called him. Jiyong, with Sanghyun in his arms stood and faced the doctor properly.

            ”How is she? Did... something happened to her and our baby?” Jiyong asked the female doctor immediately, but only got replied by her polite smile.

            ”Nothing is wrong with Mrs. Kwon and your unborn baby. She’s just a bit stressed out. Let her rest for the night, and tomorrow she could discharge. Call me if you needed something, Mr. Kwon.”

            Jiyong thanked the doctor, then went to where his wife slept calmly on the hospital bed. Little Sanghyun immediately took his mother’s right hand and brought it into his cheek. Not long after that, Dara opened her eyes. A small smile emerged on her pale lips once her brown eyes caught the sight of her little son caressed her hand lovingly. Then her sight moved to her husband, who smiled back at her. She could see a slight worry in her husband’s eyes.

            ”Mian... I have made you worried.” Dara said.

            ”What are you saying? It’s natural that you make me worry, you’re my wife after all.” Jiyong replied as he caressed Dara’s cheek. ”Rest. We’ll have a talk later, hmm?”

***

            It was almost seven in the evening, Dara woke up from her sleep. She got greeted by her husband’s gentle smile right after that. But, she missed her son.

            ”Where’s Sanghyun?”

            ”I asked Imo to bring him back home. How are you feeling now?”

            ”Better than before.”

            Jiyong helped Dara sat on the bed, leaned on the head-board of her bed. Jiyong could see the slight sadness on his wife’s eyes. Maybe she still felt guilty of the previous ‘debate’ she had with her sister, Chaerin. Moreover, it was his first time saw both Dara and Chaerin had an intense debate like that. In normal occasion, the two only bickering about trivial things, and will got back together the second after. But not this time.

            ”I am such a bad sister.” Dara started, after such a long silence engulfed that room. Jiyong didn’t reply to her words. He just listened, patiently waiting for her to continue. Living with her sister since they moved to Paris ten years ago, Dara almost hadn’t told him about her worry she had related to Chaerin. But now, all of it got revealed completely on her eyes.

            ”I know that I’m getting too exaggerate. I know that she’s no longer the little Chaerin anymore. But still, letting her go far away from me is... you know Ji. We... we have buried our past once we decided to move out of Korea. I just... didn’t want her to open up the old scars by letting her go to Seoul. I...”

            Jiyong brought Dara into his embrace. He knew, all too well. It was like yesterday that he saw the Park sisters shed tears because of the humiliation they got from his ‘old’ family. It was him, whom brought them. It was him, whom decided to take responsibility of them. It was him, whom had sworn to always cherish them, to erase their wound, to become their ‘family’. He understood what Dara has meant. He, had considered Chaerin as his own sister. But, took the look back at Chaerin’s expression earlier, Jiyong didn’t know if prevented Chaerin from pursued her chance was the right thing to do.

            Later, Jiyong let Cho Hanbyul and his son to accompany Dara. While he went to Chaerin’s place. It was taking almost fifteen minutes for him to convince the younger girl to open the door and let him into her rented place. He noticed Chaerin’s puffed eyes. Maybe she had cried over hours by herself. He found almost nothing in Chaerin’s guest room, as from the beginning Chaerin didn’t has many things to bring there. A can of cold beer offered to him once he seated on the leather couch.

            ”She’s fine... in case you’re worried about her.” Jiyong broke the silent between them. No reply from the younger one. Jiyong looked at the silent Park Chaerin whom bowed her head. The can of cold beer in her hand still closed, and her cat-like eyes bored to it like it was more interesting than him.

            ”You must have thought about that opportunity well, haven’t you?” Jiyong started, trying to get Chaerin into a conversation. The always cheerful Park Chaerin, Jiyong barely knew that be in the same place with her while that girl in her sulking, silent mode was really unbearable. It was when Jiyong almost brought another topic, he saw Chaerin nodded slowly as if answering his previous question.

            ”You really want to go there?” He asked again, with a careful tone. With that question, Chaerin slowly raised her head.

            ”Can I?”

            ”Why you should go there?”

            Chaerin didn’t answer right away. Why she should go there? She can’t answered it. There were too much reasons, and several of it she couldn’t spill it in front of her brother-in-law, moreover her sister.

            ”I won’t angry to you, you know? Just spill it out. I’ll listened to it. I have all the time to do it.” Jiyong reassured his sister-in-law whom had hesitant look all over her face.

            ”For the first time, the pro designer acknowledge my work. The fashion show I had before had become the first door which led me to another chance. A rare one. A well-known brand wanted me to work for them.” Chaerin began narrating. She has decided to let it out. ”It was like... one by one, my wish which previously only existed in my imagination has become true. I know that it wasn’t an assurance that I will get the smooth way once I set myself there, but... I want to try.”

            Jiyong could see the clear determined look in Chaerin’s eyes. It was the first time that he heard Chaerin spoke her opinion out. Back then, she only followed whatever her sister had decided for her.

            ”I want to try out my luck. I want to learn more there. I want to... lessen Eonnie’s burden. I want to try... to stand up on myself, Oppa.”

            With a small, convincing smile, Jiyong said. ”You’ve grown up, Chae-yah.” Then he added. ”You should said it all to her, so she won’t misunderstood it.”

            Chaerin lowered her sight to her hands which still hold the beer. ”Did you see that Eonnie give me a room to explain it? She even had made a clear rejection before I said a single word.”

            Jiyong couldn’t disagree to that. He still remembered how that intense debate started.

[Flashback]

            It was like usual, the small Kwon family will had dinner at the small garden which placed at the backyard of the house. That evening, they planned on having a little barbeque party. That time, Chaerin whom volunteered to make the spice mix for the meat can’t hid her happiness. Her face looked radiant, and it was making the rest of Kwon family members questioned each other as the previous days the younger Park sisters was in bad mood. Being the most curious one, Jiyong threw his first bait to get the answer out of Chaerin.

            ”You won a lottery, Chae-yah?”

            Chaerin nodded happily as the answer, her smile didn’t ease up even for a bit. ”A big one.”

            ”Heh? What is it?” Jiyong asked again. Dara whom busy put the meat to the skewer once in a while looked at her sister.

            ”I got an offer from a well-known fashion brand.”

            Dara dropped the skewer in her hands right after she heard that big news. Both Jiyong and Chaerin looked at the older Park sisters, whom had an exaggerate respond. The next second, they saw Dara in the brink of tears. Oh, really?

            ”Eonnie...”

            ”Wae?”

            ”You’re overreact, aren’t you?”

            ”It’s happiness tears, you know?!” Dara said it as she wiped her tears which already fallen. ”It’s the biggest news you’ve given to us, Chaerin-ie. Congratulation.”

            Chaerin looked away as she hold her own tears. Seeing her sister in tears somehow made her eyes hot, the tears was in urge to fall.

            ”By the way, what kind of brand is it?” Dara resumed her activity as she asked those question.

            ”An outdoor fashion brand. They got interested to my work in the fashion show the other day.” Chaerin answered as her hands took one by one the ingredient of the spice mix for the meat. ”They even had sent a detailed contract to my e-mail.”

            ”You are a lucky one, Chae-yah. Not so many outdoor fashion brand made a recruitment just with a simple fashion show.” Jiyong spoke out his opinion. ”So, what is it?”

            ”INNERCICLE.”

            Jiyong almost had his jaw dropped when he heard that famous fashion brand. He had once dreamt of being one of their designers, but he had failed in the first round of audition that brand has set seven years ago. ”INNERCICLE’s Paris?”

            Chaerin shook her head to Jiyong’s latest question. ”INNERCICLE’s Seoul.” She paused as she had finished making the spice mix then began taking the skewer on the metal tray next to the wooden tray where the vegetable laid on. ”They had asked for my reply, max in Friday next week. Oppa, Eonnie, you will give your approval, right?” Chaerin looked at her brother-in-law with so much expectation in her eyes.

            ”Of course, I will. Moreover, it was my dreamt workplace. Also, it’s a rare chance for learning more about fashion, Chae-yah.” Jiyong replied immediately.

            ”How about you, Eonnie?”

            Dara put the skewer to the tray, her face which previously looked happy already turned grim. ”Can you... turn down that offer, Chaerin?”

            Dara only said it with her usual tone, not so low also not too loud. But it was like the loudest thunder in Chaerin’s ears. Her sight which previously looked glowed, got dimmed once she heard that sentence.

            ”Chagi...”

            ”I will let her got another offer, but them.” Dara stated another cruel words in Chaerin’s dictionary. How could her sister do it to her? Chaerin’s shocked eyes locked on her sister’s figure, her trembled lips was about to open, letting out a question but it didn’t happen once she met her sister’s cold stare shot towards her.

            ”Eonnie... I...”

            ”You hear me clear, aren’t you... Chaerin?!”

            ”Why? Why I should turn them down?! You know that this kind of chance is...”

            ”Andwae! You can’t...”

            ”Enough, Eonnie!” Chaerin burst into anger. She has got enough of her sister’s tight hold over her life this past ten years. For the first time, she wanted to get out of her sister’s ‘safety’ nest. She wanted to explore the big world by herself. By her own hands, her own decision. ”Whatever you said, it’s my life! It’s my decision! I’ll go there with or without your approval!”

[Flashback end]

            ”I have sent my reply to them. Said that I will join their team.” Chaerin said, broke the silence between the two. The so