Amber stares at her reflection in the vanity mirror. Her gaze moves down to her flat abdomen. Taking a long, deep breath, she wishes she won’t think about it again.   No regrets. It was your decision after all.   She turns her attention to the ultrasound photo on her opened wallet. Her heart squeezes at the sight of her, possible, second child.   I’m really sorry. It’s better if you’re not born at all. I admit I’m being selfish and I don’t expect you to understand, but you’re better off somewhere other than this world.   She slips the picture into the inside of her wallet and goes for a shower. She closes her eyes, letting the warm stream of water massage her tired skin. She sighs as she rinses her hair. She pours the body wash gel into her palm and lathers her hands, then her body, with the scented soap.   Myung Soo doesn’t need to know.   Once she hears Hyun Ah’s message, she would make a call to Paris’ new school in Paris to deal with the leaving process, even before she could start this year, and asks Victoria or Jjong to help her apply Paris to a primary school there. She would have to get all the documents from the safe at the unit she is sharing with Henry at the moment and explain to him about her departure. She doubts Henry would let her go without a concrete reason and she would have to come up with something.   She applies the shampoo onto her hair and kneads the scalp. What else do I have to do?   The reason has to be something that Sung Yeol and Myung Soo would believe that her presence back in Australia would be needed. Sung Yeol would support her even if he doesn’t agree with her decision, but Myung Soo would be a hard one to overcome. The contact between Paris and him should be maintained and Amber grows to dislike the fact of their relationship.   Why him out of all people?   She sighs again and rinses her hair, just as she hears the door opening. She stills and listens closely. Small footsteps are heard from the tile of the bathroom door and she sees a shadow, which could only belong to Paris from the height, on the other side of the glass door. Before she could ask what her little girl is doing, the door is pulled open and Paris, fully clothed, jumps into the shower and grabs Amber into a hug.   “What are you doing here?” she gasps, stepping out to let the shower hit her back only.   Paris grins widely and kisses her mother’s bare stomach. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Amber stiffens. “I saw the photo in your wallet,” she cheers, not caring that she has gotten wet from the shower. “It has your name on the top of it.”   “Paris… What were you doing with my wallet?” Annoyance rises in her, but she has to restrain from yelling to the girl; she is innocent, after all.   “To get some coins out. Oppa bought me some hot chocolates today and I told him you’d pay him back.” She continues to smile naively and hugs Amber again. “Does Dad know?”   Amber swallows. Why the hell did she put it in her wallet and not get rid of it? Paris cannot be informed of her decision; she doesn’t need to know. She will have to lie to Paris now.   “Don’t tell him yet,” Amber says. “I’ll tell him myself.”   “Okay.”   Paris locks her sealed lips and throws away the invisible key.

 

∞

 

“What does she want to talk to you about?” Krystal asks Amber as they sit in the Visitors’ Room, waiting for Hyun Ah to finish her chemotherapy session, and Sung Yeol who has gone with her. They will be given a full medical review on her condition today, as the doctor has told them two weeks ago, apart from the news on her progress which he informs them every chance he gets.   “To be honest, I don’t know,” Amber answers, sneaking a glance at Paris, who is playing with her phone. Amber has told Paris that she won’t be getting one of her own until she is sixteen years old; a rule that her parents had made for her and Jjong as well back in those days. “Do you want to guess?” She smiles, turning to Krystal.   “Knowing her, it won’t be some sort of apology; I can bet you on that.” Krystal crosses her arms, facing the wall in front of her. She wonders when Jessica and her family would come join them to find out about Hyun Ah’s condition, as well as when L is going to come from work.   When L returned from France, he cancelled the wedding preparation without stating any reason to them. An intense fight and argument ensued between L and Hyun Ah’s father, but L did not back down and has only visited Hyun Ah once since. A ceasefire only occurred when Mr Lee went to Chicago last week to find Dr Elizabeth Freeman to discuss his daughter’s condition and Krystal is sure their war would resume once he returns.   But now, Krystal finally knows the reason why, as she watches the woman sitting next to her. Short, blonde hair, thoughtful eyes, and the tall, slim body of a model in possession. Krystal is used to relatives, family friends, and others telling her that she has a good body, but looking at Amber Liu, who has become a mother, she thinks her body isn’t bad; the curves are at the right places. At least, she isn’t ‘flat’ and ‘skinny’. Pregnancy does change a lot of things, Krystal contemplates; remembering the body changes Jessica went through after carrying Kyung San in her womb.   Amber chuckles wryly. “I’m past beyond caring for that. Whatever’s done is done.”   “You’re so fatalistic,” Krystal remarks, narrowing her eyes at Amber.   Amber regards her, blinking; perhaps thinking of the meaning behind her comment.   Minutes later, when L arrives, it comes to Krystal’s attention that Amber shows no interest of his presence. She is already texting on her phone when he greets Krystal and Paris. He goes to take a seat on the chair adjacent to Paris and Krystal notices his eyes keep going towards the woman sitting next to her.   Krystal frowns at their behaviour, wondering of the odd interaction. Shouldn’t they be greeting each other affectionately? After being with L for ten years, even a blind person could grasp L’s ardour and loyalty towards Amber. She has thought that they had been reunited contentedly in France and would be off to marriage or something, but their attitudes clearly contradict this. Something is amiss and she really wants to know what happened. She should ask L later on.   “You’re going well with Paris,” Krystal teases, smirking.   Myung Soo blushes and shrugs. Paris giggles and nudges her mother’s arm. When Amber turns, her eyes move to the side to point to her father secretly. Amber shakes her head and turns back to her phone, causing Paris to pout and sigh.   “I told you I put it in the bag, Ki,” they hear a deep voice grumbling from the hallway.   “But it’s not there, is it, Jong Hyun?” a sarcastic voice replies petulantly.   Amber cranes her neck to the glassed window and her eyes widen in recognition at the two dark-haired male with fringe adorning their forehead striding past the corridor. The one with lighter brown hair is carrying a toddler in his arm, while the other male is holding a baby’s bag.

 

∞

 

“Jjong? Key?” Amber calls out to the two men, stopping them outside the visitors’ room.   Krystal turns to where the mother and daughter are looking at, while Myung Soo twists his body to look outside the glassed window behind him.   “Amber?” Jong Hyun expands his eyes at the sight of his sister and niece, mostly at her appearance. “Oh my God, you’re blonde!”   “Since when?” Key wants to know, following Jong Hyun into the room.   “For a while now,” Amber chuckles. “What do you think?”   Jong Hyun plants a kiss on Paris’ forehead and rolls his eyes at his sister. “You look really ugly.” His statement earns a glare from Amber and a shove to the side from Key.   “It looks good, Amber. What made you want to dye your hair?”   Amber runs her fingers through her hair. “Just felt like it. Anyway, what are you doing here?”   “Yoo Geun’s grandmother has her 70th birthday this weekend, so we came to Korea for a vacation,” Jong Hyun explains, planting a kiss on Paris’ forehead. “Yoo Geun had a flu last night and we gave him Panadol alread