[Dara]

      “I’m going to work!” I shouted to no one in particular as I sprinted down the stairs, grabbing the keys to my car in a hurry. But before I turned the knob of the front door, I heard sounds of girlish giggles coming from the living room. Stopping in my tracks, I waited, sure that I was imagining things when I heard it once again. Something was up. Gritting my teeth and mentally preparing myself for the possibilities, I immediately changed course, and stalked to the living room. Everything in the room was grand and organized, but more importantly, it was home. Every piece of furniture and detail were decided by Jiyong and me, but if I had to pick my favorite part of the room, it would be the pictures. On the navy blue walls were framed black and white pictures of Jiyong and me, from every date we’ve been on since CL and Seungri’s wedding to now. My face softened when my eyes caught sight of a candid picture taken by TOP at our wedding. Jiyong and I had been slow-dancing under the strings of twinkling lights, with Jiyong wearing his handsome tuxedo and me wearing a wedding dress made by Bom herself. It was her wedding gift to me, she had said, and it was the perfect dress any bride could dream of. In the picture, our eyes were locked, and there were no mistaking the love in our eyes. I can still recall that moment vividly as if it were yesterday; Jiyong had gently leaned in so that our foreheads and noses were touching, with his arms secured around me as we swayed to the song the band was playing. It had seemed as if the rest of the world had disappeared, and I could only see him before me. My heart was so filled with happiness and content that it was impossible to imagine life being any better.

      “Congratulations, Mrs. Jiyong Kwon Sandara Park,” he had chuckled softly, nuzzling his nose against mine. I heard faint teasing and hooting coming from our friends, but I did not care. For this one night, public display of affection was very acceptable.

      “What kind of a name is that?” I laughed at him, snuggling in his embrace. It was where I belonged all along.

      “Well, you said so yourself that you don’t want to lose your old identity as Sandara Park in exchange to become Mrs. Kwon Jiyong.” Jiyong had shrugged, looking hurt. Not able to resist, I had pinched his cheeks.

      “You devil. You know perfectly well that I can’t be me without you,” I stated matter-of-factly. Smiling impishly, Jiyong kissed me deeply.

      Those words had proven to be true. After the glorious wedding that splashed over every surface of the media, “Sandara Park” was always seen with “Kwon Jiyong”. We still work separately at our own companies, but had cooperated on many cases. Although Jiyong did complain of the fact that the security guards of my company’s building see more of his wife (giggle!) than he does, he always made sure he was on time to drive me to and from work, as well as take me out for lunch. He also insisted on taking me to normal dates every week, let it be a trip to the cinemas or the opera. Even CL and Seungri started to complain that we were going overboard with the amount of public affection we shower upon the media, exaggerating that they see more of our dates on television than they see us in person. However, a romantic husband was just an image other people see. They failed to see how immature Jiyong gets. When I had decided to go on a business trip to England without him, he pouted and threw tantrums the whole week, mopping around the house wailing, “Santokki’s neglecting me!”. I had begun to feel some pity towards him when I boarded the plane, but it turned out to be unneeded when I found him sitting next to my booked seat, smiling radiantly. Just when I had been thinking it would be a refreshing change from being stuck with Jiyong all the time, he had decided to take the matter into his own hands and stick to me even abroad. Jeez. I had a hard time deciding if his act had been cute or pure deceiving.

      Back to the present, about the girlish giggling I heard in the living room. There had been plenty of cases where husbands had been caught having affairs in the elite society, but I was positive it would never, ever happen to me. However, why were there girlish giggles in my house?! I was pretty sure that, since today was the cook and maids’ day off, there should not be another female living being in the house beside myself. Narrowing my eyes, I observed every inch of the living room. There was nothing out of place, let alone any person. How strange-

      Just as I was mumbling to myself about how insane I had become, a head popped up from behind the plush sofa, causing me to scream loudly.

      “Santokki, don’t go to work today,” the head (which belonged to no one other than my husband, Kwon Jiyong) pouted cutely. “Stay home and play with me!”

      I was about to reprimand him for scaring me when another head (but this time, much smaller and framed with pretty curls) popped up, chiming in, “Yeah, Santokki, don’t go to work today. Stay home and play with us!” Then another head, identical to the second, popped up, repeating, “Yeah Santokki, don’t go to work! Stay home and play with us!”. Unable to hide my smile any longer, I could only cross my arms at my twin girls, Sara and Serena. They resemble me a lot, except for their eyes, which they take after Jiyong. Seriously, those eyes were no joke, especially if you catch three pairs of them pleading with you expectantly, puppy-eyed style.

      “What are you three doing here?” I walked over, giving Jiyong a quick kiss on the cheek before gathering my two daughters in my arms. They each gave me a peck on the cheeks at the exact moment. Twins. “I thought you had driven them to my parents’ house, Jiyong.”

      Raking his hand through his hair, Jiyong grinned good-naturedly at me. “The girls didn’t want to go, and I saw no reason to force them. Come on, Darong, it’s the weekend, you should stay home with us too.” He winked mischieviously. “The girls said they want to play with Santokki.”

      “Yeah, Santokki,” the twins sang out cheerfully. Groaning, I sat down on the carpeted floor, glaring at Jiyong. He knew perfectly well that I hated the fact that there was a whole pile of work on my desk at the company, and yet he was asking me (and even USING our children against me!) to ignore all of that and stay at home?! And what was he thinking by calling me the S-word in front of our children!?

      “You are E-V-I-L,” I hissed under my breath at him, taking out my cell phone to call my secretary. “Secretary Lee? Yes, I’m afraid I won’t be going to work today”-Jiyong and the twins cheered loudly-“but please notify me if anything happens-“

      “Consider it done, Mrs. Kwon,” my secretary assured me. “Please enjoy your day off.”

      “Santokki is staying, staying, staying,” the three chanted happily as they dance in a circle surrounding me as if I was a bonfire.

      “Sara, Serena, you can’t call Mommy Santokki,” I scolded them, taking their little hands in mine.

      Serena looked at me with big eyes filled with curiosity. “Why not, Mommy? Daddy calls you Santokki.”

      “Well, erm-“

      “Is it a secret codename between you and Daddy?” Sara whispered in hushed tones. I did not know how to answer them, but they seemed to have accepted the conclusion that it was a codename, because the two of them nodded simultaneously.

      “We have the whole day to ourselves!” Jiyong announced excitedly. With his words, I feel expectant as well; it has been a long time since we had a relaxing day to ourselves. Even though I made sure to spend a lot of quality time with the twins, work was still unavoidable every week day, with the amount of files and clients I have to deal with. After the twins were born, we would take a trip to a different place every weekend. Lately, because of the amount of cases that were increasing, I had to go to the company even on the weekends, and told Jiyong to send the twins to the care of my parents, who were more than happy to see their granddaughters.

      “Where should we go, Daddy?” Sara shrieked in delight. “Disneyland?!”

      “It’s too far,” Serena argued. “Let’s go to the zoo!”

      “I don’