A/N : I know I said about updating 20 years but this keeps bugging me. And again sorry for not replying comments, I love every single one of it and trust me when I say I read every single one. I really did, so please leave me comments because they are loved <33333 and I will try my best to reply to them OTL I hate my internet T.T

There was a knock on the wooden door.

Minje turned her head to look at the door, her smooth wavy hair framing her soft face. The knocking stopped, so she ignored it and continued wiping off the kitchen counter. Daejung was not the least disturbed as he concentrated on stacking some plastic cups on the wooden table.

There was another knock on the door, slightly louder and more desperate this time.

It was late, although not even close to midnight, Yoseob had gone to bed earlier than the two of them, physically and mentally exhausted today. He had seen Daejung kicking ball in the garden outside the nursery and a warm memory attacked his fragile mind, reminding him too close to when he watched Doojoon and Daejung played ball together before. Minje knew something was wrong with him from his sudden change of expression, but she did not press further, letting the younger man worked through his own feelings at his own pace.

Minje had stayed back a little late to prepare some snacks for the toddlers tomorrow, and Daejung was being a sweetheart, staying back with her instead of Yoseob. Their little sweetheart, Minje smiled as she watched Daejung climbing down from the chair after preparing colorful and pretty cups on the wooden table.  

The knock on the door was incessant this time.

“Nana, open the door?” Daejung looked up to a frowning Minje. Her guard was up as she ordered Daejung to stay still and be quiet. “Daejungie, stay behind the kitchen counter and don’t move until I say you can, okay?” Daejung nodded and Minje placed a brief kiss on his forehead before she walked to the doorway and opened it cautiously.

Her eyes widened as she took in the man before him, a soft gasp left , “What are…” Words died in as she watched Doojoon fidgeted anxiously at her doorstep.

“Hello, Noona.” Doojoon bowed politely to the older woman while his eyes scanned the area of the house he could see from the entrance.

“Doojoonah…” Minje had a hard time finding her voice back, gaped open. And was suddenly dry. She did not see this coming, she did not foresee a situation where Doojoon would be coming over and was clueless on how to handle the situation on hand.  

“Noona, please. Please tell me Yoseob is here.” Doojoon sounded terrified, his eyes were filled with horror and desperation.

Minje swallowed her unspoken words and leaned forward to check the situation outside. There was no one and nothing, other than a sleek black Lamborghini, but she had to make sure. “Is that your car?” Doojoon nodded. It was too conspicuous for the almost rundown nursery but she knew he could not help it; he was the leader of the Yoon clan. She continued, “Are you alone?” Again, another nod from Doojoon.

The older woman sighed in relief and pulled Doojoon into the house by the wrist, “Let’s go in. It’s better to talk inside.” Doojoon was surprised by the gesture when Minje pulled him in quickly, “What do you mean by – “

“AHJUSSSSIIIIIIIII!!!!!”

There was a loud scream when a warm chubby bundle suddenly crashed into Doojoon’s thigh and not letting go. Daejung’s hands wrapped around the clan leader’s strong thigh as he nuzzled his face onto the soft fabric of Doojoon’s jeans. He felt a wide grin on his thigh and another excited yelp from Daejung, “Ahjussi comeee!”

Once Doojoon had come to his senses upon the sudden attack, he laughed and knelt down to get eye level to Daejung, “Hello, Daejungah.”

Daejung’s grin could not be wider as he looked straight into Doojoon – another similarity to Yoseob, Doojoon noted – and claimed, “I miss Ahjussi! Appa say Ahjussi not coming anymore. Ahjussi here to see Appa? Appa cry when Ahjussi not here.” Daejung blinked expectantly to Doojoon, he hated to see his father cried because of Doojoon’s absence. But now since his Ahjussi was here again, everything would be alright and they could live happily together.  

“Appa…?” Doojoon tilted his head in confusion and looked up to Minje for an explanation, she was still rooted in her previous spot, hovering above them but said nothing. He looked back to Daejung and smiled, “I miss you too, Daejungah. Yes, I am here to see your Appa. Can I see your Appa now?”

Before Daejung could blurt out more information, Minje scooped the excited toddler into her arms and kissed him softly on the forehead, “Baby, you should sleep. You need to wake up early and help me with all the snacks for tomorrow, remember? We don’t want your friends to not have their snacks, right?”

Daejung widened his eyes, terrified if the snacks were not ready on time for the kids in the nursery tomorrow. He placed a chubby hand over his opened mouth and nodded vigorously, ashamed to have forgotten about his nursery friends and their snacks. “I’m sorry, Nana…”

“It’s okay, baby. Now go change to your pajamas and sleep. I need to talk to Ahjussi here, okay?” Minje smiled to pacify the guilty toddler in his arms and Daejung nodded, although still feeling very ashamed for forgetting his duty. He hugged Minje and left a brief kiss on her soft cheek, “Goodnight, Nana.” The older woman returned the kiss and hugged the little sweetheart tighter.

When Minje put the little sweetheart down, he quickly wrapped his chubby hands around Doojoon’s neck, who was still kneeling down, and hugged the older man tightly, “Goodnight, Ahjussi.” Doojoon tensed up at the sudden touch, but softened immediately to hug Daejung back, “Goodnight, little man. Sweet dreams.”

They both watched as Daejung ran to the back of the house and walked up the stairs furiously, he could not wait to change into his pajamas and cuddle on the bed with Yoseob.

There was an awkward silence after Daejung went into one of the rooms – Yoseob’s room – and nobody said anything to each other. Doojoon had stood up but made no other moves otherwise as the silence grew heavier by the second.

“So I take Yoseob is here?” Doojoon asked, unable to hold his curiosity and his tongue anymore.

Minje gestured them to the wooden table, “Let’s sit down, Doojoonah. I’m old, I get tired easily.” Her smile was kind and motherly, but Doojoon got more worried than before; sitting down was never a good thing for any discussion.

Doojoon followed the older woman to the wooden table and sat down across her, eyes falling to the colorful plastic cups on the table. “For the kids tomorrow?” Doojoon asked casually. Minje nodded and hummed a soft yes.

Everything was awkward as they looked into each other, not challenging, but searching and waiting. Searching for the truth, waiting for honesty. Finally Minje relented, “Yoseob is here. He is safe and well. If that’s what you are asking.”

An obvious relief flooded Doojoon’s face as he sighed loudly, breathing heavily like he had not breathed for years. He in air and exhaled, trying to answer calmly. “Yes, that’s what I… thank you. Thank you.” Doojoon rested both his elbows on the table and buried his head in his palms. Minje watched as the mighty leader of the Yoon clan crumbled helplessly in front of her, fragile and open.

Minje patted one of Doojoon’s arm and smiled, “He’s okay, Doojoonah. He is safer than you think he is. Trust me.”

There were questions and confusions in Doojoon’s eyes when he looked up to a smiling Minje, he opened his mouth and every pain in his chest poured out of him. “I am going crazy. Seriously crazy. I went to the apartment and it was empty. Hell, even the building was vacated, it was abandoned. I was sick to my stomach. So I went to his school but they said he won’t be available for a while. And I went to the café where he worked and they told me he was taking leave. I didn’t want to ask Hyunseung because I am sure it would trigger another unwanted reaction out of him if he didn’t know where Yoseob was.” Doojoon tugged his hair with both hands as he breathed out in pure anguish, “I’m going crazy. I am going insane.”

Minje bit her lip, trying not to cry for the man falling apart in front of her. She whispered softly, “Yoseob is fine, Doojoonah. He is just taking a break from…” Minje swallowed a lump in , “…from life.”

Doojoon shook his head roughly and spat out his words harshly, “From me. He is taking a break from me, he is leaving me. I ed up, Noona, I ed up so bad.”

Minje winced at his words, it was a good thing Daejung was in Yoseob’s room, sleeping peacefully and unaware of the tension going on in the kitchen. She knew exactly what Doojoon was referring to and she stayed silent, watching as Doojoon in a breath and confessed to her. “I lied to him, Noona and now he hates me. I can’t live with him hating me. He is more valuable than my own life, I would do anything for him. But he ran away from me, from my life. I ed up.”

“You messed up.” Minje said before she could hold it in. Doojoon looked up to her and she shrugged with a mischievous smile, “It’s a nursery school Doojoonah. I don’t think we are comfortable with bad words.” Minje grinned when Doojoon started to smile. His hands rested limply across the table as he returned the joke back, “Yes, I messed up, Noona. I messed up so bad.”

A warm smile bloomed onto Minje’s face as she reached across the wooden table to hold Doojoon’s hand tightly in hers. She was staring intensely into Doojoon’s eyes before she spoke of the truth, “Doojoonah, he knows.”

Doojoon was silent. The whole house was silent. There was a long pause in their conversation as he tried to digest the words coming out of Minje’s mouth. After a while, he frowned in confusion and asked softly, “…what…?”

Minje subconsciously winced, “Doojoonah, Yoseob knows. He knows all along. Heck, we all know.”

“Knows what…?”

“I know this is all hard to digest,” the older woman said calmly, “but remember he is a Yoon, by blood he is anyway, and of course the Yoon clan would do anything for his safety, even after all this while. He was not forgotten, not abandoned, he never is. He is as much a Yoon as you are.”

“He knows?” Doojoon whispered, his heart dropped to his feet at the sudden realization.

Minje nodded as she let Doojoon’s hand go and stood up, walking gracefully to the kitchen counter. “We all do, actually. His late father had arranged everything for him, his safety is always top priority.” She came back with a glass of cool water and set it down in front of a gaping Doojoon. She smiled, “I think it’s time for the truth, don’t you think, Doojoonah?” He nodded, eager to find the truth behind everything while Minje sighed and muttered, “He is going to kill me, but you deserve the truth. Both of you do.”

Minje cleared and began, “I met Yoseob’s eomma in Japan when I was barely six. It was coincidental but I loved her at first sight, she was much older than I was but I worshipped the ground she walked on. She was the kindest and most beautiful, graceful person I have ever met. At some point I even loved her more than my mom. “She chuckled at the memory and shook her head. “She doted on me and she loved me back, I have always wanted to be like her, my perfect Eonni, the air that I breathed. I loved her and my family loved her. She was alone in Japan and my family took her in, just like another daughter. My family was highly influential in the society and we did not even care that she was a Korean instead of Japanese like us.”

Doojoon chimed in, “You are Japanese? Are you…”

Minje smiled and narrowed her eyes at Doojoon’s intelligence, “No wonder you are the leader. A sharp mind and a perfect appearance, I would totally be all over you if I was much younger.” She winked, “Yes, I am a Kaname, Shizuka Kaname, if you have ever heard of it.” Of course everyone knew of the Kaname family, they were one of the most respected families in Japan, not to mention one of the most powerful socially, financially and politically. Doojoon had heard that the Yoon clan was once associated with them a long time ago but no one understood exactly what severed the tie.

Doojoon gasped, “You are the lost Kaname Princess.”

The older woman laughed, “I am not sure how people address me now, but yes I am what they call the Kaname Princess, I guess.” She frowned in amusement when she saw Doojoon’s shocked expression, “As you can see, I am not lost. I have been living in Korea since the… incident… to take care of Yoseob. That was why people thought I was lost. But my family knows and I am always in constant contact with those who matter to me.”

“Why are you here in Korea then?” Doojoon asked.

“It was the Kanames who introduced my Eonni to the Yoons. She was a wonderful cook, and I had never eaten a better omurice than the one she made for me from just leftover food.” There was a dreamy look in her eyes as she talked about mistress, “The Yoon and The Kaname were close before, always helping each other, not just business-wise but they were close personally. And it was only normal that we relented when The Yoon asked for my Eonni to work with them. We thought it was great that she could go back home to Korea with someone we, The Kanames, could trust.”

Her face fell as she continued her story, her eyes a bottomless pit of sadness, “Then it happened. I have never lost touch with her, but I did not know what went on with her in details, she didn’t tell me tose details about her life in Korea, and the last phone call I got about her was from an Ahjussi, telling me about the fire and Yoseob.”

Doojoon swallowed as Minje wiped the corners of her eyes with her knuckles, “I immediately flew over to Korea and met up with a really nice old couple. That was the first time I saw Yoseob and I fell in love immediately, he was the exact carbon copy of my Eonni and I decided to stay here and be with him, to take care of him. I think that was how I became ‘lost’ to other people. It was a difficult task to assure my family, they pressurized me to take Yoseob over to Japan instead. But after I told them the reason, they relented and I stayed here with my baby.”

The twinkle of happiness in Minje’s eyes was hard to miss, but Doojoon was the Yoon leader for something as he pushed the issue, “What reason, Noona?”

Minje raised her eyebrow in amazement; Doojoon was as sharp as a blade. “When I met the Ahjumma, she told me about the arson. Eonni decided to erase her and Yoseob’s existence by setting up her bungalow on fire. It was already planned beforehand and they were supposed to leave, but Madam sabotaged her and she was trapped inside the burning house…” Minje swallowed, willing her tears to stop gathering in her eyes.

Doojoon’s eye widened in horror, “So it was true… Gayoon told me about it… It was true… Oh god…”

“Gayoon?” Minje questioned, “That’s her name? The only Yoon daughter? Yoon Gayoon?”

Doojoon shook his head, “Heo Gayoon. She took after her mother’s name. Appa did not let her get the Yoon name after what her mother did to… He did not give anything to them, nothing at all. So what happened after that? How did you know about the arson and came here?”

“Ahjussi knew something was wrong and he went inside the burning bungalow to save my Eonni, but it was too late. Eonni gave him my number and asked him to call me immediately for Yoseob. And she burned down with the house.” Her voice was small; she took a long breath to calm herself down as she wiped her eyes from the moisture threatening to fall down. “And when I saw Yoseob, I needed to take care of him, needed to love him like my own son. He was so fragile, so tiny. And I decided to break away from both sides, the Yoon and the Kaname. This is why we never went back to the Kaname.”

Minje got up from her seat and walked behind the kitchen counter to fetch herself a glass of cool water. She came back to sit at the wooden table and sipped the water slowly, trying to compose herself. She almost cried, but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. She needed to be strong for her family, for Yoseob and Daejung.

Doojoon leaned back on his chair and scoffed at himself, “He lied to me.”

“Who? Yoseob?”

Doojoon nodded, “Yes. Yoseob lied to me. He forgot to tell me some of those important details.” He shook his head cynically.

Minje chuckled softly, “You lied to him, too. All of this while.”

Doojoon nodded brokenly, “I know…” He whispered, “I know… I just wanted to protect him.”

Minje winced at the pain in her heart, these two deserved each other so much it hurt her to the bones. “He has had enough protection all these while, Doojoonah.”

“What do you mean?” Doojoon frowned, another revelation?

Minje took another sip of her water before continuing, “The apartment building… it’s a safehouse. His father did not just abandon him, he insisted on protecting him although not first hand. I could understand where the old man was coming from; Yoseob was the only son of the Yoon clan. So we relented – after too many fights between me and Yoseob. The Ahjumma and Ahjussi couple is Yoseob’s guardian, the apartment is a safehouse, and all of your neighbors are members of the Yoon clan. They are high ranked officials which are ‘hidden’ from all of the current members so that none of you will recognize them. When Yoseob ran away, they abandoned the apartment and moved to another safehouse… which is here. My nursery is another safehouse for Yoseob.”

“But there are too many kids around.” Doojoon shuddered, he would never involve kids in any of their clan activities.

“The kids are children of those ‘hidden’ Yoon members. We help to take care of them while their parents are busy protecting Yoseob. The best way to disguise a safehouse is to make it appear as normal as possible.” Minje explained calmly.

“So everyone is here?”

Minje nodded, “Yes, there is a small village with large bungalows just inside the forest over there,” she pointed into a nearby pack of greeneries through the window. “Everyone is here now, because Yoseob is here.”

Doojoon shook his head; it was spinning with all of these new information on his Yoseob. But he forced himself to croak out another question that was bugging his mind, “Was Yoseob married?”

Minje raised her eyebrow, “Married? What do you mean by married?”

“Daejung… he called Yoseob ‘appa’”

Minjed visibly relaxed and laughed before she started explaining. “Daejung was another ‘sky of fire’ child – that was how Yoseob called a fire incident – and one day he came to me with a bundle of baby blue swaddle in his hands. He smiled, stars in his eyes, and he said that he would take care of the baby. Daejung was only 3 months old when we started taking care of him, so when he realized that every other child in the nursery called the man in their family as ‘appa’, he followed suit and Yoseob grinned with such pride that we encouraged him to call Yoseob ‘appa’ instead.”

“And she called you Nana because Yoseob called you Noona?”

“Yes,” Minje laughed again, soft and charming, “It sounded like Daejung was calling me a grandmother, but it’s okay. We love him all the same.”

The relief that washed Doojoon was incredible; he was never this relieved in his entire life. Minje noticed as she chuckled and blurted out carelessly, “Yoseob loves you.”

Once again, Doojoon slumped in his seat, returning to the issue on hand, “I don’t know. I lied to him. I messed up, Noona.”

“Let me tell you something, young man.” Minje fidgeted in her seat, “Yoseob loves you and the truth of your lie has come to his attention for quite a while and he kept by your side. Do you know the reason why?”

Doojoon shook his head, he was now confused. Yoseob did not hate him because he lied? Then why?

“Because when both of you were pretending, he had something to give. He had something you needed, something that was precious for you.” Minje held up her hand when Doojoon was about to cut her off, “No, listen to me first. He had trust issues, self-depreciating issues. He thought he was not worthy of you, and when you have acquired the ring, there would be nothing he could give you anymore. He was scared you would toss him away, leave him after you have achieved your goal. So he decided to run, he decided to not be a burden to you; you don’t even have to leave him because he left you first and you are free to do whatever you want afterwards. He loves you so much and that was the issue here.”

Doojoon was speechless, “He is everything to me… Everything… I love him more than anyone in the world…”

Minje smiled, “Then prove it to him. Prove to him you are not running away, you are not leaving him and you never will. Prove that he is worth it, that he is precious, that he is your everything, prove that he can trust you, can rely on you. Prove it to him he could not push you away.” Doojoon nodded and Minje continued, “We are short-handed at the moment, maybe you could help out in the nursery?”

“Yes.” Doojoon beamed visibly, “Yes, I can do that.”

“You can choose to stay here or commute back and forth – “

“I’ll stay here and help out.” Doojoon answered, determined to get the love of his life back.

Minje smiled and took Doojoon’s hand in hers, “Great, we can start tomorrow morning. It’s late, so you better go home and pack your bags. You can stay in Daejung’s room.” She grinned mischievously and talked a little louder, eyes still looking at Doojoon warmly. “Seobie baby, you can stop eavesdropping and peeking at Doojoon from the stairs now. Go back to your room and sleep. Doojoon is coming back tomorrow and will be staying with us from now.”

Doojoon widened his eyes and looked over Minje’s shoulder towards the stairs and true enough, he saw a shadow running on the stairs, followed by some shuffling and a door closing. “H – he – he was… when?”

Minje laughed out loud, “Since the time you said you ed it up.”

Doojoon looked scandalized, she knew all this while and… oh god, Doojoon’s head was about to explode.

Minje winked at him charmingly, “Drink some water and go home Doojoonah, I hope your Lamborghini is not too noisy when you drive out of here.”