When I woke up the next morning, CAP was gone. It was a bit expected though. After all, a good chunk of their practice time the day before had been taken up by Min Ki and I. Besides, I had some things I absolutely had to do today.

“Oh, so you remembered us?” Jin Ae asked mockingly.

“Minnie wanted to see Jin Jin so we came by. We can leave if you like.”

 There was no way to go back to my old job but I was sure Chan Hee knew somewhere I could find a job. My bank account was slowly and steadily draining.

Jin Ae clicked her tongue at me. “That smart mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day.”

“One day?” I scoffed. “How have you not seen the news? I’m already in trouble.”

Chan Hee came from his office at around that moment. “You seemed to have handled things well. From the phone call I received, Andy really doesn’t like it though.”

“Andy can kiss my-” I stopped myself before I could say what I was thinking. “I’m not Andy’s greatest fan either.”

Chan Hee chuckled. “The two of you are extremely similar.”

“If you say so.”

“You didn’t come all the way out here on the whim of a toddler. You want something.”

“Why do you always suspect me of having ulterior motives?”

“I know you all too well goddaughter,” he said with a wink. “Now spit it out.”

“I need a job and a preschool for Minnie.”

Chan Hee chuckled. “Why do you always come to me for employment?”

I shrugged. “That’s the way things work out I guess.”

“Well, I guess I have some contacts you may be interested in. Jin Ae’s niece is a little older than you. She works at a preschool in town. Get her number and call her. I’ll be right back.”

Chan Hee left and returned with an index card written all over with numbers. It felt good to have potential employers. Jin Ae called her niece and arranged for me to meet her later in the day. Things seemed to be working smoothly which naturally made me a bit suspicious of what could go wrong next.

Jin Ae’s niece was named Hyuna (no, not that Hyuna). She was tall, with wavy black hair and a gummy smile. Min Ki seemed to take to her instantly when we met her at the school.

“Hi. You must be Anna,” she said in greeting. “Auntie Jin Ae told me a lot about you.”

“She did?”

“She explained part of your situation to me. I’m pretty sure I can find the little one a spot here. How old is he?”

“He’s three, but he’ll be four soon.”

“Has he ever been to school before?”

I shook my head. “An ahjumma from the village used to keep him along with her grandchildren,” I explained. “He’s sociable enough. He talks a lot but he tends to mix languages.”

“Oh? What do you mean?” she asked.

“I speak English to him, but his father and uncles all speak Korean to him. Whatever he can’t say in one language, he’ll say it in another.”

“A smart little cookie, aren’t you?” Hyuna asked Min Ki. He nodded and went back to the coloring sheet he had. Hyuna and I talked out the details of the program and payments. Fifteen minutes later, I was walking out of the school feeling accomplished. Holding onto Min Ki’s hand, I started skipping down the road until Min Ki stopped and pointed through a window.

“What is it Minnie?”

“It’s your friend,” he said simply.

What friend? I thought. I looked into the window and recognized that the building was a gym. Upon further inspection, Minho’s face became clear through the glass. He grinned at me and pointed to his left. I followed the direction to the building’s entrance where he was waiting for me.

“The kid’s got a sharp eye.”

Min Ki was grinning. I think it was more from being talked about than understanding the compliment.

“I’ve been saying that since he was born. So what’s up Minho?”

“Just taking a break from promotions.”

I had to laugh. “You’re the only person I know who exercises when they’re on break. Shouldn’t you be doing something, I don’t know, fun?”

“This is fun to me. You haven’t been away long enough to forget that.”

“Well that’s true.”

“I saw about you and CAP. I get the feeling the whole story hasn’t come out yet.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I teased. “What is the story?”

He shrugged. “Something about him hiding a child and you being a gold digger, among other things.”

“Well, the first part of it is almost right. Except that I was the one hiding. Oh well, what do you think.”

“I know you’re not a gold digger. You’re just not the type.”

“Thank you…I think.”

“Well, I’ve got to get back to my workout, but it was nice to see you.”

“Yeah. See you around Minho.”

I turned to walk down the street with Min Ki in tow. A few school age girls, who should have been in class in the first place, were giving me dirty looks but seemed innocent enough. I rolled my eyes at them and went about my business. It wasn’t until later that I realized that maybe they weren’t as harmless as they seemed.