**this fic own mine and my brother's. we worked this story together.

“My babies…!” Bella and Sophia jump into their granny’s open arms. “Come here, you” Taeyeon’s mother grabs her and squeezes, “my big baby”

“Hello, Mum” Taeyeon hugs back, a familiar scent immediately invading her senses. Kimchi and Soju. It reminds her of home.

“Let me look at all of you” she says, stepping back and carefully observing the next two generations of her family, “you’ve all changed” she says to Taeyeon.

“What...?” Taeyeon picks up her mother’s carry-on bag and walks to the baggage carousel. Bella and Sophia hold hands with their beloved Granny.

“The girls are bigger and you… your face, love” she answers once they stop, “you look… at ease” her large teeth burst through as she smiles at her only child.

“I think the flight took a toll on you, Mum”

“Oh pish posh. Your Mum’s still as moody a cow as she ever was” she tells her giggling granddaughters and kisses them both.

“Granny, we’re going to buy a Christmas tree on the way home” Sophia says, excited.

“Oh that sounds fun, my love”

“What bags did you bring, Mum?” Taeyeon asks when the red light flashes, signaling the bags arriving.

“Just the old green travel case, darling. You know the one”

“You still use that old thing?

“It works perfectly fine” she smiles.

“Sunny and Jamie are coming for Christmas too, Granny” Bella announces. Taeyeon glances at her Mum.

“Who are they, love?” she asks, moving some of Bella’s hair out of her eyes.

“Our friends…”

“Our best friends” Sophia adds. “Sunny’s very beautiful, Granny, and she held hands with Mum at Jamie’s Christmas show…”

“Here it is…!” Taeyeon holds up the case, “let’s go”

…

....

“Stay close, girls” Bella and Sophia run off through the tree lot. Taeyeon the branch of a large fir tree, walking slowly with her mother in tow, “Which do you like, Mum?”

“Who is this Sunny, dear?”

“Oh… just a friend” Taeyeon shrugs.

“You hold hands with your friends now, sweetheart?”

“Yes, Mum, I do. Ok?”

“Don’t be a , dear”

Taeyeon exhales sharply, “Sorry Mum, I just… it’s complicated; me and Sunny… I… “

“Mum, can we go on that bouncy castle? Please please please” Bella folds her hands and begs.

“I’ll take them, dear, you pick out a nice tree for us. A living tree” her mother adds as she takes her granddaughters’ hands, “we won’t pay for a murdered tree. We’ll plant the one we get in the new year”

Taeyeon rolls her eyes, “Some things never change” she mumbles, and walks off to do as her mother says.

…

…

“Granny…?”

“Yes, dear?” covers up Sophia as she lays in bed.

“Do you think Mum is back now?”

“How do you mean? She’s just kissed you goodnight and now she’s right upstairs in her office”

Sophia shakes her head, “Remember when Mummy died and Mum was angry and mean and stopped hugging and kissing us, and she stopped tucking us in and taking us to school and put away all of Mummy’s things? You said she was lost and needed to find her way back”

“So I did” takes her granddaughter’s hand and kisses it, “I think she’s on her way to being found”

Sophia smiles, “I think so too” yawns and turns on her side, “I think Sunny found her”

Kisses the youngest then walks across the room to her eldest granddaughter and does the same, “Goodnight… I love you both”

…

…

Taeyeon looks up when she hears the soft knock, “Come in”

“Brought you some tea, dear”

“Thanks Mum” Taeyeon takes a cup off the tray and sips, eyeing her mother as she wanders the room, “obviously there’s something you want to talk about since this is the first time you’ve bothered to come in here for two days”

“Just want to spend some time with my daughter” she answers, an unconvincing innocence to her tone.

“Out with it, Mum”

“Oh Taeyeon” she says in a huff, “I want you to tell me about this Sunny”

Taeyeon tosses her glasses on the desk and sits back in her chair, “Sunny… Sunny is… someone I’ve grown close with. Someone I trust. Someone I look forward to seeing. Someone I’d like to see every day” looks at her Mum, “ok?”

“About bloody time” her Mum beams, “have you told her any of this?”

“No, of course not” Taeyeon leans on the desk, “I don’t think she’s interested” shrugs, “she sees us as friends”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear”

“I’m not ready anyway, Mum”

“Sweetheart, it’s been quite some time, you deserve to be happy…”

“No Mum, I can’t make anyone happy, especially not a woman as good as Sunny. I don’t want to ruin someone like her”

“You’re good too, and I won’t hear anything else. You may be moody and you may be closed off with your feelings sometimes, but you have the most generous and loving heart, child of mine, and don’t you forget it”

Taeyeon rolls her eyes and drinks her tea. “You’ll like Sunny, Mum” she says after a comfortable silence, “she’s brilliant”

**this fic own mine and my brother's. we worked this story together.