Chapter 74

“You know,” Annie spoke up, garnering Miranda's attention. “When I saw the state you were in earlier and the look of fear in Danny's eyes, I was really worried something horrible might happen to you. I just couldn't bear to see Daniel without his mother.” She paused momentarily. “I didn't want him to go through what I went through.”

“What happened if you don't mind me asking?” Miranda asked softly.

“My mom passed away when I was twelve,” Annie answered. “It was a bus accident. She was on her way to work and there was a giant boulder in the middle of the road. The bus swerved and flipped onto the side of the road, killing eight people. My mother was one of those killed.” She finally said, blinking back her own tears.

Miranda grew silent, seemingly taken with Annie's story. There was just more to her than meets the eye, she noticed. “I'm terribly sorry,” she managed to finally say.

Annie gave her a brief smile, looking down at Daniel's sleeping figure on Miranda's lap. He looked so angelic and peaceful, she thought, her eyes glistening to tears. “He's just so young,” she said, with a slight sniffle. “He doesn't deserve to go through what I went through. No one does. He deserves to enjoy the moments he has with his mother until he can't bear it any longer...” She chuckled.

Miranda found herself chuckling as well. “You're right,” she said with a slight grin.

“But then I think that's highly unlikely,” Annie continued. “He loves you very much, Miranda. And I'm sure he'd love to spend every waking moment with you.” She grinned tenderly before turning back to Miranda, clearing . “I mean I know my advice is irrelevant but I just thought I'd throw this out there: Embrace what you have now before it's too late. You'll live to regret it later when you don't. He might even start resenting you.”

Miranda took a moment to think it through before nodding in understanding. “Thanks, Annie.”

Annie grinned, “Sure.”

“I really do appreciate your help,” Miranda's voice shook.

Annie reached over to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I would do it for anyone,” she assured her. “My mother taught me that...” She looked away sheepishly.

Miranda chuckled lightly. “Well, your mother's taught you well,” she remarked.

Annie beamed then nodded. “I guess you can say that,” she chuckled.

“Do you miss her?”

Annie sighed heavily. “I'd be lying if I said I didn't,” she replied honestly.

“Well, she raised a fine young woman,” Miranda remarked sincerely.

Annie perked up, glancing back at Miranda with a bemused expression. “Really?”

Miranda nodded. “Mhmm.”

Annie soon found herself blushing. “Uh, thanks,” she replied sheepishly before looking back up at her employer. “Right. I think I still owe you an explanation on a few things...”

“Right,” Miranda said flatly, staring back at her sternly. “Let's start with you and Bang Yongguk.”

“Uhm, sure,” Annie nodded. “What would you like to know?”

“Has it always been him?” Miranda asked curiously wanting confirmation.

“Yes,” Annie said softly, looking down at the floor of the car in defeat.

“I see,” Miranda nodded slowly in understanding. So her accusations about Annie and Himchan's relationship were clearly absurd. She soon felt terrible for jumping to conclusions right away but then she had to realize that it was over already. “And, what is this, I hear, about the batting cages?” She resumed, glancing down at Daniel.

“I assure you that Danny was completely unscathed,” Annie immediately came to her own defense. “He wore a helmet and stayed away from the fly balls.” She said taking a deep breath. “I was the one who ended up suffering the consequences and got hit in the face as a result. Consider that punishment enough for me.”

“I see,” Miranda stated. “Well, now that that's been settled. Thanks for being honest with me.”

Annie's eyes widened. “That's it?” she asked curiously. “I'm not in trouble?”

Miranda shook her head. “I have no energy at the moment to come up with a viable punishment so you're off the hook... For now, that is,” she sternly said. “However, one thing I'd like to say is Yongguk is a little out of your league, don't you think?” she smirked smugly. Her usual coldness towards Annie returned after what seemed like ages. Annie was unsure if she was joking or not.

Annie breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back against the backseat of the car. “I know. I thought he was out of my league too. But I really like him, Miranda. Whatever blossomed between me and Yongguk, just happened. It was always Yongguk. Not Himchan,” she admitted sheepishly, glancing askew at her employer. She could feel Miranda staring back at her attentively. Her cold demeanor just now soon morphed into a softened expression. “The last thing I want is to stress you out. And I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that stress is bad for the baby...” She said averting her eyes towards Miranda's abdomen.

Miranda grew silent. She contemplated telling Annie the truth but decided against it for now. She was still reeling from the news despite avoiding the topic at hand. “Well,” she cleared . “Nice of you to take that into consideration.”

“Yeah,” Annie chuckled nervously.

Before long, the car pulled into the front of the apartment building. The maitre'd soon made his way over to the car to open the door. “Thank you,” Miranda said, stepping out of the car to make room for Annie.

Annie took it upon herself to carry Daniel's sleeping figure in her arms. “I've got him,” she said.

“Okay, that's great to hear,” Miranda said with a slight grin. “I should get going now. Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do,” Annie said with a thumbs up before turning to head inside.

“Um, Annie?” Miranda called out to her.

Annie turned around briefly.

“About tonight's trip to the E.R....” Miranda began, trailing off. “Could you keep this between us? I mean, in other words, will you promise not to tell Himchan? We wouldn't want him to start worrying now, do we?”

Reluctantly, Annie finally nodded slowly. Her lips formed into a thin line, she was biting her tongue.

“Great,” Miranda smiled in relief. “Thanks again. Remember: Himchan must not know about this. You understand?” She firmly repeated.

“Sure thing. I'll make note of it,” Annie nodded. “Drive safely.”

Miranda then got back into the car. As the car began exit the driveway, Annie watched on with Daniel still in her arms as it drove off into the road before proceeding to head inside. “Thank you,” she briefly grinned at the doorman as he opened the door for her.

“Not a problem, miss,” he gave her a slight grin in return.

The trip to the hospital would soon make headlines the following days after. It was an unpleasant experience for Annie as well as Daniel as they were often hounded and ambushed by reporters. Clearly, they were trying to get the scoop on Miranda's condition. Seriously, it was just a trip to the hospital, Annie sneered reading through the headlines. It's not like she died or anything.

Her friends were soon starting to grow worried for her well-being nonetheless. Not to mention, they were curious as to what was going on but Annie had insisted that Miranda had made her swore an oath. There was no use in trying to pry anything out of her. When the time was right, she'd be willing to tell them. The least they could do was wait patiently for her to tell them what was going on. Annie had no idea what was going on. She was only instructed to keep shut and she was told not to speak a word to a reporter nonetheless.

One day, she had initially planned on meeting up with the driver to take Daniel to school but the front door was blockaded with expectant reporters peering inside for a glimpse of any sign of Annie or anyone related to the Shin camp. It was starting to make Annie feel agitated as she unintentionally gripped Daniel's hand. “Ow! Noona, you're hurting me,” Daniel yelped.

Annie gasped, forgetting he was with her. “Oh no! I'm so sorry!” she leaned down to kiss his hand frantically. “Sorry, kiddo. I didn't mean to hurt you.”

He giggled, grinning back at her. “It's okay, noona,” he beamed before glancing outside. “Who are they?”

“No one important,” she answered curtly, glancing around for another exit route. She might have to settle for the back way after all. “Let's go find another way out, okay?”

He nodded obediently as he followed her to the back door.

She took out her phone from her bag then proceeded to dial the driver. “Hey, it's Annie. I'm calling to tell you to meet us out back... You're here already? Great. Then it won't be a problem coming out to the back?... What?! They're blockading your car?” she groaned in frustration. “Okay, fine. I'll meet you out front.” She grumbled under her breath before hanging up, shoving her phone back into her bag.

“Nanny, why are you mad?” Daniel asked curiously.

Realizing once again that Daniel was with her, Annie faked a grin. “I'm not mad, Danny,” she calmly told him before taking a deep breath. “Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm gonna carry you in my arms and I need you to hide your face from those people outside, okay? Whatever you do, do NOT look at them. Okay?”

“Why?”

“Because I said so, Danny,” she said curtly. “Just trust me, okay?”

He finally nodded.

Without another word, Annie picked him up then proceeded to carry him out the back door hoping to sneak away towards the front to meet up with the driver. Peering from behind the wall, she realized that there really was no way out of this. They were surrounded. . Holding Daniel tightly in her arms, she cupped his head with her hand, determined to make a run for it even if it meant getting ambushed.

On the count of three, she thought, 1... 2... With a deep breath, she shut her eyes momentarily before opening them once again. 3! She internally counted down hoping to make a dash but her trance was soon interrupted by the sound of a horn honking at her.

Irritably, Annie gritted her teeth turning towards the source of the sound which seemed to have startled her. Soon she came face to face with a brand new red Lexus RX 350. Inside, she spotted a familiar figure peaking his head out the window, flashing his signature gummy smile. “Need a ride?” He called out to them.

Annie soon glanced back at the group of reporters, whom have not noticed the slight diversion at the other side of the building. Riding with Yongguk would seem like the safe bet for now. “Hey, it's Yonggukie hyung! Hi hyung!” Daniel called out, waving excitedly to the older guy.

Yongguk waved back to him with a welcoming smile.

Placing Daniel back down on the ground, Annie soon followed him to Yongguk's car. “Hey, little man!” Yongguk greeted him, ruffling his hair playfully. “Wanna go for a ride?”

“Okay!” he nodded eagerly.

“Hop in!” Yongguk exclaimed excitedly, stepping out of the car to help Daniel into the car seat.

As soon as he was settled into the car seat, Annie stood outside reluctantly, glancing from Yongguk's new set of wheels to the other side of the building. “You coming in or what?” Yongguk asked as he turned to face her.

Annie could help but gape in astonishment as she admired it from outside. “You got a new car?” she asked incredulously, raising both her eyebrows.

He chuckled. “I couldn't keep driving you and Danny around in that small little sports car so I ended up trading it in for this baby,” he said, patting the interior proudly “I even had the guys at the shop include a car seat for little Danny.”

Annie's eyes widened. “Did you really?!” she exclaimed incredulously.

He snorted. “You mean did I trade in my old car? Of course I did!” he chuckled. When she gave him a serious look, he softened a bit. “I'm just kidding, Annie.” She frowned, turning away from him.

“That's not funny, Bang,” she said sternly.

“I'm sorry, Annie,” he apologized, giving her the puppy dog eyes, hoping she'd give in.

She was clearly unamused at that point. “Look, I think it's nice that you got yourself a new car but you don't have to take me and Danny into consideration, meaning you didn't have to trade in your old car...”

“I was actually kidding about trading it in, Annie,” he told her. “I still have my other car. I just decided to get a new one. And conveniently, this was bigger and better than my other one. Just thought I'd switch off from time to time. I mean, look at how spacious it is.” he pointed out. “Even Danny seems to like it,” he pointed out. Annie could see that Daniel looked comfortable as opposed to the other times he felt a little cramped in the smaller car. Yongguk seemed to have made a valid point.

“I see,” she said flatly, nodding slowly. “How very considerate of you.”

“It's nice, don't you think?” he asked in a hopeful tone.

“Very nice,” she remarked dryly.

Yongguk sighed in annoyance at Annie's brashness. “Look Annie, I've missed you these past few days,” he finally said. “So could you please get in the car so we can drop Danny off together? I'd like to at least spend some time with you before I have to head to the studio... Unless you're willing to come with me?” He gave her a hopeful smile.

Eventually, Annie decided to get into the car. “Fine,” she grumbled.

“That a girl,” he smiled in satisfaction, shutting the door then making his way over the driver's side.

She rolled her eyes as she proceeded to buckle up. As she proceeded to do so, Yongguk then took that moment as an opportunity to help her with her seat belt before instinctively leaning in to kiss her. When Annie realized what he was doing, she immediately turned her head away, allowing him to kiss her cheek instead. “I missed you too,” she said sheepishly, clearing .

When he furrowed her brows in confusion, she tilted her head towards Daniel for emphasis. He caught on right away, nodding slowly. “Ah... gotcha,” he said glancing back at Daniel. “Let's get you to school, okay Danny?”

Daniel nodded. “Okay, hyung,” he said.

Annie grinned back at him before turning back to Yongguk. “I'm gonna make a call to the driver to tell him that his services won't be needed,” she said, proceeding to take out her phone from her purse to dial the driver.

“You do that,” Yongguk nodded before peering back at Daniel through his rear view mirror. “Hey Danny! Wanna see something cool?”

“Okay!” Daniel exclaimed excitedly from the back seat.

Yongguk cleared his throat before speaking up loudly. “Play music,” he commanded.

There was a loud chime before the radio , playing a song with a really catchy beat. The song started out with a bit of dialogue between a couple arguing about the boyfriend's wandering eye. Annie had to give the guy kudos for actually being upfront about it.

“Wow…”
“Hey! What’re you doing?”
“Did you see her?”
“What?? I’m right next to you!”
“Ah, I’m just looking”
“I can’t believe you”
“No no, guys are all like that, listen to my story”

From what Annie read on the screen before them, the song was called “Bow Wow.” Annie soon found herself glancing over at Yongguk, only to find him rapping along to the first verse of the song.

Long hair rather than short
Small basketball shoes rather than heels
Even without makeup, a girl who overflows with confidence
When I see a girl like that, without knowing, my eye goes to her
Rather than a voluptuous body, I like a girl whose fit naturally comes to life
I’m not looking for a fight but whenever I see a girl like that
Without knowing, I just go bow wow wow wow

For a moment, she was astonished by his talent until he began to bob his head to the melody. He was clearly into his little performance until he realized Annie was watching him, clearly amused. In turn, he gave her a shy smile. “Show off,” she muttered, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at his boyishness. However, she had to admit, he was adorable nonetheless. Giggling could be heard from the back seat as she turned to find Daniel, clearly amused by the older guy's little performance in the car.

“Wow!” Daniel beamed. “That's so cool!”

“That's not even the best part,” Yongguk announced as he turned down the radio. “Watch this.” He cleared his throat once again before speaking up, loud and clear. “Play movie.”

Soon, the audio echoing throughout the car consisted of constant giggling from a very familiar animated figure Annie had grown up watching when she was a kid. “The Tigger Movie?” Annie turned to Yongguk with a bemused expression.

He shrugged, grinning sheepishly. “What can I say? I like Tigger... What's it to you?”

“Nothing,” Annie shook her head, glancing back at Daniel, who was clearly focused on the LCD screen before him. “I just enjoy learning new things about you. It's exciting and refreshing...” She mused.

“Well, I'm glad you find this amusing,” he remarked, shifting his attention back to the road ahead.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, Tigger was my favorite character in the Winnie the Pooh series too,” she mused.

“Wow,” his eyes widened, feigning excitement. “We actually have something in common!”

Annie lightly shoved him. “Shut up and drive,” she barked back, leaning back against the adjustable leather seat of the car.

“What do you think I'm doing?” he countered back before pulling the car into the school's entrance. “What do you know?” He put the car in PARK. “We're here.” Annie scoffed before proceeding to unbuckle her seat belt. “Allow me.” he said, assisting her.

Annie slapped his hand away. “Alright, that's enough,” she said sternly. “I've got it from here.”

“I'm just trying to help,” he scoffed, stepping out of the car with her. “Alright, little man,” Yongguk helped by lifting him up. “There you go,” he finally said, setting him down on the ground before helping him put on his backpack.

Without another word, Daniel ran off to join his friends on the playground as Annie and Yongguk watched on together. “He never ceases to amaze me,” Annie remarked. In turn, Yongguk placed a hand over her shoulder then leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Annie lightly slapped his chest. “Bang,” she whined under her breath, glancing around self-consciously. “Not in front of the kids.”

He gaped at her. “Why? It's not like we're having a full-on make-out session. I'm not that shameless, Annie,” he remarked which earned another slap on the chest. This time the impact was a little more firmer. “Ow,” he said flatly, staring back at her.

“Watch it,” she pointed a warning finger at him before walking back to the car.

Watching her retreating figure, Yongguk chuckled before following her.

“Is something on your mind?” Yongguk asked, waving a hand in front of Annie's trance-like face, as they sat on the leather couch eating their lunch.

He took it upon himself to take her back to the studio since the reporters were still camping out of the apartment building much to their dismay. They eventually ordered take-out which was convenient for Yongguk since he had a bunch of work to do. As expected, Annie brought a book to read. Occasionally, he would glance over at her but he knew her mind was elsewhere aside from the focusing on the book itself.

She flinched, as if realizing she was elsewhere. “Huh?” she shifted her attention back to him.

“You've been quiet all day, Annie,” he pointed out. “And look, you barely even touched your food.” He pointed to the uneaten cartons of food before her.

“I'm not all that hungry,” she said, pushing the boxes away.

“Annie, it's me,” he firmly stated. “If you need to talk, you know I'm here for you. It's my job.”

“The last thing I want is to bother you when you're working, Yongguk,” she countered back.

“You're not bothering me,” he assured her. “If anything, I like the company. Especially if it's you.”

She chuckled lightly. “That's so sweet of you,” she beamed before frowning once again. “There's just a lot going on right now.”

“So I heard,” he flatly remarked. “What has been going on anyways?”

“You heard about that stint at the hospital, right?” she said. He nodded. “Well, that's what happened that night I was supposed to hang out with you guys and Natasha unnie. It started out as request for a babysitter since she had a dinner to get to with her husband. I mean, I couldn't flat out say 'no'. If I can't watch Danny, then no one can. Besides, it's my job.” She paused before continuing again.

“Anyways, just as she was about to get up to get ready, she cries out clutching her stomach. Panicking, I immediately rushed over to her to help her. She was being her usual stubborn self insisting she's fine but I begged to differ until she cries out in pain again. This time, she starts bleeding and that's when I had to worry. The look of fear in Danny's face broke my heart and I had to take it upon myself to take her to hospital. We were there for a few hours until she got released. When she stepped out of the exam room, she seemed unscathed and decided to go along her merry way with Danny in tow. It wasn't until I was left alone with the doctor when I asked if the baby was okay. He was hesitant but couldn't reveal anything to me because it was part of his job to ensure doctor-patient confidentiality. It was frustrating, of course. But then when I tried to inquire about it to Miranda, she insisted she was fine. I went along with it but a part of me is sensing something's wrong.” She sighed heavily before facing Yongguk once again.

Yongguk took a moment to digest this bit of information. “I see,” he uttered, turning back to face her. “Does Himchan know about this?”

Annie shook her head. “I mean, who doesn't know about the stint to the hospital?” she said. “It's practically made headlines since then. But no one knows the exact reason which was why those reporters were camping outside trying to find out. We're the only ones who know about the pregnancy, Yongguk. She made me promise not to tell him. But then, he's my friend, I believe he has a right to know, right?”

Yongguk nodded. “When you said you were sensing something wrong, what did you mean exactly?” he asked.

Annie looked away from him, taking a deep breath. “I don't think the baby made it,” she finally said.

A/N: Hello again! Here's another update. I had to add some Annie and Bang moments in this chapter. I hope you like it. Annie also needed someone to confide in so it may as well be Bang, right? It is his job to listen and give his input. I have a few more chapters lined up until I can finally wrap up this story. However, my favorite part even though it was irrelevant was the part about the car. If you're curious, you guys should totally look it up. It's a really nice car and even I get astonished at how nice it is lol. Honestly, if I were Annie, I'd have the same reception as her lol. I'm not easily impressed by a new car either. I mean I do for a moment but it's only for a short time. I think it just goes to show how Annie stands out from the rest when she's with Yongguk and it's refreshing for him. And I also loved the reference to "Bow Wow". Even though I didn't give a brief physical description as to Annie's appearance, the song kind of made me think of Bang potentially singing it to her. I thought it was kind of cute. In a way, I'd like for you guys to all relate with Annie because I know you guys are all beautiful! <3

P.S. Don't mind the minor errors, I'll come back and fix them later. In the meantime, enjoy! ^^