Staring blankly at the front, eyes looking and observing each and everyone walking past, mind whirling endlessly.

What were they doing? Were they happy? Were they enjoying life? What keeps them going in life? Work, family, or love?

She looked on while taking note of the people's expression. Some were talking and chatting animatedly with their friends, smiles hanging all over their faces, some were on the phone, giggling and smiling while others, in fact, most of them simply had a blank face. Among them, some walked quickly, rushing towards the nearest train station or bus-stop, while others were dragging their feet.

It was just six in the evening when most people have finished their day job, and were on the way to their night activities, regardless whether it was to simply stay at home or to hang out with friends. Staring at those people, she wondered about her own situation.

A stable nine-to-five job where routines are the same from morning till evening, before going home to her family. Weekdays that are meant for work, and weekends to simply stay and rest at home with her family, there were times in which she would become tired, restless of doing things repetitively, when she would lose her motivation to go to work, when she would lose her energy and concentration in her tasks and when she felt just simply tired and worn-out despite doing the same things everyday.

Hands tucked in the pockets of her baggy khaki pants , ped jacket covering her tank top flying in the wind while her eyes kept constant gaze at the concrete floor, occassionally kicking the crushed can that she had found along the way. Every step she took, a sound of the aluminium meeting the tip of her converse shoe before bottom meet the pavement with slight friction.

Her eyes paid attention to nowhere and her feet brought her anywhere. However, for the fact that it being the same road she had walked for the past five years, it seemed that it was through pure instinct that her feet guided her towards a place, called home.

The only difference was, she did not want to. She refused to go home. Life had slowly taken a toll on her, occupying most of her time and energy. Work, go home, eat, sleep, wake up, work go home, eat, sleep, wake up etc. It seemed that there was nothing else left to do in her lfe besides repeating this mundane routine. Sometimes, she just felt like a robot, programmed to do the same things over and over and over again, but she was not. She was a human being, a person with a brain to think, a heart to feel.

In short, she was exhausted and worn-out. It was as though she was a deflated balloon, with no one to pump in the air, no one to give her the much needed motivation, no one to help her break out of that... routine, chore and burden.

~~~

Turning the knob and pushing the door open, she could smell the aroma of home-cooked food, yet there was no excitement for them despite her stomach growling. Kimchi, steamed fish, bulgogi and rice. It was the usual food that was set on the table, food that she had once looked forward to, that allowed her second, third or even fourth servings, that she was content with simply by smelling it. However, they were also the very same dishes that she was no longer craving for and had grew sick of it, yet she did not have the heart to tell the cook and forced herself to eat.

Lethargically, she left her bag on the couch before makig her way towards the dining area. A smile slowly formed on her face when she saw a young child eating heartily.

However, the smile slowly turned into a frown when she realized that rice and vegetables were dropped all over the table and floor around that child and the mother was nowhere to be seen. At the thought of wiping the table and cleaning the floor after a long day of work, brought a rush of blood up to her head as she slowly started to see red. Still, she forced herself to keep calm.

"Taeyeon-ah..."

"Umma!"

The child looked up at Hyoyeon and smiled a wide smile, bearing all the half-chewed food in .

"Taeyeon-ah, why are you eating like this?"

Hearing the tired and resigned voice from her mother, Taeyeon looked around her and pouted.

"Sorry Umma..."

Upon seeing the adorable pout, Hyoyeon could not help but smile despite her worn-out self. How could a person maintain an angry look at such a cute expression? Definitely not Hyoyeon, for she was the one who would melt first upon seeing it.

"Hyoyeon, you are back."

A soft voice was heard from the stairs. Turning around, Hyoyeon could only see a pair of slim legs as it made its way down the stairs before a petite blonde beauty came to view. Hyoyeon gave a small tired smile as she welcomed the blonde with her presence and hug.

"Sica ah..."

The blonde beauty gave a big smile while walking over to hug her wife. Fresh smell of mint and lemon filled the air as Jessica sashayed into the room, an obvious sign of being freshly showered.

"Sit. I'll get your bowl."

Hyoyeon could only smile a small smile. Despite her hunger, she did not feel the urge to eat, not even the rice in her bowl, but her kind self would never deny the hard work that her wife put in. Hence, in spite of the unwillingness, the brunette sat down, all while eyeing the child who had started playing with her food.

"Taeyeon! How many times have I told you not to play with your food? Taeyeon!"

A sound of porcelean bowl contacting the surface of the wooden table before sounds of smacks and wailing of a child was heard. The moment the wails erupted in the air, Hyoyeon could only sigh in frustration.

After a long day at work, she definitely did not wish or hope to come back home, only to hear the wails of a child. It was deafening to her ears, irritating her every nerves and made her clench her jaws and teeth in attempts to hold in her frustrations. It definitely did not help when she had such a bad day at work. With a harsh boss who was picking on every small little thing, not to mention tight deadlines and gossiping colleagues who were interested in every little things, as well as being a suboardinate, there was no way she could vent her anger or irritatedness on anyone. As much as she could, she definitely did not want to vent it on her family, knowing that they were the most innocent out of all.

Irritated and trying to keep in her anger, Hyoyeon simply put down her bowl and left the dining area, leaving Jessica to deal with Taeyeon.

Dragging her feet to the living room, the brunette picked up her torn and almost tattered bag before heading towards her home office. Despite having worked long hours at work, it was relatively common for workers, especially office personels to work day and night, regardless of whether in home or at the office. It was part of survival in the industry, to be able to prove yourself more competent, to be able to finish more jobs and take on more responsibilities. Everyday, people were comparing the number of hours they worked each day. The more hours meant the more hardworking they were, and those who did not clocked the number of standard hours determined by society were easily kicked out of the competitive society. In short, it was just work as priority over everything else.

Ignoring the continuous wails of their only daughter, Hyoyeon put in her earplugs as she started on her endless documents. However, working throughout the day had really taken a whole lot of energy out of her, and by the time night comes, the brunette was basically out of fuel. Disoriented and the lack of concentration was slowly getting to her as her eyes blurred at the words and her brain started to slowly switched off. Even her handwriting that was normally neat and tidy had slowly started to slur off to the side, making them illegible. Slowly, she found her hand slowling down, going off at the wrong point of paper, writing the wrong words, and her head slowly nodding off - a sign of sleepiness.

Fatigue, she felt the soreness in her body, the lack of brain cells to think, the drooping of eyes every night, yet decided to ignore. Sleepiness did not exist in the world, so does sleeping or even rest. Twenty-four seven, that was the newest work day. There was no more differentiation within weekdays and weekends. Twenty-four seven on standby, twenty-four seven at work. No rest, no sleep. This was the current world. It was as though everyone was an automatic powered robot, but even electric ones needed current to pump them with energy, yet for humans? Who or what do they have to give them that energy, that motivation to keep them going?

Slowly, her eyes drooped, her grip on the pen slackened, her head fell forward and soon, the tired lady was snoring, replenishing her much-needed sleep before continuing working

---

Mere three hours later, she woke up, stretched her body while massaging her aching neck. Not to be said, she had managed to replenish her sleep-deprived self and was feeling much more energetic than before, but still, there was this laziness in her that urged her to continue sleeping, which she forced it at the back of her mind.

Taking off her earpiece, it did not take her long to realize how the house was surprisingly quiet. The usual chatter from Taeyeon, the usual sound coming from the television or the radio that was usually blasted through the house, or the familiar sound of the blending machine as Jessica tried to experiment with different food. All those sounds were so familiar and so used to that the current silence seemed so foreign.

Slowly, she stood up to release her sore muscles, only to hear a soft thump on the floor. Turning around, Hyoyeon picked up a piece of clothing - blanket from the floor.

A slight feeling of warmth crept into her heart as she imagined Jessica to be creeping stealthily into the room with the blanket and placed them carefully on her shoulder. Being someone who is soft yet clumsy, Hyoyeon could imagine how difficult it was for the other lady to just wrap that blanket on her shoulders, not to mention that Hyoyeon herself was a pretty light sleeper. Imagining the scene had allowed a soft chuckle to escape from as she hugged the blanket closer to her heart, savoring the love from her lovely wife.

Finally snapping out from her imaginary moment with Jessica, Hyoyeon proceeded to wrap the blanket around her shoulder, feeling the warmth emitting from it. The blanket had been a gift from Jessica, the day Hyoyeon was down with a serious cold while they were still dating. Hyoyeon remembered vividly how Jessica had shyly gave her the blanket when the latter visited her at her house, as Hyoyeon was whining about being sick and not seeing her girlfriend. It was only few days after she recovered that she found out the blanket was actually Jessica's favourite blanket from her childhood that the latter kept it on her bed every night despite not using it. No wonder it had smelt so familiar. Just like Jessica. Hyoyeon had mused at the thought of it. The image of a shy Jessica with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks was something to not be forgotten despite the countless times Hyoyeon had managed to make the girl blush. To think that everyone thought of her to be an ice princess.

Reminiscing the past brought back fond memories that Hyoyeon swore to remember and keep them close to her heart. Smiling blissfully to herself, Hyoyeon made her way towards the kitchen where she decided a glass of water to drench her parched throat.

Standing in front of the fridge, she noticed a blue post-it on the door. Immediately, she knew it was from her daughter. Taeyeon had loved blue simce young, a contrast to her relatively feminine mother who loved the color pink.

"Umma! Me and Mommy cook porigge. Mommy say heat it then eat. I love Umma"

The note was short, the writing was kiddish, there were spelling and grammar mistakes, but Hyoyeon loved them all.

A small drawing of what seemed to be Jessica and Taeyeon with a pot in front of them and a stick in the pot. It reminded Hyoyeon of two evil witches brewing potion, but Hyoyeon could not laugh. It was a heartfelt drawing by her daughter. Seeing that sticky note, her body relaxed a bit, as though a small burden had released itself from her shoulder. Nothing beats having care and concern from their family.

Opening the refrigerator door, sitting right in front of her in the middle of the shelf was a pot. It was still slighly warm, indicating that it was cooked not too long ago. Using both hands to take that pot out, Hyoyeon realized a pink post-it was stuck to it. This time, the handwriting was relatively neat and elegant.

"Hyo, heat it up before eating. Don't be lazy. If you don't heat it up and I find out, I swear I won't let you hug me no matter how tired you are."

There was even an angry by the side. For a moment, Hyoyeon wanted to laugh at how childish the threat seemed. It was usually the older woman who could not resist not having to cuddle in the younger's embrace. So who was she to make such a threat?

Despite the amusing threat, Hyoyeon decided to just ignore it, too tired to heat it up and too hungry to wait for it to be warm enough. Grabbing a spoon, Hyoyeon went to her usual seat at the dining table. She was about to dig in when she noticed a piece of blue sticking out from under the pot.

Plucking it out, she realized it was another post-it. On it was written, "Umma! You never heat porigge up right? Bad umma! Taeyeon will ignore Umma, if Umma never heat porigge up."

At the bottom signing off was a expression of a girl, believing to be Taeyeon with an angry face. Seeing the note, Hyoyeon was speechless. Indeed those two female in the house were family. Only they would knew her every action and movement and had anticipated them, not to mention knowing what made her tick.

Taeyeon was somebody that Hyoyeon did not want to rile. Despite Taeyeon being her daughter, the young mother knew better than to make her upset. Once Hyoyeon had unknowingly threw Taeyeon's drawing away and the girl had ignored her for the whole week. It was only till Hyoyeon got her a plush toy that she wanted and treated her to happy meal in macdonald as well as redrew the drawing she had thrown away that the young child finally relented. That one week had been the worst week ever since Taeyeon was born and Hyoyeon definitely did not want to go through it again.

Sighing, the still-tired woman dragged her feet towards the stove where she caught sight of another pink post-it stuck next to the stove.

"Heat it for 10 mins, babe. Eat well, love you."

The note ended with a heart and a happy expression. The expressions made Hyoyeon's heart fluttered and made her smile. It reminded her of the times where she courted Jessica. She used to be someone full of emotions and express herself well through actions while Jessica was the opposite. She had started her attacks on Jessica through a series of messages on paper though being seatmates in class. Hyoyeon, who was not very good with words had resorted to using emoticons to express her feelings on papers, hence in most of her messages, she would end off with an expression. A smile, a wink, a blush of cheeks, she used it all. Hence those messages with expressions, it felt like she was being brought back to the past.

Turning off the stove, she reached for a bowl pad only to find another post-it. This time, it was blue in color.

"Yay!! I love you Umma! Lots and lots of love!!!"

Once again, the short note ended with lots of love of different colors decorating the whole paper. It filled Hyoyeon with lots of warmth and love. Something to spur her on in the darkness and silence of the house.

Digging in into the porridge that her wife and daughter had thoughtfully cooked for her, despite the taste seemed a little off and weird, Hyoyeon still polished them off. It was only then that she realized how hungry she was.

Finishing all the porridge made with love, Hyoyeon proceeded back to the rooms. She stood outside a brightly colored blue door, with the sign Taeyeon hanging in the middle. Gently and silently, she turned the knob and entered the room. Her eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the room. Just like any other kids room, the room was filled with toys and of course, plush toys.

With her arms spreaded out across the bed, legs spreaded apart, mouth half opened, Hyoyeon could only chuckled at the adorable sight.

"Umma, Mommy! I love you."

The sudden shout surprised her as she looked around the room. It was only when she heard Taeyeon mumbled something about loving her parents while flipping over to the side that she realized that it was her child sleep talking. How could she forget that? Hyoyeon smiled at the sight.

It had been a long while since she had even seen her so up close. Through the darkness, Hyoyeon looked at the sleeping child. She realized how much longer (on the bed) or rather taller Taeyeon had grown. The sight of her got Hyoyeon thinking. Had she been too long away from her daughter? Had she spent too much time in the office that she had failed to notice how much her daughter was growing?

Picking up the blanket that Taeyeon conveniently kicked off bed onto the floor, Hyoyeon gently laid the blanket on the sleeping child's body, tucking her in warmly. The latter watched as Taeyeon snuggled deep into the blanket, sputtering intelligible gibberish about her parents and multiplication tables that Jessica had most probably forced her to memorize. She watched as the latter pouted when she failed to mutter the answers, only the questions.

Turning around, her eyes spotted a few open books that she believed Jessica had bought. Jessica had always believed in educating children earlier, so that they would have a head start in education, and they would not be lagging much behind if they happen to be bad in any subjects. Hyoyeon turned back to her child, watching her as she slept on. A sudden thought crossed her mind. Her child was growing up, in fact it was too fast. It seemed like yesterday when she was still carrying Taeyeon in her arms, giving her to Jessica to feed, when she still had to wake up in the middle of the night to change her diapers, when she still had to pacify the crying child with her every cry and whine and now Taeyeon was going to school, she was turning elementary one, joining all the other kids in a huge building, making friends while studying together.

Hyoyeon sighed at the thought. Suddenly, she just felt old. For the past few years, she had putting all her time and energy into her work that she felt, she had neglected her child. Not only Taeyeon, but Jessica too.

Taking a step towards the sleeping girl, she gently placed a kiss on her forehead while wishing her a good night. A small smile tugged on her lips when she saw how Taeyeon snuggled deeper into her blanket. Patting the child's head, she stared slightly longer before sneaking out of the room.

The next room she went in, her own bedroom. The night light was still on, but the only occupant in the room was fast asleep with a book lying on her lap and her spectacles hanging on the bridge of her nose. Gently, Hyoyeon lifted Jessica's hands from the book and placed it by the side of the bed before admiring the sleeping lady. Her own wife in spectacles. Hyoyeon mused at the sight, remembering the time when she used to tease the girl for being a four-eyed creature and how Jessica would always punch and slap her on her arms as retort.

The memory slowly changed into the night where they had sleepover at one of their houses. The latter was reading as usual with her spectacles on when Hyoyeon decided to be in one of her playful mood. She had jumped onto the bed where the reading girl was sitting and tickled that girl hard. The ticklish girl and laughed and squirmed around the bed till the younger was sitting on top of the older. It was only till they stopped laughing that they realized how awkward their positions were, causing them to blush. There was an awkward silence before Hyoyeon took the first initiative to lean down. Her fingers inched forward and had taken off the spectacles that was still on Jessica's face. Only then that she realized how beautiful the older's eyes were. From then on, she was charmed, and the rest was history. The spectacles, it now made Jessica looked a lot more studious, while Jessica without spectacles, was simply beautiful and breathtaking. Either way, Hyoyeon had loved it.

Pinching the bridge of the spectacles and placing them on top of the book, Hyoyeon gently shifted the girl down so that she could lie comfortably. Jessica, on the other hand, had s her arms around the younger's body, finding her usual position in her arms. Hyoyeon smiled as her lover snuggled her face deep into her chest as she savored the warmth emitting from the two bodies. Her arms wrapped around the familiar curves of Jessica's body, her nose inhaling the familiar scent of lavender.

Easing herself slowly under the covers while careful not to wake her wife, Hyoyeon hugged the body tighter before closing her eyes with a blissful smile on her face. That night, she slept throughout the night, resting well in order to be ready for work the next day. Family. That was what motivated her to work hard and well. That was what she was fighting for.

-END-

A/N: An average piece I guess. Not my best, but it's better than nothing right? Work has taken a toll on me, day and night I have been working, almost 24/7 that there are times where I really wanted a break, but I can't since I'm on contract basis. So work it is for me. It had been fun, though tiring, and allowed me to not only gain insight of the industry I'm working in, as well as people. Work life, work politics. There are times in which I had this burning question in my mind, why am I working this hard? Why am I sacrificing my weekends and nights to work when I can spend time with my family? Passion, interest? Neither, it's just work for money, yet I'm not getting paid for any overtime. So this got me thinking about why I'm working so hard. What am I actually working hard for? Myself? or my family? The answer came out. I'm working this hard, so I can fund my studies myself and relief the burden of my family. Family, that's it. That's what keeps me going. The thought of seeing them, though they may be asleep when I'm home. Just looking at them in the dark, in silhouette, that's more than enough. In short, family, love, that's what would keep not only me, but you and us going. That's what I'm fighting for, my inspiration of motivation. (The story seemed to have digressed from the title, but I'm guess I'm just going to leave it as it is, cant find another title.)