//shuffling to the center...//              RUI BOWS ON HANDS AND KNEES                //stays there for a while//

I'm really sorry...chongmal mian...gomennasai!!!

I've been so busy this month that I had to sacrifice my babies. All the stress made me bipolar and close to quitting.

But anyway, RUI'S BACK!!! 

And I prayed for all of you on Thanksgiving! Surely, the friends I found in this simple stories are worth giving thanks for! 

Much love from me and hoping for your patience <-- Rui

Choi's Villa; Seoul

“What did they say about your final edit?” Top said on the phone while sipping on some red wine after dinner.

“They liked it. Better than the other as we expected.” He hears her soft chuckle. “But I really think its only because the movie is opening in a week so I left them no choice.”

“Did you encounter any problems in moving?” He asked before Jiyong completely distracts his wife as he hears his friend’s voice in the background.

“Ani, they were very understanding. They were looking for you, you know. I told them you had decided to move for a very important reason. I just mentioned that you had fallen in love and they all just stopped asking.”

“They stopped asking? I thought they would pry some more.”

“Ani, they know how much personal space matters to you so they didn’t ask more. Though if they did, I would have told them you are dating my best friend.” 

“And what if they thought it was you?”

“Oh, they did but I introduced Jiyong to them and that shut them up.”

“Very bold, Dara noona.”

“I just need some getting used to it.” Top agreed that she did. Sandara Park has always been Kwon Jiyong’s woman. That was a fact to everyone at YG. But life is harsh and that fact needed to be kept in secret, hence to be able to introduce him as Lena’s father, was a bold move and Dara should get a gold medal for it. Perhaps this time, she’d be ready to claim the dragon. Moving back to Seoul was another great feat for Dara and Top was so relieved that she considered coming back.

“Thank you, Dara.”

Dara felt the sincerity in Top’s voice and she looked over at Jiyong who was buying them some coffee. “Tabi?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think I’m crazy if I say that I think its me who should be thanking you for such a brilliant idea?”

“I would think you are crazy if you still resist.” Top grins over the phone. Dara was at the mercy of Kwon Jiyong’s charm and Top knew she would be fighting a lost cause. Apart from the new life she’s been living, she has also adapted a whole new level to her stubbornness that rivals Lena’s. With that stubbornness,  Dara had been more eager to fight for what she wanted, from the small intricate details of her work to perhaps, the chaos that was her life. Top saw her change but then again, when they were back in Korea, he saw that one thing may not have. 

And that was her weakness, personified in the body of Kwon Jiyong. 

He turns as the twins ambles up to him in their pajamas. When Dara called, they were having a great time at the jacuzzi with Bom. She washed them before going to bed and now they were smelling like little angels but they were noisy and excited to talk to their mom. Though Dara never failed to call them every night before they go to bed, the twins were always so eager to hear their mom.

“Let me change to video call, Top. Jiyong would also want to see them.” Dara cuts the line and Top crouches down to the girls.

“Eh? Oma?” Hayi asked him and he smiled.

“Give me a kiss and I’ll magically make her appear.”

“Uncle Tabi, we’re not 5.” Lena mocked him and Bom laughed quietly on the side. Top sighed and stood up to hug Bom.

“These twins are bullies, Bommie!” He whined as he circled his arms around Bom’s waist and buried his face at the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. 

“Ewww!” He hears the twins say and the adults laugh. Top’s phone rings again.

“Okay, kids why don’t you sit on the couch?” The twins did as they were asked and Top gave them his phone. Bom opened all the lights to brighten the whole living room. Top grabs her hand to make her sit, curled up by his side as they watch the twins talk to their parents.

“We miss you, Oma!” Hayi says, almost teary eyed. Lena places an arm over her twin’s shoulder.

“Oma misses you too, baby.” Dara’s sweet voice could be heard on the other line.

“When are you coming back?” Lena asked, trying to look tough.

“A few more days, baby okay?” The twins nod then they see someone sit beside their mom and their eyes light up however, Hayi starts to cry. Dara passes the phone to Jiyong as she wipes away her own tears.

“Hey, baby, why are you crying? Lena, are you and Hayi all right? Is Uncle Tabi treating you well?” Jiyong asks over the video and both twins nod. “Tell me if he’s starving you and I will hurt him!”

“Ya! I heard that!” Top says in a loud voice and Jiyong grinned.

“Appa, I miss you so much!” Hayi says over her tears. “You weren’t gone this long before!”

“Oh, baby, we talked this over, ne?” He says with a sad tone. “I told you I’m bringing Oma back.” He sees Hayi nod and wipes her tears away and smiles at him.

“Ne! I will wait for you and Oma!” Hayi shouts and Jiyong laughs. “Promise to take care of her, Appa!”

“You know I will baby.” Jiyong says. “Give me a kiss you two!” Hayi and Lena leans over the phone screen to kiss their dad and so did Jiyong. He then moves the camera to show Dara too.

“Oma, Kiss!” Hayi says and Dara does the same.

“Oma, be safe, okay?” Lena says. “Take care of Appa!”

“I will, Lena.” Dara promised. “You take care of Hayi?” Lena nodded. “Don’t give Uncle Tabi and Aunt Bom a hard time.” The twins nodded and promised her.

“Promise to come back with Appa, Oma?” Hayi asks and Dara smiles and nods.

“I promise baby.” Top appears behind the twins to look at the couple.

“May I ask permission from you both?” Top interrupts. “The twins have always been cooped up inside the house so Bom and I thought to bring them out one day? Only if its all right with you.” Dara thinks for a while and looks at Jiyong, quietly asking him to decide.

“Ne, I don’t see any problem.” Jiyong tells Top. “Wouldn’t it be a problem to you, though?”

“Ani, I’m asking Mino to come watch over them while I have a meeting at Insadong.”

“Mino?” Jiyong asks and Dara rolls her eyes at the twins and the girls giggled.

“He’s my nephew, Jiyong. He’s older than the girls and I trust him.” Top persuades the protective father.

“All right. I think I can trust him too.” Jiyong sounded a bit bitter but Dara just smiled at him and whatever qualms he had, disappeared. “Yes, you may take the children out but Top hyung, take them somewhere fun too, araso? Insadong will bore them!”

“Of course, I will! I’ll ask Daesung and Seungri to babysit with me.” 

“Omo, now, I’m worried!” Dara says while Jiyong and Top smirks. She sees Bom behind Top and she points to herself, telling Dara that she will be there as well. Dara smiles. “Okay, only if Bommie comes! Daesung and Seungri needs some baby sitting too!”

“Krom, Appa, Oma, we can go to the theme park?” Lena asks and their parents nod. The twins hold their hands up to celebrate while the adults smile.

“Be careful, araso?” Jiyong tells them and they nod. “Kiss Appa and Oma goodbye. Its time for bed.” The twins lean on the screen again and says goodbye.

“Appa!” Hayi calls out in her enthusiastic voice. “Kiss Oma too!” Jiyong didn’t hesitate and kissed Dara’s cheek before they ended the call.

New York

Jiyong holds Dara at the waist as they ride the subway towards Brooklyn. It was a bit cramped and they could only stand and Dara was holding onto the metal rod. 

“Do you always take the subway?” He speaks close to her ears.

Dara looks to her side, semi-facing him. “Of course! You aren’t a New Yorker if you don’t. Even people from the Upper East also does this from time to time.”

“Don’t you love to drive?”

“Have you seen the parking lots in the city?” Jiyong grinned and nodded. The city is scarce of decent parking spaces. “I borrow Tabi’s driver from time to time when I’m on a rush.”

“Are you sure I can come with you to work?”

“Ne, I brought Hayi once, when I thought she was Lena.” She leans her back on him. “All the while I thought that maybe she just really missed me and I would never have known if Hayi didn’t leave the note. I have always wanted to see her but I never thought that day would come. I never once forgot about Hayi, Jiyong. It must have been hard for her without a mom.”

“Their idea was actually genius and very brave. When Hayi was a baby, she always cried whenever we take the plane.”

“Really?”

“Ne, it seems she acquired the fear of flying from you!” Dara smiles and Jiyong drops a kiss on her head. “The one time I had to take her to Japan, we had to put her to sleep. She didn’t even want to get on the plane.”

“Tell me how she was when she was growing up.”

“Hayi? I think that will take us all day.” Jiyong was thoughtful for a moment. “Since she was a girl I always told her to tell me what’s on her mind. I told her I wouldn’t know what she wanted if she didn’t tell me. I always taught her to be honest with what she felt. Though sometimes she’s giving me a headache with her wit. Her teachers almost never wins an argument with her. She’s always top of her class. Stubborn as hell like you too. There was never a day that she hasn’t asked where you were. That’s why I made up stories about the panda and the kangaroo. Suddenly it just stopped when she was 10 and I think that was the time she found my drawing of you.”

“Drawing?”

“Remember when I waited for you to wake up after you gave birth? I showed it to you.” Dara smiled when she remembered.

“That didn’t look like me at all!” She joked.

“You’ll find it in Hayi’s room. Look at it again and tell me its not the same! How about you tell me about Lena?”

“Lena is a really sweet kid. She’s also mature for her age, to be honest. She’s opinionated and honest like Hayi, I guess. She’s a wise one and knows what she wants. We fought over her decision to audition. I was against it but she really wanted it. She loves music and art. She started to read me poems she made when she was 8 but since Mino came to spend summers with us, I think those poems became lyrics. She reminds me so much of you, Jiyong. She’s also a very jealous one. I guess, Hayi is too because when she first met Top, she’s been very jealous, she couldn’t even hide it.” Jiyong laughed.

“They really are my daughters.”

“Yes, very much.”

“Did she ask about me?”

“Yes, she did.” Her eyes became sad and Jiyong noticed. “O, we’re here!” The train stopped and they alighted.

Dara held his hand as they ascended the steps out of the subway. Jiyong marveled at the different, a little less intimidating feeling that Brooklyn gave him. It was more serene and quiet than Manhattan. Though they once filmed a video in this side of town, he never really got to walk around and appreciate the place.

Dara lead him to a tall building and as they entered, he felt a little out of place. But Dara was quick to amend that and introduced him, of course, as Lena’s father, to the staff. He stood quietly from afar, watching her as she and some more ladies were checking on trailers and posters, those promotional whatnots that Jiyong didn’t really understand. After that, they were in a conference room where the staff was having a meeting about schedules and budget. He sat quietly on the couch inside and watched her.

Dara was sitting with the director and other producers of the movie and they were talking about the distribution of the film. She was quiet but when asked about her opinion, Jiyong witnessed that gone was the timid 2NE1 member that he met years ago and replaced by the beautiful headstrong woman that he always knew she could be.

“Have the actors been told about their international screening?” Dara asked the staff and the guy in charge raised his hand to answer.

“Yes, they have been told and their schedules are free until the next month for promotions.”

“We have LA, France, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.” The lady