You're my mother?

Three words formed into an innocent question. To some, it will be a pitiful question to be heard by a child. But to Seunggi, it is nightmare turned into reality. All his attempts of protecting his daughter from the woman he had loved had went to nothing when Yoona once again stepped in their life.

Sending Minseok an apologetic look, Seunggi walked briskly from them, away from Yoona. Away from the truth. He was walking so fast that he failed to notice the tears running down on Lauren's grief-stricken face. His anger has deafen his ears, failing him to hear the frantic footsteps following them.

"Seunggi! Stop running away from me!" Yoona shouted. "Are you a coward? You can't face me because of the truth?"

The insult fueled the fire on him. Putting Lauren down, he faced Yoona with an indignant expression and walked towards her with heavy footsteps.

"Don't you dare call me a coward," Seunggi hissed, wrapping his words with anger. "I am not the one who left a newborn baby for my family's wealth. I am not the one who married a rich man and forget the family I built."

The words had cut through her heart. Silence left her lips as she stared at disbelief at the man before him. "I didn't leave you because of the money. I left because my parents threatened to kill the two of you."

"Well, you should have let them kill us. Do you think it was easy to raise a child alone?" Seungi asked in a whisper. "Do you think it was worth living without you?"

There it is, a trace of weakness in Seunggi's face. The walls he built to protect himself from the feelings that almost crushed him had entered his heart. He is now vulnerable and weak. He had put up for years trying to be strong and with just Yoona appearing before him had his facade crushing down. It is funny how love can do to a once strong man.

Her chin quivers as she stared at Seunggi's face. Slowly taking a step to close the distance between them, Yoona felt her tears trickle down her face. Bringing her hands on her lover's face, her heart soared with content and sadness. She had wished to touch her love's face once more. It was agonizing for her to wait, to watch far away and to dream of doing this for years.

"Believe me, Seunggi." she whispered, her voice shaking from the overcoming feelings. "I never stopped loving you. I will never leave you without any reason. Being married to someone is better than losing you. I can't live with the thought of seeing the two of you as corpse."

Love, the one thing he had thrown away after she left him, comes back and shoot him right to his heart. Turning his face so he can plant a kiss on Yoona's palm, he remembered their vows to each other when they stood infront of the altar with no one but them. It is not a grandeur wedding that Yoona had with Luhan but Yoona always thinks that that is the most beautiful wedding. Only their love and affection decorated the dim-litted church.

"I want to believe you, Yoona. I want to open my arms to you. I want to love you once again. But," he paused. He was shaking. "You gave me great pain when I see you leave and marry someone. It was hard to start life without you. I can't just forgive you and accept you like that. Give me time to think about this. This is hard for me, Yoona."

It was not a rejection nor an acceptance. Seunggi didn't answer the question. He needs time to be alone and think of this whole matter. Indeed, it is not easy to forgive and forget like that. Yoona did try to erase her existence in Seunggi's life. All can Yoona do is to wait and try to fix everything.

"If I fix this, will you accept me?" Yoona asked.

"Can you really fix this? This is a huge thing." he said. "Your parents will be dis--"

"Forget about them, Seunggi. This is about us. I can leave them for you. I can leave everything for the two of you. Just give me an answer. Are you still going to accept me?" she asked.

Seunggi stayed silent. He found himself with no words coming from his tongue. "I...I don't know. I need to clear my mind. You need to undestand, Yoona, that I need to think over this."

Yoona just nodded at his answer. Though it hurts, she decided to prove Seunggi that she is telling the truth by fixing the problem before her. It is time to face the problem.

"Plus, I don't think Lauren will understand this." Seunggi said in silence.

As if reminded that their daughter can hear their conversation, Yoona searched for the little girl, only to find the area with only the two of them. Panic rose to her when she realized the real problem before them. "Where is Lauren?" she asked.

Snapped out of his trance, Seunggi searched for his daughter. As if boulder of rocks came crashing down on him, he felt his knees go weak in fear. Lauren never runs away from him even when he shouted at her. She is a good girl.

"We need to find her before it goes dark." Yoona proclaimed as she scanned the park. Turning to Seunggi who is hyperventilating in worry, she took his hand and clasped it around hers. "Don't worry. We will going to find her. You have me. I'm going to help."

Hearing his favorite uncle shout like a madman, seeing his favorite noona crying in sadness and watching two adults fight are too much for a child like Sehun. He just wanted to hug his Uncle Xiao Lu and tell him stories about ice cream and milk. He never expect to see his Uncle Seunggi shouting like that in anger. To a toddler like Sehun, he felt that it was him who his Uncle Seunggi is angry to. Such thoughts circling in his mind brought tears in his eyes again before he burst into crying in Luhan's embrace.

"Sehun," Minseok called softly as he patted his head to calm down the toddler.

With tears in his eyes, Sehun turned to his father and asked him a question. "Is Uncle Seunggi angry with me?" he hicupped.

Luhan can felt himself melting at the image of this innocent toddler asking if the man is mad with him. Without second thoughts, he placed a kiss on Sehun's chubby cheek which surprisingly calm down the toddler. He felt Sehun snuggling his head on his neck as he placed his thumb in his little mouth.

Minseok just smiled at the boy. "No, Uncle Seunggi is just ... dealing with a lot of things." he said. "You told me that thinking too much makes you dizzy. Maybe, Uncle Seunggi is thinking too much."

He opened his arms to the boy, wanting to hug his baby. Luhan oblingingly passed Sehun to him who is still sniffling from crying.

"Sehun, he is not mad with you. It is not your fault these things happen." Minseok said as he caressed Sehun's back. "Don't cry now."

Rubbing his eyes with his fist, Sehun stared at his father with sleepy eyes before nodding obediently. He then placed his head on his Daddy's neck, extremely tired from crying for hours. After minutes of silence, he fell asleep in comfort inside his Daddy's embrace, giving Minseok peace and calm.

"Do you know him?"

Minseok quickly snapped out his thoughts before he turned to Luhan who is staring at the direction where Yoona and Seunggi ran off. Not trusting himself, Minseok just nodded as an answer before he turned his attention to the boy in his arms.

"Ahh, yes." Luhan suddenly said. "He is Sehun's father, right?"

With a speed of light, Minseok can almost hear his neck snapped as he turned to Luhan with shocked eyes. "What?" he croaked.

The other man just stared at him with a stoic expression before he glanced at Sehun who is his little thumb. "He is Sehun's father, isn't he? I heard Sehun calling him Appa. And, you told me that he is the boy's father." A rueful smile appeared on Luhan's lips as he stared at the place. "People always tell me that I'm lucky. But, I think he is the lucky one to have Yoona's daughter and ... you." he muttered to himself.

Minseok is so stunned that he can't move nor breathe. He was mildly shaking from thinking too hard. 

A sigh escaped from Luhan's lips as he rocked himself on his heels. "To be honest, I am shaking with anger and jealousy right now. I am itching to punch that man for leaving Yoona and ... having you and Sehun. It is unfair to see him having a happy life while Yoona is having a nightmare. It is unfair to see him with you while I don't have anything."

"Luhan..." Minseok croaked in despair. He wanted to stop listening to Luhan's words because the words pierced him like needles of guilt.

"Anyway, I will be having a private meeting with our investors in Jeju Island next weekend. I already approved of Mr. Heechul's program and he will be introducing it to them. I am expecting you to attend that private meeting since you are my secretary. The tickets for the flight will be given to you by tomorrow and I want you to arrange my schedule." Luhan suddenly said as if he didn't express his hidden rage a while ago. "Is it fine with you?"

It took Minseok a long time to answer since his mind was still soaked from guilt. It stunned him that Luhan can change himself from a lovesick boy to a serious businessman. 

"It's my job, Mr. Lu," Minseok answered with formality. "But, Sehun will be alone for the weekend."

Luhan's eyes narrowed with his answer. "His father can take care of him, I suppose." 

"Seunggi works nightshift during weekends. He always leaves Lauren to his parents," Minseok kept silent for a moment. "Maybe, I can ask Seunggi to leave Sehun to his pare-"

"You can bring Sehun." the response was quick. Luhan then patted Sehun's sleepy head and smiled at the boy. "I don't mind seeing your son there. He is my stress-reliever and Sehun will enjoy the view in that place."

Minseok just nodded at his boss' command. He is still paralyzed to retort to his command.

"If his father can't take care of him, I can fill up the job, Minseok." Luhan whispered. 

Before Minseok could even process the words that Luhan said, the man already let out a sigh.

"I think I should go home now. Yoona will probably spend the night trying to convince her lover to take her back." Luhan said. He was about to turn when he felt a strong grip around his arm.

He turned and saw Minseok staring at him with confusion in his face. "How did you know about Yoona and Seunggi's past relationship? Aren't you mad to see your wife chasing her lover? Aren't you shock to learn about Yoona having a daughter?"

Luhan just stared at the man for a couple of seconds before he closed the distance between him and Minseok. "Yoona is my friend since we are young. I know about her secrets, flaws and desires. I am not jealous to see her go with that man because I don't love her. The only person I love is the person I am talking to. He may be Sehun's father but he will never stay as your husband. That category is mine, Minseok, and I will soon take it from him." 

With that, Luhan bowed to him before leaving him all alone in the spacious park. If he was not carrying a toddler, Minseok would probably have fall in the ground due to his wobbly knees.

The seafood pasta resting on his plate is really appetizing. He would have devoured it in a flash but he doesn't have the heart to eat when the cold stare shot on him is making him freeze on his spot. Sighing, Jongdae rested his back on the chair and glanced at Erika who is looking at her with a cold stare.

"You need to stop killing me with your eyes," Jongdae said. "I'm not going to run away from you. I will take responsibility from my previous actions. I will marry you if you want."

Erika was silent for a moment, judging Jongdae with her eyes, before she spoke. "We don't need to marry for the sake of the baby. We both see each other as rivals. You and I are both fire, Jongdae. Our marriage will just bring chaos and pain to the child, seeing the fact that it will not last long. So, let's save the baby from being burn from our fire by not facing the altar."

Erika is right. Although Jongdae cared for the woman before her and the child in her belly, he is unsure of the marriage he is offering. He can be a friend to her. But, a husband will be a big no-no. "So, what are you planning to do, then?"

"We're going to keep the baby and become good parents. But, we will stay as friends and never as a husband and wife. Is it okay with you?" Erika asked before drinking her glass of iced tea.

"It's fine with me. I can live my life like that." Jongdae said. "I mean, you're gorgeous and everything. I might have a tiny bit of attraction to you before but I think my competitiveness burned it away."

Erika just shrugged at his confession. It is too late now. Their rivalry for each other had ruined the possible romantic relationship between them. It is the right thing to do to keep the baby and acts as parents. Marrying each other might only bring pain and heartbreak to their baby and hurting the baby is the last thing in their mind to do.

"Minseok will be sad about this," Jongdae muttered with a chuckle. Erika rose a brow at him, demanding him to elaborate it more. "That man is shipping the two of us. He even laughed in enjoyment after our night together."

"Well, tell him that us will never happen," Erika shrugged. "Happy ever after doesn't usually ends up with two people being a couple. Sometimes, it happens with people choosing to be friends for life. People had imprinted in their mind that happy endings ends with two people becoming a couple and all those cheesy things. But, they didn't know that love is not the only thing that makes people happy. Sometimes, it can be in form of friends and family."

Jongdae stared at the woman before her with huge eyes. He let out a low whistle and laughed. "That is the deepest poem I ever heard coming out from your mouth."

Hearing the insult, Erika threw a napkin on Jongdae's innocent face and burned him with her glare. "At least, something valuable comes out of my lips. And, it is not a poem." she snapped. She then rested her back against the plush of her seat while nursing her aching temple. "Talking with you is always a stress to me."

A chuckle erupted from Jongdae's mouth before he glanced outside the window. Everything that Erika has said is right. Happily ever after doesn't usually ends with love. It indeed sometimes end up with friendship. He suddenly remembered Minseok and Luhan's relationship, wondering if the two will take their happily ever after as friends or as lovers.

Fatigue is slowly beating her little body yet her feet didn't stop from running. Her eyes were tired from leaking tears yet there are still drops in her cheeks. Her mind is too tired, too confused to think about earlier yet the words still circled in her mind. Mother is the word she hates and yearns before as she watched her playmates uttered it either with joy and cry. The word never once left her lips. It was always Appa, Uncle, Auntie, Grandma and Grandpa that always comes out of her lips. Sometimes when the sky was painted dark and dreams plague her from her sleep, she tries the word with her tongue, leaving a comfort feeling in her body.

It was her first time to let out the word infront of her father. Moreover, it was her first time to call someone that name. Even though she wished for it every night, it was still painful to know that her father hid the truth to her. It was painful to watch her parents (finally, two people as her parents) arguing and shouting in madness. Her peaceful yet incomplete life is better than this whirlpool of unanswered questions and hidden lies.

Taking no more of the pain and tiredness, Lauren collapsed on the ground, her breathing erratic and uneven as she sobbed quietly. 

"Ohh, what do we have here?" 

In surprise, Lauren looked up and found herself staring at two beautiful women wearing dresses that she knows they can't afford. There is an intimidating look evident on their beautiful faces yet Lauren was too enchanted to look away.

"My oh my," one of the woman gasped as she bent down before Lauren. "She looks like your daughter when she was young, right, my dear friend?"

The response was a tight smile from the other woman, staring at Lauren with a sense of familiarity. "Why, yes indeed."

"Get up, my child." the woman who bent down told Lauren. In obedience, she stood up to her feet, patting away the dirt on her pants in order to present herself beautifully before the two women. "Don't do that, my dear. A lady should never pat dirts on their clothes." the woman said as she smiled kindly to Lauren.

"Y-Yes, Madam." Lauren uttered.

The woman before her could have said another word when the other woman behind her speak, diverting the attention from Lauren to her. "I believe our son and daughter had ditched the dinner we prepared, my dear friend. We should probably go and let them be. We can spend the time in my house and I'll show you our new collections for the next fashion week."

The other clasped her hand in delight and threw her a smile. "That's a great idea! Walking around this park and talking about those sly and disobedient kids will only bring stress to us. Might as well, spend the time with something we like."

With that, she turned to Lauren and patted her head before she walked towards a man wearing a suit and instructed him with commands. Lauren just watched her throwing commands to the men and smiled in amusement when her dress twirled prettily around her with every movement.

"You should go home now, little girl."

Lauren snapped out of her fascination and stared at the woman with shock. Staring at the woman reminded of her someone. She can remember someone from her gentle face yet she can't seem to pinpoint who the person is.

The woman before her just stared at her with emotion that Lauren can't decipher. Heaving a sigh, the woman called for a girl without glancing away from Lauren. " this girl to her home and don't leave her until there is someone in their house." The girl nodded at her request and walked towards Lauren.

"Come now, little girl." the girl said to her stiffly. "We should get you home."

"I don't talk to strangers." Lauren snapped. The girl's jaw stiffened in anger yet she didn't say a word. She just stared at the girl with a strong gaze before the tension was toned down by a mutter.

"Just like Yoona," the woman muttered with a sigh. She then walked closer to Lauren with elegance that the little girl wish she could have and told her, "Yes, you should not trust strangers like us because you don't know what strangers like us can do to you. But, you should know that there are other strangers here in the park that can do unthinkable things to you. So, be an obedient girl and go with her. She will you to your home and I promise that she will not harm you."

Lauren wanted to argue that she doesn't like trusting people who she just met. But, the eyes of the woman before her and the gentle tone delivered to her ears made her nod at her request. She was soon rewarded with a smile and a pat on her head.

"Mrs. Im, the car is already ready. Mrs. Lu is calling you to come to the car now." a man had said. With a nod, Mrs. Im turned away from Lauren without looking at her and followed the man.

Soon, a gentle grip wrapped around her arms and she was being taken away from the place. The grace and the beauty of both women talking to her made her forget the bitterness in her heart.

"Who are they?" the little girl asked to the girl who was already on the driver's seat. She was too caught up in imagining the extravagant life of those women that she didn't notice she is already in the car.

"They are the richest women here in the country." the girl had said with a smile. Noticing the interested gleam in the little girl's eyes, the girl diverted her attention. "You should tell me your name and I'll tell you a story about them and their cruel pet named money. I am Yuri, by the way." 

"How's the dinner, my love?" Mr. Im asked as soon as Mrs. Im entered their shared room.

There was a long silence before the woman could uttered an answer. "They ditched the dinner,"

A tut sound came out as a response before Mr. Im turned the page of the magazine he is reading. "I told you those two will keep on disobeying all of us. Maybe, we--"

"I also met out granddaughter," she said as she stared at the beautiful night sky displayed in her view. Mr. Im put down his magazine and gawked at his wife in confusion and shock. "She is beautiful just like our daughter. You do know that we need to hide her from the Lu's, don't you? Yoona's infidelity should be concealed to them."

"Do you have a plan?" her husband asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Im answered quietly. "We need to take Lauren and the bastard away from here. We're sending them to Norway to live."

author's note:

finally! a finished chapter. hello, guys. omg! i missed you all.
sorry for missing in action these past few months. i was too attached to
game of thrones that i forgot to update. anyway, how are all of you?
i hope you are fine.

i have been noticing some of you are shipping minseok and seunggi. 
do you hear that? that is luhan calling you a traitor. lol. jk. 
i find it funny and amusing, guys. maybe, we could do something about them.
/luhan glares at me/

p.s.
i know all of you wanted a happy ending for each couple. but, i need to focus
in xiuhan's relationship more so the other couples might not be able to step in the 
spotlight. don't expect too much about the other couples' stories. sorry.
((but don't worry they will end up happy and healthy))