5 YEARS LATER

“Omma! Omma!” A little girl yelled as she ran around the front yard of a big bungalow. The little girl squealed when her father suddenly scooped her up from the ground and slung her over his shoulder. “Appa! Appa! Let me down!” She whined.

    Victoria walked out of the bungalow with a large suitcase rolling behind her.

    “I wished you didn’t have to leave so soon.” Mrs Song said as she followed her daughter towards the front yard.

    “Ma, we’ve been here more than a month.” Victoria said as she panted, the suitcase quite heavy as she carried it down the steps of the porch.

    “Here let me.” Victoria couldn’t help but smile with relief when Kangta took the suitcase and carried it towards the car.

    “Thanks Oppa.” She yelled at him and Kangta waved a hand up in an ‘okay’ gesture.

    “Omma, omma!” The little girl suddenly lunged herself towards Victoria and wrapped her arms around her waist. Victoria patted her head and placed a hand around her shoulders.

    “My little Yuanfen, tell mommy you want to stay here with grandma a little longer.” Mrs Song coaxed as she pulled the five year old into a tight hug.

    “I wish I could but I have to go to kindergarten and Appa has a lot of work back in Korea.” Yuanfen answered as she patted her grandmother’s back. Mrs Song couldn’t help but laugh.

    “For a five your old, you’re pretty mature you know that?” Victoria giggled when her mother started kissing Yuanfen’s cheek, causing her to squirm around in agony.

    “Yennie-ah!” Kangta called as he walked towards where Victoria and Mrs Song stood. Yuanfen squealed and ran into her father’s arms.

    “I’m going to miss that brat.” Mrs Song muttered and then turned her gaze towards her daughter. “She’s an amazing little girl and you’re an amazing mom.” Mrs Song pulled her only daughter into a tight hug as tears brimmed around her eyes.

    “I’ll call you when I reached home, okay Ma?” Mrs Song nodded and kissed Victoria on the cheek.

    “We’ll come again during the holidays.” Kangta  said as she passed Yuanfen to Victoria’s arms and kissed Mrs Song on the cheek. Mrs Song smiled at her son-in-law.

    “Thank you for taking care of my child.” She said as she held his hands tight. Kangta smiled. Mrs Song would always say that to him and he’s thankful for that.

    “Okay let’s go. Our flight leaves in an hour.” Kangta said as he checked his watch. The three family members bid their farewell towards Mrs. Song and left for the airport.

    Mrs. Song leaned against the brick-red column on the porch and sighed. As much as she loves her granddaughter and her son-in-law, the thoughts of five years ago still haunts her mind. She wished things were different and went inside.

Victoria slowly opened Yuanfen’s bedroom door for Kangta as he carried her towards her bed. It was a long flight and it was almost midnight when they landed in Korea. Everyone was exhausted.

    Victoria switched on the small night-light in her daughter’s room and quietly closed back the door. Victoria went to living room and found Kangta sprawled on the couch, still in his jacket and jeans.

    “Oppa, you’re going to hurt your back if you sleep here.” Victoria gently patted his shoulder but he ignored her and nestled his head comfortably against the small cushion in his arms. “Oppa, common. Change your clothes and sleep inside. Common now.” Victoria pulled Kangta’s hand and he finally surrendered. Kangta shuffled groggily towards the bedroom as Victoria guided him.

    The moment they reached the bed, Kangta quickly plopped down on it and didn’t move after that. Victoria sighed as she shook her head.

    “Good night Oppa.” She smiled as she watched her husband sleep so soundlessly like a child. After taking a quick shower and changing into her old sweats, she took a pillow from the bed and went out towards the couch.

“Why did you sleep on the couch last night?” Kangta suddenly appeared in the kitchen as he buttoned the cuffs of his blue shirt.

    Victoria placed two plates of omelettes on the kitchen counter and smiled up at Kangta. She walked towards him and helped tie his tie neatly around his neck.

   “How couldn’t I? You were hogging the whole bed.” Victoria giggled as she brushed off some lint on his shoulders. “There you go.” She smiled with satisfaction at how neat and charismatic Kangta looks.

    “Thanks.” He smiled at Victoria as he pulled out a chair under the kitchen counter and started chowing down on the omelette. Victoria giggled again as she sat opposite of him but her mood suddenly dropped a bit when she noticed a suitcase and a duffel bag placed by the doorway.

    “Where’s Yuanfen?”

    “Huh?” Victoria quickly tore her eyes away from the luggage and focused on Kangta. “Ah Yennie-ah? She’s still sleeping.” Victoria took a bite of her omelette. “Must be really tired.” Kangta only nodded and continued eating.

    “I’m going to Jejudo for a few days for a commercial shoot.” Kangta suddenly said.

    “Really? When are you coming back?”

    “I’ll be there for 3 days at most but then I have to go to Singapore for a photo shoot, so I’ll probably be gone for a whole week or so.” Victoria only nodded as Kangta took the last bite of his meal and gulped down the freshly brewed coffee in one go. He then looked at his wrist watch.

    “I’ll walk you out.” Victoria said as she got up, Kangta only smiled apologetically at her.

    “I’m sorry for being so busy lately.”

    “No, no it’s fine. I understand.” Victoria smiled brightly at Kangta as she walked him out of their apartment and down to the parking area.

    Victoria was used to this. After she got married to Kangta and had Yuanfen, Victoria had decided to leave the celebrity world and focus on being a good wife and mother. So she understood if her husband’s not home a few days or weeks. She was once in his shoes; she knows how busy a celebrity life can be. So in the past five years, she was never bothered by it.

    “I’ll call you when I get there okay?” Kangta said after he loaded his luggage in the trunk of his car. “And tell Yuanfen I’m sorry I have to leave without saying goodbye first.” Kangta caressed Victoria’s cheek and kissed her forehead. Victoria smiled and waved goodbye as he got into his car and disappeared out the residential security gates.

    Victoria sighed as she walked back towards her building, hugging herself to keep warm from the chilly morning. As she was about to enter her apartment building, she heard a soft groan. She looked around a spotted a man, probably in his fifties and with greying hair carrying a huge box with two smaller ones stacked on top. They looked heavy.

    “Excuse me,” Victoria said as she went up towards the old man. “Do you need some help?” The man peered around the load he was carrying and squinted a bit at Victoria. The man wanted to refuse the kind offer but Victoria quickly grabbed the two smaller boxes.

    “Oh Miss, it’s okay. You don’t have to trouble yourself. I’m dropping these off right here.” The man gestured at the building in front of them.

    “Which floor?” Victoria asked.

    “The third.” Victoria smiled widely at him.

    “You’re not troubling me, I’m heading the same way.” Victoria gestured for him to walk in first and he smiled gratefully at her.

    “Thank you. I’m getting too old for this job.” The man let out a throaty chuckle as they waited for the elevator and Victoria learned he was with a moving company. Apparently a new resident had moved into the building.

    There’s a new family on my floor, Victoria thought. I wonder if they have kids, Yuanfen would love some new friends.

    “Do you know where 14B is?” The old man asked.

    “Oh? 14B?” Victoria asked with surprise. “That’s the Kim family’s place. They moved?”

    “Who?” The man asked.

    “They’re the family that live there, well used to now.” Victoria suddenly sighed. “Yuanfen’s going to be so upset.” She mumbled.

    “Yuan…fen?”

    “Ah, my daughter. The Kim family were the only family in the building with kids my daughter’s age. She’ll be terribly lonely with them gone.” Victoria said with a hint of distress in her tone, worried that her daughter won’t have anyone to have playdates with.

    “You didn’t know they were moving?” Victoria suddenly felt offended by how the man asked her, like she was an ignorant neighbour but the man quickly smiled apologetically at her. Victoria sighed.

    “I was away for a month. I supposed that’s why I didn’t know.” Victoria explained. “I have to make sure and call Mrs. Kim later.” Victoria said to herself. “Do you happen to know if the new resident have kids? Around five maybe?” Victoria asked hopefully.

    “I don’t think so. Based on their things, I think it might be a couple, maybe newlyweds.”

    “Are they nice?” Victoria asked because besides the Kim family having kids the same age as Yuanfen, the Kims were also the only Korean family on the floor, everyone else were all foreigners and some are pretty, well… Victoria didn’t have friends around the apartment complex.

    “We’ve been moving their stuff since last week but I still haven’t met them.” Victoria only nodded.

    “I live in 12B so I hope they’re friendly neighbours. Everyone else around here seems to only care about their own business.” Victoria hoped and the man only smiled. Then the elevator doors slid open. A foreign man walked out, Victoria recognized him as her next door neighbour but he was too busy with his phone to even glance up at Victoria. Victoria only shook her head as she entered the elevator.

    Once they reached the third floor, Victoria noticed three other man pushing huge boxes into apartment 14B.

    “Boys!” The man next to her called and one of the moving workers quickly took the huge box in the man’s hand and dashed back into the apartment. “Here let me take it from here.” The old man said to Victoria but she quickly shook her head.

    “It’s okay. You look tired.” The man smiled warmly at her as he guided her inside the apartment.

    “You can just put those on the kitchen counter.” The man said as he pointed towards the kitchen. Victoria nodded and did as told. Victoria took a quick look around.

    The apartment was an exact replica of hers, spacious, white walls, marbled kitchen, three bedrooms— only this apartment was still bare, only the living room was half set up; a dark blue couch, a flat screen and some ornaments already placed on the shelves and tables here and there. Everything else were still in boxes or covered in plastic wrapping. But so far the place had the potential to look stunning.

    Victoria went towards the living room and traced her fingers across the shelves covering one wall; some books were already stacked neatly on the shelf. Almost all the books stacked had English titles so either her new neighbours were really smart or they were foreigners.

    Itaewon was already full of foreigners, Victoria doesn’t need any more. All Victoria wants was a nice family that can speak the same language as her. It’s always been a fantasy of hers to have her family to be close with other families. They can have dinners at each other’s places, go on movies together, go on trips… all that stuff.

    But the only family she knows was close with are the Kims and also the Baeks but the Baeks live too far away and the Kims already moved—then Victoria remembered something. She took out her cell phone in her cardigan’s pocket.

    “Hello Mrs. Kim? Why didn’t you tell me you were moving? Yeah I just got back from China last night. I wished you had called.” The two started chatting as Victoria wandered around the living room of her new neighbour’s apartment. Victoria fingers rested on a silver frame propped on one of the tables set up and picked it up but froze when Mrs. Kim asked about Yuanfen.

    “Yuanfen? Oh, I almost forgot! She’s still asleep and it’s already late. I should wake her up. I’ve gotta go, talk to you later.”

    “Sorry I’m a bit late.” Victoria hung up and heard a stranger said to the moving workers outside. She decided it was her cue to leave. Victoria shoved her phone back into her pocket and she realized she was still holding on to the picture frame. She was about to put it back when she saw the picture displayed on the frame.

    “Is everything here yet?” The stranger asked the moving workers as he walked inside his apartment and froze.

    Victoria stared at the picture in her hands. There was a young woman and a young man posing with a small baby. Victoria staggered back a bit as her breathing hitched. But she quickly regained her senses and put the frame back on the table. She was about to leave but froze when she saw who was standing in front of her.

    “Nichkhun?”

    “Victoria?”

    They both said in unison.