Four years after...

Seoul

7:41AM

“Mommy, the pan’s on fire again!”

Chaerin stumbled from the bathroom with messy hair. The sight that awaited her was definitely not something she’d planned on seeing this early. There in the kitchen, was sat on the counter a little girl with short black hair, her eyes wide with excitement. She had her rose dress on her, her feet in her sheep slippers. Behind the little girl was however a frying pan in flames.

“OhMyGod!” Chaerin cried as she raced over the counter of the kitchen grabbing the little girl around the waist. She turned around and placed her on the floor before grabbing the pan and steered it toward the sink, drowning it in water.

“What have I told you about cooking when I’m not around Haru?”

The little girl shuffled on her feet and bit her lower lip, “To not to.” She whispered

“Exactly.” Chaerin knelted down in front of her and moved the hair out of her face, “So why were you?”

“I was making pancakes for you mommy!” she smiled weakly and Chaerin chuckled placing her lips to her fore head.

“Thank you sweetie.” She took a deep breath and stood up, “We need to hurry, mommy needs to get ready” she hurried back to the bathroom to finish her make up. She also took an aspirin as she felt an headache coming after the fear she had had this morning seeing her daughter almost burning their apartment!

“Why are you the only one to get ready mommy? Am I not going to school today?”

“Of course sweetie. But you’re going to the museum with your teacher today, remember? You have to be at your school later than usual at 10am. That’s why Dara unni will stay with you while I go to work this morning! Do you understand?”  Chaerin explained to her daughter as she checked her make up in the mirror

But as she didn’t hear the little girl answering back, she hurried back in the kitchen only to find her daughter with a cigarette in her hands.

"No, no, sweetie, not in your mouth!" Chaerin yelped, gently taking the pack of cigarettes she'd carelessly left on the coffee table out of Haru grasp offering a small brown plastic cow to her.

“Mommy why? I want a lollypop!!” Haru pouted

“It’s not a lollypop sweatheart, it’s a cigarette, it’s bad for health!” she exclaimed

“I should be less careless or I would intoxicate her one day!” she thought. It wasn’t like Chaerin an addict to nicotine but as a single mother she was often stressed and needed a cigarette to cool off.

She quickly head towards the door as her unni was knocking on it since a minute. “She knew how to stress me!” she sighed.

"Hi Dara! You’re late…" she exclaimed , adopting a cheerful voice, opening the door to a breathless Dara.

"It’s because of Youngbae, he didn’t want to let me go this morning, I don’t know what’s wrong with him! He acts like a teenager these last few days” she said panting

"He just loves you unni" Chaerin smiled

“Yeah. Anyway you should hire a babysitter, it would have been easier!” Dara unni protested

 “Oh so you want me to let Haru with a perfect stranger?” she asked rubbing my temple

"Of course not and I'm not going to give up an opportunity to bond with my niece," Dara unni sighed, “She’s a better company that Youngbae. But maybe you need someone else to care for Haru, maybe a boyfriend?”

A burst of laughter escaped Chaerin before she could stop herself.

"Where the hell did that come from?" she said as she grabbed Haru’s jacket, and placed it on the small girl, buttoning up each button.

"I was just thinking, you know. You’re 24 years old now, you should really consider getting a boy."

"Simple as that, huh?" she grabbed Haru’s little bag being sure that everything she needed was in.

Chaerin sighed. She was utterly useless when it comes to boys. She had had many possibilities for a relationship, somehow she always managed to ruin it with her own self doubts. Every time she tried to find a boyfriend they were always rejected her. The main reason was because she already had a daughter. And also because she was too

"Why not?" Dara shrugged, and she couldn't help but laugh again. "I'm serious! I think it would do you a world of good to be with someone. It's been, like what, since 2010 or something since you get a little one-on-one?"

"Unni! Haru is here!” Chaerin whispered loudly

"Anyway, you need some lovin', girl.” Dara said immediately, “You need to find yourself a decent guy, and a father for Haru too. Fall crazy in love with him and have some damn fantastic ."

She rolled my eyes.

“Okay, she’s ready now, her teddy bear is in her bag.” She said to Dara before she took Haru in her arms.

“You could have taken your day off for that you know.”

Haru was actually going to the national museum with her school on a fieldtrip and someone had to take her to her school later than usual for that. As Chaerin couldn’t because she was working as a waitress at Starbucks she asked her friend to do so. This kind of event was actually very rare as Chaerin had always wanted to take her daughter to her school personally.

She pressed a kiss to Haru's forehead, gently her cheek. "Have a good day sweety. See you tonight."

 Before Haru could start crying and convinced her mother to stay, Chaerin turned back to the front door, her purse in hand.

~

“Get up.”

Kwon Jiyong groaned loudly as he felt a hand shoving his shoulder. He sat up slowly groaning as his stomach sloshed. Definitely the traces of a hangover making him feel like he might throw up. He wasn’t going to. He was used to the feeling as it wasn’t the first time he went out and drank as if it was the end of the world. He stopped counting the times he finished with a hangover.

He vaguely remembered going out drinking the night before but the rest of the night was nothing more than a blur. He just looked up at his roommate Seungri who seemed furious, he furrowed his eyebrows, “What’s wrong with your face?”

“You pretty much passed out last night!” Seungri informed him as he sat down in the chair across from him, “Do you know how heavy you are when you’re passed out? You owe me for dragging you up three flights of stairs aish!”

“Guess I drank a little too much, huh?” Jiyong shifted a little in his spot on his bed

“Didn’t you outgrow this stuff yet? You’re twenty-seven years old.”

“Not dead yet.” Jiyong ran a hand over his face, “Mind if I take a shower?”

“You should. You ing smell right now! And shave your face you look like a crook!” Seungri sighed as he left his bedroom, “Anyway, I need to go now."

"What time is it?" Jiyong  rubbed his eyes with his fist supressing a yawn.

"Almost eight."

"Great" Jiyong thought, "I only slept an hour and half this night."

"Don’t do anything bad today hyung!” Seungri shouted before closing the door behind him, car keys in hand.

“I’ll try…” he grinned

Finally upright Jiyong moved to the dresser. All of his muscles felt tense and uncomfortable as if he had ran thousands miles in one night. Jiyong couldn't remember what happened this night so maybe it was the case. He get past it as he took off his shirt lazily and his boxers ending totally and choose new clothes for the day. Blue shorts. New boxers. A grey large t-shirt. And a white cap.

With a slow and heavy step, he continued to move to the bathroom. Climbing into a shower turned hotter than most people could stand, he allowed the pulsing waves of water to wash over him and relax as many of the muscles as possible. His toned abs. His pecs. His nape. He sued to be in and out of the shower in under ten minutes but this day he allowed himself five minutes of respite.

He didn’t shave his jaws like Seungri had asked. He liked his three-day bear, he looked less stern with it he thought. His short blue hair on the top of his head didn’t help looking serious and responsible either. But he didn’t care.

A quick towel off and he dressed before he started to make breakfast. Three eggs. Bacons. Four cups of black coffee. Two aspirin. It's all he needed to stop his hangover, he knew it. He sat at the kitchen table and stared out the window while eating the breakfast. The warm June morning was inviting, encouraging those in its wake to take advantage of the weather and meet the day with ambitions to enjoy it. It was the perfect morning for a little run. Gaho, his dog, suddenly interrupted his thoughts as he rushed in the kitchen and barked loudly.

“Fine, let me finish my coffee and I take you outside dude.”

Burning Pan VS Huge Hangover: The Aspirin is the winner.

Okay it's a bit short but I promise the next chapter is coming very very soon. This chapter is just a presentation of the main characters and their situation. Chaerin is a responsible mother while Jiyong... Is a troublesome man! And I liked writing the description of Jiyong's shower XD

Next Chapter: Jiyong and Haru's meeting! Wait for it! And of course comment, you know I love your comments!

Chu ~~~