[Flashback]

“There is no pain left anymore..

Except the dull feeling..

Everything is getting dull..

I don’t feel anything anymore..

I’m pretty dead now.”

[Present]

“Don’t you think you spoil her a little bit too much?”, ask Jonghyun, on the round out in golf field.

“Spoil?” Yonghwa turned to Jonghyun after showed his perfect swing.

“I don’t mean spoil by your richness, I don’t worry about that since you’re the richest man yourself, but what I meant is that you’ve taken her everywhere with you like this”

“It’s only these days. I want her to relaxed and adapt”

“After that you will put a distance and step away?”

“What kind of melodrama’s got into you now?”

“Yes, my melodrama! But if you’re dealing with a girl or a pet, when you stop paying attention at them, they will keep waiting for you with tearing hearts”

“Juhyun isn’t a pet or a little girl, she’ll understand”

“But how well she’ll understand since she hasn’t have someone for a while, someone who take a really good care of her, keep taking her everywhere and get her everything she wanted to the level that the whole nation might get jealousy if only they know”

“Are you suggesting I should neglect her? Come on, Jonghyun she is my niece now”

“That is what I concern about – your niece or not, the more I see the more it makes no sense to me.”

“Then what make sense to you, attorney Lee?” Yonghwa asked annoyingly.

“I don’t know. Why did you bother with her at the first place and out of the wood? You said you just wanted to help? So you helped and then….THIS! I don’t know. I’ve never seen you so center on anyone like this. You know you are a type who commits on things that comes onto hands, and now you have handfuls of her; two weeks straight you keep tagging her everywhere. You make it too hard for me to feel relieved”

Yonghwa looked straight into Jonghyun’s eyes nonchalantly, he was in no need to defense himself but Jonghyun wouldn’t get off his back if he didn’t say anything “I don’t tag her along EVERYwhere. I don’t center on her THAT MUCH like you said, it’s just the matter of time. I’m helping her adapt, let her see how my life rolls, so she would learn I’m a man of honor, a man of my word, someone whom she can trust as her legal guardian – but you don’t want that for me, do you?”

Jonghyun ran out of his words. It wasn’t like he wanted his friend to be a jerk or anything but his personal insecurity couldn’t let this matter roll off his hand. Just looked at the girl – she is so lovable, beyond lovable in every mundane way, being this close who wouldn’t love her? Jonghyun thought.

Moreover he knew Yonghwa, he knew the man was somewhat obsessed with his duties, so Jonghyun was afraid it would no longer the duty as a guardian but the girl herself who turn to be Yonghwa’s obsession. Therefore when the man got real obsessed, he didn’t know how to stop. Yonghwa was a wrecking ship – sailing forward or sinking down.

Though Yonghwa seemed so fine on his own but now he was taking someone with him and Jonghyun wasn’t sure.

Nonetheless, he decided to step back from now on because there was no point defending it.

“Alright, do what you need to do” Jonghyun gave in. “Just so you know, I’m always watching out for you” He tapped Yonghwa’s shouder.

Yonghwa couldn’t help but sighed.

Why everyone tried to watch out for him – first, Juhyun and now his best friend.

He felt a bit moody, so he took off and walked back to the building where Juhyun was sitting at a table with her watermelon drink and a book in her hands.

After awhile Jonghyun looked back from his spot and found Yonghwa was helping the girl with her swing – her back to his front, and his arms around hers. The attorney wanted to face-palm by the scene.

Oh my god! Isn’t he aware of intimacy at all? Jonghyun could only ask himself.

Is that what he needs to do? For real?

That is what every man would do with his fling, not his niece! Pabo!

…but then again that’s Yonghwa, the man with no bound.

And now he seemed to have a little more fun.

(We could go with that, right, readers? HAHA)

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“Start from tomorrow, I will no longer take you to my office, arrashseo?” Yonghwa told the girl on one night.

There were in his home office. He asked one of his maids to collect Juhyun to here and she appeared in sweet pink cotton pajama dress indicating she prepared for her bedtime already.

And now Yonghwa carefully observed her expression after he told her like that.

She spread out her smile “That sounds good, samchon. I started to think I’m not doing well with being an empty thin air anymore.”

But Yonghwa didn’t mean to put the distance or step away or such that way. “Stay at home, I have someone to help you catch up with school stuff. I mean you’re going to homeschool if that okay with you until we sort out what’s next. So what you say?”

Juhyun’s eyes widened “I’m put on the role of student?” She felt giddy with excitement. “I’m a good student, samchone. Always. Sometimes I asked the nurses and the doctors to teach me, they said I was a good student.”

Yonghwa’s lips curled up in small smile when he saw how well she responded to this upcoming routine.

“I will aim for the first place, samchon. I don’t like the first place but I won’t disappoint you. Promise.” She gave her words while walked closer to him as if she felt the power in her movement which came in pack with responsibility and she was more than willing to take it.

Yonghwa couldn’t help but adored her so much more. “..but your class, Juhyun, doesn’t have the second place and else. Hey, how about sitting down and discuss the matters or you feel like sleeping now?”

“No, not sleeping, samchon. Sleep could wait when you couldn’t wait for what time will bring.” She said like she meant it as always.

“I totally see you point, young miss. Then how about hop on that oldie?” Yonghwa pointed to a wood rocking chair with very soft cushion in not-so-far corner.

Juhyun followed his suggestion. She sat on the chair but her mind still focused on his previous objection. She looked at him “..even you say so, being the first place is still in priority and it requires a person to pay attention and dedication. But no matter how hard, I won’t hold back. Never.” She said with maximum determination.

Very well, Juhyun, aren’t you something else? Yonghwa thought and smiled like a proud daddy.

In case, ‘daddy’ term helped explain his investment with the girl.

But then again he was the investor himself before she came and the ‘goner’ after her…

Or perhaps he was always a goner who was known to be lost and now it was the first time he would be found - one way or another.

“Well, alright.. then which subject Juhyun student is fond of?” Yonghwa started discuss into detail.

“I’m good at Math but I always love words. I mean reading, listening, and speaking, samchon.”

“That would go to languages then”

“Seems so. I have this book the doctor gave to me on my birthday. It’s all about languages, many languages. I practiced with English, a little bit of Japanese, few Chinese but I found Thai is difficult, French and Spanish is somewhat fascinating. But I still haven’t got any far with them.”

“I found that is far too many languages than a person should know already. Are you planning to learn all kind of languages?” Yonghwa asked with admiration and fascination.

“Not all, just as I can try. I thought it would help me, one day if I put on the role of sailor and I get to be on different shorelines, you know, any places that could be accessed from sea.”

“I consider English is sufficient though.” Yonghwa argued half teasing half serious. He sounded like a lazy boy back in his childhood somehow.

Juhyun narrowed her eyes to Yonghwa. “Back in school, you weren’t so much a hard working student, were you, samechon?

Her suspicion got Yonghwa to laugh out loud. Seriously? Now I’m a lazy kind of person.

He loved it so much the way she spoke, the way her brain processed and gave out the conclusion. He loved her simple notification, her unambitious ambition – her beautiful mind. Yonghwa concluded he loved listening to her.

“Now listen to me carefully, SeoJuhyun – back in school, I was a head student with flying colors scores. I was always selected to represent my school in sports and academic competitions, so now you heard.” He told her the matters of fact and then he couldn’t help it to grin widely.

Juhyun looked at him doubtfully “Is that true? Or you just sort of brag?” She didn’t even think it thoroughly on her word of choice this time.

“You think I brag about it!?!” Yonghwa raised his voice in disbelief. He always thought she was blameless and she would never blame or judge on someone no matter what – but…THIS!

“Ahneyoh! Ahneyoh..I don’t mean it.” She waved her hands in denying gesture, trying to dismiss her default.

Yonghwa still disbelieved it but he was more amused now, especially the way she tried to cover it. Gosh she is adorable! And now he realized even SeoJuhyun is flawed but that had nothing to do with her perfection – her purely imperfect perfection.

However it made Yonghwa wanted to put her off guard further. He then pretended to be hurt.

“Juhyun, I’m disappointed in you. But not because you said I bragged but because you lied when you said you didn’t mean it. I know you meant it every word; I see it in your eyes.” Yonghwa sat sternly, hands crossed on his chest, looked at Juhyun hurtfully. “Plus, you are the one who told me ‘you mean what you say’ when I visited you back at hospital.”

Juhyun felt guilty. “Aigoo.. I’m getting into trouble now.” She let out a soft blow as if she didn’t know what else to do.

Yonghwa wanted to laugh and to pinch her nose so badly, but he kept wearing his stern look.

“I didn’t mean to lie but I didn’t want to hurt your pride either. Sometimes the truth is hurt, samchon.” She explained herself, so much troubled look.

Finally Yonghwa gave in; he filled the air with his laughter. And if only she sat a little closer in his arm length, he knew he would reach out and do something to her.

I’ll let you go this time, my little Juhyun.

Lying was not exactly the act of fraud; it was when the truth altered. And if you cared, you might try a best alteration - was what Yonghwa thought.

“Alright, then next time try keep your poker face and don’t give in easily, arresseo? So I won’t catch it when you lie to me.” He decided to suggest her a bad trick. And he was totally aware he was giving her a pass to lie.

He sure would contaminate her pureness and he knew that.

Juhyun didn’t say anything. Finally the conversations ceased and two people didn’t know what to do. It was getting awkward somehow when you laugh and felt so much with someone at a time and suddenly it stopped.

Yonghwa turned to the paperwork on his desk. Juhyun noticed his sudden shift.

Actually He brought his paperwork and month deals and contractions etc. etc. back home to make it top ‘workaholic’ level.  But he always managed well with it, and mostly tried to be at ease being at home. Yonghwa’s notion: home was always home.

But home has never been this lively before…hasn’t it?

“Samchon, should I get going? I don’t want to disturb when you work.” Juhyun said to the man.

Yonghwa suddenly lost his ease and he didn’t know why. “No!” He would say. “You don’t disturb me or anything and this isn’t work time after all. You can stay” He clarified.

“Then I’ll.” She would say. “Stay.” She uttered the word softly.

Somehow she didn’t want to go anywhere either and she didn’t want to fathom on the ‘WHY’.

Juhyun shifted her gaze and it landed on the coffee cup on his desk. It made her curious and wanted so much to say “You said it wasn’t work time but you have a cup of coffee there.” Juhyun pointed out.

Yonghwa looked at his coffee now “This? To keep me awake…” His voice trailed off when he caught her look. Her serious look when it came to something around err...health issue AGAIN.

Then she bombarded him sincerely but sternly “I think you are wrong from the first place when you said it wasn’t a work time because if it isn’t and you feel sleepy, you can just go to bed and nothing’s supposed to hold you off, you know?”

And what else Yonghwa could defend for himself, at least, he tried… “I just get used to have coffee to sip; it comes to habit as when I drink water – just like that.”

He started to realized the more he said the more he made it worse – judging from the shocked look on her face, but somehow it looked really cute, she was so cute!

Yonghwa suddenly couldn’t care less on health issue. Now he just wanted to keep up with her. “Seojuhyun, you have your favorite and so do I. Is it that bad for me to drink coffee as habit, huh?” He asked, insisting on his point.

“But my favorite doesn’t kill me.” She argued politely.

“But without my favorite, it kills me.” Yonghwa wanted so much to win her, or perhaps just wanted to get away on his issue.

Juhyun looked sterner but somehow she decided to take off a few steps back. “To use ‘kill’ word is a little bit too much” She would say. “Alright, here is a deal; with it, it doesn’t kill you but deep down you know it’s not good in a long run. And without it, it doesn’t kill you like when I don’t have my favorite, I’m okay. The point is you must not say ‘it is like when I drink water’ – I have never said my goguma is like when I eat rice.”

Finally Yonghwa smiled. “Very well then. Coffee is coffee, water is water. I will be careful next time I use analogy.”

Doesn’t he have a death-wish?

Somebody needed to tell him it wasn’t about analogy! It’s the logic and the driven force – the cause and pros and cons and almost everything else pouring in his coffee cup.

Truth be told, the man was no fooled but somehow he let things settle in his misguides because there was always something people couldn’t help in situation, something that any version of alterations wouldn’t help with the truth, something that only time could blow upon.

Something bored a hole inside him.

The man is hollow, so hollow now!

You almost could hear his emptiness creeping around!

Empty?

Suddenly she was curious, so she tiptoed to have a look into his coffee cup. The black liquid still filled two-third, but there was no sign of heat left in there.

“I think your coffee is getting too cold by now.” She pointed out.

Yonghwa followed her gaze into his coffee cup.

“..Because we left it too long, so we couldn’t help but go down its cold.” He told her.

No…

Not so empty but…

Something went missing!

For how long?

Time passed, coffee was cold.

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New update here. Only one chapter this time.

But I will post 3 chapter in row next time, okay?

Enjoy :)