Chapter Twenty-Five: Gender, Daycare, and CPS

            TWO MONTHS LATER:

            “Okay, Julie,” Doctor Oh said, smiling. “This is going to feel a bit cold. I apologize for that.” He squirted a clear liquid on her round stomach, rubbing it around in slow circles with the transducer. Julie was nervous. What if the baby had a birth defect? What if it wasn’t growing right? The monitor was facing the poker-faced doctor, so she had no clue what he saw. She tried to take notice of his movements, but he went the same pace, not giving anything away. She sighed and lied back down, looking around the room.

            She was in the room she woke up in when she had the seizure. Everything was still white and bland. Only the monitor, the table, and some sinks were in the room – along with the doctor and herself. Mark wanted to come with her, growing overprotective, but she told him not to. Instead, she had Yugyeom come with her while the other four boys took her sons out to the park or wherever they planned to go. Julie hasn’t seen the Tree of Life since the night he talked to her and disappeared in a puff of black smoke, but she can feel someone watching her. She could only hope it was him. The doctors and Soo Man were happy: the other elevens’ powers could be discovered if they were tested and there would be another child to test it on as well – once he or she was born. Julie had told them not to test on her living sons as she didn’t want to know their powers; she wanted it to be a surprise.

            “Hmm,” the doctor hummed, making Julie snap out of her thoughts and look at him. His eyebrows were furrowed and he had a gleam of surprise in his eyes. Julie felt a tinge of nervousness and fear: one her fears was coming true. Either birth defects were noticeable, now (considering she was estimated to be around four months pregnant), or she was in danger. He stopped moving the transducer on one part of her, eyes slightly widening.

            “What? What is it doctor?” Julie asked, nervous. He was silent for a while until he broke out into a smile.

            “Do you wish to know the gender?” He asked, making her feel relieved. She sighed and nodded, bracing herself. “You’re having a boy.” Julie smiled, slightly.

            “Of course I would be having a boy,” she said, giggling as he wiped the goop off of her stomach. He smiled. “I mean, I already have twelve. What harm could having thirteen be?” He chuckled.

            “It can be a lot of trouble,” he said, half-jokingly. She rolled her shirt down and stood up, feeling dizzy for a second from standing up too fast. He helped her stabilize. “Gwenchana?” She nodded, holding her bulging stomach with a smile. He walked her out to Yugyeom, watching them hug once before looking back at him.

            “Anything else you need, doctor?” Yugyeom asked, smiling. He shook his head.

            “No, nothing else. Just make sure you eat proper food, Julie.” She nodded.

            “I will, Doc. Thanks.” They turned around and left. He watched them leave with a frown.

            “No, Sun Oh…what you saw was wrong,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head of his thoughts. He walked down the hall to his next patient. “Has to be wrong.”

~+~+~+~

            DAYCARE:

            “Omoni!” Kyungsoo called when he saw her. She smiled, hugging the little boy to her chest. She looked around to see the other boys taking their naps with Jill watching over them. Only Kyungsoo was awake, and when Julie looked at Jill for an answer, she shrugged.

            “Why are you up, Kyungy?” She whispered, petting his head. He looked up at her and smiled.

            “Waiting for you, Omoni,” he said, smiling wide. She giggled.

            “Jinja?” He nodded, giggling when she started to tickle him. Julie picked Kyungsoo up and took him outside into the empty hallway to talk to him. “Anything happen today, Kyungy?” He shook his head, still smiling. She raised an eyebrow. “You never miss nap time. What’s wrong? Tell Omoni.” His smile twitched downwards and he looked away from her. She hugged him to her again, frowning slightly. He pulled away after a second or two.

            “I miss Omoni,” he whispered, looking at her in the eyes. She began to realize that he was barely two years old. They may all look like they are around three to four, but they are younger than that and should be treated with a lot more love. She kissed his head, wondering about life. She had two more weeks of school before she was off.

            “I missed you, too, Kyungsoo.”

            CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

            Heels clicked on the floor down the tiled hallway, bringing their attention to the sound’s owner: Lee. She smirked, seeing them together and stopped in front of them.

            “Ah, the pregnant whóre and her little adopted abomination,” she said, standing a foot or so away. Julie picked Kyungsoo up, rolled her eyes, and turned to walk back into the nursery. Lee grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. “Yah. I was talking to you.”

            “Well, I wasn’t talking to you,” Julie answered, annoyed and turned back around to go back into the nursery. Lee grabbed Julie’s hair, pulling her back towards Lee. Julie screamed from the pain. Kyungsoo grew afraid, hiding in her hair from the scary lady. Julie was forced to turn around and look at Lee.

            “Don’t walk away from me, bĭtch,” she growled out, holding Julie’s chin in her hand. She looked over her face with hate. “I don’t know what the man who got you pregnant saw in you.” She smirked. “You must have really been begging for it, weren’t you, you whóre?” She let go of Julie’s face and slapped her, the sound reverberating throughout the hallway. “Don’t you know? Pregnant whóres don’t keep their children very long.” Julie looked back up at her, calm. She hoisted Kyungsoo up, once, and turned around to walk away – again.

            Lee snarled, grabbed Julie’s hair once again, but before she could pull Julie back by it like before, Kyungsoo looked up, eyes glowing a bright green. Lee’s eyes widened and she gasped. She was about to pull back her hand when Kyungsoo wrapped his tiny hand around her giant wrist. Touch my mother again, Lee heard a deep demonic voice say, and I will make sure I kill you with my bare hands. Lee pulled her wrist back, eyes wide with shock and fear. Julie, not knowing anything that happened, walked on. Kyungsoo’s eyes went back to normal and he smiled evilly at Lee. She growled, snapped, and hit her hand on the wall when the door closed, bruising her hand.

            “AISH!”

~+~+~+~

            “Dinner!” Julie called throughout the house. She stood there for a second, holding the door open, counting down. 5, 4, 3, 2- Feet pounded on the floor from upstairs and from the room over. She smiled. Right on time. The young toddlers ran through the door, giggling and smiling while the other five grown-up (mostly) males followed. Julie helped her sons get into their seats, smiling at them. Just as she sat down at the end of the long table, the doorbell rang. She sighed, dramatically, making her growing family laugh before standing up and going to the door, musing on how she forget to set the alarm – again. I really need to work on that! She reached the door and pulled it open with a smile on her face until she saw the detective standing there with a smug smile on his face and a woman standing next to him with an impassive expression. She looked at both of them, confused.

            “Ms. Randi?” He said, before she could say anything.

            “Neh?” She asked, smiling slightly back at him, shocked. “What can I help you with, detective?” The lady spoke with a deep voice that sounded almost male.

            “Hello, Ms. Randi,” the lady said, politely. “I am Mrs. Kwon from Child Protection Services. We have received a complaint that you are not treating your children right and have put them in a bad environment.” Julie’s eyes widened.

            “Bwo?” Julie said, shocked. The lady’s eyes narrowed at Julie’s tone, making Julie avert her eyes, intimidated. She took a deep breath and looked the lady in the eye. “I am sorry to inform you that whoever you received that information from was lying to you. I do not neglect or endanger my children in anyway. If you do not believe me, you can come in and take a look around at everything. I have nothing to hide.” Julie kept the door open for her, letting her walk in, but when the detective tried to walk in, she shut the door slightly. “You, however, are not allowed in unless you get a warrant. I would hate to have to call the police on a detective that can’t do his job right. Goodbye.” She slammed the door in his face, locking it effectively. She turned around to see the woman with a ghost of a smile on her face before it disappeared. Julie smiled, slightly. “We were just having dinner, Mrs. Kwon. Would you like to join us before you look around?” The lady looked unsure, but nodded after a while. She must have been hungry.

            Julie showed her the way into the dining room where the boys had dug in, some of them feeding her sons for her while she was gone. Mark saw the new lady and, as he sat next to Julie, grabbed his stuff and moved to the other end of the table, switching the table mats and giving her a clean plate and clean utensils. She smiled in thanks and took food, watching Julie feed her sons and then feed herself when they were eating or talking. They made small talk: who the boys were; how her sons were adopted; how she accepted them when no one else would; how she took them to school with her; how her best friend took care of them for her until she got out of class.

            Julie took her to their rooms, spilling the beans about how protective her grandmother was and how she built safe rooms just in case anything bad happened. The lady nodded. They then went to the play room, the lady’s eyes widening at everything. Julie showed her everywhere else and was happy when the lady was shocked about how big the room was or how awesome the house was. Finally, they went back to the living room to talk about everything involving Julie and the boys.

            “Well, Ms. Randi,” Mrs. Kwon said when she was about to leave, “I have checked over everything that needs to be checked on and all I can say is that I see nothing wrong with your home or your mothering skills. I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you and will find out who told us your mothering skills were questionable and make sure they pay severely for slandering the Randi name.” Julie smiled, thanking her as she opened the door to let her out. Mrs. Kwon nodded once more before walking away, cell phone open and ready to call her firm or whatever place she came from. Julie shut the door, relieved.

~+~+~+~

            He watched the skinny lady leave with a hint of nervousness, wondering if the mother of his children would have to be moved so they would be protected.

            “John,” the lady said into her phone. “Find me whoever gave us the info on the Randi Case. I want them found and made notice that their inquiry was wrong and that if they do such a thing again, their punishment will be severe.” It was noisy on the other line. “You have their address?” His ears perked up and he followed her to her car, interested. “Okay, hold on a second. I need my paper and pen.” She shuffled through her purse before bringing out a pad of paper and a pen. “Okay, I am ready…4589 Gangnam Drive, Seoul? Arraso. Kamsamnida.” He smirked and vanished, only a dark smoke left.

            He appeared in front of a run-down shack of a house in a bad part of Seoul. He stared at the house, feeling a sense of hostility from the entire street, but nothing strong from the house. He walked up to the house, looking through the windows. Everything was dark except for a light in a room around the back. He hopped the fence and went to look into the window. In there, a young lady stood, undressing. He, immediately, moved away from the window – unwilling to watch – and waited until he was sure she was done. He looked back in and saw she was sitting on the bed. His eyes widened slightly from recognition. He knew exactly whom she was.

            He teleported into her room, startling her.

            “Wh-Who are you?” She asked, scared. He grabbed her by the throat, pushing her up against the wall.

            “I am the father of Julianne Randi’s children,” he said, eyes narrowed. Her eyes widened and a glimmer of hate appeared, making him angrier. “Tonight, she had a visitor from some child safety organization.” She let out a choked laugh, eyes narrowing. “Her children get to stay with her,” her lip twitched into a frown, making him smile widely, “and you will end up dead when the lady comes here to knock some sense into you.” Her eyes widened. He laughed, letting her go but keeping her up and choking with his telekinesis powers. He smiled widely, waved ‘goodbye,’ and flicked a finger, twisting her neck so a sickening crack sounded out through the room. She dropped to the floor, eyes wide, staring off into space.

                He stared at her for a little bit before wrecking her room and the hallway leading to her room. He the hallway light and, looking around the living room, he decided to wreck it as well. When he was finished, he smirked and walked out the door, leaving it open for the lady (currently driving down the street) to walk in. He walked slowly, invisible to her. She walked right in, scared, and he stopped, waiting. He heard her scream and felt his life suddenly become happier. In an instant, he was gone with only a smirk gracing his face.

            Goodbye, Lee. Your welcome, my love.