It was the first Saturday since Minchan’s summer vacation. Jaejoong and Chanmi had gone to the mall to escape the heat. They decided to go to the mall where it was kept cool by the industrial sized air conditioners. Jaejoong held Minchan’s hand with his left hand while his right was interlaced with Chanmi’s as they walked through the mall.

“Let’s go in this store next” Chanmi pointed to the store on her right. It was a store for kids that had everything from clothes to toys. “Minchan needs some new clothes. Nothing seems to fit anymore.” Chanmi had noticed in the past few days a pile of clothes in the corner of Minchan’s room. When she questioned him about it he responded by telling her it was clothes that no longer fit.

“He’s a growing boy, what did you expect” Jaejoong responded making Minchan nod enthusiastically.

“Umma you said I was small but one day I would grow really fast and its happening.” Minchan smiled seeing that his mother’s words were coming true. He had waited so long for a growth spurt. He was small since birth and he was fine with it until he went to school and saw how big other boys were. He too wanted to get bigger.

Chanmi nodded “It is happening but too fast. I’m losing my baby.” Chanmi pouted as the thought of Minchan getting older crossed her mind.

Jaejoong noticed the slight pout and chuckled. “You can’t keep him small forever.”

“I can try” Chanmi playfully suggested before letting go of Jaejoong’s hand so he could get a shopping basket.

“Where to” he asked before getting tugged by Minchan.

“Appa I want to see the toys” Minchan said as he pulled Jaejoong in the opposite direction of Chanmi’s destination.

“Why don’t you take him and I’ll go look at the clothes.” Chanmi took the basket from Jaejoong’s hand and pointed over to boys clothing section. “I’ll be right over there.”

“Okay then” Jaejoong said before departing with Minchan.

Chanmi began looking at clothes for Minchan. She picked out a shirt in the size she was used to buying him and got another in a size bigger. “Has he really grown that much” she asked herself as she stared at the difference. She sighed as she put the smaller shirt back in its place.

She picked his clothes carefully paying attention to every last detail. She had to make sure it was to his liking. For the most part Chanmi was always sure of what to buy him but there were times when mother and son clashed.

Once she was satisfied with her choices in clothes she decided to go look at shoes. As she made her way to the shoes section she passed by the girls clothing. Her eyes caught sight of a white newborn dress that possessed her to go over to it and check it out. She smiled as she saw how detailed it was but what she liked most was how small it was. All she could do was remember how Minchan was once that small.

She looked over at the toys and saw only Minchan was there. She wondered where Jaejoong was until she heard his voice right next to her ear. “You do know you have a son right” he asked her.

Chanmi immediately put the dress back on the rack and turned to face him. “Oh I was just looking to see if I found something for Kimi” she lied.

Jaejoong smirked as he grabbed the dress Chanmi had been holding. “I don’t think this is her size.”

Chanmi rolled her eyes as she made her way past him. “You know what I was doing so stop teasing me.”

Jaejoong quickly caught up to her putting his arm around her shoulder he leaned in to kiss the top of her head. “Don’t worry okay” he tilted her head up by her chin. “We may not be able to have another baby but we have Minchan. So please, don’t start worrying and wondering about other situations.”

Chanmi nodded with a smile “thanks Jae.” She loved how he understood her without words. He didn’t even have to ask what was wrong. He knew by looking at how she starred at the small dress that she was wondering about how it would be to have another child. With that came sad memories for her, of how the doctors had told her she would lose the small chance she had of having children by the age of twenty five.

Minchan came over to the two of them holding a transformer robot. “Can I get this one Appa?”

Jaejoong nodded, “anything for my son.”

Chanmi smiled with teary eyes at the scene. She couldn’t believe how she almost missed out on this. There was a chance that she would never have been this happy. When she was younger she never thought she would actually end up falling in love with a playboy like Jaejoong.

Now she saw that if it weren’t for that chance she gave him then she might not be as happy as she was at that moment. Just hearing Jaejoong say “my son” made her heart warm up. There was nothing more she liked than being a mother.

***

“Wow this car is so big” Minchan looked around in awe at how long the limo was.

Mr. Lee took of his seatbelt and raised his hands towards the roof of the car. “Look Minchan in here you can ride without a seatbelt.”

“Appa don’t give him ideas” Chanmi scolded her father for being a bad example to Minchan at the moment.

“Umma can I take off my seatbelt?”

“No” Chanmi responded.

Jaejoong then proceeded to take off his own and helped Minchan undo his as well.

“Jae” Chanmi warned too late. Minchan was already moving around from seat to seat.

“Oh come on Chanmi let him have some fun. He might not get this chance again” Jaejoong defended but Chanmi wouldn’t budge.

She had a look of discontent as she saw her son being unsafe.

Jaejoong was just about to apologize and make Minchan put his seatbelt back on before Mr. Lee spoke. “Oh don’t mind her Jaejoong. She’s just nervous. She might look confident in her pictures and all but she is actually quite timid in front of the cameras.”

Minchan pushed a button he had found and giggled as lights began to flash inside the car. “Look grandpa” he laughed.

“Minchan don’t play with that” she tried to stop him but was tuned out by her father’s voice as he encouraged Minchan’s behavior.

Jaejoong put his hand on her lap causing her to give him her attention instead. “Relax Jagiya; everything is going to be okay.”

Chanmi only gave him a semi-smile. “I hope so.” She wasn’t looking forward to seeing her mother today at the event. Her mother was hired as the MC of the event. To Chanmi the whole event was too much just for a commercial debut.

As the limo came to a stop Chanmi could feel her heartbeat beginning to increase. When the door was opened Jaejoong stepped out and offered her his hand. She took it and stepped out of the limo in her over the top dress that was chosen for her to wear. When she was visible to the crowd there were loud screams from fans that had shown up to support her.

Chanmi smiled as best as she could with the flashing lights of the cameras around her and waved to them. The screams became louder as Mr. Lee came out with Minchan in his arms. It was no secret to her fans that Chanmi was a mother. They all knew of Minchan’s existence and thought of him as a lovely boy.

Jaejoong offered Chanmi his arm and she took it. They walked the red carpet together while Mr. Lee followed behind them with Minchan. As they made their way up Chanmi could hear her fans calling out to her. She did the best she could to look over at them and offer them her best smile. As she looked to the fans she noticed the posters they carried with positive messages to her.

One sign said if she could please make a heart sign to the fan and she did it. The fans went crazy and screamed louder. She then noticed how some posters weren’t for her but for Minchan. They asked for him to do his famous mochi cheeks.

Chanmi stopped walking and went over to Minchan. She pointed at the fan that was holding the sign and told him what it said. When Minchan heard he instantly did what the fan wanted. He puffed his cheeks out making the mochi cheeks and even threw in a wink before they finally got inside the building where the event was taking place.

Mr. Lee put down Minchan and straightened out his suit. Before the event started there was time for the guests to arrive and take their seats. Mr. Lee saw some of his friends and went to greet them leaving the three of them to go to their seats first.

“You might be nervous on camera but Minchan is the exact opposite” Jaejoong laughed as Minchan continued to act cute for the cameras around them.

Chanmi laughed, “He was exactly like that when we were getting our pictures taken on the streets of Japan.” She bent down to pick him up but when she lifted him she felt a pain in her back. “Ahh” she hissed before putting him back down.

“What’s wrong” Jaejoong asked.

“Minchan I think you really did grow. I can’t carry you anymore” she rubbed her back.

“Really” Minchan said happily. He was excited to grow up but was a bit sad about not being able to be carried by her. “But I like when you carry me.”

Jaejoong then picked him up. “Don’t worry Minchan. Appa can still carry you.” With that they made their way to their table and sat down. There was one empty seat where Mr. Lee was supposed to sit but wasn’t there yet. “I hope Appa gets here before the lights get dimmed.”

As she spoke Chanmi’s eyes narrowed. In the distance she noticed someone approaching. It was someone she had no desire to see and she wasn’t alone. “Hello Chanmi” Barbie greeted with a smile on her face. She then turned to Jaejoong and with a genuine smile she greeted him “hello Oppa.”

“What are you doing here Barbie” J