“Mom, where are you going? Mom!” Five, turning six in a month, year old Amber tried to hold onto her mother’s hand but kept getting it brushed off. Little Amber chased after her mother down the hallway of their small apartment, wailing after her. Even though she’s young she can tell that something was wrong and it scared her. In her mother’s hand was her luggage, packed full of her clothes.

 “Stay here, Amber. I’m so sorry. Mommy is sorry. Just know that I love you very much.”KiYoung, Amber’s mother, squatted to her crying daughter’s level and gave a chaste kiss on the girl’s temple before hurrying out the door.

“Don’t go! Mommy, take me with you! MOM!” Amber pounded on the door before tiptoeing to reach for the handle. She was too small and couldn’t reach the handle yet. With quick thinking she took her father’s shoes and placed it by the door before stepping on top of it. With the extra height she was finally open to twist the door open. Darting out of the door she saw her mother’s back as she entered an unfamiliar vehicle of an unknown man.

“Mommy!” she cried as she chased after the car, barefooted. Seeing the car stop at a red light she sped up, hoping to catch up to her mother, only to have that hope rip out of her as she tripped and fell. Ignoring the pain she glanced up and saw the car driving off in the distance.

Amber stumbled back into their apartment and sat, leaning against the wall. She ignored the blood running down her arm and knee and cried to herself silently. “Mom will be back.” She repeated to herself, trying to convince herself that her mother had just gone to the grocery store. “She’ll be back.” Amber muttered softly as she began to get drowsy and let sleep take over her.

“KiYoung-ah, why are you crying? Are you regretting coming with me?” Chunso glanced at the crying woman seated in the passenger seat. Taking a hand off the steering wheel, he held onto her hand gently and began to rub small circles with his thumb, hoping to comfort her. Though it’s been years, she still looked as beautiful and lovely as the first time the two made eye contact in the pact bus when they were high schoolers.

“It’s nothing. I’m just so happy to be with you again. I’ve never stopped loving you.” KiYoung gripped onto his hand like a lifeline. Though it was true that she was extremely happy to be reunited with her lost love, her tears were due to leaving her daughter behind. Her heart ached when she saw the tears streaming down her daughter’s face as she chased after her, barefooted. She had wanted to tell him to stop the car when she saw her little Amber trip and skidded on the concrete, her elbow and forehead bleeding. But she had been too late as the car drove off.

“You never told me about your life after we separated. How did he treat you?” Chunso referred to her husband like it was the vilest thing ever. “Did you have kids?” He glanced at her briefly before glancing back onto the road.

She tensed at the mention of kids. She had one; Amber, but she had left her behind. If he found out that she had a kid with her husband would he still love her? No, she can’t let him find out. She’ll take this secret to the grave.

It was 8pm and now Chen Liu was returning home from work. He whimpered a little as he had pulled a muscle earlier at work. Approaching the front door, he noticed that it was left ajar. With a panic he dashed inside and settled with a sigh when everything was in ordered. He had thought that a robber may have targeted his place, putting his family in danger. He once again panicked when he saw his little Amber sleeping in the hallway with small amount of dried blood on her forehead, arms and legs.

“Amber, sweetie, what’s wrong? Why are you bleeding? And why are you sleeping in the hallway?” He bent down and pulled the girl into his arms, checking for more severe injuries. Seeing none, he breathes a sigh of relief. Dragging the girl into his chest he picked her up and carried her towards her room. “Where’s your mommy?” He questioned as he saw no sight of her, the apartment was in complete darkness, no sign of life other than the father and daughter pair.

Remembering the past events, Amber jerked up and began to cry once more. She choked on her sob as she tried to retell what had happened; how her mother had entered their apartment in a hurry and left in the same fashion, how she saw her mother entered an unfamiliar car with a man she had never seen before, and how she had chased after the car only to trip and fall, getting many scrapes and injuries in the process.

Chen listened silently and his heart twisted in pain as he watched his five year old daughter retell her story. He had had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that something was going to happen, that his wife was going to somehow up and leave their family. Every night he had prayed that it was just a feeling, that his wife would never leave them but today…today it had happened when he was at work. KiYoung, his beautiful wife, had abandoned them. Chen wiped away a tear as it rolled down his face.

“Everything will be okay, Am. I’m sure you’re mommy is just away on vacation. She’ll be back, just wait and see,” he tried to convince the still-crying girl in his arms. Chen tucked her into her bed before seating himself on the ground, right next to his daughter’s bed. He didn’t want to separate from her, his only family left.

“Please don’t leave me too, daddy. I…I..promise to be…a good girl f-from now on. I won’t b-bother you…a-and I’ll eat my vegetables…I’ll even pick up my toys. So…p-please don’t leave me.” Amber’s tears rolled down her face as she held onto her father’s hand for dear life.

“I promise. I will NEVER, EVER leave you.” Chen promised her as he her hair.

Although her father had told her that her mother would be back, Amber knew better. She may be five years old but she knew her mother will never come back. She had abandoned her and her father. Amber silently promised to never leave her father like how her mother has.

Chen hummed a tune to soothe his little Amber to sleep. He reached up and wiped away the tears that wouldn’t stop rolling down her little, tan face. When he had made sure that she had fallen asleep, he shed his own tears. He had put up a strong front in front of Amber but now that the girl’s asleep he can finally let his tears fall freely. He fisted his mouth to drown out his sobbing, not wanting to wake her up to see him breaking down.

“Girls!! I’m home! Where are you? Come down here, I have something to tell you!” Chunso shouted up the stairs as he entered their mansion, carrying KiYoung’s luggage. Placing the luggage on the floor and gesturing for his servants to take it up into his room, he put his hand on the small of her back. Chunso grinned brightly as he saw his two daughters, Krystal and Sulli, coming down the staircase.

“Well, girls, I’ll like to introduce you to KiYoung. She’ll be your new mommy from now on.”

To say she was shock was an understatement. She hadn’t known that Chunso had kids of his own, if she had known…she would have…Amber…. KiYoung came out of shock as little three, almost four, year old Sulli threw herself at her.

“Are you really going to be our new mommy?” Sulli asked as she looked up to the tall beautiful woman with sparkly eyes. She tightened her hug around the woman’s legs when the said woman gave a slight nod. “Yay! I get a new mommy!”

Krystal watched the stranger wearily from a distance with a deep frown and a cold glare. How could her father replace her mother just like that?!? She will never accept this woman to be her mother. “You’re not my mother and you’ll never be!” The four, turning five, year old Krystal whirled around and darted up the staircase.

“Krystal Jung!!”

The girl could hear her father’s voice echoing throughout the mansion but paid no heed to it. Her mother can and will never be replace by…by that gold digger of a woman. How dare her father bring that kind of woman into their home when her mother had just passed away months ago?

“Mommy,” Krystal cried softly. After running away she had ran into her room and slammed the door before locking it. The crying girl pulled her knees to her chest and hugged herself tightly, wailing in her arms. Seated beside her was the brown teddy bear that her mother had given to her as a birthday gift from her last birthday.

“I’m so sorry, Young-ah.” Chunso apologized to her once again as the three sat in the living room, chatting. Sulli still hadn’t let go of her new mother and was asking questions about her life every few minutes.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure she’ll come around,” KiYoung smiled a reassuring smile to him. On the inside she felt like a horrible mother. She had just abandoned her own daughter and now she’s taking up two daughters which weren’t even her own. How could she live with the guilt of knowing what she had done?