Chapter 28

She waited & waited. Hours had passed & not had Mina appear with Taehyun yet. Yuri covered her face with her hands. Outside, her eyes were open but inside, her eyes were close. She had made the wrong choice again, leaving Taehyun over at her ex-in-laws house. Sometimes, she feels as if she was weak but then, sometimes she feels as if she was strong & now, she was weak again. Something was wrong with her choices, feels & outside motions. Whenever she wants to be strong & keep her courage up around him, she fails but then, when she tries to keep her son away from him, she succeeds but how long will it take for him to figure it out?

“Yuri.”

She shot her head up as a voice came at the door. Running to the door, Yuri opened it & appeared the last man she wanted to see. Taehyun was in Jaejoong’s arms, his head resting on his shoulder while sleeping. Jaejoong pressed a thin smile to his face, “I’m sorry to return Hyunnie home so late. He wouldn’t stop crying.” Yuri passed his words away & reached out for Taehyun. Her hands touched his without warning. He turned to look at her. She blinked & brushed the touch of his rough hands away, “He’s asleep. I will carry him up if you don’t mind.”

“No thanks.” She reached out for Taehyun again. When she tried to pull him away from Jaejoong, he struggled & hung on tighter to him, “Hyunnie, sweetie. Mommy’s here.” Again, he struggled & began to whine in his sleep. She looked up at Jaejoong, hating him for doing this to her. Not only was Taehyun not excepting to her call but also, he was clinging onto the man. Yuri stepped aside, not saying anything. She was hurt. Hurt by the way Taehyun didn’t want her.

Understanding the sign, Jaejoong stepped into the house, followed by Mina. Yuri took a glance at her sister. An apologetic expression appeared on her face. Yuri averted her attention back to Jaejoong who was waiting by the stairs. Walking over to the steps, she led the way to her room. As she entered her bedroom, she can feel his very eyes on her very things. She neglected his stare & walked towards the bed. Yanking the blanket over to her side of the bed, she fixed Taehyun’s tiny pillow & as if she can feel his eyes on her, Yuri quickly turned around & faced him.

“He’s going to sleep there?” Asked Jaejoong, patting Taehyun’s back. She nodded. He leaned over & gently, like a daddy, lay Taehyun down on the bed. He began to whine as Jaejoong pulled back. Before he could come & comfort him again, Yuri climbed onto the bed & took Taehyun into her arms. She kissed his forehead & cheeks several times. Lord, how she missed her son, knowing that he had been in that man’s arms for hours, “Shhh, go to sleep, sweetheart. Mommy’s here to comfort you.” She cooed, “Mommy loves you.”

His eyes were glue to the scene in front of him. The loveliest scene he had ever seen but somehow, he felt guilty. Quilty for what he had done & what had he done? He took her son away from her when she needed him the most. Her eyes were filled with tear earlier when Ahjoong had slapped her but now, he saw more than tears. He saw a mother with a beloved son. A mother who loves her son more than anything, probably more than him when they were still married. Just looking at her hugging her son close to her chest, he felt something missing from his life. All he could say was that he loved the scene, except the one thing that was missing was her husband, his daddy.

“Mommy.”

“I’m here. Go to sleep, darling. Mommy won’t go anywhere. Not without my little boy.” As her last words were said, Taehyun’s crying & whining ceased. His head eased on Yuri’s chest. His tears on his cheeks & at the side of his eyes dried up. She held him for some time & then, after making sure that he wouldn’t disappear from her again, she rested him down on the bed. A small snore came out of him. A smile lit up at the corner of Jaejoong’s lips. Yuri pulled the cover over Taehyun’s wee body & kissed his forehead, “Night, my little boy.”

Taehyun mumbled something along with his snore. She stared at him. So adorable, he was. Yuri let out a yawn & lay down on the bed with her eyes closed, trying to forget about the shining lights above her. She yawned again, & covered . Lying there, she was ready to dream. A moment later, although she was half-asleep, she saw dark shadow take out the yellow light & a click of a door.

“I’m sorry, Yuri.” Mina said, as she set down the plate of toasts.

“Just tell me, Mina.” Yuri said, averting her head to look at her sister, “Why did you take Hyunnie there?” “Doyeon Oppa wanted me to go but you weren’t home yet so I thought…”

“Min.” She interrupted her, with a sigh, “You know I don’t him to see Hyunnie ever. You should had called me.”

“I tired but you nor mom answered it.”

“Dammit!” Yuri cursed, under her breath. She wiped her hands & walked over to Mina, “Forget about it. It’s too late anyway.”

Mina sat down & played with her eggs, “I...I know you are mad at me, Yuri, but I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t had gone.” She brought her hands over & touched Yuri’s cheek where a bruise lay there, “Does it hurt?”

Yuri shook her head & brushed Mina’s hand away, “I will go get Hyunnie.”

As Yuri walked up the stairs, the doorbell rang. Mina came out of the kitchen. She looked at Mina but then continued walking up the stairs, not caring who was at the door. She entered her bedroom & saw Taehyun in his towel. He grinned up at her & patted his chubby belly.

“Hyunnie bubble. Hyunnie clothes.” He said, making his way towards the closet. Before he could open the door, Yuri snatched him & shook her head.

“Hyunnie took a bath already?”

He bobbed his head, “With bubbles.” He said, then added his fish mouth.

Yuri laughed, “Never take a bath without mommy’s help alright?”

Taehyun pouted, “Mommy mad at Hyunnie?”

“No, sweetie.” She opened the closet & grinned at him, “Choose whichever clothes you want. Pink?”

“No, mommy! Pink is girly!” He cried, with a wild laugh, “Hyunnie don’t have pink clothes.”

She burst out laughing again, “Go ahead, sweetie.” She put him down & watched as he neatly piled the clothes he didn’t want to wear that day like she had told him.

“Black shirt. Ink blue pants. White undiewear.” He said, handing them to Yuri. She grinned at him, “Outstanding choice!” She exclaimed. He smiled his proudest smile & raised his hands in the air. Yuri kneeled down & pulled the shirt down his arms. He giggled when his head popped out.

“Pee-ca-boo, mommy.”

“Hello, sweetie.”

He grabbed his underwear from the ground, “Hyunnie undie.” Pulling his underwear up, he mumbled something under his breath, “Done.”

“Good boy. Now, here comes your pants.” He picked his chubby left leg up. Then his other after Yuri pulled the pants up his leg. She buckled the buttons & zip up the zipper before patting his belly, “You look so handsome today.” She laughed when he blushed.

“Mommy very beautiful, too.”

“Thank you.” Said Yuri, sincerely touched.

Taehyun tilted his head & saw the bruise at her cheek. He raised his hands & touched both of her cheeks, “Mommy hurt.”

She took his hands & pulled him into a hug, “No, sweetie. Mommy isn’t hurt.” She tried to keep her tears back with a half-smile pressed to her glossy pink lips.

“Hyunnie sorry mommy got hurt. Hyunnie hates June.”

“No.” Pulling back, Yuri held onto his cheeks, “Don’t let me hear you say that.”

“But bad June hit mommy.”

“No, sweetie.” She sighed & picked him up. Walking over to the bed, she sat down with him on her lap, “It was mommy’s fault alright? June didn’t hit mommy. June was just mad at mommy. Okay?”

“But mommy…”

“Hyunnie.” He glanced down. Yuri sighed & got up, “You need your breakfast.”

“Not hungry.” He said dryly.

“You will eat your breakfast, Hyunnie.”

When he didn’t answer, Yuri turned around & saw Doyeon at the door. So, it was him at the door after all. She walked up to him, “Good morning Yuri & my little nephew.” He said, to cheer them up but it didn’t work after all. He took a glance at Yuri’s cheek & sighed, turning his head away, “The bruise is showing. You aren’t going to visit mom today, are you?”

“It’s not that bad. I will just put some powder on. How long had you been standing here?”

“Long enough to hear about the pink undie.”

“Uncle Yonnie. I hate June.” Mumbled Taehyun, burying his face in Yuri’s shoulder.

“Hyunnie.” Yuri said in an alarming & disapproving voice.

Doyeon tired to laughed but failed. Now, Taehyun hated his wife. What was he supposed to do? He stretched his arms out, “May I?” Yuri nodded & handed Taehyun over to his uncle. His wee arms circled around Doyeon’s neck. They walked out of the room, followed by Yuri, “Is your cheek aching?” He asked her.

“No.”

“Listen Yuri. I’m sorry about what happened yesterday night. I shouldn’t had brought Hyunnie along.” He averted his head to look at her, “Ahjoong went over the limited again.”

“About that, Oppa. I’m sorry about what I said but I…”

“I understand. You don’t need to explain it. You are right. Ahjoong & I married without love or anything but for the baby’s sake.” He grunted, “But I guess we are just still marry because of those silly vows.”

Yuri blinked. Silly vows. How easy Doyeon had said that. Vows; they weren’t anything but heartaches but they were the broken vows that had changed her life. She lives in an uneasy, uneven, non-eternity vows & still do.

“Ahjoong’s going to apologize soon.”

“I’m the one who should apologize. I said what I shouldn’t have said. If I don’t see her any sooner, tell her I’m sorry.” Before he could say anything else, she changed the subject, “We are going sightseeing tonight, Oppa. Don’t forget.” She said, as they reached the kitchen.

“Right.”

“Hyunnie don’t want to go.” He finally said something after Yuri’s harsh voice disapproving him. He looked over at Doyeon’s shoulder, giving his mommy a puppy face.

“Hyunnie have to go.” Yuri said, closing the subject.