Choi Young Do regretted being confined indoors on one of the last few warm days of summer but he was never the one to shirk responsibility, especially when it involved the few people he deeply cared about. He was elbow deep in receipts and memos, staring at the laptop and trying to keep his mind from wandering to the beautiful day outside. He typed slowly due to the broad bandage that still remained wrapped around his palm. He had stopped taking the pain killers but considered taking one after the accounts were updated. It was not a sharp pain anymore but a mild pulsing ache that irritated him. He stopped for a minute and flexed his injured palm gingerly. He was still amazed that he had managed to do something so stupid, all by himself. But it was not the first time and won’t be the last time either.

He looked at his phone to check if there were any further cryptic messages. That morning just before he had left for his mother’s place, he had received an abrupt text.

“Will you be at you mother’s place this afternoon?”

Now that was a direct question, so he had answered a precise ‘yes’ in the same staccato style.

And then there was none. So, he presumed whatever she needed from him was postponed for another day. But now, he wondered if he should had asked her more. If she wanted to meet him, he would have found a way to arrange it such a way that they would have ended up outside, taking a walk or eating outside at an open air café or Lord forbid, take a ride in his little red darling. He had a strong urge to bundle all the paperwork up and bag the laptop for another time. He wanted to drive to the coast till he could smell the sea and breathe the crisp salty air. Perhaps he could indulge in one of his old habits, of eating convenience store fare, in his own version of al fresco dining. Presently, he was distracted by a decidedly unusual noise at the base of the stairs.

His mother was gushing and cooing at something. Her voice was still gentle but there was a distinct note of giddy happiness as she spoke to somebody. He got up and leaned over the balustrade. Peering down the stairwell, he noticed a mop of curly dark hair and a bright yellow fuzzy sweater. His feet descended the stairs in record time till he came face to face to Cha Eun Sang. She was casually dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt, her hair pulled up in a high ponytail. There was a fat backpack over one shoulder and a garment bag slung over the other. She smiled warmly at Choi Young Do, startling him. He got defensive in a flash.

“Let me guess, you are finally running away from home. With an accomplice!” He said in mock horror, pointing to Sunny by her side.

Cha Eun Sang pretended to smile to press the fact that his attempt at humor was severely lacking.

“When will you finally learn manners Choi Young Do? Here, watch and learn.” She gently pushed Sunny forward, towards Choi Young Do and urged, “Show him how we greet people in Korea.”

Sunny hauled himself up straight, holding his arms stiffly in line with his body, composed his face into a very solemn expression and bowed deeply. Choi Young Do was amused but a little confused. Though they were not very close, the boy had never behaved so formally with him. He looked at Cha Eun Sang with a silent question, not sure how to respond to this sudden act of formality on a little boy’s part.

Cha Eun Sang smiled at his befuddled expression and explained with mock seriousness.

“We are learning proper social etiquettes at the pre-school these days.”

Choi Young Do pursed his lips in an effort not to smile. He did not want to make the child feel self-conscious. Instead, he took out his hands from his pockets, straightened his stance and returned the bow. But Sunny was embarrassed alright, he blushed and threw himself against his mom’s side, hiding his face against her. Madame Yoo gasped and held a hand to her heart, her face dissolving into an indulgent smile as she looked at the mother and child before her. Cha Eun Sang patted Sunny’s back and tousled his hair.

“That’s great. You did very well. Very proud of you.” Her voice showed that she meant every word of what she said.

Madame Yoo bent forward and held out a hand to Sunny. “Now good deeds deserve rewards. Do you like chocolate?”

Sunny uncovered half of his face and nodded. Madame Yoo smiled and continued, “Do you like pastry?” This led to a full reveal of the cute face and a smile to boot. He nodded again.

“Then come help me sample some of my chocolate pastries. I really need your help.” She coaxed patiently.

Sunny looked up at his mother and upon receiving the nod of approval, reached out to put his hand into Madame Yoo’s. Choi Young Do and Cha Eun Sang watched them walk towards the storefront. Madame Yoo kept up the conversation with Sunny, trying to draw out the child.

Cha Eun Sang declared without taking her eyes off them, “Your mother is awesome with kids. She is so gentle and nice. I guess, all moms are like that.” Then she turned to look at Choi Young Do, letting her eyes travel the entire length of him and made a face, which expressed her dissatisfaction with the said mother’s child. She only received a glare in return, which she ignored and instead nodded to the bandaged hand.

“How is that healing? Did you need stitches? Are you taking antibiotics?”

Choi Young Do was touched but also irritated at her fussing over him, “Yah! Give it a rest. I already have a mom. And you are not it.”

Cha Eun Sang rolled her eyes. “What about friends? Friends also care about each other. They ask about each other’s welfare. Look out for each other. Now, if only you knew.”

Choi Young Do was about reply but noticed that she was shifting her backpack and the garment bag uncomfortably, trying to redistribute the weight. He pointed to her bags and asked.

“What’s all that about?”

Cha Eun Sang looked a little tensed. “I have a long day ahead of me. I just stopped here on my way. I am going to drop Sunny at my mother’s, change into formals and then go to an evening business dinner. A Danish company is interested to buy a new line of industrial filters. So there will be a presentation, Q-A session, meet and greet followed by dinner. I have to learn a lot of information for the presentation. So I got my laptop.”

Choi Young Do raised his eyebrow, “You are doing the presentation?”

Cha Eun Sang looked visibly scandalized at the suggestion. “No way. I am too new to all this.”

He looked at her sincerely and quietly said, “Give it time and just keep at it.”

She didn’t want to spoil the moment by being sassy. It was rare to catch Choi Young Do in a moment when he was not angry, sarcastic, smartass or combative. She returned his sincerity.

“Honestly, how is your hand? I had to stop in today to find out. Why didn’t you answer my texts? Could have saved me a trip on a busy day.” She clucked like an old matron.

Choi Young Do hesitated for a moment and decided to change the subject.

“My hand is fine but my legs are aching. So I need to sit down. Come upstairs.” He declared.

“Oh no. I just stopped by. I have to take another bus from here to my mom’s. You go ahead and rest. I will stay in the café and then leave when Sunny has done his ‘job’ of tasting.”

Choi Young Do incredulously pointed to the heavy bags on her and exclaimed, “You managed to juggle all that and Sunny while taking a bus?”

Cha Eun Sang answered with a quiet pride, “I managed perfectly fine, thank you. Plus, I want my child to get used to the normal life so that he doesn’t grow up to be a snotty rich kid.” She finished with a meaningful look at Choi Young Do.

Failing to find a suitable comeback, the inner child in Choi Young Do surfaced. He reached out and snatched the backpack from Cha Eun Sang’s tiring grip and started climbing the stairs.

“Well then, Miss Commoner, it wouldn’t hurt for you to come upstairs to collect your backpack on your way out.”

Stumped at the childish trick, Cha Eun Sang could only gape after her long legged tormentor. Sighing, she followed suit, muttering curses under her breath. She stepped into the living room and spied her backpack resting on the coffee table while Choi Young Do was in the open kitchen. She carefully draped her garment bag over the backrest of the sofa and waited to give Choi Young Do a piece of her mind.

“Here,” a sudden feel of chill against her cheek jolted her, “Sorry, my mum seems more preoccupied with a charming little guest, so this is the best I can do.” Choi Young Do waited till she grabbed the glass of juice. Uncaring of the menacing looks that were directed at him, he casually sauntered over to his favorite seat next to the window.

“So, what is today all about? And should you not be studying the presentation? Why don’t you study it and then I will ask a few questions to see if you can handle those? Better know where you are likely to fail before me than your business associates, don’t you think?” He said with a devilish twinkle in his eyes.

There, true to the horrible person that he was, he had stepped right where her fears lay, she thought. She had been battling that fear ever since she had come to know of the meeting. But trust him to mess her up further rather than encouraging her to allay her fears. Cha Eun Sang shot him a death glare but decided to heed his advice and flopped down on the sofa to take out her laptop under his playfully amused eyes.

“Don’t distract me while I study and since you proposed this, you can’t move around till I am done studying. Jus