“Come on! Just a bit!”
“Don’t wanna!”
The early morning in Youngjae’s room is already noisy with him and his father having small bickering. Jaebum has been trying to persuade Youngjae to eat his breakfast but the little boy totally resists and closes his lips tight whenever Jaebum tries to shove some food into his mouth, with his favorite gorilla toy wrapped in his small arms as some kind of a shield.

“Don’t be so stubborn! Come on, open your mouth!” Jaebum orders him.
Youngjae still refuses and shaking his head. “No! The food is smelly and taste bad!” he whines.
“Of course it’s smelly, but it’s not bad! They put medicine in it so you can get better faster! Eat it if you wanna get well soon.”
“Then I wanna get well slowly!”
“Im Youngjae…!”

Amidst their loud voices, the door suddenly opens and reveals a pair of old couple laughing at their bickering. Both Jaebum and Youngjae look at them. “We can hear your voices from the hall,” the woman says whilst laughing.

“Grandpa! Grandma!” Youngjae shouts happily with a big smile. The grandparents, which are from his mother’s side, walk in and hug both of them.

“We apologize, Jaebum-shi. We should come earlier when we got the news,” Mrs. Park says.

“It’s alright, mother, father. You must be busy with your work. Besides, Jinhae is far away from here,” Jaebum replies.

“You must have it hard, Jaebum. Leave the hospital fees to us to make up for it,” Mr. Park generously offers, but Jaebum quickly refuses.

“No need, father. I’m fine. How can I possibly…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Mr. Park cuts in. “Youngjae is our only grandson. It’s nothing to give him anything he needs. And look, Youngjae, grandpa bought you a car!”

Mr. Park brings out a red car toy inside a box and upon seeing it, Youngjae’s eyes totally shine and he sits up excitedly to take it from his grandfather’s hand. Jaebum smiles while watching the interaction between his son and the parents-in-law. Youngjae has always been adored by his grandparents since he is the only grandson. Seeing the scene in front of him, it is almost like Jaebum’s life has been completed again. Almost, but not quite.

Jaebum places down a cup of ice coffee on the table in front of his mother-in-law, then he sits down opposite of her. They are currently in the cafeteria after Mrs. Park asked him to discuss some things, while Youngjae is took care of by his grandfather.

“Jaebum-shi, if you don’t mind, I wanna talk about you,” Mrs. Park starts.

Jaebum, who is sipping his iced Americano, puts down his cup and asks, “What about me?”

“Haven’t you thought of getting married again?” Mrs. Park asks, and Jaebum instantly fidgets.

“Why?” he asks back, pretending to not understand.

“Jaebum-shi, you know it’s been 7 years since Jinyoung left. Why don’t you get married again?” Mrs. Park explains. “When I saw you, I knew that your life isn’t perfect. You need someone in your life. Someone to fill in the loneliness.”

Jaebum chuckles a bit, though it sounds strangled. “It’s unexpected to hear a mother-in-law to say that,” he says. “Don’t you feel sad talking about your son?”

Mrs. Park drops his gaze. Jaebum’s words seem to have hit bull’s eye. “Of course, I’m sad. But we’re coping, your father and I. Though, you, Jaebum-shi, how are you coping?”

“Don’t worry about me, mother. Yes, I admit that I’m lonely because Jinyoung isn’t here. But that’s it. I’m not going to marry again. Jinyoung is the only one for me, before and forever. I had him by my side, and that’s enough,” Jaebum replies, eyes fixed on his drink.

Mrs. Park sighs. “I know that you’re afraid to fall in love again, Jaebum-shi. I understand. You’d been living a hard life since you’re a child. You had lost so many people that are important to you. But I’m begging you, if it’s not for you, think of Youngjae,” she says.

“What about Youngjae?”

“Don’t you think he needs a mother? He’s still a child, he needs a mother’s love to grow up.”

“He’s fine. He’ll be fine,” Jaebum says softly. “I want Youngjae to only remember Jinyoung as his mother. I can’t bear…to let someone else get in between them. Ever since we got the news that Jinyoung was pregnant, he was really looking forward to have Youngjae. He was the one who treasured that child the most. Maybe, he loved his son even more than me. But he could only hold him once. I know I’m being selfish right now, but I don’t want Jinyoung to be forgotten.”

“He won’t be forgotten. You know that,” Mrs. Park cuts in, but Jaebum shakes his head in disagree. Both of their eyes are already b with tears.

“Not to be forgotten is not enough,” he says. “I want him to be remembered always.”

Mark is so frustrated. He does not want a heart attack at such a young age, but having the spirit of Jinyoung waiting and greets him when he enters his office, that he shares with his co-workers, really does not help. It has been three day since he had found out Jinyoung’s identity, and in those three days Jinyoung had been following him around like a gum under his shoes. But strangely, Mark have not found him anywhere near his house. It is as if Jinyoung’s presence is only limited around the hospital.

“Really, stop following me already! You might not be that scary, but you still give me a creep!” Mark pleads, eyes could not even dare to look at Jinyoung who is leaning against his desk. Luckily the others have not arrived yet.

“I can’t,” Jinyoung answers. “Not until my purpose is done.”

“That’s why, I told you many times to go away and finish it! You’re looking for your husband, right? Then why do you have to follow me instead? I didn’t even know you before. So your purpose has nothing to do with me!” Mark says, his voice shaking.

“It does have everything to do with you. That’s why I came to find you.”
“Honestly, your joke has gone too far!”
“I’m not joking.”

Jinyoung pushes himself away from Mark’s desk and walks slowly toward him. Mark flinches back in horror but weirdly, his eyes seem to be driven toward Jinyoung out of his will power. In a matter of seconds, Jinyoung is already in front of him and he could not even bat his eyes.

“Mark-shi,” Jinyoung says. “Please help me.”

And the next thing Jinyoung does almost cause Mark to faint. He suddenly closes the distance between them, and surprisingly kisses Mark on the lips.

I’m really sorry that it’s short. And I apologize in advanced, for I’ll be gone for about three weeks due to personal issue so I won’t be able to update for a while. I’m sorry too if I can’t reply to your comments, but please give me your comments. I’d really appreciate it and motivated me more to update faster. I'll surely update this so please wait for me!

*SPOILER* The next chapter will be the flashback of Jaebum and Jinyoung’s love story. Do wait patiently~ xoxo