Kyah it has been several months now! My schedule have been so packed and omg, how I miss writing stories instead of typing notes and reports…zzzz… anyways, enjoy!!

(38 months)

As with the past, Jihyo was with the children while Gary was at work. Her filming ended a few months ago so she was back to looking after the children. Meanwhile, Gary was busy with the preparation of his new album and barely had time for the family.

 In the evening, Gary texted Jihyo again to tell her that he would not be coming home for dinner. Jihyo sighed as she replied him. It happened too often recently and sometimes he couldn’t even come home for the night. She missed him, but she could do nothing about it because it was the nature of his job.

The two children were playing in the hall, while Jihyo kept her eye on them as she started to prepare dinner in the kitchen.

A cartoon came on and the children kept their toys and moved up the sofa to enjoy the show. Because Ji-ohn couldn’t see, she kept pestering Jiyoung with questions. The latter diligently answered all of her questions to the best of his ability, even though sometimes he couldn’t describe the situation properly. By dinner time, the movie concluded with a happy ending, with the heroes saving the day and all.

Without being prompted, the kids went to wash their hands for dinner and brought out their own plates. They then made their way up to their chairs themselves. Jihyo took out the dishes and distributed the food.

She started to eat, and the children followed. She made a small sigh, because the children used to ask if Gary was coming home, but they stopped because they kept getting the same answer. It pained her heart even more to realise that they must have felt the same disappointment when she was out filming.

“Eomma…” Ji-ohn called out, but stopped midway.

Realising that she wasn’t continuing her sentence, Jihyo prompted, “Eo, why?”

The child hesitated for a while, before saying, “Do you miss appa?”

Jihyo smiled. “Of course, honey… don’t you miss him too?”

“Eung,” Ji-ohn replied and continued to eat.

Jihyo thought that the conversation ended there, but Ji-ohn continued again. “Are you sad because you miss appa a lot?”

Jihyo was taken aback, and she didn’t know how to reply to her daughter’s question. She was sad, but she didn’t want to admit it in front of her children. And yet, she didn’t want to lie but she also couldn’t ignore her question.

“I’m,” Jiyoung cut in, unknowingly saving Jihyo from answering Ji-ohn’s question.

“Me too,” Ji-ohn said.

“Appa is very busy at work recently. Just wait a few more weeks ok? After he is done, then we can play together,” Jihyo said, repeating what she have been saying whenever they asked about Gary.

Ji-ohn pouted, but didn’t continue the topic. Jiyoung also resumed his meal quietly.

Trying to divert their attention, Jihyo tried to talk about other things. “What was the movie you watched just now?”

“Big hero 6,” Ji-ohn replied. Jihyo could tell that she was still hung up on the ‘appa topic’, so she continued her questions.

“What was the movie about?”

“There was a boy named Hiro… he uh… made tiny tiny robots,” she replied.

“His brother went to school… a big school, and he had many friends,” Jiyoung added.

“And then there was a fire.”

“But the brother was in the fire.”

“So, Hiro was very sad. But then there was a balloon robot.”

“Then they saw a person, like this,” Jiyoung said, covering his face with his hands to describe the evil person.

“And the friends went to catch him, but he was very powerful.”

“So Hiro made them superheroes! And they can fly!”

“Whoa, that must be exciting,” Jihyo encouraged, despite only hearing bits and pieces of the story.

“Eung!” the kids nodded, and forgot about missing Gary.

Glad that her tactic succeeded, she got up to clear the dishes. Not long later, the children came into the kitchen to wash their own dishes.

“Oppa,” Ji-ohn asked as she washed her own plate beside Jiyoung.

“Eo?”

“Can all heroes fly?” she asked. 

He shrugged. “I don’t know…”

“How do heroes look like then?” she asked another question.

“Uhh… they have arms… and legs.”

“And?”

“And hair…. They have short hair.”

“And?”

“And… and they wear caps.”

“Caps?”

“Eo, like appa.”

“Eung!”

“Then is appa a hero?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Eo, he is our hero. Because he protects us.”

“Eomma-do? She protects us too.”

Jiyoung pondered for a while. “Eo, eomma is our hero too, but appa protects eomma, so appa is the bigger hero.”

Jihyo listened to their little conversation from the dining area and felt her eyes getting warm with tears. As young as the kids were, they knew more that she thought they knew. It was so adorably sweet that they acknowledged their parents as heroes and it moved her to tears.

Walking over to the two children, she bent down to hug them. Noticing her tears, Jiyoung reached out to wipe them away. “Why, eomma?”

“I’m just very grateful for you two,” she said, tightening her arms around their tiny bodies. In return, they tightened their arms around her neck. After a while, she pulled away and brought them out to the hall, while she finished up the cleaning.

As night fell, she bathed them and read them bedtime stories.

Before long, the two kids fell asleep. She kissed them on their cheeks before she left their room. She sighed as she left, because now it was just her alone again. She did some housework, and prepared for bed soon after.

Right after she got up her bed, she heard the main door open. Unsure if she misheard, she went out to check. Gary was home.

She smiled and she walked over to him, throwing her arms around his necks. He wrapped his arms around her body, putting his head close to hers, breathing in her scent.

“Thought you’d be home late,” she mumbled into his neck.

Gary only smiled and pulled away.

“Come,” he said softly, ushering her outside the door.

She followed, wanting to ask him why, but guessed that he planned something and he wouldn’t tell.

When she was outside, she was shocked.

There was a heart made out of candles, like their very first date. He guided her to the middle.

“Oppa…”

“Happy 4^th anniversary, yeobo,” he whispered, as he gave her a ring, with their initials engraved on it.

“I thought you were very busy?”

He smiled. “A man should never be too busy to forget his own wedding anniversary,” he said, leaning in to kiss her.

She kissed him back for a few seconds before breaking apart.

“I missed you so much, oppa,” she said, hugging him tighly.

“I know. I missed you too,” he sighed, making their nose touch. “After all this is over, let’s take a break. Let’s go on a short trip, shall we?”

“The kids will love it,” she smiled, getting excited at the idea.

He nodded. “Let’s discuss it when it’s all over… now go and sleep, I’ll pack up.”

“Don’t be silly, we’ll pack up together,” Jihyo said.

They bickered playfully for a while about who’s going to pack up, and eventually agreed on packing up together.

And hand in hand they went, blowing out candles and keeping them into a box, enjoying the little time Gary could spare. 

Fun quote to share:

Not all heroes wear capes. Mine wear nametags.