My favourite Rilakkuma

Three weeks later...

After she finally opened her eyes, Chaerin got the surgery she should get years ago and started her treatment. It was quite risky, and the doctors were afraid that she might die because her body was still weak but in the end, she survived and reacted well to the treatment, recovering bit by bit. 
They even discovered that she began to regain her consciousness months ago but the process was so slow and hard, she wasn't able to woke up totally before, but just to hear voices around her. 

Jiyong visited her everyday during these three weeks.. He was scared though, because her life was in danger.. He was afraid that this time he might lose her for real and everything could end there this is why he decided to not tell their daughter yet that her mother woke up. Chaerin, as much as she wanted to see her baby, she believed that it's better this way, to wait until she recover well so she won't suffer seeing her mother like this.. Or even worse, it would have been a shock for her, if she hadn't survived the surgery. 

Jiyong told Chaerin everything about how he was rejecting Yoni before.. He knew that it was his fault and of course, his wife was mad at him. It hurted her to know that they had a hard time and she couldn't do anything to change it. 
Jiyong promised her that they will live like a happy family from now on.

'Wait until I get out from here, you'll have to make up for the both of us.' she told him.

But he agreed with her. Moreover, it will be a pleasure to take care of them this time and make sure that anything bad will happen to them.
Now, the doctors told Chaerin that she can continue the treatment at home since everything is going well but of course, she has to visit the clinic regularly.

Okay, finally..

It's 9 PM, a night of September. They are in Jiyong's car, in their way to home. Chaerin can't be more nervous, this is going to be the first time she meet her daughter, if we don't count the moment when she gave birth to her. 

'Oppa, does she know that I'm going home today?' she asks him, trying to calm herself down.. Jiyong takes her hand, caressing it softly. 

'No, I haven't told her that you're awake yet.' 

'Does she know that I'm her mother?' 

Jiyong chuckles, Yoni asked him the same thing when they last visited Chaerin on the clinic, weeks ago. How can they be so alike? 

'I don't think so.. She will probably think that you're the new nanny.' 

'Yah!!!' 

Chaerin hits his arm and he can't stop smiling.. He was missing her so much and having her by his side again it's priceless. When he saw her with her eyes opened and looking at him, with the same intensity, he felt like he can live again, like his heart is complete again. When they arrived home they exit the car and walks towards the door.. Chaerin walks behind her husband, with slow steps. She's wearing her jeans, adidas shoes and a large blouse. Her long blonde hair is messy. She doesn't wear any make up.

Jiyong was about to open the door when Chaerin pulls his arm, stopping him.

'I'm serious now, oppa.. What if she doesn't recognizes me? She hasn't met me before..'

'Relax babe.. You're worrying nothing.' Jiyong cups her face with his hands and looks at her lovingly.

'But.. Will you introduce me to her? I don't know what to tell her. I would be like, 'Hey, I'm your mommy, I'm back now and I missed you so much, and I hope you'll get used to me soon. I love rilakkuma and strawberry, and...'

'I'm not sure if she will want to share her rilakkuma but she missed you too.' 

'Oppa...' Feeling the agony, Chaerin hugs her husband, resting her head on his chest. 

She never thought that this will be so hard for her. The most important, she doesn't know how Yoni will react when they are going to meet.  

'Chae, seriously.. I don't think if I should even try to introduce you to her because she knows very well how her mother looks like. She has a lot of photos of you.' 

'I don't know how she will react.. I'm afraid.. My baby must be so confused right now.' 

'Don't think too much. Let's just do it and we'll see then what happens.'

Chaerin stays silent, Jiyong feels how her hand is shaking.

'Hey look at me.. Yoni will be excited to see you. She has been waiting for you since always.'

Jiyong slowly opens the door and Chaerin links her arm with his, waiting for whatever is going to happen. When she enters, she starts to take a view of the house. It doesn't change too much since she was last here, years ago. Even the decorations that she bought are still there.. They were almost in the living room when Bom came from nowhere and carefully, without making any noise she approaches them and places her finger on her lips, telling to keep silent.

Bom hugs Chaerin tightly, still silent. Jiyong called Top and Bom to stay with Yoni while he's going for Chaerin and of course, he told them what is he doing. 

'I'm so happy to see you here again, Rinnie!' Bom whispers on her ear, and Chaerin hugs her back. 

'Thank you Bommie, I'm happy to see you too.' 

'I have many things to share with you but not now..' Still, Bom doesn't raise her voice. 

'Where's my daughter?' Jiyong asks and Bom takes their hands, making Chaerin to go behind the curtain, near the big window of the room. Bom hide behind the another curtain and whispers. 

'Noona, what the ?' Jiyong says, confused by this act. He knows that Bom is the female alien but never figurated something like this.

'Shhh! We're playing hide or seek! So shut up now and go to hide somewhere.' Bom tells him before hide again. 

But for Jiyong it was too late, he hadn't had time to hide because his daughter appeared in the living room.

'Daddy, you're back!' Yoni runs to him,and he takes her in his arms, lifting her up. 

'Where are auntie and uncle, baby?' he decides to play dumb, like he doesn't know anything. 

'We're playing now.. I'm looking for uncle Tabi but I can't find him..' 

'Daddy will find him for you..  You go and find auntie Bommie.' Jiyong puts her down, and smiles over his idea. Maybe it was fate.. Before going, he looks at his wife who was hidding behind the curtain and watching at them, nervously. He winks at her, not wanting to ruin the game. 

'Fine daddy.. If you do, tell him that he's really good at this game.' Jiyong nods and kisses her cheek then leaves the living room. He can't stop smiling, trying to figurate out how would it be when Yoni will find Chaerin. But for now, he can't do anything more but try to find Top. 

Yoni quickly runs over the kitchen, hoping that her auntie will be there. Bom watches her disappearing and then goes out from the curtain, silently.

'Don't be noisy, we were playing for almost an hour.' 

'Be carefull!' Chae warns Bom who was walking backwards and hits the door with her back, making a noise. 

'Auntie!' Yoni shouts from the kitchen.

'Chae, come here..' she whispers but again, they don't have time, so Bom exits the room and runs to the bathroom,.

Chaerin hears Yoni's steps and runs behind the curtain again. She's actually more nervous. Mentally Chaerin is making a speech and hopes that everything is going to be fine. She has a lot of things to tell but only few words to explain it all. Two phrases, eight words each one and strong meaning.
She felt her heart stop beating when someone hugs her legs, over the curtain and then removes it quickly.

'I've got you now, auntie!' Yoni removes the curtain, ready to see Bom but..

Chaerin is still on her position, staring at the little girl in front of her. Okay, the moment has come, let's confront it.

'You're not auntie..' Yoni says, looking at the blonde woman. Any reaction.. Chaerin exhales the air deeply and kneels down to look better at her. Can be that... her daughter doesn't know who is she? This is what she fears the most.

'Yes, I'm not auntie.. I know, you must be so confused right now. I don't know how to explain it, but in the future you'll understand better. It's so hard and complicated, but..'

Chaerin stops for a moment, trying to find her words. What she doesn't know is that Jiyong is looking at them from the door. 

'It wasn't my choice to be away from you.. But, finally, I can be here with you now.'  Seeing that Yoni doesn't say anything make her be even more nervous.. and afraid that her daughter won't see her as a mother.. 

'I think I have to introduce myself to you, which is really weird, but still, you need to know that I'm your..' 

'Mommy, when did you wake up?' Yoni cuts her phrase and Chaerin's eyes widen.. 

'You... you know?' 

'When I visited you, you were sleeping. Are you okay now? Does it still hurt?' the girl comes closer to her mother, and touches her cheek with her little hand. Chaerin feels the emotions right now.. 

'No baby, it doesn't hurt anymore.' Chaerin hugs her tightly.  

'Did daddy tell you that you're my mommy? I thought that you doesn't know..' 

'Of course I know, how can I forget about my baby?' 

'I missed you, mommy.' Chaerin kisses her daughter's head, still keeping her in her embrace. 

'I miss you too. Mommy loves you so so much!'

'I love mommy too..Don't you fall asleep again.' she innocently says making her mother chuckling. Chaerin hadn't realized that she has been crying the all time in front of Yoni

'You're so pretty, sweetheart. You look a bit like your daddy.'

'And what's the problem here? Daddy is handsome!' Jiyong protests from the door, making the two girls to turns around to see him. They haven't noticed him until now.

'Oppa, what are you doing here?' Chaerin asks, and he walks towards them, kneeling down as well.

'I was just.. caught in your moment. I was wishing to see my girls together like this.' He smiles at his wife, putting an arm around her.

'Me too, oppa. Now we have to make things get better, to recover all the time we lost.'

'Don't worry about this, we will.'

Jiyong was about to kiss her when his daughter voice made him stop.

'Daddy where's uncle Tabi?'

'Damn, I totally forgot about him!' he exclaims and Chaerin laughs at him. It feels to good to be here and she's glad that God gave them another opportunity to be together as a family.

'Let's help daddy to find him, baby.' Chaerin takes her daughter hand and follows Jiyong who is just walking lazily around the house trying to figure out where is that alien. On the way, Chaerin knocks at the bathroom's door where Bom was.

'Get out Bommie, you just lose!'

Bom opens the door and looks at them, then holds Yoni's another hand and walks together, talking about many things. She's also excited to have her friend back and can share things with her like before. When Chaerin fell into that comatose years ago, Bom felt so lonely... It was just not the same without her.. Before, she used to call Chaerin on night when something happened but after what happened, she would dial the number and listen to the voice box over and over again.

'Mommy, let's go to my room, I want to show you something!' Yoni leads the two women to her room, and Jiyong follows them. When she opens the door, they see Top sleeping peacefully on the bed.

'Yah, hyung! Get up, it's dinner time !' Jiyong tells him, touching his arm. 

'Five minutes more baby, I'm almost winning!' Top murmures at him, making them all laugh. 

Chaerin decides to make dinner this time, even though Jiyong didn't let her to tire herself too much. But she really wants it and in the end, he couldn't say anything. Bom goes with her to the kitchen, helping her. Nothing could be more perfect than that, spening time like this, enjoying the moments.. 
Their life can be finally back.  

*****

It's been two weeks since that day.. Another two weeks counted. Jiyong had been missing for a week because he had to leave with Youngbae and Seungri to New York because of a deal they had with some american producers. It was hard for him to leave at first..He was worried about Chae, what if she needs something or start to feel bad. What if she get dizzy and falls.. And what will happen with their daughter.. A lot of worries which only got a single answer form Chaerin. I'll be fine, oppa. she told him before leaving.

But he can't help to feel like this. Now that she's back he promised that he'll take good care of them, no matter what. However, he had to leave.
The time was passing by slow for him but it passed.. and now it's time to return home.

'Mommy, do you want Rilakkuma back? It missed you as well.' Yoni walks to the couch, when her mother was sitting. After her mother bathed her, she put on her rilakkuma pajamas and then when she saw the bear, she started to think that maybe her mother also wants to have it, since it used to be hers before.Then, Yoni took the bear and went with it to the living room.

'It's all yours from now on. I think he likes you more than me.' Chaerin smiles at her little daughter and puts her phone down on the table.

'We can share it.'

'No need to.. And beside, I have my favourite rilakkuma right here.' after this, Chaerin sits her daughter in her lap and hugs her tightly. She always does since she practically came back to her life.. But it's not her old life, that was the beginning to another one..
Without thinking more, Chaerin lays her down and nuzzles her neck, making the little girl laugh who decides to shower her mother's face with kisses.

'How about some strawberry pudding?' Chaerin asks, putting the girl down and taking her hand, walking to the kitchen together.

'Can I help mommy?'

'Sure, mommy will need help.'

They were still preparing the meal when Chaerin felt her phone ringing on the table. Smiling she picks it up, knowing exactly what is she going to hear from the other line. But she made a plan, she's going to be faster this time.

'I miss you and I want you to be home now!' Chaerin says quickly.

'Damn you Kwon Chaerin!'

Jiyong reply, but he can't hold his smile back. Since he went, he calls her everyday, sometimes even twice, starting the conversation with 'I miss you and I want to be home now!' 

'How are you oppa?' 

'I'm at the airport with Bae now, going to pick up the second flight. How are you feeling? Do you have any trouble there?' 

They had a problem with the second  one and had to pick another from Japan. Chaerin listens to her husband's last words and sighs.. 

'You're worrying me too much.'

'How can I not? Just answer me.' this time, she can tell that he's serious observing his voice. 

'I'm fine, and everything is going well.. See, we don't really need you here.' 

'So, practically, you're telling me that now you're feeling good enough and don't need me anymore? Very nice, you know, I want to talk to Yoni, she is sweeter than you.'

Chaerin laughs knowing that he was pouting right now, even thought she doesn't see his face, she knows him very well. Looking around her, she sees her daughter standing next to her, watching every move waiting her turn to talk. This is something that, at first, surprised Chaerin since she was expecting her to be more meddlesome and noisy like the other children at her age but she's different. She could wait paciently for her turn without protest, she's behaving so well and she's so quiet that it made her worried at first. Mrs. Kwon told her that Yoni always has been like this. 

'I miss daddy!' she sweetly says, warming Jiyong with her voice. He loves when she talks like this to him. 

'Daddy misses you too, my baby. Can't wait to see you!' 

'When are you coming back?' 

'Hopefully, we arrives tonight. Yoni-yah, I trust you to take care of mommy and telling me if something bad happens to her.'

'I take care of mommy. I help her to cook everyday and then, before sleeping, I tell her stories.' 

Chaerin lets out a chuckle while she's cutting the strawberries. This is what's happens everynight, she goes to Yoni's room wanting to tell her some stories but in the end, Yoni is the one who finish because she seems to know them all... So, now she's trying to invent them but again, her daughter has another idea and changes it. 

'This is good, baby. Daddy bought you a lot of rilakkuma stuff. Your bear is going to have more friends now .' 

'Thank you daddy. I'll make them to be like a family. Mommy says that she loves the idea too.' 

'Mommy has been rude to me before.'

'Mommy, don't be rude to daddy!' she tells her mother while Chaerin kneels down and speaks to the phone, making sure than he's hearing her.

'Yah, how dare you to make my daughter go against me? Wait until you're back Kwon, you'll see..' 

'Oh, of course, I'll see..' he smirks and then checks the hour. 'Alright I have to go now.. See you soon.' 

'Bye daddy!' they both say and ends up the call.

Jiyong smiles and puts the phone back in his jacket. Youngbae, who is sitting next to him, reading a magazine, shakes his head. He can't believe how the situation changed this much the last month.. Before, he was totally whatever when it comes to his daughter and now, Jiyong himself can talk to sweetly to her.. 

'Bae, you're scaring me.' Jiyong sees how his friend is looking at him whole the time.

'You know, I was thinking.. How could you change your attitude this much? I mean, it's good to know that everything is going perfect, but I can't believe that you're the same Jiyong as some months ago..'

'Things change.. Truthfully, a few months ago I couldn't see me like this either. But I was blind, I couldn't see what I have in front of me.'

'You did the right thing..'

In his heart, he feels the happiness of knowing that the darkness is now in the past...

'Thanks God, you're still awake!' Dara says when Chaerin opens the door and lets her enters the house. She wonders what is Dara doing at her home at almost 1 am. After having a light dinner, Chaerin took Yoni to sleep with her in her bedroom and sings her songs until she falls asleep. But she was dealing with a little headache and it wasn't so easy for her to close her eyes.

'What happens? Are you okay?' Chaerin is worrying her right now. Dara is wearing only her leggings and a white long blouse. Her eyes are red and tired.

'Did Jiyong call you?' Dara walks to the living room and sits on the couch, nervously.. something is wrong.

'Yes, we talk like some hours ago.. Why?'

'The flight.. I couldn't sleep and I watched TV for a time then I saw it.. A flight from Japan.. The plane crushed. And.. Oh, Rinnie!' her tears are crossing her cheeks once more time.

Dara can't find her words but Chaerin got what she means...

'I'm scared.. What if our husbands took that flight? Bae doesn't pic