Chapter XIV: For the Kids

Jiyong's POV: Saturday, October 11

Jiyong entered Hayi's room at promptly 10:00 am. Today was his little girls’ 5th birthday and he had to wake her up if she wanted to get ready on time. He knelt beside her bed and watched her sleeping figure for a bit. As usual she was curled up in the corner while suffocating her stuffed pig Tonton.

"Hayi." He whispered as he gently shook her awake. She just shifted away from him and curled up even more with her stuffed animal.

"Hayi…today's your birthday." He said. She immediately bolted out of her slumber.

"Yay!" she shouted. "Appa, today's my birthday!" Jiyong smiled and lifted her out of bed.

"Yeah, now go and get cleaned up. Everyone will be here soon." He said as he took her to the bathroom. He put her down and let her brush her teeth and wash her face. He went downstairs and left Hayi to get ready.

Jiyong was already dressed in black pants and a dark green sweater. The party was being held in the back yard. Seungri and Chaerin had come over last night to set up the decorations and such. The weather was holding up so it shouldn't be too cold.

The doorbell rang and he went to answer it. He opened the door to reveal his parents.

"Hello Jiyong." His mother, Minyoung greeted as she stepped inside. His father, Sooman, followed her inside and placed his hand on Jiyong's shoulder.

"Where is Hayi?" He asked.

"Getting ready," said Jiyong as he and his parents went into the kitchen.

"I can't believe my only grandchild is turning five years old today." Minyoung said as she sat down on the stool by the counter. She was a beautiful woman with short black hair and dark brown eyes like Jiyong. She was wearing a nice red dress with a black sweater.

"Has Jaejoong arrived?" Sooman asked. He was a strong looking man whose hairstyle was clearly adopted by Jiyong.

"He said he'd be here." He answered. Minyoung went upstairs to help Hayi get ready for the party. It was part of her grandmotherly duties after all.

"How are the preparations for the conference going?" His father asked when she left.

"Everything is set. We leave for Busan one week before Christmas." He and Sooman continued to talk about business and such. It was all they ever really talked about anyway.

Lee Household:

Seungri cursed as he failed to think of a way to transfer his "gift" to Jiyong's house. He was currently outside in the garage where he had been working on Hayi's gift for the past three months. Chaerin came outside with some coffee.

"We need to get going soon," she said as she handed him the cup. "I need to get there early and finish decorating the cake."

"Yeah I know, but what are we going to do about that?" He asked, pointing to the gift. Chaerin sighed and looked at her watch. They had about two hours to get ready and go, and knowing Seungri, it would take that long.

"Maybe you can call Youngbae." She suggested as she hugged Seungri from behind. "I'm sure he can come over and help you get that to Jiyong's house." Seungri turned around and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, but he'll be a smart about it," he said sighing. "But I guess I have no other choice." He said as he pulled out his cell phone.

Dong Household:

"Youngbae," said IU as she stood in front of the mirror.

"Yes?" He asked as he stepped into their room. He found IU in front of the mirror, wearing nice black pants with a pink silk top. It was form fitting, so the new baby bump was clearly visible.

"Do these pants make me look fat?" She asked as she examined her backside in the mirror.

"…" was Youngbae's response. The parenting magazine didn't say anything about what to tell your wife when she asked those kinds of questions. IU was looking at him expectantly but he gave no response.

"Well?" She pressed as she faced him. Youngbae was going to respond, but the ringing of his cell phone stopped him.

"Hello?" He said, silently glad for the interruption. He listened as Seungri complained about his gift to Hayi.

"All right, I'll be there. You should have thought about this before Seungri." He said as he hung up the phone.

"What's up?" asked IU forgetting about her wardrobe for a second.

"Seungri needs us to help him transport Hayi's gift to the party." He answered as he grabbed his coat from the closet.

"What did he build her?" She asked curiously. Youngbae just shrugged and helped IU get into her own coat.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's unstable. Let's go." He said as he led IU to the car.

Dara's House:

"Hanbin are you almost done?" asked Dara from downstairs. Hanbin was still upstairs trying to get ready for Hayi's party, while she was already good to go. Dara decided on wearing a simple white dress with a black flowery pattern printed all over it and a dark red half jacket over it.

"Omma, I don't want to wear this." Hanbin whined as he came down the stairs. Dara turned around and smiled at him. He was wearing a little black suit with a blue tie, which he was tugging on constantly. He looked like a little businessman and it was just too cute for Dara to handle.

"Ohhhhh Hanbin you look so handsome," she cooed as she kissed his cheek. "But you have to dress nice for Hayi's party. Everyone else is going to dress nicely too. Now let's go." She said as she grabbed the gift they bought her and headed out the door.

Dara was a little nervous about seeing Jiyong again. After their "almost" kiss, she didn't know where his feelings about her stood, and it was bugging her. She figured she might as well get to the bottom of that as soon as possible, and what better time than the present?

Jiyong's House:

Jiyong and Sooman were in the back yard getting all the last minute stuff done. Sooman turned around when he heard Hayi shouting.

"Harabeoji!" shouted Hayi as she ran up to him. She was wearing a little white and red dress that went all the way down to her ankles. There was a pink ribbon in her hair that held it up. She was also wearing the chain that Dara had given her at the recital.

Sooman smiled a real smile and picked up his only grandchild.

"Hello princess," he said as she hugged him. "Happy birthday. You look really pretty." He said as she giggled.

"Halmeoni said so too," she said. She turned to Jiyong and smiled. “Appa! When is everybody coming?"

"Soon." He said. Not a minute later, the first of the guests had arrived.

"Hayi!" shouted Seohyun as she ran to them. Taehyun was close by followed by both Seunghyun and Bom, who was carrying the gift. Hayi was placed back down and she and Seohyun went off to play.

"Jiyong," said Seunghyun as he and Bom approached. He turned to Sooman and nodded his head in greeting.

"So Jiyong," said Bom, "Where should I put the gifts?"

Jiyong pointed over to a table in the corner and Bom left in that direction.

"Has Seungri called you?" Jiyong asked Seunghyun.

"No, why?"

"He said he would be having trouble getting his "homemade" gift here. I don't want any accidents." He replied.

They heard the sound of a car horn honking from out in the front and both Jiyong and Seunghyun went out to investigate. When they got there, they saw Seungri, standing besides Youngbae's SUV with IU in the front seat.

"Hey Jiyong, Seunghyun," said Seungri as he waved at them. They were both too preoccupied with what was hanging by a thread on top of Youngbae's car. There was some sort of huge box like structure covered in a pink sheet that Seungri was trying to keep in balance.

"What the hell is that?" Jiyong asked as he and Seunghyun approached with caution.

"Seungri, hurry up and get it down," shouted IU from the inside the car. Youngbae had parked and gotten out of the car to help get the contraption down.

"A little help would be nice," said Youngbae as held onto one side. Jiyong, Seunghyun, and Seungri each covered a side of the gift. IU got out of the car and became the voice of motivation as the guys struggled to get the gift off the top of the car and into the back yard.

"Come on guys, almost there," said IU as she led them into the backyard. The guys were breathing pretty hard with sore hands as they finally settled the device on the ground towards the back of the yard.

"I didn't think it would be that heavy," said Seungri as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"You didn't think is more like it." Jiyong mumbled as they moved away from the gift. They heard the sound of a dog barking followed by the sound of kids laughing.

"Hey guys. Long time no see." Daesung said as he approached the guys.

"Hey Daesung," said Seungri. "Glad you could make it. Where's Seunghoon?"

"Over there with Doraemon." He said as he pointed to his son and his large black dog. The kids seemed to be enjoying the enormous dog, especially Hayi.

Over the course of twenty minutes, the party really started to get going. More guests had arrived and Chaerin was in the kitchen with IU and Bom, trying to finish up the cake.

"Almost done," said Chaerin as she piped the last of the flowers onto the large pink cake.

"Wow Chaerin, you should have become a pastry chef. That cake looks amazing." Bom complimented as she admired the cake.

"Seriously," said IU. "But then again, you were always a good chef in general. Heck, you can come and live with Youngbae and me. We could use a good chef around," she said as she leaned back in her chair and placed her hands around her belly. "This little one needs some good food for now."

"Exactly how far along are you IU?" Bom asked as she eyed IU's belly.

"Almost four months." She answered, although she looked a little more than that. Bom looked to be in deep thought.

"Only four?" asked Bom. "You look farther along than that. I would say at least six months. I was pretty big when I was pregnant too, but then later I found out we were having twins so it all made sense."

IU suddenly became nervous. Was Bom actually figuring it out? NO! She couldn't. Bom had the biggest mouth in the universe. She would surely blab to the whole world including Youngbae.

"You're not having twins, are you IU?" Bom asked jokingly. Chaerin stopped piping and looked over at them. IU froze, but soon relaxed as she figured she might as well tell a half-truth.

"No guys. I am NOT having twins," she answered as she leaned back into her seat. "I can't wait until Hayi cuts that cake." She said making them laugh.

Chaerin stopped laughing and looked at the cake. "I was hoping you and Youngbae would have twins," she confessed. "I was looking forward to as many new babies in the family as soon as possible."

"Well Chaerin," said Bom. "I guess you and Seungri will just have to get busy making your own kids." Chaerin blushed a deep red and actually began to fidget with her hands.

"Have Kids? Oh no, Seungri and I have only been married a few months. It would be way too soon." She said looking away. Secretly, she really wanted to start having kids as soon as possible. But she knew that it would be better to wait. Seungri had to be ready too.

"Yeah well I guess you've already got one big kid to look after anyway." IU said as she looked out the window from the kitchen.

Chaerin turned to look to and saw Seungri trying his hardest to move the gift in place after the guys had abandoned him. The kids were having a blast watching him on the sidelines and cheering him on.

The doorbell rang and IU left to go and open it. She opened the door to reveal Dara and Hanbin standing outside.

"Hey Jieunnie," said Dara as she gave her a hug.

"Hey Dara. Hi Hanbin!" said IU as she bent down to hug her adorable god-son. She had some difficulty since her belly was in the way.

"Hi Jieun-imo." Hanbin said as she ruffled his hair and made a fuss about how adorable he looked in the suit.

"Everyone is in the back yard Hanbin." IU said when she released him. Hanbin ran past her in escape. Dara and IU closed the door and went into the kitchen.

"Hello guys," said Dara as she walked into the kitchen. "Chaerin…that is the most gorgeous cake I've ever seen." She said as she took a seat by Bom.

"Thank you," said Chaerin. "I saw it in a gourmet magazine. Since Hayi is little pink princess, it was only fitting."

"True," said Dara. "Um, where's the birthday girl?"

"Outside…with her father." Bom said slyly. She didn't forget to bug Dara about showing up with Jiyong at her house a couple days ago.

"Uhhh…o…okay," said Dara as she walked towards the back yard.

‘Blast, she didn't forget!’ She thought as she stepped outside. She was amazed at the size of Jiyong's backyard. Then again, she was amazed at his house all together. She even thought she had the wrong address when she drove up to the huge house.

She spotted the table that contained all the gifts and placed hers on the top of the pile. She turned around and observed the party. There were around twenty or so guests having a good time chatting and watching their kids play. Dara scanned the area where the kids were playing and spotted Hayi in a cute little dress playing with her friends.

"Fancy meeting you here," came a voice from behind her. She turned around and was met with a familiar face.

"Oh, hi …Daesung was it?" she asked as she eyed the man. He just grinned at her and flashed his smile.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you remember me, Dr. Park."

"Dara," she said. "We're not in the hospital. Are you a friend of Jiyong's?" She asked smiling.

"You could say that," he replied as he took a sip of his drink. "But my son over there is friends with the birthday girl." He said indicating the group of children playing with the big white dog.

"Oh, well I'm glad to see that Seunghoon is doing just fine." She said as she eyed the dog. She didn't forget that Seunghoon's case was about a parasite and was curious about that dog.

"Don't worry," Daesung said knowingly, "Doraemon over there is clean. There aren't any bugs on him."

"Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly as she blushed. "My son just got over a bad fever and I'm a little cautious right now. Will you excuse me Daesung?" She asked looking up at him. Everyone was so much taller than her.

"Sure." He watched her leave towards the kids. He wasn't the only one watching her, as he didn't fail to notice a pair of dark brown eyes that had been observing him and Dara for a while.

Dara strolled over the kids.

"Hayi." She called out. Hayi turned around and smiled as she saw Hanbin's omma coming towards her.

"Happy birthday sweetie." Dara said as she bent down and gave Hayi a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Dara-imo," she said giggling. "Look." She said as she brought the necklace into view.

"Oh you're wearing the necklace. Guess what though."

"What?"

Dara pulled out her necklace that her own father gave to her and showed it to Hayi.

"You and me are matching." She said indicating their attire. They were both wearing white and red.

"Oh yeah! Cool!" giggled Hayi, as she spun around. Dara laughed at her cute antics.

"Chaerin-imo is done decorating your cake. You think we should cut it soon?" Dara asked. She smiled as Hayi bounced up and down and shouting "Yes," again and again.

"Okay, but first," said Dara as she pulled a camera from her purse. "It's time for pictures."

 Jiyong's POV:

Jiyong was talking to a few of the guests that had arrived. As they talked, he noticed that Hanbin had just coming running out of the house and into the back yard. Jiyong thought he looked like a little businessman dressed in that suit. But if he was here, then that meant that Dara was also here.

He hadn't spoken to her after the "date" seeing as how she had to take care of Hanbin. He didn't know how to approach her after all that. What he was really curious about was whether or not she would mention their "close encounter" the other night.

After a few more minutes, he saw Dara walk out. She headed over to the gift table and placed her gift on top. Jiyong smirked at the dress she was wearing. She almost matched Hayi's outfit except for the fact that Dara's dress stopped right at the knee, revealing her slender legs. Jiyong had to keep his eyes up north. Something about her legs just got him so…distracted.

What he saw next was something else. Daesung walked up to her from behind. She looked surprised to see him but it looked like he knew her. He watched them converse briefly and for some reason, Jiyong found that even though Daesung was considered his friend, he didn't quite like him talking to Dara.

Not that he had anything to think about. Daesung was married. But still, Jiyong just didn't like seeing Dara talk with him like that. But he couldn't complain. It's not like Dara belonged to him so to speak. They went out on one "date" if you could even call it that. He had no claims on her.

That's what he kept telling himself as he watched her excuse herself, with a microscopic blush on her face, and walk towards the kids. It didn't make him feel any better when he saw that Daesung was still watching her as she walked away from him. Wasn't that fool married? Jiyong glared in Daesung's direction before looking back at Dara.

He watched as Dara came up to Hayi, who seemed excited to see her. He gave a small smile as he saw Dara bend down to give Hayi a big hug and kiss and talk about some stuff that he couldn't hear from this distance. He decided to walk over there when he saw Dara pull out a camera.

Normal POV:

"Okay, Hayi, Hanbin, Seohyun, Taehyun and Seunghoon stand next to each other." Dara ordered as she called out to the five kids. Hanbin and Seohyun reluctantly came, as they were disappointed to be away from Seunghoon's dog. Taehyun just looked bored.

The five of them looked so cute standing next to each other like that. They were just short replicas of one of their parents.

"Okay…. smile!" said Dara as she snapped the picture. "Perfect," she said as the kids tried to scatter. "Wait a minute, Hanbin and Hayi. I want one of you guys next to each other." She said. Hanbin pouted and came back.

"Omma, can I take this off?" asked Hanbin as he tugged on his blue tie.

"But you look so handsome with your tie on." She said over a flat out denial, Hanbin continued to pout. Dara smiled on the inside. Hanbin was just not the suit and tie type of kid.

‘Just like his father.’ She thought. "Okay, you can take it off after we cut the cake…alright?"

"I like your tie Oppa," whispered Hayi so that Dara couldn't hear her. "My appa wears it all the time." She added.

Hanbin stopped fidgeting, but scowled nonetheless.

"Okay come on, picture time," said Dara as she positioned the camera. Hanbin and Hayi stood next to each other.

"Smile." She said as she took the picture. Hayi looked behind Dara and smiled.

"Appa!" She shouted as she ran up to him. Dara turned around and stood up from her crouched position. Jiyong was standing a few feet away from her with a bouncing Hayi at his side. She hadn't seen much of him since their non-date or whatever it was. Not to mention that kiss they almost had was still floating in her mind.

"Appa, me and Dara-imo are matching!" said Hayi as she held onto Jiyong's hand.

"And we have the same necklace."

"That's interesting baby." He said as he smiled down at his daughter. He turned his attention to Dara, who looked like she had an idea in her head.

"Hi Jiyong. Hey, hold Hayi. I want to get a picture of you two." She said while holding up her camera. She eyed Jiyong up and down and thought he looked rather nice wearing green. He and Hayi looked like Christmas time.

"I'm not one for pictures."

"Oh come on. Capture the moment. Hayi only turns five once."

"Yeah appa, let's take a picture!" said Hayi as she held her arms out for Jiyong. He sighed and picked her up and held her close to him.

"Smile." Dara ordered as she held the camera up in front of her. Hayi flashed a big toothy smile as Jiyong remained stoic. Dara sighed and placed the camera down.

"Jiyong, can you move the ends of your mouth in an upward motion?" she asked. She laughed when he did the opposite and frowned.

"Just take the picture Dara." He said exasperatedly.

"Hayi, can you make your appa smile?" asked Dara. Hayi nodded her head and placed her small hands on Jiyong's face. She tried to force the ends of his mouth upward, making Jiyong look ridiculous…but still ridiculously handsome. Hayi giggled at her father and Dara had to resist the laugh in .

She began to take as many pictures as she could of the two of them like that. Each frame had Jiyong slowly move Hayi's hands away, but eventually, he placed a small, but real smile onto his face towards the end.

"Ah ha!" said Dara as she looked at the pictures in the digital camera.

"I caught Jiyong smiling." She said. Jiyong placed Hayi down and Hanbin walked up to them. He stood near Dara and sort of hid behind her a little.

"Hanbin," said Dara as she looked down at him.

"Do you want to say hi to Jiyong?" She asked pulling him in front of her. This was the opportunity for him to start being polite. Jiyong looked down at the kid and saw his hesitation. He also saw that Hanbin didn't want to keep his blue tie on seeing as how it was partially pulled out of place.

"Hi Mr. Kwon." Hanbin said quietly.

"Just call me Jiyong." Hanbin nodded.

"Okay." He looked up at Dara with pleading eyes. "Omma, I don't want to wear this." He whined as he continued to tug at the tie.

"I already said you could take it off after we cut the cake," she reminded. "Just hold on a little longer."

Jiyong smirked at the kid. He remembered when his mother made him wear those ridiculous suits as