Chapter IX: Memories of Nobody

Jiyong's POV:

It was nearing 7:00 am. Jiyong was up and about as usual. He was standing outside his balcony sipping coffee and enjoying the quiet morning. He often wondered why he couldn't just stay in bed and sleep in like a regular person. As soon as it neared 5:30 am, his body would just automatically awaken and refuse to let him go back to sleep. Not that he minded it. There was no point in staying asleep when you could be more productive awake.

He inhaled the fresh morning air and exhaled slowly. Today was Hayi's recital and for once, it seemed like he would be able to go. The miracle of finishing his paper work yesterday helped lighten the weekend load.

He finished his coffee and placed the mug on the side of the railing. He began to stretch in an effort to feel more relaxed. Ever since his little bet with Dara, he had taken more steps to try to calm down. He would prove to both Dara and Seungri that he was perfectly fine. He knew they meant well, but their pestering was getting annoying and ironically increasing his stress.

The morning breeze felt good against his bare chest. He was dressed in black sweat pants and nothing else. It was still September so the weather was still on the warm side. After stretching, he took the mug and walked back into his room before making his way downstairs.

He left the mug in the sink and settled in the living room to watch the morning news. The living room was rather large and had two black leather couches with a glass coffee table in the center. There was a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall in front of the couches and over the fireplace. He flipped the TV on and searched the channels for the morning news.

He watched for about an hour before he went to his home gym to get in a good work out. The gym was actually the downstairs lounge area that was converted into a workout room with all his exercise equipment there. Jiyong maintained his physic nicely.

He hated weakness and would in no way permit himself to be weak in any sense. That mostly pertained to his emotional side, but his body was also something that he wanted to keep strong.

He began his regular routine, which consisted of running on the treadmill, lifting weights and then doing some push-ups and sit-ups. Seungri also saw fit to give him a punching bag as a birthday gift last year. Jiyong rarely used it but nonetheless, he hung it up in the corner of the room.

Two hours later, Jiyong ceased his activities and went back upstairs to jump into the shower. He was completely covered in sweat, a sign that he did indeed get a thorough work out.

After he finished showering, he got dressed in sweat pants and T-shirt. Glancing at the clock, he figured it was about time to go and wake up Hayi. If left alone, she could sleep for a whole day. He left his room and walked down the hall.

Jiyong walked into Hayi's room and knelt beside her bed. She was currently snuggled up in the corner with her stuffed pig Tonton secure in between her arms. She had the most serene expression on her face as if she were having a really good dream.

Jiyong admired her ability to just sleep all day. Hayi had very little to worry about in life and could enjoy a peaceful nights rest without worrying about the troubles of tomorrow. She made sleeping look like such a luxury. Jiyong gently shook her awake.

She stirred for a bit and then opened one sleepy eye at him.

"Yawn…Hi appa." She said while rubbing her eyes.

"Time to get up baby." Jiyong said, smoothing out her hair. Hayi just yawned some more and got up from her bed. She then left to go to the bathroom down the hall. Just then, Jiyong heard the doorbell ring.

As he went down the stairs, he could see from the windows lining the high points of the wall that it was Jaejoong. He opened the door and stepped aside to let him in.

"Jiyong." Jaejoong greeted as he walked in. He was wearing a black leather jacket that went down to about his knees with a red button down shirt underneath. He was also wearing black jeans and shoes.

"Jaejoong." Jiyong and Jaejoong didn't really have a strained relationship per say. Jaejoong was older that Jiyong by about five years. Growing up with him in general was a little difficult with the significant .

They were good to each other or at least civil for the most part. Jaejoong was calm and reserved, but at times he could be just a little on the dry and humorous side. He was a complete turnaround when he spent time with Hayi. It was like someone flipped on the happy switch in him. Jaejoong also had a strained relationship with their father Kwon Sooman, head of the Kwon family.

For the most part, Jaejoong and Sooman disagreed greatly on a number of things. The major issue was what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Initially, Jaejoong was supposed to inherit the position as CEO of SMC. In order to do this, however, Jaejoong had to get married first.

Needless to say he refused to the terms of agreement and the position was passed down to Jiyong. Jaejoong really didn't care for marriage or the position. He ventured out into the world of Law and Criminal Justice. He became a member of a top-secret detective agency called JYJ. What exactly they did was a mystery to Jiyong. All he knew was that they were some elite members of the police force.

"Are you going to make it tonight?" Jiyong asked. He was of course referring to Hayi's recital.

"I promised her didn't I?" He replied as he walked to the kitchen. Jiyong closed the door and followed him.

"You need a woman." Jaejoong said bluntly. That took Jiyong by an annoyed surprise.

"Look who's talking," he returned. Jaejoong was never attached to any woman, at least none that Jiyong knew about. A comment like that coming from Jaejoong was just strange. He was never one to care for other people's love lives.

"I don't have a child to think about. You on the other hand…" He said as he looked around the place, "…You require a woman." Jaejoong took a really good look around the place. The house was pretty modern, with absolutely no feminine touch.

"What are you doing here Jaejoong?" Having him randomly come over to tell him something he already knew was not the best way to spend a Saturday morning.

"Can't a man stop by to see his little brother and niece for no reason at all? Is Hayi awake?" He asked.

"She just woke up. Why?" asked Jiyong.

"I have a gift for her."

Jiyong just sighed. He'll never be able to figure out Jaejoong. The only time Jiyong has seen Jaejoong break loose was when he was around Hayi. It was like Hayi brought out his…slightly nice side. Speaking of Hayi…

"Jaejoong-samchoon!" She screamed as she ran down the stairs in her princess pajamas and up to her uncle.

"Hayi," said Jaejoong as he picked her up. "I have something for you." He said as he put her down on the counter and pulled out a small box from his shirt pocket. He placed it in her hand.

Hayi unwrapped the red paper and opened the box. Her face light up with excitement as she pulled out a small silver bracelet.

"Ohhhh pretty." She said in awe.

"It's has your name on it." Jaejoong said as he pointed to the flat silver plate. Engraved on it was her name, which Jaejoong read out loud "Kwon Hayi".

She just giggled at that.

"Hayi, what do you say to your samchoon?" said Jiyong. Hayi smiled and hugged Jaejoong.

"Thank you Jaejoong-samchoon," she said, her voice muffled in his shirt.

"Anything for you," said Jaejoong. "You can wear it tonight for you recital."

"Okay," she said. She then turned to Jiyong.

"Appa, I'm hungry." She pouted. Jiyong looked at the clock. It was almost noon.

"It's time for lunch. Get ready and we'll go eat out somewhere," Hayi turned to Jaejoong.

"Can you come too Jaejoong-samchoon?" She asked innocently.

"…. Well I don't know." He said teasingly. It was enough to make her plead with him.

"Please please please please with ketchup on top please please please." She begged while lacing her fingers together. Add the puppy dog eyes and Jaejoong is down.

Jaejoong chuckled. "Alright."

Jiyong just sighed again. ‘Those eyes are a super power,’ he thought.

Dara's POV:

Dara was in the kitchen putting away the last of the dishes into the cabinets. It's been over a week since she and Hanbin have moved into the condo and almost everything had been unpacked from the boxes and stored into their proper places.

Dara stretched a bit, trying to relax her muscles from all the unpacking. It was late Saturday morning and to her delight she had no patients scheduled today. She was wearing her favorite drawstring black shorts and an oversized white t-shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun.

She left the kitchen and went into the living room where Hanbin was sitting on the couch and watching the last of his favorite Saturday morning cartoons. He was still in his pajamas as well. Dara walked up and slumped onto the couch with him. It was nearing lunchtime and frankly, after all that unpacking, she did not want to dirty up any dishes by cooking.

"What do you want for lunch? We can go out today if you want." She said as she messed with his morning hair a bit. Hanbin looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I want Seafood Pajeon (Korean Pancake)." He answered. Dara smiled. It was his favorite food, not to mention his father's favorite fast food. She shouldn't have even bothered asking.

"Okay then, let's go get ready." She said, as she got off the couch to head upstairs. Hanbin followed her and went to his room. Twenty minutes later, they were both ready and out the door.

Dara was wearing a beige jacket with a white top underneath and a black knee length skirt. She left her hair down. Hanbin was wearing a red t-shirt with his favorite hero cartoon characters on it, and a pair of black pants and sneakers.

Together they got in the car and left to go into the shopping district of Seoul. They found a pretty good Seafood Pajeon restaurant next to a fun looking place called Twosome that just happened to be down the street from the hospital.

"This looks like a good place." She said as she held the door for Hanbin. The smell was amazing. There were a bunch of tables around with a salad bar in one corner and the pizza making side on the other. It seemed like you can watch as your dish was being made.

Dara and Hanbin both walked up to the counter and looked at the menu. The man at the counter greeted them and asked what they would like. They both ordered their favorite kinds.

"Let's find a table." She said looking around.

"Can I stay here?" asked Hanbin as he stood on his tiptoes trying to watch the grilling process. He was just a little shorter that the countertop. Dara laughed and ruffled his hair a bit. She picked him up and placed him on the counter top so that he could see what was going on. They heard the door to the restaurant door open again but didn't turn around to see, until they heard a familiar voice calling out to them.

"Hanbin!"

They both turned around to find none other than Kwon Hayi walking towards them in her little blue sundress with Jiyong and another man following close behind.

"Dara." Jiyong said as he and a man that looked like him stood by each other.

"Hi Jiyong." She greeted taking a quick look at his overall appearance. It was the first time she had seen him in anything but a business suit. He was wearing a dark blue long sleeves shirt with black pants. Simple but sophisticated. She then turned her attention to the man standing next to him. He had a more…secretive appearance than Jiyong.

"Hello. I'm Kwon Jaejoong, Jiyong's older brother." He said while extending his hand to her. She took his hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you," she said cheerfully. "So you guys decided on eating out today too?" She noticed that Hayi was also trying to see above the counter but was failing miserably. Dara picked her up from behind and placed her on the counter top with Hanbin.

"There you go sweetie," she said. Hayi smiled and turned her attention to the grill.

"Today seemed appropriate to eat out. My precious niece insisted that we eat here today." Jaejoong replied as he eyed her up and down. She certainly was beautiful. His attention turned to the kids on the counter. Hayi was watching the food while another boy, presumably Dara's son, was focused on them.

Hanbin, who was once preoccupied with the pancake, was now silently watching what was going on between his omma and the Kwon brothers. He remembered seeing Jaejoong the other day at school. He immediately caught Jaejoong's attention.

‘Interesting,’ thought Jaejoong as he got a really good look at the boy. From his hair color to his general appearance, he was very reminiscent of a young Jiyong. Jaejoong's trained detective eyes noticed that he was slightly scowling in Jiyong's direction.

"So will you be able to make it to the recital tonight?" Jiyong asked.

"Yeah it's looking that way. I'm looking forward to it," she responded. The man at the grill called her over to pick up her order.

"Are you going to be staying here to eat? You can sit with us if you like." She offered politely.

"We'll join you soon," said Jaejoong. Dara took Hanbin off the counter and grabbed their orders. The two of them went to grab a booth near the windows since they would be eating with the Kwons.

Dara didn't fail to notice that Hanbin didn't seem all too happy with the invite earlier but decided that it was just a phase. Clearly there was something he didn't like about Jiyong but it was just a mystery until he told her otherwise.

Jiyong and the others came by a few minutes later. Jaejoong wanted to know more about their relationship to each other. It's not every day that Jiyong willingly agrees to sit with anyone, a woman especially. Maybe his little brother was working on finding a woman after all.

"How do you two know each other?" Jaejoong asked while cutting into his dish.

"I'm a doctor at Seoul Medical. I just started working this week." Dara answered.

Jaejoong nodded his head in understanding.

"The funny thing is though, is that we seem to be more connected through our friends than through work." She added.

"Oh? How so?" asked Jaejoong. Jiyong answered this time.

"It's more or less through Youngbae and Seunghyun's wives," he said. "IU was actually the one who referred her to us." He said as he took a sip of his water.

"I see," Jaejoong replied. "What's your specialty?" He asked as he faced Dara.

"Obstetrics and pediatrics."

"Where did you go to school?" He asked with interest.

"Seoul U and Busan Institute simultaneously."

‘No older than Jiyong yet she has a child this early in her medical career.’ Jaejoong thought.

"And your son, he attends Seoul Daycare Center with Hayi does he not?"

"Well…yes. How did you know?" She asked.

"I saw him there the other day when I dropped off my niece."

"Oh." She said. ‘Jaejoong certainly is observant,’ thought Dara.

Jaejoong proceeded to ask more random questions about where they live, where they used to live, why they moved here and such. Jiyong was getting annoyed at the questions Jaejoong was giving Dara, even though the answers intrigued him, so he decided to cut it short.

"I apologize for the questions. Jaejoong is a detective, he can't help himself." He said with a warning glare in his brothers' direction.

"It's really no problem." She replied.

"Are you two dating?" Jaejoong asked abruptly.

The kids stopped eating and turned to look at their parents; Hayi's eyes were hopeful and Hanbin's eyes turned to super glare mode. Jiyong on the other hand choked on his food and Dara almost spilled her drink.

"NO…. I mean…no it's not like that," she said quickly. "I mean we've only known each other for a week and… we don't have that kind of relationship."

‘Yet.’ Jaejoong thought.

"Enough with the questions Jaejoong!" Jiyong snapped. His brother was really pushing it.

"My apologies," Jaejoong said. "I suppose you're married then."

Dara didn't really know what to say at that point. "Um…" she started.

"Jaejoong, enough!" said Jiyong sternly. ‘What the hell is he trying to prove?’

Jaejoong just sat there as if nothing happened. He quickly glanced at the kids. Hayi looked disappointed and Hanbin…still glared. Jaejoong got what he needed to know.

"Well," said Jaejoong as he stood up. "I've got some work to do so I think I'll take this to go."Hhe said as he picked up his dish.

"But Jaejoong-samchoon…" Hayi pouted.

"Next time I promise," he said ruffling her hair and turned to Dara. "I apologize for the questioning."

Hayi pouted but decided not to make a fuss. After he was gone, Jiyong turned to Dara, who was just staring at her food.

"Again I apologize for his behavior." He said.

"It's okay." She replied.

The tension slowly disappeared as everyone continued eating. Jiyong and Dara opted to talk about work while the kids talked to each other. Hayi turned to Hanbin and brought up the recital.

"Is your omma coming to watch the recital today?"

"I think so." He said while finishing off his pancake. Hayi's mood seemed to lift after knowing that his mom was coming. She told him that she really liked his mother for a lot of reasons. Most of them had to do with her being a pretty and nice lady. She also mentioned that they had the same eyes, which was very true.

"I'm happy that you get to come oppa," she whispered. She looked happy and excited. Hanbin felt better knowing that she was happy. Hayi really was special to him. It was almost like they really were brother and sister.

"Me too," he said. He looked over at his mom and Hayi's dad talking about boring grown up stuff. Hanbin really took a good look at Jiyong's face. There was just something about him that made Hanbin feel strange and very…familiar.

Just then, Hanbin had a very vague memory.

Someone was playing with him by bouncing him up and down. He couldn't quite remember the person's face, but for some odd reason, looking at Jiyong made him think about that. It kind of looked like him.

"Hanbin!" Dara called out. He was just spacing out and staring at Jiyong, only this time he wasn't glaring. She became concerned. "Are you okay?"

Hanbin blinked his eyes for a bit and nodded his head. Dara reached for his forehead to feel his temperature. He felt fine.

"You sure?" she asked. She looked worried and Jiyong looked a little confused. Hayi was looking at him with worried eyes too.

"I'm okay." Hanbin said. Dara let it slide but made a mental note to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day.

"Okay then," she said. Everyone was just about done eating at this point.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Hayi announced.

Now usually this wasn't a problem for Jiyong because every time he and Hayi would go out, his parents were with him, which meant that his mother would take her to the restroom. But now…

"Let's go then." Dara said without a second thought. Relief filled his body as she got up with Hayi.

"Thanks," said Jiyong as he slid out of the booth to let them out.

"No problem." She and Hayi lid out of the booth. Dara turned to Hanbin.

"I'll be back soon sweetie, be good." She said as she and Hayi walked to the bathroom together.

That left Hanbin and Jiyong…alone…without Dara. Jiyong felt awkward, mostly because Hanbin was looking at him again with a half glare half stare thing going on. Seriously what was his problem? A couple of minutes passed before Jiyong finally decided to break the ice.

"…How's school?" he asked. That was a pretty safe question right? Hanbin answered quietly.

"Fine."

"Good. Do you like school?" He asked.

"Yes."

"…What do you like about it?" He continued.

"Art…and Karate." He answered.

"Do you want to be an artist when you grow up?"

"Omma said that my Appa was an artist." He replied, s