A/N: I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. Honestly, this chapter was sitting in my drafts since May but I couldn't get to editting and revising because I had internship and a  thesis proposal to work on. I was kind of emotionally tired for the most part of the last two months as well so... if the emotion's a bit off, sorry. Really sorry for leaving you all hanging that long when there's only a couple of chapters left to the story. Will post the last one probably on Saturday or Sunday. Anyway, thank you all for waiting and for still reading!

- Bluekimchi

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The span of ten days is not such a long time. If Seulgi would compare it to the two years and something months she waited to be saved and the four years and something months that Seungwan waited for she doesn’t know what, it’s not a long time. But somehow it feels like an eternity had passed. It feels like they’ve been together forever. It feels like they’re ready for anything and everything life can throw at them now. Seulgi's sure that there's no time to be unsure now. There's no time to stop. And she figured it all out in the span of ten days.

“Ah, seriously!” It's another one of Chorong's famous dolphin screeches coupled with well-placed hits on her thieving wife’s arm.

Seulgi can't help but to laugh, seeing her cousin get beat up. That’s something that’s never going to change, Bomi getting beat up. The said cousin glares at her and it's Seungwan's turn to laugh, bright and melodious.

“Seulgi, you know what? I think you two should go somewhere, go, uh, anywhere.” Chorong says with that frown on her face. “This one’s going to end up eating all the cookie dough before we even put it in the oven.” She glares at her wife who raises her hands up in mock surrender.

“That's fine with me, Chorong unnie but Seungwan doesn't like me being far from her especially since it's going to be her birthday tomorrow so you better ask her first.” Seulgi replies with a wide grin, tilts her head to the side, blinks her eyes, acting cutesy in front of her Seungwan.

“Aww, does she?” Chorong smiles as she pauses. “So Seungwan, will you please let Seulgi leave for a bit to walk the dog?”

“Yah!” Bomi exclaims. Seungwan just nods in between laughs.

“Okay. Go on, Seul. Come back real soon, okay?” Seungwan says, eyes sparkling, unable to look away from her. “We'll be done in an hour.”

“I'll be back then so we can go to therapy together.” Seulgi returns the smile.

Slowly, she inches away from the kitchen counter, not breaking eye contact with Seungwan and seemingly having trouble with leaving but as she and Bomi finally turn their backs to their significant others and head for the door, they send each other winks. They’re ready and everything's going according to plan.

--

Seulgi stands with her arms hanging limp by her side. She looks dumbly at her cousin who returns the look (it runs in the family, really) before turning her gaze to the child in front of her. She clears .

“Uh, are you… Yerim?” She asks, reluctant.

The kid crosses her arms over her chest, narrows her eyes at them and taps her foot impatiently against the polished white tiles of the executive office of the Hope House orphanage. Seulgi looks at Taehyun who came to accompany them in place of the officer in charge but he’s not being helpful at the moment (probably some form of immature revenge). Fortunately, they get an immediate answer.

“I-I am,” A voice says but it doesn’t come from the child in front of her. Instead, from behind her, a smaller child shyly peeks up at Seulgi.

“Then who is this?” Bomi says, points to the bigger kid who looks to be around eleven or so. Yerim is only eight which could mean that-

“That’s Park Sooyoung to you, miss.” The snarky one says.

The cousins share another look.

“She’s Director Park’s granddaughter.” Taehyun finally speaks, stifles a laugh. “She’s here most of the time because she’s friends with the kids.” He explains as the child continues to glare at them. Seulgi sends another look his way, asking for help. Bomi actually cracks her knuckles and he becomes serious. She has a 3^rd degree black belt in Taekwondo and she won't hesitate to put it to use.

“Sooyoung, it’s time for Yerim to meet her new family.” He says to the glaring kid. “We should give them some time, don’t you think?”

“You go on ahead, oppa. I’m gonna stay right here”. But Sooyoung remains firm.

“But Sooyoung-” Taehyun tries to reason and Sooyoung cuts him off.

“I have to see for myself that they’ll be good to Yerim!” Her voice came out strong for a child, determined so to say. It’s quite admirable except that she’s kind of terrorizing Seulgi in the process. It’s good to know that Yerim has friends like Sooyoung. It's good to know that she was taken care of despite her being rather small for her age.

Yerim chooses to speak.

“It’s okay, unnie. I’ll be fine.” She tugs at the older girl’s sleeve to get her to look away from the adults and at her.

“What? Are you sure?” Yerim nods, looks directly into Sooyoung's eyes. Apparently, that's all it would take to convince her because she loosens up a little and says “Okay. I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.” She gives Seulgi and Bomi one last glare and marches away with Taehyun.

With the two gone, silence ensues where Yerim looks at Seulgi and Seulgi looks back at her.

Who was she kidding? She was never good with kids. She's an only child for crying out loud! She didn’t have any younger cousins either. It was always just her and Bomi. What’s she going to do now?

“Children can smell fear.”

Bomi's warning from ten minutes ago rings in her ears. Maybe they really can. Maybe Yerim can smell hers. Maybe she should've taken Seungwan with her and should've forgotten about surprising her because this is going downhill too fast.

“It was very nice of you to give us new books. We rarely get stuff like that. Thank you.” Yerim starts, bursts Seulgi’s thought bubble.

“Oh, you’re welcome. I’m happy to help. I got the tip from the wish tree actually.”

“Are you going to be my new mom?”

The kid looks expectantly at Bomi who shakes her head vigorously and then points at Seulgi like she was making the hardest pass in her whole life.

“She is. Not me.” She says, takes a step back and pushes Seulgi forward for good measure.

Seulgi decides to take this momentum and continues moving forward. It’s now or never. The space between them closes and she’s kneeling in front of Yerim so that’s she’s eye level with her. She feels her nerves building up, threatening to choke her but she swallows it down, determined to do what she came for. “Yes, she’s right. But it’s not just going to be me. There's Seungwan too. You know her, right?”

Speaking about Seungwan somehow helps. It’s like everything about that girl makes everything easier even the mere mention of her name. Seungwan. The reason for everything she’s doing.

“Seungwan unnie?” Yerim asks. Seulgi nods, smiles. “The two of you?”

The kid frowns and Seulgi is taken aback. Does she not like her for some reason already? Seulgi’s head is starting to spin. Bomi was right! Yerim already has her figured out! She knows that she’s not good with kids, knows that she has no experience at all, and she’s going to tell Seungwan and Seungwan is going to divorce her even though they’re not even married yet.

“So Joohyun unnie left.” Yerim says, catching Seulgi off guard. She has to swallow again, not sure what to say this time. “She told me before that she wanted to be my mom. I guess she left now. So she can become an angel.”

Seulgi’s still trying to decide what to feel about this development, if it’s development at all. How did Yerim ever get to know that? She must be really close with Joohyun then (doesn’t help Seulgi much).

“You must be Someone then!” Yerim exclaims. (Does it?)

“What?” Seulgi looks at her, confused.

“Joohyun unnie said she wished for Someone to adopt me with Seungwan unnie. She said Someone is kind and will make Seungwan unnie happy. Are you Someone?” Yerim smiles widely at her, tilts her head from side to side, trying to get a better look at her as if that would somehow confirm it.

“Ah, yeah, I guess I am. But my name is Seulgi.” Seulgi finds herself feeling like she's dreaming. Joohyun’s really on her side, huh? She’s a good person. Yerim is right. She left to become an angel.

Seulgi’s too deep in thought that she doesn’t notice when Yerim closes the distances between them and catches her attention by reaching out two small hands to pat her face gently. And in that simple touch, it’s as if the time has stopped. It’s as if she didn’t know living until this very moment.

“It’s nice to meet you, Seulgi unnie.” Yerim beams at her with the most beautiful smile she has ever seen (second only to Seungwan’s but still a tough contender).

How could things fall perfectly in place like this? Seulgi can't help but to smile even as tears run down her cheeks. It’s all too much for her. All of the fears and the doubts she had felt from before vaporized. Now, the only thing she’s sure of is that she wants to keep on seeing this beautiful smile and she’s going to make sure that this child will be happy just as she swore she would make her Seungwan happy because they deserve it, they deserve nothing less.

Slowly, she takes Yerim's hand. Small and fragile as it is, Seulgi knows she's holding a big part of her future, and a bigger part of her world. It all makes her brave, makes her feel that she’s ready for anything and everything.

So with certainty and with everything she has on the line she says “Let's go home, Yerim.”

--

The way Chorong slams down the receiver has Seungwan wondering who called because the older girl looks annoyed and worried at the same time.

“That was Doctor Choi. She called to reschedule Seulgi's appointment for today.” Chorong answers her unvoiced questions. Seungwan is taken aback.

“That's weird. I just got a message from Doctor Kim rescheduling my session too.” She looks at Chorong, down at her smartphone and back, eyebrows meeting and forehead scrunching.

“Will it be all right for them to do that? I mean, will you both be okay?” Chorong turns to her, worried.

Seungwan nods. “We'll be fine. It's better for us these days. Both our therapists say we'll be given minimum medication soon. Therapy will be less frequent too.” She says with a smile.

“That's really great to hear.” Chorong looks relieved. She looks like she wants to say more but at that moment, the security panel at the door beeps as someone from the other side punches in the code. She gets up from her seat in the kitchen and heads to the door.

“They're here! Seulgi, Doctor Choi called to-” Chorong stops talking, sees neither that Seulgi nor Bomi is there. But instead, a little girl stands there.

For a moment, Chorong just looks at the child and the child looks back at her until the child speaks.

“Good morning, is Seungwan unnie here?”

Just hearing the voice makes Seungwan certain.

“Yerim?”

She runs towards the door and past Chorong to take her in her arms. And that’s when Seulgi appears by the doorway with Bomi. She wears a knowing smile as she steps closer to them.

How many years did it take for Seungwan to finally hold Yerim in her arms like this? Seulgi doesn’t know when she and Joohyun started wanting to have Yerim but she does know what it is like to wait. And just recently, she found out too, what it feels to be able to hold a child so precious. Seeing them like this now, Seulgi feels so fulfilled. Forget about feeling proud in having a hand in it, all Seulgi could really feel is bliss, like there isn’t anything she could ever need apart from this.

Seungwan looks up at her. Her eyes are watery and Seulgi knows she has the same expression on her face.

“You said we weren't allowed to see her until after my birthday.” Seungwan’s tone is accusing but Seulgi knows she can’t hold being angry for long, especially when she looks at her with that same helpless look she gives her when she doesn’t know what to say. “Oh, Seulgi.”

“I’m sorry for lying. Happy birthday?” Seulgi offers, steps forward to meet them and to join the hug.

The world stops spinning and revolves full speed ahead at the same time. This must be how it feels like to have everything you’ll ever need right in front of you. This must be how it is to be complete. Seulgi has no other words for it except

“I love you. The both of you.” Seulgi says, looking into Seungwan’s eyes and getting lost in them.

Seulgi wants to frame this very moment, wants to live in it forever, actually. But then again, she remembers that this is only the beginning. There's still so much to do for Seungwan, still so much to give her. Seulgi has so many plans; none of them include stopping until Seungwan, Yerim, and her are truly happy.

So with all she has, she pulls back from the hug to stand next to Bomi who is comforting a crying Chorong in her arms. There would be more time for hugging next time. For now, Seulgi basks in the sight of Seungwan lifting Yerim in her arms before looking at her. Oh, how she wants to see that sight every day of her life. As Seungwan looks at her, Seulgi understands that one look and how it says everything. Thank you. I love you.

“Go on. I'm sure she’ll want some of the cookies.” Seulgi urges her, meaning to say that they will have time for words later. Seungwan understands. She always does.

“Oh, and take this cry baby with you, Seungwan.” Bomi says, points at her wife, tries to laugh it off even though she looks pretty weepy and shaky herself. They have been with Seulgi through everything, after all and they’re just really happy for her.

And Seulgi’s forever grateful. So when it’s just the two of them again, she takes the chance to express her gratitude even though she knows it won’t be enough. “Thank you for all your help, Bomi unnie.”

Bomi musters a smile. “It's nothing. I have something for you.” She puts one hand in her pocket and pulls out a set of keys. She wipes her eyes before continuing.

“It's a gift from your dad. He figured that studio of yours won't be big enough for a family of three. He says he'd like to meet Seungwan and his granddaughter soon.” Bomi places the key on Seulgi's hand and smiles at her.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Bomi rummages in her pocket again and pulls out a small envelope this time. “This one's from that Sooyoung kid. She said it's a letter for you. Some notes on Yerim’s likes and dislikes. Terms and conditions on her letting you adopt Yerim.”

“Did you just say terms and conditions?” Seulgi blinks, her ears perking up.

“Yup. She went over them with me. The most notable would have to be Yerim's school. She wants you to send her to the same school as her so she can watch over her.” Bomi ends with a shrug.

“Okay, I'll read this later with Seungwan.” Seulgi places the envelope securely in her pocket and holds on tight to the keys in her hand.

“If you got any more surprises up your sleeve, I’m sorry but I won't be able to help you anymore.” Bomi whispers under her breath.

“What? Why?” Seulgi leans forward to her, slightly alarmed.

“Rong and I are going on a cruise. We'll be gone for three months so don't get married while we're gone or she's gonna Hapkido your .” She says with that signature smile of hers.

“That's great, unnie. And I won't. I haven't even proposed yet.” Seulgi says.

“It is. So, yeah. Starting next week, if you need help, you better ask Taeyeon unnie and Tiffany unnie.”

“Taeyeon unnie's great… I'm a little worried about Tiffany unnie.” Bomi laughs but doesn't say anything more, just pats her on the back.