Sung Gyu didn’t even have a clear count of the total number of cousins he had. Although he had only one sibling himself, both his parents who are from the rural villages of the country, both came from massive families with an uncountable number of sibling, cousins and relations. Sung Gyu had met many, and he hadn’t even kept a track of them, He had no idea of their names or whereabouts, and he was pretty sure they didn’t know much about him either. He was the favorite nephew of all his old aunts, not only because he was the maknae for a long time but also because he was possibly the best looking of them all. He really hadn’t a favorite. Well, at least not until he met Hayoung.

When he was still a kid, he had no clear idea of this entire cousin notion. He thought it was some other word they used to call friends of the closest kind, and when little Hayoung, aged much younger than himself came to Korea for the first time after being born and raised in Japan, Sung Gyu immediately chose her as his favorite friend. He was still loved by all his aunts because he was still the youngest boy in the family, even if he had a younger sister, and Hayoung’s parents were delighted when Sung Gyu made friends with the almost-foreign little girl. He had left a good impression on her and little Hayoung was attracted to Sung Gyu immensely. At one point, Sung Gyu felt she was the only person who understood him the most. She was his best friend. And eventually, she became his first love. It was a good thing that he never understood the cousin concept. It was why he was flustered yet greatly delighted when young Hayoung announced to all their older cousins and extended family that she would marry Sung Gyu one day. His happiness at that point, was unimaginable. He secretly hoped he could marry her too, like some of his aunts did and apparently they had married his uncles. So they could have been the same too. Some of their aunts thought that the love between the two young ones was adorable. But the others knew better to not let them pursue it. Sung gyu was only ten when he was told that he couldn’t marry his younger cousin, because what made him and her cousins was that they were related by blood.

Nonetheless that never put an end to their everlasting friendship. For some reason, it only grew and blossomed into something more than just friends. They were brother and sister. He was closer to her a lot more than he ever was to his own sister. Hayoung was an activist for so many humanitarian issues, and after graduating college, she spent her days, travelling from country to country, volunteering and engaging herself in all sorts of humanitarian movements and projects. Somewhere through this time, she came across a little Indian girl, just aged two and deaf for life. She never knew what her name was but was called by some strange Indian name which was said to be temporary. It was Sung gyu whom she confined in first, to tell him that she had fallen in love with this little special needs girl, to tell him that she was considering adopting her. Sung Gyu was already a dad of a five-year-old, and when he received the call, little Sung Jae was peacefully napping on his chest while he lied across the sofa, like a tiny Koala cub. Hayoung didn’t want to get married. It was a decision she made a long time ago. (And apparently, the only person she had wanted to marry was her cousin, who already had his own kid) She wanted to travel, do her thing and be happy in her own way. Although adopting a kid would be a long process which require lots of profound thinking and legal matters, especially given that the girl was foreign and needed special attention, Sung Gyu was delighted for her. Hayoung was a committed, hard-working soul. And with all that she had done, she had gathered enough money to take care of herself and also even a child without doing a job for some time. It was all good going. Sung Gyu gave her his well wishes, and a year later, she was the adoptive mother of a three-year-old Indian girl whom she named ‘Cheon-Sa’; Angel.

Although Sung gyu and Hayoung were best of friends, what with Hayoung’s job and him having a child, hindering him from traveling far, the both of them had met only a handful of times after their lives began to constantly pull them back. The first time was when Hayoung returned to Seoul after having adopted the girl, and Sung gyu was stunned by the sparkling big eyes of the girl and her healthy golden skin, all of which he had only seen on TV and on grown up foreigners in Seoul. It was not only him who was attracted by her strange beauty. Little Sung Jae, still aged five and a half, immediately fell in love with her. Cheon-Sa didn’t play much because she was chronically deaf and also because she hadn’t quite gotten used to the new environment. But she warmed up to this little boy she just met. They made quick friends, just like their respective parents did, so many years ago. The next time they met, sung jae was seven and Cheon-sa was five. While their parents chatted around, Sung Jae took his role as the older brother seriously, and took care of his younger cousin with pride. Hayoung, who was watching them with admiration simply told him with a fond smile; “Since you and I couldn’t get married, let’s have them marrying each other, Oppa”

Sung Gyu didn’t say anything but smiled. He hadn’t thought of his son growing up. It was something he hated to put any thoughts on. For him, Sung Jae will forever be his little baby, who loved his cuddles and who would always eat chocolate spread straight from the bottle. But deep inside, he wanted his son to be happy, with whomever he’d choose to spend his whole life with. That was Sung Gyu’s little wish.

And then, a year later on one early spring morning on a Saturday, sung gyu received an unexpected phone call. He was asleep in Sung Jae’s bed that day, after having fallen asleep buried in his space-ship duvet and all the knick-knacks while trying to put him to sleep, and he was woken up upon hearing Sung Jae whispering into his ear. “Appa, you are getting a call from someone. I think It’s the policeman. Can I pick up?”

Sung Gyu was regretting it all night, telling his kid about strange sightings of creepy clowns in all over Seoul, which, of course was a story he made up based on the clowns sighting from the states last Halloween. He was simply pulled awake by the excruciatingly creepy voice his son used to say this, and with a frown (Even though Sung Jae was wearing a convincingly determined face of graveness) Sung Gyu picked up the call to hear his favorite cousin’s cheery voice on the other end. “Hey, Sung Gyu Oppa, are you home today?” She asked, and Sung gyu hated it that he still sounded husky and groggy as he spoke to her (he even covered his mouth, worried about his bad breath). “Yeah, it’s Saturday”

“Cool” Hayoung continued and revealed to him possibly the best news he heard for a very, very long time.

With his eyes glistening with excitement, after the call had ended with sweet and long farewells, Sung Gyu pulled at his son (Who was lying across the bed, by the way, worrying about the creepy clowns) and exclaimed. “Sung Jae! Your favorite cousin is coming today!”

*

After having a long refreshing shower early in the morning for the first times in weeks on a weekend, Sung Gyu put on his best pair of jeans and a crispy blue checkered shirt, did his hair and came down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, only to be greeted by the sound of utensils coming from the kitchen. Sung Jae was still in the bath since it was him who dragged him into it and there wasn’t anyone in the house either. In the beginning, Sung gyu thought Hayoung had arrived early and was preparing to surprise him with her extremely good cooking skills (In making dishes from all over the world and stuff) so bubbling with excitement, he almost ran into the kitchen. But then he stopped, taken over by the surprise of seeing an unanticipated visitor, wearing the longest face he had ever seen, standing by the stove and stirring something in a pot as if it was her punishment. Sung Gyu was greatly disappointed, not only because he was expecting someone else but also because the above mentioned visitor had a high tendency of ruining a perfectly good weekend.

Since recently, Eunji had developed a strange habit of crashing into his house whenever she pleased. Be it a weekend or midnight on a working night; she would simply walk through the doors as if she was habitually invited and hang around in the kitchen or run errands as if she was being punished. At first, Sung gyu was convinced that it was another one of her sneaky methods of getting a pay raise or getting something done in her favor. But whenever this happened and whenever he’d ask what her reason was, Eunji would shrug it off as if it wasn’t a big concern and give a completely unbelievable excuse. At most times, Sung Gyu didn’t complain. He didn’t care much about her crashing his house in that manner as long as she didn’t bother him and as long as he got his work done. But on days like this, Eunji and her unexcused long faces weren’t what he needed to entertain.

And to top it all off, Eunji was wearing an extremely short skirt, her long hair was sweeping the kitchen cabinet and how distracted she was, was not an excuse for almost having it catching on fire.

Sung Gyu let out a loud sigh and leaned against the fridge. Her uninvited visits definitely needed to end.

“Miss, Jung. It’s Saturday” Sung gyu announced, as if it wasn’t obvious already.

“Hmph” Grunted Eunji without even paying attention to her employer and continued to stir the pot.

“Why are you here anyway?” Sung Gyu tried again.

Eunji remained quiet for a moment, and Sung gyu thought he heard an unmistakable sob coming from her. Then she replied in a tiny voice. “I had a fight with Woohyun”

Sung Gyu almost slapped a hand on his forehead. Woohyun was so petty, and childish and stupid. He’d always start a fight with the closest human soul and act like it was all their fault. What was worse was that Eunji was no different from him. The pair of them together definitely made a team of destruction. Sung Gyu always hoped they would never end up getting married or taking over the world.

“What’s it this time?”

Eunji turned off the stove quietly, grabbed a kitchen towel and picked up the pot of whatever it was, then she placed it on the counter and continued to stir. While so, she replied “Ppong Ppong- yi ripped Munchkin’s new seats”

“Who did what and what?” Sung gyu echoed incredulously.

At this point, Eunji accidentally touched the pot, making her jump, yet she responded to her boss in a teary scream; “Ppong Ppong-yi ripped the Munchkin’s new seats dammit!”

Sung Gyu couldn’t understand from the beginning to the end of it, neither did he care. It was eight in the morning already and Hayoung would arrive at his house in another two hours. He had to somehow get this woman out of the place before she does. He didn’t know why, but he had to.

“Look, we’re having visitors today. Plus, you work for a salary. You can’t just barge in and work whenever you please!”

“B-but...” Eunji stammered, her eyes still on her pot of whatever. “I work voluntarily…”

“What? By turning up as you like and doing work as if I was punishing you?”

“I have my reasons” Said Eunji and walked across the counter to fetch what seemed a glass jug.

“Yeah reasons” Sung gyu rolled his eyes, and began to count off on his fingers. “The first time you came; it was because there were too many people at your place. The next time, you had a fight with Eunmi over the curtain design, and another time, it was because you had a ing nightmare about a cow riding a bicycle!”

“You’re being heartless and cruel!” Eunji replied and whipped around. Her face was so red and weary that Sung gyu felt like going and comforting her. But whatever was Ppong Ppong-yi and Munchkin? What on earth were they fighting about? Why did these things with ridiculous names make her so upset?

And why on earth was he a part of it anyway? He never did anything wrong. All he needed was a quiet and peaceful weekend with his favorite cousin. But now he was stuck to deal with an almost crying woman in a very short (and distracting) skirt. Life was indeed unfair.

At that point, Eunji had turned back to her cooking and now was pouring a slightly brown colored milk concoction into a jug. Sung gyu walked closer and watched her curiously. He tried to take a sniff over her shoulder; she turned around and almost hit him on the face with a piping hot wooden spoon.

“Whoa!” Sung gyu hopped away, and Eunji stumbled back in shock. “What on earth are you making anyway?” he asked then.

“Butterscotch from Willy Wonka’s cookbook” Eunji replied.

Sung Gyu blinked. “What?”

“Butterscotch from Willy Wonka’s-!”

“But why on earth do you need to come here to do that-?”

“Because Ppong Ppong-yi ripped Munchkin’s-!”

“I don’t care what Ppong did-!”

Sung Jae chose to walk into the kitchen at that moment and glowered at his father for his poor choice of words so early in the morning on a nice sunny Saturday. He couldn’t understand all these grownups. Why were they extra fussy on mornings? They don’t even have to go to school like he did!

“Money to the swear jar” He said as he passed, interrupting the adult’s conversation and walked over to the fridge. He looked through the content, picked up a carton of milk and was walking towards the dishwasher to find a cereal bowl when he noticed the extra presence in the room. He looked up at Eunji with a look of distaste and turned to his father for answers. “Why is baby sitter here? It’s Saturday”

Sung gyu sighed and merely shook his head. He had already given up on trying. Maybe he’d just stick her into the kitchen and tell Hayoung that he had hired a homeless person as a housemaid and also ‘No, he had nothing to do with the length of her skirt’.

“What is this?” Sung Jae asked as he peeked into the warm jar of brownish milk. Eunji leaned against the counter and stared at the boy with a weary look. “It’s butterscotch from Willy Wonka’s cook book”

Sung Jae’s eyes brightened in recognition. “Wah! Do you have it? Does it have the recipe for strawberry flavored chocolate coated fudge?”

Eunji smiled for the first time that morning and nodded, before reaching over to fix the kid’s hair. “Yup. And I’ll let you burrow the book”

Sung Jae began to hop delightfully and then proceeded to explain how much he loved Willy Wonka and how much he wished to ride the peppermint boat in a river of chocolate. While he did, Eunji went on playing with his hair and almost distractedly, she said “Don’t grow up to be like your daddy”

Sung Gyu was quietly watching the exchange for a moment, wondering whatever on earth they were talking about. He eventually decided it was some kids’ thing or the other and made up his mind to look it up on the net, but then he heard what Eunji said.

“Yah, what’s wrong with his daddy?”

Eunji glowered and turned away. “He’s mean, loud and nosy. He’s also lazy and knows pretty well to ruin someone’s day, geeze!”

Sung Gyu sighed. “Why did you come here anyway”

“Because I thought you’re nice for a while…but…they’re right”

“Who’s right about what?”

“That poop smells worse than the fart does” Eunji replied, and again with her long teary face, Eunji returned to her jug of whatever and continued to meddle around.

While she did, the one on the receiving end just stood there in confusion. Sung Gyu had no idea whatever that meant. Since recently, things Eunji said made absolutely no sense.

*

Two hours later, he doorbell began to ring. During the past two hours, rather than getting sweaty himself by running house-hold errands, Sung Gyu opted to bark orders at the baby sitter who had apparently volunteered herself to do work for him on Saturdays and just sat in the sofa with a leg propped up for the prideful house owner he was. Sung Jae was immensely excited himself. He hated his own aunt and his two nephews and was glad that he had a distant cousin who perfectly fit his taste. It’s been years since they last visited, even still Cheon-Sa was a lovely little girl whom he adored a lot. So he spent his time, cleaning his room and putting everything in place. Then he suggested to his father that they order take out for lunch, but he refused, telling that they had Eunji over so they could get her to prepare lunch. Sung Jae felt too bad for her. His baby sitter already looked upset because her dog had ripped uncle Hyun’s car’s new seats and his appa was making her feel even worse. So little Sung Jae offered to help her by washing vegetables. A few minutes later, his father joined them rather awkwardly and soon he was rinsing the rice. The three of them cooked rather quietly all until the doorbell indicated someone’s arrival, and it was already past ten.

“It’s them!” Sung Gyu bellowed, took off his apron and ran to the door.

“Oh yeah!” Mused Sung Jae and took the rubber gloves off his hands, preparing to run off himself.

Eunji on her part, was rather confused. Nobody told her who these visitors were, or why they were so excited about their arrival. Eunji’s mood was bad as it was, and she was also exhausted after all the work that she had to do. Therefore, instead of running after the father and the son, she quietly resumed her work in the kitchen. She suddenly felt, since the two house owners were gone, that kitchen was the place where she truly belonged, alone with her thoughts and her misery.

“Hayoungie!”

“Sung gyu Oppa!”

The two cousins held each other in a long hug while the two little ones just watched their parents awkwardly.

“How long has it been? Two years?” Sung Gyu thought aloud as he pulled away. “Wah, time flies so fast!”

“One, I think” Hayoung said and patted Sung Gyu on both his cheeks. “You have put on weight! You’ve been eating well, huh? What’s the secret?”

Somewhere in a corner of the condominium, the kitchen, to be precise, a very annoyed baby sitter deliberately dropped a couple of spoons on the floor.

“Ooh! What’s that?” Hayoung mused and began to take a sneak peek on the direction of the noise. Sung Gyu acted faster. A woman with a long sad face wasn’t what he wanted his favorite cousin to see the moment she arrived. He put the introductions aside for later and said; “Ah it’s nothing…come on, you must be tired after the long travel”

As Sung Gyu led Hayoung off to the living room, Hayoung explained how she and Cheonsa had to take Two buses and a train to arrive from Jeonju since there were some problems with transportation plans. Hayoung didn’t drive or use her own vehicle, not even taxies, as a principle; because it helps her in saving money. She found public transport more convenient, and also believed that it held less danger for the both of them. It was also her belief that it’s a good way for little Cheonsa to learn new things and meet new people.

Cheonsa didn’t say much, not only because she couldn’t hear what they were saying but also because the six-year-old Cheonsa was shy and reserved than she was a year ago. Nonetheless, when Sung Jae approached her, she immediately warmed up. Soon, Sung gyu found himself sitting on the floor with Hayoung as the two of them talked about their lives, and little Cheonsa was having fun on her own, playing around with Sung Gyu’s hair. Out of all the games she liked, playing hairdresser was her favorite. Even Hayoung always teased about her having been a hair dresser in her previous life. And off all the people she loved to play the game with, Kim Sung gyu was her favorite. Hayoung had jet black hair and she didn’t like to spend money on dyeing it. Sung Gyu’s was dark brown, slightly reddish on the top, wavy and had a nice texture to the grip. The last time Cheonsa saw him, his was dark blond. Hayoung thought that it was this different shade of hair color that she was mostly attracted to, because all she had come across to touching all her life was jet black hair that she found these different colors fascinating. For Sung Gyu, on the other hand, it wasn’t really his favorite game; nor was he glad that he was her favorite model. For a naturally tired and sleepy person, he always found himself drifting off whenever the little girl would bury her tiny hands in his locks. But whenever Sung gyu complained and tried to pry her off, Hayoung would give him a warning look and say “Oppa…She’s deaf”

Her being deaf is good enough an excuse, and the fatherly side of himself wouldn’t let him argue; so every time, he’d find himself wordlessly complying.

Sung Jae was no better when this happened. He was her biggest supporter and silent bystander. He’d quietly provide the girl with scrunchies and hair clips (which she carried wherever she goes) and also suggest what they can do with his father’s hair.

With two fairy pins pushing his bangs behind, Sung gyu just sat their blankly while Hayoung snapped a few delightful photos. “Aw! Oppa look how happy you’ve made her!” She sang as she shoved her phone into his face.

“Hrrmph” Sung Gyu grunted in response.

Meanwhile, there was a quiet creeper haunting the house unknown to the others. Eunji had finished cooking. Or she thought so, assuming that a stew, rice and side dishes from Sung Gyu’s mother would be enough. That wasn’t her biggest concern right now. Her biggest concern at that very moment was the secret identity of the unidentified woman in the house and what right she had to be too close to Sung Gyu than necessary. Eunji stood behind the wall, silently observing them as the other girl (Who was rather pretty, by the way, and had a thick, attractive voice) was patting Sung Gyu’s bunny cheeks while Sung Gyu watched her with shining eyes. Why did he seem so happy anyways? Who was this girl? Why did he not tell her about her? Why wasn’t she being introduced? So many questions were flooding inside her head, rolling around like a raging thunderstorm. She needed answers, and this creepy ghosting wasn’t enough. She wanted to barge in, catch Sung Gyu by his collars and shake him until he’d tell her the truth. But what right did she have? Eunji was only the baby sitter for heaven’s sake. And today she had invited herself in, and Sung gyu didn’t even appreciate it, although her intentions were pure. But of course, what was she thinking? He was the employer; she was the employee. There was no further connection between them. Eunji had no say in his personal bubble of life.

Feeling dejected, Eunji dragged herself back into the kitchen, put on her apron and looked around for anything that she could busy herself with. Perhaps she should make some dessert, or go down to fetch some Ice cream. Maybe she could shop for the two of them. There were a few other things that they needed. But Eunji wasn’t moving a limb. She was too tired to; mentally and physically. All she wanted was a distraction from all the normality of life, of her life back home. But right now, she was in a grave need of distracting herself from this distraction.

“Oh, who do we have here?” A cheery thick voice pulled her out of her train of thoughts, and Eunji stood straight from her leaning position against the kitchen cabinet. The strange girl from the living room was now standing in front of her, a glass in her hand, a grin on her lips. “Hey, hello” She greeted and gave a polite bow. “I didn’t know Oppa had company”

Eunji only pursed her lips and responded with a quiet bow. She couldn’t say anything without knowing the true identity of this girl. Was she a past lover? Or the current lover she never knew about? What did she know anyways? What right did she have?

“I’m Hayoung, by the way. Oh Hayoung” the girl held out a friendly hand at her direction.

“Jung Eunji” Eunji responded and took her hand.

Hayoung proceeded to make further introductions, which was convenient. Eunji was so glad that Hayoung was a naturally kind person. She was one of Sung Gyu’s distant cousins, apparently, and was a year younger to her, which made her an unnie. She was a humanitarian activist and had an adoptive daughter who couldn’t hear well. She was a nice person, unlike her good-for-nothing cousin brother. She also had a nice smile, the kind of a smile which effortlessly willed you to smile back. Eunji offered Hayoung a cold glass of water and asked some more about her adoptive daughter, and while this conversation rolled on, Sung Gyu waltzed into the kitchen with Cheonsa in his arms and a couple of ridiculous coconut trees on top of his head, tied up with fluo colored scrunchies.

“Oh!” He echoed seeing the two girls who had bonded so soon and grimaced at seeing Eunji’s hurt expression. He was too distracted by seeing his favorite cousin after a long time that he completely forgot that he needed to introduce Eunji to her. He didn’t want them to run into each other, worried that it would give Hayoung a space to make wrong assumptions. As how the things seemed now, nonetheless, the damage was already done.

“Sung Gyu Oppa!” It was Hayoung who approached him first, hurriedly placing the glass of water she held aside. “You didn’t even tell me you had company! Don’t you think you owe an apology?”

Sung Gyu sighed and put Cheonsa down when she began to squirm. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her because Eunji seemed so upset, a lot more than she did before. The incident must have made her feel so small, and it was all his fault. So he gave the most apologetic look he could ever muster and looked straight into Eunji’s eyes. “Sorry I couldn’t introduce you properly” he said. Eunji muttered something which he heard like “It’s okay” and Sung Gyu nodded in response.

“Well, this is Hayoung, my cousin and her daughter Cheonsa. She’s six. Hayoung, this is Eunji”

“Oh we know each other already” Hayoung said with a slight chuckle. “But you don’t have to hide her away like this! I’m your favorite cousin, aren’t I? I know we had made a pact to get married when we were kids, but that doesn’t hurt me to know that you’ve found yourself a wife. A pretty one at that. Shouldn’t you be proud and happy? And I knew there was something when I saw your chubby cheeks. That doesn’t happen all the time!”

There was a moment of awkward quietness after Hayoung had ended talking, and both Sung Gyu and Eunji were sneakily glancing at each other, embarrassed out of their wits. Eunji knew this would happen when Sung gyu didn’t make proper introductions. He had only made everything even worse, for all three of them. Eunji could see Sung Gyu’s ears turn red in embarrassment to be said that he had a woman like herself as a wife. Sung Gyu was the ladies’ man, the perfect one, the ideal husband, the man who dated and had a child with a woman who was talented and beautiful beyond words. How embarrassing could it have been to be exposed in front of his favorite cousin like that?

“Why? Was I wrong?”

It was Hayoung who spoke first, and Sung Gyu lifted his head to give a small nod. “Sorry about not making proper introductions. There’s nothing like that between us. Eunji here is my best-friend’s sister-in-law. She comes around to help me with things around the house, time to time, that’s it”

Eunji just nodded without saying anything, hoping this awkward situation would just dissipate soon. Other than that, something he said just started bothering her. Why didn’t he merely put her down to the spot which he constantly made her feel? The baby-sitter. The house-maid. The one that I don’t want to talk about. Why was he suddenly pulling out a good face and mentioning their true relationship? Was it what he really was to her? His most honest feelings? Or was it only that he was making himself look better after the grave mistake he just made?

The awkwardness went away the moment Hayoung stepped in and made a joke about Sung Gyu surrounding himself with all the prettiest girls out there and Sung gyu announced that the kids were probably hungry and that they should have lunch. It was a good excuse for Eunji to busy herself again. She was wearing her apron already so she wordlessly complied before even Sung gyu could bark at her his orders. She immediately went to bring the stew to the table; bubbling hot as it steamed on the stove. Eunji was struggling with it, trying to find kitchen towel to take it down. For her amazement, one magically appeared out of nowhere. Sung Gyu was standing there, holding it out for her. He had this strange look on his face; something between guilt and apology. Eunji, however, paid no heed to him. She only took the towel with a slowly muttered ‘Thank you’ and proceeded with her work at hand. Sung Gyu was helping her nonetheless, by quietly putting side dishes onto small plates and bringing jugs of water while Sung jae diligently set the table. It suddenly felt so strange for her, watching this whole scene unfold. It had a sense of familiarity to it. It suddenly yet strangely it felt like…family.

Eunji quickly shook this thought away, and when Sung gyu raised both his eyebrows at her direction, she realized with a pang that she’d been staring at him this whole time. Eunji quickly trotted away to busy herself with other smaller things, like wiping the cabinets and washing the left-over dishes and used spoons. But then Sung Gyu’s voice suddenly caught her attention.

“Miss-Jung, aren’t you going to have lunch?”

Eunji paused, frozen midway of sponging the fallen broth on the stove. Usually, since her boss was hardly ever home by the time of lunch, Sung Jae and Eunji would sit together on the table and have lunch. It was a routine, where they discussed school and stuff. Sung Gyu’s almost always late on work nights, hindering him from joining his son for dinner so Eunji accompanied him for this as well. When Sung Gyu would come home early, Eunji would leave. She never stayed for dinner. So in that way, she had hardly ever sat together with him for any meal, except for a few very odd circumstances. Invited to have lunch with him, Eunji felt slightly misled. He was exaggerating it; after all he’s done. It was all that she could think of as he questioningly waited for her to put away her apron and join the lunch table. He was trying to make himself look good in front of his cousin, because that’s the kind of things he would do.

Eunji remained quiet the whole time as the conversations on the lunch table rolled on. They varied from one topic to the other, and Hayoung made sure to translate things to sign language for the little girl if it was anything important to her. Nonetheless Eunji’s quietness was unnerving to him. She was the extremely bright one; always coming up with a loud comment or a snide remark. She never backed herself down, whatever happened to her. It was something about her which always kept Sung Gyu running, because he could trust her to keep anyone in company. Yet her silence today was eccentric. She wasn’t being herself anymore. He wondered if it was what he just did to her, forgetting to introduce her. She was in a sour mood already, and he probably made things even worse. He made a note to himself to talk to her after all this is done. After all, she was a kid, just like Sung Jae and Cheonsa were. Naïve; hyperactive and weird. And Sung Gyu, feeling his fatherly side responding to him, felt a great sense of responsibility over her as long as she was around.

Time passed on, and the lunch ended with Sung gyu exclaiming that they should go out for ice cream afterwards. Eunji, who had only had half of her lunch and had gotten up a little too early was diligently gathering the plates, delivering them to the sink to be washed later on, when the doorbell began to ring.

Since the whole Moon Soo incident happened, whenever the doorbell rang when Eunji was around, Sung Gyu would volunteer to answer it, taking his responsibility as her employer and a father quite gravely. But while being distracted, he couldn’t even hear the doorbell let alone answer it. He didn’t even see it when Eunji wiped her hands off on the apron and went to the front door. Eunji cautiously looked through the peek hole, but she couldn’t see anything. She didn’t think much. She simply unlocked the door and pulled it open,

Only to greeted by an all too familiar face and a mane of blazing bronze hair.

“Y-Yoora?”

“Hello. Looks like you’re taking the wife role seriously, where is he?”

Eunji frowned and glanced over her shoulder, to see if she had caught anyone’s attention, but they all were distracted with their own things. So she quietly slid out the door and onto the corridor, closing the door behind her.

“What do you want?” Asked Eunji.

“None of your business. Didn’t Sung Gyu already highlight that for you?”

Eunji didn’t say anything and held her head straight. She didn’t know whatever the two of them could have discussed. She didn’t know what role she played in their dispute. She didn’t know if she even had a say in it, no matter what she’d say. Yet she was Eunji, Sung Gyu’s diligent employer. She knew how sensitive Sung Gyu could get when Yoora would appear constantly in his life. She knew that there was an unspoken rule of obligation towards her to protect both Sung gyu and his child from all the emotional misgivings even if it meant she had to sacrifice more than she was willing to. It was all in her book. Sung Gyu and Sung Jae were her responsibility.

“Look” Yoora said when Eunji remained to stay quiet, and cornered her to the door. “I don’t have time for your silly little games right now. Let me in so I can talk to Sung Gyu, and you bloody stay out of this”

Eunji scoffed and raised her brows. “I’m sorry but I don’t accept orders from anyone who take me for granted”

“H-uh?” Yoora backed away, surprised by Eunji’s forwardness. Eunji took this moment as her cue to leave. She gave Yoora a polite bow and turned around, her hand on the handle of the door. But then what Yoora said next, caught her completely off guard.

“Ragged apron, rubber gloves, stained hand-hand-me-downs, yet you’re still going to fight me? Go and look at what you’re for him, Eunji-Ssi. No matter how much you try to protect him. You’re just a little servant for him, doing whatever which he pleased. And me? Well, I’ll always be much, much more. I’m his child’s mother…”

*

Standing on the other side of the door, listening to the conversation going on the other side of the door was Sung Gyu, a tight grip on the door handle, so much so that his knuckles had turned white, so tight as much as his grip was on holding back his anger, stopping himself from bursting out the door and showing to everyone what his true self was.

Sung Gyu had stopped letting Eunji answer the door after she began to get love letters from a stalker. He also did the grocery shopping and laundry as much as he could so that she didn’t have to go down on her own and encounter the crazy stalker, eventually putting her out of the way of harm. Eunji wasn’t so greatly significant to him; at least not in any other way, or he thought so. Yet, he always felt he held so much of responsibility over her, not only because his best friend held so much of affection towards this girl but also because he felt the same kind of fatherly or brotherly affection towards this girl. Eunji was different and always acted unlike her age. This always made him feel that he needed to protect her and look out for her, to keep harm out of her way and keep her happy as long as she was around him. It was fatherly affection towards a young child, or a girl who constantly acted like one. Eunji would always be special to him, although he’d never admit himself.

So when she suddenly disappeared out of the radar that time, Sung gyu looked high and low, asking Hayoung and Sung Jae if they saw where she went. Sung Jae said that he heard the doorbell ring, and Sung Gyu knew what could have possibly happened. She had already taken too long. What if the stalker, Moon Soo had gotten hold of her? And what if, god forbid, he had done something terrible to her? He knew that he was probably thinking too far, and also that Eunji was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but by the spur of the moment, Sung Gyu panicked. Eunji wasn’t even in her righteous disposition, also it was all his fault. Therefore, taken with guilt Sung Gyu quickly made it to the door and he was all about to pull it open, but stopped when he heard the loud voices coming from the other side.

 “…Let me in so I can talk to Sung Gyu, and you bloody stay out of this”

A scoff, and Eunji’s voice followed. A snide remark as expected from her, which unconsciously made a proud smile appear on his lips, proud as would on a father.

Then he felt the door handle twist. He was just about to pull away. Then, like a raging thunder, Yoora’s cruel voice came crashing in.

It was that which made him lose his temper. It was that which made him almost loose his mind. Eunji might be his baby sitter, but no, she wasn’t entitled to the apron, to wear rubber gloves or have stains on her clothes. It was all that she received for being a wonderfully selfless being that she always was, and she constantly wore them like jewels, just like she did her smile. Eunji never grumbled, she never complained. She did all these work even if Sung Gyu wouldn’t ask her to, because that’s the kind of a girl she was. Beautiful. Selfless and endowed. She didn’t deserve to be looked down for all her efforts. And even now, taking a stand for his stead, Sung gyu knew that Eunji was wordlessly taking it all up on herself even if she had no connection to it. That’s what she was, acting bravely for how kind and soulful she was, because even if it wasn’t like so, every little thing she cared about was her responsibility, even Sung Gyu himself. She was that kind of a gifted soul that Yoora could never be. Sung Gyu knew that what she just said must have hurt her to the core. No matter how tough she would act, Eunji was vulnerable. Her walls would crack without so much as a hard blow. Sung Gyu wished he could save her before it reached her poor heart, but no. Eunji was fast. She felt too easily, and the damage was already done.

When Sung Gyu finally managed to open the door, Eunji stood there, her face was blank and appalled, but he could read the hurt washing in her eyes. He couldn’t let her be hurt, now when she took the bullet while trying to protect him though she had no reason to. He wanted to Yoora to have a taste of her own medicine. And no matter whom he had in his life right now, it was only Eunji he could entrust his trust to, as well as everything else.

“Yoora. Apologize to Eunji right now”

Eunji stopped and turned to her boss wide eyed. Sung Gyu wasn’t saying anything further, and there was fire burning in his eyes as his grip tightened around her wrist. The three of them were making a scene, and Eunji didn’t want everyone else to see, especially Hayoung, who looked up for her cousin so much, and Sung jae, who should never see his cruel mother. Eunji quickly closed the door shut behind her.

Yoora scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re so brazen right now, do you know that?”

“Yoora” Sung Gyu growled through his gritted teeth. “Apologize or I would never let you see my child”

Eunji was surprised that he was straightforwardly making such a careless claim. Wasn’t he being too much just now? Shouldn’t his exaggerated affection to her end at some point It was making her feel even madder. So Eunji tried to pry her hand off her grip, which she succeeded, earning a deep sigh from Sung Gyu’s side. Eunji kept looking down even when she felt his eyes on her. “Are you okay?” He asked. Eunji simply nodded her head, and Yoora, who was deprived of the man’s attention, chuckled on her side. “Look at you two”

Sung Gyu stood up straighter and said in the most horrifying voice Eunji had ever coming from his lips; “Apologize to Eunji right now, Yoora. She did nothing to deserve this”

“Why?” Yoora went on without a beat and gave the both of them a condescending look. “Does it make any difference?”

Sung Gyu looked murderous at that very moment, all for a reason that Eunji couldn’t understand. Did he really have to go to that extent? What was he really trying to prove to her in doing this? And if the three of them get any louder, they were sure to garner everybody else’s attention, including Hayoung and even little Sung Jae.

So Eunji simply stopped in and said, “B-boss…it’s okay. And you should stop now”

Sung Gyu took one look at Yoora and turned back to Eunji who was trying to pass him the message about the company he had inside the house. He seemed to understand her that he nodded and said in a calmer voice; “Eunji, can you do me a favor and take the kids down for some dessert or something? I have something important to discuss with her”

Eunji didn’t say anything. She was confused and unsettled by the look in his eyes. But then, surprising her, he reached over and placed a hand on her arm. “I’ll be fine…and I only trust them with you. Go on…”

It was all enough from him for Eunji to wordlessly follow.

*

Eunji found her loyalty card (After having visited the dessert shop way too many times), on the top of the cabinet where the swear jar was, and told Hayoung that Sung Gyu was suddenly having some troubles that he would like her to take her and the kids down for dessert. Much for Eunji’s relief, Hayoung didn’t ask any further and signaled to her daughter that they were going out for dessert.

Sung Jae, on the other hand, was confused. His father was doing well just a while ago, and it was Saturday; there was no way that he could be having trouble with work. Nonetheless, baby sitter herself, looked quite troubled. Her skin has gone white and she hasn’t even taken off the apron or the rubber gloves. She seemed preoccupied; and judging by the way she was walking around as if she was looking for something, she looked like the three of them were escaping the end of the world. What kind of trouble has his father gotten into?

“Jae” came Baby-sitter’s voice, and with her gloves now taken off, she was trying to ease the kid into a jacket.

“Baby-sitter, what kind of trouble is appa having?” Sung Jae asked. To this, Eunji gave a smile in response and crouched down before him. “Grown up trouble. Remember I told you once? Since he’s a grown up, he needs a grown up to deal with grown up trouble. That is what he’s doing now”

“Oh…” Sung jae blinked and when he raised his eyes straight into hers, she almost got the chills. Eunji knew that look. It was the Gandhi-reincarnated look. The one which he gave when he was about to say something smart.

And then he did.

“You’re a grown up. Why aren’t you helping him? And also why not imo helping him?”

For a moment, Eunji was rendered speechless. How was she going to answer that? And even if she did, what if she wasn’t good enough? What if she was going to end up disappointing yet another person in her life?

But then, Hayoung stepped into rescue her.

“Because your appa has to solve this problem with this one grown up. We’re helping too, you know, by taking you out to dessert. How does that sound?”

For her credit, Sung Jae simply agreed to her. Eunji could see why Sung gyu seemed to love this cousin immensely. Not only was she so soft spoken and kind. She was also very considerate. Most of all, she obviously didn’t disappoint them, and put them into trouble. Hayoung was not like her.

The three of them got into their jackets and made their way out the door. Eunji had no idea where Yoora and Sung Gyu could have vanished to, yet she knew better to not to intrude any further. She had done enough damage by getting herself involved. Of course Sung gyu had every reason to hate her. She deserved the way he treated her.

And then, out of the corner, as they came through the corridor to where the elevator was, Eunji saw the two of them Sung Gyu and Yoora, standing by the potted plant next to the building’s look out, Yoora engaged in some sort of a long, heated explanation while Sung gyu quietly listened, his hand resting miserably on his temple. Eunji knew she had to act soon. She couldn’t let Sung jae see anything. Especially Yoora. He was still so young. He didn’t deserve any of this. Therefore, acting in her instincts, Eunji quickly moved forward and pulled the small frame of the child against herself. She hugged him close and warm, like she would give him her entire world. This boy was important to her, and all of a sudden, she understood what Sung gyu should be feeling right now. This boy was precious, and she was afraid to lose him.

“Uh…baby sitter?” Sung Jae said in a muffled tone, but Eunji kept holding him against her waist, lovingly his dark hair. Sung Gyu, somehow had noticed the exchange. She saw over her shoulder, him giving her an acknowledging nod. Eunji only let go when she was certain the hurried footsteps were no longer heard.

“Woah, why did you do that?” Sung Jae yelled in surprise, but by the way his eyes were shining, Eunji could say that he had definitely liked it, so she decided to play along.

“Because I suddenly realized something” Eunji said, and crouched down in front of the child once more.

“Really? Right now? What did you realize?” He asked.

Eunji didn’t miss a second when she gave him the best and the warmest smile she could ever give, and said; “I just realized that you’re my most favorite little boy in the whole wide world”

Sung jae made a face, but Eunji could see the smile forming on his lips. She hadn’t disappointed him. She had made him smile.

“That’s a strange thing to realize” He said.

“I know” Eunji nodded with a pout. “But isn’t it nice that I realized it now?”

“Hm?” Sung Jae nodded, made a very thoughtful face, and finally gave her a smile. “Yeah, I think it’s nice” He said in response.

Eunji laughed, ruffled his hair and climbed up on her feet. Although the dispute hadn’t ended, she was relieved that she could finally be of useful and do something worthwhile. Sung Gyu probably didn’t even notice it, or maybe he did but only thought that she did what was best for the moment. Nonetheless, she was glad. At least, she did something good at the end of the day.

“Aw! Now isn’t that sweet, Jae?” Hayoung sang as she walked over to the pair of them and tousled the boy’s hair. “You sure are everyone’s favorite boy!”

This made the little one shy, that he hid behind his hands, turning slightly crimson. Eunji just sighed, feeling a heavy weight lifting from her chest. Thankfully they have escaped the clutches of the witch without a scratch.

*

Hayoung knew about Yoora, a lot more than Eunji knew herself.

The two of them were in the dessert shop, and after having bought the two kids their favorite dishes and also Eunji’s preference as well as Hayoung’s, they sat down in a table and before even Eunji could say anything, Hayoung told her; “It was Yoora, wasn’t it?”

Eunji didn’t say anything in the beginning because she didn’t want to get herself involved in the problem any further. But Hayoung was kind and understanding. She placed a warm hand on top of hers and gave her a gentle look.

“Hey, I know you might feel uncomfortable to talk about it. But I saw what you did there. Sung gyu must be glad to have someone around him for support”

Eunji sighed, but when she tried to nod and give a smile, she just couldn’t She couldn’t bring herself to, remembering all the troubles Eunji put Sung gyu through while trying to deal with the problem in her own silly ways, incidentally making the matters worse. She’s never been of support to her. The other time she made things worse by lying about a non-existent marriage, and today she just did the same by standing there after having arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was only the employee, someone who worked on a salary basis only on week days, like normal people did. But she was being a mere burden to him, bending the rules as she pleased and voluntarily stepping into his private life. She was a terrible person.

“Why, Eunji-Ssi…did I say anything wrong?” Asked Hayoung, and Eunji realized that she was just about to say the truth. No, she couldn’t. That was going to make things worse. After all, she had no saying in Sung Gyu’s life. She wasn’t even related to him like Hayoung was, yet here she was minding her own business while Eunji goes around, trying to play the hero and making a complete fool out of herself. All of it needed to stop.

“N-no…I’m fine” She said, and with a rather phony chuckle, she added. “I kind of lost it there…you know, so many things to do”

“I know” Hayoung sighed, and looked over at the two kids on their side. “Things have made lives difficult”

The kids, however was oblivious of the two adults’ struggles. Sung Jae was being a cute little older brother by picking out the pieces of banana off Cheon-Sa’s ice cream and diligently placing them in a paper napkin. Young Cheon-sa was just watching him in fascination, and made a cheerful gesture with her hands. She couldn’t make a slightest sound with her voice, but she ever could, it seemed that she would have made the biggest noise of appreciation, ever.

“I think everything’s a lot easier for the two of them” Hayoung said with a fond smile. “Say, Eunji-Ssi…or, do I mind me calling you unnie?”

Eunji nodded. “Sure, Hayoung-ah”

“Eunji unnie” Hayoung continued. “Do you have kids yourself?”

“Me?” Eunji echoed and made a slight laughter. “Oh no, I’m not even married yet”

Hayoung laughed too. “Neither am I! But I’m already a parent”

Eunji smiled and took a long look at the little girl. Cheonsa was beautiful. A real angel herself. And it was not only about the pair of sparkling doe eyes she had or her thick dark curls or her healthy golden skin which was a stark difference from the rest of them. It was her gentleness, and how she could make her presence an inevitable sight even in her silence. She stole the hearts of the others without even trying, and it was indeed a beautiful thing.

“She’s gorgeous, your little girl” Eunji said to Hayoung, but mostly to herself.

“She is, isn’t she?” Hayoung replied, smiling lovingly herself as her eyes lingered only on her daughter. “She stole my heart the moment we met. They lived in the suburbs, in the shanties where all the terrible people lived. It was heart wrenching, seeing the kind of lives they spent. I did as much as I could, but nothing could erase the traumatic, horrible things those kids and women had gone through. The only thing I could do was to step in and change he life of one of them”

Eunji remained quiet, trying to imagine those lives herself. She came from a good family, a family which was well off, and she had two loving parents, although she lost her mother midway as she drifted off into her own troubled world and lost her father forever, she lived well, and she was thankful.

Hayoung had now turned to Eunji as she continued to speak. “You know, sometimes you can’t change their lives completely, even if you wanted to, even if you were willing to give all you have. When I adopted Cheonsa, I thought I could cure her. You know why she was deaf? Because her mother is only fourteen…” Hayoung sighed and began to twirl her spoon in her half melted dessert. “There are so many terrible things going on in this world, so many of them happening to people like us…and when you look at them, your own problems are just a drop of dust among all. In that way, aren’t we a lot happier? That’s why we should try to make someone happy in the best way we could. Because we have a tiniest ounce of happiness to share when there are so many of them who need it”

Since she was never the one with word of wisdom, Eunji didn’t say anything but quietly admired the quality of her words. Indeed, that was the truth. There were so many ugly things happening to people like herself, and Eunji wasn’t even one of them. She would never be able to even imagine the kind of pain they could be enduring. Perhaps that was why Eunji was willingly trying to become the hero she had never been, because Kim Sung Gyu was precious to her, nonetheless of whatever he might be feeling towards her. She constantly felt the need to make him happy, no matter what she had to go through herself to achieve it. So was little Sung Jae, whom she had warmed up to, and loved immensely that she felt she could be the mother for him, the mother he had never had. It was because she felt the need to make them happy, to share the tiniest ounce of pleasure she had with them, in order to achieve that gleeful sense of satisfaction in return.

And Hayoung too, just as if she felt it, said to her with the warmest of her smiles; “And you know someone who really needs it? Sung Gyu Oppa”

The fact that she and Hayoung shared the same sentiments about him made her laugh. Of course Sung Gyu needed lots of attention and lots of love. Eunji was glad she wasn’t the only one who felt the same.

So she added. “Yeah, sometimes I feel like I am taking care of two kids!”

Hayoung laughed at this, clapping her hands as if it made her greatly delighted. “I know! When we were kids, he was always the maknae of the family even when he was not, because he was still the youngest boy. Everyone loved him. Sometimes I was jealous of all the love that he got”

“I think I understand you” Eunji said, thinking back to how love hungry Sung Gyu always was. “that’s probably where Sung Jae got it too” because little Sung Jae was no different. Both of them were Mummy’s/Grandma’s boy. Eunji had seen. And when it wasn’t grandma, for Sung Gyu, he was searching for a heart to latch onto while Sung Jae depended on her.

“Life must be fun with the two of them” Hayoung commented, and Eunji couldn’t agree more.

“Life definitely got better ever since they came into my life”

Hayoung just smiled. Kind, warm and understanding. As the cousin, Eunji expected her to give a snide remark, something which was screaming possessiveness. But Hayoung was different. It was a beautiful kind of difference.

“Ah, I hope it will last for a very, very long time” Hayoung finally said in response.

*

Fun fact #1 => Eunji's nightmare of cow riding a bicycle is a nightmare my mum still remembers to have had when she was still a kid.

Fun fact #2 => Willy Wonka's cook book really exists in a different name; buttercotch and strawberry flavored chocolate coated fudge are real recipes in it. I have tried making the former myself, and it tasted so good!