~JIYONG~

There was no point of regretting. The fault fell directly on my shoulders. I was too late. And there was nothing I could to do to change it. I’d missed her. She’d vanished from my life so suddenly, taking my infant daughter with her.

I’d been knocking on the door of the house for at least fifteen minutes, but to no avail. I was seized with a feeling of foreboding. What if she escaped for the second time?

I cursed as I climbed into my car. I slammed my hands against the steering wheel as the familiar feelings of frustration and anger churned to life within me.

I’d come close…so close to find her. Silently I vowed not to quit until I’d tracked down my newborn daughter, a daughter I’d never seen.

My daughter.

The words were a mere whisper of sound as I stared in wonderment at the grainy pictures of a sonogram that the hospital had prepared for me during her monthly pregnancy check up.

I longed to gaze for the very first time at my own flesh and blood, my own daughter. I’d wondered how she’d look like. Did she have my black jet hair? Or her mother’s milky white complexion? Did she resemble me more or has she gotten her mother’s angelic face? Whose eyes did she have? How about her nose and lips?

Imagining how my precious daughter would look like had caused an avalanche of emotions more powerful than anything I’d ever felt before gripped me, squeezing my heart and almost bringing tears to my eyes.

Trying to get a hold of my emotions, I reached for the key to restart the engine. And it was at that precise moment; I spotted a baby stroller as it turned into the leaf-covered driveway. My heart came to a halt and I felt my breath back up in my throat as I focused my gaze on the mother of my child.

I blinked several times, afraid that my eyes were pulling a trick on me, creating an illusion that my heart desired the most. But there was no mistake. Reaching for the door handle, I was out of the car in a flash.

You can’t run anymore, Erica!

~TAEYEON~

The baby stroller slowed and came to halt the minute I saw the sleek black car parked in my driveway. I watched as a dark-haired man dressed in a sky blue sweater and grey jeans emerged from the front seat.

My heart began to pound so hard; I could feel it beating strongly against my ribs and a ripple of alarm chased down my spine at the sight of anger painted on the stranger’s handsome features. Automatically, I tightened my fingers on the handle of the baby stroller as his long strides ate up the driveway.

“Hello, Erica.” The man said, stopping a few feet in front of the stroller. “Surprise to see me?” His voice was deep and resonant but with an edge that could easily have cut glass.

My lips that used to be moistened suddenly felt dry. “I’m sorry. I’m not…”

“You’re sorry?!” the man interjected, his voice shuddered with barely suppressed rage.

“You don’t understand.” I said but before I could even begin to explain the whole situation, his eyes flashed with a look of detestation that completely muted me.

“Yes, I don’t understand.” He drawled. “But then I doubt I’ll ever understand how could you disappear on me without a word.” He said. “We had an agreement, remember? Did you really think I wouldn’t come looking for you?”

At his challenging tone, I trembled in fear and I cast a quick glance towards the house, calculating whether or not I could make a run with the baby to safety. But to my dismay, the man seemed to notice my ploy.

“Don’t even think about it.” The man said, taking a step closer. “I’ve come for my daughter. I’m taking her home with me and I strongly suggest you behave nicely and not try to stop me.” He added and dropped into a crouched position in front of the stroller.

“No, you can’t.” I protested, looking around in the hope of someone walking by to ask for help.

“Watch me.” he replied.

“Please, you don’t understand. I’m not…” I tried to explain once more but the words crumbled in my throat when I saw the harsh angry lines on his face vanish, replaced by an expression of awe.

“She’s beautiful.” He uttered the words softly, barely audible to my ears. His eyes fixated on the baby, as if I was invisible for a mere second to him. Despite not knowing who he was, I still could see, even feel the love and joy overflowing from the deepest depth of his eyes.

The intensity of his feelings caught me completely off guard and so did the sudden gentle touch of his fingers on the baby’s smooth cheek. My brain was telling me to shake away his fingers but my heart told me to just let him be. And I did follow the latter and let the stranger stayed that way for a while before he withdrew his hand.

I watched the array of emotions flitting across his face and felt as if my heart were being torn from my body. Stifling a moan, I began to push the stroller towards the house.

“Wait a second!” The stranger stretched to his full height and came marching after me. He grabbed the handle of the stroller, and I came to a standstill. “You’re not running out on me again.”

Ho