Haneul’s POV

“HANEUL!” I was snapped out of my thoughts by Ahjumma’s voice.

“Hmm?” I turned to her, forcing a smile.

“I called you like three times!” She said, walking towards me.

“You did? I’m sorry.” I said.

“What were you thinking about?” She asked, taking the bag of food from me.

“Junhyung or something.” I laughed.

“Aigoo aigoo~” She giggled.

“I’ll go back to my room, okay?” I said.

“Eh, wait.” She grabbed my arm.

“What happened to your eye?” She asked, looking closely at me.

“My eye? Oh. I scratched myself.” I lied.

“Scratched yourself? You never had any nails.” She said, grabbing my fingers, in which I tried to pull back.

“I had. I bit it off just now.” I said.

“How old are you to be biting nails?” She frowned.

“Not quite old enough to stop.” I kidded.

“Aie you~ Go clean it up. It looks pretty bad. It’s bleeding slightly hmm?” She asked, dapping a piece of tissue onto the wound.

I winced and backed off.

“Cut your nails in future. So dangerous. What if you hurt your eyeball?” She scolded.

“Sorry.” I mumbled, smiling at her before going back in.

I looked into the mirror. The cut seem pretty bad and obvious. Did she trim her nails to be pointy sharp so she can scratch people like that? After cleaning up, I headed back to my room. On my way, I stopped by Ji Eun and Tae Hyun’s room. But I could not bring myself to go in at all.

I went back to my room and snuggled into my blanket. I shut my eyes, trying very hard to sleep, but as much as my body was protesting, my mind was so damn alert. I couldn’t sleep, not at all. I couldn’t even keep my eyes shut for long.

‘Kidnapper’, ‘’, ‘Abductor’, ‘Broke the family’, ‘Made use of the children’, ‘You’ll burn in hell’, ‘Settle in court’, ‘You’ll be punished for what you did’, ‘I’ll make sure you lose everything’

These words kept replaying in my head, and it was giving me a bad headache. I felt the tears at the back of my eyes, but it just did not flow, torturing me even more.

Junhyung’s POV

It has been a week since I last saw Haneul. The day after that dinner in the orphanage, she sent me a vague text message, leaving me both shocked, worried and angry at the same time.

‘Going to Japan for a mission trip. Love you.’

And that was about all the information I had from her. Which part of Japan? When is she coming back? I don’t know. But one thing I was sure, something was wrong. Haneul was never one to just leave without giving me details.

For the first four days, I texted her to ask if she was okay, and although her replies were all short, at least I know she was alive and well. But suddenly, it all stopped. I wasn’t quite worried about her physical safety because I know how her trips work. Sometimes they may have no access to connections at all, but Haneul was never one to let people worry about her.

I called Ahjumma daily to check if Haneul called back, but she said no. She told me to not worry, Haneul should be fine. Even Jace, her almost second boyfriend, is clueless as to where Haneul is. He too told me to not worry. Seems like I am the only panicky one, I am not worried that something bad would happen to her because I know if something happened, we’ll get a call almost instantly. But I miss her. I miss my Lionny.

 I cannot help but wonder if I did something wrong to upset her in anyway. I thought hard, but I could not think of any, unless she suddenly decides to get angry with me for having coffee with that trainee. Damn, I am never going to any cafes on my own anymore.

My phone rang, it was an unknown number. Thinking it was Haneul, I hurried to answer it.

“Lionny!” I yelled without thinking.

“Sorry, no lions here. It’s Jace the human.” He said in a half chuckle.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I thought it was her because the number is unknown and..” He cut me off before I could finish explaining.

“It’s alright. Don’t need to explain. I understand. I half expected something like that too.” He said.

“Erm.. Yea~” I mumbled.

“Junhyung.” He said in a serious voice.

I felt my body tense, as thou my CEO called for me out of a sudden.

“Y..Yea..?” My mouth felt dry.

“Erm…” He mumbled.

“Is it Haneul? Did something happen to her? Huh?” I asked.

I clenched my fists to prevent myself from shaking.

“Haneul? Oh no no no! She’s fine, I think. It’s not Haneul. It’s not. Relax. Sorry if I scared you. But…” He did not finish his sentence.

“DON’T TRAIL OFF HALFWAY! COME ON! FINISH YOUR SENTENCE!” I snapped.

“Sorry sorry. It’s Ji Eun. I need your help.” He said.

“Ji Eun? My help?” I asked.

“Ji Eun is throwing a tantrum. It’s just one of her bad days. Usually Haneul is the one who calms her, but Haneul’s not here. I could not handle her. She wouldn’t sleep no matter how much I coax her. She cries every night. She wouldn’t eat no matter how I tried to feed her. Even Ahjumma is hopeless.” He said, almost pleading.

“And… So, what do I do?” I asked dumbly.

“Maybe you could give it a try? She listens to you these days.” He said softly.

“HUH?” My jaw dropped.

“Alright, I never asked anything.” He mumbled.

“NO NO! WAIT! Don’t hang up. Alright, I’ll come. Give me about half an hour. I’ll pack up my stuff and come.” I said.

“Okay.” He said.

“Bye.” I said as I shoved everything into my bag.

I had no hands free to end the call, so I left it gapped between my ear and shoulder.

“Are you… Still there?” He asked suddenly, causing me to jump a little. I expected him to end the call already.

“Huh? Oh yea yea.” I said.

“Thank you.. Junhyung. Very much.” He mumbled and then he seemed as thou he slammed down the phone because my ear hurt from the loud sound.

“I’m going to the orphanage.” I announced to the others.

“For what? Haneul’s back?” Hyunseung asked.

“No. But Ji Eun is unwell and throwing a tantrum.” I said.

“Oh, you’re going to be Appa~” Yoseob teased me.

“If she acknowledges me as her Appa, seriously, why not man? I don’t think I would be able to stop smiling.” I said, smiling at the thought of it.

When I arrived at the orphanage, I was greeted by a piercing scream and the sound of a bowl crashing onto the ground.

“I DON’T WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Ji Eun screamed into Jace’s face, flicking the cup of water onto him, wetting him from neck down.

“Hey Junnie~” Ahjumma smiled as she picked up the bowl.

“Be careful there. Walk the other side.” She said as she cleaned up the spilled porridge.

“How long has she been like that? Is she unwell or something?” I asked, helping her clean up as well.

“I’ll do it. No worries. It’s been two days? Maybe she has tooth growing or something? That’s why she’s uncomfortable. According to Haneul, her back teeth are not fully grown yet.” She smiled weakly.

“But Ji Eun is four. Shouldn’t all her teeth be grown out already?” I asked.

“Not true. And, four, but still a baby~” She smiled.

“Did you check?” I asked.

“Check? Her teeth? How? Look at her. Only Haneul can do it.” She laughed.

“Oh Junhyung. Hey~” Jace smiled.

I looked at him, then his wet shirt.

“Little missy has Haneul’s tantrum.” He laughed as he walked passed me.

“I saw it.” I smiled as I walked towards the angry Ji Eun.

“Hey Ji Eun.” I said, sitting beside her.

She looked at me with an angry, pouting face.

“Oh. You seem angry to see me. Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

She shook her head, looking away.

“JUNHYUNG APPA!!!” Tae Hyun ran towards me, crushing his small body onto me.

“Hi. How is my little boy?” I asked, kissing him on his forehead.

“I miss you! And Umma!” He pouted.

“I am here now, aren’t I?” I said, tickling him.

As I was playing with him, I sensed a deadly glare from the side. I glanced over and saw Ji Eun staring angrily at me.

I stopped tickling Tae Hyun and looked at her. Tae Hyun looked over as well.

“HMPH!” She pouted, climbing off the couch and stomping off.

That’s why it is never wise to make a girl jealous. Not even if she is just four.

“Ji Eun ah~ Ji Eun!” I caught up with her.

“JI EUN LET’S FLY!!!” I yelled, grabbed her up swiftly, swinging her in the air.

She yelped a little, but her giggles told me she was enjoying it.

I threw her into the air a couple of times before settling her down onto my shoulder.

“Princess, where should we head to?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.

“THERE!!” She pointed to the playground.

“OKAY!” I said, walking toward where she pointed.

“RUN!” She yelled.

“Huh? Okay okay~” I ran as I was told.

We had a lot of fun in the playground. I let her play it in a different way. Instead of the usual, I lifted her up onto the top, holding her hand as she walked on the play equipments. She made the rooftop of the playhouse her slide. I had to catch her on time each time she slide down or else she would end up on the ground.

Tae Hyun came to join in the fun, so now instead of looking out for one hyperactive kid, I had to divide myself into two Junhyung. Or maybe three, four, five. No amount of eyes are enough to keep an eye of kids when they play. While I catch Ji Eun as she slide down from the roof, I had to be looking out for Tae Hyun in case he decides to be superman and jumps off the top. Luckily no other kids came, or else, I would go crazy.

“Ji Eun ah, enough of rooftop slide. Do it the proper way.” I panted.

“I don’t want!” She pouted.

“Alright, alright. Rooftop slide all you want.” I mumbled as I carried her onto the rooftop, letting her slide down.

“APPA LOOK!!” Tae Hyun yelled.

My eyes widened as he stood on the top of the equipment with arms open wide.

“NO NO NO! Ji Eun, wait! Don’t slide.” I warned her as I ran towards Tae Hyun.

“Come down!” I yelled, gesturing him into my arms.

I expected him to come down slowly but instead he jumped into my arms. My heart stopped for a beat when I almost missed him. But he found it exciting instead.

“APPA AGAIN!!” He yelled as he climbed onto the top.

“WHAT!? NO! YAH! Owww~” I winced as his body weight crash onto me without warning.

“JUNNIE!!!!!” Ji Eun yelled, stomping her foot.

“Omo omo! Okay I am coming do not… AHHH NO!!” I couldn’t help but yell when she slide down without me below to catch her. She landed onto my chest with my crashing onto the ground.

“Are you okay!?” I asked.

“Mmm~” She giggled, pushing off me as she ran to the back.

“AGAIN!” She yelled.

“What? No~~~” I groaned.

I regretted letting them play like this. I forgot they were just kids, and excitement like this is addictive to them.

“APPA!!”

“JUNNIE!!”

“APPA!!”

“AGAIN!!!”

“JUNNIE CATCH!!!”

I groaned at their yelling. I was lost as to who to answer first. What if Ji Eun falls if I go to Tae Hyun first? What if Tae Hyun crashes down if I go to Ji Eun first? Suddenly, them calling my name is not that amazing anymore. For once, I wish they would stop calling for me.

“STOP MOVING!!! BOTH OF YOU!!!” I yelled, staring hard at them.

They froze, looking at me in shock.

“Wait. Just, wait, for awhile.” I said.

“How long?” Ji Eun asked.

“Five minutes. Let me breathe.” I said calmly.

“JACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“WHAT!?” He ran out, his hair dripping wet, his arm stuck halfway in the sleeve of his shirt.

“Help me~” I pleaded.

***

“Aigoo you two poor things.” Ahjumma said as she handed us both a cup of water.

After three hours, they finally agreed to stop playing and go shower.

‘Okay’ never sounded so pleasant in my life, and I believe, as well as Jace. That word was like magic when they said it. We were so damn relieve. We rested on the sofa while the two went to bathe.

“Do you want to shower too?” Jace asked me.

“It’s alright. Maybe later. I’ll breathe first.” I said.

“Ha~ Same. It’s your fault, you know. Why did you even let them play it that way?” He said.

“I don’t know. It wasn’t me. It was my evil twin. I would never do that. My evil twin wanted to kill me.” I said.

“Right~” He laughed, and we both ended up laughing. We were so tired that we could only laugh.

“Do you think Ji Eun is drained enough to sleep or either that hungry to eat?” Jace asked.

“Oh. I don’t know about that.” I said, sitting up, suddenly remembering my purpose here.

“APPA!!” “JUNNIE!!” “DADDY!!” The two of them yelled in unison as they ran towards us, all cleaned up.

“Aigoo why is your hair still so wet hmm?” I asked, catching Ji Eun in my arms.

I put her on my lap as I towel dry her hair, while Jace dried Tae Hyun’s hair.

“Ji Eun ah~” I grabbed the opportunity while she is calm.

“Hmm?” She asked, playing with her toes.

“Shall we eat?” I asked.

“No.” She shook her head, her wet hair sweeping all over my face.

“Aren’t Ji Eunnie hungry?” I rubbed her tummy, making her giggle a bit.

“No.” She said, pulling my hand away.

“But Ji Eunnie has to eat something to have energy.” I said.

“No.” She pouted.

“Why?” I asked.

“No.” She repeated.

“How about milk?” I asked.

“No.” She said.

“I’ll fly you again if you eat?” I tried.

She thought for awhile, but shook her head.

Jace and I exchanged glances.

“How about bread?” I asked.

She looked at me.

“Bwead?” She asked.

“Yeap. Bread. You want some bread?” I asked.

“We don’t have bread.” Jace whispered.

I looked at him, then back at Ji Eun.

“Not just any boring plain white bread. Really cute looking bread. Do you want?” I asked.

“How cute?” She asked.

This girl definitely picked up such questioning skills from Haneul.

“How cute do you want it to be?” I asked.

“Wery wery cute!” She smiled.

“Then I’ll make it wery wery cute just for you!” I poked her stomach.

“Junhyung.” Jace hissed.

“Ji Eun is not allergic to any food right?” I asked.

Jace shook his head.

“Ahjumma! Do we have bread flour, sugar, salt, water, milk, butter, yeast and baking equipments!?” I yelled as I walked into the kitchen with Ji Eun in my arms.

“Of course. What do you want to do?” She asked.

“I want to bake wery wery cute bwead for our Ji Eunnie~” I said, settling her onto the seat.

“You want to what!?” She looked at me.

Jace walked into the kitchen with Tae Hyun in his arms, looking shocked too.

“We can always buy them, Junhyung.” He whispered.

“Don’t trust me?” I asked.

“Not that. But.. Baking..” Ahjumma mumbled.

“Trust me.” I smiled.

I reckon if I made Haneul eat with the Seungho bread I baked, I’ll be able to make Ji Eun eat with cute bread too. They are pretty similar, aren’t they? And I am right.

Ahjumma took out the ingredients and equipments for me. She looked at me, still unconvinced.

“Aish~ Sit down, everyone. Sit down and watch me.” I said.

“And you little girl, I bake you wery wery cute bwead, you promise me to eat it?” I asked, looking at Ji Eun.

She nodded.

“Promise?” I stuck out my pinky.

She hooked hers over mine and grinned.

I worked on the bread while they stared at me. After I was done with the mixture, I shaped the bread into teddy bears and turtles. This was much easier than the Seungho bread I had to make to coax Haneul to eat something.

“Now, we wait.” I said as I closed the oven door.

They still looked unconvinced, but Ji Eun was smiling.

We watched Pororo while waiting for the bread to be baked. After about half an hour, we heard that sound from the oven.

“Smells good. Like bread.” Jace said.

“It’s bread I made, Jace.” I mumbled.

“Right.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

I took the bread out of the oven and let it cool for about ten minutes.

“Open your mouth.” I said to Ji Eun as I tear a bit of the teddy bear’s ear.

She opened wide and I took the opportunity to see if her grumpiness was caused by teething, and Ahjumma was right. She had two little teeth growing at the back.

“Try it.” I said, putting the bread into .

She chewed slowly. We all looked at her as thou she was the judge for some baking competition.

“Some more pwease.” She said as she opened .

“You like it?” I asked.

She nodded, with still open.

“You can have it all.” I smiled, tearing a bigger bit for her.

“Try it. The judge said I pass.” I smiled at them.

They took the bread and ate it. Jace and Ahjumma looked at me with astonishment, while I fed Tae Hyun and Ji Eun.

“How do you…” Ahjumma look at me.

“How do I know how to bake?” I asked.

She nodded.

“I was forced to learn.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because when we were in Kenya, there was once Haneul wouldn’t eat.” I smiled, remembering the time in Kenya where we had our little play show with Seungho bread.

The thought of Haneul ache my heart. Where is she? I want to let her try these bread so badly. If she is unhappy, I’ll bake her ten Seungho bread if it will cheer her up. Whatever bread she wants, I’ll do it. I just want to see her, to hear her voice.

“And oh, she’s really teething. At the back. Two.” I said.

“Really?” Ahjumma looked at Ji Eun.

Ji Eun smiled widely at her.

“You little thing. Finally smiling hmm?” Ahjumma poked Ji Eun cheeks.

“Appa more bwead pwease~” Ji Eun said.

“Here you.. wait.. What did you call me?” I asked her, looking at her, so did Jace and Ahjumma.

“Appa.” Ji Eun said.

“Appa?” I laughed.

She nodded.

I bit my lower lip, giggling like a fool.

“BWEAD PWEASE!!! APPA!!!!” She yelled, kicking my knee.

“Ah yea yea! Bwead for you. Ahh~” I fed her.

Jace and Ahjumma were laughing like crazy.

Haneul ah, Ji Eun called me Appa. Why aren’t you here?

***

“Now that you had your fun, you have to sleep.” I said to Ji Eun.

She pouted at me.

“Aigoo no pouting.” I poked her lips.

Ji Eun and Tae Hyun were lying on each side of my lap as I patted their chest.

“Oh, Ji Eun. See this.” I said, reaching for my bag.

I pulled out the robot toy she gave me.

“I know you’re feeling uncomfortable. I’ll return this to you for now until you feel better, okay?” I said.

“Wobotty!” She squealed, hugging the toy close to her chest.

“Now that you have Robotty with you, can you sleep?” I asked.

She nodded and closed her eyes. Tae Hyun was already asleep, I was on the verge of falling asleep myself but Ji Eun was still awake.

“Appa~” She called out.

“Yes?” I looked at her with half open eyes.

She did not say anything.

“Yes?” I repeated.

“Pain~” She started crying loudly, shocking the guts out of me.

Luckily Tae Hyun was in a deep sleep. Jace quickly carried Tae Hyun away so as not to wake him while I took Ji Eun into my arms.

“Where hurts? Hmm? Tell me where hurts?” I asked, rubbing circles onto her back.

She poked her cheek.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, kissing her on her cheek.

I did not know what I could do to ease her pain. I guess it was as uncomfortable as a toothache, maybe even worse since she is so young.

I patted her head lightly as she rested on my shoulder, the robot toy stuck in between us. I walked around the orphanage, humming softly, in hope she would fall asleep. I don’t know how long I walked for but I knew she was asleep when her arms fell limply to the side, her soft snores filling my ears.

I walked back to her room, putting her gently on the bed.

“No~~” She cried, grabbing onto collar of my blouse.

“Okay okay. No.” I hushed her.

“Why not I carry her? You need to go?” Jace asked.

“It’s alright.” I said, coaxing her back to sleep.

“Her bed is too small for any of us to sit in, outside is hot and noisy. Why not go into Haneul’s room?” He suggested.

“Is it okay?” I asked.

“Of course, you’re her boyfriend.” He said, opening the door for me.

I made myself comfortable on Haneul’s bed with Ji Eun against my chest, clutching onto my shirt. While she slept, I looked around the room.

“I miss you, Lionny.” I mumbled, pouting to myself.

My eyes glanced onto a stack of envelopes on her side table. Although we were together and shared almost everything, we respected each other’s privacy. But I could not help but look again at the stack of envelopes. Why is she receiving a letter from the law firm?

I unconsciously picked up that particular envelope. My fingers were at the opening. I almost tore it open, but I stopped myself.

“No, Junhyung. No.” I mumbled.

“Junhyung? Want to try putting her down again? Isn’t it uncomfortable for you like this?” Ahjumma asked as she entered the room.

“It’s alright.” I said, patting Ji Eun’s back lightly.

“Just because she called you Appa~” She teased.

“Not that. Hee~” I smiled.

She frowned slightly as she looked at my hand.

“I’m sorry.” I hurriedly put the envelope back to the table.

“No, it’s alright. Actually, I am curious too.” She said.

“Curious about what?” I asked.

“Curious about why Haneul is receiving a letter from the law firm. Not only that, they have been calling to look for her too.” She said.

“They called?” I asked.

“Yea, about twice.” She said.

“I’m worried. She was behaving weirdly that night when she came back. She even had a cut near her eye. But Haneul isn’t one who would fight physically with someone else. She would only use to fight.” She continued.

“How come I don’t know about the cut?” I asked.

“She said she scratched herself, but it didn’t seem like it. You know how Haneul hated long nails, right?” She said.

I nodded. Haneul indeed never liked long nails. This is weird. Was Haneul is in some sort of trouble and she is hiding it from me for whatever reasons? Was it serious or so upsetting that’s why her sudden odd behavior? She’ll flare up if I look at her things without her permission. If she wanted me to know, she would have told me about it.

“Ahjumma, do you know which part of Japan Haneul is in?” I asked.

She looked at me, then shook her head.

“But you can ask Jace to find out for you.” She said.

“Why? What are you planning to do?” She asked.

“I guess the only way to find out, is to go look for her and ask her.” I said.

“You want to fly to Japan to look for Haneul?” She asked.

I nodded.

“Oh.” She looked at me.

“Should I… not go?” I asked.

“No, I think you should go. But before you go, please give me that bread recipe, seems like Ji Eun would only be eating that till the discomfort wears off. I would have to make them if you’re not around.” She smiled.

 “Sure. Either that or I can pre-make the buns so you just have bake them. ” I said.

“It’s alright. I want to learn how to do it too. Ji Eun and Haneul are lucky girls, aren’t they?” She said, sitting beside me.

“Why?” I asked.

“They are the only girls with the privilege to be in your arms like this and eat the bread you bake.” She said.

“You have that privilege too.” I said, then releasing how wrong it sounds.

She stared at me with wide eyes.

“No no! I mean, the bread. I’ll bake you bread too.” I corrected myself.

I smiled awkwardly at her.

“But you mean I can’t hug you?” She asked.

“What? Of course not! I mean, you can hug me. I’ll hug you.” I said hurriedly.

“You want to touch me?” She asked, her arms crossing over her chest.

“What!? NO NO! I mean… I… I…” I stammered.

She burst into laughter, shaking her head.

“Now I know why Haneul likes to tease you so much. You’re cute.” She said, pinching my cheek lightly.

“Why does everyone like to do that?” I asked.

“Do what?” She asked.

“Pinch my cheek.” I said.

“No idea. It’s so pinch-able. It’s like yelling ‘pinch me’.” She said.

I was about to say something when Ji Eun let out a soft cry.

“Shhh shhh~” I pat her back lightly.

“Shan’t disturb your time with your daughter. Remember to give me the recipe and when you’re in Japan, please don’t disappear like that stupid girl. Keep in contact with me, okay?” She said softly.

I nodded, not daring to make any sound in case Ji Eun wakes up.

“Aigoo~ So cute.” Ahjumma said, pinching my cheeks again.

“Don’t sleep in this position yea. Either put her down or lie down properly. Should I off the lights?” She asked.

I nodded, turning on the side light.

“Alright, good night.” She smiled as she walked out.

I lied down with Ji Eun on my chest. I closed my eyes but I never slept for long. I kept waking up to check on Ji Eun, and also I couldn’t stop thinking about Haneul. Lionny, are you okay? Why are you still hiding things from me? Stupid Lionny~ Not only that, Ji Eun calling me Appa kept replaying in my head. I felt so weird now. I am happy and worried all at the same time. 

***

Tae Hyun and Ji Eun: "APPA" "JUNNIE!!" "APPA!!" "JUNNIE!!"

Junhyung: JACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Junhyung: Help me~~~

Turtle Bread

Teddy Bear Bread

Ji Eun: Appa more bwead pwease~

 Ji Eun: BWEAD PWEASE!!! APPA!!!!

 

Junhyung: I miss my Lionny~