Gaelin stood over the sleeping child, watching as the innocent slept oblivious that she was being watched. The silly child had taken a liking to her, wanted Gaelin to tuck her into bed. Gaelin slipped out her phone and took the pictures she needed. Now that she saw the child this close, there was definitely a resemblance. Leaving the room, she switched off the light and went to find Jong-hyun. He was in the kitchen, washing the dishes.

“Should I help?”

“No, you’re my guest.” He continued with his task and Gaelin picked up the coffee he made for her.

“Where is her mother?” she asked softly. “If you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t mind. It was such a long time ago." Gaelin didn’t say anything, he had more to say and she was interested, “I met Yoonah’s mother when she was in university here. She was a big city girl, with money and style. I didn’t have anything to offer her and she ran in a very popular group. I was popular enough amongst the local crowd, but never with her type. They looked down on us locals. This town has always been filled with students from the cities who come here only for the university’s prestige.”

“So what changed between you and Yoonah’s mother?”

“I helped her out in a tricky situation once and she took a liking to me. Started to pay me a lot of attention. I wasn’t interested at first. She was difficult and cold and she could be cruel at times. I hated that about her, but as time went on, I saw a different side to her.” He paused and turned to face Gaelin, there was a rueful smile on his face as he thought about the past. “We started dating and things got hot and heavy as the saying goes…she fell pregnant and we both wanted the child but Yoonah’s mother was scared of her family. I already knew she came from old money, but the way she described her family…they sounded like terrible people. That summer she left, promised me that she was going to explain the situation to her family and come back to have the baby with me. We planned out this future where the three of us would live here and raise Yoonah as a family.”

“It sounds complicated,” Gaelin could guess what happened next, but she needed him to say it. To say it all so her recorder could get the entire story in his voice, using his words. 

“It was scandalous is what it was. But luckily I was in my final year and already running the coffee shop. I had taken over after my parents died. I planned to support us and spent the whole summer doing up the house. Long story short, she didn’t come back and I tried to look for her but I didn’t know the first thing about her and the university wouldn't help me either. I realized then that I didn't really know her at all. Then one morning I woke to the sound of a baby crying. I went out onto the porch and found little Yoonah wrapped in a blanket, just lying in her basket, crying and I knew...I knew she was never coming back to me. There was a note, explaining that she couldn’t give up her future, that the money and the power meant more and to never tell anyone who she was or that Yoonah was hers.”

“But you’re