Title of the Gift: She's Sick

Pairings: OCxLeo

Genre: Romance

Number of Words: 2,040

Note: Hello! So sorry for the long wait, I’m not sure if this is what you wanted but hope that you like it nonetheless!

She's Sick

Taekwoon smiled unconsciously when he saw a toddler giggling as he looked away from his grandfather who was busy ordering, and turned to see a girl smiling back at the little boy.

While waiting in the queue for your turn at the fishcakes, a little boy who was in his grandfather's arms across the food booth caught your attention, and you smiled slightly at him, not knowing that his face would brighten the next moment. And with a few funny faces made, the boy was soon giggling away.

But just when the grandfather was about to walk away with his purchase, the boy reached out his arms for you, startling both you and the grandfather. The grandfather having not seen your previous interaction with the kid, you did not want him to get the wrong idea and quickly waved your hands before you, not forgetting to say bye to the both of them.

You couldn't help but to grin to yourself when you thought back to the tiny interaction. Your friends always pointed out how kids love you and you always said that everyone will be able to do it. But sometimes you wonder how they could easily open up to you, when others seem to often have a tough time doing it.



On your way back, you decided to take the long route through the park for a brief walk on your rare day off work. But it wasn't long before something else caught your attention.

The weather was starting to get chilly these few days, and a little girl in pigtails was sitting quietly on a bench while swinging her little legs. And you could not help but to be worried when you did not see anyone around.

'Hello! Can I have your name?' Hoping not to startle her in any way, you gave her a small smile as you knelt down before her.

'Jieun-ie! Jung Jieun.' Thankfully, she returned you a bright smile as she chirped, immediately glad that she wasn't alone anymore.

'Are your parents around?'

'Samchon asked me to wait here!' She answered, before pointing in the direction that you came from. 'He went there.'

Gosh. Who is that reckless samchon that left a little girl here alone? 'Do you know his number? Or your parents' number?' You asked again as you took out your phone.

'I have appa's number.' Jieun said, fiddling for the small tag attached to her backpack before showing it to you. And you quickly dialed the number, hearing a frantic male voice on the other end saying that he'll arrive asap.

'Jieun-ie. Are you cold?' To which you got a slight nod as you sat on the bench and placed her on your lap, wrapping your scarf around her. 'I called appa, he'll be here soon okay?'





'Appa!' Before you could even comprehend what was happening, the light weight on your lap was removed as someone swooped Jieun up in his arms.

'Eun-ah, you okay? Are you hurt? You're fine, right?' The male frantically asked as he eyed his daughter from head to toe, only to have Jieun giggling slightly.

'I met a really nice unnie.' And that was when Taekwoon finally turned to acknowledge you. He was all prepared to be skeptical about this stranger that could have abducted his precious daughter, until he recognised you from the fishcake stall not too long ago. And he unconsciously heaved a sigh of relief. 'Unnie gave me this too! It was cold.'

'Ah- Let's return unnie her-'

'No, it's okay. I'm heading back anyway. I was just worried when I saw her sitting alone here so I called you.' You quickly refused when Taekwoon was about to return you your scarf.

And there was a short silence between the both of you before he placed Jieun back on the ground, holding her hand tightly in his. 'Thank you so much for your help. We'll get going first then.'

'Sure, goodbye Jieun-ie!'

And for the second time that day, you were flustered. 'Unnie!' Jieun pulled onto her dad's hand as she refused to move along. 'Appa, can unnie come with us?'

'Oh, no it's okay!' You quickly rejected, only to have Jieun pouting at you as she stomped her feet slightly.

'Unnieeee! Come with us!'

'Uh-' You worriedly looked at Taekwoon, not knowing how he would take it. You could have brainwashed his daughter if he wanted to think of it that way. But fortunately for you, he didn't.

'We're heading to grab dinner. Do come along, I have to thank you for helping to look after Jieun too.'

'Yay! Unnie is coming with us!' Jieun shouted excitedly and you soon found your hand in her free hand while her other hand was still held tightly in Taekwoon's.





And that was how you ended up seated next to Jieun in the restaurant near the park. You were starting to feel guilty when Jieun scrambled into the seat next to yours, and could not help but to keep glancing at Taekwoon. You knew it probably wasn't nice to have your daughter sticking to a stranger that she met just moments ago.

'Oh! It's samchon!' Jieun abruptly exclaimed, pointing out of the glass window.

And you noticed how Taekwoon followed where she was pointing, to see a couple not too far down the pavement. Not missing how his veins were making a fast appearance.

'Eun-ah, you stay here with unnie for a while okay?' Taekwoon said, patting Jieun’s head slightly before giving you a slight nod and disappearing out of the restaurant.




To think that Wonshik left Jieun alone for that few minutes because he saw a friend, Taekwoon was speechless.

After giving the younger one a short and concise lecture in public, he quickly returned to the restaurant. And he found himself calming down instantly when he saw his daughter fooling around with this lady that they’ve just met today.

And he wasn’t too surprised when Jieun once again didn’t want to be separated from you when dinner was done.

‘Do you live near here?’

You were startled at the straightforwardness of the male before you. ‘Yes?’

'Jieun seems to like you a lot. Can I have your number? Do you mind helping me out if its required?’

Oh- For Jieun-ie. ‘Of course.’ You quickly answered, taking out your phone and handing it over to him. 'Excuse me, but how do I address you?'

'Taekwoon. Jung Taekwoon.' He glued his eyes to the screen as he swiftly typed in the numbers, returning it to you after his own phone rang twice.

'Riyeon. Shin Riyeon.' Despite his cold aura, you gave him a smile as the both of you exchanged belated greetings, not forgetting to wave bye to Jieun again.





And from then onwards, the number of calls from Jieun increased exponentially as the days went by. Sometimes Taekwoon would call to ask if you could fetch her from her child-care centre, and most other times Jieun would be the one calling, asking you to bring her out to play.

‘Riyeon, are you free?’ You could not help but to notice the tinge of worry in his voice when you answered the call.

‘Yes?’

'I'm so sorry, can you help me check on Jieun? The centre just called me saying that she's sick but I'll only be able to reach in an hour the earliest if I leave the office now.’

‘Sure no problem, I’ll go get her first. You don’t have to worry.’





Taekwoon was panting, drenched in sweat, and worried sick by the time he reached home, the traffic having worsened much more than he expected.

Quickly scrambling into the house, he headed straight for Jieun’s room, only to find you sleeping by the side of her bed, while Jieun was also sleeping peacefully with her teddy tightly in her arms.

After checking that Jieun's fever had subsided by a lot, he could not help but to heave a sigh of relief and slumped onto the ground next to you. And before he realised, he found himself staring at your sleeping figure.

More often than not, he thought that you would be ideal as a mother figure for Jieun. Especially more so when you often rushed over from work just because of that one phone call from him. But he was soon starting to question himself if that was all to his feelings.

That strange flutter in his stomach. It has been years since he last felt it. But he couldn't seem to deny its presence either.



 

Your ringtone blasting through the room finally woke you up as you mindlessly grabbed for it while you refused to open your eyes.

'Riyeon-ah, why didn't you answer the phone?'

'I was sleeping.' You answered groggily, but immediately snapped awake. 'Why? Did something happen in school?'

'Nah.’ That was enough for you to partially fall back asleep, until your co-worker continued. ‘Your boyfriend came down because he couldn't contact you. He was worried sick, so I told him your address.'

'Boyfriend?'

'He says his name is Jung Taekwoon. He should be on his way there already.'

'O-Oh. Okay, thanks. See you tomorrow.'

Taekwoon? On his way? You quickly mustered up all your energy to fumble through your call log. 5 missed calls? Why-

Worried sick? Did something happen to Jieun? Shouldn't she be at the care center now?

 

'Is Jieun okay?' Was the first thing you said once you pushed open the door, after scrambling to it once you heard the bell ring.

And of course, that sudden expenditure of energy was not a wise idea as your vision blurred for a slight second. And in the next moment, you had Taekwoon grabbing onto your arm as he steered you back into your room. ‘Are you okay?’



‘I’m feeling better already. You don’t have to stay.’ You stopped his hand that was reaching for the iced towel on your forehead, and quickly sat up.

But all you got was a skeptical look before he carried on with what he was doing - replacing the iced towels and checking if your fever has went down.

‘Why did you call me?’

'I wanted to ask if you were free for lunch, but you weren't answering your phone.'

'But why-‘ You paused. Okay that’s not important now. ‘I thought Jieun-'

'Is Jieun all that's on your mind?'

'Huh?'

'What about me?' Taekwoon startled himself when those words left his mouth. But it was too late to regret. For Jieun's sake, and for himself. He wanted to settle it once and for all. 'What about me? Do you never think about me even once?'

You stilled when you felt his firm grip on your wrist, cold from the pail of ice water next to him. All the time, your conversations revolved around Jieun. You suppressed your growing feelings for him, thinking that it was inappropriate. You never knew he had-

'T-Taekwoon-'

'Do you know how worried I was when I couldn’t contact you? Why are you making me feel things that I thought I'll never feel again?'

You kept silent for a while, before whispering slightly, 'I thought it wasn't right for me to come in-'

But you ended up gasping when he sealed your lips with his. All that was in your mind was how soft his lips felt against yours as the kiss got deeper-

And that was when you got your senses back, immediately pushing him away from you, only to get a confused look from him.

'I-I'm sick!'

Taekwoon nearly thought that his heart had stopped working when you pushed him away, but was relieved when he realised that you were merely afraid of passing the illness to him.

'It's fine.'

'No it's not- What if you fall sick too-' You frantically answered, edging further back against the headboard as you watched Taekwoon close the gap between the both of you again.

'Then you'll have to take care of me and Jieun.'

‘I’m fine with that but you can’t fall sick-‘

And your words fell on deaf ears as he once again claimed your lips in his, this time not giving in to anymore of your excuses.