That day, after Hyukjae oppa left me at the house, Donghae sshi helped me to unpack my suitcases and showed me around the house. Since it was my first night in town, he brought me out to dinner and to also show me around. He was afraid that I might get bored at home since there was almost nothing to do in the house.

“So, there’s the supermart. It’s open till 7pm unlike the ones in the city so go early,”he told me.

I nodded as I processed whatever he had to say. We continued walking down the street and I felt lighter already. The air here was fresher and everybody walked in a slow and relaxed manner. Even the way Donghae sshi carried himself was different from the way Hyukjae oppa behaves. Hyukjae oppa is always so tensed up and alert whereas Donghae sshi could just drift along with the wind.

“And here’s my childcare center,”he announced proudly.

It was a small house with a sign outside. Though modest in size, Donghae sshi was not ashamed of it and took pride in his achievements.

“You must be really rich in order to set this up,”I looked around.

“To be honest, Hyukjae was the one who opened it for me. I took a loan from him. That’s why when he asked if you could stay with me, I couldn’t refuse. Moreover, we’ve been friends for too long,”Donghae sshi replied.

“I’m sorry for troubling you, Donghae sshi. I didn’t expect it to happen either,”I bowed a little.

“Call me Donghae. And don’t worry about it. I’ll take good care of you,”he smiled.

I don’t know whether it was the way he smiled or the way he said it. It made me feel nostalgic and brought me down the memory lane to what happened eight years ago. The day when I first met Hyukjae oppa. Donghae sshi, I mean Donghae here was saying the exact same thing that Hyukjae oppa said.

 “Okay then. But be sure to call me by my name as well!”I smiled back.

“No problem,”Donghae whistled.

The two of us headed back to his house and I crashed on the bed immediately after washing up. I took out my phone to look at it. No missed calls. No messages. No nothing. My wallpaper that had a picture of Hyukjae oppa and I was just staring back at me. It was already 10pm and still no calls from him. He had dropped me off before noon.  He had been busy for ten whole hours. With no time to even pull out a minute to call me. I sighed and just covered myself with the blanket. The bed was smaller than the one I was accustomed to using at the apartment. But it was way better. At least I had a valid reason to feel lonely. Unlike the bed in the apartment; although Hyukjae oppa was just beside me, I had always felt like I was sleeping by myself.

“Hyukjae oppa, why have you changed?”I sighed.

To my amazement, I fell asleep. I woke up fairly early the next day thanks to the light music coming from outside. It was a foreign feeling not waking up to a quiet house. I washed up and walked out of the room to find Donghae laying breakfast on the table. He looked up just as he was scrapping eggs onto a plate. Upon seeing me, he smiled.

“Good morning, Haemin! Up for breakfast?”he asked as he headed back to the kitchen.

“Good morning. Yes, please!”I smiled as I went over to where he was.

He was making tea for the both of us and we went off to sit at the dining table. He had cooked an American breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs and toast.

“Is it alright for you? I know you’re probably used to better food,”Donghae asked, embarrassed.

“No, no. I’m fine with it. Thank you so much for cooking for me,”I smiled.

“So, what will you be doing when I’m off at the childcare center?”he asked as we both started eating.

“Er, I haven’t thought of it yet. I’ll probably rot at home,”I sighed.

We continued eating breakfast and that was when I thought of something.

“Donghae, do you need help at the center?”I asked.

“You are looking for a job?”he asked.

“Not really. Just something to keep me occupied,”I answered.

“Well, there’s no shortage at the center but you can just come and teach the kids how to do some art and craft or read stories to them.  As for the pay…you gotta make do with the miserable amount. I don’t earn a lot so I can’t really provide a hefty paycheck,”he said.

“Oh, please don’t worry about that. I don’t mind working for free. I’m only looking for something to do,”I explained.

“Nah, I can’t do that. Moreover, you’re Hyukjae’s girlfriend,”Donghae shook his head.

“But you’re already providing me a place to stay and taking care of me! Take it as me repaying your kindness,”I smiled.

Donghae was deep in thought.

“Alright then. It’s a deal!”Donghae reached out for my hand and I shook it.

“Thank you!”I grinned.

After breakfast, Donghae decided to bring me out to the childcare center to get familiarize with the place. It was only a 20 minutes walk from here just like everywhere in town. Donghae doesn’t own a car but a bicycle which he rarely ever uses. He just walks to wherever he needs to go. We reached the childcare center and he unlocks the gate.

“We need to report here at 7am every weekday. The rest will wait here for me to unlock it and at around 7.30am, parents will start dropping their kids off,”he explained as walked around the small house.

He pointed out the different rooms and explained the functions of each room. He assigned me to the art & craft room where I’ll help another lady tomorrow. All I just needed to do was help the kids to cut things if needed.

“It’s too dangerous for them to be near a pair of scissors,”Donghae shook his head.

Other than that, I can go over to the story-telling corner to read to the kids there or teach them how to sing in the music room. So, it really depends on what I want to do since I was a ‘free-lancer’. I was just an extra help in his center.

“This place is really nice. You must have put in a lot of thought into decorating it,”I commented as he locked the gate.

“Thanks!”he smiled before walking off.

End of Chapter

DarkAngel