As if she was struck with lightning in the middle of broad daylight, Elena felt all her strength and composure crumbled into nothing when she heard that her baby daughter was having an accident, and she was immediately sent to a hospital because she was losing too much blood.

The teacher managed to explain that they were just getting off the bus when she noticed that Eunmi was chasing her hat that was blown by the wind.

Elena did not need to hear the rest. She knew her daughter. Eunmi must be too focused on her favorite snapback that she would not see the motorcycle. But as much as the little girl was strong and tough, Elena would feel an indescribable pain if her beloved daughter was hurt.

The woman did not even resist a single bit when Namjoon dragged her to his car and drove in full speed, which usually would get him a good scolding from the lady because he was speeding in the traffic. But Elena said nothing. Her only wish was to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

“I have a friend at that hospital,” Namjoon said while fishing out his phone from his pocket and shove it to her. He put his hands back on the wheel. “He is a doctor. Call him. He can make sure your daughter gets the best treatment.”

Elena grabbed the phone. “The password?”

“Your birthday.”

Elena’s heart stopped for a moment, but her fingers moved faster. She entered 0613 and the phone was unlocked immediately.

“Find Min Yoongi. And put in on speaker,” Namjoon continued.

Elena did as he said, and in no time, their call was connected.

“Yoongi-hyung, I need your help,” Namjoon said right away after the doctor answered his call. “Elena’s daughter is being sent to your hospital on emergency. She got an accident.”

“Yeah, I heard the emergency call just moments ago. It must be her,” Yoongi replied. “I’ll go now.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

They ended the call. Even though Elena was trying her best to keep calm, she could not hide her trembling hands. Namjoon stretched out his right arm to hold the woman’s hands in his. She did not reject it. Instead, she could feel that the man’s warmth indeed gave her a soothing feeling.

“She is a strong girl, she will be alright,” he comforted her.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, they were greeted by Eunmi’s headmistress and Yoongi. They said that the little girl was not badly hurt, and they would have nothing serious to worry about, although Yoongi honestly explained that Eunmi kept bleeding because her blood was hard to clot.

“But I can see your daughter is a strong girl, Elena-ssi,” Yoongi tried to calm the lady with a little praise. “She doesn’t cry and she cooperates well with the treatment.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Elena could not help but to worry although she knew how tough her baby girl was.

“She will be okay. The only problem is, we are running out of her blood type because of simultaneous operation yesterday,” Yoongi answered frankly. “But we have contacted the blood bank, and the delivery will be here anytime soon. I’m sure we can manage it.”

“What is her blood type?” Namjoon asked warily.

“It’s A,” Elena was the one who answered. “But mine is AB.”

“My blood is A,” Namjoon stated instantly. “Can we use mine?”

“But Namjoon,” Elena tried to stop him.

“It’s better than waiting for the blood to come,” the man argued.

“Are you sure?” Yoongi asked his friend.

“Yeah.”

“Then come with me,” the doctor signaled the taller man to follow him, and Namjoon did so.

While they were away, Elena was once again occupied with the teachers from her daughter’s school who could not stop apologizing to her because Eunmi’s accident was theirs to blame since they did not properly watch over their students.

Yet Elena still had her senses intact. She knew she could not really blame the teachers since she knew her daughter’s characteristics. The motorcycle driver was an elderly man who was on food delivery, and Elena did not have the heart to put more trouble to the shocked old man whose head was also bandaged yet he did not stop apologizing to her either.

All she ever wanted for the moment was for her daughter to be okay. The doctors did not allow her to meet her yet, although they gave their words to make sure that the little girl was all right.

Namjoon on the other side, while his blood was being retracted, something crazy suddenly crossed his mind, and he did not put any hesitation to ask another favor from Yoongi.

“Hyung, please do something for me.”

Yoongi widened his eyes upon hearing Namjoon’s request. It was something bizarre considering their situations. But, oh well. Yoongi knew very well who Kim Namjoon was. No, he was not afraid of his family’s wealth and power. He knew Namjoon was not that heartless kind of jerk. But Yoongi just did not want a certain God of Destruction came to his apartment every night just to nag him because the younger man was being pouty and sulk to him albeit their supposedly matured age.

“But I need to ask Elena’s permi…”

“Don’t!” Namjoon cut instantly. “Don’t let her know. I imagine she will never agree on this.”

Yoongi sighed as he was staring straight to his friend. This was ridiculous. But he knew that the man standing before him was serious.

“I will let you know in two weeks, approximately,” he finally said.

A brighter mood was clearly seen on Namjoon’s face. “Thanks, hyung. I owe you a lot.”

“You and your endless obsession on Elena…” Yoongi shook his head in disbelief, and Namjoon only shrugged in defeat as his reply.

Two weeks went too long for Namjoon’s liking, but it was not the case for Elena, because she was all relieved and happy that her daughter was showing significant progress in recovery. Indeed her baby girl was awesome. She did not throw any tantrum that would bring difficulties for the doctors and nurses. As long as she had her mom by her side, she always behaved properly.

Within days, Eunmi was permitted to go home. She almost begged her mom to let her to go to school since she missed her friends so bad. But needless to say, no one would allow her to leave her home while her head was still heavily bandaged.

The little girl should have rest more, but since Elena permitted her to invite her friends over, of course, Eunmi would not just keep quiet while playing with her friends. Elena sighed in defeat. But at least, Eunmi had gradually recovered, and seeing her daughter’s happy smile and laughter was more than enough for Elena.

“Eunmi is asleep now,” Elena informed Namjoon when the man visited them and she led him to the living room.

“She is getting better, right?” Namjoon asked while he slumped down to the couch.

“Yes,” Elena nodded. “Thanks for all the help, Namjoon..”

“Don’t mention it, Noona. I just want the best for her too…”

Namjoon politely accepted her gratitude but he asked her not to think too much about it. His mind was busy with something else. He was holding on an envelope whose content made him sped his car right away after Yoongi sent him the letter.

“What is it, Namjoon? You look stiff…” Elena noticed the tenseness.

Namjoon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he stared at Elena with unreadable expression, making her wondered if she had done something wrong.

“Namjoon…”

The man ignored her a bit. He opened the envelope he had been bringing, and took the paper inside. For the umpteenth time, his eyes were looking at the numbers printed in bold somewhere on the bottom part of the letter.

99,12 %.

Days before, he did not put any hope in this, because he realized that it was crazy, to ask such thing from Yoongi. But now when he got the result, he questioned the validity.

Reluctantly, he gave the paper to the lady, in confidence that she would know what it meant, because at the moment, he could not express his thought with any word.

Elena took the paper from him, and read it shortly.

Since she read the first words on the top, her eyes widened vigorously. Her breath hitched. Her heart threatened to stop beating.

“You.. did this.. to my daughter…?” Elena could not believe it that Namjoon dared to perform a DNA test on her six years old daughter, without her permission.

Namjoon did not answer her with any words, but he just stared.

“She received your blood, Namjoon,” Elena tried to reason, especially for herself, “I know blood transfusion can temporarily mess the recipient’s DNA…”

“I…” Namjoon held his breath too. “Yoongi-hyung is not a fool. He knew what he needed to do. He was using Eunmi’s blood before she received my transfusion.”

Elena’s eyes were b with tears. Her heart started to beat loudly. The thing she always feared to happen, she was suddenly exposed to the fact.

“I. Really. Don’t. Know. How. It. Happen…” Namjoon tried to voice out his mind clearly, word by word. “You never accept me… let alone allowing me to touch you… But how…” he did not have the bravery to seek the truth, but he needed to know it. “Did I… ever… force you?”

‘Force.. what a good choice of word…’ Elena thought bitterly as she heard the word uttered from the very lips of the younger man before her.

Her defense walls were crumbling down. For years, she had been trying to conceal the wound, hiding it from everyone, even from her own husband.

For like forever, Elena always rejected Namjoon in any way he came closer to her. She had made it clear, that she would never accept Namjoon’s feeling, and she hoped that Namjoon would respect their relation as student-lecturer. It’s not that Elena wanted to disappear from Namjoon’s sight. It’s not in her blood that she would cowardly escape from the people who brought discomfort to her. If she ever did that, she would have nowhere to go, because undeniably, she had a large number of fans. Namjoon was not the only one who chased her.

Yet Elena admitted that she gave Namjoon a certain credit despite his annoying confessions. The young man was undoubtedly smart, and he took his studies seriously, unlike those other rich kids who came to college just because they needed to graduate. Namjoon was serious with his marks, and other than the times he spent to tease the beautiful lady, he actually seek her help for studying.

Elena was relieved that at some point Namjoon eventually stopped chasing her. It was when she announced that her marriage would be due in months.

Namjoon accepted defeat by then. Seeing Elena was being happier and prettier as the marriage was coming soon, he knew he would never stand a chance against Kim Seokjin.

It was around two weeks before the wedding. In his attempt to bid farewell to his feelings for good, Namjoon threw a small surprise party for Elena in a restaurant, with some close students and college staffs attending. He did not realize that he was too heartbroken that he drank too much, way beyond his limits. And Elena, being an angel like she always did, did not have the heart to let the young man went home by himself after everyone left the party.

But of course. A young man, heavily drunk in heartbreak, alone with the woman he desired in his apartment, were certainly not good things to combine.

Elena was helpless.

“I woke up and found myself all alone in my room, just like usual. I often slept so I did not find it weird, especially when I knew that I must have been drinking the night before. Why didn’t you tell me anything?”

“How could I tell you the truth when my wedding was incoming, and the next time we met, you congratulated me with all those smiles on your face?” Elena snapped. “You even innocently gave a support to Seokjin too..”

“I. Didn’t. Remember. Anything. Noona!” Namjoon tried to explain. “If only I knew what I had done to you, I would surely take the responsibility! I just thought that you got pregnant right after your marriage. Never once it slipped in my mind that Eunmi is my daughter!”

“STOP!! Don’t…” Elena was at loss of words and she covered her face. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks.

“All this time…” Namjoon whispered. “You know who Eunmi’s true father is… Don’t you?”

“No, Namjoon.. please…”

“Noona, I should be the one to beg you…” the man literally dropped on his knees and reached for the woman’s hands. “I am sorry for what had happened… but please… give me a chance…”

“No…” Elena shook her head vigorously. She did not want to admit it. The wound and sin she had tried to conceal, now had to unfold. The fact that her daughter was not her husband’s. She never tried to clarify it, because she was afraid of the result. But somehow, she always felt this burden and guilt in her heart.

“Have you really never think to try to love… no.. not love… but at least.. accept me… to love you?” Namjoon asked desperately. “If not, then why are you letting me to come back to your life?”

Elena could not answer him. She kept silent. She had questioned herself countless time for why she allowed Namjoon to re-enter her life since he came home from abroad that time. She even let him to get close to her daughter. And she never imagined –no, admitted- that they were true father and daughter.

The woman was trying hard to clear her heart and mind, when suddenly she heard someone opened the bedroom door.

“Mom…” her daughter was coming out from the room and approaching them.

Elena looked away, wiping her tears. She did not want her daughter to see her cry. But when she turned to face her, the little girl was already lifted by Namjoon in his strong arms. Elena wanted to object, but she couldn’t. Eunmi should not witness their fight. And the little girl, it looked like she had something to say.

“Sweetheart, why are you awake?” Elena came closer to them and tried to maintain her tone while she gently caressed her daughter who looked comfortable in Namjoon’s embrace.

“I have a dream…” Eunmi answered. “Daddy comes to play with me…”

“Oh really?” Elena expressed her excitement.

“Yes.. Daddy let me climb on his back, and then we run around the grass field… It’s wonderful…” she chirped cheerfully.

“Are you happy, Princess?” Namjoon asked her.

“Of course,” Eunmi nodded enthusiastically.

“Do you miss your Dad?” Namjoon continued.

“I do…” now she turned solemn a little. “But I know Daddy is no longer here. He’s watching over me from heaven, right?”

“Yes, he does..” Namjoon confirmed. “But if you can, do you wish to have a new dad to play with you?”

Elena gasped at Namjoon’s bluntness, and she opened , trying to stop Namjoon, but her daughter’s answer made her stood still.

“I do, Uncle,” Eunmi answered excitedly. “Can you be my new dad, Uncle Joonie?”

Namjoon did not see it coming too. He held his breath. He almost did not believe his own ears.

His own daughter, was asking him, to be her dad. He turned his head to look at Elena, with obvious hint of victory in his face.

“You need to ask your Mom, Princess..” he said. “Will she accept me to be your dad?”

The little girl turned to her mother immediately. “Mom, can I have Uncle Joonie to be my new dad? I love Daddy Seokjin, but I like Uncle Joonie too…”

“But, Eunmi-a…”

“If we have Uncle Joonie, then we will have all the time in this world to play around and be happy…” the girl voiced her mind innocently.

“Sweetheart…”

“Noona…” Namjoon intercepted her. “Our daughter has asked you like this. Do you still wish to avoid me?” he gave a strong punctuation on that certain word.

“But Namjoon, I…” Elena was again at loss of words. She was in deep confusion. Her heart and mind were not working properly. She unknowingly shed another tear.

“Mom… why are you crying?” the little girl was confused to see her mom crying. “Please don’t cry… I feel sad…” she pouted, it truly hurt her heart to see her beloved mother cried.

“No, my dear. Don’t be sad,” Elena quickly wiped the tears away. “I’m not crying..” she even tried to smile.

Eunmi tilted her head as she clearly saw that her mother’s eyes were wet.

Namjoon freed one of his arms to reach for Elena, wiping away the evident teardrops in the face of the woman he truly loved.

“Noona, please, give me the chance,” he begged. “Let me love you… And I’m not asking you to love me back. Just please, don’t chase me away anymore. You can keep your heart and love only for Eunmi as you wish. As long as we all are together… I will not ask for more…” he pleaded.

Another tears were escaping Elena’s solid defense. Namjoon’s sincere request had reached the deepest hollow in her heart. The walls she built around her were torn down. She had to admit it. She had no more reason to reject Namjoon’s feeling.

“Elena, please… Marry me…”

She closed her eyes. That was the first time Namjoon called her without honorific term like he usually did. But she did not feel offended at all. Instead, Namjoon’s words had shot the last arrow to make her surrendered. She felt a wave of serenity and tranquility as soon as she made peace with herself. So comforting, just like Namjoon’s warm hand which was holding her cheek.

Elena looked at her daughter once more. The little girl smiled in excitement, waiting for her answer with obvious happiness in her eyes. And that was all the woman needed to brace her heart, before she finally nodded, agreeing to give the man before her the only thing he always asked.

*** The End ***