“So you’re telling me you’ve already met the CEO and the designer of Tamashii? Then why am I going to this meeting when I could cuddle with my wife and daughter!” Jihyo whines as they walk into the building 

“We just bumped into each other and spent some time together. You’re the CEO of our business you have to attend this! And your wife and daughter aren’t even at home, what are you talking about” Jeongyeon smacks her friend's shoulder 

Jihyo pouts but the moment the two friends and business partners enter the building she changes into CEO Park Jihyo. Jeongyeon once again meets Chaeyoung and Mina but this time in a more professional setting. The two had welcoming smiles on their faces yet they seemed different from the last time she had met them. Mina wasn’t the panicked mother she had seen nearly a week ago. The two heads of Tamashii had impressed both Jihyo and Jeongyeon by taking their basic concept design for the new bakery and improving it further with their creativity. Jeongyeon felt awestruck.

“I have one request” Mina tilts her head ever so lightly, a habit that Jeongyeon noticed in the few hours she knew Mina 

“Is there anything you want us to change?” Chaeyoung asks

“Ah no, your design is perfect!” Jeongyeon feels a little embarrassed now “Can I have one wall to myself? Like one wall that I can paint?” Mina smiles her big gummy smile at her silly request 

“Sure” Mina answers “Which one do you want?”

The four end the meeting with smiles and handshakes before they head out in different directions. Jeongyeon checks her watch, 12:30pm. 

“What time should drop Chaeyeon back home?” She asks before the two get in their respective cars

“Nayeon said we’ll be back by 5 so drop her off at 6, maybe?” 

“Cool, have fun on your date” Jeongyeon says before getting in to drive to her goddaughters school.

It’s funny how life turns out. She’d have never thought Park Jihyo, the short stubborn girl who’d mess with her Lego’s in elementary school and Im Nayeon, Jeongyeon’s first love, would end up marrying each other let alone be the parents of a cute little angel Jeongyeon loves. But here she is, standing in front of the gates of the elementary school waiting to spend the rest of her day with Chaeyeon as Jihyo and Nayeon are off somewhere being disgustingly romantic. 

“You’re not following me are you?” She hears from behind her. She turns to find the woman she had met this morning, the two can’t help but smile the second their eyes meet

“I could ask you the same thing” 

“Hi” Jeongyeon hears the small voice and looks down at the small kid holding Mina’s hand 

“Hey there, how are you?” Jeongyeon smiles even wider 

“I’m fine thank you” Rei replies looking as cute as she always does  

“So what are you doing here? Observing your target audience?” Jeongyeon chuckles at that 

“No, I’m here to pick up Chaeyeon, Jihyo’s daughter”  Jeongyeon sways slightly on her feet not knowing what to say. She doesn’t have to think for long though, the final bell rings and hundreds of kids barrel towards the gate like their life depends on it. The first in the crowd is Chaeyeon tugging another kid along with her although Jeongyeon can’t see who the kid is she can already sense Chaeyeon’s pouty request for a play date 

“Jeongie!” the kid jumps towards her as always. Jeongyeon’s poor back 

“Hey little cupcake” Jeongyeon carries the child, surprisingly the kid Chaeyeon had dragged along with her was Yuki, who now stood beside her mother hugging her leg. Chaeyeon motions to be put back down and goes to hold Yuki’s hand “Jeongie, this is Yuki. Can she come to the park with us?” 

Jeongyeon looks at Mina and then back at Chaeyeon “I don’t know Chae, you should ask Yuki and her mom if they have any other plans” 

“Can Yuki please come with us Yuki’s mom, please?” Chaeyeon musters the cutest possible pout for Mina. Mina  smiles at the small child and bends down to talk to her own rather timid daughter 

“Do you want to go Yuki chan?” Mina is surprised when Yuki gives a small nod 

“Can mommy come with?” she asks in a small voice 

Mina takes a moment to think “Okay, mommy will come too” Mina gets up and takes her phone out to book a cab “What’s the address?”

“You can just come with us” Jeongyeon suggests “My car’s big enough for the five of us”

“Oh I don’t want to intrude” 

“You’re not” Jeongyeon smiles “We can grab lunch together and then go to the amusement park. If you’re okay with it” 

“Sure”

The five of them move to Jeongyeon’s car, helping the three kids settle in the back seat

“Hey, Mina. I’m sorry if we’re spoiling any of your plans for today”

“It’s all right, we didn’t have much else planned, anyway” And with a smile Mina gets into the passenger's seat and though it was true Mina can’t help but feel like there’s something she’s forgetting

“And the loop is this big and it goes like whoosh and then it comes back down an-” Chaeyeon over enthusiastically describes all the rides to Yuki, who stays silent but has a wide smile on her face as they near the amusement park. The sight of the three children from the rear-view mirror makes Mina smile

“Okay, little monkey time to get down” Jeongyeon unbuckles Chaeyeon’s seatbelt as Mina helps Yuki and Rei

Luckily the park isn’t too crowded, the five girls walk towards the rides with Chaeyeon leading the way, Yuki’s hand in her own. Rei walks between Jeongyeon and Mina 

“Fishies” Chaeyeon exclaimed and began tugging Yuki towards the ride 

“Fishies” Rei repeated excitedly 

Jeongyeon and Mina formed an unspoken agreement on taking turns on accompanying the kids on the bigger rides and on holding Rei. It felt weird for Mina to be so comfortable with someone other than her family or close friends when it came to her daughters. Jeongyeon was practically a stranger, yet here she was, standing with Rei in her arms, the two-year-old clinging onto her jacket as she twirled her around. Mina smiled at the sight. The two older kids came back from their ride. 

“We should go on the rollercoaster!” Chaeyeon suggests, jumping up and down looking expectantly at Yuki. There is a look of terror on Yuki’s face and she hesitates, this doesn’t go unnoticed by the two adults

“How about we ride the tea-cups Chaeyeonnie?” Jeongyeon immediately suggests 

Chaeyeon being the excited child she is instantly agrees and the five of them are once again walking across the park. Mina keeps glancing at Jeongyeon. She has a cute lopsided smile, Mina notices. The two adults stand by the railing to watch the kids waving at them from inside the giant teacup

“Thank you for that, Yuki can be a little shy at times” Jeongyeon looks at Mina 

“It’s no big deal, Chaeyeon is very hyper most of the time but she understands when someone is uncomfortable. She just needs a little reminding” Jeongyeon smiles and waves at the kid “Yuki’s a great kid too. Maybe she’s a little shy with kids her age but she’s very intelligent and responsible” Jeongyeon leans her side against the railing to look at Mina “You are doing a great job at raising your daughters” she smiles at Mina

Unknowingly Mina’s eyes well up at Jeongyeon’s words, there are times when she doubts herself and wonders if she’s a good mom. To hear that from someone, to be acknowledged, was something she didn’t know she needed until now. 

“I’m sorry if I said something wrong” Jeongyeon says as soon as she sees the little tears escaping her eyes 

“No” Mina chuckles “You said nothing wrong” Jeongyeon lets out a sigh of relief 

“People ought to compliment you more often Miss Myoui” 

Before Mina can come up with a retort the three kids rush towards them. The five take a little snack break, Rei was getting sleepier as each minute passed. They decide on two final rides. First, the big carousel. Jeongyeon and Mina help Chaeyeon and Yuki get on the smaller horses ahead of them. 

“What are you doing?” Jeongyeon asks when Mina’s about to sit in one of the carriages “Get on the horse!” She says like a child

“What? No, it’ll be easier for me to hold Rei this way”

“I’ll hold Rei come on! Carriages are lame!” 

“I’ve never sat on one of those” Mina laughs

“Which is exactly why you should try!” Mina walks to the horse, it’s a little too high for her. It’s a little awkward for her to get on top of it but does with Jeongyeon’s help. Once everyone’s settled the ride starts, the sudden jerk scares Mina, but she soon recovers as the ride moves at a slow pace. Mina closes her eyes and feels the gentle cold breeze against her skin 

“See, it’s fun right?” She hears Jeongyeon say from beside her, Rei leaning onto her, Mina only nods with a smile

The metal horse rocks at the same pace although the speed of the ride slightly increases, slowly one by one the lights all around the ride turn on. The world seems vibrant and Mina is in awe of it. She relaxes her body and stretches her arms outwards as if to capture all the vibrance, cool air slips through her fingers and she smiles at the feeling. She holds onto the pole again and looks at Jeongyeon. And Jeongyeon looks at her. She sees Mina

The ride comes to a slow stop, Jeongyeon gets down with Rei in her arms and turns her back towards Mina, offering her shoulders for support. Mina shakes her head but takes her help anyway. 

“Last one” Jeongyeon says as the group walks towards the Ferris wheel 

“Come on mommy!” Yuki drags Mina, clearly excited for the one thing Mina dreads. The five get into one cart, the kids switching from sitting and standing in the large space. Jeongyeon sees Mina fidgeting and sits next to her 

“Not your cup of tea?” 

“Far from it” 

Jeongyeon gently pats Mina’s shaky hands to comfort her “Look, the sunset looks beautiful” It did.

Neither of them know when or how they ended up holding hands but neither seemed to mind it. They adoringly smile at the kids in front of them as they look out the glass

“Mommy look! So pretty!” Yuki exclaims 

“Yes baby, it’s beautiful” 

The sun begins to disappear into the horizon by the time their cart reaches the ground again. They walk to the parking lot, Jeongyeon and Mina once again turn into the formal adults they are as they politely argue on whether or not Jeongyeon should drive the Myoui’s back home 

“My place is just a lane away from yours Mina, I have to go in that direction anyway” Well, that settles the argument. The three small girls fall asleep in the backseat. Jeongyeon drops off Chaeyeon first, carrying the small sleeping child and carefully handing her over to Nayeon with a final kiss on her forehead. 

“You’re very good with kids” Mina compliments

“All thanks to Chaeyeon’s training” Jeongyeon jokes “And your kids are very great to be around” 

“Thank you” 

The drive ends soon, Mina carries Rei and Jeongyeon carries Yuki. As soon as Mina opens the gate to her house, she hears. Oh that was what she was forgetting 

“Mina!”

“Sana”