“Auntie Kim, we’re here!”

Taeyeon popped her head out from the kitchen and saw Moonbyul, Irene, Wheein and two new girls that she had not met yet. She deduced the girls might be Moonbyul and Irene’s girlfriends.

“Come on in, have a seat. I’m finishing soon.”

“Neh~”

Taeyeon smiled when the girls replied her obediently. The girls reminded her of those times she was with her friends like Soo Young, Sunny, Tiffany and Soo Yeon. But Taeyeon chose to disappear without a word; she wondered how they were especially Soo Yeon.

“Auntie Kim~”

Taeyeon overlooked at her shoulder; she saw Wheein smiling at her.

“Do you need my help?”

“Ah, there’s nothing much but maybe you can help me to take out the plates from the cupboard.”

“Okay~”

The younger girl removed some plates from the cupboard and even set up the table for lunch. She moved swiftly around the kitchen; and even know how to set up the table. Yongsun needed to be told.

“Aigoo, you know how to set up the table?”

“Yeah, I learn from my Mommy.”

“Oh, she cooks too?”

“Sometimes. She will teach me how to cook sometimes but Mommy prefers me to study and do well academically.”

“At least you know some housework. Yongsun only knows how to eat.”

“OMMA! STOP SAYING BAD THINGS BEHIND MY BACK!”

Yongsun finally arrived. She went out to get some additional dishes so that her friends had more things to eat. She sent them to her house first and she went to the nearest restaurant to get some side dishes.

“Look at how Wheein sets the table. This is how it should be. So neat and tidy.”

“Wheein comes from upper class family.”

“Even though so, she does better than you.”

Yongsun pouted. Wheein giggled before putting her arms around her girlfriend. She cuddled the upset girlfriend tightly.

“It’s okay. You can go out and work, I’ll stay at home and cook for you.”

“Really?! That’s great!”

“Kim Yongsun, stop bullying Wheein.”

“I didn’t! She volunteered!”

“Stop arguing with me, get your friends to eat.”

Yongsun stuck her tongue out but nevertheless went out to call the rest of the girls. Wheein was still in the kitchen and Taeyeon tapped on her back gently.

“Thank you, Wheein. You make Yongsun a happy girl nowadays.”

“No, I have to thank you. For letting Yongsun to be with me and most importantly, for giving birth to Yongsun on this earth.”

Taeyeon was taken aback but nevertheless, gave Wheein a smile.

-

The girls ate heartily; Taeyeon learned the other two girls were Hyejin and Jennie. Yes, they were indeed Moonbyul’s and Irene’s girlfriends respectively. And Hyejin’s Wheein’s best friend. They talked about their experiences in high school; and how they met and Taeyeon listened attentively.

Taeyeon found herself staring at Wheein the most. She discovered many different sides of Wheein which were similar. Hyejin was relating a story when she first met Wheein in school.

“She was always in her loose t-shirts, white shirts inside, baggy pants and that hideous fishing hat.”

“It’s not a fishing hat! It’s called a bucket hat!”

“Still, it was hideous!”

“YA~ you said I was cute!”

“I said that to humour you.”

“Evil Hyejin!”

“Aw, baby. You must have looked so adorable in that bucket hat.”

“I was!”

“Yeah, surprisingly, she was the only girl in school who can pulled off that bucket hat look. Even though so, she had fair shares of admirers from both genders.”

Yongsun suddenly pulled her girlfriend closer to her and wrapped her arms around Wheein’s waist protectively. Moonbyul and Irene rolled their eyes.

“Nobody is going to take your girlfriend away.”

“I’m still going to protect her.”

“Gee, you’re so possessive!”

“I don’t care!”

Wheein smiled before kissing her girlfriend’s forehead. Nobody was going to take her away from Yongsun. She was not going to allow that to happen anymore.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m yours for your whole lifetime.”

The other girls protested; and Taeyeon looked on. She was smiling all the time; of course, she cringed to see her daughter getting so mushy over Wheein but for some reason, Wheein reminded her of her younger days.

Hyejin then pulled out her phone and scrolled down her photos from the gallery. Then she found a photo of Wheein when she was a baby.

“Look! I took this at Wheein’s house. Isn’t she adorable?”

“Kyaaa~ My girlfriend was so cute!!”

“When did you take that photo?!”

Hyejin then showed Taeyeon.

“Auntie Kim, look at Wheein! Was she such an adorable little baby?”

Taeyeon was taken aback. She stared at the photo for the longest time. Little Wheein looked exactly like her when she was a baby. She was the exact replica of Kim Taeyeon when she was this age.

“Omma, why are you staring at Wheein’s photo so intently?”

“Huh? No, I was just admiring little baby Wheein.”

“Auntie Kim, not you too! Ya, Ahn Hyejin! Let me see your phone! You must have a lot of photos to bribe me, aren’t you?!”

“I do. Try me. I will send all to Yongsun.”

“YA!”

Yongsun then ushered her friends to her room while Taeyeon remained at the dining table. She was still stunned with Wheein’s baby photo. The resemblance was uncanny. If she showed to her mother, her mother would agree immediately.

“Who are you, Jung Wheein?”

Taeyeon wondered.

-

The girls were busy playing Go-Stop. Jennie was winning and Hyejin was ballistic. The queen of Go-Stop has been threatened.

“Wow, baby you’re so good in this! Are you sure this is your first time?!”

“You taught me, sweetie. I guess I get better whenever you’re with me.”

“Okay, stop stop! We don’t need another Moonbyul in the room.”

“What’s wrong with me?!”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with my greasy Moonstar?”

“You already said it. Greasy.”

“Kim Yongsun, you’re just jealous.”

“Why should I be jealous of you?!”

“Wheein ah, is Yongsun good in bed?”

“HEY! THAT’S NOTHING GOTTA TO DO WITH BEING GREASY!”

“She’s great. But Hyejin is better, isn’t she?”

“Okay, conversations getting weirder by the second.”

“Irene, you’re the champion. Jennie is blushing even before I could ask anything.”

“Shut up, Moonbyul!”

“Let’s talk about each other’s stamina! Who can last the longest!?”

“Great, you have awakened the ert Hyejin.”

“Okay, people! This is my room! Stop talking rubbish!”

Wheein looked on as her friends were arguing among themselves. Having them in her life added on to her already dull life before she joined the university. She never thought she could feel happy like this.

Growing up with a strict mother was never easy. But Wheein knew things would get better in the future especially now, when her mother had approved of her relationship with Yongsun.

Kim Yongsun. The love of her life. She never thought she could fall in love like this and wanting to keep this girl in her life forever. She was always afraid to take the first step; to make the first move but ever since Yongsun entered her life; she gave a little courage to bravely face her world especially her strict mother.

“Baby, I’m thirsty.”

Yongsun was getting up to head to the kitchen when Wheein stopped her. She kissed Yongsun on her lips.

“I’ll get it for you. You continue playing with them. U girls want drinks?”

“YEAH!”

Wheein chuckled softly. They answered like kindergarten kids. Wheein went to the kitchen and Taeyeon was still sitting at the dining table. She was looking through some photo albums. The older woman looked up and then she smiled.

“Why?”

“Ah, nah, the girls wanted some drinks. I’m getting for them.”

“Oh? I can make some lemonade for you.”

“I can do it with you.”

“Sure, come over here.”

Taeyeon stood up and grabbed some lemons from her fridge. Wheein stood next to her; looking on.

“You can cut these lemons into two.”

“Okay.”

The two talked for a bit while making lemonade. Once it’s ready, Wheein brought them back into the room before she decided to hang out with Taeyeon instead. Taeyeon was surprised.

“Hm?”

“Can I sit here and look through the photos with you?”

“Ah, sure. Come, sit down.”

Wheein settled down instantly and was looking through some baby photos. She didn’t have to ask who they were. It was obvious these baby photos belonged to her girlfriend.

“Yongsun was a chubby baby. Look at her cheeks and her thighs. Her uncle used to call her Little Drumstick.”

Wheein chuckled softly. Yongsun was indeed a chubby baby but full of smiles. Every photo of hers would either be she smiling or laughing. Yongsun was such a happy baby; Wheein was envious of her.

“She was such a joy to look at.”

“You said that because she’s your girlfriend now.”

“She looked really happy. She must have had a great childhood growing up.”

Taeyeon turned to look at Wheein; her brooding eyes were telling Taeyeon that this girl didn’t have a memorable childhood.

“You weren’t happy as a child?”

Wheein sighed before closing the photo album. She wasn’t unhappy, but she hardly smiled as a child too.

“Mommy has been strict with me since I was a child.”

Wheein paused for a second before continuing.

“I don’t know what it is but sometimes when Mommy looks at me; I feel like she’s longing for something or someone. I’m not sure if she’s longing for my father or I look a lot like him. She has never showed me his photo. She has never mentioned anything about my father.”

“Hm? Your mother raised you up single-handedly?”

“I was born without a father. That was what my grandparents told me. She raised me on my own for the first 3 years of my life before she married my step-father.”

Taeyeon looked on.

“But even with the marriage, Mommy seems like she’s still unhappy. Sometimes I feel like Mommy has a certain grudge towards me. I just thought maybe Daddy made her unhappy.”

“No matter what the reason could be, I’m sure she loves you dearly.”

“She does. But we are not close. Not as close as you and Yongsun. We hardly talk. We hardly go out together. Sometimes I wish she would take me out for shopping but Mommy’s always busy with her work. Her sister was the one who took me out often.”

“Did your step-father treat you badly too?”

“Oh, no! He loves me the most! He takes good care of me; sometimes he pampers me too! He has two boys before he married my father. But he loves us equally. I really like him.”

“Ah, so you are just not close with your Mommy?”

“Yeah, I love her. But now she’s better. I want to build a better relationship with her.”

“I’m sure you will. If she’s willing to change and give you the best of everything, I’m sure you will be able to build a better relationship than it was before. By the way, where were you born? Were you born in Seoul?”

“I was born in US, but Mommy took me home when I was still a child.”

“USA?”

“Yeah, Mommy went over to USA after her degree. I grew up there for a couple of years before I come over to Seoul.”

Taeyeon was getting suspicious. Her life story was somehow linked. She remembered her conversation with Taecyeon. It was too eerily similar to Wheein’s story. She had to find out.

“Wheein ah, what is your mother’s name?”

“Jessica.”

“Just Jessica?”

“Jessica Jung.”

Taeyeon stared at Wheein.

“What’s your Aunt’s name?”

“Jung Soo Jung. And my mother’s Korean name is Jung Soo Yeon.”

Taeyeon’s heart sank immediately.

-

Taecyeon was reading when his phone rang. He answered absent-mindedly without checking the caller. He was greeted with a panicking Kim Taeyeon.

“Taeyeon-shi?”

“I need to see you now. Can we meet?”

“Oh, sure. Where do you want to meet?”

“The same café we sat the last time. I’ll see you in half an hour.”

Taecyeon left the house almost immediately. Taeyeon sounded urgent. Did something happen? Like what she has promised, Taeyeon came right on the dot. They sat at the far end of the café for some privacy.

“Taeyeon-shi, is there anything I can help you?”

“I need you to be honest with me.”

“What is it?”

Taeyeon took a deep breath. She had her suspicion on Wheein. Wheein’s baby photo was the biggest clue and her mother’s name was the same as her Soo Yeon. Now she needed confirmation.

She took out her phone and then showed Taecyeon something. It was Wheein’s photo and her baby photo where she took from Hyejin.

“Is this girl my daughter?”

Taecyeon’s shoulders sagged. Taeyeon found out.

“How did you find out?”

Taeyeon was stunned. She was right.

“Are you saying that this girl, Jung Wheein is my biological daughter?”

“Yes, she’s the girl Soo Yeon has been raising. How did you find out?”

“This photo. Her baby photo. That’s the biggest clue. She looks like me when I was this age.”

“Taeyeon-shi, I wanted to tell you the last time we met but you were swarmed with new revelations. I couldn’t add on and the fact that Wheein is seeing Yongsun; I had to stop myself from telling you.”

Taeyeon sank into her seat. She felt an impending headache; crashing into her brain and tugging at her veins. She just stared at Taecyeon.

“I’m sorry, Taeyeon-shi.”

“Wheein’s my daughter?”

The man nodded; it didn’t matter. The truth hurt.

“When she was born, she looked a lot like you. It gave Soo Yeon a lot of pain and she almost wanted to abandon Wheein. She felt like she couldn’t continue because Wheein reminded her so much of you.”

“This is crazy.”

“I know.  I wish I could do something about this but this is just so complicated.”

“This is more than complication. This is disastrous. Our daughters are in love. Our poor daughters met; fell in love and they are their happiest moments now. How could this happen?”

“Taeyeon-shi, I think you need to meet up with Soo Yeon. The two of you must do something about this. Wheein doesn’t know about your existence.”

“Yongsun doesn’t know either. I have never told her about Soo Yeon.”

“I understand. It is difficult to tell the child you gave birth to that you’re not her biological mother. That is why I’m imploring to meet up with Soo Yeon. This is messy enough but we do not have to implicate the girls first.”

“How am I supposed to meet up with Soo Yeon like this? She hates me, doesn’t she?”

“No, she will never hate you. She hates herself for leaving you.”

“She hates me. She hates me until she’s controlling Wheein because she’s afraid that Wheein will turn out like me.”

“Taeyeon-shi, Soo Yeon went through depression; she had a hard time; raising Wheein by herself took a toll on her. She tried to commit suicide too.”

Taeyeon was taken aback.

“What?”

“She did. She tried to end her life when Wheein was a baby. She couldn’t handle it. But I helped her out. My ex-wife took Wheein home and we looked after Wheein for a couple of months to allow Soo Yeon to recover from her depression. She was diagnosed with post-natal depression. It was terrible.”

Taeyeon’s heart was squeezing so badly. It was tough for Soo Yeon.

“Did she recover?”

“She did but she thought she shouldn’t repeat the same mistake with Wheein. So, she grew possessive over Wheein.”

“Did Wheein had a good childhood?”

“Wheein is loved by her grandparents. Soo Yeon’s parents love her so much. Wheein doesn’t really had a bad childhood. Soo Jung and her parents adore Wheein so much. My sons and my ex-wife too. We love Wheein a lot.”

Taeyeon nodded.

“Taeyeon-shi, let me arrange for you to meet up with Jessica.”

“And how are you going to tell her?”

“It might be overwhelming but it’s unfair for your daughters. You will need to sort things out with Soo Yeon. And this time, we need to do it quickly before all hell breaks loose.”

-

Jessica was reading through her working files when Taecyeon called.

“Are you home?”

“Yes, where were you? I got out from the bathroom and you were gone.”

“I had an urgent meeting. Listen, will you be at home tonight?”

“Yeah, Wheein is with Yongsun. She’s not coming home. She said she’s spending the night at Yongsun’s place.”

“Ah, okay. I have something to tell you. Can you wait for me at home?”

“Sure.”

Taecyeon hung up and Jessica went back to her files again. But then the phone rang again. This time, it was her daughter’s calling.

“Wheein ah~”

“Mommy! What are you doing?”

“I’m just reading my files. Have you been good?”

“Yongsun and the girls are cooking ramyeon. We are having supper before getting some sleep.”

“Oh, so you’re not alone with Yongsun?”

“No, the girls came over too. We decided to spend the weekend at Yongsun’s place. Her mother cooked plenty of food for us!”

“Did you help her?”

“No worries, Auntie Kim is a nice lady. She takes good care of me. We even spent time talking just now.”

“That’s nice.”

“Oh, by the way, Mommy, she did ask a lot of questions about you.”

“She did?”

“It was just a friendly chat. But she did ask for your name too.”

“Really? Why did she do that? Does she know me?”

“Well, when I mentioned your name, she did look a little surprised. But I didn’t get to ask much; she said she had to meet someone so she left hastily.”

“Oh? Maybe she knows me. What is her name?”

“Hang on. Let me ask Yongsun.”

Jessica could hear her daughter screaming for her girlfriend. She chuckled softly.

“Baby!! What’s your mom’s name?”

“Whose mom?”

“Obviously your mom!”

“Oh, Kim Taeyeon.”

Jessica heard that. Her breathing hitched. Her heart ached so badly.

“Mommy, her name is Kim Taeyeon.”

Jessica felt like fainting.

-

Jessica’s mind was in a huge turmoil. She needed to talk to Taecyeon badly, fortunately the man had appeared at their door step.

“Oppa! I need to talk to you!”

“I know.”

“You know?”

Just then, another lady stepped in from Taecyeon’s back. Jessica’s eyes grew larger. She was stunned in her place and the lady was rooted to the ground. Taecyeon stood in between them.

This was going to be a long night.

“It’s really you, Soo Yeon.”

“Kim Taeyeon, what are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

-

The two ladies sat facing each other. Taecyeon was sitting in the middle seat; he looked back and forth between the two women. His headache wasn’t getting better. It throbbed so badly.

Soo Yeon kept her gaze at Taeyeon. The woman has aged but still as youthful as she could remember her. Her white porcelain skin; her red blushing cheeks; and Taeyeon still smells of Lavender. She still smells the same as she was before.

Taeyeon focused on the floor. Having Soo Yeon here felt so surreal. All the while, she thought she had moved on but seeing Soo Yeon for that split second; Taeyeon was reduced to pieces. The pain didn’t go away; it lingered and now it stayed.

But something needed to be done now. They had to push away their past and concentrate on two special people in their lives – their daughters.

“I heard you were pregnant with my baby.”

Soo Yeon was stunned when Taeyeon suddenly spoke those words. She turned to Taecyeon. He nodded.

“Oppa told you, huh?”

“Yeah, he told me.”

“Wait, how did Oppa even know you?”

“It’s a long story, Jessica. You might not like it.”

“What is it? Did you purposely look for me, Taeyeon? Did you purposely look for me because I have your daughter?”

Why did it sound like Soo Yeon is accusing her? Taeyeon realized. Soo Yeon had no idea what was going on.

“What makes you think I wanted to do that?”

“Then why are you here? Why did you suddenly turn up without warning? Are you going to take away your biological daughter away from me? I won’t let you!”

Soo Yeon suddenly thought of Yongsun and Wheein. She put the pieces together. She then stood up.

“Is this about the girls? About Yongsun? Yongsun’s your daughter, right?”

“Yes, she is.”

“And Wheein is in love with your daughter. Oh my god! Are they sisters then?!”

Taeyeon’s head kept twirling. Soo Yeon was still the same Soo Yeon. She easily jumps into conclusions and always impulsive on certain things.

“Wait, the girls are of the same age. Did you cheat on me back then, Taeyeon?!”

“What? What the hell are you talking about? Who’s cheating on who now?”

“Did you leave me because you were pregnant with some man’s child?”

“That’s absurd. Did you think I could do that to you?”

“Then where did Yongsun come from?”

Taeyeon didn’t answer. She just kept her silence. She had so many things on her mind and Soo Yeon wasn’t behaving rationally. Who would? Things were so complicated now.

“Jessica, calm down. You’re not thinking right now. How could Taeyeon betray you like that? You remember how much you love her?”

“But Yongsun’s same age as Wheein.”

“Why do you think that could happen?”

“Huh?”

“Think. Think how Wheein came about.”

Then it clicked. It hit Soo Yeon right in the middle of the heart. She slowly turned to look at Taeyeon. She then shook her head; it couldn’t be true.

“Did you get pregnant because of the procedure?”

“Yes, I did. I was pregnant with your baby. Your flesh and blood. I got pregnant first. When I found about the pregnancy, we were not on talking terms. We had that fight and I left. I left not because I don’t love you. I left because I was pregnant. And you, you were ready to leave me. Maybe I was in the wrong for leaving you. This was probably my punishment for hurting you.”

“Wait, let me sit down. I need to sit down. You’re telling me that you were pregnant with my child?”

“I was pregnant with Yongsun. She was born in Feb while Wheein was in April. Remember we took the procedures? We took it on different dates. And I got hooked first. It was scary, Soo Yeon. It was scary to learn that I was pregnant but you were not going to be there.”

“Wait, then that child.. that child is Yongsun.. Yongsunnie is my biological daughter?”

“Yes, Yongsun is your biological daughter. She has everything of you.”

Hell broke loose. It really broke open.

-