Chung Ae and Hee Young casually started playing rock-paper-scissors by the hallway, not for fun at the very least, but because they can hear their mother talking on the phone with someone just as she came home straight from work.

"Yeah... No... I'm alright with it..."

Hee Young was winning at this point, with five fingers out and with Chung Ae only having three fingers up, but he could care less at this point. He had to listen to the details their mother was spilling out from the inside of her room.

"MMCA? I know that place... 8 PM?"

The game stopped when they threw in their last bet for the game. In a landslide, Hee Young won, but they immediately ran inside their room. Keeping a small slit of the door open, they anticipated their mother's footsteps as they slowly got louder, and before they knew it, she was standing by their doorway.

"Eomma!" The twins feigned their shock as they made a beeline towards her.

"My loves." She smiled as she watched them hug her torso. "Can we sit down for a bit?"

The two nodded and decided to sit by Hee Young's bed instead. She started combing her fingers through both of their heads as they waited for what she was about to say.

"How's school today?" She started.

"It was alright, Eomma." Chung Ae shrugged. "We learned multiplication today, and a few idioms."

"Idioms? Like what?" An amused look was on Eomma's face.

"Also to a porcupine, her baby is pretty." Hee Young chimed in, placing her hands under her chin as she cupped her own face, her eyes blinking rapidly at Eomma.

"Aigoo," Eomma laughed. "Of course you're all pretty! You're my babies!"

Chung Ae, however, could almost barf at the sight. "Hee Young-ah, no more aegyo, please?"

The little girl glared at her twin. "Can't you at least support me as your twin?"

"Who says you're the good-looking twin?"

Hee Young almost pounced at her brother, but they almost forgot that their mother was watching them with raised eyebrows.

"Kids, you're twins." She sighed. "Don't you both realize that if you insult each other by your looks, you're basically insulting your own selves?"

The two were silent.

"I thought so."

And then, she moved her fingers by the sides of her children, and before they knew it, they were doubled over one another as they tickled each other, squeals and laughters resonating through the walls of the quaint room.

"Wait, wait, Eomma has to say something." She breathed out as she sat up from her position. She crossed her legs as she watched her children sit beside her.

"Eomma and Appa finally agreed that you'll be seeing him a lot more often. In fact, he's actually coming over today."

The twins almost jumped on the bed, but their mother paused their festivities for a second. "Your father and I have talked about the times you'll meet him, but we haven't really settled the rest yet since I haven't seen his schedule yet. But rest assured, you'll be seeing Appa a lot, alright?"

"Yes!" The two cheered, feigning innocence after eavesdropping on them yesterday.

"Will you be here, Eomma?" Hee Young pouted.

"I'm sorry, my angel. I have somewhere to go tonight. But, at least you two can finally bond with Appa!" She gave them a smile, smoothing her hair.

"Alright." Hee Young nodded, before she gave a kiss on her mother's cheek. "Be safe always, Eomma."

Chung Ae followed her with another kiss on her cheek. "Be safe always, Eomma."

"I will, don't worry." She chuckled, kissing their temples, before making her way back to her bedroom. The moment the door closed, they wasted no time and huddled together, but not before locking the door.

"Okay, so Eomma really does have a date tonight. But the thing is, how can we pull Appa in without him knowing what we're trying to do?" Chung Ae elaborated.

"The other problem is her date." Hee Young sighed. "How are we going to shift her attention towards Appa if that's the case?"

"It'll be a miracle if he didn't show up, to be honest."

"It is, but we don't even know how that's going to happen."

"...Wait! I have an idea."

The idea wasn't in full swing until Appa finally came over. He arrived wearing a black sweatshirt and some black jogger pants as he made his way to the porch of the house. It was a relief that the gate and the walls were quite high, so that neighbors and passersby wouldn't even think of snooping in the home. The twins almost screamed their heads off once they saw him finally coming in their home!

"Appa! Appa!" The two yelled as they ran towards his crouched figure and gave him a hug, and Chang Wook could barely wipe the smile on his face when he saw them. This is their third time of meeting him, but it being in his arms already felt like home, like no one was going to hurt them.

"Did you miss me?" He chuckled, and the two nodded rapidly by his shoulders.

"Eomma said we're going to hang out with you today!" Hee Young spoke.

"That's true." He smiled at her. "By the way, has she left yet?"

"Do you want me gone already?"

The voice from the staircase made their necks turn, and there she was, standing by the last stair wearing a navy blue sweater and a black coat over it. Her hair was down this time, and he couldn't help but notice the improvement in length of her hair. She looked... youthful, and fresh at the very least. But of course, she's going on a date, so she had to look nice.

"I'm glad to see that you're on time." She gave him a small grin.

"You look... ready." He gave a subtle nod in return.

"Of course I am." She scoffed. "Anyways, remember what I told you last time. And don't go into crowded places when I'm gone, alright?"

"We won't." The three replied in unison.

"Okay." She smiled before crouching down for her children.

"Be safe, I love you." She murmured towards Hee Young and Chung Ae as she kissed their foreheads. Just as she stood up from her position, her head turned slightly to the side, but it was a relief that she didn't turn all the way, or her face would've met his neck. The twins watched in anticipation on what would happen next, as they looked at how Eomma and Appa were gazing at each other in silence.

"Take care of them." She courteously mumbled. "Be safe."

"Be safe as well." He gave her a small smile. "You have a family to come home to, alright?"

The twins thought that the family that Appa was referring to was just them and Halmeoni, but if Eomma thought of him referring to himself as a part of the family he's talking about, then they would never even realize it. They watched as Eomma patted the side of his forearm, before her fingers slowly glided over the rest of his arm and falling back on her side.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry."

That was the last thing they heard before she shut the door behind her, and they were finally left with Appa. Once they realized that their plan was finally going to begin, they couldn't help but look at each other with a smile.

"So," he started, crouching down in front of them. "What do you two want to do today?"

____

It was a relief that the MMCA wasn't too packed today. She wasn't really a fan of crowded museums, since she couldn't really digest the artworks clearly and no one would clearly see the slight disappointment in her features when she realized he was getting a little late. Ryeo Won already told her to get inside once she arrived and just meet him by the first exhibition, and with that, she sat by one of the benches, admiring the sculpture of a "reverse waterfall" defying gravity at this point.

After some time, she took her time walking around the wide expanse of the exhibit, the white walls and marble floors complementing the artworks that hung on the wall. Brown-colored canvases adorned with black squares and rectangles in various angles, stunningly making images that could be distinguished either as buildings, or walls, or anything that could possibly explain why the artist made these kinds of images. Her thumb was nervously rubbing the back of her phone, and she nervously blew the stray strands of hair that fell by her face, before tucking them behind her ear. He was strangely late today, for someone whom she knew was punctual. Maybe the traffic was bad, maybe he had a flat tire, maybe the subway broke down. She counted possible reasons as she stared at the time on her phone.

Five minutes turned to ten, and then fifteen, twenty, thirty, until she finally accepted that she got royally stood up by the very person that asked her out.

The stoic expression on the outside did its job masking the inner frustrations boiling in her chest, and it only fueled more when she finally received a text from him.

I’m sorry, I had something urgent that came up. I can't make it, but I promise I’ll make it up to you somehow.

She let out a sigh, before looking at the painting beside her: it was a woman bathed in red and gold, her tears etched in patterns of fire and lava, an image of pain and suffering. How ironic.

Her fingers typed fast and with no room of error, and before she could even second guess herself, she pressed “send”. She closed her phone and walked through each painting, with no ounce of regret washing over her.

Please don’t bother. We’ll be better off pretending this never happened. Have a good night.

She didn’t even care if she came off as a to him. She could’ve spent her time with the kids tonight if she wanted, but here she was, doing her best to “move forward” like how her peers said she should do, and it’s not looking good so far. But nonetheless, at least she’s enjoying the exhibits.

Strangely enough, there were little to no people inside the museum tonight, despite it being it's peak hours right now. She expected that maybe there would be a crowd that would appreciate some of the art displayed, but on the bright side, she could spend her time looking in awe at the works and the details in it. She took her time looking through each sculpture, each painting, each photograph, and each trace of live performance art that graced her way. She had to admit, this was officially her first time that she went out somewhere alone to relax. Years and years of studying and making sure she sustained her children and herself everyday didn't really involve some time for herself. The only time she could enjoy a time with herself is when her children are asleep, and she's with a can of beer by her side as she watched late night shows until she falls asleep. It's depressing as it sounds, but she couldn't do much given that she's a working single mother, so this was a breath of fresh air, like she was learning everything she loved ever since.

But just as she was about to go into another room, fast footsteps padded across the marble floors.

“Eomma! Eomma!”

Her eyebrows raised as she turned to the children that were running towards her. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was her children crashing into her.

“Hee Young? Chung Ae?” She asked, sinking down to their level. “What are you two doing here?”

“We went out for the night with Appa.” Chung Ae replied. “We didn’t really want to be inside the house the entire night, so we asked him to go outside.”

“Didn’t I tell you that your father will be mobbed if he ever steps out?” She hissed. "I specifically told the three of you to not come out in public."

“Yeah, but Appa knows some places that aren’t crowded with people. He even took us to his favorite chicken place! And no one noticed it was him!” Chung Ae cheered, but his voice echoed inside the exhibit, and Ji Hyun had to clamp his mouth shut. Fortunately, they were the only people inside the room, but she was still dreading that someone else would come in and see them.

“Hee Young? Chung Ae?” A faint voice called out from the other side of the exhibit, and before she knew it, she stood up to meet the owner of the said voice.

“Are you three trying to follow me?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

He strode his way to them, his sneakers slightly squeaking from the floors, until he stops at a safe distance between the two of them.

“To be very honest with you, I’m not.”

She held his gaze, and he sighed in response. “I’m serious! Your children told me that they wanted to go to this museum, since they told me that they wanted to see a sculpture and a painting that they were asked to take a picture for their Art class. I didn’t even know you’d be here.”

She turned to her twins. “Is that true?”

They nodded. “The assignment said that we should see it in person and take a picture with it.”

She squinted at the three of them. "I didn't know your Art teacher would have assignments like these."

"Well, Miss Kang is something." Chung Ae shrugged.

She raised her eyebrows.“...Okay then. What are the names of the artworks?”

“The Fountain of Life and A Mother’s Love.” Hee Young spoke up. Ji Hyun nodded slowly at the two.

"Do you two know what they looked like?"

The twins nodded. "Appa has the pictures of what they look like."

She glanced at the father, and he had his phone out and zoomed in on the said pictures. Fair enough, she just passed them in one of the exhibits she went in.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go find your artworks, and then we’ll go home.”

The four walked through the next rooms and exhibits, with her children tagging along with her. Chang Wook had to walk in a considerable distance, given that they're in a public place and they had to look like they had little to no connection to each other, or else they might even assume that they're a secret family he was hiding in the first place.

Also known as the truth, basically.

Even though she had her back towards him, she could feel his gaze burning the back of her head. If only she could turn back and look at him, but she had more important things to attend to, like their children, whom she didn't really expect to even have an assignment like that in the first place. She didn't even have any time to question it, because she was too caught up with making sure that her children had to submit something good for school. Luckily enough, the two artworks were both situated in the same room, so they wasted no time to each one and take a picture with it. The sculpture caught her eye first, with beige cups stacked on top of one another, having shapes of small faces engraved in them, and water falling from their eyes as if they were crying. The intricacy of the details made her look into the sculpture even more, leaning a little forward to examine the curves and faces.

"Eomma." A voice beckoned her. "Eomma, can I take a picture..."

She leaned back all of a sudden, remembering why they were here in the first place, and before she knew it, her back bumped into something sturdy behind her, finding her balance immediately.

"Easy..."

His voiced trailed off behind her, and she was thankful at the very least his hands didn't hold her, but hovered above them instead. She leaned her head to the side to address him.

"Sorry."

And she briskly left him and stood at the other end of the pedestal of the sculpture. Ji Hyun immediately got up and took her phone from her bag and started taking the said pictures, first of the artwork, and then of the two children near the artwork.

"Hee Young-ie, smile a little!" She beckoned.

"Eomma..."

"Nam Hee Young..."

Chang Wook raised his eyebrow at what she called her, before he went back at her. "Ji Hee Young-ie, give a little smile. It's for your project, remember?"

She widened her eyes at him. "What did I tell you about not showing any relation with the kids in public?"

"To be fair, there are many people with 'Ji' as their last name," he explained. "And, it's not like if anyone will hear it and think "They're probably his children!""

He had a point, and it made her a little furious. Nonetheless, the two of them already took pictures of the twins, both with them just smiling and doing fun poses for the camera. Laughs broke out when Hee Young wanted to get a shot of her having a piggyback ride on her twin, and despite the other twin whining over to their parents, he begrudingly obliged when their parents begged him to do so. A Mother's Love was hung at the other side of the room, which was quite a convenience, since her feet were already killing her from walking around the museum for a long period of time. The kids did their poses and smiles for the pictures, and if she were honest, it would be hard for people to not think that their children are spitting images of each other. The way Chung Ae posed by the painting, with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, reminded her of that one photograph his father showed her back then. Right from the glasses and the smile, it feels as if she's watching a younger version of his father in motion. Her daughter was just like her, with her toothy grin and palms holding her chin, she looked like the porcelain cherubs Eomma owned back in Incheon, the ones she loved to gaze at. She took the smallest glance at the man beside her, and she watched him giggle at his own children doing the most. The sight made her heart tug for the smallest bit.

It felt so easy though, since they were the only people inside the room at the time. And for one moment, the both of them forgot for a moment who they were supposed to be: a top actor that had millions of fans around the world, dying for his affection, and her, a humble resident in a high-class hospital, making a living for her children. For a moment, they were Ji Hee Young and Ji Chung Ae's parents, having fun inside a museum and making sure that they're getting the best from their grades. For a moment, they were just an ordinary family making a short trip to the museum.

The children begged for them to stay a little longer, since it was their first time as well to go inside a museum as huge as this (but of course, the two had to guide their children through the mature themes that some of the artworks had). One of the exhibits they enjoyed the most was the white space filled with colors from painted footballs, the ones that a young boy kicked during, what they presumed, was from a live performance art. It reflected the freedom the kid experienced, and the colors splattered on the space reflected the said concept. They walk into one of the exhibits, wherein they were met with a white room, with turquoise circles of different sizes all shrinking towards the middle. Another noticeable feature was the piano by the side of the room, and the video of a man playing with it. The headphones on the side might give an indication on the artwork itself, but the four of them sat by the bench near the artwork.

“Eomma,” Chung Ae. “What do you think this is for?"

She gazed at the work, observing the details, only to realize that the circles weren't just circles, but they were pools filled with fishes, one for each layer. 

"Invisible Land of Love." She spoke out, looking at the characters painted by the staircase. She was reminded of the poem with the same name she came across back in college for a literature class. "The pool is actually filled with nine goldfish, but you two have to be careful. There are boundaries around it for a reason."

"We will, Eomma!"

“Be careful, alright?” She warned the twins as she watched them run to the artwork, the twins peering near the artwork to observe the swimming golfish going around the track. The parents watched them with glee, laughing at the expense of the twins competing and betting on the fish who will pass their given boundary first. After some time, Hee Young asked to find a restroom, and Chung Ae volunteered to keep her safe once they left. Ji Hyun nodded, watching as they left the room. If she were honest, she wanted to go with her children instead to avoid a humilating talk with her ex-boyfriend/baby daddy about the events that transpired tonight. But alas, things really don’t turn out the way she thought it would be. Who knew that the date she was hoping for would turn out to be a disaster of some sorts? But as she sat down on the bench, a meter away from the man she had no hope of seeing tonight, surrounded by a room filled with art and faint tones of bossa nova in the background, maybe things aren’t that bad like she thought it would be.

Hopefully she didn’t spoke too soon.

“How’s your feet?”

The silence was finally broken. She looked at her two bare feet, flexing and extending to let out the tension in them she had for a while.

“Still in pain, but I’m all good.”

Great, she thought. Maybe if I could distract him more with other unnecessary topics maybe we wouldn’t talk about—

“I thought you were on a date?”

And here it was, the very thing she was dreading.

Yup, spoke too soon.

“I am… With myself.”

She brushed it off coolly. It didn’t really help that she was smug yesterday when she bragged to him that she was going on a date.

“What happened?”

It wasn’t the response she was expecting, though. She hoped for an insult regarding her situation, given that it was a dynamic she knew he had with him. In fact, she doesn’t even know if he really was concerned about what happened. But nonetheless, she just sighed and let it all out.

“It’s…” She started. “I don’t know either, to be honest. I just got a text that he wouldn’t make it all of a sudden.”

”He stood you up?”

She cringed at the word. “Something like that.”

He crossed his arms in front of him as he faced her. “That’s unfortunate.”

She leaned her head to the side to face him. “Are you sure that you have nothing to do with his disappearance?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, and she could almost laugh at the disbelief on his face.

“I honestly don’t.” She raised an eyebrow at him as well, but he raised his arms up in defense. “I honestly was just down with staying in with the kids and help them with anything they wanted. It took a few begs until I gave in, unfortunately.”

“Not your best moment, huh?”

“Nope.”

She shook her head, a laugh leaving her lips. “It’s hard when the children start begging. You really have to have a tough exterior before they’ll get what they want.”

“It’s honestly difficult!” He exasperated. “It doesn’t help that they look so good in looking like they’re about to cry when they plead.”

“That probably came from you.” She joked.

“Ah, perhaps so.” He chuckled, smiling at the thought, before he cleared his throat.

“And for the record, I didn’t even know that you’d be here.”

“Honest?”

“Honest.”

She suddenly moved a little closer to his side, her eyes squinting at his own features as she assessed the truth in his words. He flinched for the slightest bit, not expecting her next move. But despite that, his eyes did express his sincerity the more she gazed at them. She leaned back after being satisfied of her assessment.

“Okay, okay. I believe you. You’re being honest.” She sighed, scooting back on her side.

If one’s gaze could burn into someone’s skin, her side profile would’ve had a hole in it. She feels strange, though, like she was silently being scrutinized for her state.

“You know, you don’t need to throw a pity party on my sake. I’ll be fine.” She waved him off.

He took his gaze back to the art in front of them. She was left tapping her fingers on the suede material of her coat, reeling in from the awkward silence they were basking in right now. And then, he broke it once more.

“I know you don’t want that.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I mean… I know you don’t want the pity party. And even if you don’t care about what I think about this probably, I just find it upsetting that he stood you up without explaining anything else.”

”I said no pity parties.”

“This isn’t one. I’m just stating an opinion.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, the urge to laugh rising up in her chest, but the next words stop her from doing so.

“And for the record,” he added. “It that you even had a really good look out and he’s not even here to see you look this good.”

Her eyes widened. “This is a joke, right?”

He sighed. “I’m not going to lie for the sake of being misunderstood. You look beautiful tonight, Ji Hyun. And I can tell that you don’t even need a man to tell you that. You don’t deserve someone who would skip on you.”

“As if I didn’t know that, but thanks, I guess?”

“Like I said, I won’t lie for the sake of being misunderstood.” He pressed on. “You’re beautiful— no, not just that. You’re intelligent, determined, and courageous, and so well put together. It sad that there are actual people in this world that wouldn’t even give their time to appreciate who you really are even if you let them. They really don’t know what they’re missing when it comes to you.”

She almost let out a snort from the cheesy speech he let out. She knew he wasn’t the type to say things like these, since he’s more of a robust kind of person like he said he was eight years ago. But for a moment, she wondered that this was one of the things that changed in him. Was he really serious or was he just trying to make her feel better? Either way, at least for a short moment, he did his best to give her a pep talk, and for her, that was enough.

“Thank you.”

There was a small hint of a smile on her face as she looked at him, and he took his time gazing at the features he knew too well. And as time slowed down, she felt as if she was back to that one moment eight years ago, that day where she cried her anxieties out and let her tears fall from her face and into the sea, that day when he sat by her side and told her all of the words of encouragement he could offer to her to stop her from crying. Somehow, it doesn’t feel like they’ve aged, like they were stuck in that period of time where they knew each other from the small freckles and bumps on their faces to the words they used the most in a daily basis. It’s like revisiting a puzzle you’ve done before, only to find it rearranged into a different image. They weren’t the same, but they were familiar. She wondered if they can still be familiar with each other without ever giving into one another, and he thought on the possibility of ever forgetting the past to move with her into the future.

But the moment was cut short, just as it started.

And, they were surrounded by total darkness.

Literally.

__

A/N: wow, this is the longest chapter I wrote so far omg, and of course, I'm slightly sparing a moment of fluff (??) in here

also when I said literally, I meant literally.

ALSO HAPPY SEPTEMBER! We have 16 days before H's birthday and 27 days before W's new drama! Please do support the both of them :)

Please do keep in mind that this chapter was divided into 2 parts, since it got too long. The next chapter will arrive in a week or two. Med school isn't merciful when it comes to time, folks! See you all soon!