So, maybe Ji Hyun shouldn't have asked herself if things could get worse from here. 

“Hee Young? Chung Ae?” Ji Hyun called out in the dark. She was wondering how the emergency lights in the museum are too dim, and it was hard to see.

“Hee Young-ie! Chung Ae-yah!” He called out next.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let them go out like this.” She muttered to herself as she stood up from her seat, but it really had to be her lucky day as she stood up on the wrong foot and lightly twisted her ankle.

“Easy! Easy.” He spoke as he stood up as well, grabbing his phone. In the midst of it, she grabbed onto the nearest object to at least guide herself up, which apparently, was his arm. She let go of it immediately once she realized she was holding onto him.

“Our children are missing, how am I gonna take this easily?” She quietly hissed.

"They're just by the restroom, right? Maybe they'll be back soon." 

"Yeah, but what if they get kidnapped or tricked by some random person to follow them once they come out, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"They can handle themselves. I'm sure they're safe around here."

"We're in a middle of a blackout in a huge building! And the CCTV cameras are probably not working! Why are you not worried?!"

He said nothing as he opened the flashlight of his phone and took out the black mask from his pocket to cover half of his face. She was about to do the same with her phone, but unluckily for her, her battery was out.

"Out of all things? Really?" She groaned to herself.

"We'll find them together, okay? Don't stress yourself out."

If looks could kill and if the electricity was back on, he would definitely see how dead he was right now. 

"Okay, I just realized that it wasn't really appropriate to say that to you right now."

She could only huff as she nabbed onto whatever she could to grab onto him to start their search.

And it had to be his outstretched hand.

She knew better than to protest when he gripped his fingers onto her own hand, and she wasted no time to pull him as they walked through the exhibits, trying to call out for their children.

“Where are the guards at this hour?” She snapped, her hand squeezing his own as her anxiety grew. “A museum with highly valued artworks is vulnerable when there’s a power interruption, and there’s not one guard panicking? And there's little to no emergency lights!”

"I think we have more important things to look for aside from the security guards."

"Ji Chang Wook-ssi, have you ever thought about asking a guard on the whereabouts of our children? Don't you think it would be easier if we actually found a guard to ask about the twins because maybe they actually saw them passing through the halls?"

"...You have a point." 

They walked past one of the famous artworks in the museum: purple fabric spun to look like a replica of a house, and a different facet of another home inside it. He took his time pointing his flashlight over the artwork, but the squeeze on his hand brought him back to the main problem. The soles of their shoes echoed with every step they took inside the museum, and it was a relief as well that it was a bit dark and he had his mask on, because he was not prepared for anything if the only few people in the museum recognize him as he's being pulled by his ex-girlfriend to find their missing children. The pair first went to the comfort room in the ground floor, and he gave his phone to the woman beside her for her search, but alas, it was empty.

"There's no one in there." Her voice shook. "God, what if they really were kidnapped? What am I going to do? What should I do first? Where would they even go—"

"Hey," he placed his hands on her forearms, the shaking stopped the moment he held her and took his phone from her. "We will find them, alright? We just have to keep looking. Maybe they're upstairs. Don't get too ahead of yourself." 

She was silent, and he still felt a few tremors on her arms. "Inhale, exhale. Breathe, Hyunie. Just breathe."

She followed suit, and closed her eyes. We'll find them, we'll find them, we'll find them. She repeated the words until she calmed down, and afterwards, she nodded at him before tugging his hand towards the second floor, careful enough not to tumble along the steps. She found comfort at the fact that he kept squeezing her hand whenever she could feel herself panicking, but she found it strange though at how well he knew the moments she could feel herself spiraling, but that was another story to ponder on. They walked through the halls, pointing the light at almost everything they passed, and they were silent enough to only hear their own footsteps, and hopefully any sign of a child anywhere. For Ji Hyun, however, she was walking a little too ahead, quickly looking around the room. 

“Can I at least walk a little ahead of you so we can find them better? I have the flashlight remember?”

She tugged him closer to her side, a huff leaving her lips as she tightened the grip on his hand to prove her point.

“Happy?”

“Worried would be the right term.”

"I'm wondering why are you so calm in situations like this. Where's your sense of urgency?" 

"I am worried."

"You don't look like it."

"I'm just as worried as you are," he snapped, the grip on her hand loosening. "I'm trying my best not to show it because that will make you worry more and we're not going to think straight if we're both jumping into conclusions. We need to calm down if we want to find them." 

She took in a deep breath, feeling a few seconds away from fighting him in the middle of the dark halls or walking away from him to find her children by herself. She then chose the latter. She stomped with every step she took as she tried to find a guide to the restroom, and after a few twists and turns by the corridors, she finally found it. Unfortunately, her search wasn't successful, but she barely looked at his way when he was just approaching the restroom. He knew better than to respond, because the last thing they wanted was a full-blown fight instead of finding their own children. And so, the pair walked at a safe distance, with him pointing the light at different places and her calling out her children. 

"Hee Young! Chung Ae!"

All of a sudden, they heard footsteps and high-pitched laughter in one of the halls, and they wasted no time to run to the source of the sound. Judging from the sound of it, they must be in one of the main exhibits of the museum. 

"When I get there and find them they're going to be in so much trouble for making me this worried... And I'm definitely not coming back to this museum if they don't fix their damn blackout system protocol..." Ji Hyun muttered angrily with each step closer to the laughter. Chang Wook, however, might need to be present when it happens as a referee. 

The two passed by a short bridge that connected the east wing of the museum to the west wing, but the other thing that Chang Wook noticed was the expanse in the horizon from where he was standing, the sight taking him by surprise. He was about to mention his discovery to her, but he remembered that she was not the type to talk to during tense moments. And so, he let the silence pass through them for the sake of finding their kids. 

Not until a familiar yelp echoed beyond the end of the bridge.

They briskly walked off the walkway and went through an exhibit that would’ve exhibited an illusion of water and prism lights, making it look like the rainbow was floating along the water, and by the time they got through the next room, a high pitched call by the upper floor caught their attention.

“Hee Young?” Ji Hyun called out.

“Eomma?” A faint voice called out.

"Hee Young!" Ji Hyun called out in distress. “Hee Young, where are you?”

She started to trudge her way through the exhibit. Due to the lack of light, she didn’t notice that she was about to step into a small moat made for the centerpiece of the room, which made Chang Wook lunge forward.

“Wait!”

All she heard was a loud thud, and then, she felt the tip of her nose touch his chin. She could feel his breath fanning her face, the hold from her hand that transferred to the planes of her back, just above the waist. The scent of sandalwood hit her senses, the same smell she burrowed in eight years ago. She then realized that the thing that dropped was his phone, face up, because the only thing that illuminated the room was the glass ceiling that showed the rare view of the stars and the full moon by the skyline. She didn’t even realize that she had a firm grip by his shoulders from the impact. She didn't even realize that he already took his mask off until the faint outlines of his features registered in her view, and she didn’t know if it was a trick or not, but she swore that he was looking at her intently.

Chang Wook, however, couldn’t remember how to breathe properly. One minute, he was trying to save her from another disaster, and now, he feels as if... he wanted to commit this sight to his memory. It’s been a while since he saw her this close: despite the fatigue in her eyes, her skin looked like it was silver sparkling under the light, and her eyes too, with the way it twinkled like crystals. It was like her beauty was frozen in time, like she never aged at all. Her breath slowed down as she met his eyes for the first time.

“We... I’m—“

Her sentence was cut off when the lights flickered on suddenly, the sound of running water and bossa nova wafting through the air. They realized that the exhibited they stood in was connected to the one they just passed in, as the centerpiece was surrounded by water, as well as crystals that shone with traces of rainbows, the light from the little gems hitting the very centerpiece. Ji Hyun looked at how the light from the centerpiece shoots through the glass ceiling, making its presence known in the Seoul skyline, and she was in awe at how the exhibit worked.

“This is... breathtaking.” She sighed.

He could only gaze at the woman in his arms as he nodded subtly, and he sees that Ji Hyun again, the same woman that looked at the horizons in Busan like it was all new to her, like he was new to her back then. His lips twitched upward, his heart feeling... fuzzy and warm all of a sudden. Breathtaking, indeed.

Faint calls from the distance broke their trances, and then they realized that the lights were on, and they were in public, and that their children were still missing, and maybe they're still angry at each other. The children! The two broke away from each other’s grasps, and Chang Wook grabbed the fallen phone on the floor as they heard high pitched calls from the upper floor.

“Eomma! Appa!”

Fast footsteps come down from the steps as they ran towards the two, and the parents got on their knees to hug her twins. Relief washed over the couple, but not for too long, since the mother pulled away first as she checked them for any signs of damage. 

"Did you fall? Did you hit your head? Did anything bad happen to the both of you?" 

The twins could only watch as she assessed their state. "We're fine, Eomma."

Ji Hyun dropped her hand from Hee Young's forehead as she stared them down. "Where did you two go?"

"We went to the bathroom."

She widened her eyes. "There's a bathroom downstairs! Why didn't you use that?!"

"Eomma, it was out of order, so we checked the second floor."

"Then why did it take you two so long to come back, then?!" 

"...We maybe got lost and forgot where to come back to when the power went out."

Ji Hyun breathed out an exasperated sigh.

"And when we got lost, we just figured to play hide-and-seek until the power came back on."

She was digesting every detail her children gave her, trying her best not to explode from exasperation and anger as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Meanwhile, Chang Wook was looking at the twins sternly.

"Kids," he started, furrowing his eyebrows. "You two realized that you gave us a fright, right?"

The two looked down guiltily on the floor as he continued. "Your mother almost had a heart attack because she couldn't find you two in the restrooms. We were both worried sick because we thought something might've happened to you. Do you realize how scared we were when we couldn't find you anywhere? And this place is huge! Who knows what we could've done if we couldn't find you." 

"We're sorry, Appa, Eomma." The two simultaneously replied, bowing at a 90-degree angle at the two. The parents sighed, both in relief and in frustration at their children.

"At least stay where you are when situations like these happen, alright?" Chang Wook could only breathe out. "Don't make us worry like that."

The two nodded, before they came up and hugged their parents, but not before making sure that no one was in the area to notice. After some time, they pulled away and stood up, but the way Ji Hyun was looking at the twins, the conversation (and possible hour-long lectures) are just getting started.

"We are going to have a long talk tomorrow, alright?" She sighed. "We need to come home now. You have a school day tomorrow."

The twins nodded solemnly, and she turned her gaze to the man beside her. "Thank you, for helping me with the kids."

"You don't have to thank me." He nodded at her. "I'm their father, remember? It's my responsibility to do so."

She could only sigh in response, feeling dizzy from the rush of emotions she had to experience in one night, or maybe it was the hunger— 

A stomach growled in the midst of the silence, and the three could only look at her strangely.

Yep, it's the hunger. 

"...You haven't eaten anything yet?" He was bewildered as he stared at her. "You can come with me if you want."

"I'll eat something on the way home." She shrugged. 

"Hey," he stopped her, a gentle grip on her coat as she turned to look at him. "Don't forget to eat. You need to stay healthy since your job asks a lot from you."

"I'm aware." She nodded. "Thank you anyways, Orab—Chang Wook-ssi. Come on kids, let's go home."

"Appa's not coming with us?" Chung Ae asked. 

"He's not really allowed to come with us when we go home." She smiled sadly. "He has a job, and... I'll explain the rest of it some other time. Alright?"

The two nodded, but not before they ran off to their father, who crouched down at their height and effortlessly wrapped their arms around them, squeezing them tightly. 

"Thank you for today, Appa." Hee Young muttered by his cheek, giving it a small kiss. "We're sorry for what happened."

It seems as if the initial anger and fright from the incident disappeared, because it was as if nothing mattered but the fact that he actually has a child of his own that loved him, not to mention kiss his cheek. He never knew being a father was this rewarding somehow, and it's a feeling he'd like to have over and over again, if he had to.

"Aigoo," he chuckled, a small red flush making its way to his face. "You're already trying to get back to Appa's good graces, huh?"

Hee Young could only nod, and he could only laugh at her, before kissing her forehead as well as her twin brother's as well. "Be safe. Listen to your mother. Don't make her life difficult. And... Appa loves you, a lot."

The twins smiled at him, before giving him a quick hug and coming back to their mother's arms. 

"We'll be heading out now." She gave him a nod, and pressed her lips together. "Thank you for today. I'll... see you next time." 

"Tomorrow?"

"Who says we’ll get to bump into each other tomorrow? The hospital is huge." She raised an eyebrow as if to taunt him. "On the other hand, your bonding time with the kids will really start on the weekends. I'll just send you the details once my phone's charged."

He nodded. "Sounds good."

"Alright." She gave him a small smile, in which he reciprocated effortlessly. It's weird how his smile could kill her and make her feel warm at the same time. Like it was born to melt and freeze her heart. Before she could even ponder on such thoughts, she waved him goodbye and took the kids, leaving him standing in a prized exhibit in a contemporary art museum before he could leave as well. When they finally made their way to the parking lot, they checked if their mother was looking, before they bumped their fists together behind their backs, a small smile etched on their faces as they stared at their parents.

Phase complete.