The cafe was surprisingly busy much to their amazement. He was kinda tired and dizzy going back and forth to the kitchen since he manages the cafe all by himself now. Luckily, Changmin was there behind the counter to entertain the customers as they waited for their orders to be served. He greets each customer at the counter and shows them their menu in the form of his stickers. He actually doesn't want Changmin to do anything but play like any other typical child would do, but his child insists that he helps around. He insists on helping in the kitchen as well since that is where the baking happens and that he could the spoon clean whenever he wanted to. But only when he grows up, up to his umma hip, is when he can finally help him bake the treats for their cafe.

“Here is your baked goods and the orange cold brew to go” Jaejoong hands the lady her order, “Enjoy!” he waves as they exited the cafe. 

She was the last customer for now. Somehow, Jaejoong let out a sigh of relief. He washed his hands and rounded the counter so he could lounge on the couch for a moment.

Changmin had other plans though, he picked up a book from the bookshelf and handed it to him. The book was titled, Dumbo. It was given to him by his hyungs, Chanyeol and his friends, the other day. They never got around to reading after getting it, but Changmin thought it was the perfect relaxation book for them to enjoy after a successful morning.

"Umma, elephant!" Changmin pointed to a picture of an elephant in his story book.

"Yes, the baby elephant's name is Dumbo. Dumbo has big ears. His ears are so big that he is able to fly" Jaejoong said, making flying hand gestures.

Changmind gasped in amazement as Jaejoong flips to the next page and sees Dumbo flying up into the sky. 

Halfway to the story, the bell rang, indicating that someone had entered the cafe.

"Welcome to-" Jaejoong stopped when he saw who just came in.

He picked Changmin up from his lap and carefully approached to greet the man that came in. 

Changmin on the other hand, was not happy about the new visitor. He doesn't like that the man in front of them had made his umma sad the last time he was here.

He squirmed in Jaejoong's arms, whining even. He wants to be put down because he needs to protect his umma. Jaejoong didn't put up much of a fight and put down the squirming child. He patted Changmin’s head when he grabbed his leg close to him. He stares sourly at Mr. Kang.

"Good morning, Mr. Kang," Jaejoong politely greeted him. 

Mr. Kang was Jaejoong's landlord.

When Jaejoong first moved to Jeju a few years back, Mr. Kang's place was the cheapest place he could find in the area. However, as time went by Mr. Kang had increased the rent. His reason was that his other business was going slow.

It was hard for him to keep up with the bills due to the increase, but he still made sure to pay on time. But now that Mr. Kang's business closed down due to bankruptcy, he became demanding of Jaejoong. He understood Mr. Kang's sentiment since it was also his fault for not paying his due for over two months. He actually has the exact amount to pay him, but if he gives all of them to him, how will he fund his own business.

"Pay up," Mr. Kang didn't even acknowledge his greetings. 

Jaejoong could only pay half the amount he was due. He already tried this a couple of times in the past but this time it probably won’t work. But it was better to hand him some kind of amount than nothing at all

"Y-yes sir" Jaejoong said and whisked Changmin to the kitchen first.

"Minnie-ah, stay here until I say so. Umma will be back, okay? I just need to talk to Mr. Kang for a moment"

"Noooo, need to protect umma" Changmin whined again. He is ready to fight the big man now since he ate a lot of his vegetables this morning. The bad man made his umma cry last time and he doesn't want that to happen again.

"Changmin, this isn't the right time to-"

"Kim! You better pay up now or else . . . " Mr. Kang yelled.

Jaejoong hurriedly went to the counter and extracted some cash from the register. He shakingly hands with almost the exact amount he owed. Somehow the sales from earlier this morning could reach his total amount due but that would risk his and his child’s personal consumption for the rest of the week if he gave it all up.

Mr. Kang roughly took the money from Jaejoong's hand and immediately counted it.

"What is this?!" he waved the money in Jae's face " This isn't even half of the debt you owe me!"

"I k-know, Sir. B-but could you give me-"

"And what?! Give you another month?! Kim, I know that you are struggling but what about us?! For heaven's sake.."

"I r-really understand. Please j-just give me til Saturday. I promise to pay all of it" Jaejoong pleaded. 

"I swear to god, this is your last chance or you're out. I don't care anymore!" He slammed his hands on the counter to make it a point to Jaejoong that he wasn’t playing anymore. 

Changmin suddenly appeared and ran to his umma's side, fearing he might hurt him. 

"Noooo" Changmin yells. He waves a wooden spoon at the man in an attempt to shoo him away. Mr. Kang was quite taken aback and luckily didn't argue further.

"Saturday," he warned Jae and left immediately.

Jaejoong can only nod as his breathing labored. As soon as Kang left the cafe, Jaejoong fell to his knees. He felt his chest getting tighter by the minute. In his hazy state, he knew he was hyperventilating. His anxious self and the fear Kang had instilled on them had triggered this.

He was having a hard time standing up, so he remained bent down as he rode his dyspnea. If he doesn't calm down now, he is sure he'll pass out and scare Changmin. He tries to remember the breathing exercises he was taught back in highschool. Luckily the attack wasn't so severe and immediately recovered.

"Umma, you okay?" Changmin asked worriedly.

"Yes, Minnie-ah. I'm fine. Thank you for helping me" he tiredly smiled at Changmin, "My hero," and lovingly patted his head.

"I will protect you umma. I will eat lots of veggies. I promise!" Changmin exclaimed. Jaejoong slowly stood up and ushered his son to join him back to the couch where they snuggled more. It was for Jaejoong to further calm his racing heart and to comfort his child from the situation he had to see.

"Thank you, Changmin. I love you," he pecked his cheeks.

"I love you more, Umma"

"I love you most"

With a busy morning and the stress event in the afternoon, Jaejoong was ready to just hit for the night.

Jae and Changmin had a quiet dinner, followed by a quiet nightly bath. Changmin had a day too. He immediately fell asleep as soon as Jaejoong tucked him in their bed. No nightly story needed.

Him on the other hand, tired as he is, cannot manage to fall asleep since his mind is preoccupied from the earlier event.

His mind is  thinking of ways to repay his debt. And he already had this idea but everytime he made up his mind about it, he retreats at the last minute. 

He eyes the bedside drawer. Contemplating for a good minute whether he should open it or not.

He shouldn’t be feeling bad about this decision because it’s his and Changmin’s sake on the line. It was either being kicked out of this hell hole, or him going back to Seoul. Either of the two decisions he’ll make will make him happy, but in the end he’ll choose to stay in Jeju rather than go back to Seoul.

He slowly opens the drawer and rummages around it until he feels a velvety box under. Inside the black velvet box were two rings. One was his engagement ring and the other was his wedding ring.

It had been a while since he took a look at the rings. Two many memories, good and bad, are attached to it that it was hard to look at, let alone touch it. 

Touching the rings feels like this hand was burning. Yet, he had a hard time letting them go.

After pondering for a while, Jaejoong closed the box and finally went to bed. 

He made a decision.

By the next day, they closed their cafe and with a heavy heart, went to a pawnshop.

Yunho woke up late the next day. His sleep wasn’t good nor bad. But it felt like he just closed eyes just a minute ago only to wake up again in a second. No dreams had accompanied his sleep that night.

As a routine, he took his phone from the bedside table and checked it for any notifications. He had several texts and missed calls from Jin-ki. Oops. 

A couple from his father and surprisingly a few from Yoochun. There were emails, blah blah blah. 

As he was scrolling to see if he missed something, something caught his attention. 

A text that said ‘Coffee ?’ 

The number wasn’t registered on his phone. Something in him knew who it may be from and immediately deleted and blocked the number. 

He swore he blocked her years ago. Even told her personally not to bother him anymore. Because the last time he involved himself with her, he lost someone that truly made him happy. It was an awful mistake and he deeply regretted it. And if he ever had the chance to change the past, he wishes he would have not met Kwon Boa.

"I love you, Yunho"

There was a knock on his door that had disrupted his thoughts. He gladly got up and checked to see who it was. It was Jin-ki. 

"Good morning, Sir"

"Good morning, Jin-ki. Sorry I didn't answer you, I overslept" he said and then yawned.

"It's okay, Mr. Jung, I figured. I bought you some coffee and some bagels" he happily showed the goods to Yunho before laying it down on the coffee table.

"Thank you. I still haven't packed my things yet," he cringes at the clothes laid on the couch. "What time do we have to be at the airport?" He took a sip of his coffee. He made a face when he tasted the pure bitterness of the black coffee he has. 

"At around 2:30 pm, Sir. Plane will be leaving at 3:25 pm" 

It was almost 10 am the last time he checked. He sees his clothes and is clueless as to what he should pack first. 

After his quick breakfast, he took a quick shower and lazingly folded his clothes and shoved them on his luggage.

The pawnshop wasn’t too far from the cafe. Just a 10 minute bus ride. But during the ride, he was back to contemplating if it was the right decision or not. But as they are almost to the door of the posh pawnshop, he reminds himself that it was betterment for the both of them.

"Umma, look. So shiny!" Changmin pointed at a necklace being displayed on a glass box.

"It is. But we shouldn't touch it. We might break it" Jaejoong tells him.

"Okay umma" Changmin happily nodded as he admired the shiny jewelry around him.

"Oh, Mr. Kim! You're here again. How can I help you?" The young lady was already familiar with him. He came into the pawnshop a few times over the year in the hopes that he would have the courage to pawn  one of his rings. But everytime he tried grabbing the rings from his bag, he chickened out.

Seulgi thinks that Jaejoong was a funny man when he first entered the shop early on this year. He never knew what Jaejoong wanted in here to be honest. He entered the shop very determined to whatever he decided to avail and the next thing she knew he had already left. 

But it was different this time, she noted. 

There was no determination in his face. Rather there was sadness, hurt, and conflict.

"Hi, Seulgi. I would like to pawn my ring please" Jaejoong said and took out his engagement ring.

Jaejoong couldn't decide if he'd really really want to pawn his engagement ring or his wedding ring. He knew that at some point in his life, he had to move on. And one thing he'd like to move on is from keeping his rings. 

When he left Seoul to Jeju, he never expected to have brought the rings with him. Although he had no time to decide what to bring or not since he was leaving hastily at that time. But keeping the rings was wrong to him. 

Because even if Yunho had given those to him, it was still Yunho's. One of the reasons why he couldn't just pawn it, even if he really needed the funds.

He inspects the wedding ring next. It wasn’t as extravagant as his engagement ring. If he pawns the wedding ring, given by the appearance of it, a simple gold band with round-cut diamonds on the center, the value of it would be much lesser compared to his engagement ring. His engagement has a bigger round-cut diamond with three smaller diamonds on each side. 

If he chooses to pawn the wedding ring, it wouldn't be hard to pay it back. However, it might not compensate for his needs. On the other hand, he thinks the engagement ring will, but it would be difficult for him to pay it back. He eventually decided on the latter.

Seulgi took the ring on her gloved hands and inspected it.

"How old is this ring?" Seulgi inquired.

"I had it for almost six years now and kept it inside a box for four years"

"The ring that you have right here is Cartier. Quite expensive. As for the clarity of it, I have to say I am impressed  by the condition of the diamond itself. A VS1 type," She informed him and put the ring on a small cloth. Jaejoong can only stare because he doesn't really know what to do with the information. All he knows is that he needs to take care of it.

"So how much do you want for it?" she asked

"H-how much do you think it's worth?"

"Given the quality and condition of it, around $6,000. Because even though the clarity of the diamond is average, the carat size is only 0.51"

"Six grand?!" He was shocked at the amount. It would still come out a tad short but six grand was a lot.

"W-what if I sell it? How much would you be willing to pay?" Jaejoong never knew he'd ask that question.

"We could give it for 11"

If he sells it, not only he gets to pay his debts he even has the extra to treat Changmin to new clothes as well.

"Noona, shiny!" Changmin pointed at Jaejoong's ring.

"It is, sweetie," Seulgi cooed at him.

"If I pawn it, how many months do I have to pay it back?"

"You'll be given 5 months to pay it. If you don't, we'll give you another month, however with 3% interest and if you failed to pay it at its 7th month, we will have to take and auctioned it"

Pawning was already a hard thing to do for him, how much more if he sells it. It's not mine.

"5 months then if I failed, I'll be given another month with interest or else . . . " Jaejoong clarified.

"Yes, Mr. Kim"

"If I sell it, I get 11 grand, right ?"

"Yes,"

Jaejoong took a deep breath before making the final decision.

"A-alright"

"And so, if you put it that way-" Smack "Oww!" Chanyeol had smacked his face on the door. He didn't realize that the cafe had the ‘Close’ sign up.

"They're close!" Sehun gasped and peeked at the window. The lights were off and there were no signs of someone being inside.

"How can you also be clumsy, Chanyeol? I need to get you off Sehun" Baekhyun checked Chanyeol's forehead.

"Oww, don't touch it. It hurts"

"I'm barely touching it!"

"Hyung!" the gang looked at where the voice came from

"Oh look, it's them," Sehun pointed at Jaejoong and Changmin's way.

"Changmin, be careful please" Jaejoong hurriedly ran after Changmin. Changmin tackled Sehun's leg.

"You sure run fast, Minnie-ah" Jaejoong catches his breath.

"Good afternoon, Jaejoong-shii. We didn't know you went out. We're sorry" Sehun said.

"Oh no, it's okay. We had a little errand to ran today" Jaejoong retrieves his keys from his bag.

"Hyung!  We went to a shiny place and then Umma gave me ice cream!" Changmin excitedly shared with Sehun.

Jaejoong notices Chanyeol on the side groaning.

"What happened?!"

"Him being clumsy is what happened," Baekhyun huffed.

"Quick, come inside we'll take a look at it" Jaejoong ushered everyone inside. He let Chanyeol sit down and checked his forehead.

"Is your head hurting?" he saw a bump forming on his forehead.

"Nope, but it stings though"

"We'll put some ointment on it to ease it. Let me just get it upstairs. And could you guys watch Changmin for me for a bit? I won't be long though"

"No problem, Jaejoong-shii," Jongin said.

"When I get a oo, my umma kisses it better," Changmin shared.

"Why don't you kiss Chanyeol's forehead, Baek. It may heal faster" Sehun snickered.

"Yeah, why don't you" Jonging joined in

"Ughh, stop it" Baekhyun wasn't having it. And the slight blush wasn't helping either.

"Kiss it better, Baek" Chanyeol puckered his lips towards him.

"Shut up, there's a kid here-" 

"Ohh so you are really planning on it" Sehun teased.

The gang was having a great time teasing Baekhyun, even Changmin finds it funny that one of his hyung was red the tomato his umma had this morning. 

The bell rang and they all looked up to see who just entered.

"Mr. Car!" Changmin yelled in delight "Hello, Mr. Car. Welcome back" he waves at Jin-ki

"Hello, Changmin. I am back" the patted his head "Good afternoon to you guys also" he bowed.

"Hello, Mr. Lee. What brings you here?" Sehun said

"Mr, Car! Do you want a cupcake? Umma made choco cupcakes!" Changmin ran to the display rack and showed Jin-ki the cupcakes on display.

"I'm here with my boss and we're here to buy a box of Mr. Kim's pastries. Speaking of Mr. Kim, where is he?" he noticed that Jaejoong wasn't here.

"Oh, he went upstairs. He's getting his first aid kit because our friends here were being clumsy" Jongin said.

"Oh, is that so?” concern was laced in his voice.

Right behind them, another figure entered the cafe. This presence was kinda intimidating to say the least for the four boys who sat inside.

"So this is where the tarts came from. What a lovely cafe" Yunho said in awe. Like Baekhyun and Chanyeol first came into the cafe, he too felt a cosy vibe inside the cafe, although there was no smell of freshly baked goods and coffee just yet.

"Ahh! This is my boss, Mr. Jung Yunho" Jin-ki introduced him to Jaejoong's friends.

"Hello, Mr. Jung. I'm Sehun and these are my friends, Jongin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun. We're regulars of this cafe" Sehun timidly introduces the gang to him.

"Hello, nice to meet you all" he bowed to them.

"Hi, welcome to my umma's cafe!" Changmin tugged on suit pants 

Yunho was startled at the kid who seemingly came out of nowhere. He looked down saw the kid smiling brightly at him with a notepad.

He crouched down to the kid’s level before greeting him with the same enthusiasm, “"Hi there, little one. What's your name?" 

"I'm Changmin!" he answered brightly.

“You’re an adorable little fellow,” he can’t help but coo at the child. Changmin flashes him his signature gummy smile. One thing he noticed was that there is a tiny mole under his right eye. He reminds me of Jaejoong.

"Look! My umma made those. Would you like to buy some?" Changmin held Yunho's hands and dragged him to the display rack to show him the baked goods

"Oh wow! They look delicious" Yunho is already eyeing which one he would get.

The others couldn't help but observe the interaction between Yunho and Changmin. Changmin was explaining what pastries were on display and what showed him what was his and his mom’s favorite among them. Yunho was contendenly listening to the kid, nodding his head to show that he was listening to the kid. 

At some point, Yunho told Changmin what he wanted to get because the kid then laid his notepad on the floor then picked at the stickers to take in the older’s order. 

Jin-ki couldn't believe that a man like Yunho could be so good at handling a child. A natural, Jin-ki thought.

They hear a hurried descending step by the stairs to the left.

"I know I said that It wouldn't take long for me to look for the ointment but I misplaced my kit" Jaejoong had finally appeared. When he looked up, he saw that Jin-ki was here as well. He didn’t had the chance to greet him when Changmin excitedly rushed to him.

"Umma! Ahjushii wants to buy cupcakes!"

Jaejoong turned his attention to another man he was pointing at. The kit he was holding now all over the floor

Suddenly felt nauseous when he recognized the man Changmin was pointing at.

Never had he hought that he’d cross paths with Yunho after all these years. He thought that he had hid himself well from him. Truly, the past came to haunt him.

"J-Jaejoong?"