Little Hwa-Young finished her sandwich and Amber carried her all the way to the living room, she turned the big T.V on and searched for some cartoons.

“How about… this?” She asked the three-year-old while surfing the channels.

“How about that?” The little girl copied Amber as she saw something that interested her.

The tomboy let the toddler relax a little and walked to the kitchen, where Krystal was quietly staring at the little girl.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked her girlfriend as she positioned behind her, massaging her shoulders.

“She’s just like me” Krystal said, her eyes still glued on Hwa-Young.

“Yeah… the resemblance is uncanny” The older said as she finished the massage.

“No… I mean she has bruises and scars” Soojung explained, turning to face her girlfriend.

“Is that why you changed your mind?” The tomboy asked.

“I still don’t know if this is the best option for her” The younger sighed.

“We can use a little help” Amber said, she took out her phone and texted someone.

The morning went by with the tomboy slowly making the toddler open up to her, she joined her on watching cartoons, gave her a house tour and even managed to get Hwa-Young to play tag with her. Meanwhile, Soojung quietly admired the two running girls from the kitchen, she saw Amber’s sparking puppy eyes as she tried to get little Hwa-Young. I should be trying, she thought. Her girlfriend signaled her many times to come join them, but she just shook her head and smiled apologetically.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Krystal went to the small screen on the main entrance wall to see Luna and Wendy, standing outside of the gate. “Coming” she said through the communicator. She opened the gates for them and greeted the girls as they entered the mansion.

“Wow, Krystal! Nice shack” Luna said, trying to look cool but earned confused looks from the others. “What?” She asked.

“No, it’s nothing” Soojung shook her head, trying to forget what Luna just said.

“So, where’s the little one?” Wendy asked, smiling warmly.

“She’s outside, playing with Amber” The younger said, pointing to the sliding door that led to the yard. They walked out and saw the tomboy pushing the toddler who was sitting on the swing.

“She’s a natural, huh?” Wendy commented upon the lovely scene.

“Where’s my favorite niece?!!” Luna exclaimed as she walked closer to the happy little girl.

“Don’t call her that, c’mon” Amber complained while she stopped the swing.

“Why? Didn’t you adopt her?” The tanned girl asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“No, Luna… we kinda stole her” The short-haired girl whispered.

“Ah… I knew something was off. Something’s always off when you are involved”

“So, what’s the huge bag you’re carrying for?” Krystal asked Wendy as they approached the other girls.

“You’ll see” She replied, winking, she then walked towards the shy toddler who was hiding behind Amber.

“Hi Hwa-Young, I’m Wendy” The psychologist said as she squatted to match the girl’s level. “Here, I brought you some presents” She added, opening the bag to reveal a bunch of toys.

“Mine?” Hwa-Young said as her eyes grew bigger.

“Yeah, they’re all yours. Why don’t we play inside for a little?” Wendy tried to convince the little girl and in no time, she nodded and marched behind the psychologist as they entered the house.

“So, how was the trip?” Amber asked Luna.

“It was okay. Care to tell me what actually happened?” She backfired as she sat on the swing.

“We saw Hwa-Young’s mom being harassed in an alley; we went to help her but the man she was fighting was stronger than any of us. He ended up killing the lady and we ran away with her daughter” The older said, watching how Wendy and Hwa-Young prepared the toys in the living room.

“You’re so ed up, Amber” Luna said in disbelief.

“It was my idea” Krystal interfered.

“You both are so ed up” She corrected herself.

“We tried to make things right… it’s just that, we didn’t expect any of this to happen” Amber confessed, leaning on the tree.

“Are you going to raise her as your own?” The shortest girl asked, looking up to Krystal.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for this kind of responsibility” She replied, looking away.

“What are you going to do, then?” Luna pushed. They never went to child services and Amber hasn’t even talked about it with her mom, yet it felt like an interrogatory when Luna started making the important questions the couple didn’t want to answer.

Amber sighed, looking through the huge windows, seeing how Hwa-Young was enjoying her time with Wendy. She didn’t know what being a parent even meant, she didn’t know how to handle tantrums or crying babies, she was merely being guided by her instincts and until now, it worked. But what if she can’t handle Hwa-Young when she grows up? What if she grows into hating the couple because they couldn’t help her mom? I’ve never been this lost, she thought.

“Let’s go inside, it’s getting cold” Soojung said and Luna and Amber followed. They sat in the kitchen as they let Wendy continue with her work. She brought all those toys to make the toddler open up to her easier, while they were playing, she would occasionally ask her about her parents, where did she live, and important information without making the little girl tired and distracting her to avoid making a fuss.

When the playtime interrogatory was over, Wendy motioned the others to come join them in the living room.

“So…” Amber said.

“She’s exactly three years old, I guess you knew that by now, she lived with her mother in the streets and has no father, she mentioned something about her mother bringing her food, which I guess she meant she had to steal it. I did a little inspection and found out she’s been burnt with cigarettes, and judging by her shy nature, I can sense she has trouble connecting with new people because she’s scared they would hurt her” She said, looking at Hwa-Young as she played with her new toys. “Now, she still needs more therapy so she can trust you guys completely, and you need to work on your problems before raising a child, that’s why I’m taking her with me” She added, looking right into the couple’s eyes.

“What? Taking her where?” Amber asked, raising her voice, making Hwa-Young look at her with scared eyes.

“Listen, I don’t want to be the villain here… but she needs a safe environment and some peace and quiet. Now, I’m not anyone to judge but they’re still looking for Soojung and you just kidnapped a toddler… what’s going to happen when the police find out you guys never notified child services? What’s going to happen when the police find out that the girl who’s taking care of the toddler is a mental hospital fugitive? I know you guys are not bad people… but your actions can prove me wrong in court” Wendy desperately tried to make a raging Amber reason.

“But you can’t take her away from me!” She exclaimed.

“Sweetie, let’s go have a snack” Luna told a very afraid Hwa-Young, taking her to the kitchen.

“Amber she’s not yours” Krystal sternly said.

“Please understand I’m not trying to take her away from you. I’m just doing what’s best for her. Soojung still needs to improve on her emotional stability in order to raise a child… she’s not ready and you can’t do everything on your own… a family is called that for a reason” Wendy explained, she walked closer to Amber and put her hand on her left arm. “You don’t have to fix everything, you don’t have to provide everything. Let me help you, we can do this as a team” She assured.

“Am, please” Krystal said as she held the other’s hand, squeezing it.

“Can she at least stay for tonight?”