It was a cloudy day and the sky looked as though it was ready to pour down with rain at any given moment. This meant that Junmyeon had the privacy he needed outside in the hospital gardens without the fear of being heard as he argued over the phone.

“You can’t just treat Aecha like a clothing item that you can return to a shop,” Junmyeon hissed through clenched teeth. “She’s our daughter; you are her mother.”

“You got the custody though.”

“It was supposed to be shared custody Jinah.” Junmyeon frowned, disappointment dripping from his voice.

“I’m not made to be a mother.” Jinah’s voice cut through, piercing Junmyeon to his core. “Anyway we’re almost at the hospital.”

Sighing, Junmyeon hang up the phone and resisted the urge to kick the innocent pots of flowers on display. It had been years since the divorce, and every year Jinah seemed to find a more blunt way to express her lack of interest in her own daughter. He suddenly recalled how he had referred to Aecha as ‘our daughter’ and wondered whether that was a silly slip of tongue or whether despite the image that he projected, he had yet to really move on from Jinah. After all, she was the woman that he loved enough to envision spending their lives together.

Unlocking his phone, Junmyeon typed a quick message, letting Jinah know where in the hospital he was. If she was adamant to drop off Aecha with him, then she had to go through the extra effort of finding him. Sighing yet again, Junmyeon cracked his neck and turned around, only to freeze upon seeing Eunha sitting nonchalantly on a bench not far from where he was standing.

“How long have you been there?” Junmyeon questioned, wondering whether she had heard his rather unpleasant conversation with Jinah.

His worry was soon pushed aside however when he noticed puffs of smoke wafting in the air around Eunha. Following the trail of smoke all the way to Eunha’s fingers, Junmyeon’s eyes sharpened and his eyebrows furrowed together in disapproval.

“You shouldn’t smoke, it’s bad for you,” Junmyeon chided. “And you work with pregnant people as well.”

“Such a mother hen,” Eunha commented though her eyes looked past Junmyeon. “Focus your attention on your own little baby chick.”

Junmyeon’s frown deepened as he watched Eunha take one more drag of the cigarette. She did however stub it out even though it was not yet finished and Junmyeon almost thought that he had managed to change Eunha’s view of smoking . He got his real answer to why Eunha had cut off her smoking short however when he heard tiny footsteps coming from behind him.

“Daddy!”

Immediately twirling around, Junmyeon was almost knocked over by the pure force in which Aecha ran up to him and dived towards his leg with a tight hug. Jinah was just a few steps behind and she wore a clearly annoyed expression.

“You’ve spoilt her too much,” Jinah commented in a cold tone. “She demands too much.”

“She just wants to spend time with her own mother,” Junmyeon replied, forcing his voice to remain calm.

Ruffling Aecha’s hair, Junmyeon inhaled deeply as he did not want to argue with Jinah in front of the child. However Jinha was not making that easy.

“You’re so stubborn Junmyeon,” Jinah purred, her tone laced with pity. “It almost makes me wonder whether you are still hang up on me.”

That comment snapped something in Junmyeon because his expression immediately turned serious. Even though Aecha was unable to see her father’s face, she felt the way his body tensed and heard how his voice became raspier. It created a major contrast with the usually gentle and doting father that Aecha was used to and the girl felt increasingly scared.

Meanwhile, Eunha who had remained quietly watching, finally shifted from the bench and crouched down. Reaching inside her pocket, she took out a lollipop and extended it towards Aecha. The little girl peeked back and forth between Eunha and the lollipop, unsure of whether to trust this unfamiliar lady. Seeing Eunha’s harmless smile and how she was wearing a hospital coat however gave Aecha a sense of reassurance and she slowly let go of Junmyeon’s leg, shuffling towards Eunha instead.

Eunha unwrapped the lollipop and handed it over to Aecha. She then gave Jinah a long side-glance before taking Aecha’s hand.

“Let’s go inside Aecha,” Eunha whispered softly. “It might rains soon since the clouds look so angry.”

Standing back up, Eunha wordlessly guided Aecha inside and the little girl obediently complied.

Junmyeon had been so immersed in controlling his emotions that he had not even noticed Aecha was no longer holding onto him. His mind was still trying to think of a comeback agai