“It’s a testament of how much he loves her. A man has got to be pretty committed to a woman to agree to raise another man's child.”

 

As we were about to get off the car, Jong Hyun received a phone call and had to answer it. He told me to leave first. I went over to Amber and glared at the man next to her. He gave me a befuddled look as he looked at Amber and me. I grabbed Amber into a hug, to her surprise, and kept my eyes on the man.   “Bonjour.”   When we pulled away, Amber gave me a look. “Bonjour…”   “It’s a morning hug,” I explained, not wanting to make her feel unease.   She bought it and shrugged. She introduced Henry Lau, a paediatrician, and me to each other and peeked at Jong Hyun who was in my car, finishing his phone call. She turned to Henry and suggested him to go home as he must be tired from the night shift as well. Henry smiled widely and told her that he would see her tonight, on another night shift.   When Jong Hyun got off the car, the two siblings looked at each other. I saw a tender, pleased look on Amber’s face. She also had this sheepish smile as she greeted him. “Long time no see.”   Jong Hyun glared at her for a moment before marching up and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back tightly.   “I’m going to kill you,” he told her in a menacing tone.   “I miss you too,” she replied. I could picture her smiling into the hug.   After bidding them goodbye, I left the two at the Choi’s property for work.  

∞∞∞

  I stopped by the Choi’s house to see Amber and the others after work. Yuri had taken Jong Hyun back to the hotel as Amber had her sleep and took Jong Hyun and Key to back to her house for dinner. Initially, I had told Amber that they could stay at my place since they wouldn’t have to spend money, but Jong Hyun had already made the reservation before she passed on the message and besides, he didn’t feel acquainted well with me to stay at my place. I didn’t mind because I understood where he was coming from.   Jong Hyun Liu is a very interesting person, I’d have to say. He has a very distinctive Australian accent and his intonation made me laugh occasionally. Amber has an accent, obviously, but it isn’t as thick as Jong Hyun’s. All those twangs and Australian phrases he uses puzzled me, but they are funny.   When I arrived, he had this angry look on his face and I warily asked, “Is everything okay?”   “Bob’s your uncle,” he replied, sarcasm filled his voice. When he caught he look on my face, he tried to justify, “I’m as happy as a bastard on father’s day.” What the ?   “He’s in a bad mood,” Key clarified. “Leave him alone.” Key then explained to me that ‘Bob’s your uncle’ is an Australian expression meaning everything is fine. ‘Happy as a bastard on father’s day’ refers to being unhappy about something.   I brought chicken risotto back for the family and Yuri immediately warm them up before serving them on the table. Jong Hyun retained this fierce look as he stared at Paris and me. As soon as I came, Paris had called out, “Oppa!” to me and seemed happy for my presence. Of course, I greeted her the way I always do: kiss her on the forehead and ask her about her day before she rambled on in gibberish. The reason she was familiar with the word ‘Oppa’ is because I had been responsible in teaching her Korean; it was my idea which Amber had agreed to. We don’t want this kid to turn out like her dad, not knowing a very important language and forget their heritage. Due to this, Yuri had also requested that I teach Alice and Jaden. The funny thing was, at some point, Jaden told Paris to call Flic ‘Appa’ and she had been stuck with it ever since. We were afraid Amber would mind since it should be reserved for L, but instead, she was more than happy to let Paris be and suggested her to call Yuri ‘Umma’, who was delighted to hear the name coming out from the toddler. For some reason, I pictured them all as one big family and my imagination began to run wild, what would it be like if Jaden and Paris get together?   Meanwhile, I did not fail to notice Key nudging Jong Hyun and told him to loosen up. Key is pretty manly from the look of it, which made me wonder how those two got together, but hey, like Woo Hyun hyung said, “Logical reasons don’t matter when it comes to the matters of the heart.”   Paris was rather shy around Jong Hyun, hence she didn’t talk much and was attached to Amber the whole time. I noticed Jong Hyun watching the two intently the whole time, but said nothing. I dropped Amber at the hospital and took our guests back to the hotel after they bid each other goodbye. During the journey, Jong Hyun asked me about L and his whereabouts, as Key dozed off in the back seat. I figured Amber had told him everything, including about our family. I told him honestly about everything that I knew without leaving a single part. After Jong Hyun absorbed the information, he mused, “So the most logical reason is that he’s dead…” He sighed. “My stubborn sister.”   I wasn’t sure whether I should reply to that, but I said anyway, “I know. She’s still waiting.”   “Stupid, I say.”   The next morning, I took Jong Hyun and Key to the Choi’s property. They were surprisingly awake despite the jetlag I expected. Yuri and Flic had gone to work, Alice was at school, and Jaden was at preschool. I went to see whether Paris was awake and she was, indeed. I found her up on the bed as she ogled at her sleeping mother. She pecked Amber’s cheek and giggled to herself. I made a hissing sound which surprised her and when she realised it was me, she got off the bed to greet me. I closed the door quietly and took Paris to the living room, where Jong Hyun and Key were. Jong Hyun was startled when I took the toddler over. Key was good with kids and soon enough, Paris became more comfortable with him.   “Is Amber working tonight?” he asked me as we sat at the dinner table eating peanut butter toasts.   “Not that I know of.”   “What are you doing today?” Jong Hyun talked in a very serious tone that made me feel like I had to respect him. Moreover, he is five years older than Amber and me. I told him about work from twelve till seven. “Crap,” he cussed.   “What’s wrong?”   “I called up Amber’s best friend, Victoria, last night and she is on her way to Toulouse with her boyfriend. They are arriving at around five o’clock today.”   My eyes widened at this information. Sure, I figured, Amber would be happy to have her best friend here, but from the look in Jong Hyun’s eyes, I could tell it wasn’t a mere reunion sort of event. Furthermore, for that Victoria to be on the plane as soon as she was called, it must be something that would mean bad for me. Even the name reminded me of that evil vampire in Twilight. “Does Amber know?”   He shook his head. “I will tell her when she wakes up.”   “Well, sometimes the plane can be delayed. They will have to wait for their luggage and the process to exit the airport is rather arduous. It would take at least one hour or one hour and a half for them to finish. I can still pick them up, if that’s what you were intending to ask of me.”   He nodded. “Thank you, Sung Yeol. And also…” He scratched his brows and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for being rude, but do you mind if they stay at your place? I know from Amber that you offered it to me, but I already made a reservation at the hotel. Victoria and Nich didn’t have time to reserve a room as they took the earliest flight they could get yesterday afternoon to get here.”   “It’s okay,” I reassured him. “I live by myself. Besides, it’s only five minutes away from here.”   He nodded and thanked me. He stalled for a moment. “And thank you for looking after Amber and Paris these past years. I cannot tell you how thankful I am of you for taking care of my sister.” I assured him that it was okay and that I did it willingly. “My sister is a very stubborn and independent girl. She wants to do everything herself without even acknowledging her own limit. I still could not believe she became a single mother.” From there, all his frustrations just poured out. “She… she’s a very sensible girl. I used to be in a lot of trouble, even at school, and she was the good daughter. She… I cannot believe she became involved with the mafia.” I sat there, munching on my toast, in uneasiness. Well, I’m a part of the mafia too. Jong Hyun didn’t realise my restlessness and was running his hands through his hair angrily. When he looked up abruptly, I almost choked from the surprise. “You’re this Myung Soo bloke’s best friend. Tell me, honestly, he left her, didn’t he? He freaked out at the last minute and realised he doesn’t want her?”   I shook my head. “L would never do that, like I said last night, he loves her. Trust me on this, Jong Hyun.”   He frowned. “Who’s L?”   I didn’t remember whether I had mention L last night; if I had, he was probably too sleepy to even notice. “L is Myung Soo.”   “Do they have pet names or something? Is that why Amber calls him Myung Soo?”   “Um… no. Myung Soo is L’s birth name, but we all call him L, except Amber.”   His lone brow shot up. “So what, do you suggest, I should call this bloke?”   “L. Myung Soo is reserved for Amber.”   “Does his dad know about Amber and Paris?”   “Not that I know of. I suppose they don’t because if they do, they’ll…”   He gave me a menacing look. “They will kill her, wouldn’t they?” I pursed my lips and held back the answer since I knew it was obvious. “Why do they want to kill her?”   I took a deep breath. “Because L is supposed to marry my sister.” Jong Hyun’s eyes widened at this. “It was an arranged marriage.”   “Your sister?” he repeated. “L is engaged to your sister and he got my sister pregnant?!”   “He doesn’t love my sister.”   “What about your sister?”   “She... likes L…” I wasn’t sure how he was going to react with this, but I thought honesty was the way to go in this situation.   “How is she coping with L’s loss?”   I shrugged. “She moved to Korea after he disappeared. My dad believes it’s for the better since she won’t be reminded of him as she would be in Paris.”   He shook his head and scowled. “I can’t believe my sister is involved in this situation.”   “Look, Jong Hyun, as long as I’m alive, I would never let my dad or Uncle hurt Amber and Paris. I will make sure not even a single hair of theirs would be touched.”   His eyes softened as he looked at me. “I really appreciate it, Sung Yeol, but I believe it is best if I take Amber home.”   “WHAT?!”   “What’s wrong, Yeol?”   Our heads whirled around to Amber who was entering the living room. Paris shouted for her and ran over. She picked Paris up, keeping her eyes on us, and sauntered over. Jong Hyun stood up calmly and faced her, crossing his arms.   “I’ve called Tori here. She’s coming tonight, with Khun.”   I saw Amber’s eyes wi