[2003]

“Come in.” Jaime said after hearing three light knocks on the door. 

The door opened and she found Jeongyeon standing against it with her hands clasped together on her back. The caregiver stopped arranging the files on the director’s table when she saw the bothered face of the bravest kid in the orphanage. 

She approached the kid and squatted in front of her to meet her eye level then she held Jeongyeon’s shoulders. 

“Why are you here? Is there something wrong?”  

Jeongyeon hesitated before answering the adult’s question which made Jaime more worried.  

“Minari got hurt.”  

Jeongyeon’s voice cracked but you can tell the way she stands that she’s trying to show that she's brave and she’s holding back her tears. 

“Hurt? What happened? Let’s bring her to the clinic.”

Jeongyeon shakes her head quickly. 

“She doesn’t want to go there,” Jeongyeon paused while Jaime just stared at the kid and waited for her to continue.

“She lost her balance when she ran towards me after I told her that I saw a troupe of ants walking from my location,” Jeongyeon gulps while trying so hard to suppress her tears. Jaime got a glass of water and gave it to the girl. Jeongyeon took it but she just held on to it and continued what she was saying.

“She hurt her knees. I told her that we should go to the clinic to have it cleaned but she doesn’t want to go there even though I explained that the nurses will not be going to inject her with anything..”  

Jeongyeon seems so hesitant so Jaime nodded her head to encourage the kid to continue.  

“So I’m here to ask if you can get me a first aid kit in the clinic so I can do the cleaning of her wounds instead.” Jeongyeon added, avoiding Jaime’s eye contact because she’s afraid that she might receive a scolding.

Jaime stares at Jeongyeon once again. Then seconds later, there’s a smile formed on her lips. She shuffles Jeongyeon’s hair which makes Jeongyeon look at her confusingly.

“Oh my, our Jeongyeonie is so worried about our Minari. I guess I can do that for you but let me help you clean Mina’s wounds, okay?” Jaime said lovingly.

Jeongyeon’s eyes sparkled with joy as she nodded her head continuously. 

Jaime chuckles at the sight. She stands up and offers her hand to Jeongyeon which the younger person holds immediately. 

While on their way to the clinic, Jeongyeon suddenly asked Jaime a question. 

“Jaimie unnie,” she started.

Jaime just hummed and looked at the kid beside her. 

“How can you help someone to be strong? It’s not like I don’t want to protect Mina anymore but I want her to be strong on her own as well so she can manage whenever I’m not around. How can I do that?” 

Jaime can’t help but to feel proud at Jeongyeon because her question and the way she thinks is not a common thing for her age. She always knew that the kid is smart but she never knew that this is how mature she is.   

Jaime is so sure that whoever adopts Jeongyeon would be so lucky.

“Braveness and being strong are the things which you cannot teach to another person easily. It requires cooperation and willingness of the other person for them to learn it.”

Jeongyeon scratches her eyebrow while listening.

“And if you really want to help Mina to become as brave and as strong as you,then maybe you should lessen your protectiveness around her. Allow her to get hurt and stand on her own sometimes because those things are part of our lives that will mold us to be a better person.”  

“I understand. Thank you so much, Jaime unnie.” Jeongyeon said with a wide smile on her lips.

----

[Present]

“Say what?”  

Dahyun almost choked on her toothpaste on Monday morning when Jeongyeon told her what she did.

“I said I applied for another part-time job this week.” Jeongyeon replied while she’s frying sunny side up eggs for their breakfast. She’s smiling from ear to ear and whistling a happy song once in a while. 

Dahyun washed her face and gargled before she turned her attention to her sister. 

“No, not that part. Before you said that, you said something.”  

Jeongyeon turned off the stove and placed the plate with eggs on the table. 

“I sent a postal mail for Mina and I used the company’s address. Remember when I rent a pc the other day? Apparently, all of the information I need for my mail is available online.” Jeongyeon said happily. 

Dahyun can tell that the woman is very happy and excited. Although she wanted to tell her that the possibility of her postal mail to be read and answered by Mina is very slim, she chose not to say a word about it.

“Good for you, unnie. I hope you receive a reply soon.” Dahyun said while she’s pulling a chair to sit on it.

They started to eat their breakfast.

“I know that she’s a very busy person and for her to read my letter might take some time.” Jeongyeon said after chewing the food in . 

Dahyun looks at her curiously. 

“So I told her in my letter that I will wait for her every Saturday at the coffee shop near our university. Basically the one where I do a part-time job.”   

Again, Dahyun wanted to tell her that it’s impossible.  

Her stories about Mina happened a long time ago. There's no way that Mina did not change even just for a bit. 

She is so worried about Jeongyeon because life throws so many loads for them to carry already. Jeongyeon was nothing but a good sister and a parent to her even though they are not blood related.  

Dahyun wants to protect her sister too the way she’s been protecting her. Her older sister is too nice and too pure for this cruel world.

She wanted to tell her thoughts and opinion about Mina but Jeongyeon smiles are preventing her from doing it. How can she take away those rare genuine smiles? So she chose not to say a thing once again.

“Don't worry about me, Dahyun-ah.”Jeongyeon said softly.

That brought Dahyun back from her thoughts. She found Jeongyeon smiling at her with so much assurance in her eyes. The older one noticed her worries after all.

“Unnie..” 

“Mina is a good person. I can assure you that. The part-time job I’m applying for is good for this week only. I just wanna buy a new set of clothes to wear every saturday to be presentable enough for Mina.” Jeongyeon told Dahyun.

Dahyun sighs but nods her head later on. 

----

Saturday came so fast. 

Mina is currently driving her Montero Sport with her racing heart. 

Since the day that she received a letter from Jeongyeon, she can’t stop herself from reminiscing the good old days she had with her childhood friend. She’s so excited about this meeting that she even dreamed about their memories together twice this week. 

She let out a sigh of relief when she arrived at the small coffee shop and there’s a parking space allotted for the customers. She turned off the engine and entered the establishment. 

She hit her own forehead when she realized that she didn't know what Jeongyeon looks like yet. 

She brings out her phone to text her but then again, she remembered that the number is not replying to any of the messages she sent the whole week. So most probably, Jeongyeon number is not working or Jeongyeon put a wrong number on her l