~ Fall, Current Year ~

The complete removal of the tumor on Jihoon's cerebellum took me two hours to accomplish. Once I removed the tumor and knew that my patient is doing great, I left the operating room and allowed the assistant doctor who accompanied me and the nurses who assisted me to close his head and finished the rest of the operation. I took off my gown and removed my masks, gloves, and cap before disposing them properly. I washed and disinfected myself before I went to Jihoon's parents and informed them that the operation went well. They could go back to Jeju once Jihoon wakes up in stable conditions then proceed with his therapy back to their home.

I went straight to my office to rest for a few minutes before I’ll go back home. I won’t be receiving any more patients at this time so I went straight to my chair behind my desk and leaned back on it without bothering to wear my coat anymore. I dropped my body on the chair with a thud and leaned back on it, rocking it a little. I rested my arms on the armrest and closed my eyes as I heaved out a sigh.

I jolted upright on my chair and instantly opened my eyes when the door suddenly opened. My heart was beating fast in my chest, startled from the sudden noise that interrupted the quietness in my office.

“Mama!”

I instantly relaxed and slouched on my chair as I smiled at my daughter who’s running towards me. I smiled wider when I saw Yong following behind Nabi as she closed the door that Nabi pushed wide open. I told them that I’ll just ride a taxi back home, but these two are really just so stubborn.

“Look! I’m a telebabby” Nabi said excitedly as she climbed to sit on my lap. I held her arm and made sure that she wouldn’t fall as she struggled to climb up.

She’s wearing a matching pair of red hoodie and sweatpants. She’s even wearing red crocs to match her outfit. Her hoodie has this circle antenna poking up and bouncing every time Nabi moves her head. I glanced at Yong who’s wearing my black oversized hoodie and raised my eyebrows at her, silently asking her how Nabi got this outfit because I don’t remember having this in her closet. She just shrugged her shoulder as she leaned on my desk.

I glanced at Nabi again as I held her waist while she sat comfortably on my lap and told her, “It’s teletubby, Nabi. Not telebabby”

“Ara said it’s telebabby, Mama” she argued as she pinched my cheeks. “She’s the violet telebabby and I’m the red telebabby” she rambled as she played with the strings of her hoodie.

Nabi has passed one week of being in school and so far, she’s happy. She’s enjoying school too. She has no problem learning as well. Even when she wasn’t receiving formal education before, she has demonstrated outstanding performance when it comes to learning new things. She could easily pick up stuff, that’s why Yong and I are always very careful with our words and actions inside the house. A wrong word uttered might be instilled in her brain and would be carried as she grows up.

She also keeps on talking about her friend Ara and how they would always play together. We haven’t seen her friend nor Ara’s parents though, but I hope Ara would be like my Hyejin for Nabi. It’s slightly relieving knowing that she has someone close in school. It makes her look forward to going to school despite her shyness, and makes her school experience wonderful. My worries of her getting teased and bullied dwindled the longer she attended school.

I kissed her forehead before I whispered, “Okay then”

I hugged her close to me and leaned back on my chair again as I sighed contentedly. Nabi cupped my cheeks and tilted my face down so she could look at me before she asked, “Are you tired Mama? Mommy said you’ll be tired that’s why we came to pick you up”

I pouted at her and nodded my head as I mumbled. “Mama is so tired, baby. I need your kisses to bring my energy back up”

She instantly kissed my pouting lips, but I shook my head and said, “Mama needs more than one kiss from Nabi”

She pulled my head down and started showering my face with sloppy kisses. I instantly closed my eyes and giggled when her kisses went longer than expected. My face started to feel sticky from Nabi’s kisses, but I didn’t mind. It honestly lifted my energy and mood up.

She pulled back and smiled so wide at me as she asked, “How was that?”

I poked her dimple then pulled her to my chest, squeezing her tight in my arms. “That was great, Nabi.” I glanced at Yong next and reached a hand at her as I said, “Now it’s time for Mommy’s kisses”

Yong chuckled at me as she pushed herself away from my desk to stand in front of me. She leaned her hands on my chair’s armrest before she bent down and kissed my lips. Before I could even kiss her back, she pulled away from my lips and copied Nabi’s sloppy kisses all over my face. I closed my eyes again and smiled while Nabi giggled in my arms.

“How’s that?” Yong asked when she finished kissing me while she wiped my face with the sleeves of my hoodie that she’s wearing.

I pulled her face to my shoulder and did the same to Nabi on my other shoulder. I hugged them tight, squeezing them with my remaining energy, as I sighed in contentment. “That was the best. You two are the best” I whispered to them before I kissed their temples.

Our hug was broken when we heard a knock on the door. Yong pulled away first to look at me and asked, “Are you still expecting patients? I thought you’re going home after the surgery”

“I am and I’m not expecting anyone else” I answered her right away. I turned towards the direction of the door and called out to anyone who’s on the other side of the door, “Come in!”

Yong stood beside me while all three of our heads were trained towards the door. We watched the door pushed open then Hyejin’s head peeked from the side of the partially opened door, which is weird because we both know each other’s schedule and we don’t come to each other’s office unless we’re on a break. We don’t knock on each other’s door as well and just go inside without any warning at all.

“Auntie Hyejin!” Nabi shouted excitedly then hurriedly climbed down my lap to run to Hyejin.

I held Yong’s hand and pulled her to sit on my lap as we watched Nabi run towards her godmother. I wrapped my arms around Yong’s waist while Yong placed her arms on top of mine. Meanwhile, Hyejin smiled really wide when she saw Nabi run to her and pushed the door open revealing the blond haired woman who was standing behind her.

My eyebrows furrowed and my arms around Yong’s waist unconsciously tightened. Yong sat still on my lap as well when she saw who was with Hyejin too.

“Auntie Byulyi is here too!” Nabi exclaimed, sounding more excited now while this just made me even more confused.

“You know about this?”, “Nabi met Byul?” Yong and I asked each other respectively.

I glanced at them again and noticed that Hyejin was holding Byul’s hand while Byul nervously smiled and waved at Nabi. My eyebrows dipped lower, feeling more confused now, and I think Yong was as confused as me too.

My Star

“No way” I whispered under breath, sitting straight on my chair when everything clicked.

I glared at Byul as I remembered the time I rode with Hyejin from Nabi’s school to the hospital. I feel so dumb when I didn’t even figure it out back then. That’s why Hyejin was very hesitant to introduce me to this person. That’s why she didn’t want me to answer the call. I was so caught up with my worries towards Yong and Nabi that I didn’t even notice how she didn’t sound so excited when I found out she’s seeing someone. I would usually be the first one to know if she’s seeing someone and vice versa. Nabi even somewhat knew about this before me.

My glare hardened towards Byul and when she met my eyes, she immediately averted my gaze and slowly moved to hide behind Hyejin. Hyejin’s relationship history is really bad and this doesn’t sit way too far from that as well. There’s no way I’m approving this.

“You know about this?” Yong asked me and I just simply shook my head. She cupped my cheek and pulled my gaze away from Byul to look at her. My glare immediately went away when I met her worried eyes. She rubbed her thumb on my cheek and I instantly melted from her touch as I sighed deeply. “No punching and violent actions, okay?”

I closed my eyes and scoffed as I whispered, “She’s lucky Nabi’s here”

“So if Nabi’s not here, you’re going to attack her?” Yong asked.

I nodded my head then I mumbled, “But she’s luckier that I’m tired from my surgery earlier”

Clearly, Hyejin planned all this. She knows Yong would always pick me up after I performed surgeries even when I told Yong not to. She knows how tiring it is to perform hours of surgery inside the operating room. This was also probably the reason why she pushed me to do this and asked me the specifics of the operation. She was planning this all along.

“Whee…” I heard Yong whisper before I felt her soft lips on mine. “Remember about your hands. Please don’t make me worry about them” she whispered before she kissed my forehead.

“Fine” I reluctantly conceded, too tired to argue anymore when I felt my exhaustion coming in once again.

“Thank you” Yong whispered while I pushed my face at her chest to calm myself down.

“Whee… Yong… Ugh… Can we talk?” I heard Hyejin nervously say.

“Okay” Yong answered right away. She gently pulled my face away from her and said, “I’m taking Nabi to Dr. Song. Try to behave, okay?”

“I will” I whispered before she kissed my cheek and stood up.

While Yong was dropping Nabi to Dr. Song, I sat across from Byul and Hyejin. They were both sitting on the bench in my office while I sat in front of them. I glared at Hyejin, then at Byul, then at their joined hands and then back at Hyejin again. Byul never spoke since she came inside the office and Hyejin was trying to comfort her, constantly rubbing a comforting hand on her back.

I sighed and clicked my tongue before I leaned back on my seat and stared at the ceiling, wanting for Yong to be back right away. I don’t like seeing the two of them together. I don’t like them together at all. Byul already broke my trust when she cheated on Yong. I could never trust her again to take care of my best friend at all. I don’t even know what went inside Hyejin’s head to do this. She knew Byul and she knew what she did to Yong, so I really couldn’t understand why she’s with her. They even looked like they knew each other for a long time now, enough for Hyejin to introduce Byul to Nabi. My daughter seemed to like Byul too, which is ridiculous.

I groaned at that and closed my eyes as I slowly spinned my chair around. I’m worried about Yong and Nabi, and now Hyejin is making me worry about her too. I’m mostly confused and couldn’t believe what's happening right now, but I’m also worried about her too.

My internal fight was set aside when Yong opened the door. I sighed as I watched her sit beside me before she held my hand. She squeezed my hand, grabbing my attention, and smiled at me when I finally met her eyes. I just nodded my head at her before I turned my attention towards Byul and Hyejin.

Hyejin looked at Byul and nudged her shoulder while Byul just raised her eyebrows at Hyejin, still looking so nervous now that everyone’s attention was on her. “Talk” Hyejin whispered softly at her as she tipped her chin towards our direction.

Byul cleared before she looked at me and Yong. She opened but I beat her to it, too impatient to wait, and asked Hyejin, “Why?”

I didn’t even ask how they met and how they started going out. I just want answers to her choice right now because I could never come up with a decent one of my own.

“She’s different, Whee” Hyejin answered, defending Byul.

“I finally understand what you mean by that now. Your previous relationships were abusive or they would just dump you without proper reason or whatsoever” I said, my eyebrows furrowing while my voice unintentionally raised higher. “She’s a cheater, Hyej. I get that now why you said she’s different, but she’s not any better at all” I said between clenched teeth, breathing through my nose by how mad I’m feeling right now.

“She’s not. Just let her talk” Hyejin said, starting to get mad as well.

My face was suddenly turned to the side and my glare was now directed to my wife. She rubbed her thumbs on her cheeks as she whispered, “Let’s listen first, okay? I needed to apologize to Byul as well”

“Why do you need to apologize to her? She cheated on you, Yong” I said, disbelieving her right now.

“Please calm down. We won’t have answers to your question if we won’t listen to them” she whispered gently, trying to reason out with me.

When I just continued to glare at her, she pulled my face towards her and kissed my forehead. She kissed the tip of my nose next and then my dimple. She went up and placed another soft kiss on the mole below my left eye before she kissed my lips.

I groaned before I slouched on my seat. I could never resist Yong’s touches and kisses, so even though I just wanted to be mad right now, I nodded my head and shut my mouth to listen to whatever Byul had to say.

Yong cleared and started speaking first before Byul could. “I just wanted to apologize” Yong whispered before she released a deep sigh. “I chose to be in a relationship with you when I’m already in love with someone else. I just didn’t realize it at that time” Yong said as she squeezed my hand. “It was kind of unfair on your part that I couldn’t commit to you when I should be back when we were together”

Byul cleared and nodded her head before she whispered shyly, “I’m sorry too”

Yong suddenly turned to look at me and asked, “Don’t you think you should apologize to her?”

“Why would I?” I asked, my eyebrows slowly dipping low.

“For punching and hurting her”

I rolled my eyes and scoffed as I said, “She deserved it”

“Whee…” Yong whispered exasperatedly.

“I’m not apologizing for that,” I said to Yong before I turned my attention to Byul, my jaw clenching while my hand fisted. “I trusted you to