o20 || crash
the pursuit of happiness
Yerim peered down to see Sungchan already fast asleep.
"Jeno, how do you usually sleep with your appa?"
"Umm… appa on the right, me on the left, and then Sungchanie in the middle so he won't fall down," Jeno explained.
"How about imo sleep in the middle this time? So imo can hug Jeno to sleep," she bargained as she set Sungchan down on the bed. She knew Jeno would really appreciate some close contact to ease down his anxiety from being away from his father.
"But what if Sungchan fell down?" Jeno asked worriedly.
"He won't. I will build a fort to keep him safe," Yerim smiled as she went to her closet. She picked up the extra blankets and pillows she had, putting it on the far-right side of the bed, building a safety barrier around Sungchan.
"See? Now, he won't fall down. Shall imo turn off the lights and read you your bedtime story?"
Jeno nodded happily as he watched Yerim move across the room to turn off the light. She then climbed the bed and settled down in the middle. She opened her arm and beckoned Jeno to scoot closer. Jeno laid in her embrace and listened to her story intently.
After a few stories, Yerim peered down to see the kid already knocked out against her chest.
"Sleep tight, Jeno. One night down, two more to go," she smiled and kissed the top of his head before closing her eyes to sleep.
"You're up early," Jaehyun commented as he saw her moving around in the kitchen. She had video called him early in the morning and it's not like he was reluctant since he missed her anyways.
"I want to cook for the kids," she said as look at her phone.
"How was Jeno last night? Can he sleep? Did he wake up in the middle of the night?"
"He slept quite late, maybe finding it weird not being with you. He woke up once at like... two in the morning? But he went back to sleep easily."
"He's usually an early riser. He would probably wake up soon. They're not giving you a hard time, right?" Jaehyun asked as he watched her making some egg rolls.
Yerim was about to answer but she heard feet shuffling and she turned to see Jeno rubbing his eyes with one hand holding his Mr. Bunny.
"Speaking of which, he just woke up," Yerim said to the phone before rubbing her hands on the front of her apron.
"Imo?"
"Jeno… You've woken up? Had a good sleep?"
She bent down and welcomed the sleepy boy into her embrace. He nodded against her neck sleepily and Yerim laughed as she rubbed his back.
Jaehyun who watched the scene could not help but smile and he finally said, "Jeno-ya~ Morning!"
Jeno perked up and looked around confusedly when he heard his father's voice.
"Your appa is on the phone. Go sit at the dining table and talk with him, imo will finish cooking first and then I'll join you," she kissed his head and gave him the phone. Jeno beamed upon seeing his father's face and he skidded happily to the table.
Yerim adjusted Sungchan on her arms as she entered the familiar colorful building. She opted to take care of Sungchan herself today. She knew Jaehyun the worrywart will throw a fit if he knew since he's all about not wanting to burden her. It's not like she didn't trust the people in the daycare, it's just that she wanted to spend time with the baby. She had a fascination with babies and she liked their smell, their antics… everything. Seeing the happy and cheerful baby reminded her of her happy childhood, back when she was still very young, before the nasty accident took away her mother and subsequently ruined her entire childhood growing up. Sungchan and his giggles managed to take her stress away, and made her forget about her trainwreck of a life. Sungchan is also naturally not too fussy so she had a blast being with him in her office all morning.
She greeted a few parents and sat in one of the chairs with Sungchan on her lap as she looked inside the classroom through the big glass windows. She could see Jeno reading seriously on the corner. He had begun to learn how to read and he's getting better at it.
"Excuse me, are you one of the mothers? I rarely see you here," a woman asked softly. Yerim blinked her eyes, not really knowing how to respond.
"Ah-um... I'm not the kid's mother but I am Jung Jeno's guardian," she stammered awkwardly.
"Ah, Jeno? Didn't he have a single father? Oh, are you perhaps Mr. Jung’s girlfriend? This baby is Jeno's brother, right?"
Yerim felt a little uncomfortable at the lady's prying questions but she nodded anyway.
"It's very admirable for you to accept his kids like your own," the lady commented.
Yerim smiled and awkwardly nodded.
"I overheard some teachers once talking about him among themselves. Jeno was an adopted kid with a traumatic past. That's why he's a bit shy in class."
"Ah... he is. But Jeno has been much better nowadays," Yerim mused as she looked ahead to see Jeno talking to a boy.
"He is, indeed. It's good to know that Mr. Jung has you, all the mothers here pitied him since he always seems to rush but we all can see how much he adored his sons. Such a kind and polite young man he is. Now that he has you it must've been easier for him."
Yerim smiled, Jaehyun is indeed a very admirable man. No wonder all these middle-aged women seemed to be very inquisitive of him.
"I do hope I'm lifting a bit of his burden," she added with a chuckle.
"I wish the two of you luck then. The four of you with the kids will make such a wonderful young family," the lady said as the bell rang.
Yerim watched as the students began to pile out of the classroom, including Jeno.
"Jeno-ya!"
She waved her hand as she stood up and Jeno's face lit up immediately.
"Imo!" He squealed as he hugged Yerim's waist.
"Hello, buddy. Had fun today?"
Jeno nodded happily.
"Shall we get to the car then? And then you can tell me more about your day!"
The ride to the cafe was filled with Jeno's happy chatter, telling Yerim what he learned at the kindergarten today. Sungchan also shrieked every now and then, making the car noisy but in a good way.
They arrived at the cafe, and since it was pretty crowded, Yerim decided to bring the two kids to her office where they would eat lunch and then take naps later.
"Imo, we don't eat in the cafe?" Jeno asked curiously as he sat down on the couch.
"Nuh uh. This morning, imo made some lunch for us to eat. Ta dah!"
Yerim opened the food containers she packed up earlier this morning and was instantly met with an excited response from Jeno.
"Rice balls!"
"Mm hmm, you like them, right? But today, I made a different kind of rice ball. This has broccoli and black pepper chicken. Try it," Yerim smiled.
Jeno picked a rice ball and took a bite before beaming, "Imo, this tastes so good!"
"Is it?"
Jeno nodded enthusiastically before taking another bite.
"Eat more then, go ahead. Imo will feed your dongsaeng first," she said as she opened the thermos containing Sungchan's porridge.
"Imo, appa said next year I will be going to school, not in kindergarten anymore."
"Oh, that's right. You'll be seven next year!"
"Appa said in elementary school, the class finished at two so I have to eat lunch at school. Does that mean I cannot eat with you or appa anymore?" He asked dejectedly as he chewed on the stir-fried mung beans.
"Well, that's true. But then, you can bring lunch from home. Like this!"
"I can?"
"Of course. Just ask your appa to make it for you in the morning. I believe he'll gladly pack your lunch for you."
"Can imo make them for me too? I really like your food," Jeno said innocently.
Yerim smiled and patted his head, "I will gladly make you lunch. But we can think about school later. How about you choose what we eat for dinner tonight?"
"Uhm… soy noodles!"
"Oh, you want soy noodles? Alright. And tofu?"
"And tofu!"
"Aye aye, captain!"
The second night went well and Jeno is not as anxious as he did the night before. He seemed to understand that he can still call his father and that his father will come home soon.
Tonight will be the last night of their stay, and Yerim wants to make it a bit special. She will cook them haemul jjigae, and maybe have some rainbow fruit sherbets for dessert.
"Are you excited for dinner?" Yerim asked Jeno as she strapped in on his car chair. They stopped by the supermarket to buy some seafood and will be going home now so she can start cooking.
"Very! Imo is the best!"
"And how about you, Sungchanie? Come on, you haven't succeeded in calling me imo! Repeat after me, imo!"
"Appapapapa!"
Jeno laughed as Yerim playfully pouted.
"Imo! Not appa! Okay, one more time. I… mo! Imo! Imo!"
"Appa! Appapapa!"
"Aish... It will take you another year then, huh?" Yerim chuckled as she buckled his seatbelt before standing up to close the car door.
"Oh? Sungchan called imo mama!" Jeno exclaimed.
"Mama! Mamamamamamama!" Sungchan babbled excitedly, liking the attention he's getting.
"Eh... that's wrong, Sungchanie. Imo! Imo, okay, not eomma or mama!"
"Mamama!"
"Sungchan thinks imo is his eomma?" Jeno asked curiosly.
Yerim smiled awkwardly even though her heart warmed when she saw Sungchan giggling happily.
"Mama!" Sungchan gurgled, shaking around his rattle toy when Yerim looked back at him.
"Alright, let's go home!"
It's already six and cooking haemul jjigae takes at least an hour so she wanted to go home as soon as possible.
She whistled happily to herself as she drove. The traffic is pretty clear right now so she didn't feel the need to really rush. She'll definitely make it home on time.
Yerim made some mental calculations regarding the time difference and she realized Jaehyun had a banquet or something on his last night in Taiwan so the guy would probably be out of reach until midnight.
"Hmmm… we'll see about that. He seems like he will be busy tonight. Imo will try asking him, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, imo!"
Yerim smiled through the rear-view mirror.
She drove calmly and glanced at the rear-view mirror every now and then, a habit she formed after the traumatic car accident 20 years ago. She could see Jeno dozing off and Sungchan already fast asleep. She'll just wake them up later. There’s only a short drive remaining so a little nap won’t hurt, and after a full belly of delicious dinner, she’s confident she can still put them to sleep at the usual time.
She continued driving and glancing at the mirror when she noticed a green Range Rover speeding and swerving between cars.
She stayed in the middle lane and stepped on the acceleration restlessly.
Just then the Range Rover sped up, still moving in zigzag, and the last thing Yerim remembered was turning the steering wheel really fast and the front of the Range Rover slamming into her direction.
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