「 Soojin ♡ Changmin 」

Author's Note: One-shot for TEMPxGIRL. Hope you like it!
Not everyday I get to write about idols and their kids; hopefully this came out okay and not cheesy.
XD! Enjoy! (:

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"And they lived happily ever after." I finished with a sigh, closing the fairytale book and setting it on Jaerin's bedside table.

The child in the crib stirred from my movement. Her big brown beauties followed me as I crossed the room back to her crib side. I smiled through my exhaustion, putting my hand near Jaerin's cherub-like face.

This girl'll break hearts when she grows older, I observed, her pretty cheek. And hopefully she won't grow up to be like her icy-hearted father. She's a year old, and she hasn't even laughed. Like, honest-to-goodness laughed.

"Umma (mom)!" Jaerin said with a smile. "Umma!"

"Ann—" For a second there, my heart stopped beating. My hand was frozen over my employer's daughter's face. "Anni (no)."

Seemingly noticing my change in attitude, the baby began to cry. Her wails reverberated off the walls as I pulled her into my arms.

"No! No! No! Don't cry!" I sighed, patting her back as she sobbed helplessly on my shoulder. "Let's not disturb your father! C'mon! Jaerin-ah! Don't cry!"

I rocked on my heels, humming a simple tune in hopes of the baby quieting down.

Within a few minutes, Jaerin, exhausted by her own tears, was lulled to sleep. I placed her back into the crib, planting a light kiss on her small forehead before turning around to find her handsome father watching me from the doorway.

"KYAH!" My hands flew up in fright. My chest was pounding—

dugeun
        dugeun
                dugeun

—for three reasons:

One, the light was behind him and it made his silhuoette appear like an approaching murderer like in those silly horror movies.

Two, I was deeply in love with my boss. Seeing him made my knees go weak and caused me to go short of breath.

Aish, I wiped my eyes in frustration. "Shim Changmin-nim! You scared me!"

I mean, it's not like I intended on falling for this man. These things can't really be helped. Something just—something just happened, I don't know. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can ever tell Changmin this. How awkward would that be? The beloved housekeeper and caretaker of your daughter developed something a teensy more than a cute little crush? Uh. No.

I sighed, turning around to clean up Jaerin's little room.

"Mianhae (sorry)." Changmin said, a tired smile evident in his voice. The scent of grapes followed him from his inspection of his company's winery as he bent over to give a kiss to his sleeping daughter. "So, is everything prepared for tomorrow?"

"Of course." I muttered. He'd been asking this for months already.

"Han Soojin-ah!" My employer called as he bustled through the front door. He flew by the doorway of the kitchen, undo-ing his tie as he looked for me. "Soojin-ah!"

"Neh (yeah)!" I called from my place behind the counter as I fed Jaerin a snack with a little teaspoon. "In here!"

"You'll never guess who called me at work today!" He said, face red with excitement.

"Oh, that idol you admire so much?" I joked, smiling as I saw my boss's cute side. This was a rare treat for he was almost always buried in paperwork. "Jung Yunho, was it?"

"Bah!" He laughed, scooping up his baby girl. "Kang Mihyun!"

Oh, I think I forgot to mention the third reason.

Tomorrow is the day my employer's ex-wife comes for a visit. And it kind of hurts to see him be excited about it.

So cliché, isn't it? Personal maid hired for the sake of a billionaire's daughter ends up falling head-over-heels for her boss. And right when her seemingly cold hearted employer starts warming up to her, his ex-wife waltzes right back into his life.

Yeah. Story of my life. I blew my bangs out of my eyes, giving a timid smile to Changmin before reaching for my coat to leave for the night.

"Thank you." He said in a low voice as he followed me out of Jaerin's room. He shut the door behind him and turned to look at me. "For everything."

"You always say that." I hear myself say. I looked down, struggling to yank up the zipper to avoid looking at Changmin's brown eyes. Those brown eyes.

A hand flew out and pushed mine aside on the front of my jacket. His hands effortlessly pulled up the zipper. His fingers stopped short at the base of my neck, and I shivered at contact.

My chest heaved, and I shoved my hands into my pockets before looking up. Changmin had this soft look in his eyes and he was boring holes into my face.

"I'll be leaving now." I said in a low voice with a bow. And he returned my bow with a small smile and an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

And he'll  never know. I sighed, making my way to the front door.

"What are you talking about?!" A shrill voice grated into my ears. "Why does it sound like you're accusing me?!"

That Kang Mihyun is really something. It's a no brainer why Changmin divorced her—she's as cheap as women get. I sighed, fixing a bottle of milk for Jaerin in the kitchen. And that woman's the mother of this angel? I snorted, glancing down the hall to see shadows pacing back and forth from Changmin's office.

Those two have been at it for hours already. I scratched my head, giving the bottle to Jaerin in her high-chair. She kicked in joy, eagerly at the top of the bottle. I poked her nose, giving her a kiss at the top of her head as I walked into the living room.

"This isn't some ploy for your money, my dear." That shrill voice made its way down the hall. The annoying click of Mihyun's heels made my ears ring, and I could see Jaerin tense up on her booster chair. The woman wearing a skimpy dress with a low v-neck stopped short and swiveled to whisper something—probably an insult—into her ex-husband's face. "I just want to be part of my daughter's life. After all, I brought her into this world."

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't be not involved in Jaerin's life, Mihyun." Changmin said in an even voice. "You have as much a right to be with her as I do, but since when have you ever sincerely felt that you wanted to be with her? Ugh. That's not the point of this conversation. And I should've seen this from a mile away." He smacked his head, walking around the red-lipped to get to his daughter. "My money is my money. If you think crawling back here on your knees with your silly little flair for drama with the excuse that you want to be with my daughter just for money, love, you are sadly mistaken."

"Why are you being so critical?" She huffed at the glowering sky-scraper before her. "If I had known you were this mean, I wouldn't have married you!"

"Yeah, well." Changmin rubbed the back of his neck, eyes staying on his ex-wife even as he turned in my direction. "If I had known how much of a you were, I wouldn't have married you!"

His rising voice was enough to make Jaerin drop her bottle and whimper. I stood up and scooped the little girl into my arms before she could let out a wail, and I could feel Mihyun's beady eyes on my back.

I shushed Jaerin, bouncing her in my arms, and she became quiet.

"Give it to me." Mihyun said, poking—no, stabbing me with her fake nails. "I'm the mother."

I paused, looking at my employer as his handsome features mangled themselves into comical anger.

"Don't, Soojin-ah." He said, keeping his arm between us. "The fact that she just referred to my daughter as an it is reason enough." His eyes locked on mine, and I looked away. Those brown eyes had never looked so cold before. "And I think it's time Kang Mihyun-sshi finds her way off my property before I have her kicked out on her ."

I continued bouncing the baby in my arms, watching the electric shock between the two in front of me intensify. Changmin's lips were pale as he pointed at the door.

"Fine." Mihyun threw her hands up as she headed for the exit. "Just so you know, Jaehyuk was much better in bed."

"OUT." He roared, slamming the door and locking it as the woman once titled the love-of-his-life stepped out on the veranda. Changmin stood by the door, composing himself with deep breaths before turning around to face me.

The infant I held swaddled in my arms whimpered again, sensing the tight atmosphere in the room. I looked down at Jaerin, reaching for her bottle and putting it in her hands as I set her into her booster chair.

"Aish." Changmin let out after five minutes of complete silence. "Soojin-ah," He said with a weak smile as he made his way into the kitchen. "Thank you for everything."

"You always say tha—" I ran through my usual line as I wiped the counter.

"Wait, no." Changmin cut me short. "From the bottom of my heart, I'm really grateful for you. You help with everything, and you make really good home cooked dinners, and you were always there for Jaerin when I wasn't. You even treat her better than her own mother. So, thank you."

I looked up, seeing a side of Changmin I've never seen before. His eyes, those eyes I'd always seen with a dark and gloomy shadow about them, were watering and he looked as if his life depended on the little speech he gave me.

I reached for napkin to wipe his tears, and he stood still as I did so. I gave him a cheery smile, and we looked at each other, eye-to-eye. My hands shook as I raised them to his face, and I couldn't bear to tear my eyes away.

He returned my smile as he reached up to grasp my hand ...

and that's when we heard Jaerin laugh.