In a matter of minutes, Kim-Jung had convinced the two to take on Mari until Sunday night. The doctors had assured that Grandmother’s tests would have finished by noon that day. Young-ae had wanted to be with her mother through the whole thing while Kim-Jung wanted to be there for both women. In order to do that, they needed someone they could trust to watch over their youngest. Jong-In was iffy about it, already suggesting other more suitable relatives. Most, however, couldn’t do it on such short notice.

Hyeomin had been the one to agree. She didn’t want to send Mari out to just anyone. Besides, it was only for a couple of days. How much trouble could it be?

----------------------------

Kim-Jung left shortly after the agreement, leaving Grandmother and the two to say their temporary goodbyes. Jong-In went out to his adjoined balcony to speak with his boss about his shift hours, leaving Hyeomin to be the one to help the older woman.

But she had no problem with that. Instead, it gave her time to apologize for the picture again and also to give her a final impression, if there were to be one.

Walking into the guest room, she noticed the older woman sitting at the foot of the bed. The said picture was in a new frame and resting in her hands. A longing look was on her face as she gazed at the picture, proving that it was far more important than she first let on. That only made Hyeomin feel worse about breaking the frame.

She knocked on the door frame with a small smile, the grandmother looking up and returning the smile quickly afterwards. The air was not awkward or tense in any way like it had been when they first met. Now, it was an air of familiarity and even closeness.

“Yes, dear?”

“I just came in to check on you. Do you need any help packing?” It didn’t seem like it since all of her bags were standing near the door and the drawers had been emptied.

“No, but thank you. I was just looking over this one more time before the long car ride. If you hadn’t fallen over it, I might not have taken it out before bed. It gave me time to look it over and remember the wonderful memories I shared with my husband.” She smiled in a nostalgic way, her thumb moving over the man’s face in the picture.

Now that Hyeomin could see it, she noticed a woman that looked similar to Young-ae standing next to a bright eyed man with short, military cut hair. Grandmother must have been the woman and she looked far more critical and hostile back then. Grandfather, however, seemed to enjoy the glare she was giving him and had pulled her closer to lean his head on hers. Though Grandmother looked unhappy in the picture, Hyeomin already knew otherwise.

“This picture was taken right after he returned from basic training and he proposed.” A chuckle escaped the woman before she continued. “His mate had taken the picture for us, only allowing him to crack a joke of only getting one woman in his life after all. I glared at him, but was happy that he didn’t sound disappointed in the least.” Shaking her head with a smile, she muttered, “Oh, how I miss him.”

Hyeomin listened to the woman and didn’t pull away whenever she grabbed her hand. “Young-ae is a lot like her father with her personality, what with being with him anytime she could. He never approved of Jong-In’s father, his good intuition and all, but when he accepted Kim-Jung into the family… We knew. He was such a great judge of character and would give his life for anyone. At times, I thought that wouldn’t apply to me since I would be so difficult and confused. But whenever he pulled me into his arms…”

Tears were b on her eyes and Hyeomin almost jumped to grab a tissue. But Grandmother held her hand firmly and shook her head. “I’m ready to see him. I’ve lived a long life with many adventures and filled with love I had only dreamed about. It was never easy, mind you, and if he woke me with a kiss, I usually slapped him.” She laughed it off, coughing slightly before continuing. “I’m still here because I have unfinished business. You are going to make Jong-In so happy on your wedding day, so I’m determined to be here when that happens. I’m going to watch you walk right down that aisle, speak vows to my grandson and vice versa, and cry tears of joy when you kiss.” She smiled kindly, obviously the topic of her upcoming passing not bothering her. It bothered Hyeomin, though.

She had gotten better due to her will to live, the will to see those two married. Could she pull that off?

“Mother?”

Turning, the two women saw another come in. It was Young-ae with a warm smile on her face. “Hey, don’t tell me she’s guilting you into staying,” she said as a tease before taking a picture. Pictures had to be that woman’s life. The only time she hadn’t seen a camera on her was at the hospital. Something told Hyeomin, that was due to Kim-Jung’s urging.

“Young-ae ! I would never do such a thing.” The grandmother faked an angry expression before winking at Hyeomin, gathering the last of her things before following Young-ae out.

Sitting there, Hyeomin looked at the room. That woman never failed to touch her heart and make her feel weary and very humble. Was this lie going to keep her and her husband father apart? Or would it speed it up?

Hyeomin didn’t know which sounded worst.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back, seeing Jong-In. He looked at her gently, as if sensing the conversation’s tone. But she knew what it was that he wanted. They needed to go to the entrance to say goodbye and then to greet his little sister. She felt herself getting nervous again. This was Jong-In’s little sister… a child. Children were something to be careful around.

Standing in the doorway, Hyeomin and Jong-In awaited Mari to walk through the door with Kim-Jung. What she didn’t expect was the girl to be resting on the shoulders of the tall man. His smile was genuine and very bright, unlike his usual grin. It was… sweet. He must really love the little girl. She even looked more like him.

“Oppa !” The girl screamed excitedly as she locked eyes on her brother, trying to jump off of her father’s shoulders as she did. It was absolutely adorable but awkward since she wasn’t sure what to say. When the little girl was able to hug her brother, the two met eyes. For a second, Hyeomin thought she saw something akin to a glare.

“Hey, Mari.” Jong-In smiled and ruffled the girl’s hair before nodding to Kim-Jung, who left shortly after placing the little girl’s things in the apartment. That man always seemed like he was rushing when he left.

“Hey, Mari. Oppa is going to go get changed so we can go grocery shopping, okay? I want you to meet your new unnie. Her name is Hyeomin.” Hyeomin was shocked when Jong-In approached her and kissed her cheek with a smile. His acting… was too good. If she hadn’t known about the plan, she might have believed he loved her. “You two be good.”

The minute he closed his bedroom door behind him, Hyeomin turned to try and talk with Mari. What she didn’t expect was a pain to shoot up her leg.

“Ow!” She held her shin, looking to the little girl for an explanation. What she was saw was the girl dusting her shoe off before taking them off. Did she just… kick her?

But there was no way. She was a small cute little child… She had to be sweet and adorable, right?

“Listen here, Hyeomin. I don’t care how much Oppa likes you, he’s my brother and you can’t have him,” the girl said before sticking her tongue at her and moving to the couch.

Okay, the little brat kicked her. There was no doubt about that now.

Just as she was about to confront the girl, Jong-In appeared while pulling a shirt over his head. She wanted to complain but if she did, the little girl won. No, she was going to be an adult about this and act like a good unnie. What kind of sibling would it be if it was easy?

“Okay… Let’s go get some stuff so Hyeomin knows what to cook for you.”

“Oppa ? Aren’t you going to be with us all of the time?” She had ran up to him and frowned, knowing the answer already. She must have or she wouldn’t have looked at Hyeomin in such a dirty way.

“Mari, I have to work. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have a place to live. Now…” He knelt down to look her in the eye, ruffling her hair while smiling. “I want you to get along with Hyeomin. If you don’t, you know I’ll have to get onto you.” He said the last part sternly and Hyeomin found herself sticking her tongue out at the girl.

The minute Jong-In looked at her, she pretended to be blowing on her tongue. He eyed her skeptically and she merely pointed at to say, “A hair got caught…”

He shook his head, ignoring it and merely went to the door to wait for the two.

----------------------------

Shopping was difficult. While Jong-In went off to get some things he needed for himself, Mari proved to be the pickiest girl Hyeomin had encountered. She didn’t like anything green or red, nor did she want any vegetables. She also didn’t like anything that was value priced, keeping Hyeomin away from deals.

Finally, she gave in and told Jong-In she wasn’t sure what the girl liked and didn’t want to seem like a bad babysitter. He just threw in whatever she said that she could cook. Mari whined only a little, seeing as he knew how to quiet her.

Shortly after arriving back at the apartment, Jong-In got changed and showered for work. Hyeomin started on dinner early, so she and Mari could eat and work things out. He didn’t understand her timing, but she merely told him that she’d explain later.

She let the chicken broil on the stove and moved closer to the girl who was drawing on the coffee table. She didn’t like to see the broken crayons in the floor and couches but kept it to herself. After all, she was only a kid.

But she didn’t expect to see what the little girl was drawing.

There, in vibrant colors was an image of Jong-In and Mari sitting under a tree having a picnic. It would have been completely adorable if it weren’t for who was hanging from a noose on the tree. It was Hyeomin.

“Hey!”

Hyeomin frowned and even glared at the girl as Mari didn’t even bother covering the thing. She merely met the older woman’s glare and said as plain as day, “I’m going to get rid of you one way or another. You’re not taking Oppa away from me.”

So there you go ! a new chappie

BTW for  those who are asking, Mari si 8 years old

Anyways, Since  I'm getting somehow questions asking me about the fic and stuff

I created this  →♥← ! So you can ask me whatever you want about it ;  When will i update , informations about chaaracters or anything you want :)

Anyways what do you think Mari will do ? And How will Jong-In react to it ?