Seoul had changed like he did.

The streets were now filled with aspiring musicians who sang to their own melody. It sounded rather chaotic and he had wondered what the point was. Yet as he neared each and every one of them, he heard each of their song - how they all told a different story, how it reminded him so much of how he used to be.

Maybe, he had missed Seoul more than he told himself.

The steam from her cup of coffee twirled in the air letting the sweet smell fill her nose. The warmth of the coffee house had melted her body and fingers as she curled them slowly around the ceramic cup. The shadows in her eyes that she tries to hide come out and for a while she can’t see anything. It’s all a blur to her until the waiter pulls her back to reality with a question.

“Are you ok?”

She forces a smile “Thank you, I’ll be fine” she replies rather unenthused

She was lying, but he didn’t need to know that. She observed as the steam from her coffee swirled into the air and disappeared in front of her eyes, like all the hope she had harboured disappearing. Her fingers burned as she held them against the ceramic cup, but she refused to pull away as she hoped there was just enough heat in the one cup to fill her up again. Alas it left her with nothing but blistered fingertips. Still she pulls away slowly and catiously, her cardigan sleeves falling over her hands letting the giant shirt envelop her and the door of the cafe opens slowly.

It’s the first time he’s seen her since September of 2007. It had been five years since he had last seen her. Still the image of the last time he saw her remained embedded in his mind, young, full of life with long dark hair in contrast to the lady sitting in front of him today.  She had blonde hair that hung over her shoulders with her fringe pinned backwards. That was the first thing he noticed about her. Next was how frail she looked in comparison, the dim lights that lit the cafe shone over her, casting shadows on her prominent cheekbones. She looked like she was going to fade away at any moment.

 “Joohee” her name slips off the tip of his tongue before he can stop himself.

She looks up, grip tightening on the ceramic cup, still steaming. “Minhyuk” she replies in a more formal tone.

Approaching her slowly, Minhyuk pulls both of his hands out of his pockets and intertwine them, resting them on the table. Sitting rigidly across the table Minhyuk is the first to speak “How have you been lately?”

Joohee sits and wonders where she should begin.

September 18^th 2007, the day he left
 

“He’s gone Joohee”

“What do you mean gone?”

“His house, I saw movers taking away their things”

“He said he was going to take me to-”

“I know, he’s gone Joohee”

“...”

“I’m sorry”

The corridors of the hospital were lit with fluorescent lights despite the sunlight that stretched like fingers down the corridor. It was only seven in the morning and it was still quiet with only the nurse’s station phone persistent ringing to fill the air. The sound of their footsteps echoed down the long hallway before she stops in front of a door. Blinking away the sleepiness in her eyes, she lets her fingers graze the doorknob before she pulls the door aside.

The consistent beeping of the machine was a comforting sound to her ears because to her it had become the sound of life.

“Umma!”

Joohee smiles, one as radiant as the sun, one that Minhyuk had never seen before at the sight of her little girl on the bed. “When did you wake up?” she glides in gracefully and plants herself down beside her on the bed, planting a kiss on the her rosy cheeks.

“Where did you go?” she replies with another question, adorably adjusting the oxygen mask below her nose - tugging at the tube she takes it off and rests it around her neck. Staring at her mother with those dark round orbs, she takes notice of the strange man standing in the shadows of the room.

“Who are you?” the young girl crawls out of bed slowly and Joohee’s eyes follow her carefully. The tragic thing about her daughter was that she was fearless and that scared Joohee as much as it filled her with pride.

He lightens up and forces a smile “My name...” he starts, squatting down to her eye level

“Lee Minhyuk”

“Minhyuk a-ah” she stutters trying to find her words “Ahjusshi?” she turns around and stares at her mother, looking for some sign of approval.

“What’s your name?” he feigns ignorance

“My name?”

Joohee smiles, nods her head and ushers for the young girl to speak “Yooyoung”

“Nice to meet you Yooyoung”

The little girl’s eyes shone as brightly as her mother’s and still as much as he hated to admit it, her smile looked so much like his it was frightening. Despite this, there was still something that kept gnawing at him. The fact that she was six years old and still very bald, or maybe that kids her age should be spending time running outside in the garden and playing in the playground, not dressed is the hospital grey and wired to oxygen tanks.

Minhyuk extends his arm for a shake, feeling that that’s all he’s entitled to. “Yooyoung” he lets out a hearty chuckle, “That’s a pretty name”

Minhyuk observes her playful nature as she creates a new world with the play-doh she in her hands. “You’re very talented aren’t you?”

They’re interrupted by the doctor who enters the room for a routine check up “Can she go home after this?” Joohee holds onto Yooyoung and his eyes scan the charts at the end of her bed. He does this each and every time without fail before letting a grin slip through.

“Most likely, because Yooyoung has been very good” he squats down beside her and tousles the little girl’s hair as she tries to grab his hand.

“I'll be outside ok baby?” Joohee holds onto Yooyoung’s hands till the last minute and hands her over to Doctor Kim. She excuses herself and Minhyuk follows her outside quietly. He waits until Joohee closes the door behind her before he says anything else, making sure the young girl would not hear any of it

“She doesn’t know” Minhyuk asks or rather states

“Not yet”

“Don’t tell her”

“She deserves to know”

“She deserves a real father, not some man who comes waltzing back into her life and claiming to be someone he’s not”

“She’s dying Minhyuk”

“I know” he says with a heavy heart

“You’ve already missed out the first six years of her life, don’t miss what’s probably her last one”