June

“Halmoni, are you sure you can't stay any longer? My birthday is coming up.” Luna pouted as she drove to the airport.

“I'm sorry, Cheon-sah, but I have to go see my parents. This was a good trip, though. You got a house, I met your boyfriend, finally, Dong SeulMi is my new BFF, Dave has a new baby and I got to see you in that horrendous dress. I'd say we accomplished a lot in ten days.” HyoJin summed up causing Luna to laugh. They held hands during the drive, neither wanting to let go before they absolutely had to.

Luna walked her to her gate and they swung their hands, still not wanting to let go. “I'm going to miss you, Halmo.”

“Then you should come back to New York more often. Like, once before I die, maybe, if it's not too much to ask.” HyoJin joked. Luna wrapped her in a tight hug and pressed her face firmly to her shoulder. They noticed the security check line getting longer, so they broke apart reluctantly. With final kisses and hugs, HyoJin moved forward in the line away from Luna. “I left you something!”

“What?” Luna called back over the crowd. She could see HyoJin's mouth moving while she attempted to pantomime something, but Luna couldn't make out the words. HyoJin gave up, waved at her in farewell and disappeared through the gate.

*****

July

“Are you almost ready, Dal-ee?” YoungBae called from Luna's kitchen. It was a beautiful day, a little on the humid side, but a great day for an outing, nonetheless. He always enjoyed the company picnic. It was private and fun. Everyone who worked for YG came and hung out for a few hours. It helped to solidify their bond as a family.

“Be right there, Jagi! I'm looking for my other gym shoe.” She answered back. Luna looked around her room again and in the closet, but didn't see it anywhere. She was just about to give up and change her outfit when it occurred to her to check under the bed. Wrong shoe. . . ballet flat . . .oh, there that earring is. . . heel, shoe . . . huh? Luna's fingers bumped something hard that she couldn't immediately identify. She reached a little further to grip it and pull it out. It was a box that she didn't recognize. She sat in a crossed leg position and opened the top. There were three seconds of stunned silence before the tears came. Through the haze of tears, Luna saw her parents wedding photo for the first time in over ten years.

Completely stunned, Luna kept digging through the box. Picture after picture from her childhood. Pictures of her in her old soccer uniform, of her on her mothers lap at a polo game, a picture of her mother when she was pregnant, of Luna with HyoJin helping her stand, of Luna painting next to her father. She spread the pictures around her on the floor and sobbed as she kept unearthing memories.

“Baby, we really have to get go—What's wrong?” YoungBae stopped in his tracks at the doorway as he saw Luna with her face buried in her hands. Stepping closer to her, he saw the pictures on the ground and recognized the young Luna in an instant. He knelt by her side and rubbed her back to get her attention. She launched herself at him and cried in his arms. “Shhh. It's okay. It's okay. I'm here. I've got you.” he whispered to her even as his eyes darted from image to image. When she began to quiet he asked her, “Where did you find these?”

“Under my bed. Halmoni must have left them.” Luna told him as she wiped her eyes. She found herself blinking repeatedly, assuming the photographs would disappear any moment. They didn't. They were real.

YoungBae sat down next to her and kept his arm around her as she kept pulling pictures out of the box. She would laugh at certain ones and show them to him while explaining the back story. His favorites were the ones of her playing in her mom's clothes. At the bottom, Luna found a note.

I hope you find these in that messy room of yours by the time your birthday comes around. Your Uncle Cliff sent them in hopes that they would inspire good memories. I love you, Cheon-sah. I hope this makes you happy. I do so love to see you happy.

Halmoni

Luna covered her face again and cried, but only a little this time. YoungBae held her close to his chest and rocked her gently. Luna was feeling so many things at once. Gratitude. Relief. Nostalgia, but most of all, she felt happy.

When her tears dried, YoungBae helped her pick up the pictures and place them lovingly back in the box. Luna left out the one of her on her mothers lap and placed it carefully in her wallet. She put the box on her bed with a promise to look at them closer later.

*****

“It's YoungBae-hyung!” was the first thing Luna heard as they walked into the park. Out of nowhere, a mass of at least ten children came running at the two of them. YoungBae let go of her hand and ran at the children with his arms open like he was going to meet and hug them. At the last minute, though, he cut to the left and made them all the laugh as they started chasing him. He faked a stumble and the shrieking horde fell on him. He tickled the children within reach and let them smother him with kisses. It was the cutest thing Luna had ever seen.

YoungBae was out of breath as he stood up with a little girl on his hip. He held hands with a little boy as they walked over to the area where the cookout was in full swing. “Luna! I'd like to introduce you to my crew,” He rattled off names and the children all bowed in turn. Luna was just about to tell them her name when she felt a weight hit her leg. Looking down, there was a little girl, probably a toddler, on her knees making the face that foretold of an oncoming crying jag. On instinct, Luna swooped down to pick her up and held her head against her shoulder. “And that, is baby Haru. Tablo and HyeJung-noona's daughter.”

“Well, hello Haru. Nice to meet you.” Luna greeted her formally and was rewarded with a wide, gummy grin. Haru pushed her face into Luna's neck and laughed in that gleeful way that only children can pull off.

“Uh oh. She's all yours now,” came a voice from behind Luna. Luna turned and bowed(as best she could with a child in her arms) to the attractive woman coming up to her. “I'm HyeJung, her mother, and you, are her babysitter for the day.”

“Pardon?”

“Haru is an excellent judge of character. She has chosen you and you will have a hard time shaking her until she finally falls down from exhaustion. She'll keep you in her sights at all times. You'll think you're safe, then she'll pop up and want to play.” HyeJung explained.

“But I just . . . I just got here and . . .we just met . . . so--”

“YoungBae, is she going to kidnap or harm my child?” HyeJung turned and asked him.

“Not a hair on her head, you have my word.”

“Then it's settled. Just let me know when she starts to smell. I've got her diaper bag in the car.” HyeJung leaned forward, kissed Haru and walked away without a backward glance. Luna stuttered and called for the woman, but she ignored Luna.

“What just happened?” Luna asked YoungBae.

“Consider it an honor. Haru has never done that for me, and all the kids love me.”

“But, I don't know anything about kids! How can someone randomly hand me a child?”

“You work with kids all day at school. It's no different.”

“Those are older kids! I can talk to them, they talk back. They can feed themselves. They don't wear diapers. I don't know what to do with a baby!” Luna argued.

“Come on, Luna—”

“You misunderstand, Bae. I don't know what to do with a baby. I have never even held one before! Until now.” She confided.

“How is that even possible?” He asked in disbelief.

“I'm an only child and none of my friends have kids,” Haru began squirming in Luna's arms and she took that to be a sign that Haru wanted down. Luna set her down gently, expecting her to run to her mother, but no. She wrapped herself around Luna's knee and smiled up at her contentedly. Luna ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “Now what do I do?”

YoungBae walked up to her and kissed her lightly. “Everything's gonna be fine. Just play with her, feed her, give her water. Keep her around the other kids and she'll play with them. If you need anything, find her mom.” With that he set off.

“What? Wait! You can't leave me with it—her!” She corrected quickly. YoungBae waved over his shoulder and went to greet the other people at the cookout. Traitor!, she called him in her head. She looked down at Haru and had to admit, she was cute. Luna didn't have an aversion to children, she liked them in a general sense. She just had no experience with them. If there's ever a time to learn . . . “Alright, little girl. Let's give this a try.”

*****

True to HyeJung's word, Haru never let Luna out of her sight. When Luna went to talk to people she recognized, she followed right behind her. When Haru felt that the conversation was going too long, she would grab Luna's hand and pull her away. When Haru was hungry, she took Luna to the sitting area and pointed at things she wanted. When she wanted to play, she would bring Luna a ball or a doll from places Luna couldn't identify. They magically appeared, as far as Luna was concerned. When Haru wanted to be held, she would raise her arms and Luna was compelled to pick her up. When it was time to change Haru's diaper, Luna gave her to her mother. She was willing to try the whole 'child rearing' thing, but one step at a time.

YoungBae watched them from a safe distance. He knew Luna would take good care of Haru, despite her reticence. She had natural care taker tendencies. At one point, Luna flopped down on a bench and dropped her head to the table. Haru walked up to her, garbled some sounds and tugged on her shorts. Luna looked at her sourly and asked her, 'Don't you ever get tired?' Haru just smiled at her and ran away, sure that Luna would follow. Not only did Luna follow, she crouched low, ready to pick her up in case she fell again.

“Luna looks like she'll be a good mother,” DaeSung observed as he came to stand next to YoungBae. As they watched, Luna picked Haru up, spun her around and kissed her chubby cheeks. Even as he agreed, he felt it again. That, that stab of apprehension when thinking about their future. What is wrong with me?, he asked himself. He loved kids, he wanted kids. He and Luna would make beautiful babies toge—where did that come from? He shook the idea off and suggested he and DaeSung hit the dessert table before HwanSsabu saw them.

*****

“Oh, thank God. Finally.” Luna muttered as Haru fell asleep in her arms. Even after it was obvious the little monster was out like a light, Luna kept rocking her. Loathe as she was to admit it, it felt nice to have the soft weight in her arms. Luna was wary at first about having been randomly handed care of someone else's off spring, but Haru was a happy baby. She never cried, she ate and played and slept. HyoJin and SeulMi had both commented on what terrible babies she and YoungBae had been, so there was a high likelihood that if they had—whoa, where did that come from? Okay, enough with the baby talk for today, she told herself. Luna looked around for HyeJung, spotted her, and almost ran to deposit Haru into the rightful arms of her mother.

Free for the first time since walking out of the car, Luna didn't know what to do with herself. She wandered over to the basketball courts where YoungBae played with a group of dancers and Dara's super cute brother, SangHyun. She waved at him from the sidelines and he jogged over to give her a sweat drenched hug. He held her tight and