It was only two days ago that everything went smoothly but it was also only two days ago that everything changed. Chorong’s daily routine went smoothly; she would wake up, go to morning class, come home, get ready for work and work for the rest of the day. Then she would return back home in time to do her assignments and sleep. It was a rinse and repeat. Simply put, her daily life would be considered dull and boring. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t lonely but Chorong isn’t really bothered by it since she’s used to it already. Besides, she was the one who decided to move out on her own in the first place.

Everything was nice and peachy until…well, one Saturday morning.

“Noona, Noona, wake up!”

A voice…

Chorong then felt two small hands pouncing on her stomach. Unconsciously, she shoved them away, not bothering to open her eyes. “Stop…” She mumbled lazily but to her annoyance, the small pair of hands did not stop.

“Noona, wake up! It’s morning already!” The voice repeated, seeming to belong to a kid. It’s a Saturday for god’s sake; the only day of the week she has time off and a day for herself. Who is this person waking her up? The pouncing and the voice kept going for another thirty seconds and that’s when Chorong had enough of it.

“Hey! Whoever you are, stop it right now!” She snapped as she sat up from her bed, slowly opening her eyes and to her surprise, she saw no one in front of her. Just as she was about to conclude it’s a dream (since there’s no one else living in this house except for herself), she tried to laid back down until something was at the corner of her eye. She paused and turned her head –

A little boy was right beside the bed, who was watching Chorong the entire time with those big innocent eyes. He blinked and suddenly smiled cutely at the woman, “Good morning, Noona!” were the first words that was said to her. Chorong sat still, not moving an inch; clearly still shocked at how a little boy is in her house.  There was no way this child could be hers, right? Not once has she fooled around with any men let alone, dated anyone. Besides, the little boy looked like he was around the age of four or five. No way.

This has got to be a dream… Chorong then burst into nervous laughter. “A dream, a dream…Of course it is!” She hit the palm of her hand against her forehead.

After a moment of silence, everything was still the same. In fact, this isn’t a dream because this dream feels too real…

❀ ❀

It was long after that she received a phone call from her best friend who was trying to calm her down from the sudden burden and responsibility.

“Keep calm? How can I be calm in a situation like this?!” Chorong spoke hard through the phone. She paced back and forth in the living room while the little boy was watching her with those big clueless eyes again.

“Chorong, really…I had no choice. This business means a lot to mean. I just need you to watch over him for a while only.” The other woman, Wonjin, on the other line tried to reason with her not-so-calm friend.

“No choice? You didn’t tell me anything and worse, you didn’t even ask. You just dropped your kid off here and expect me to be okay with it?” Chorong didn’t want to be mad at her friend but how could she not?  Wonjin supposedly dropped off her child at Chorong’s house and expect her to babysit him without her permission. It’s not like she has the time herself to watch over someone else’s kid. Other than that, why did it have to be Chorong in the first place? The two haven’t seen each other in a while since Chorong was still in high school. They had conversations over the phone but that was about it. And to Chorong’s surprise, she didn’t even know Wonjin had a child – who is already five. In fact, she’s more disappointed about this than anything. How can her friend not tell her about something so important and hid it from her for so long?

“I’m sorry, I know I’m being selfish but…Please. I’ll only ask you this one favor?”

Chorong sighed, trying to calm herself down. “You know, I’m also mad you never told me about you having a kid.”

Wonjin didn’t respond and Chorong understood.

“Anyways, how did you get in?”

“You don’t remember? You gave me a spare key, saying that I can come visit anytime I want.”

Chorong remembered. It was three years ago since Chorong moved into this house herself and the last time she ever saw her best friend. And the only time Wonjin ever visit is when Chorong didn’t get to see her and to be woken up by a child.

Reluctantly, Chorong gave in. It’s a big responsibility but if her friend needs her help, then what else can she do? It’s not like she can kick out a five year old kid and make him fend for himself. How can she have a heart if she did that?

“Fine.” Chorong agreed. She could hear squealing from the other line.

“Thank you so much! I love you, Chorong! I knew I can count on you! After all, you’re the only one I can trust to take care of Jihoo!”

“But only for a little while. If you’re not back soon, well…”

“Yes, of course! Whatever you say, my sweet Chorong! I already packed all of Jihoo’s stuff that he needs in the suitcases,” Wonjin replied. “Okay, gotta run!”

“Hey, wait –“

And with that, the conversation ended.

Chorong sighed heavily. “That woman…Same as always.” She shook her head. She turned around to look at the little boy. Now how can she handle this?

❤ ❤

author's note - not sure if i'm satisfied with the prologue but hopefully it's good enough :c

wc: 1,004

Thanks for reading （・∀・） Comments are much appreciated too!