June 11, 2022

A day came again.

The warm rays of the sun found their way inside Haneun's room and gently kissed her fair skin a "good morning", slowly waking her up. A few rolls here and a little bit of stretching there, Haneun was soon sitting straight with her messy black hair. Her squinty eyes examined the room she was in, just to see that she was in her room as per usual. 

Running her fingers through her hair, Haneun lets out a soft sigh, inaudible for even her herself.

"That was a weird dream." Haneun sighs as she looks around her. It was as if it was a deja vu or something, but something about her dream last night bothers her.

She saw familiar faces, and she saw herself there too, but not as what she is now. She was an innocent and helpless infant around a younger looking Hakyeon's arms, who was cooing her perhaps. She saw a figure beside the family but soon, that figure walks out as well.

She saw Taekwoon too and her, in the same cafe they came across each other. He was smiling and she was too, but not those kind of smiles that were faint. It was a true smile.  

Then, she saw Hakyeon again, and Taekwoon, running across each other but completely ignoring one another. She, herself, was standing there, watching them come across. After that scene, it all disappears as she finally wakes up. 

"Good morning." Haneun greets sluggishly as she lazily waved at her mother, who was busy preparing their breakfast for the day. To Hakyeon's surprise, his daughter was a lot wobblier today and was abnormally bumping onto this and that for some reason.

"Haneun, dear, are you okay?" Hakyeon worriedly asked, pouting as he eyed his child make her way towards the dining table. "You look a bit, um, sluggish today."

"I'm okay, mom. I think I'm just lacking sleep or something." Haneun yawned.

"Impossible, you slept early last night!" 

"I kept on waking up for some reason." she lied.

"Huh? You should've waken me up to help you. You look horrible today, sweetie. Do you want to leave school for today? You might collapse or something if you pursue going today!" 

"I ain't sick, okay? I am pretty much sure that I just need to rub the sleep off my eyes this time." 

"Be sure about that or else I'll die in worry again!" Hakyeon pouts as he sits down beside his daughter. "So... about yesterday, sweetie-"

"Ah, right. I forgot to say that I'm sorry." Haneun cuts off. "I promised before that I wouldn't get involved in such physical battles but I disobeyed you. I'm terribly sorry, mom."

"Well, I was going to ask how your wounds are, but I guess that'll do." Hakyeon laughed as he skipped towards a nearby closet to get a small box with the label "first aid kit" on its top. "Come here, let's clean your wounds again."

"I'm still taking a bath, won't that be, like, useless or something?" Haneun asks, secretly hating the sharp pain the medicines have once its applied on the open wound. "Besides, I think they're doing well so that hideous medicine won't do anything anymore, mom."

"Oh, don't be a baby! It wouldn't hurt much!" Hakyeon giggled, seeing how cute his daughter tried to avoid medication. "Plus, it'll get infected if not given enough attention!"

"You're just saying that! It hurts like you're being nibled by a thousand ants!" Haneun hissed, but was soon defeated as Hakyeon quickly pulled her close to her and prevented her from doing any movements. With one quick swing of the hand, all wounds and scratches were aided in a second and by the next passing second, they were all bandaged.  

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" Hakyeon innocently giggled as Haneun sent him numerous deadly glare. He could've sworn that he'd be killed a hundred times if looks could kill! "Alright, let's eat, shall we?" he sweetly invited, making Haneun nod slightly as she scooted nearer the table. 

* * *

"Haneun! Let's go!" Ricky cried out as he waved his hand up in the air while gesturing Hanune to walk faster. Of course, due to her weak health and stamina conditions, Haneun was helpless breathless already after running and walking for a great period of time.

"Have you guys ever heard of the word 'wait'?!" Haneun hissed as she clutched her chest and stopped on her tracks, panting heavily. In awe, Niel runs back to her and tries to check her physical status. "Are you good?" Niel asks.

"Slowly, yes." Haneun breathes out. "Let's keep going." she gestured as Niel walks beside her. 

For some reason, Haneun finds herself getting dragged by Ricky and Changjo to hang out with them and the hyungs. Since there were zero new homeworks or zero new lessons or so on, maybe the boys thought that they could hang out together for a while. Plus, it's better than hanging around an empty house in Haneun's point, so, why not?

And now, they're on their way to go to Ricky's house. 

What're they up to? Heaven only knows what the boys planned to do for today! 

"Mom! We're back!" Ricky cries out, just to be welcomed by Epsilon instead. "Eh, hyung? Where're mom and dad?"

"Dad's having an overtime today and mom's out to buy stuff." Epsilon answers with an innocent look. "Eh, I see that our baby Changhyun brought a few visitors! Oh- are my eyes fooling me or is Cha Haneun here too?" he gasps.

"I was simply dragged along, oppa, don't misunderstand." Haneun sighs. "Plus, there's no one at home, so I guess I can stop by here for a few minutes or something." 

"Alright. So, what do you boys intend to do for the meantime? You better not mess the whole house since mom fixed this for hours!" Epsilon warned. "And plus, if it does get messed up again, Ricky and I would be blamed!"

"We won't mess the house up, hyung." Chunji laughed. "Ricky here has other plans!"

"Eh?"

"We're going on a bike ride down town!" Ricky giggled, making Epsilon blink a few times. The Yoo Family did have lots of bikes which the family often uses as a bonding moment. Of course, thinking that it's better that the Ricky and company would play outside than inside, Epsilon doesn't hesitate to permit the youngsters. 

"Alright." Epsilon nods. "But be back before seven, okay? And be careful on the way!"

"I'm not a baby, I know those stuff, hyung." Ricky laughs as he leads his friends in the garage to get their own bikes. "Get any of your liking but be careful with them, okay?" Ricky warns.

"We're not the types to break stuff, Changhyun." Changjo glares.

"On behalf of that, someone here does like to break stuff a lot." L.Joe giggles before he eyes C.A.P, who was totally obnoxious of the words the younger said. 

"What? Why're you looking at me like I'm some sort of killer or something?" C.A.P pouts. "Are you talking bad about me?"

"No~" everyone laughed and said in unison. In the midst of everyone picking out their own bike to use, Haneun stood still on one side as she observed everyone walk here and there, grabbing this and that bike. Noticing her silent state, Niel approaches the seemingly dazed female and taps her shoulder. "Haneun? Are you okay?" he asks as he eyes the female, who blinks and comes back to reality again.

"What?" Haneun blinks. "Of course I am, what makes you think that?"

"You're not moving." Niel grins cutely. "Come on, grab a bike, let's get going!"

Swallowing a lump on , she shakes her head and backs a few inches away. "I just recalled that mom might be home by now and that mom'll be extremely furious if I come home late without notifications left. I have to go despite missing this wonderful moment." Haneun stuttered.

"Aw, that's too bad." Chunji frowns. "You really can't come along? We can ride our way to your residence and ask permission if you want."

"Chunji-hyung has a point! We can do that!" Changjo grins.

"No, I wouldn't want to be a bother. Plus, biking might make my heart condition get worse because, well, it's more of leg and stamina work, right? I might collapse on the way." Haneun softly lied.

"Alright, we're not forcing you." L.Joe smiles faintly. 

"Should I accompany you home, Haneun?" Ricky suggests.

"I can walk by myself. Thanks though." Haneun replies in a sad and soft tone before waving "good-bye" and slowly walking off, disappearing out of their sight. For some reason, she felt a bit guilty and disappointed as she slowly got further and further away from her group.

* * *

"Mom. I'm back." Haneun calls out, eyeing for her mother's presence. In seconds, she saw her mother dressed in something she could notice to be NOT house clothes. "Oh, have you just arrived from work?" Haneun asks as she throws her bag carelessly on the couch. 

"Ah, not exactly." Hakyeon replies as he flashes a sweet smile at Haneun. "Well, you see, I haven't kept track of our food supplies so, well-"

"You can't cook today's dinner?"

"Um, yes."

"... Should I go get dressed now?" 

"Eh? What for?"

"I should accompany my mom in buying stuff, right? It's too lonely and boring when I'm all alone here." Haneun cutely pouts. 

"Well, I had another idea in mind, and you're in it." Hakyeon giggled. "We're having dinner outside!" he announces, clapping his hand excitedly. "Hurry! Get dressing already!"

"In the end, I still dress up of course." Haneun sighs as she shakes her head and quickly walks towards her room. Hakyeon, who was busy fixing his hair, was patiently waiting for his daughter for finishing cladding herself with the clothes of her choice. As expected, in a few minutes, Haneun comes out of her room, dressing in a gray sweater and dark blue skinny jeans. Along with this, her inky black hair was tied up in a ponytail style by a blue lace she randomly found somewhere in her room. 

"That's, quite, a dull style to dress up in, sweetie." Hakyeon commented, making Haneun pout in an annoyed yet cute matter, making her mother giggle in amusement. "I'm just teasing, Haneun, dear. Let's go!" he grinned, reaching out his child's hand before dragging her along with him as they exit their house.

* * *

'That was quite a dinner, wasn't it, Haneun?" Hakyeon giggled as he walked beside his daughter, who flashed a satisfied look at him. "I would take that as a happy yes!" he smiles brightly.

"Thank you for the meal, mom." Haneun smiles faintly as she continued walking. The two decided to schedule their little grocery shopping tomorrow instead, after Hakyeon comes home from work since, well, the two were too full to do some shopping at that time. 

The cold air kept on brushing both Hakyeon and Haneun, making them shiver in the cold. Of course, Hakyeon can quite tolerate the chills but he can easily notice how Haneun kept on shivering and scooting nearer to him, making him think that Haneun was being tortured by the cold wind. With one swift move, he crefully swung his jacket around his daughter's small body, making Haneun jolt in surprise. "What's up?" Haneun blinks.

"You're cold, aren't you?" Hakyeons smiles in a motherly way as he pats his daughter's head. "I wouldn't want my baby to get a cold or something now, would I?" 

"If you give me your jacket, you'll get a cold yourself." Haneun countered.

"It's okay, I'm not really cold!" Hakyeon lies.

"You know, you're also a terrible liar, mom." Haneun sighs as she removes the jacket on her left side and tries to swing it up on her mother's shoulder, which she can barely reach. Seeing how Haneun tried to wrap it around him, Hakyeon kneels down a bit so she can reach his shoulder. With his free left hand, Hakyeon grabs hold of it as he pulls himself closer to his child. Together, they walked home in cozy warmth of their family love.

In the middle of their walking, the two luckily passed in the park, where lots of teens Haneun's age were biking and skateboarding. Some were simply sitting down, chatting, while the rest were walking here and there. "Ah, such liveliness under the cold and silent night." Hakyeon smiles. "Haneun, how come you never rode your bike that C.A.P gave you before?" he asks as he eyes down on his daughter.

An arrow seemingly shot Haneun as she froze in place. Nervously and shyly, she eyes her mother and quickly removes them from his eyes. "Well... don't laugh if I tell you the reason." Haneun softly said.

"I promise."

"... I can't ride a bike." 

Hakyeon wanted to laugh and squeal by how helpless and cute Haneun looked like that split second. Her typical ice-cold expression soon crumbled by those words and as much as Hakyeon tried stopping himself, a soft giggle escapes her lips, making Haneun glare at him and cross her arms. "You promised you won't laugh!" she growls.

"I did! I just giggled, not laughed." Hakyeon counters, making Haneun roll her eyes in a rather ticked-off manner. "Come on, you seriously don't know how to ride a bike?" 

Nod.

"For real?"

"For real." Haneun glares. "Come on, some people can't ride bikes too, okay? It's like... a weakness or something. It's the same with how you're extremely terrified in almost everything that seems frightening like amusement rides and heights!" she hisses.

"That's fear, dear. Those're two different things." Hakyeon laughs.

"Whatever."

With an idea hatching in his head, Hakyeon spots a bicycle renting station and quickly drags Haneun there, surprising the female teenager. Haneun clearly heard how Hakyeon said that he'll rent two bicycles. Clearly, one would be for him and the other would be... for her. After the deal and handing cash to the man in front of him and getting two bikes: a big one and a bike big enough for Haneun to ride. "Alright, ride this, Haneun, I'll teach you home to ride a bike tonight!" Hakyeon grins brightly.

"Don't bother. I'll keep on falling until your temper runs out." Haneun plainly answers.

"Aw, don't think negatively in the beginning! You'll succeed, I promise!" 

Defeated, Haneun nods and rides the bike nervously. Listening carefully to Hakyeon's instructions, she does everything he states. Unfortunately, with a few wobbly controls, the bike falls along with Haneun, who lands on her back, making her wince in pain. Surprised, Hakyeon hurriedly runs and kneels beside her, frowning and uttering numerous "I'm sorry" to the young female. "Let's try again?" Hakyeon asks.

"It hurts! I wouldn't want that again!" Haneun hisses as she rubs her back. 

"... I'll guide you this time." Hakyeon smiles. "Literally." 

Again, Haneun was easily convinced and in the next two seconds, she rides the bike again. This time, Hakyeon was grabbing the back of the bike, helping Haneun with her balance. "Okay, Haneun! Get pedalling!" he instructed, which Haneun complies in. Nervously and slowly, she pedals and makes the vehicle move bit by bit. Despite being a bit wobbly, she still kept her balance, thanks to Hakyeon supporting her behind.

"That's it! You're doing it!" Hakyeon cheered.

"Don't you dare let go or I'm seriously gonna get pissed!" Haneun shrieked as she felt the bike wobble a bit to the right. "Mom! Don't let go!"

"I won't and I'm not!" Hakyeon giggled. "Turn left slowly!"

Haneun obeys and slowly turns the bike to the left as Hakyeon kept supporting her. "Good job, Haneun! Now, try keeping your balance!" he cries out, making Haneun tremble and nod nervously. Despite being a bit wobbly now and then, Haneun tries to keep calm and control her movements. Slowly, she finds her balance and pedals a bit faster. She felt a wobble behind so she cries out again. "Mom! I swear, if you let go-!"

"I won't!" Hakyeon cries out. "I won't let you go, Haneun. I'll never do."

Haneun smiles secretly as she pedals faster, making Hakyeon run behind. Careful not to get noticed, Hakyeon slowly removes his grip from the bike's back and lets Haneun ride alone, watching her bike on her own. A proud feeling rises inside Hakyeon's chest as his eyes followed Haneun. She was having so much fun on her own and in seconds, she reached the lamp post that Hakyeon whispered to her would be her checkpoint. Finally reaching it, Haneun lands her feet on the ground and looks behind, dumbfounded to see that her mother was meters away from her.

"You did it, Cha Haneun!" Hakyeon cries out, sure that Haneun would hear his voice. "You rode a bike!" he grins. Despite being far from him, he was a hundred percent sure that Haneun was smiling, reflecting her success and proud-feeling of accomplishing something. Riding her bike again, she heads towards Hakyeon, who rode his bike and follows her around. 

"Mom! Look, I'm biking!" Haneun cries out like an innocent little child. "I'm actually riding a bike on my own!"

"Yes, you are!" Hakyeon giggles. "You indeed are, and I'm proud that you already are!" 

Together, the two bikes around the whole city, exchanging laughters and having their hair get blown by the evening wind softly. Haneun's eyes explored her surroundings and soon found their way to see the inky black sky get painted with a million, no, billions of twinkling stars and of course, the astounding full moon.

A smile soon crosses her face, which was soon noticed by Hakyeon.

06-11-22

Is it embarrassing to say that I've never rode a bike in my entire thirteen years of existence?

Well, guess what, this night, I learned how to ride one. Mom taught and guided me in such, and in no time, I was riding the bike by myself. It was nerve-wrecking but I succeeded in such. 

Riding a bike, for me, can be a game of trust. I do remember myself shouting at mom to not let go and to stay behind me. I kept on screaming and it was rather embarrassing. But looking in the bright side, when I always had the thought of him behind me and that he'll never leave me, I grew a lot stronger and braver.

I thank him for being there for me no matter what.

But I do wonder... will he still be there and stay beside me even if I'm gone? I hope he moves on though, I wouldn't want to be someone who'll keep on holding him down.