Yonghwa scrutinized Minjung’s never faltering gaze and demanded,

            “Stop spouting lies. I didn’t come here to hear a story.” He refocused his pursuits and pushed past the two, making his way straight to Shinhye who hadn’t even known that she was visible from behind the pillar. Yonghwa impulsively grabbed her by the arm and began to tug her towards the exit when she screamed a blood-hurdling scream. She pulled her arm away and winced, so he rolled up her arm sleeves to reveal bandages with blood sinking through the tight layers, tainting the white. He turned back to see the two standing together, arms crossed just waiting for them to take their leave. It seemed Minjung had said all she wanted to for today, so Yonghwa grasped Shinhye’s right hand and pulled her along as he left the house. Before the front door closed Minjung called out behind them,

            “The day you discover your family’s entire past, you’ll see me again.” Yonghwa wasn’t counting on that. The house itself was enough to give him the chills. The front gate was still cracked open for them to leave, and he continued his sprinting pace until they were safe and sound outside their property. The two continued down the sidewalk together in silence, but Yonghwa, remembering the wound on her arm decided to ask while masking his worry,

            “Did they do that to you?” Shinhye looked up at his face, seeing the same indifferent expression she had grown used to and almost fond of.

            “Do what?” She mumbled, and he pointed at her left arm. She nodded to herself and then replied,

            “No, they bandaged it up for me. I was attacked by a stranger with a knife.” She admitted, and the truth shocked Yonghwa more than any scenario he imagined. It never crossed his mind that a third party was involved. Shinhye immediately noticed the change in his eyes and comforted,

            “Thankfully he missed my stomach and only gave me a small scrape on my arm.” Shinhye’s right hand travelled back up her arm and applied more pressure on the opening wound. The blood was now seeping through the fabric of her shirt. The smell of her blood travelled up to Yonghwa’s nose and he cringed, trying to ignore the unpleasant stench.

            “I’m sorry.” He finally mumbled after failing to think of anything better to say. He seldom apologized, especially for things that didn’t concern him but for some reason he felt like it was the right thing to do. The fact that she got hurt somehow felt like his responsibility. She never replied, but kept a pleasing smile plastered on her face despite the stinging pain as he walked her home. She was dying to sit down, but she didn’t mind the slow pace of their stroll because she felt safe beside Yonghwa.

            By the time they were at the front door, Yonghwa remembered they were still holding hands. Shinhye lifted her weak left arm and rang the doorbell, probably not noticing either. Yonghwa shuffled awkwardly beside her, unsure of what to do. He knew he should let go, but for some reason he didn’t want to. The door opened and Shinhye’s foster father let them in, also noticing their intertwined hands. He gave Yonghwa a questioning stare and Yonghwa immediately pulled his hand away, placing them to his side. Shinhye blushed, realizing that they had held hands the entire walk home. With her right arm she waved Yonghwa a silent goodbye, giving him a cue to leave and he turned, about to exit when Yongguk laced a hand on his shoulder. It felt surprisingly familiar and calming, making Yonghwa freeze where he was.

            “Please, come sit for a bit.” Yongguk invited, already leading the way to the living room. Shinhye cocked her head to one side, wondering why her dad didn’t blow a fuse when she saw that public display of affection. This was quite opposite of his predicted personality, so she followed him into the living room and sat beside Yonghwa on the two seat couch.

            “Firstly, Shinhye what happened to you?” He asked worriedly while glancing at her left arm that was drenched in moist blood. She was careful not to touch any of the pillows on the sofa. While she explained the events to her dad, Yonghwa took the initiative to wrap new bandages around her arm and discard the old ones. Her story went further than just how she got hurt, and she ended up telling her dad everything up until they left the house, leaving out the conversation Yonghwa had with Minjung. It was not her conversation to share, and she respected that. Sunhwa descened the stairs after her early evening nap and joined her husband on the sofa in the middle of Shinhye’s story. The entire time, she watched her son gently roll the bandages around Shinhye’s arm and examined his delicate stare. From a distance, his eyes looked empty, but after a while of observing anyone could see that what his eyes really spoke was his heart.

            “That woman’s name—you said it was Kang Minjung?” Yongguk asked for reassurance. Shinhye nodded, remembering the name correctly and watched the couple exchange worried glances. Did they know her? Nothing much seemed to make sense to Shinhye anymore.

            “So my wife tells me your name is Yonghwa?” Yongguk coughed to change the subject. Yonghwa finished up the bandages and sat back down beside Shinhye.

            “Yes, my name is Jung Yonghwa.” He confirmed confidently, clasping his hands together on his lap. At the sound of his name, Yongguk filled with delight but tried to contain his happiness. He didn’t want to believe his wife when she told him, but after seeing Yonghwa in person there was no doubt that he was their son. In Yonghwa’s dark brown eyes, Yongguk saw a reflection of himself when he was nineteen, and it sent adrenaline coursing through his veins.

            “That’s quite an unusual name. How did your parents think of it?” Yongguk asked, utterly amused. He wondered just how much his son knew, though he imagined it couldn’t have been much.

            “My parents left me a letter at the orphanage and they gave it to me after sending me to my first foster home. In the letter, my parents told me my name was their first and possibly their last gift to me.” Yonghwa admitted, pain striking through his heart as he remembered unfolding that dusty piece of paper that yellowed with age for the first time. He looked at the two who watched him with warm smiles and loving eyes, but for some reason it wasn’t creepy. The silence signaled for him to continue; even Shinhye was captivated with his story.

            “They said my name was a combination of my parent’s. ‘Yong’ was taken from my father’s and ‘hwa’ from my mother’s.” He finished the story behind his unusual name; feeling like sharing it lifted a burden from his heart. The couple’s expression didn’t change, but when he turned to glance at Shinhye, her eyes were wide open, as if she was hit with an amazing revelation. Shinhye was placing the puzzle pieces together as he told his story. ‘Yong’ came from Yongguk and ‘Hwa’ came from Sunhwa. Undoubtedly he took his father’s surname—Jung. Yonghwa inched away from Shinhye’s strange stare and looked back at the couple.

            “Did you ever think of finding your biological parents?” Yongguk asked, immersed in overwhelming joy. His internal party was short lived when Yonghwa answered,

            “No.” His answer was short, straight up, and the one word was enough to tear Yongguk and Sunhwa’s heart in two.  

A/N: Today's a good day! Double update!! HAPPY NEW YEAR MY LOVELY READERS ^^ I was in an extreme writing mood today since I spent 5 hours studying chem even though it's winter break... (double updates won't happen often) But I'm curious, how many of you noticed the "name game" I had in the story with Yonghwa's name before reading this chapter? x]