Chapter Two.

Leeteuk didn’t know how he survived the night alone with the baby, he was bewildered with how calm the baby was since he was quite sure babies were fussy beings. Thankfully it was a Saturday so he had no work.

He tried to remember the few experiences he had with the babies of his relatives. He recalled how to feed them and care for them but he didn’t really have any supplies. He went on an impromptu trip to the nearest department store to buy the things he needed.

So here he was, blankly staring at the various baby products all lined up on the shelf looking very awkward and lost.

Cradled on his arms was the baby, who simply stared wide eyed at him. He found out that the child he was left with was a baby girl, other than the clothes she had the only thing in her possession was a ring on a chain necklace and an envelope he hadn’t even opened yet.

 When a sales personnel finally assisted him, he was beyond grateful since the infant in his arms was already starting to fuss. It took quite some time but he finally had all the things he needed, Leeteuk gratefully thanked the person who assisted him and began to leave the shop. He had the baby cradled on his left arm while he used his right hand to carry the bags that contained the baby products. While walking out the shop the baby finally started to cry.

Leeteuk stopped and looked over the child to see what was wrong but it didn’t appear as if she needed her diapers changed so it must’ve meant that she was finally hungry.

“Shh… It’s okay, just wait a little while longer…” Leeteuk cooed at the fussy infant. His effort was proven to be in vain as the child continued to cry quite loudly.

The noise seemed to attract the attention of the other shoppers as they began to stare at him. Leeteuk shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. Amongst the sea of on lookers, one of them was turned out to be his friend from college whom he hadn’t seen since their graduation. He was Kim Jongwoon a.k.a. Yesung.

Yesung noticed the commotion and decided to take a look, he didn’t expect to find that it was his hyung, Leeteuk who was the center of the commotion in his arms was a crying baby who appeared to be the one drawing the other people’s attention. He decided to approach Leeteuk.

“Hey hyung, fancy seeing you here. I didn’t know you had a kid.” Yesung said as he got to Leeteuk.

“Oh hi Yesung, nice to see you…” Leeteuk said quite absently since his attention was divided between the crying baby in his arms and his friend.

“Do you need some help?” Yesung asked, looking at the bags Leeteuk was carrying.

“Ah yeah, thanks.” Leeteuk said as he handed the bags to Yesung, once he had his other hand free he rubbed the baby’s back comfortingly.

“She’s really upset hyung, did you feed her already?”

“Not yet… I just bought the things she needs and we’re heading home now so that I can prepare her milk for her, I don’t think that she’s ready for solid food yet.” Leeteuk said as he began to walk once more, Yesung came with them.

“How old is she anyway?” Yesung said while walking beside Leeteuk.

“About that… I don’t really know…” Leeteuk said nervously.

“Huh? Why don’t you know? She’s your kid right?” Yesung was surprised at what Leeteuk had said.

“Actually, she’s not. She was left in my care last night.” Leeteuk admitted to Yesung

“Someone left her on your doorstep?”

“No, I met a weird lady last night and she just handed the baby to me and said I had to take care of her.”

Yesung stopped and gaped at Leeteuk, was he serious?

“And you’re going to do just that? What if the baby was actually kidnapped? You might end up getting in trouble with the authorities.” Yesung said incrediously.

“I don’t really think that’s likely…” Leeteuk said waving off Yesung’s concern.

“Why not?” Yesung said raising a brow at Leeteuk.

“I’ll tell you once we get back to my place, you might not believe me if I just blurt it out right here in the open.” Leeteuk said to Yesung, he, himself still couldn’t really believe what happened last night. It still felt surreal to him.

“Alright hyung.” Yesung said and began to walk once more, the baby was no longer crying but was still fussy.

When they got back to Leeteuk’s place, Leeteuk immediately began to prepare the things the baby needed. He handed the baby to Yesung. Yesung did his best to entertain the child with the toys Leeteuk bought.

Leeteuk finished preparing the milk and tested its temperature, he started to feed the child. The baby happily drank the milk without much of a fuss. Once the child was finished he took a cloth and placed it on his shoulder and held the baby against his chest and patted her back to help her burp. When he was done, he told Yesung about what had happened last night.

Once he was done telling his tale, he looked at Yesung’s reaction. Yesung stared at him blankly, still processing what he’d just heard. It really wasn’t a believable tale but Yesung knew that his hyung was being honest. He wasn’t one to make up weird tales.

“So… who or what do you think that woman was?”

“Frankly I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“You’re planning to keep the child?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I can just give her away to someone else…”

“What are you gonna do now? Are you going to tell your parents?”

“Maybe, I really don’t know.”

“Does she have a name?”

At that question Leeteuk remembered the envelope he hadn’t opened. He went over to where he left it and opened the envelope to find a letter. He read it aloud:

‘If this letter is in your possession, it means that I’ve left my child in your care and I am no longer here in this world. I implore you to read this letter with an open mind for I know that what you will read will seem quite farfetched but all that I’ve written here is nothing but the truth.

 My name is Kim Hae Jung. I was once a normal human girl but that changed when I was taken from my home. The being that took me was not an ordinary being.  He was a Fae. He’d brought me into his world when I was 19 years of age. At first I believed that I’d only been dreaming, everything was surreal to me. But as time went on I began to miss my home. I’d tried to ask him to return me but he refused. I continued to insist to that he return me to where I belonged but then he deceived me. He tricked me into eating a fruit he’d offered me. I had no idea about what its effects were but when I found out it was already too late. The fruit I ate bound me to their world. I became like them. A fae. I was devastated but I could do nothing. When I fell pregnant I couldn’t bear the thought that my child would also suffer the same fate I did.

A bride to the fae princes.

It was even more unbearable when I learned that my child wouldn’t only be the bride of one fae prince but instead would be the bride of twelve fae princes.  I had to get her way. I learned of a way to smuggle out my child but the price I’d have to pay in order to succeed would be to give up my life. As a bound fae, I couldn’t be separated from their world for too long or else I would cease to exist. I’ve accepted that all for the sake of my child.

My child.

My Kyu Hee.

Please take care of her in my absence. I humbly ask you to raise her as your own. Please do not allow her to be taken back into THAT world. The Fae are powerful beings. They will use any means necessary to retrieve her but though their power is great they draw and rely on the forces of nature, they also cannot be away from their world for too long. Please never let my child wander into the forests or wilderness alone for that is where the portals to their world exist.

I may not be able to bestow upon you riches but instead I’ve given you a blessing in exchange for caring for my child.

Whoever takes care of my child will find their endeavours rewarded and successful, that much I can guarantee. This lasting magic is the most I can do to repay you for taking in my child.

Sincerely,

Kim Hae Jung.’

Silence engulfed the room, no one spoke. The contents of the letter were a lot to take in. Kim Hae Jung. The name sounded vaguely familiar to Yesung, as if he’d heard of it somewhere before. Thinking back he vaguely remembered Kim Hae Jung was the girl who mysteriously vanished back when he was a kid still living at Cheonan. He remembered how his grandparents were raving about her becoming the victim to the other worldly beings. When he’d asked his parents what they meant they simply told him that it was nothing, just the mindless drabble from the senile old folk. Now, it turns out that Kim Hae Jung was in fact taken.

“Hyung, I think that what Kim Hae Jung was telling the truth in her letter.” Yesung said quietly to Leeteuk as he held Kyu Hee’s outstretched hands.

“Why do you think so?”

“I remembered her name. She was the girl who went missing back in Cheonan. I used to live there, remember?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I remember how puzzled everyone was, she just disappeared out of the blue one day and no one ever found her body. The elderly were saying that she fell victim to the spirits. It seemed so farfetched during that time and no one ever really paid much attention to what they were saying.”

“Do you think we should look for Hae Jung’s family? They might want to take care of the child?”

“I don’t think that’s a wise idea. No one’ll believe us, they might just institutionalize us if you tell others about it. Besides, you’ll have to protect her right? That’s what Hae Jung was asking for.”

“So, aside from us… Do we tell the others about this matter?”

“Maybe not. I don’t know hyung, let’s just see where the pieces fall. Are you still in contact with the others?”

“Not really… I mean I know where they are and all, but I’ve just been so absorbed in work that I didn’t have much time to look everyone up. I didn’t even think that I was going to bump into you today.”

“You’re going to need help raising Kyu Hee. I’ll be happy to help when I can and I know you’re not really on good terms with your parents so maybe it’s time to get everyone back together.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to burden the others. They might be busy with their own work.”

“Nonsense. You know those guys are never really busy and besides, I was talking to Ryeowook the other day. He said that he missed the old days, when we were all together.” Yesung said as he thought back to the conversation he’d had with his friend.

“But-“ Leeteuk started to protest but was cut off by Yesung.

“Don’t worry about it hyung! Besides didn’t Hae Jung say in the letter that whoever helps raise her child will be successful?” Yesung pointed out, various thoughts already swimming in his head as he imagined what it would be like to see everyone again.

“We’re going to take care of Kyu Hee just for that?!” Leeteuk said sceptically.

“Nope. We’re going to take care of Kyu Hee because it’s the right thing to do and we’ll all finally have an excuse to hang out with everyone again just like back in college. The blessing thing is just a bonus.” Yesung said optimistically, genuinely happy at the thought.

Yesung knew that this was going to be good for all of them. Ever since they’d graduated from college it just seemed as though he was disillusioned with life. Everything seemed dull and lifeless and the others felt the same way.

Life was boring and dull without the others.

But now, they had this chance. All of them would be linked again and it would all be thanks to Kyu Hee.

Yesung whipped out his phone and started typing a message for everyone, he asked Leeteuk for his address since he was going to invite everyone over. He had no work today since it was a Saturday and he was sure that the others were also not busy with anything. He didn’t give Leeteuk any chance to protest about inviting the others over on such short notice.

It was a good thing that the Condo where Leeteuk was living had ample amount of space since a small apartment wouldn’t probably be able to house fifteen people in comfortably.

The first one to arrive in the afternoon was Ryewook, he was followed by Donghae and Eunhyuk then Heechul and Hangeng, Siwon, Kangin, Henry, Zhoumi, Shindong, Sungmin, Kibum and finally Kyuhyun.

They were all quite surprised to find out that Leeteuk was now basically an instant ‘Appa’ but they treated it as a celebration.

Heechul fell in love with the beautiful baby quite instantly, he snatched her away from Donghae and Eunhyuk to which they both protested glumly about. 

Kyu Hee took an immediate liking to him as well since she didn’t fuss when Heechul held her and instead was all smiles and happy gurgles at every funny face Heechul gave her.

Heechul announced to everyone that he was Kyu Hee’s favourite uncle, to which everyone rebutted good naturedly.

They’d ordered food and drinks and everyone spent that time catching up with and taking care of the baby.

They worked out a schedule when they would be available to help with taking care of Kyu Hee. Heechul volunteered to just be the one to take care of her since he had the most free time available since he really wasn’t working at the moment but the others refused and jokingly said that he just didn’t want to work at all.

Ever since that day, Kyuhee was surrounded and cared for by people who loved her. She had a wonderful and protective father and uncles who taught her of kindness and love. And as was stated in the letter, all of the people who took care of Kyuhee became successful in all of their endeavours, something only Leeteuk and Yesung understood why and how it was possible.

19 Years passed by rather quickly, every one of her uncles had their own families now but that didn’t mean that they stopped being there for her. She became the older sister their kids. She’d asked her father once why he didn’t choose to get married and he’d only replied that he was content with his life. She was introduced to his parents and they gladly accepted her as their grandchild. Leeteuk and Yesung came up with a good cover story that she really was Leeteuk’s daughter who was abandoned by her mother. It was the only way they would acknowledge Kyuhee. If they’d admitted that she wasn’t Leeteuk’s blood daughter then his parent would insist to give her up for adoption.

So here she was at 19 years old. A young blossoming beautiful flower on her last year of high school. Park Kyuhee was known as an approachable and likable person who got along well with her schoolmates. She had a few close friends and was an outstanding student in her school.

She was the only student in her school who had vibrant teal colored eyes, a feature that never failed to draw anyone in. It set her apart from all the other students in her school. Her long flowing chestnut brown hair reached up to the mid of her back, gently swaying along her movements as she walked through the halls of the school with her books tucked neatly in her arms. Her leather school bag’s straps rested on her shoulders.

“Kyuhee-ah!” Kyuhee glanced back to see her friend Sulli calling out to her, she stopped and waited for Sulli to catch up to her.

“Good morning Sulli!” Kyuhee greeted her friend happily.

“Haha, good morning! I was glad I caught up with you, did you get your permission slip signed for the field trip next week?” Sulli asked her, Kyuhee sighed sadly as they continued to walk to class.

“Unfortunately not. Appa’s not allowing me to go on the field trip.” Kyuhee said to Sulli.

“What?! But why?? This is like the last field trip we’ll ever go to together, it’s our last year!” Sulli was shocked, why wasn’t Kyuhee’s dad letting her go?

“I know, but you know how he is. He’s just really protective you know.”

“Your dad’s such a spoilsport!” Sulli whined at her Kyuhee only giggled in response.

“What about your other uncles, maybe they can sign it for you instead?”

“You know that won’t work, Sulli.”

“Why not?!” Sulli said stomping her foot like a perturbed little kid.

Kyuhee laughed at Sulli’s actions, it was just so cute. Kyuhee didn’t really feel any bitterness about not being allowed to go to the fieldtrip. She was okay with it since she knew how worried her dad would get about her being on her own. It was actually weird since her dad never allowed her to go out into the woods alone. It was always as if he was protecting her from something. Lost in her thoughts, Kyuhee didn’t notice where she was going until she ended up colliding against someone’s chest. She lost her grip on her books and they fell to the floor.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry!” Kyuhee bowed apologetically at the person she collided with and knelt down to pick up her things, the person she collided with also knelt down to help her pick up her fallen things.

“Here you go” he said as he handed her the books.

When the books were being handed to her Kyuhee finally looked up to see who it was she collided with.

It was Kim Joonmyun. The school’s ‘prince’. He’d transferred to their school last year and quickly gained popularity through his good looks and princely mannerisms.

“Thanks” Kyuhee smiled as she took her books from him, her fingers grazed his hand and she felt a shock travel up from her fingertips. That was weird.

He stood up and offered his hand to help her stand. Kyuhee took his hand, once more she felt another shock go through her which made her quickly let go of his hand when she was standing.

“Is there something wrong?” Joonmyun asked her frowning worriedly at her.

“Oh no, there’s nothing wrong I ju-“ Kyuhee was cut off when they heard the bell ring, warning them that class was about to begin.

“Kyuhee-ah, were going to be late!” Sulli said as she ran ahead.

“Sorry again, I have to go.” Kyuhee said as she hastily bowed and hurried to class with Sulli.

When Kyuhee disappeared out of his sight, Joonmyun smirked as he clenched his hand, he could still feel the warmth of her hand. It was nice to finally interact with his bride.