*****          
Miscellaneous noises and the scurrying of footsteps sounded when Namjoo neared the bedroom door. Pushing the door open she walked in to find Soo Ae digging through the drawer. 

"What are you doing?" Namjoo asked sitting on the bed. "You're supposed to be sleeping." 

Turning around and quickly hiding her hands behind her Soo Ae cheekily smiled at her.

Namjoo glanced at her missing hands, "What are you hiding?" 

Soo Ae continued holding her smile before running toward her. Namjoo caught her and smiled before lifting her up onto her lap. 

"Oh? Is that for me?" Namjoo asked when she noticed the rectangular box with a bow.

"For mommy," Soo Ae handed it to her. 

Namjoo shook her and listened to her squeal, "So this is why you haven't slept. You sly girl." 

"Open it," Soo Ae urged. 

Gladly doing so she pried the top off. From the shady moonlight she could make out the shape of a wallet. 

"Why thank you, Soo Ae," Namjoo squeezed her. "Who's teaching you to up to me?" 

Soo Ae broadly smiled again, "It's from daddy. He picked it out, mommy, and I knew you'd like it!" 

The light smile on Namjoo's face started easing off. She hadn't asked Sehun for anything and she hated the fact that he tended to give her things without her asking for it. Setting it onto the night table she hugged Soo Ae and spun them around onto the bed. 

"I love you, mommy," Soo Ae clamped her arms around her. "You're the best." 

"Mommy loves you too," Namjoo closed her eyes and bear hugged her. Kissing her forehead she asked, "You're really that happy, huh? You like your daddy Sehun that much?" 

"Mmm!" Soo Ae nodded. "Mommy, I can't wait until we can all live together."

And as Namjoo hugged her she also wished she could feel the same way Soo Ae did about it all. Getting married on her part meant much more than just getting a family. She couldn't imagine enjoying the days ahead. 

The next morning when Sehun stopped by she only shot him a glance before saying, "Thanks...for the gift. Next time you don't have to do it." 

Walking toward the door Namjoo grabbed her daughter's shoes, "Come on, Soo Ae, we're going to be late." 

At work Namjoo dreaded the passing time. Once she was out she knew she was going to end up at Sehun's home. The realization that she would spend the upcoming days living in that house with him and his family sounded like a nightmare. When she made the decision to live in Muju away from all eyes that knew her she'd promised to spend the rest of her life in old age alone. Namjoo knew she could have done it, but Sehun had found her, threw accusations, and talked nonsense. Then all of a sudden...she was here. 

"Namjoo, go home. Your hours are over." 

Reluctantly walking out she found Sehun's car down the street. This time Soo Ae grabbed her hand, pulling her into his home. Sehun's father greeted them warmly inside and even gifted Soo Ae a plushy. So while she was kept busy with her new toy and some snacks Namjoo was invited to sit down with Sehun and his parents. 

The feeling of sitting with them beside Sehun was all so different. It was like she was at some parent conference being evaluated for any errors. Her report card would be observed and they'd tell her what to do for her future, where she should go and what to focus on. They'd then proceed to write out a checklist she would have to fulfill.

"Your mother and I have talked about your wedding. We think it's best to do it as soon as possible, but I want to first know if you two have planned anything." His father started. 

Remaining quiet Namjoo waited for Sehun to answer, but he didn't say anything as if waiting for her to first talk. 

"You haven't talked about it?" He asked. 

"Just like the irresponsible kids they are," his mother muttered underneath her breath.

"Then, how about this?" His father suggested. "Since it's quite late to have a big ceremony, lets hold a small private wedding?" 

"That's fine," Sehun agreed. "We don't need to do anything spectacular."

"How about our daughter-in-law? What does she think?" 

Daughter-in-law...

Lifting her eyes up to meet with his father's overly warm eyes Namjoo quietly said, "We can do that." 

As if she'd have much opinion about it all anyway... She could imagine how happy they all were feeling; finally a daughter-in-law, someone to boss around, and a granddaughter to adore. 

But...she dreaded every second of it. Out of rude sarcasm she wanted to ask why couldn't they just do the wedding today, get everything over with? Why need to dress up for one ceremony that would last probably an hour long? 

"Ok, lets do it that way then," his father concluded. "How are the preparations going? Have you started looking for suits and dresses?" 

A corner of her brain started to heat up and would soon start burning fire. The wedding would be the second worst part compared to what would happen after. Thinking about what to wear and the price of everything gave her an absurdly wild headache. 

"Since mom's done weddings before, we can let her look into decorations and the church," Sehun suggested. "Namjoo and I have been busy with work, so we'll try to look for some things this weekend."

"Would you two even know how to find what to wear?" His mother asked. 

"They'll be fine," his father cut in. "Why do you keep putting them down?" 

"I am not," his mother protested. "Look at how far they've come and they don't even sound a bit worried about the wedding. They treat it as if it's child's play."

Shooting his mother a stern look he continued, "We've only started talking about it and you're going on about this and that. This woman..."

"Why am I even here?" His mother mumbled. "If you're only going to talk to me this way I'd rather be in the kitchen." 

Getting up she walked away and Namjoo found her eyes hopelessly hovering over the floor. Sehun's mother would hate her and Soo Ae, and she despised dealing with things like that. 

Exhaling a breath, his father coaxed, "Don't worry about her. She's still in shock after finding out about you, but don't worry. She'll start warming up to you in no time. She has a bit of a stubborn side like Sehun." 

Namjoo offered him a small smile.

"Well then, why don't you look around? You're going to be living here with us from now on, so you should get to know the house." His father suggested. 

When his father walked off Sehun stood with an extending arm. "Want to come look upstairs, Soo Ae? You can go look at your room and daddy's room."

"Ok." 

Grabbing Sehun's hand they started climbing up the stairs and with a small sigh, Namjoo followed. There was a corridor upstairs with four doors lined up against the hallway from left to right. 

"That's just a storage room over there," he pointed down his left, "and those two are guest rooms. No one really uses them anymore."  

Pushing the door to the right of his bedroom open he let Soo Ae in. It was a fairly sized room with walls of baby blue with two little drawers planted against the wall to their right. The room was pretty empty besides the Queen sized bed ahead of them.  

"I was going to get rid of that bed and get a smaller one for her," Sehun explained as they watched Soo Ae walk around and tip-toe to peek out the window. 

"Just leave it," Namjoo said. "Soo Ae will get used to it."

"All right then." He gave in then called out, "Soo Ae, you want to come see daddy's room?"

"Can I play in here for a bit?" she asked.  

"Go ahead," he said before turning to walk out.  

Namjoo shot Soo Ae a glance as she jumped onto the large bed then turned around to follow Sehun. It was going to be weird calling someone else's home her home, especially since the case was that she'd only been over twice. 

Sehun's room was bit more lively compared to Soo Ae's empty room. There was a desk, a shelf filled with miscellaneous collectibles, a closet, and some drawers beside it. Every space seemed almost jammed packed but in an organized fashion. There was also an extra door by the corner of the  room that had been left open. She could see a stand-in shower and some towels hanging off a rack from where she stood. When she turned Sehun abruptly twisted her way as if he had been tucking something under his blanket when she was looking around. 

All he offered her was an awkward laugh, but she wasn't amused. Once her eyes drooped down to the bed she realized there was also something else she'd completely dismissed. Once married she'd have to share this room with him; the bed, the bathroom, everything.

She couldn't even imagine herself sleeping on the bed beside him. Thinking about it invited grim thoughts into her head. 

Namjoo wasn't ready for any of this. 

"I emptied out some of the drawers for you," Sehun explained walking over to where the wooden blocks stood. "I'll clear out some more things by that time, so don't worry about anything. Should we go look for new beddings too?"

Immersed in staring at the ground sternly she didn't reply as quickly as he wanted. The silence droned on for a few seconds while Namjoo thought about that deep resentful discomfort sleeping inside her heart.  

"Lets do that," her voice was quiet.  

Either way, she didn't think she'd be able to sleep on the same sheets he'd slept on. The mere thought of how the sheets would smell like him made her skin crawl.  

"Sorry if you're uncomfortable with staying here. My parents want to get to know you and Soo Ae a little better, so I hope you can see from their point of view," Sehun explained. "You know how they are."

There was no opinion to give. Namjoo didn't want to talk anymore either. She only reacted when Sehun grabbed her hand and immediately pulled it back. Her eyes remained large and surprised when she glanced up at him. He too, seemed surprised, but remained calm. 

"Just  let me see your hand for a few seconds," he explained.  

Namjoo felt her finger's curl up when he grabbed her left hand again. As he observed her fingers Namjoo's eyebrows slightly twitched in apprehension. The warmth from his gentle hands melted into the atoms of her skin before he eventually let go. They shot each other a glance before a giggle at the doorway interrupted.  

"Mommy and daddy holding hands," Soo Ae teased.  

"Hey kiddo, you shouldn't be peeking, little booger." Sehun crouched down to tickle her. 

"I'm not a booger!" Soo Ae shrieked and laughed.  

"Yes, you are!" He teased and pulled her into his arms some more.  

As Namjoo watched Soo Ae's little big dream of getting a father come true, a tiny pint of warmth pulsated in the corner of her heart. 

At least...Soo Ae would live a good life here. 

*****

That weekend upon his mom's directions he drove them to a bridal store. Soo Ae's eyes went ultra wide when they walked into the shop. The long white dresses embroidered with beads and magnificent designs excited her. 

"Is mommy going to wear one of those?" She grabbed his hand as they walked by.

"That's right." 

Soo Ae's jaws dropped as they walked on and were greeted by the store manager. He was a little worried with Namjoo's no-show of excitement or enthusiasm, but then it wasn't as if she'd really wanted to come in the first place. While the curtains drew to a close he and Soo Ae sat down on a Victorian couch. A thick binder of wedding dresses sat on the golden table in front of them. Bored, they began flipping through it. 

He was surprisingly taken aback with how Soo Ae deeply immersed herself into the pictures. He hadn't been aware of her growing feminine nature, especially at such a young age. In comparison to Namjoo, Soo Ae seemed to be more into pretty, soft gentle things. Sehun suddenly felt curious about how Namjoo had been brought up. Since her mother always wore makeup and pretty things to work he'd assumed Namjoo would take after her, but he had been wrong. 

Namjoo wasn't interested in makeup, blind dates, or wearing and sporting dresses in the warm weathers. Since he'd known her, she had never tried to flaunt her beauty. After discovering her again he still couldn't figure out what it was that interested her. 

Out of all things in the world, what did she like?

He lifted his head when there was a click and the curtain started opening. At first Sehun only caught sight of the white dress before his full attention seemed in by the glowing aura surrounding Namjoo. The way the dress hugged her hips then flowed down her legs in a spiral to touch the ground like a white rose was flawless. The little silver crown atop her head with the white veil hanging behind her made her look like a perfect queen. 

All he could think about while his breath slowly stopped was, "My God, she's beautiful..." 

"My mommy's so beautiful," Soo Ae quietly squealed into his ears, then even louder, "you're the prettiest mommy ever!" 

Raising his eyes up in delight he saw her gaze elsewhere, as if looking him in the eye was an atrocity.  

"Look at me, look at me," he seemed to will to no avail.  

"What do you think?" The store manager walked over to peer up at Namjoo. "The dress fits just perfectly. Isn't she beautiful?" 

"Yea..." he sighed still trying to will her to look his way just once.

Catching sight of Soo Ae she asked, "Is that your daughter?"  

"Can I go up there?" Soo Ae turned.  

"Of course, go ahead." With immediate permission Soo Ae jumped up from his side and climbed onto the little stage.  

"Mommy!" Throwing arms around Namjoo's legs she gave her a tight hug. "You're the prettiest mom in the world!"

"You have a very cute family," the manager complimented. "Take your time. I'll be in the next room. Your wife should know where to get me."  

And for the first time since he'd claimed Soo Ae as his, he felt a growing pride sprout inside him and butterflies growing in the pit of his belly. A strange sense of liveliness swept through him.  

This kind of liveliness was different. There was excitement and for the upcoming days he wanted to do a thousand times better than days when he only used half the effort. Soon there would be people waiting for him to come home from work. Every day's routine would have much more worth than the days behind him.

Stepping onto the stage made his heart flutter shyly. It was such a feeling different from when he came to first admire Namjoo in high school. Sehun appreciated her for giving in, because if it weren't for her he wouldn't have Soo Ae either. That little girl had touched his heart ever since encountering her and his days had been brighter.  

Yet, standing there with Namjoo adorned in a wedding dress was also too different...in a good way. Sehun was overwhelmed with the feelings of a shy school boy in front of his first love. While he stood there blankly as Namjoo hugged Soo Ae he wondered why she wasn't yet looking his way. Was it because she hated being here? 

"Daddy, come here!" Soo Ae reached out to grab his hand. 

As he slid to the side a little he felt Namjoo's shoulder brush against him. She shot him a quick glance before looking away. Soo Ae giggled when she drew their hands together and Sehun quickly glanced at Namjoo, again mesmerized. She quickly glanced at him again, but didn't say anything. 

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Soo Ae stared up at them, a teasing smile spreading on her lips. 

At the very least he wanted to tell her she was pretty, but he couldn't urge the words out even if he stared.  

Slowly pulling her hand out of his she said, "Come on, Soo Ae. Go back down with your dad, I'm going to change."  

Soo Ae pouted before swaying her shoulders, "Already? Lets take a picture first! I want to remember mommy as the most beautiful today! Come on, daddy!"

Jumping off the stage Soo Ae grabbed his hand to lug him after her. Clumsily landing on his feet he glanced back up at Namjoo. He, too, like Soo Ae felt this was too good of an opportunity to waste. He also wanted to remember Namjoo like this, because he was sure that except for their wedding day he'd never see her dolled up again.

With his heart thumping, he slowly extended his hand out for her to take.

***What would they ever do without Soo Ae ;D