*****                                  
"Eat some of this," his mother placed some food onto his plate. "Eun Bi made these with her heart. Aren't they delicious?" 

"Let him eat on his own," his father called out. "You're going to suffocate him. Look at all the food you're already stuffing down his throat. He's going to be fat in a few days."

"Does that matter?" His mother questioned. "It doesn't matter how you look after you get married. Anyway, we all know Eun Bi will still love him no matter how he looks, right my daughter-in-law?" 

Eun Bi shyly smiled, flattered by the comment. 

"My stomach is going to burst," Sehun complained. "The food's salty."

He let out a shout when his mother slapped his arm. 

"It is not salty. How can you say that about your wife's food? You just have low standards." Then turning to Eun Bi his mother said, "Don't mind him. Sehun has no sense of taste." 

"It's ok. It is a little salty. I'll do better next time," Eun Bi innocently smiled. "You don't have to eat a lot if it's salty, Sehun." 

"Really?" Sehun asked. "Ok." 

Pushing his plate aside he chugged some water before announcing, "I'm full." 

"We aren't even finished here!" His mother called. 

"I'm going to go for a run, mom. I don't want to gain weight and degrade my scale as a bachelor," Sehun smiled smugly and stood. 

"Sehun!" His mother scolded as he walked out. 

"Let him go," his father helped. "Why do you keep trying to control the poor boy." 

"I am not trying to control him!" His mother protested. "Eun Bi is already here and he still wants to leave without thanking her for the meal." 

"It is salty," Sehun heard his father say before he walked out the door.

Pulling his keys out of his pocket he started toward his car and drove off. A chunk of his day was absent from his schedule and he couldn't lose the feeling that he was missing something very important. Without thinking his instincts seemed to know where he was headed. In a few minutes the familiar building he frequented came into sight before he was ringing the bell. 

There was a click before the door opened and he found himself peering into Namjoo's face. A silence droned behind her and he didn't hear Soo Ae calling out for him. 

"What are you doing here?" Namjoo asked as he made his way in and saw him looking around. "She's asleep." 

"Already?" Sehun was surprised. 

Soo Ae usually slept late. It was barely even 9 p.m.

"She got bored after watching some cartoons and knocked out." Namjoo explained as she walked by. 

"Did she ask about me?" Sehun wondered. 

"She wanted to know if you were coming for dinner." 

A prideful smile hit his lips at the mention that Soo Ae had mentioned him. 

"Did you eat?" She asked. 

And he wondered if they'd been bored without him. If they called he would have come. 

"Yes." He watched Namjoo pull down a box of crackers to snack on. 

"You went home after all." She stated indifferently, pulling out a cracker to bite into. "Good for you." 

"I didn't out of my own free will." Sehun told. "Can I have some?" 

"Did you come here to eat again?"

"You don't have to be stingy."

He reached out to grab the box from her, but Namjoo kept her grip on it. More determined to have some he pulled back and accidentally dropped the box onto the floor. There was a moment of deafened silence as if he'd just dropped a beloved vase. 

"Sorry," he apologized and bent down to pick them up. 

"Just leave it," he heard her say as she too, bent down to clean up the mess. 

He felt their fingers brush before there was a gasp from Namjoo. Abruptly pulling her hand she immediately stood and froze. Sehun stared up at her, wondering why she'd acted so drastically before he heard Soo Ae. 

"You came!" Soo Ae shouted before running over to tackle him. 

Unlike how Namjoo would have usually scolded her, she said nothing. 

"Soo Ae take your Uncle to go play with you. I need to clean this up." Namjoo told. 

"Come on Uncle Se-Se!" She pulled on his arm. 

"Oh..." was all he muttered before turning to glance at Namjoo slightly confused. 

She had her hand grasped into a firm fist, but her eyes were elsewhere. When Soo Ae pulled him to sit down and talk to him he turned back to glance at Namjoo. 

"Did you eat at home like mommy told you to this morning?" Soo Ae wondered. 

"Yes, I ate at home." 

She smiled and peered into his eyes, "It was boring without you. I could tell mommy was bored too." 

Returning the smile he reached out to her hair, "I was bored without you too, but Soo Ae is something wrong with your mom?" 

"Mommy's not sick. She's as strong as a bear!" 

Namjoo didn't say or do much. The only thing she did was close the door on him. When he left he couldn't help but feel as if he'd done something wrong. Getting into his car he held his hand up to stare at it. It had only been a mere touch of the hand, so what was the big deal?

*****

There was no complete sound besides the ripples spreading throughout the water. The white walls inside the bathroom made her feel like she was in an asylum, her mind crazy. The water dripping from her hair continuously splashed onto her arms eventually sliding down into their blood. Little short cries crept through her gritted teeth every time she scrubbed harder until her skin reddened. The low ruffled noises of the soap sponge against her skin emanated throughout the bathroom endlessly. 

Namjoo felt disgusted with herself. After a few months at the bar she hated when men touched her. Every time they did she thought of how she'd serviced them every night in that room before returning home to Soo Ae. And she hated herself more. 

Her mind called her gross, disgusting, repulsive, sickening, nasty, and so much more and all she could do then was want to strip out of her skin. 

"Mommy?" Soo Ae knocked on the door. "Are you ok?" 

Gripping onto the sponge she lifted her head up, her heart racing. 

"Oh...Soo Ae, is something wrong? Why aren't you sleeping?" 

"Mommy, it's been almost two hours," Soo Ae talked into the door. 

Suddenly realizing her skin had turned soggy she unplugged the tub. Grabbing a towel she quickly stepped out and opened the door while pulling on a long sleeve.

"Sorry Soo Ae," Namjoo rubbed her head. "I lost track of time." 

Peeking into the bathroom her daughter questioned, "What were you doing?" 

"I was thinking." 

"About what" Soo Ae grabbed her hand. "Are you worried about something? Should we talk?" 

Namjoo quietly chuckled happy and bent down to squeeze her cheeks, "I'm not worried. Not with my bright girl here."                 
 
Soo Ae happily smiled while laughing before her eyes widened slightly. Namjoo lightly flinched when she settled her hand on her neck. 

"Why's your neck red, mommy?" Soo Ae wondered. 

"It's nothing," she lied trying to pull the collar of her shirt up. 

She was sure she hadn't scrubbed that high up. How did Soo Ae see?

"Is it a rash? I'll get you medicine," Soo Ae offered and before Namjoo could stop her she'd already run off. 

That night she couldn't sleep a wink and woke up to Soo Ae shaking her the next morning. 

"What is it?" Namjoo mumbled throwing an arm over her eyes. 

"Mommy, you're late for work!"

At hearing that Namjoo immediately got up barely tripping over herself as she dug through her drawers for a change of clothes. Soo Ae laughed from the bed before getting up to help her. Namjoo quickly shoved a sandwich into her daughter's hand and they were out the door seconds later. 

Sehun was leaning against his car with arms crossed on the rooftop of his car when she ran out of the building. 

"Do you know what time it is?" He asked. 

"Shut up," Namjoo demanded tucking Soo Ae into her seat. 

"It's thanks to me you're able to wake up, right Soo Ae?" Sehun smirked at the girl. 

Namjoo narrowed an eye at them before jumping into the passenger's seat. 

"Uncle Se-Se called five times and saved your life mommy." Soo Ae explained. 

Namjoo snorted as she pulled on her seatbelt. 

"You hear that? I saved your life, person who's never late for work." Sehun repeated. 

Namjoo shot him an irritated glance before turning to peer down the road. 

"I'd like to say I'll be getting Soo Ae from the daycare, so don't worry about that." Sehun announced. 

"Yay!!!" Her daughter screeched. 

"You going to ditch your mom again?" Namjoo muttered. 

"Trust me," Sehun said, "she doesn't need me." 

"You sound awfully confident." 

"I was born with it." 

He caught her rolling her eyes and laughed under his breath. He'd become so quickly accustomed to mornings like this that it would feel dull without it. 

"Soo Ae want ice cream later?" Sehun asked. 

"Yes!!" 

"Then lets get ice cream just for the two of us." Sehun prodded. 

"Eat it yourselves then," Namjoo uttered as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. "Have a fun day at daycare, Soo Ae. Mom will see you later." 

"Bye mommy." Soo Ae waved and when the door closed said, "Lets get mommy ice cream too."

"Of course." Sehun promised. 

*****

"Does Sehun always leave this early for work?" Eun Bi wondered as she set the dishes into the sink.  

"He's never late." His mother sounded proud.  

"What does he do there this early?" She continued. "Does he meet with Chanyeol?"  

"He probably does." Sehun's mother sounded indifferent to the worry in Eun Bi's voice.  

Leaning against the counter she peered into Sehun's mother's face. The woman aged gracefully with time and always used a minimal amount of makeup everyday to pamper her face. Eun Bi also hoped to age well with time. She hated wrinkles that came with age and took to washing her face with skin products every night. She feared that worrying over Sehun too much would produce lines on her face in the long run.  

"What do they do? Have coffee?"  

"Eun Bi," his mother turned to look at her, her eyes an exact copy of what Sehun had inherited, "you're worrying too much. Sehun is a responsible son."  

"But Chanyeol, don't you think he's a bad influence?" She asked.  

"He's a good boy and one of Sehun's closest friends."  

"But he introduced Sehun to more than just a few girls. Don't you remember the time when Sehun got caught sneaking into a club with a girl and they were both minors?! And it was all because Chanyeol got him excited about dating. If it weren't for Chanyeol and that girl Sehun wouldn't have gotten dirt over him."

"He already broke up with that girl," his mother noted with a depth to her tone as if it was a bad memory for her too. "They're grown men now. Plus both of them know Sehun has you already."  

"Isn't there a way for you to get him to stop seeing Chanyeol? I don't trust him."  

"Don't you worry. Once you're married you can have all the control you want over Sehun," his mother promised. "Men like him can't go against his wife. Look at his father." 

Eun Bi giggled along with her.  

Once she swept and vacuumed the house clean Eun Bi stepped outside to stretch. The sun's rays shone over her warmly and she could see herself welcoming her future husband, Sehun. He'd drive up the driveway and walk over to greet her. A hug and a kiss would be given before their children would arrive home on the school bus. She could imagine Sehun picking up their son and spin him around before kissing their daughter. Their yard would be of a healthy green and grass would be trimmed every weekend by Sehun while the kids played outside. She'd be in the kitchen making dinner and snacks before bringing it out to them.  

A happy family full of life and love was what she imagined. It was one of her biggest desires to live happily like that dreamily with Sehun. Their home would be perfect and her friends would envy her.  

What woman didn’t want a handsome husband, healthy kids, a lasting marriage, and a good home?  

The thought of it made her heart flutter clumsily before peering at her watch. Sehun would be done with his shift in a just half an hour, but before then she also had plans of her own. Eun Bi knew well she couldn't trust Sehun and he wouldn't give her precise answers, so she decided she'd find out on her own; where he went after work and what business it was that was so important he missed dinner with his family every night. 

She waited quietly in her car outside of Sehun's workplace. He left about the same time as she'd come for him yesterday and carefully followed him through traffic. The direction he was going in was far from his home. 

Where exactly was he headed? 

Eun Bi abruptly stepped on her brakes when Sehun drove into the lot of a daycare. She was mind blown, flabbergasted. What in the world...a daycare?!  

Her eyes widened when he happily strutted inside and back out holding the hands of a five-year-old girl. They were talking happily; that she could easily tell. The smitten smile on Sehun's face made her blood churn for some reason. It was the same smile she'd seen him giving their little girl in her earlier dream. That smile belonged to her and Sehun's future daughter!                                               
       
Was this the child who drew him those pictures he so preciously kept in his room?

Shifting her gear she followed him through traffic, her mind pondering over what they could be talking about inside that car of his. They stopped a few minutes later at some store and walked out with a bag of treats before heading elsewhere. An Aveda Salon came into sight moments later and she watched the little girl run forward to peer through the door. Eun Bi counted down the minutes until a young woman with short hair walked out brightly to greet her daughter.  

The second Sehun started walking toward her she felt her blood boil. He looked confident, the way he did when being introduced to women he might fancy. Gripping her hand into a fist she watched Sehun push an ice cream bar into her hand to which she refused before Eun Bi cursed underneath her breath.

Why play hard to get with him when she damn well wanted him?!

The little girl spoke before she eventually took it and Eun Bi hated how all their eyes connected so heavenly well.  

Why did Sehun look so upbeat when he never showed this side to her?!

The urge to leave her car and ruin the moment was strong. Eun Bi was just about to open the door and step out before that woman and her daughter boarded Sehun's car. Accelerating, she followed. This time she abandoned her car in the lot and followed them into an apartment building. 

Her lips trembled when she heard Sehun say, "Should I cook tonight? If I follow directions extremely well it'll turn out just how it is in the pictures." 

"You're going to cook?!" The little girl sounded excited.  

"I don't trust you," the woman commented. 

Eun Bi heard Sehun laugh joyfully before the door closed after them.

What the hell...was this?  

***So as we have it, Eun Bi & Namjoo are complete opposites. Where Eun Bi dreams about building a family with her husband, Namjoo on the other hand doesn't think anymore about marriage. And here we have it, why Namjoo strays from the sidelines of love; because she sold herself for money. She's disgusted and she hates herself, yet it was her only possible option to make fast money in order to feed Soo Ae. But here we have Sehun who keeps coming back to them because he's grown attached to Soo Ae. There's no feelings yet, but it's not like he and Namjoo are in completely in dislike of each other ^^