*****

"Are you excited to turn five?" Sehun asked. 

"A little."

"Just a little?" Sehun repeated. 

"If I turn five I have to go to school and if I go to school that means I'm not a baby anymore. I still want to be mommy's baby." Soo Ae explained pulling out a puzzle to work on. 

"We all have to grow up," Sehun said, "but you'll always be your mom's baby deep in her heart." 

"Right?" Soo Ae slightly looked happier. "I feel that way too." 

"Then why worry?" Sehun playfully rustled her hair. "Are you excited for school then? You meet all sorts of people there."

"But I heard that you can get bullied in school." 

"I'll beat them up for you," he promised. 

"But fighting isn't a good thing, Uncle Se-Se. Shouldn’t you know better?" 

Sehun chuckled and rubbed her hair, "This kid here is so cute. Where did she come from huh?" 

"My mom." Soo Ae pressed a hand to her chest. "Because mommy is smart. I want to be smart too, like you and mommy. If I go to school and get good grades I want to buy mommy a big house, even bigger than this. And I won't let her work so hard so that she can sleep all the way till evening. All mom has to do is make food for us." 

"Is there anything you want for your birthday, Soo Ae?"  

"Mmm..." she seemed to think for a few seconds, "nothing."  

"Nothing?" He was surprised.  

"I don’t need anything grand. I'm happiest when I'm with mommy. If I have mommy all to myself I'll be even more happy than happy."

"So you just want your mom?"  

Smiling broadly and proudly, Soo Ae nodded.  

He couldn't help, but smile at how bright she was. How had Namjoo raised someone else's child so well? 

Turning around he glanced at Namjoo who was busy in the kitchen preparing a luxurious meal so that Soo Ae would have a full stomach. Namjoo must have toiled hard, laboring day and night for Soo Ae to grow this well while she lost weight and her body grew old. And he felt sorry that Namjoo had chosen to do it all alone, bearing all the hardships and back talks. 

It must have been difficult.

He'd take all the work from her this weekend. Namjoo would enjoy the amusement park and he'd buy both her and Soo Ae a whole course meal; get Soo Ae a cake because he knew she'd probably never tasted the luxury of sweetness before. He'd feed them well so they wouldn't be hungry and he'd let them enjoy a day to themselves without stress.

"What are you getting for Soo Ae's birthday?" Sehun wondered slipping into his shoes at the door a while later.  

He could hear Namjoo's daughter singing a children's song from the bathroom.  

"Clothes, cake, and another doll." Namjoo replied as she pulled the door open.  

"I'll get the cake, so don't worry about it."  

Namjoo raised her brow.  

"Make sure to dress her prettily this weekend," Sehun reminded. "Come relaxed and don't worry about anything."

"Why," Namjoo started, "do you make it seem like we're depending on you for everything? I know we're not financially stable yet, but we're not poor either. I don't need you to accommodate us all the time."  

"Then why can't you just take without worrying about it? I'm not asking for anything in return."

"That's not what I'm saying," Namjoo tried, "of course, I'm grateful for your help, but nothing is free in this world. If you look at the bigger picture, people will think you're having an affair outside of your home. Soo Ae...is my daughter, but you act like she's yours."

"Then what about that other guy?" Sehun asked. "Did he look like Soo Ae's father too?" 

"Sehun," she sounded tired, maybe a little irritated. 

"Well I'm just saying," he went on, "did it bother you when people asked if he was the father?" 

Namjoo just shot him a long interrogating stare. 

"Then I don't care people say," he told. "When I see other kids on the street with their parents, I wonder if Soo Ae feels like she's missing out. I just want to give her what she deserves. Is that wrong?" 

Namjoo seemed to glance back toward the bathroom before telling, "I went to Muju to live quietly for Soo Ae's sake. I thought, what if her mother comes looking for her, what would I do? Or what if it was her father who didn't know about her birth? I didn't want people saying dirty things about her just because I picked her up. She doesn't need to know about these things. So, I'm going to tell you that if things get messy here I'm going to take Soo Ae back to Muju. If that happens, I'd like it if you stop coming to see her."                              

An unsettling feeling whirled down his throat to his stomach when Namjoo closed the door on him. He didn't like feeling locked out and he couldn't understand what Namjoo was really concerned about. Had she heard something he didn't know about?  

The drive back home was slow and even more quiet than any other days. He wasn't helping them to make Namjoo feel useless or incapable. Had he done something to make her feel that way? Why couldn't she understand his intentions? Namjoo always knew he had a goody good mouth. He'd grown up like that. Why was she treating him so differently?  

No matter how much he thought about it he couldn't understand the person Namjoo had become. There was something about her, that no matter how kind she was to him, she also seemed to want to lock him out of her and Soo Ae's lives.  

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt about it. He paused outside the back door for a few seconds before walking inside. Sehun had expected an empty room to greet him, but immediately halted surprised when he sighted Eun Bi at the table.

"What are you doing?" He questioned. 

"Five hours," Eun Bi glanced at her watch then stood. 

Sehun raised his brow confused. Turning around she smiled sweetly at him. It made him even more confused about what was going on. 

"Nothing," Eun Bi said. "I was just waiting for you. Now that I've seen you, I'm going to sleep. Good night." 

She turned to walk away with Sehun watching her blankly. Frowning to himself he followed and started up the stairs toward his room. ing his shirt he turned to look at the drawings on his wall. For some reason they always calmed him. It made his room feel more homey ever since he'd received them. And he could hear in his head the way Soo Ae first called him "Mistah."  

A smile lifted his gloomy lips up. If it was Soo Ae, she'd be on his side no matter what.  

*****

"Your hair is growing longer," Namjoo commented while brushing her daughter's hair.  

They were in their bedroom after Soo Ae stepped out of the bath with Namjoo on the ground while her daughter sat up on the bed. On the night table was a framed picture of a chubby three-year-old Soo Ae sitting on her lap. It had been the only picture she'd been able to afford and it meant her whole life to her. Never again would she be able to have her daughter at such a cute young age again, but that was probably what it was about growing old together. Namjoo was very happy nonetheless. Being able to watch Soo Ae grow up wasn't just an honor anyone could be given.  

"I want to cut my hair."  

"Why? It's so pretty."  

"I want to look like you. Your hair's pretty mommy."  

Namjoo chuckled and pressed her hand against Soo Ae's tiny head, "You can't play with short hair like you can with long hair. Lets grow your hair some more, huh?"  

"What a disappointment."  

"What are you saying that for?" Namjoo lightly pinched her cheek and kissed her before standing up.  

Setting aside the comb she climbed onto the bed and patted the spot beside her. Soo Ae quickly crawled over to lean against her.  

"I want to always be like this, mommy," Soo Ae said. "We'll always be together, right?"  

"Of course," Namjoo replied running her fingers through Soo Ae's hair. "We're going to grow old together and I'm going to send you off to college. You're going to date someone when the time is right and I'll be right here by your side watching. If your boyfriend ever makes you cry I'll make sure to sock him for you. I'll tell you he's not worthy of you and you can find someone better. Then someday you're going to get married to a handsome young man and have children of your own."

"Just like that?"  

"Just like that." Namjoo smiled.  

"Then mommy, aren't you going to get married too?"  

"Me?"  

"Yes, you."  

Laughing underneath her breath she grabbed Soo Ae's hand, "I don't need anyone as long as I have you. You just need to be happy and I'll be happy too."  

"I'm happy right now, mom."  

"That's good. I'm very happy too."  

*****

Sehun left for work just as early as he always did. Eun Bi had watched him all morning and was flabbergasted by how normally he held himself around his parents. She wanted to laugh so bitterly. If his parents ever found out he was seeing a woman who already had a child, they'd blow up in his face.  

What a shame.

Sehun could have done so much better, but a woman with a child?! How low could he go?! 

The more Eun Bi thought about it, the more in disbelief she was. Sehun was really something, doing what she never thought he'd do. To go after a woman like that...she just couldn't believe it. She wanted to believe that what she had seen was wrong, but she'd seen it! He'd even gone into her house, held that woman's hand! 

Her chest was overflowing with heat and she wanted to scream because she'd lost him to some woman with a child! In what ways could that woman be better than her?! How?!

Chewing her lower lip she later found herself walking down the exact same sidewalk where Sehun had been with that five-year-old girl yesterday. She was curious about this woman. What was it about her that he found charming?

Peering in through the glass door she browsed inside. Fancy mirrors framed with exquisite material hung on the walls every few inches from each other. Little shelves with hair supplies sat underneath with straighteners and hair curlers plugged to the outlets. Since the day was starting it didn't seem quite busy yet, but there were customers currently inside being tended to. Shooting her eyes another round through the salon she recognized the short haired woman with Sehun yesterday washing a customer's hair in the back. 

Biting down on her teeth she pulled the door open on impulse to step in. The smell of hair spray hit her nose before a woman approached her.  

"Hello, what can I do for you today?"  

"I want to trim my hair," Eun Bi replied after looking around.  

"Do you have an appointment?"  

"No."

"Then please come this way."

Eun Bi was led to a seat near a shelf and table decked with magazines. The sound of scissors snipping hair to its death echoed in her ears. Pulling a magazine onto her lap she angled her head to the side to sneak a glance at Namjoo chatting up with the customer. They sounded like they were having fun talking about some commercial on TV. It annoyed her immediately with how Namjoo sounded so cheerful.  

"Miss, please come this way," the woman from before approached her.  

"Can I get my hair washed first?" Eun Bi questioned.  

"Ah...yes, sure." Then turning toward the back called out, "Namjoo, could you please wash this customer's hair after you're done?"

Namjoo...

Eun Bi wouldn't forget that name.

"Yes." Namjoo called back.        

She listened to the running water silence and the customer thank Namjoo before she was called over. Namjoo greeted her kindly before she sat down on the chair. She was lowered back with ease and listened to the warm water run. A slight moment later Namjoo began massaging her scalp. Eun Bi immediately felt relaxation sink down her neck into her body. 

Glancing up into Namjoo's big focused eyes she asked, "This feels good. How long have you been working here?" 

"I started not too long ago," she answered. "Is the water too warm for you?" 

"No, it's just right." Eun Bi replied. "Are you married by any chance?"

Namjoo looked surprised by the question before smiling kindly, "No. Your hair's pretty and long."

"I thought about getting a trim."  

"That sounds nice," Namjoo replied lathering her hair with shampoo. "Today must be your day off from work." 

"No, I'm currently staying at my boyfriend's, but since he's at work I'm bored at home so I wanted to come out." 

"Is that so?" She didn't seem a least bit interested, even her voice sounded it. 

Did she or did she not know that she was staying at Sehun's?  

"Have a good day now," Namjoo said as she grabbed a towel to dampen her hair. 

"You're not going to trim my hair?" Eun Bi asked standing up. 

"I'm just an assistant." 

Eun Bi glanced at the salonist before turning back to Namjoo, "Why don't you do it? I'd like it if you did it." 

Namjoo's eyes slightly widened as she glanced toward her co-worker uncertainly. A few minutes later Eun Bi found herself sitting on a chair facing the mirror with Namjoo behind her, a scissor in hand. 

"You said a trim?" Namjoo questioned. 

"Yes." 

The anxious nervousness in Namjoo's eyes sent joy swarming through her. She was just an assistant and Sehun liked her? What a joke!

She felt Namjoo grab her hair before slowly snipping away. After paying and getting into her car Eun Bi let out a snort. Grabbing her long strands of hair she stared it before shoving it behind her shoulder.

Namjoo wasn't even that great. She was practically a nobody.        

Shouldn't she at least have somebody of the same level to be rivals with? This was embarrassing!

Turning the engine on she returned home in wait of Sehun. Somehow...she'd somehow make him give up Namjoo. 

Like yesterday she waited at the table for him to return from that woman's. Her eyes remained on the clock until the door opened and he stepped in.  

"You're back?" She greeted.  

"Yea." Was all he said.
 
Had he started treating her this way because of Namjoo?

When he started to walk by quietly she lifted her eyes up.

"Don't you notice something about me?" 

Turning around he ran his eyes over her as carelessly as if she were a rug he saw everyday. 

Shaking his head he said, "What is it?"  

Eun Bi wanted to snort, but held it in. "I went to the salon today." 

"That's nice." He sounded as disinterested as Namjoo.  

She hated it.  

"I'm going to go up now. Good night." 

"Aveda," she called out and watched him slowly stop, "is the name of the salon. A woman with short hair trimmed my hair for me."

"That's nice. I'm kind of tired, so I'm going to wash up. You should go rest too."   

Why was he so quick to leave?

He took a step forward, but stopped when she said, "She told me her name. I think it was something like...Namjoo?"  

She watched Sehun quickly spin around to look at her and slowly gripped her hand. Of course, of course he would react to that name.