Soo Ae immediately clung onto Sehun's hand before looking up at her, "Can Uncle Sehun come with us? Please?" 

"Tao Tao's going home this weekend, so he wants to play with you a for a little while." Namjoo said. 

"Uncle Sehun's having a bad day, can you make some food to make him feel better?" Soo Ae asked so innocently Namjoo could feel her heart swooning. "I'll go play and come back quickly." 

"Soo Ae," Namjoo called again with tension in her tone. 

"Please," Soo Ae begged again and grabbed her hand. 

"It's not a problem," Tao broke in and leaned in toward Soo Ae, "if your Uncle Sehun doesn't mind, he can come play too." 

Brightening up, Soo Ae stared at Sehun, "Yes! Come play with us!" 

Namjoo had partially hoped it would be just the three of them, but like usual Soo Ae won. Sehun ended up tagging along. When they first arrived at the mall Soo Ae dragged Sehun around before Tao led her into a children's toy store. Large stuffed animals greeted them on shelves alongside huge trucks, toy sets, soldiers, game boards, dolls, and all the toys a little child would dream of. 

Namjoo felt her eyes spin over all the toys pretty to the eyes. Young children and older children were gathered in the shop all immersed in their own interests. Their shouts, chatters, and pleads for their parents to buy them their toys of desire were suffocating music to her ears.

From ahead she saw Tao taking a doll from a top shelf to present to Soo Ae and watched her grin ecstatic. The store was just merely a toy store to adults, but a dream giver to children. The pleasure glinting in Soo Ae's eyes were all that Namjoo needed to see. She was happy to be walking into this dream. Nothing could explain the warmth bleeding through Namjoo's whole as Soo Ae's eyes widened over every exquisite thing in the store. 

Of course her child would have yearned for what other children had. It was natural after all, to envy. Today was Soo Ae's day and Namjoo wouldn't ruin it. 

Deciding to leave them alone she walked outside to sit down on a bench and wait for them to finish. Leaning forward she massaged her feet sore from standing all day. She turned when someone sat next to her and saw Sehun. Discontinuing the massage she straightened up and watched other shoppers walk about with bags hanging off their arms. 

For a while neither of them spoke. 

Finally turning Namjoo asked, "Is something bothering you?"

Sehun turned to her looking surprised. 

"Soo Ae said it," Namjoo reminded. 

"It's nothing."

They returned to being silent. A pop song started playing overhead and Namjoo could hear some girls walking by talking about a handsome cashier they'd come across. Their giggles noted their young age and for some reason Namjoo felt like laughing with them.

"I thought about the police station; how we were dragged there by the cops that night," Sehun started. 

Shooting him a glance out of the corner of her eye she wondered why her sore feet felt even sorer. She remembered that night well. It was as vivid in her head as day and night. Sehun's parents had walked into the station, his mother outraged. She scolded him first before turning to yell at her. The tone of her voice was tremendously powerful that Namjoo couldn't even find a gap in the wavelengths of the pounding sounds to retort. In the end, Sehun was dragged out by his father and she was left waiting for the mother who never came for her. 

"I promised my mom to break up with you that night," Sehun spoke on, "but I didn't do it until a month later." 

"Who thinks of things like that nowadays," Namjoo muttered. 

"I want to be young again," Sehun noted. "I had more freedom then than I do now." 

Freedom...it was always about freedom for Sehun. He always wanted to escape the clutches of his parents' claws. 

Even now he still hasn't found it?

*****

"Come eat, darling," Sehun's mother called for her. 

Turning away from the window that gave her a view of the backyard she walked over to the table. 

"Sit down," she patted the chair beside her. "Are you waiting for Sehun?" 

"Do you always let him do his own thing outside all the time?" Eun Bi questioned. 

"He'll come home after he's done with business." 

"You really don't care what he does outside?" She pushed on. 

"Let him play all he wants. When he settles down, he'll settle down," his father explained. "We've already locked him in too long. He should know what's good and what's not."

"But father," Eun Bi went on, "aren't you curious about what kind of so-called-business he does after work? What if he's not even doing business, but seeing some woman?"

"Eun Bi," his mother called. "It's all right. Sehun is old enough to know he shouldn't do that stuff. He has you." 

"What if he doesn't like me?" Eun Bi went on. "What are you going to do?" 

"Come on," his mother chided. "That won't happen. Your father and I already promised that only you would be our daughter-in-law. Your parents know it too." 

Patting her back she went on, "Now eat. Don't worry about a thing." 

If they knew...if only they knew!

*****

Though Sehun hadn't intended for his day to be like this, it was already too late. He was alone at the table with Tao at last. Namjoo had just left to keep an eye on Soo Ae at the children's playground inside the restaurant. The last thing he thought he'd be doing was finishing up his meal with this man. 

Being a fourth-wheeler wasn't the best experience, even though Soo Ae continuously kept turning her attention on him. Namjoo had stopped speaking to him the second Tao walked out of the toy store with Soo Ae. From behind, all he heard them speaking about was how abundant his mother's harvest was and how Namjoo wanted tips on gardening. Tao and his mother were bound to make some good money this year. 

Sehun honestly had no impression of this particular man, but he felt as if he was there for all their attention.                                 

"Why is it that you seem awkward in front of me?" Tao straightforwardly questioned. 

Sehun glanced at him and subconsciously gripped onto his fork, "I'm not." 

Tao slightly laughed, "You've been avoiding me." 

"It's just because I don't know you," Sehun excused. "I'm not good with people I don't know."  

Deciding to let the excuse pass Tao nodded, "I can see that Soo Ae likes you a lot. You must have been looking over them well." 

"Just doing what I can." 

Nodding again he went on, "I'm usually a direct person, so don't take any offense with the things I say, it's just how I am. When Namjoo came to Muju she had nothing with her but a seven-month-old baby wrapped in a dull blanket, some clothes and baby formula. I helped look after Soo Ae because Namjoo was in need and labored almost twenty-four-seven. In villages like that almost everyone sees everyone daily, even if you don't know everyone well. Sometimes there were rumors about Namjoo and sometimes there weren't, but it all passed. I grew up without a father, so I really detest it when single parents are talked about so oddly, so I did all I could because she had no one else, but I'm curious. Are you helping them because you expect something in return?" 

"Do I look like I'm after something?" Sehun wondered honestly. 

Why was he saying something even Namjoo had? Was that what he looked like in front of others? Like he was going after them because he wanted something in return? 

"Well you're a man," Tao pointed out. "Namjoo's a woman with a little kid."

"What about it?"

"You don't, by any chance, have feelings left?" 

Sehun found himself snorting. The fling with Namjoo had been so long ago. 

"Ok," Tao nodded, "if that's what you answer. But I want to know why you're remaining close to them. You don't just do anything without reasoning." 

Grabbing a napkin to rub his oily hands against the smooth dry surface he bit his lower lip. Were reasons always so important?

"I," Sehun started, "just like Soo Ae. Do you really have to ask?" 

Tao smiled softly, but it kind of made him look mischievous, like a criminal. 

Looking around carefully to see that they were surrounded by other customers busy with their food and making orders, Tao leaned forward. Sehun seemed to plant his eyes into Tao's the whole way. The man looked intriguing. 

"Is Soo Ae your child?" His voice was quiet above a whisper. 

Sehun's eyes widened before he immediately frowned in shock at the question. The clicking of forks against the heavy ceramic white plates became louder around him, the customers' voices all becoming ricocheting echoes bouncing off the walls. 

One mere question had stunned all of Sehun's senses. He would have expected Tao to be curious about everything else, but this?

Through all the silence like a white misty fog, Tao trained his eyes on him without blinking. It was intimidating, disturbing.

Blankly staring at the leftover celery and fries on his plate he stammered, "No." 

Without anything said, Tao leaned back and stared at him as if trying to calculate him out. 

"Hello!" Soo Ae shouted running up to the table slamming her hands against the top. "What are you talking about?" 

"Should we go?" Namjoo walked up behind Soo Ae. "It's getting late. I want Soo Ae to take a bath and rest." 

"Should we?" Tao asked standing up. "Guess we've been here long enough. I should go back and pack too."

"When do you leave?" Namjoo asked.   

"Five in the morning."

"You should get going then." 

"I want to drop you two off first." 

"Never mind us," Namjoo urged, "go ahead. We can get back just fine." 

"All right then," Tao gave in and cupped Soo Ae's face, "be a good girl. Tao Tao will be back soon." 

Patting Namjoo's arm he said, "Don't work too hard," then turning to Sehun, "it was nice seeing you again today." 

Sehun stared up at Tao, wondering what kind of role he played in their lives. Although he was good to Namjoo and Soo Ae he hadn't been particularly warm to him. That made Sehun stand on edge warily. 

Tao had just earned minus points from him. 

The roads were now dark, the sky sprinkled with silver stars. Every road light alternating between shadows then light over them were somehow calming as they headed back. Soo Ae was sitting in the back playing with the large stuffed animal Tao had gifted her and like always, Namjoo was seated quietly beside him. 

"That Tao," Sehun began, "are you sure he's going to marry his fiancée?"

Namjoo turned to look at him, "Why? You interested in him?"

Snorting he said, "As if." 

"Then why are you curious?" 

"It's nothing." 

Namjoo kept her eyes trained on him for a few seconds before turning away. They went quiet again until they pulled up in front of the apartment building. 

Before they got out he reminded, "Remember to wear something pretty this weekend, Soo Ae." 

"I will!" Soo Ae replied as she hopped off his car and turned to wave. "Good night, Uncle Se-Se! I had so much fun today!" 

"Me too." He waved at her and smiled before turning to look at Namjoo. 

"Get back safe," was all she offered before closing the door and walked inside hand in hand with Soo Ae.

His evening came to a close when he sighted Eun Bi standing in front of the back door the exact same way he saw her a few days ago. Her arms were crossed and she looked impatient, but said nothing as he approached. 

"Why aren't you inside?" Sehun started. 

Raising her eyes to meet his with a glare she turned around to open the door and stomped inside. What was with her? 

*****

That morning Eun Bi listened as Sehun opened and closed his drawers, step around his room then enter the bathroom to style up for the day - whatever it was he was up to. It was a Saturday and Eun Bi didn't have to think very hard to know where it was he was headed. 

He wasn't going to Chanyeol's or outside to relax. He wasn't going to go to the park and fish or lay around and sleep in the open. A warm cup of coffee wouldn't be waiting for him at his usual café and he wasn't going to go play with the dogs at the playground in the mall. 

No, he wasn't going to his usuals. He wasn't going to ask her out either. Sehun had long stopped asking for her after graduating high school. Everything else had become his best excuse to avoid her. 

Eun Bi had been hurt at first, wondering why he was doing it then she eventually figured it was just because he needed some air. They've been together ever since they were young children, but that didn't seem to be the case. In the long run, Sehun never even talked to her unless she initiated conversation first. After a while she finally got the hint that he had drifted and now it was her turn to interest him. Sehun, after all, was first to confess to her and she wasn't about to let the confession go to waste. 

He liked her, he'd just forgotten and she didn't want to lose him. Even if others said it was childish, she believed it when he said he'd marry her. Sehun had to take responsibility for planting hope in her. Even if others said she was crazy and impulsive she didn't care. She loved Sehun and she knew that deep in her heart she'd never love anyone the same way. Only he would be hers and she his. 

Sehun spoke to her so much less now. He used to share so much with her about his days, his friends, and his teachers, even his parents. 

It hurt. 

When he'd let her know him so well, enter his life intimately, how could she just let him walk away as if she'd never mattered? 

It wasn't fair to hurt her, sway her, then proclaim his feelings had changed. It didn't work that way, it just didn't. 

They...had known each other for so long. Sehun, she knew, was always aware of how much she liked him. He had to keep his promise to marry her. 

Yet, her heart sunk a little when he walked past her bedroom and down the stairs. The weight of his steps quickly furthering from her saddened her with how quickly he wanted to leave the house.

After breakfast Eun Bi first peered out the big square window in the living room viewing the front yard where she and Sehun used to sit together. She hated how she seemed to be the only one who remembered everything about them. 

Finally veering away from the sight she started toward the small office underneath the staircase. Sehun's father kept his business books in the shelves that had always been there even before they moved in. It was where he quietly studied and did work he brought back from the office. Since young they'd been forbidden from entering and playing in that important room as important as a museum. Now when Eun Bi looked in, it wasn't even that much of a special office. There was just a small desk, an old chair, and those boring shelves with boring textbooks. 

That morning after breakfast Sehun's mother had gone in to organize some papers after his father had left to play golf with some friends. His mother always took her side, listened to her, and treated her as one of theirs. It wasn't to say that Sehun's father didn't treat her well, because he did, he just wasn't into dealing with marriage plans for his son. If someone was to listen to her, she decided, it would first be his mother. 

"Ah...Eun Bi," his mother looked up from the papers she was neatly stacking onto the corner of the desk, "why are you still in? I thought you would have gone out to meet with your friends." 

Smiling by the doorway she asked, "I didn't want to leave you alone in the house." 

A motherly smile was returned, "Don't worry about me. Have some fun, will you? I have boring stuff to clean up in here, so you can get along."

Eun Bi waited in silence before saying, "Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something." 

His mother raised her brows surprised. 

"It's about Sehun," Eun Bi began, "I'm worried about him." 

Letting go of the papers suddenly worried she asked, "What about Sehun?"

*****

"I want my hair down!" Soo Ae fussed that morning. 

Namjoo was trying to tie her hair up into pigtails, but Soo Ae wasn't cooperating. They'd taken an hour looking for something nice to wear, but Soo Ae hadn't agreed on anything Namjoo had decided on. 

All this prettiness Sehun had requested for was getting on her nerves. She didn't want Soo Ae going on rides and having her skirt riding up to her waist or her headbands flying off. She wanted Soo Ae to dress up in shorts, but her daughter had complained about the length of them and refused to put them on. Jeans and pants would suffocate her on such a hot day so Namjoo had excluded them. She finally found some long shorts she'd brought with them from Muju and a pretty shirt with flowers before Soo Ae stopped her fit. Now they were trying to get her hair in place. 

"It's going to fly into your face when you ride those things," Namjoo pointed out, "they'll stick in your eyes and go in your mouth. Lets tie them up, ok?" 

"No pigtails!" Soo Ae stomped her feet irritated. "I don't like them." 

Heaving a sigh, Namjoo peered at the clock. Sehun would arrive shortly and she had yet to get dressed. When would they ever get done? 

"Ok, all right," Namjoo gave in, "lets just tie it back then." 

"No!" Soo Ae shook her shoulders in refusal. "You aren't tying your hair back, I don't want to tie mine either!"

"Soo Ae," Namjoo put depth to her voice and watched her daughter become quiet with a pout. "Turn around." 

Turning around obediently with her arms stiff at her sides, Namjoo could tell that her daughter was obviously fuming. It made her feel guilty because today was her birthday. 

"Mommy just doesn't want you to get hurt," Namjoo explained working her hands around Soo Ae's soft hair. "Besides, today you're the one who's going to have fun. Don't be angry, hmm?" 

After fixing the hair tie around her hair Namjoo wrapped her arms around her daughter, placing her chin upon that small shoulder and glanced into Soo Ae's face. There was a straight line daring to grow up into a grin and Namjoo placed a kiss on her cheek. 

The doorbell rang and Namjoo turned before letting go of her daughter. 

"Go get the door, I have to go get dressed," Namjoo directed before standing. 

She watched Soo Ae run off to open the door and heard her greet Sehun excitedly before entering her room to change. They were out and in Sehun's car just a few minutes later finally on their way to the amusement park. 

"Is it big?" Soo Ae asked from the backseat. 

"It's big, you're going to so amazed!" Sehun replied excitedly. 

A big, young smile grew on her face, "Really?! Are the rides really scary?" 

"Yea, they're scary, so scary you might even cry." 

Soo Ae giggled, "I won't cry. I'm a big girl now." 

Namjoo listened to Sehun laugh, "You certainly are big." 

"Did you and mommy ever go to the amusement park together?" Soo Ae curiously wondered. "Did you go on the big rides and cry?" 

Namjoo discovered herself turning to glance at Sehun and found him shooting her a glance as well. 

"No," turning away she told, "we never went there together." 

"Why?" Soo Ae asked. "Do people not date at the park?" 

This time Sehun laughed, "No. The park just wasn't fun enough for us." 

Turning to Namjoo he pressed, "Right, mom?" 

Namjoo shot a frown at him then turned her attention to Soo Ae, "Don't worry about us, Soo Ae." 

"But you're going there together today." Soo Ae giggled. 

Namjoo felt like rolling her eyes, but decided not to give a comment in order not to receive another tease. The amusement park, like everyday of the week, was populated with people of all ages. The ground trembled over the vibration of the rides as they walked by. Every time they passed they were accompanied by the echo of screams of thrill shooting up and down into the air. Scent of foods from the nearby stalls everywhere shot up her nostrils. From beside her, Sehun gripped onto Soo Ae's hand in order not to lose her in the crowd while chatting her up. If they begged for the big rides, Namjoo wouldn’t allow it. 

"Look!" Soo Ae pointed toward a little gift stall. "I want a headband!" 

Pulling Sehun after her excitedly to overlook the items on sale Namjoo quietly followed. There were headbands with large sparkly bows, shirts, caps, shoes, keychains, and little stuffed animals - none of which interested a dull adult like her, but Sehun interstingly browsed through them with Soo Ae. 

"Uncle Se-Se can have this and I'll take this!" Soo Ae's happy voice entered in and out Namjooo's ears. 

A smile grew on her face with how they were enjoying themselves. It was, she admitted, a sweet picture. 

Her eyes opened a little when Sehun handed her a Minnie Mouse headband with a large red bow on top. A sorcerer Mickey Mouse headband sat on his head, she noticed, and Soo Ae had a polka dotted headband on hers.  

"Wear it." He directed.  

"You two have fun," Namjoo said. She wasn't about to join them and create a headband crew.  

"Come on, mommy!" Soo Ae urged from the side and Namjoo glanced at her with an expression of refusal.

At first she shook her head, but Sehun quickly stepped forward and slipped it onto her. He did it so quickly that Namjoo felt a wind brush her from his movement and caught the scent of his light cologne sweeping her nostrils. 

Sehun, as she remembered, never wore such before. 

The sound of Soo Ae's happy giggle quickly faded from her ears when she stared up into his eyes.

***And when Tao returns, boom! Everything's different xDD