~Sarang

What was he doing here?  He didn’t know I was going to get here yet.  Did HakYeon-Oppa tell him?  Aish, that man.  Didn’t I tell him I would meet with TaekWoon later?  Why couldn’t I have some peace of mind?  I wasn’t ready to meet him yet, but it seems that the triplets recognized him and were more than ready to meet their father.  Their excitement made me consider punishing Oppa at a later day, I’ll let him relax for a bit before getting my revenge on him.  That blabbermouth.

It was strange, Ray and Tuli had been too excited to see the beach that they paid no attention to their surroundings or the people around them, even though they are the ones who are always curious about everything.  However, my youngest was the one who approached him first.  Mati is the shyest of the three, Ray being the most outgoing.

While running after his brother and sister, he noticed a lone man crying and smiling at the same time sitting down by the beach.  Even though I had already recognized him, I refused to acknowledge him yet.  But as soon as Mati and him met eyes, Mati recognized his father immediately and dashed off towards TaekWoon instead of following his older brother and sister.

I don’t know who was more surprised, TaekWoon, Ray and Tuli, or me.  There was no way that Mati would go off on his own, he wasn’t comfortable with strangers and preferred to stick with his siblings or with me.

I could see TaekWoon restraining himself from jumping and running towards Mati as well.  He was sitting anxiously at the edge of his seat, waiting for Mati to stop in front of him.

~TaekWoon

Ah!  One of the triplets recognized me!  It had to be that!  Why else would he be running this way?  I couldn’t see his face but, if I guessed right from the color of the cap, it was my maknae, Mati.  I didn’t know if I should go and run towards him or if I should wait for him so that I wouldn’t scare him.  I forgot how to breathe once Mati stood in front of me, his little hands extending to touch my knees, then taking them back and clasping them to his chest out of embarrassment.

“A…. Appa?”

“Yes, Mati, yes!  It’s Appa!”  I pick him up and stand up to swing him around before I hold him close to me and kiss the top of his head.

He pulls away and touches my cheeks with his soft, tiny hands.  Mati smiles at me and leans in to peck my lips.

“Appa?  Why cry?”

I hadn’t realized that I had started crying once I had seen them running to the beach.  This was also when I realized that Ray and Tuli had joined us and were pulling at my pants, looking up with shining eyes.

“Appa, uljima,” the other two start chanting.

This only makes me cry more.  Finally, after more than 2 years without seeing my children, I can hold them, speak to them face-to-face, and tell them that I love them.

“Appa is crying because he’s so happy to see you three,”  I tell them as I kneel down to their height.  “Appa missed you so *kiss* so *kiss* so *kiss* much,” I kiss each of them.

I hold them tight against me and tell them, “I love you three more than anything in the world.”

"Mami!  Look!  Appa!" Ray screams and points towards TaekWoon.  "Appa is here!"

He looks up from his children to look at their mother, the woman who has given him the most important and greatest gift of his life.  He gives her a smile, warm and welcoming.  And as she returns his greeting in the form of a nod of her head, he wipes a tear rolling down his cheek.

The triplets are extremely excited to hug their Appa.  They start jumping around him, asking if he could pick them up and swing them like he had done to Mati.

"Mami say right!  Mami say Appa very very strong.  Appa uppie Mati!"  Tuli starts rambling, swinging her arms around.  "Appa uppie Tuli, please?" she asks quietly, looking at him like she is not sure if she is allowed to ask this of her father.

"Of course, My Princess.  Come here, Tuli," TaekWoon takes her gently and kisses her before swinging her around.

Giggles erupt from her tiny lips and more excited laughter join as Mati and Ray scream in awe of their father.

"Appa!  Appa!  Ray turn, Ray turn.  Uppie, please!" the oldest of the triplets stretches his arms out to also be picked up.

"Ok, Ray is next."

As TaekWoon swings Ray around, Ray starts screaming at his mother.

"Mami!  Mami!  Look!  Ray fly!  Ray is superhero!  Ray is BatMan!"

Sarang bursts out laughing.

"Baby, BatMan can't fly.  You are SuperMan!"

"No!  Tia say Ray is BatMan!!"

"Fine, you can be BatMan."

Once all the triplets have gotten a chance to be swung around, they go near the table where their father had been sitting.

He picks them up and one by one he places them on a chair.

"You know that Appa loves you, right?" he asks the children.

"Ne!  Mami say Appa love Ray and Tuli and Mati very very much and Ray love Appa and Tuli love Appa and Mati love Appa." Tuli smiled brightly at TaekWoon.

"Good, because Ray, Tuli, and Mati are the most important love in the world."

"Appa love Kittens, Appa love Appa eomma?" Tuli asks.

"Appa loves eomma, but Appa loves his Kittens more ."

"Oh!  Appa love Kittens, Appa love food?" asks Mati.

"Kittens!"

"Love Kittens, love Mami?" asks Ray.

At this question, he stops and he's grateful that Sarang has gone to find a waiter to take thier orders and did not hear this question,

"Appa?  Who love?"

Although he wants to say that he loves both, how would she feel about that?

"Kittens."

"I'm back, My Kittens~" Sarang says, coming towards them.

At this, Ray jumps off his chair and runs towards her.

"Mami, picture Appa and Kittens, please?"

Once he sees that his mother is taking out the camera, he rushes back to his father and siblings.  Telling them that they are taking a picture, the children soon pull TaekWoon to his knees so that they can stand with him.  He extends his arms and envelops them, hands resting on Ray's and Mati's shoulders as Tuli perches herself on his knee with her arms around his neck.

Sarang smiles gently and takes the picture.  The first picture with their father after so long.  Checking to see that the picture came out good, she looks back at them and her eyes widen when she meets gazes with TaekWoon's rare gentle eyes.  As she looks at the picture once more, her heart skips a beat.

9/2/15