Two months later

December 2014

Changsun woke up to a ticklish sensation roaming around his face, from his cheeks to his lips to his nose, chin and even his eyelids and forehead.

A low groan escaped his mouth, his nose twitching. A light feminine giggle resonated through his ears, making him squint his eyes before fluttering them open to see his girlfriend with a playful smile across her face. “Good morning handsome~”

Hyemi kissed his lips and was ready to pull away when she felt his hand entangled in her hair from the back of her head, pressing their lips back together. A smile seeped through, another giggle muffled in between, and she soon found herself turning around with her back against her mattress as Changsun laid down on top of her. The lingering kiss turned shorter every time their lips met, their noses brushing lightly against each other. “Good morning to you too, princess~”

“Tsk. How many times did I tell you to stop calling me that?”

“Hmm, everyday for the past two months?” He with a chuckle coming out of his throat. She smiled back as she shook her head before trailing her lips back to his for another sweet kiss. “That damn book has really gotten to you, hasn’t it?”

“And I wonder whose fault is that~”

Before she even had time to answer, he snuggled his nose against the crook of her neck, his hands sliding up and down her waist, tickling her at the same time. A fit of giggles came out of her as she started to squirm under him while trying to pry him off, but being much stronger than her, he caught her wrists and lifted her arms above her head just as he pulled away from her neck.

Her laughter died down as she caught sight of his eyes. A soft smile tugged at the corner of her lips and got caught in another kiss, their fingers interlocking as their fronts pressed further against each other with Changsun lowering himself more on top of her.

After their brunch with Matilda, on the next day from their circus date, Changsun had finally convinced her for their relationship to be official and since then things have been going pretty well. They had their moments of discord here and there but nothing to big to break them apart.

This obviously put the biggest smile on the little girl’s face, unable to hide her happiness from finally having them be together; in her own little world, she was already dreaming of a happily ever after with the picture of a perfect family right at the faint sounds of wedding bells.

She was far ahead into the future while Hyemi was still taking it day by day, not having any sort of plans prepared in this prospect. She thought the same went for Changsun since his last marriage failed, hence he wouldn’t be thinking about it so soon. And he didn’t. He wasn’t going to deny that he had been dreaming of more but he knew to well that they were still too early in their relationship to even talk about this serious step; they haven’t even said ‘I love you’ to each other yet.

One wasn’t ready while the other was impatient for the right moment to present itself and pour out its heart.

“You’re driving me crazy, you know that?” His eyes gazed at her lovingly as he caressed her cheek, his words crawling up inside her heart so warmly. She bit her lower lip into a smile, not able to look away from him as she found herself completely drawn with the familiar tingle in the pit of her stomach reacting and jumping in all the corners.

She teasingly nodded her head at his supposed question, making him laugh lightly. He pulled away and settled back next to her as he placed his arm around her waist and pulled her closer until their foreheads touched and their breaths mingled. She was staring down at his chest, her fingers dancing across his skin while he stared at her, always in awe at how beautiful she looked to him; never could he get enough of it.

She had struck a cord that he never knew existed, as it vibrated through the living cells of his being and resonated through his heart. She was bringing something good out of him and he wanted to shout out to the world just how it made him feel, on how she made him feel.

He was completely falling in love with her.

He was already far ahead while she was taking baby steps, unconsciously creating distance between them.

“Do you have to work today?”

“Mhmm, there’s a meeting about possibly expending the company in some other fields and there’s also going to be some investors and other business people present from different countries.”

She nodded her head in understanding, without stopping her random drabbles on his collarbone. “Is it after or before lunch?”

“Before and it might take that long… Do you want me to let you know when I’m done so we can go eat together?”

His proposition made her look up at him and timidly nodded her head. “Only if you can.”

“It’s a date then~”

“Mom? What are you looking at?”

“O-oh, nothing sweetie-”

“Is that Daddy with Hyemi? Mom! Can we go say hi? Please?”

Across the street, both Minyoung and Matilda spotted the couple having lunch inside a restaurant, looking at them through the glass window in which their table was at.

Something inside the mother’s heart was on the verge of snapping, creating an uncomfortable sensation to creep up. Was it about finding her ex-husband smiling at another woman or the excitement sparkling in her daughter’s eyes at the mere sight of that same stranger?

Before she even realized it, Matilda pulled her mother’s hand as they both crossed the street towards the restaurant. It was too late when Minyoung realized that the little girl had let go of her grasp, calling out to her father and his new girlfriend.

All she did was to stand by the entrance, quietly, and watched the lively interaction with a thud resonating inside her heart, her hands turning into fists inside the pockets of her winter coat while bitterly observing Hyemi and Matilda until her eyes landed on the look Changsun was giving them.

She knew that look too well because he used to gaze at her the exact same way.

She shook her head out of her thoughts, and smiled gently when Matilda ran back to her mother.

“Mom, can I stay with Hyemi today? She’s going to bring me ice skating! Can I go? Please?”

Shock coursed through her veins, her eyes slightly wider as her voice left , speechless at the suddenness of her daughter’s request. They were supposed to have a mother-daughter’s day and just like that, it was being shattered in front of her, breaking her heart even more. She tried to form words on the tip of her tongue and ended up stumbling her way through her answer, tightening her fists deeper into her palm to distract herself from tearing up.

“H-hmm, y-yea, sure. Hmm, ye-yea, okay…”

“Thank you!” A hug from the daughter to her mother, Matilda quickly ran back to the couple, taking a seat after having pulled out a chair to sit in between them. Minyoung gave them one last look before turning her back and walking out, marching her way to her car, the tears finally staining her cheeks one by one.

She felt like her little girl, the person she loved the most in the world, was being snatched away from her and it was tearing her apart. She knew that things changed after she got remarried and she was hoping to rekindle the close relationship they used to have before she had met her new husband; she was hoping that her only daughter wouldn’t resent her for not being able to be a proper family with the father and especially after what happened between Minyoung and Hyemi, the strained relationship was even more fragile.

Once she climbed inside her car, she picked up her phone and dialed the number of the only person that had caught another piece of her heart.

“Hey Love, how are things going with Matilda?”

“H-hey… Hmm, things went fine. She’s with Changsun and Hyemi right now. We ran into them and she w-wanted to hmm, stay.”

“Oh… Do you want me to leave work early? Do you want to meet up?”

“No, i-it’s okay… I just- I just wanted to hear your voice…”

“Just tell me you need me and I’ll be there for you Min.”

“I know and I love you for that…”

“Do you need me?”

She muffled her sobs with her free hand covering , her eyes shut close as the tears kept rolling down. She nodded her head even though she knew that he couldn’t see her, but the sigh he let out on the other end of the line was enough for him to know that she needed him; he knew how hard it was for her to be able to stay connected with her child and it always pained him to see that things got more difficult because of her ex-husband.

“Y-yes, I do…”

“Go home. I’ll meet you there, okay?”

“Mhmm.” She was about to hang up when he called her out. “Yes?”

“I love you.”

She lightly chuckled at his abrupt confession and smiled through her tears. “I love you too.”

With Changsun back at the office, Hyemi and Matilda spent the rest of the afternoon together, and by the end of the day, the little girl was pretty much left exhausted thanks to how hyped up she was to spend some more time with the person she quickly grew fond of.

Ending their evening, Hyemi brought Matilda back to her father’s office just in time as he finished up his work load for today. She let them be since she had her night classes at her university while Changsun brought his daughter back to her mother’s, unaware about the breakdown she had earlier.

Once she was back, Minyoung prepared dinner for Matilda and joined her, trying to get the girl to talk about her afternoon, curious even though a part of her dreaded the bright expression at simply hearing the name of the stranger; she doesn’t remember her own daughter looking at her mother with that same sparkle of excitement.

“So, tell me; how was your day sweetie? D-did you have fun?”

Despite being tired, Matilda happily answered back to her mother, starting off with how she spent her time with Hyemi from the moment they left the restaurant to the moment she was dropped off at her father’s, even spoiling her with small details that weren’t even that pertinent.

Minyoung was getting more envious about the other woman and that sentiment was getting the best of her. She felt like she had to compete with the affection of her own flesh and blood and it was irritating her to no end.

She wanted to divert that fondness that Matilda was feeling. She wanted to find a way to put the girl on guard about Hyemi because she simply couldn’t take the idea of being replaced so easily.

“Sweetie…”

“Mom?”

“I know you like Hyemi very much but… I still think you should be careful when you’re with her, okay?” Minyoung took hold of her daughter’s hand in between her own, gently caressing her skin. The little girl looked back at her mother, clearly confused about the sudden warning she was hearing. “Hyemi is a good person. Daddy loves her-”

“I know but it doesn’t mean that she loves him back. It’s only been two months honey. You still don’t know her very well. Don’t you think that things have been moving to fast between them?”

“N-no… Things went fast between you and Doojoon too.”

“It’s different because I knew him since I was young, even before I married your father. While Hyemi and your father haven’t even known each other for that long-”

“But she’s a good person!”

Minyoung let out a sigh, knowing that she was going to regret what she was going to say sooner or later. “Maybe she is to you because you are still a child but… how about your father?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I’m just saying not to trust her so easily… She could be lying to you and even to him just to get on your good side-”

“Are you saying that… she doesn’t really love me?”

Minyoung couldn’t take the broken look in her daughter’s eyes. It was hurting her as much as lying to her face. She didn’t voice out an answer, letting Matilda come to her own conclusion. All she did was to mumble an apology as she got up and placed a kiss on the top of Matilda’s head, and caressed her hair before walking away, every step becoming heavier.

As for the little girl, she had lost her appetite.

She couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of her friend being a liar and thinking that she was being used was breaking her heart. She bit onto her bottom lip to stifle her urge to cry, her eyes staring down at her lap while her fingers were fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

She left the kitchen for her bedroom, closed the door behind and went to hide under the covers of her bed, holding onto the book she has been gifted with. She eventually fell asleep with her mother’s words echoing in the back of her mind, bringing her to have an uncomfortable slumber through the night.

The next couple of days were pretty much quiet; Matilda barely left the house, let alone her room, while Minyoung spent her week off trying to cheer her up with anything that came out of her mind, wanting to distract her until Matilda had to eventually go back to her father’s; once it was time and she had dropped her off, Minyoung took this chance to have a moment with Changsun, giving him the same warning she did to their daughter, leaving the man confused.

“What are you talking about Minyoung-ah?”

“Look, you barely know the woman. All I’m saying is that you should still be careful-”

“I know you don’t like her but aren’t you going a little bit to far?”

“No. I’m just being careful. I don’t want a stranger befriending my daughter. Did you ever think that Hyemi could be using her to get to you? Did you ever think that those two months are just a lie? I mean you’ve been spoiling her so much that maybe she grew comfortable of that money you spend on her and she’s only staying for that.”

“Stop it. You’re not making any sense.”

“Think whatever you want Changsun. Just… Just be careful, especially with Matilda around.”

Without letting him answer, she walked away, leaving the man to stare at his ex-wife from the entrance of his apartment. Shaking his thoughts back to reality, he went back inside, moving aside the conversation that just happened despite of how insistent her voice was echoing inside his brain.

“Mrs. Lee? Can I help you with something?”

The sudden presence of Matilda’s mother at the library took Hyemi completely by surprised. The first thing that had popped in her mind was about if anything had happened to either the little girl or her father; those thoughts were quickly dismissed by the look Minyoung was giving the other woman, her body shivering at the glare.

“I’m just here to tell you to stay away from Matilda. You aren’t a good influence and I want you to stop seeing her.”

“W-what?” Baffled by her words, Hyemi was left speechless in front of her boyfriend’s ex-wife. She knew that Minyoung wasn’t fond of her daughter’s new friend – the slap across the face proved it – but she never really thought that it would’ve gone as far as forbidding Hyemi to ever see the little girl again. “You can’t tell me that. And either way, it would be kind of impossible since I’m dating your ex-husband, who also happens to be the father of your child.”

“And this is where I stop you. Since you into their lives, you’ve been distracting both of them. Changsun is paying less attention to his job, which can be deadly for his company, and Matilda has been missing school more than she is allowed too. Both problems are related to you-”

“Is this some kind of threat you’re giving me?”

“I’m not threatening you Miss Park, I just want you to realize how much of a negative impact you’ve caused in their lives.”

“Explain it to me then because I don’t see what I have to do with that.”

“Rumor has it that Changsun might lose his position as CEO if he keeps up with his new habit. I got a call from school saying that Matilda missed more classes than the average amount that rules allow, which could lead to possible expulsion. You do know where I’m going with this, right?”

Hyemi was still left without a voice in to answer back at the woman that was standing in front of her. She could barely think of a simple reply as all of her thoughts were scrambled up, leading her to how things have been slowly changing since she first met Matilda. She knew that Changsun was making his best of efforts to lay back at work but she never thought that it would have affected his career nor did she think much of the little girl’s scholar, too preoccupied into enjoying her company.

Minyoung looked back at Hyemi knowing that the young girl was having an internal battle with herself; despite the jealousy she was feeling, she still hated herself for being the cause of ruining Changsun’s happiness knowing that the woman in front of her was the cause of his good change. The lies she spoke about were leaving an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach; she cast that sentiment aside and spoke to the girl one last time before walking away.

“If you truly care about the two of them, you know what to do.”

And just like that, Minyoung’s ‘warning’ created a sudden rift between Hyemi and Changsun, which also caused to strain her relationship with his daughter.

Changsun couldn’t understand what had suddenly happened while Matilda had her mother’s words echo in the back of her mind, her fear growing bigger every time. Endless excuses came from Hyemi telling the man that she was getting busier and barely had any free time left; she wanted to make their distance gradual and not all so sudden.

But with his ex-wife’s last words replaying over and over again, she never thought that it had to come to this.

“Hyemi? Are you trying to avoid me? Did I do something wrong?”

“What? N-no! Of course not.”

“Then why are you pushing yourself away? You barely call me anymore and you don’t even reply to my messages.”

“I’ve just been busy-”

“It’s more than that, come on. Please. Tell me what has been bothering you.”

One look at his shocked face and her heart was breaking into pieces; the words had slipped her tongue and it was tearing her apart.

“I’m sorry but… I think it’s best if we just… stop seeing each other.”