The moment Matilda had appeared, Hyemi took this chance to escape from Changsun as she rushed her steps to the exit of the back room, leaving the father alone with his little girl.

The sudden bolt startled him and eventually shook off the feeling when his eyes met the young girl as she looked back at him with an amused scowl on her face.

“Daddy~ were you kissing Hyemi by any chance?”

“W-wh-at if I wa-was?”

Matilda giggled happily at the flushed face plastered on her father and skipped away leaving him alone in the room. He finally let out the air that was stuck inside his lungs, the tingling sensation still faintly dancing on his lips. It made him smile as he shook his head, still trying to wrap the earlier scene around his head as if it had actually happened.

“Daddy! Hurry up!”

The voice of his daughter snapped him out of his thoughts. He joined her back to the front of the library while looking for Hyemi, who seemed to have disappeared. “She’s in the restroom if you want to wait for her.”

“H-huh?” Turning his head to the little girl, he looked down in a slight daze. “Hyemi. She’s in the ladies’ room…”

“O-oh, no, it’s okay. Let’s just go home.”

Meanwhile, the moment she had ran out of the room, Hyemi had rushed straight to the restroom, feeling like she needed a good splash of cold water on her face to erase the heat that was traveling through her.

She took several deep breaths, in and out of , her eyes closed as she tried to put back her thoughts into place.

The kiss in itself blew her away, catching her completely off guard at the way it made her limbs go weak. Her heart was still beating in an uneven pace at the mere thought of the scene and how things quickly blew up between them; she wasn’t denying that it created butterflies in the pit of her stomach but she didn’t want to easily give in just because of a kiss.

They weren’t living in a fairy tale after all. Reality was more complicated than that.

As bad as she wanted to give him a second chance, she refrained herself to do so. She didn’t want to hope that he’ll change just like he says he is doing and be disappointed in the end.

She couldn’t take another heartache.

Shaking off the lump in , she stood back up properly looking back at herself in the mirror. She quickly fixed herself up and stepped out as she made her way towards the counter by the main entrance. Noticing that the place was quiet, she took a quick look around and noticed that both of them were gone; a sigh of relief escaped, glad to see that she didn’t have to face him for the time being, though it didn’t stop her from having the kiss haunt her mind for the rest of the evening; every second made her heart jump and her body warm.

She her lips so many times to catch the tingle he left, but the more she did, the faster it was disappearing leaving her back with just the taste of her own lips.

She let out a sigh and tried to get her mind back to work, but it was easier said than done; she’s going to be having the longest evening yet.

The hours of the next morning passed by until it was close for brunch, with Hyemi already off towards the publication office for her internship.

Things have been going really well and she was very much enjoying the environment; getting to work was always the best part of her day.

Just as she was about to reach the entrance of her building, she stopped in her tracks when she recognized the small figure of Matilda, waiting by the steps, as she sat down on the cement while looking at the crowd of people passing by.

Hyemi quicken her steps towards the little girl, complete curiosity taking over as she wondered why she wasn’t at school.

“Matilda? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

The young one turned her head to the side and jumped back on her two feet, her face beaming. “Hyemi!”

The excitement made the other chuckle, letting herself ruffle Matilda’s hair. “So, what are you doing here instead of being at school young lady?”

“I wanted to see you!”

“You could’ve done that after school-”

“I didn’t want to go today… Please don’t call my dad. Can I stay with you instead? Please?”

Sudden worry crept up in Hyemi at the pleading of the little girl. She crouched down to her eye level and tilted her head by her chin so she could get a good look at Matilda. “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

The girl dropped her head, her eyes on her shoes while she let her fingers play with the hem of her school uniform’s shirt. “Mom and dad got into a fight because of me…” The mumbling was still coherent, and the words broke Hyemi’s heart. She could easily put herself in the little girl’s shoes because she knew exactly how it felt like. “I’m sure it’s not because of you sweetheart-”

“They were fighting about me… That’s all they do… Ever since the hospital anyways.”

A defeated sigh came out of Hyemi as she stood back up on her two feet. She caressed Matilda by the back of her hair making the young one tilt her head upwards to catch her friend’s eyes. “There’s a pile of manuscript of possible future books upstairs waiting to be read. I could really use all the help I can get~” She smiled, making Matilda do the same before wrapping her arms around the older one’s waist, hugging her tightly, the stinging of the tears suddenly dissipating.

“Thank you.”

Holding hands, Hyemi dragged Matilda until they made it inside the building and up the elevator towards her floor, almost reaching the top of the edifice. Once they were out, they walked towards her cubicle and let Matilda settle by bringing a new chair to make her sit by Hyemi’s side; luckily enough the cubicle was big enough for two people to occupy it so it wasn’t that cramped inside.

“I’m going to go make myself some coffee. Do you want anything?”

The young one just shook her head before Hyemi disappeared as she headed off to the cafeteria just a couple of floors below. Once she was done, she came back with her coffee in one hand and gave a paper bag to Matilda with some varieties of breakfast goodies inside, from a chocolate muffin to a donut.

“I didn’t know what to get you so I got a whole bag.”

“Unnie, you didn’t have too!”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. You’ll be needing some sugar if you’re going to stay with me today.”

The amused tone made Matilda giggle as she opened the bag to fish out her first item while Hyemi took her seat by her desk, taking a sip of her coffee before starting on her work.

From there, a few hours went by without any problems; Hyemi was doing her job while Matilda was enjoying reading the small pile of manuscript. The only thing that came in their way was her Boss, and luckily enough she didn’t seem to mind the little girl’s presence as the story went to say that Matilda was just fulfilling a school assignment of some sort.

When it was time for lunch, Hyemi decided to take the little girl out instead of eating downstairs, wanting to enjoy the quiet warmth of autumn. They picked a cozy restaurant that wasn’t too far from the workplace and decided to have their lunch on the patio. While waiting for their meal, Hyemi decided to speak up about this morning, wanting to make sure that Matilda was okay, even though she knew it was going to be a long shot before the little girl actually felt fine.

“Sweetie, about this morning…”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to hide your feelings from me. I know how it feels, I’ve been where you are.”

“Your parents fought too?”

“Mhmm, and just like yours, they went their separate ways. And I learned a long time ago that it wasn’t my fault. And just as it is for you, it’s not your fault. The problem isn’t the child sweetheart, it’s the parents.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know… Some things just don’t work out I guess, it happens.” A slight pout appeared across Matilda’s lips, her eyes looking down on her glass of water. “Sweetheart, please don’t blame yourself.” A sympathetic smile appeared on Hyemi’s face, making the little girl do the same as the corner of her lips barely curled up.

“If there’s anything you need from me, let me know, okay?”

“Mhmm… Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“Lee Matilda! Where the hell were you today?! Why weren’t you at school?!”

“I skipped.”

The moment Changsun had stepped inside his apartment, he was suddenly pushed aside by his ex-wife, who stomped her way towards her daughter, completely furious.

Both Hyemi and the little girl have been sitting in the living room watching TV until the interruption.

“An why did you skip school? Who gave you permission to do so?!”

“Minyoung-ah, come on. At least she was safe-” Changsun stepped in, trying to calm down the woman who was fuming in anger. The moment the school notified her about their daughter’s absence, panic struck over the mother; she had called her ex-husband to know if Matilda was with him but the moment he had denied so, the worst case scenario popped inside her head.

“But we didn’t know that!” From her ex, she turned back to face Hyemi, realizing that she had never met the stranger before. “And anyways, who the hell are you, and what are you doing with my daughter?”

Hyemi got up from her seat, suddenly feeling scared about the woman’s wrath. “I’m Hyemi. Park Hyemi. I work at the library in front of her school.”

“And because of that you thought that it was okay to take my daughter?” Hyemi was speechless at the woman’s words, confused about her assumptions. ‘Did she think I actually kidnapped Matilda?’ She was about to answer when Minyoung suddenly slapped her cheek, making her face tilt sideways from the touch.

The stinging sensation was crawling over her redden skin while Changsun intervened, pushing away his ex-wife by her shoulders while Matilda was crying out to her mother to stay away from Hyemi. The little girl was in tears as she hugged her friend, apologizing over and over again.

“What the hell is the matter with you?! I told you that Matilda was in safe hands! What did you do that for?!”

“You have this tendency of trusting the wrong people Changsun! You don’t even know this woman! She might as well be some following you for your money.”

While the parents were arguing and Hyemi was still in slight shock, Matilda had pressed herself harder against the young woman’s waist, her eyes shut close, as she tried to ignore the yelling she had to face.

Not being able to handle it any longer, she let go of Hyemi and ran to her room, slamming the door with such strength, the sound left an echo, interrupting the fight between Changsun and Minyoung.

This angered Hyemi, knowing exactly how the little girl was feeling at the moment; she was going to be blaming herself again and it was breaking her heart. She stopped her father as he was making his way towards his daughter’s room; the young woman was giving a stern glare at him and at his ex, her frustration boiling, making the sting slap of her cheek fade away. She looked back at Minyoung and took a step closer.

“I didn’t steal anybody from anyone. Matilda is the one that came to me because of you two! It’s not fair what you are doing to her! She is just a freaking kid who wants a family! An actual family! Is it too much to ask?! She’s been blaming herself because of you two. You should know your daughter better than that. She is suffering because of the divorce. She may not show it, or say it but she is in pain.”

From the mother she turned to Changsun, continuing her exasperation. “Why do you think she’s always with that fairy tale book? Huh? She’s hiding within these fantasy stories hoping for a freaking happy ending! And you two are making it worse for her! She doesn’t deserve this… She’s just a child… An innocent child. She doesn’t need this kind of weight on her shoulders.”

She turned her back, walking away to the girl’s room. Minyoung tried to intervene but Changsun stopped her, knowing that it was best if someone like Hyemi was the one to console their daughter.

“She’s right, you know.”

“Like hell, I’m going to let a stranger dictate how I should raise my daughter.”

“Minyoung, she’s not a stranger.”

“To you she’s not, but to me she is and I’m not letting her get away with this.” She pried herself off from his grasp and stomped her heels to her daughter’s room where she saw Matilda and Hyemi hug closely, the little girl’s face hiding in the young woman’s neck with her faint sob still persistent.

The sight was breaking the mother’s heart but it also angered her to see her daughter so comfortable with another woman.

“Matilda. Let’s go. I’m taking you home.”

“No!” The little girl pressed herself harder against Hyemi, who had her back facing the mother. She softly caressed Matilda’s back, soothing her but the little one kept shaking her head, refusing to obey to her mother.

“Matilda, please. Let’s just go home.”

“I don’t want to! Leave me alone!”

“Sweetheart, you should listen to your mother… Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”

“But I don’t want to go~”

“Why?”

“I want to stay with you.”

Hearing her say this, Minyoung felt like her world was falling apart. Her daughter attached herself to a stranger and she was feeling as if she was being replaced. Bitterness was spreading itself inside of her. She was hating what she was seeing and felt despair knowing that her daughter was never like this with her.

“H-Honey… Please? Look, I’m sorry if I overreacted, it’s just… you scared me, that’s all.”

Hyemi gently broke off the embrace, cupping Matilda’s cheeks as she wiped the tears away. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? You know where to reach me if you ever need anything, even if its just to talk, okay?”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Once things were settled and Minyoung left with Matilda, only Changsun was left with Hyemi, both of them standing in an awkward silence. They were at a good distance from each other and looked anywhere but at each other.

“I-I think I’m going to go now… It’s been a long day.”

“How is your cheek?”

“Huh?”

“Your cheek? It’s still red…”

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m fine, totally fine.”

“Sorry about that, by the way. I didn’t think she would really hit you.”

“I told you it was okay, don’t worry about it.”

“And thank you for telling me about Matilda-”

“Why didn’t you tell your ex-wife? You knew that your daughter was with me all day… Were you held up by work again?”

“Something like that…”

A sigh came out of Hyemi as she started walking past Changsun to the entrance but was quickly stopped when he held her arm. She turned around to face him, noticing that he wanted to say something else.

“T-thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being there for Matilda. I know it’s hard on you too because of your past and I really appreciate what you did for her.”

“She’s a sweet kid. She deserves way better than whatever you or your ex-wife are doing to her.”

He softly thanked her again and leaned closer, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. Her heart skipped a beat as it started to pace irregularly against her chest, reminding her of the tingle she felt when he had kissed her yesterday.

He had barely pulled away, the tip of his nose leaving a feather touch from her cheek to her nose as they locked eyes.

The tension was running high. They were both tempted to kiss but were left stuck on wondering if it was what the other one wanted. She took her chance, leaned her face closer to his where their lips were barely an inch apart. She pressed them softly together before pecking them and pulled away slightly. Letting go of his grasp on her arm, he trailed his hand down until he held her by her waist, closing back the small distance that was separating them.

He leaned back in and finally kissed her sweetly before he parted slowly, wanting to relive the same sensation as yesterday.

Slow and gentle at first, the emotions were running high right now. She felt as if there were fireworks in the pit of her stomach, making her unable to properly breathe or even preventing her heart to beat normally from the way the man was kissing her. It may not have been like yesterday, but it still kept its overpowering effect over her senses, losing her rationality.

The same for Changsun, he doesn’t remember loving something as much when he was kissing her, too wrapped up in how sweet she tasted.

The kiss was getting lustful, both of their bodies clinging onto each other with her arms around his neck and him, embracing her tightly against his chest. The absence of air was becoming hard on their lungs and reluctantly pulled away, leaving their foreheads pressed against each other. One look at each other and she knew that she wasn’t going to leave his place.

Not that she minded. She could feel herself wanting this man more with every second.

She suddenly caught his lips in another fervent kiss. He swiftly lifted her up from the ground, her legs around his waist, and lead her to his bedroom, closing back the door with his foot.

Not realizing that he had hit the edge of his bed, he stumbled which caused him to fall with Hyemi hitting her back against the mattress. They chuckled at the clumsiness on his part, and went back to their kiss, one hasty peck at the time with the woman holding him by his neck.

“Don’t you dare ditch me right now for work.” She was heavily breathing as she trailed her lips to his neck and up back to his jaw and lips. He caught the smirk on her face and only laughed, too preoccupied by the excitement roaming inside of him to feel offended about what she had said. “Don’t worry, you have me for the rest of the night.”

“Good.”