Sunshine rays drifted into the room melodiously. Shadows of weaved themselves over their bodies smothered under the soft white sheets. Calm arrays of dust drifted stealthily from the paned window above a wooden dresser. A framed picture of the family of five smiled enchantingly into the room.

Namjoo opened her eyes and glanced at the clock beside her. 8:00 AM. The usual time in which she started her day with a cup of coffee before taking on tasks around the house. An arm pinned her down when she began to rise, pulled her toward the heavenly chest beckoning for her.

“Give it half an hour, then get up,” Sehun’s sleepy voice spoke into her ear. He nudged his face further into her silky hair, hugged her tighter.

Oh Sehun, her husband of almost eight years, was a brusque man – that was before she met him. Now he was a man of tender nature, the embarrassment of expressing it chased off by her. He was a man with lifted cheekbones, a unique smile and laugh that had her heart thundering within her chest, and narrow slits for eyes – adorable at that.

Namjoo, a year younger, reached a little above his shoulders. Still, he towered over her like a menace. Her hair had been shoulder-length short when she met him. Now it was well below her shoulders and she loved the way he combed his fingers through it affectionately. Her eyes were big and she found it humorous when he joked how they made up for his small ones.

They’d met no more than ten years ago on a snowy day. The memory was as vivid as yesterday’s dinner. Stir-fry and potatoes with a side of salad with two cups of sweet red wine. Their anniversary, yesterday had been their anniversary. They had dropped the twins off at his parents – a set of girls that had just e a few months ago. They’d kept Ki Hoon, the oldest son – five years old – with them. A friend had watched over him while they went out to eat.

Right after coming home, they’d watched a Disney move with Ki Hoon before bathing him and putting him to sleep. That had taken a long hour and a half of reading him bedtime stories before he finally knocked off. Then they’d crawled into bed exhausted.

And now it was 8:00, time to get up. Namjoo lay there, waiting for sleep to take her for another half hour, but it was impossible. Once waken, she wouldn’t drift back into slumber. It was now a rigorous habit, since the children always woke up at various times of the night, crying, calling.

“I’m up, can’t sleep no more.” Namjoo opened her eyes.

A gentle groan of complaint dispersed from his lips. “No.” He whined. “Half an hour.” Squeezing his arm around her he leaned over to plant suffocating kisses over her face. Namjoo squealed from the weight of him, giggling and laughing until the door opened.

Tiny footsteps shuffled across the space from the door to the bed before Ki Hoon jumped up onto the bed. “Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!”

Lifting his head up, Sehun glanced at the little mirror image of him then reached over to rub his head. “Good morning, little man.”

Pulling herself up, Namjoo nearly fell back onto the bed when Ki Hoon jumped into her arms. “Yes, good morning to you too.”

“What are we going to eat today for breakfast?” Ki Hoon looked up at her.

“I don’t know, ask your dad,” Namjoo turned to look at the stupefied expression that had just jumped onto his face.

“Me!?” he repeated astounded.

With a smirk, Namjoo threw her legs over the edge of the bed and set Ki Hoon onto the floor. “Of course, who else? I’m going to wash up while you make breakfast. Look after Ki Hoon.”

As she closed the door and brushed her teeth, she stared into the mirror. She looked a little older these days, she thought, maybe it’s time for some of those anti-aging creams. Her attention shifted toward the door when she heard Sehun and Ki Hoon laughing. A smile split her face before she turned back to stare at herself.

That was right. She’d aged through maturity, the experience of having a family, giving birth to her precious children, and loving someone. Those little things had caused the age in her face. Though tiring at some times, she sure didn’t regret. The little twins, Ki Hoon, and Sehun were everything to her after she already lost so much.

Her eyes dropped down to the diamond ring sitting on her finger. She’d never take it off, never.

~~~

“Coffee ready?” Namjoo walked into their kitchen plastered with an exuberant color. What once used to be covered in flowery wallpaper had been removed, replaced with toned yellow walls. She and Sehun had remodeled the house when they moved in, throwing away the old, as if to get rid of the previous family’s traces. The family of three that lived there before them had broken up – the husband had divorced his wife because of an affair.

New and happy memories would take over the gloom in the house. Sehun had arranged for a handyman to remove and install in new, larger windows to allow brisk sunshine into the house. Light was now abundant no matter which room one went into. The walls had been repainted, furniture replaced, and the only thing that remained was the carpets. She had debated with Sehun about hardwood floor, but for the safety of their future children had insisted on keeping the beige carpet. Then along came Ki Hoon, Soo Ae and Yoon Ae.

She let her arm slide from his waist over his back as she walked by. There was one thing she found awfully attractive about a man, his ability to cook. Her eyes glazed over the pancakes he was whipping up, scrambled eggs coming to a pure yellow on the neighboring stove.

“All ready for you,” he leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek.

“Ew!” Ki Hoon shouted, disgusted from where he was sitting at the table behind them.

“I’ll give it to you too,” Namjoo smiled walking over to kiss his pudgy cheek. She didn’t ever want him to lose the baby fat or else he might look morose like his father.

“I’ll pick the girls up after work,” Sehun offered, pouring the food onto plates for them.

“I can do it.”

“Just stay home and relax,” Sehun carried the dishes over, set them down, and placed Ki Hoon’s special dish of eggs, rice, and veggies in front of him. Walking over to the fridge he poured a glass of milk and gave it to Ki Hoon before sitting with her.

“You’re visiting the doctor today,” he reminded, “so don’t strain yourself.”

“We’re running low on grocery. I was going to take Ki Hoon shopping with me. He needs some air.”

“Let him play in the yard while you read a book,” Sehun suggested then reached over to pat his fingers against her face, “I’ll do the shopping. You hear me?”

She smiled at him, thankful. He was the best she could ask for.

~~~

“Hello, Ki Hoon. How are you doing today?” Dr. Lee greeted when he ran into the room ahead of Namjoo.

“Good.” Ki Hoon replied before rushing over to the corner of the lobby where a toy area for children had been set up.

“That’s good to hear,” he smiled then turned to her, “lets go talk in my office.”

Once seated in the uncomfortable chair in front of his small desk, she waited patiently for him to pull up her file, look through some papers and pictures.

“The last time you were here, you complained of chest pains?” He questioned, his eyes absorbing the information.

“Yes,” Namjoo replied, “is there anything wrong?”

“Everything looks all right. You’re still on painkillers, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good then. You’ve probably just been a little stressed lately. You don’t have to worry about anything,” he smiled at her.

Namjoo wasn’t expecting nor was she unhealthy in anyway – at least she didn’t think so.

“Come on, Ki Hoon. Lets go home,” Namjoo stepped out of the office, held her hand out for Ki Hoon who came running toward her excited.

“Mommy, I’ll protect you,” Ki Hoon shouted. “Did the doctor say anything bad?”

“Everything’s just perfect,” Namjoo gripped onto his hand and stepped out of the hospital. The sun was still shining brightly as ever and had been shining ever since she’d got her life back on track .It was as if the gods were telling her a message.

That everything would be fine from now on.

Ten years ago her heart had failed on her. Before the life changing event, she’d witnessed a brutal murder while huddled behind a garbage bin in a dark alleyway. It was nearly winter, November. Chilly winds were setting in and cold rain had become abundant that week. Her drunk mother’s boyfriend had beat her again, because she’d done the foolish, she’d tried protecting her mother from his fists.

Bleeding from the nose and with her lips cut, she ran from the house when her fell unconscious after the beating. Namjoo didn’t know why she did it. Maybe she hoped her mother would die and she would be sent to foster care. Why the woman chose to remain at the monster’s side, Namjoo never understood. After her mother knocked out, the monster had chased her with rage. To save herself, she’d ran for her life. The pounding of his heavy thudded steps coming after her still haunted her to this very day.

She hadn’t known how long she ran, but tiring had escaped into a dark alley to seek shelter. It had been pouring that night. After a few minutes she was soaked from head to toe, now shivering. Her lips wouldn’t stop their trembling fit no matter how many times she tried to compose herself. A cry dropped from her lips when she heard footsteps and the sound of something heavy being dragged against concrete.

Her hair had molded against her skin, barely freezing in form from the cold. Fearful for her life, she clasped both hands over her lips praying that if he was coming to kill her, to kill her with one swing. No pain, she silently begged.

But whoever was there never came close. Instead, she heard grunts and painful . The strange thudding continued. Suddenly irked with curiosity, she leaned out and found a tall shadow a few feet away swinging a round bat downward. Another person lie on the ground unconscious. The way his body jerked up with every hit terrified her and she suddenly cried out, her every bone shivering in fear.

Then she realized she just made the biggest mistake of her life.  

For the second time that night, she ran for her life. Another monster chased her down the street. This time he was faster, his footsteps more urgent. He shot her heart that night, left her to die in the middle of the street. No one would have come for her. Everyone had closed the stores down, left for home. She should have died and would have been glad to, and then she wouldn’t have to return home to her mother’s boyfriend’s beatings. Nor would she have to deal with her mother’s idiocy. But she was saved that night.

Namjoo awoke in the hospital, weak and groggy, and with stitches in her chest. And with someone else’s heart. For two months the murder she witnessed went by unsolved and she lived everyday in fear. And with guilt calling her coward. But with luck, her mother’s boyfriend rarely touched her during the time of her recovery. For a month she was spared his beatings.

For a duration of time, she spent as much time as she could outside her home working as much hours as she could at as much jobs as she could get. Luckily, on some evenings when she saved up enough she spent the night out at rundown motels just to escape the monster’s wrath. And one day she spotted a lady on the streets pleading. She was handing out sheets of papers asking for witnesses to step up, give justice to the murder of her son – the man she’d seen lying at his death on the ground that night. The horror of the grief followed her for weeks.  

Then one day she did the unspeakable. Namjoo went to the police station to give her account of that night. Detectives, prosecutors, and police swarmed over the case. The press was all over it and her face ended up in the papers. The next biggest mistake of her life, and maybe the best mistake.     

Realizing the media had sold her out, put her to vulnerability that if the murderer recognized her she’d be his next target, Oh Sehun, rookie detective, was sent in as bodyguard.

The first night he arrived, she was being beaten to a bloody pulp by the drunken monster. Her mother was to return late that night, and the extra cash she’d saved up in her drawer had been used on beer. The bottles lie around the house in a heap, their house appeared like a dump.

“!” With a slap, threw her to the ground like a rag doll. “I was the one who ing paid for your heart! You and your ungrateful mother owe me your lives!”

Namjoo could taste the sweet taste of her own blood pooling into . The bruise on her arm was acting up and she wanted to cry in pity, thinking how she should have died that night on the street if not for the woman who had found her. Damn that woman!

The ring of the doorbell intervened with the monster’s swinging fist and their attention swung to the door.

“Good evening, I’m Detective Oh Sehun,” she heard the voice from the doorway as she pulled herself up.

“Wrong house,” the monster grunted swinging the door shut. Luckily, Sehun was quick and held the door back with his hand just before it closed. The smell of beer on the monster’s breath must have been strong, and Namjoo thanked God for it.

“Can I come in?” Sehun asked as he pushed his way in. The snow behind him was falling down in a flurry. His blue coat was heavy, but kept him warm. His cheeks were red from the cold and he was without a hat. When they first looked at each other, Namjoo had a tissue pressed against her purple