Twist Of Fate

Chapter 21 

Surprising Things

The sound of kids laughing could be heard miles away from the kindergarten. The sounds were so loud, and you reached the place. You parked your car outside the kindergarten and walked out.

The sun was out, and its strong sunlight shone down on you and you covered your eyes with your hand from the strong sunrays.

You were dressed in a thin white t-shirt and simple light blue jeans with a few holes on your thighs and you wore flats.

The weather was just perfect, it wasn’t too hot nor too windy. You could hear the kids laughing and figured that they were out in the playground and Ki Joon must be out too. You came to pick him up and it was past three pm.

You had finished your work and Yongguk was still at work, so you sent him a message that you would pick Ki Joon up. The three of you were going to eat out later. So, you had to be home in good time and get dressed.

You opened the small gate and entered the playground. The kids were running around, some driving on the small bicycles, some were on the swings, and some were playing around.

You looked out and saw Ki Joon’s teacher Choi Soo Jin, and you smiled and waved to her. She made a hand movement towards the sandbox, at the corner and you nodded.

You walked out to find Ki Joon in the sandbox, and you had a smile on your face and you couldn’t wait to surprise him. He always got so happy, when he got picked up.

However, you frowned as soon as you stood in front of the sandbox and your eyes widened. Ki Joon sat on the sand. He was curled together, his face bent down in his knees. You saw all the sand on his hair that went down his back and into his pants.

“Ki Joon-ah!” You shouted.

The little boy looked up, and his eyes were wide and red. He had been crying. You hurried up to him and pulled him up from the sand and in your embrace.

“Baby, what happened to you?” You asked and he was quiet and he instantly hugged you tightly.

“Did someone tease you?” You asked in a soft tone and he shook his head.

You pulled him back and gently ruffled his hair and dust off the sand from him. “Why didn’t you tell the teachers?” You asked and he pursed his lips.

Ki Joon tilted his head down and his mouth was pursed. He had sand all over him. You tapped his back gently and he suddenly frowned. You stiffened and looked at him.

“Eo- eom- eom.”  He began to mumble and you looked into his eyes that were wide of fear.

It sounded like he was about to say ‘eomma’ and your mouth dropped and you  waited for the word ‘mom’ to come from his mouth.

However, he stopped and your eyes widened even more, when he suddenly buried his face into you and hid himself.

You turned around and looked out, and saw another kid, who was standing in front of you, with a shovel in his hand. The little boy stared on Ki Joon. You hadn’t seen this boy at the kindergarten before and figured that he must be new.

You furrowed your brows and noticed that Ki Joon wouldn’t look at him. The little boy practically clung onto you. Ki Joon’s back faced the other boy, who seemed to be around the same age as Ki Joon, or maybe he was a few months older.

“Did you see what happened to Ki Joon?’” You asked him.

You had a feeling that he knew something, or maybe that he was involved, since Ki Joon hid from him. You hadn’t seen your little boy hide in fear from someone else like this before.

The boy frowned and he threw his shovel away and shook his head frantically. “No-no-no, I have- haven’t. It wasn’t me who did it.” He stammered rapidly, sounding scared.

Your lips parted, surprised to see him react in this way. You were about to tell him that you didn’t blame him, but you were just curious if he saw it. Then a female voice broke out, in a loud and screaming tone that sounded overly dramatic. You almost jolted in shock.

“Excuse me, are you accusing my son for bullying your son?”

You looked up and saw the woman, whose eyes were fiery and she almost shot lasers on you with that harsh glare. She had short hair to her shoulder, in black and she wore a high waist black pants, pink heels and blue blouse.

Her lips were shaped like a heart- thick and pouty, her nose was small and thin, her face round. She seemed like some rich and snobbish lady.

You got up from the sandbox and with Ki Joon in your arms. “Excuse me, you should lower your tone, we are in a kindergarten, you’ll scare the kids.” You said.

She gasped baffled and looked at you, with wide eyes and mouth wide open. She shook her head at you. “You just accused my son for bullying your son.” She repeated in a harsh tone.

You remained composed as you looked at her. “Excuse me, but you have the wrong idea. I simply asked your son whether he had seen what had happened to my son, seen as he also must have played in the sandbox.” You said.

She furrowed her brows and looked down on her son and noticed that he had sand on his shoes and pants. It clearly indicated that he had been playing in the sandbox. She scoffed and you looked at her dumfounded, to see her arrogant reaction.

“My son is not a bully!” She exclaimed and you rolled your eyes on her and walked away.

Ki Joon was still holding onto you as you walked down the playground and towards the entrance to the kindergarten. You had to change his clothes, because he had sand down his pants and it irritated his skin. He whined a bit as he held onto you and you kissed his cheek softly, to calm him down.

“It’s okay, we are going home in a bit.” You said in a soothing tone, and he wrapped his small arms around your neck and nodded.

The lady followed after you, and you breathed deeply, when you heard her approaching footsteps. You stopped abruptly, turned around and looked into her eyes. She was quite taller than you and you frowned for a second.

“Can’t you see that I need to help my son. Lord, back away from me.” You said in a harder tone and she frowned startled to hear you speak in a firm tone towards her.

“How old are you? you seem too young” she shouted in disbelief, when you spoke back without formalities.

She was quickly getting on your nerves, and you could tell that she was older than you. She was probably twenty-eight years old.

“Gosh.” You groaned and entered the kindergarten, ignoring her words.

“I said my son isn’t a bully.” She repeated, shouting from the entrance.

“And I bet I’m older than you.” She continued.

 “I never accused him!” You shouted back, and added. “I don’t care.”

You heard her loud and dramatic gasp, at the latter part. You rolled your eyes and sighed deeply, and you continued walking down the hall.

“What a snobbish woman.” You muttered to yourself.

You finally made it to Ki Joon’s wardrobe and you put him down on the bench. He sat quietly as you took out his extra clothes from his basket. You found some pants and a t-shirt. You then got down on your knees and on an eye-level with him.

Ki Joon still looked down on the ground, avoiding your gaze. You chewed on your bottom lip, sighed deeply and wondered about what had happened out there.

You had never seen Ki Joon react this way, he almost seemed to be scared of something, scared of telling you. He was so closed off.

“Honey, you can tell me what happened, so I can help you. Miss Choi needs to know.” You said in a calm tone, and you looked into his eyes warmly.

Ki Joon shook his head frantically and you pursed your lips. You couldn’t keep pressuring him right now. “Let’s get you changed.” You said and he finally nodded.

He got up from the bench and grabbed your hand and quickly walked towards the washroom. You followed him into the small room and he stopped.

You took off his shirt first and gasped, when you saw all the sand that came off. Ki Joon rubbed his stomach and you saw the red spots on his skin. You wondered about how long he had been sitting in the sandbox with the sand on his skin, since he became so red.

You had to tell Yongguk about this too, and you sighed deeply. “Does it hurt?” You asked and he nodded.

“Just a little.” He said in a silent tone.

You sighed deeply and cooed, “Honey, you have to tell the teachers, if someone bullies you, okay?”

Ki Joon frowned and looked back on the ground once again, and you stiffened. He really wasn’t acting like himself, you were discovering new sides to him. It seemed like Ki Joon didn’t know what to do, when others .

Then all of a sudden, you remembered about the letter from his previous kindergarten. He used to be teased in his previous place. You frowned and gazed down on him, and you panic get to you.

You grabbed his small hands into yours and you spoke in a soft and light tone, “If someone teases you, remember to tell them to stop and call for the teachers.” You said and he finally looked up at you and met your gaze.

Ki Joon’s round cheeks were slightly red, and his lips were pouty and he finally nodded. You patted his head, leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Promise me.” You said and pointed your pinky to him.

Ki Joon looked down on your pinky, then he suddenly giggled and laced his pinky with yours. You finally smiled of relief, to see him smile a bit now. You patted his head gently and looked into his eyes.

“My good boy.” You cooed and he hid his face in his palms and you giggled at his reaction. Your heart just couldn’t help but to melt

You finally changed his clothes, and Ki Joon sat down on the little toilet as he had to pee, before leaving.

You waited for him to finish up, and he finally seemed to have calmed down. His small feet hung in the air and his little toes moved, whilst he peed. You really hoped that he didn’t get bullied.

Ki Joon finished up, he then washed his hands in the small sink, then cleaned his hands with paper and tossed it in the bin.

“Are we ready to go now.” You called out and he nodded.

You turned around, but your steps halted, when he suddenly grabbed your leg. You turned around and looked at him.

“What is it, sweetie?” You asked, and you bent down to him.

Ki Joon suddenly moved his small hands around your neck, he leaned up and pressed his little mouth on your cheek and kissed you hard.

Your eyes widened of surprise, when you felt his little mouth on your cheek. He then pulled back and grabbed your hand.

“Aww baby.” You cooed and kissed his cheek in return and he giggled like any other happy kid.

“Are you okay now?’” You asked him and he nodded.

You were certain that earlier, he was close to calling you mom, but stopped when he saw the other boy. You felt his warmness by his little kiss and it meant so much to you.

Ki Joon was slowly progressing and opening, although he took small steps at a time. You wanted to share this information with Yongguk as well.

You were walking back to the car, when you took out your phone and sent Yongguk a message.

You: I think someone bullied Ki Joon. I found him in the sandbox with sand on him and he was crying.

You opened the car door and got Ki Joon in the car, when your phone suddenly rang and you looked at the caller ID ‘Jerk’. You frowned, as it hadn’t even been a minute, since you sent him the text, and you picked up the call.

“What happened, who bullied him?!”

Your eyes widened, when you heard Yongguk shout in the phone and you instantly stiffened. “I don’t know, I didn’t see it.” You quickly replied, in a panicked tone.

“What do you mean you don’t know, Kwon?’” He asked furiously.

“Stop attacking me, I can’t have another person attacking me today, gosh.” You sighed of frustration and raised your tone, once you heard him get mad at you.

“What!? Which bastard attacked you?” He asked and his voice suddenly got madder.

You stared out surprised to hear him cuss, and mostly get mad after hearing that someone attacked you. You pursed your lips to prevent from smiling and giggling.

“It was just some women.” You said and your tone became softer quickly, and he became silent.

“I spoke with Ki Joon” You said and your voice went quieter.

“Is he with you now?” He asked in a soft tone, after he interpreted your silence.

Yongguk had finally calmed down. “Yes.” You replied and opened your car door and got in the driver’s seat.

You reversed the car out of the parking lot and drove away. “Let’s talk about it later, and I think the dinner will be pushed, because he needs a full shower.” You said.

“Is it bad?’” He asked and he sounded worried.

“Hold on Yongguk. I need to put my headsets on.” You said and he hummed back.

You quickly put on your headsets and replied, “Ok, I’m back. Yes, he’s a bit red, and he still has some sand stuck on him, which I have to scrub off.” You said.

“It’s probably going to hurt a bit.” He said and his tone became full of worry.

And you nodded although he couldn’t see you. “He already complained that it hurt.”

“I’m coming home now.” He said suddenly once he heard you say that.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to skip work.” You said.

Your phone conversation lasted five minutes and you were still talking on the phone with him. You argued that he didn’t have to come home, but he continued insisting.

“What if he cries.” He said suddenly.

His tone became even more full of worry and so much deeper. Yongguk was really worried. You sighed deeply and stepped on the breaks, once the light turned red.

You looked behind you and noticed how Ki Joon rubbed his stomach. You clenched your jaw and breathed deeply.

“I can take care of it.” You said silently and he sighed, “I know, Kwon.”

You could tell that he needed to see Ki Joon to calm down, and it was after all your first time experiencing this and you should be together, with Ki Joon.

“Alright just come home.” You finally said.

You heard him take another deep sigh. “Okay, I’ll see you at home in a bit.” He said and you cooed back and hung up.

You pursed your lips as you watched out on the road and you pondered. Yongguk seemed upset and worried about Ki Joon and he sounded mad, when you told him about that woman. You chewed on your bottom lip. Did he really just get mad?

You were finally back home, and in the bathroom with Ki Joon. You filled the bathtub and the little boy got in it. Then you soaked the sponge and you sat on a little chair in front of the tub. You gently began to scrub his back and he writhed a bit and complained.

“I know honey, but I have to scrub your back.” You said and he pouted and looked at you with big eyes.

In that moment, the bathroom door opened and you turned around and looked behind you. You looked up surprised and met his gaze.

Yongguk stared into your eyes for a second. He had really hurried home, since he was back so quick. You were surprised. He must have driven faster than what he’s allowed to.

He walked up to you and bent down beside you. He placed his hand on the tub and he looked at the little boy in front of him. Ki Joon stared at the older guy, with red cheeks.

“What happened to my little champ?” He asked in a smooth tone, as he patted his head gently.

Ki Joon wouldn’t speak about it and he remained quiet. Yongguk frowned and looked at you and you met his confused look. Your shoulders dropped in reply to his look. Yongguk looked down on your hand and saw the sponge.

He suddenly reached out for it and he touched your hand. You gasped, when he grabbed your hand and he stared back into your eyes, waiting.

You looked back at him and frowned. He nodded to the sponge in your hand, and you realized that you gripped it tightly. You finally let go of it and he moved his hand back.

Yongguk soaked the sponge with perfume free soap and he began to scrub Ki Joon’s back. You gazed down on your hand and touched it, after he touched your hand.

Ki Joon whined a bit, because he didn’t like getting scrubbed. Yongguk froze, when heard the little boy whine.

“Does it hurt?” Yongguk asked and Ki Joon nodded.

“Aigoo.” He sighed deeply and you looked at him.

“What happened to you earlier?” He asked suddenly.

“What?” You asked.

Yongguk soaked Ki Joon’s body and gently rubbed the boy, and he remained silent as Yongguk washed his body. Ki Joon sat down in the tub and Yongguk leaned in and rubbed his back throughout.

“That lady.. you said she attacked you.” He asked.

He turned his gaze to you as he soaked the sponge. “Oh, that.” You cooed and he nodded.

“It was nothing.” You said and rolled your eyes.

“Doesn’t seem like it.” He quickly said once he noticed how you quickly became frustrated, when you thought back to it.

“She said I accused her son for bullying our son.” You said.

Yongguk somehow froze at your words ‘our son’ and you gasped, flabbergasted, when you thought back to that crazy woman.

“So, it was just a woman.” He said suddenly and you nodded with furrowed brows.

Yongguk suddenly looked down your body and a grin appeared on his face. And your cheeks began to heat up, because he was looking at you differently, as though he was checking you out.

“Was she bigger than you?” He asked and you furrowed your brows and shook your head.

“Couldn’t you have taken her down then?’” He asked.

“What?” You gasped at his childish comment, and laughed.

“Are you pro-violence, Bang?” You added.

“No, I’m a pacifist, but not when it comes to my family.” He said and his tone became deeper at the latter part, and the smile on your face faded and you stopped laughing.

His words ‘my family’ repeated in your head and your heart somehow raced. Did he mean you, as in family? You wondered. 

Yongguk chuckled, when he saw you freeze up and get serious and lost in your thoughts. He suddenly splashed a little water on your face, to get your attention.

“I was joking, Kwon. Don’t ever get into a fight with someone.” He said in an all serious tone, and his voice became even more deeper.

You giggled, moved your hand in the water, and splashed a bit water back on him. He pulled back and groaned and rubbed his face.

“I don’t fight with people. Do you think I’m violent?” You asked and he shook his shoulders, nonchalantly.

You dropped your jaw in disbelief. “Hey.” You groaned and he laughed back, but his laughter made the corners of your mouth curve up.

You shook your head at him and he finally returned to scrubbing Ki Joon’s back. You leaned in and took the sponge out of his hand and your fingers brushed. You breathed deeply, at the light contact. He pulled back and watched you, as you soaked the sponge and you began to rub Ki Joon’s arms gently.

You found another sponge and handed it to him. He looked into your eyes and grabbed it and gave you a small smile. You pursed your lips and looked back on Ki Joon and continued washing the boy, helping him get clean.

The little boy played with his bath toys, whilst the pair of you cleansed him up. Yongguk suddenly moved closer to you and your breath got caught, when you took in his strong and manly scent.

“We have to speak about what happened.” He whispered in your ear.

You shuddered, when you felt his warm breath on you and your heart almost skipped a beat, somehow. You tilted your head to the side, you froze and instantly regretted doing that, when you realized how close he stood to you.

Yongguk looked down, into your eyes and he waited for a reply, and you finally nodded. He gave you a small smile. He then suddenly placed his hand on your back, and you instantly froze, and bit down on your lip. His hand moved gently down your spine, caressing you as he got up from the ground.

“Come down, when you are free.” He said and you nodded.

Once you heard the door shut behind you, you breathed out deeply. “What is wrong with me?” You muttered silently.  

The door suddenly opened and you turned around startled. Yongguk looked do