CHAPTER 34: JUST RIGHT

*ran out of idea for title sorrynotsorry

“Your daughter?!” Mark’s shocked face made the two people in front of him almost burst into laughter. James would never have thought that this future CEO in front of him is someone like this… Like a fool…

“Yup! You had a son and I also have a daughter. Do you have any problem with that?” Sae Mi felt like bursting into laughter inside but she held it in. Weird, she’s usually cold to him but her mood was suddenly up at the thought of Chloe. Ehem…

“No, I don’t but--”

“Now, are you going or not? If you don’t want, I’ll just go with James.”

“I’ll go, I’ll go! I wouldn’t want to leave my wife with a rival…” He muttered the last sentence slowly.

“You’re more than welcome, Mark. Anyway you wouldn’t mind waiting at the restaurant first? I’ve reserved a place and I think it’s okay if I add more people there. So?”

“No problem. This Mark right here will drive us two there. Go on and fetch Chloe first. But I wanted to buy some gift for her first. Okay?” She gestured and then went inside the car after James nodded. Mark followed suit and revved up the engine before driving into the busy road.

They stopped at a nearby gift shop and Sae Mi decided to buy a big teddy bear her eyes laid on the moment she stepped inside the shop. The teddy bear is about half the size of her body and probably would be the same size as Chloe. She really hoped that Chloe would like her gift. Mark was wandering somewhere else inside the shop, letting Sae Mi buy Chloe’s gift on her own. Even though he doesn’t know the Chloe that Sae Mi and James were talking about, but he wanted to buy something for her too so he picked a pink music box. It played a sweet melody when opened, and there would be a ballerina dancing in the middle of it. Mark smiled at himself, satisfied with his choice and went to pay when she saw Sae Mi with a big teddy bear on the counter as well.

He paid for his gift since Sae Mi already paid hers and then walk back to his car in silent. Mark placed the teddy at the back seat and his wrapped music box too in the middle of the teddy bear.

“You didn’t tell me you had a daughter…” Mark said out of the blue.

“And you too never tell me you had a son.” Sae Mi fired back.

“B-But…”

“As you said earlier, you don’t have any problem right?” Sae Mi faked a smile.

Mark didn’t reply. He felt hurt but it came from his own doing too, so he cannot blame his wife for that. They arrived in silence along the way.

“Chloe! Happy birthday, darling! I miss you so much!” Sae Mi exclaimed as soon as she saw Chloe’s figure inside the restaurant and instantly hugged her. Chloe smiled at the view of someone she’s already familiar with and replied her hug.

Mark peeked from behind the teddy bear he’s holding since he didn’t allow her to carry it by herself to here. He witnessed how his wife looked so happy and cheerful seeing the little girl with long brownish hair. He felt a little teeny bit of jealousy when she got to hug Sae Mi.

“Who…?” Chloe asked as she landed her big eyes on the teddy bear and Mark immediately peeked out again, feeling that the question was directed towards him.

“Oh, this is--”

“Hi Chloe! I’m Mark. Wait, no… You should call me Uncle Mark. Helloo~” Mark introduced himself and waved to her while holding the soft teddy bear’s hand. Chloe laughed and jumped from her seat to go to Mark. She pulled on the bear’s feet, wanting to hug the fluffy thing but Mark couldn’t process what she wanted.

“Ah right! Chloe, here’s my present. Do you like it?” Sae Mi took the bear away from the flustered Mark and handed the fluffy pink bear to Chloe. Chloe giggled in reply and buried her face on the strawberry-scented bear’s chest. Just like Sae Mi had thought, the bear is almost the same size as Chloe only that Chloe is a little bigger than the bear. Sae Mi smiled as she took a seat on the empty seat next to James, opposite of Chloe on the square table, suited for four people.

Chloe hugged the bear and went back to her seat to show off the bear to his daddy. James took an empty chair to place the bear there so it won’t get dirty. Mark placed himself on the last empty spot, opposite of James and between the two females.

“Uncle Mark has something for the birthday girl too…” Mark remembered the box he had been holding until now and gave it to Chloe. Chloe accepted it with beaming eyes as she opened it only to be greeted with a medium-sized music box. She opened it and like a trigger, the sweet melody plays as the ballerina twirled to one direction to the right. She giggled in glee and muttered a soft thanks to Mark as she still feels a little bit shy around new people.

Their menu arrived soon after and they all started filling their empty stomach, James tried making the atmosphere natural but Mark being a jealous for nothing husband he is, only paid his attention to Chloe, ignoring the other two person in front of him. Sae Mi slapped herself mentally at Mark’s childish behavior. After finishing his meal, James excused himself to the toilet. While he’s away, Chloe accidentally spilled her strawberry milkshake on the table, making it turn into a mess.

Mark quickly grab some tissues nearby and wiped the liquid from spreading all over the table. Chloe seemed quiet all of a sudden and it looked like she wanted to cry after making a mistake. Following his instinct, he went down to Chloe’s eye level and comforted her slowly.

“It’s okay, Chloe. Uncle Mark had cleaned it up for you. Look, all shiny and new…” He smiled reassuringly and pointed to the table but Chloe still had her head hung low, starting to sob little by little. Not wanting her to cry, Mark hugged her and carried her in his arms and walked around to calm her down. Sae Mi was speechless at the sight before her. Never would she have thought in a million years that she will be witnessing this side of him. His fatherly aura appealed to her so much that she stopped eating and stared almost disbelievingly at her husband w