WheeIn looked up when she heard the knock on the open office door and saw an exhausted Byul flop down on the chair in front of her.
"What happened to you? Where's Ha-eun?" asked WheeIn.
"She's with Irene. How does a four-year-old have that much energy? They look so small and yet..." Byul let out a huff.
WheeIn chuckled. "What did she make you do? Chase her around the house?"
"Yes. She ran out of the bathroom and refused to put on some clothes."
WheeIn laughed out loud. "I swear, she takes after you so much, as impossible as that sounds."
"Hey I never ran around the house with no clothes on."
"You walked around like that once."
"I had to go to the toilet! Then I got thirsty so I went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Is that so wrong?"
WheeIn shook her head. "I rest my case. How are we going to tell her about me moving out temporarily though? Without making her think that I'm abandoning her?"
"We'll figure it out. She will still get to see you all the time so she should know that no one's abandoning her ever again."
"What did Mrs. Han say about all this?" WheeIn asked since Byul had briefly mentioned her visit to Ha-eun's grandmother's house the day before.
"She's okay with it. Willing to help and sign the necessary papers."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah." Byul straightened up in her seat. "I guess she's serious about letting us take care of Ha-eun."
"I'm glad to hear that but..."
"I know." Byul knew what WheeIn was thinking. "We've done what we could. I guess we just have to respect her decision."
A loud giggling sound interrupted their conversation as Ha-eun ran inside the room. "Star!" she shouted excitedly. "Guess what? Guess what?"
"What?"
"Aunt Irene said I could be a flower girl!" Ha-eun was literally jumping up and down while clapping her hands.
"A flower girl?" WheeIn asked Irene who calmly strolled inside.
"Yeah. Since I only have one nephew who'll be the ring bearer, I'm thinking of letting this cutie here be the flower girl."
"Can I, Star? Can I?" Ha-eun looked up at Byul with her wide pleading eyes. "Please?" She turned her head, looking at WheeIn when Byul didn't respond immediately. "Whee, Please?"
"Well..." WheeIn saw Byul frowning. "I guess it's okay."
Byul's eyes widened, staring at WheeIn with obvious disagreement.
"It's just a short ceremony, Byul," said Irene, understanding her friend's fear. "She'll walk down the aisle together with the ring bearer, right in front of me. Then when she has reached the end, she'll go to sit with you and that's it."
"Please, Star?" begged Ha-eun, putting on her best sad expression and the biggest pleading set of puppy eyes.
Byul finally cracked a smile, unable to resist the cute face staring up at her. "Okay. You can be Irene's flower girl."
The girl squealed in happiness, jumping up and down while clapping her hands excitedly. "Yay!"
"Good thing we already planned on going shopping for your dress tonight," said WheeIn as she watched the girl with a smile. "Must the color match your bridesmaids' dresses?" she asked Irene.
"Yeah."
"Okay. Then we're off to hunt you a pretty dress tonight," WheeIn told Ha-eun who grinned then ran out of the room again.
"Where are you going?!" shouted Byul from her seat.
"I'll get her," said Irene, moving to go after the happy girl. "Thanks, Byul."
"No problem."
"Don't worry. It will be fine," WheeIn said once she saw Byul frowning again. "Security would be high since Yong and her family would be there too. You have nothing to worry about."
"Never say never, Whee. We must not let our guard down even for a second."
"I know but it's Irene's wedding. Let them have fun."
Another knock on the door interrupted them.
"Um... your guest has arrived, Miss Jung," said one of the waiters. "I've shown him to the table."
"Oh okay. Thank you."
"Well, let's go." Byul stood up then watched WheeIn hesitantly gather her stuff and shut down her computer. "Hey."
WheeIn looked up and saw Byul smiling gently at her with one hand extended towards her.
"You're doing the right thing and I'm very proud of you regardless of what's going to happen after dinner," said Byul. "And no, I'm not expecting things to get fixed after one dinner but it's a step in the right direction."
WheeIn took Byul's hand and let the other woman pull her into a hug. "Thanks. Let's just get this over with," she mumbled against Byul's shoulder.
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The meal started awkward and mostly quiet but Byul did her best to liven up the atmosphere. She was relieved that Ha-eun was there with her antics that kept her busy. Although she was initially scared of the man, after a few minutes of watching him and hearing him being introduced as WheeIn's father, Ha-eun seemed to be able to gradually warm up to him.
She asked him whether he liked ice cream and what his favorite flavor was.
He chuckled, gave her the answer and she began telling him about her favorite ice cream flavor then Byul's then WheeIn's too.
Towards the end of the meal, the man was comfortable enough to even help wipe Ha-eun's hand when she accidentally dipped it in her fruit bowl.
"She reminds me of you," he said, looking at WheeIn after Byul had taken over the task.
WheeIn didn't respond. She tilted her head, watching him, gauging his sincerity.
He quickly turned awkward under the stare, cleared his throat and shifted before proceeding to finish his dessert.
"How was she when she was Ha-eun's age?" asked Byul.
"Huh?"
Both WheeIn and her father were caught off guard by the question.
He smiled a little when he saw Byul's expression, knowing the reason behind the question. "She was a very cheerful girl," he said. "Always doing something either singing, dancing, talking or tinkering with one of our things. I remember coming home to see my wife scolding her for taking our alarm clock apart." He chuckled at the memory. "I thought she was going to be an engineer or something. She seemed to have a fascination for how things work."
"When was this?" WheeIn had to ask, unsure of the event her father was talking about.
"You were around Ha-eun's age. Four years old. It was summer, I remember. You had no school and was probably bored."
"Where was grandma then? Or Auntie?"
His smile faded a bit. "They were on holiday so your mother took a few days off to look after you."
"Ah. That summer." WheeIn didn't remember much but it was one of the few times she remembered feeling like she had a great summer break. "When she bought me that inflatable pool."
"Yeah. You and your cousins literally ruined it towards the end of summer."
WheeIn shrugged. "Isn't that what a kid's pool is for? For kids to play with it until it breaks?" The memory had become more painful than soothing somehow.
He took a deep breath and muttered an apology. After placing his spoon down, he reached out for the napkin, wiped his mouth and told Byul that he should probably get going.
"When are you leaving Seoul, Sir?" asked Byul.
"Next weekend, Byul."
"Oh. Saturday or Sunday?"
"Saturday."
"Oh." Byul stole a glance at the quiet WheeIn before speaking again. "I wish we could see you off but there's a friend's wedding that we have to attend so..."
"It's okay." He smiled kindly. "Thank you for offering. Well, thank you for today." He looked at his daughter, saw the unreadable expression and looked away again, choosing to say goodbye to the little girl instead. He laughed when she bowed from her tall chair and shook his hand.
"You're cute," he said, patting the girl's head before he took out his wallet.
"Don't worry, Mr. Jung. It's on us," said Byul, stopping the man.
"No no, Byul. This time it's on me. You've done too much." He signaled the waiter for the bill.
"Don't be stubborn, Dad." WheeIn swiftly took the bill from the waiter when it came and handed it to Byul. "We got this."
He was surprised but his expression softened a moment later. "Thank you."
While Byul paid for the meal, WheeIn tried making small talk, asking her father for his current address because there were some things she wanted to give her sister and family back home. She thought she could send it to the address so he could take it with him.
"Sure. It's like a small guesthouse owned by a friend of mine." He searched his pocket, took out a worn card and gave it to WheeIn. "I'm staying here. Room 7."
"Okay. Thanks."
His smile had grown wider by the time he stood up and nodded goodbye.
WheeIn exhaled as she sat back down and sipped her remaining drink.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Byul said as she let Ha-eun down from her chair to go play. She sat next to WheeIn then held her hand. "You did well. I'm proud of you."
WheeIn leaned her head on Byul's shoulder. "I feel like I've just run a marathon."
Byul chuckled, kissed WheeIn's hair and smiled. "Don't exaggerate, Whee."
"I'm not exaggerating, Byul. That was exhausting."
"You did well."
"Thanks," mumbled WheeIn and closed her eyes for a moment. Despite the unsettling feeling she still had inside, she had to admit that it felt good to be able to talk to her father again no matter how awkward it was.
"Star! Whee! Can we go shopping now?" shouted the girl who ran towards them, throwing herself on Byul's lap.
WheeIn opened her eyes, lifted her head and let Ha-eun crawl her way to her lap.
"Let's go get flower dress," said Ha-eun as she tried to stand, making WheeIn frown and groan when the girl began pulling and stepping on her.
"Y-yah. Calm down," WheeIn told the girl who now had both hands on her cheeks. "What?" she teasingly asked.
"Get pretty dress," said Ha-eun in all seriousness, staring straight into WheeIn's eyes.
She grinned when she saw the expression. "You want a pretty dress that badly?"
Ha-eun nodded. "Will it be pink?"
"Unfortunately, it will be yellow this time because it has to match Aunt Irene's chosen color."
"Yellow? Not pink?"
"Yeah."
"Meh..." The girl flopped down on WheeIn's lap and sulked, crossing her arms cutely.
Byul and WheeIn laughed at the cute reaction.
"You're still using it wrong," commented Byul.
"Why not pink?" Ha-eun asked WheeIn again.
"Because for weddings you need to follow the bride's wishes. And Aunt Irene's the bride. She chose yellow."
"It will still be pretty, Ha-eun-ah," said Byul, helping WheeIn out.
The girl cutely sighed. "Okay then."
WheeIn couldn't stop herself from hugging Ha-eun and kissing her cheek. "Now go tell Aunt Irene we're going and tidy up your things. Put them all in your bag, okay?"
They watched Ha-eun crawl back down and ran away, shouting for her Aunt Irene.
"That girl, seriously," said Byul with a chuckle and a shake of the head. "She resembles you a lot indeed."
"What are you talking about? All that sighing and that moodiness are all so typically you."
"Excuse me? She just sulked about not being able to wear pink. Whose fault is that?"
"Hey, she has good taste. Don't blame her."
A loud giggle from the back of the restaurant caught their attention and they found themselves smiling.
"We're lucky, aren't we?" asked Byul, lacing her fingers with WheeIn's.
"Yeah." She kissed Byul's cheek. "We are."
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The days that followed were surprisingly normal. Everyone on the team was on full alert but when nothing happened, they started to find their old rhythm back.
By Wednesday, the work area had clearly become more cheerful.
Byul had talked to Solar, asking for reduced sentencing. The captain agreed and let Byul come back to work starting on that same Wednesday.
Sandeul's health had improved and so had Tae Hyung's shoulder so they had now taken into teasing Jimin and his cast.
The team had even gone back to their mischievousness during visits from Sandeul's fan and a surprise appearance by Xiumin who claimed he was in town for work.
"Work?" Byul teased. "Right."
"Ask Senior Inspector Park downstairs if you don't believe me. One of his suspects fled Seoul and ran into trouble in Jeonju. I'm just here to bring him back," explained Xiumin.
"Why you? You could have just let your Assistant Inspector do it."
"I like the hands-on approach, you know that," he defended himself.
"More like hands on Hwasa," remarked Tae Hyung who earned himself a few high-fives from the other boys and thumbs up from Byul.
"Shut up! All of you!" scolded the blushing Hwasa. "It's just a friendly lunch, okay? You're all welcome to join if you want."
Xiumin winced a little too obviously.
"I don't think Hyung wants us anywhere near you," said Sandeul with a smirk. "Don't worry. We understand, Hyejin-ih. Go ahead. Have that 'friendly' lunch of yours." He made air quotes with his fingers.
"Yes. You have my blessing," said Byul.
"Never asked for it, Cousin," replied Xiumin who gestured to Hwasa to hurry.
"You might need my help later on so be nice. Or should I tell Auntie now?" Byul pretended to take her phone out.
"Hey hey! I've always been supportive about you and WheeIn there." He gestured at the smiling WheeIn with his head.
"You told Umma about me and WheeIn. I feel like I should return the favor," teased Byul.
"She asked! What was I supposed to do? Lie?"
"Yes."
"This kid..." He shook his head. "Goodbye. I'm hungry." He waited for Hwasa to walk past him before he followed her out, waving goodbye to the rest.
"Well, that was fun. What are we having for lunch?" asked Tae Hyung from his desk.
"We have a lunch appointment so you guys go ahead," Byul said as she stood up and walked over to where WheeIn was sitting.
"Joy?" asked Seulgi. She was well aware of the adoption process her friends were about to undertake. They had asked her to be one of the witnesses should the court require it.
"Yeah. Then we're off to see Mrs. Han," said WheeIn as she shouldered her bag. "Wanna come along?"
"Nah. That sounds like work. I prefer hanging out with the boys," said Seulgi loud enough for the others to hear.
"Yeah! We're fun and cool like that," said Tae Hyung with a grin.
Byul rolled her eyes. "Kids."
"Ahjumma," retorted Seulgi before waving goodbye to her friends.
-----------------------------------------------------
"This is the place?" Joy asked in slight disbelief when she walked out of the small alley.
"Yeah. And you'll understand why we told you to bring spare clothes after this," said Byul. "Although it's a lot better now." She pressed the rusty doorbell and waited.
The door opened a short while later, revealing a tired looking old woman.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Han," greeted Byul. "Are you okay? You look pale."
"I'm okay. Just tired," said the woman, opening the door wider for her guests.
Byul stepped inside and sniffed the thick smell of frying oil. "Have you been going back to the market?"
The woman didn't respond, going straight to the kitchen instead.
Byul placed the food and herbal medicine she brought on an empty space somewhere on the littered counter before going to the living room where WheeIn and Joy were.
They waited until the woman had come out of the kitchen and sat down before they took their seats.
"Mrs. Han, this is our attorney Park Soo-young," Byul introduced the two. "She's helping us with Ha-eun's adoption."
The young attorney bowed. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Han. You might see me a few more times during the entire process," she said with a friendly smile.
"What do I have to do?" asked the old woman.
"Nothing much." Joy opened her briefcase and took out a form. "You need to fill out this form but no worries, I will help you. Then you would have to write a formal letter, acquiescing your guardian rights to Byul unnie. I will help you with that too." She then went on to explain the decision to let Byul adopt Ha-eun as a single parent.
"Okay, I understand," said Ha-eun's grandmother as she took the form from Joy and searched for her reading glasses in her apron pocket.
They spent the rest of the next hour helping the woman while Joy asked her questions about Ha-eun's parents and background.
Once they left the small house, the young attorney took a deep breath and cringed when she sniffed her clothes. "Okay. Now I understand why you told me to bring extra clothes. I'm just glad that there's a gym in my office building where I can shower," she said. "And to think that a child had to live under those conditions..."
"She's not a bad person," said Byul. "Life isn't exactly easy for her too. She has to make ends meet."
"I know. It's just... oh well. I've seen worse, to be quite honest. I thought I'd get used to it over time but I don't think I can," replied Joy. "Anyway," she began to smile, "I'm just glad you guys are taking care of her."
"We should probably talk to her about my moving out," WheeIn said, looking at Byul. "Ease her in so she won't panic when the time comes."
"Well, I'll be back to take Mrs. Han's statement later this week. I plan to make sure that everything's in order by... say... next week?"
"So I have to move out by next week?"
Joy nodded. "Or if you want to wait a bit longer, I don't mind. I'll hold off submitting everything until you're ready to move out. How's that?"
"That would be better," said Byul. "Let's ease Ha-eun into this. I don't want her to get the wrong idea."
"Okay. Just give me a date and I'll take care of the rest," said Joy with a smile.
"Thanks, Joy."
"No problem, Unnie."
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Still thinking on how to make the progress of WheeIn and her Dad... Hopefully if I'm in the mood it will be good...
Enjoy reading everyone.... Don't forget to vote guys...
So excited for next months event.... huhuhu.... Finaly I'm gonna see them....