Chaeyoung woke up the next day in the warmness of her bed, the heavy feeling in her chest was slowly fading when she felt Mina press against her. After the events that happened in the past few days, she wanted to remind herself day after day that she would never trade their moments together with anything in this world. She kept these closer to her heart.
Though, she still had to talk to Kai again about their flight to Korea. She knew that he might say no to the idea again, but she wanted to try again. She promised Yukiko that she would take her there and that was a promise she wasn’t going to break.
There was a soft knock on their door and Mina jolted awake when she heard it. Chaeyoung pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and smiled at her. “I’ll get it.”
Chaeyoung stretched her body before jumping off of the bed. She wore her glasses and then walked towards the door. When she opened it she was shocked to see Kai there, all dressed up and with a suitcase next to him.
“Good morning, Chaeyoung,” he greeted her softly. “Sorry to wake you up, but I thought we could have a talk first before I head to the airport.”
She nodded immediately. “Yes, of course.” Then she looked back at Mina who was already sitting on the bed, watching them carefully. Chaeyoung smiled at her and gestured to wait. She exited the room and the two walked quietly towards the kitchen. She was a bit shocked to see a pot of coffee ready and two mugs there.
They both sat down, and he poured them coffee. She thanked him quietly as she cradled the hot mug in her hands.
Kai sat back on his seat and sighed. “I want to apologize for everything I did last night.” He reached inside his coat and handed her a fat envelope. “This is to compensate for the plane tickets.” Then he handed her a passport. “This is Yuki’s passport. I kept it with me in case she decides to move to the States with me. But it's evident that she wants to be with you and Mina more than anything.”
He pursed his lips and took a quick sip from his mug, placing it back down on the coaster. “My wife died from a car crash. She was on the way to pick up Yukiko from school but there was a driver that zoomed too fast and didn’t see her taking the turn at the intersection.” He sighed. “I was in Detroit when that happened, we had a game that day and when I heard the news, it was too late. She died on the spot.”
“I’m so sorry,” she muttered, glancing at him and then she stared back at her coffee mug again.
“I don’t know if Mina told you that story.” Then he let out a breath. “Yukiko is all I have now. And I think I’ve been angrily living my life because of the regret I had for leaving Yui behind like that. Now I’m worried that I’m doing the same to Mina and she’ll also slip away from me.” He looked at her, there was sadness in his eyes, and she didn’t know how to react to that. “I’m like this because I believed that a man should be strong and dominant. I was a loser back in high school. Yui was the girl from my class that was too nice to people, but she gave me a chance and we ended up falling in love, getting married and then having Yukiko.” He tried to smile at the memories, but it quickly faded. “But I realized I’ve been hurting my family because of my attitude.”
"It didn't help that our parents died when we were still students," he suddenly added. "I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I had to take care of my sister alone because it was just the both of us. I was of legal age to take care of her, so I did. Luckily, Yui was with me to help Mina." He took a deep breath. "Maybe that's why I was harsh on Mina. Because I was afraid that she'll also leave. It hit the nail when I lost my wife. Now all I can think of is that I'll lose Mina and then Yukiko. But I feel like I'll be the reason why if they disappear because I can’t see the real picture."
“I tried to say sorry to Yukiko earlier this morning, but she still doesn’t want to talk to me.” Then he chuckled. “She said she’ll only forgive me if I apologize to you and take back everything I said last night.” He smiled at Chaeyoung. “I thought she’ll forgive me if I buy the tickets again and allow her to go to Korea. But she didn’t mention any of that. She only cared about you.”
“Oh.” Chaeyoung wasn’t sure what to say to that. But she was touched that was Yukiko's concern. “It’s okay, really. This is your house, hyung. And I wouldn’t do anything to disrespect you. I only want what’s best for Yuki.”
“And I do appreciate that, Chayeoung,” he said, looking down at the coffee on the table. “I’m really sorry for everything. I should have been thanking you all this time because you've been taking care of my sister and my daughter since you moved here. You weren’t obligated to, and I believed that you never had a real reason to stay here, but I realized now that you do. You stayed for them.”
Chaeyoung smiled. “I did.” Then she looked up at him. “I do care about them. And I’m sorry for not formally asking for your blessing when I wanted to be with Mina. But—“ She took a breath. “I love your sister. She’s everything to me and I’ll do anything within my power to keep her safe. Including Yukiko.”
He nodded and then smiled at her. “I’m very thankful for that, Chaeyoung. I trust you.” Then he leaned forward on the table, resting his elbows on the table. “I do all of this because I need to provide for them. I wish they could understand that. But since I won’t be around again, can I trust you to stay here and take care of them for me?”
Her heart was beating hard in her chest, eyes a bit wide with his request. She immediately nodded. “Yes, of course.”
"This is your home now, Chaeyoung. I want you to be a part of this family." Kai felt a bit shy after saying that. He looked away from Chaeyoung. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to this."
Chaeyoung gave a soft look and waved her hand. "That's fine. I completely understand." At least he was trying. It wasn't like everyone could warm up to him so soon after what happened, but for Chaeyoung it was enough that he was doing this.
Kai pursed his lips. Not entirely sure how to end this conversation. So he stood up, drank more from his coffee and placed it back down. He checked his phone and sighed. “I have to go, my ride to the airport is here.”
She stood up as well. “You’re not staying till New Years?”
He shook his head, looking a bit sad. “I wish. But we have a game by January, and I need to go back to my training.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Chaeyoung.”
Chaeyoung bowed at him. “Thank you, as well.”
She walked him towards the gate and waved him goodbye as his car drove off from their street. When she closed the gate, she saw Yukiko and Mina waiting for her by the entrance of the house and she smiled at the sight.
“Everything okay?” Mina asked, dusting off the snow from her head when Chaeyoung came through the door. “Did he say anything again?"
She shook her head and caressed Mina’s cheek. “No, he didn’t. We had a serious talk and we ended it right.” Then she handed Mina the envelope he gave Chaeyoung along with Yukiko's passport. "He gave me this. Said to compensate for the ticket."
"Oh wow." Mina's eyes were wide when she checked the contents of the envelope. "I guess he's that sorry." Chaeyoung took a peak and was surprised to see a thick wad of American dollars inside. This really was the easiest way to apologize, but she knew what Kai did after was enough.
“Did he really say sorry to you?” Yukiko asked immediately and that made Chaeyoung chuckle, ruffling her bed hair with a hand.
“Yeah, he did. So you have to forgive him.”
Yukiko pouted and eventually shrugged. “Okay, I guess I will.” Then Mina nudged her and pointed at Chaeyoung, and Yukiko suddenly turned to look at her again. “Oh! Right, I almost forgot. Can we go somewhere today?”
Chaeyoung blinked but nodded anyway. “Of course, kiddo. Where do you want to go?”
“It’s a surprise,” Yukiko said happily and then ran upstairs. “I’m gonna go get ready. You should too!”
Chaeyoung blinked again then looked at Mina. “Should I be concerned?”
Mina giggled and then brought Chaeyoung to a big hug. “Of course not, but we really gotta get ready.” Then she tugged on Chaeyoung’s hands and guided her to their room.
As they got inside their bedroom, Mina immediately pulled her in for a long intimate kiss. Chaeyoung responded instantly, loving each second they took to make the kiss last.
Chaeyoung didn’t really need to think twice if someone asked her to stay and watch over them. She would do it in a heartbeat, and nothing was going to make her change her mind.
After dropping by a fruit stand and a flower shop, they took the bus to their next stop. Chaeyoung wasn’t sure what they wanted to do, she thought that maybe Yukiko was hungry for fruits and Mina wanted new flowers for the house.
But when the bus took them to an unfamiliar place and they arrived at a cemetery, Chaeyoung started to understand what the two wanted to do.
Yukiko immediately walked over to one corner of the cemetery and picked up a wooden bucket and ladle, she filled it up with water and then went back to them. She took Chaeyoung’s hand and tugged her. “Come on, Chaeyoung.”
“Okay, okay.” Chaeyoung couldn’t help but smile.
After a few turns and passing through other gravestones, they stopped at a small one by the end of one row, far enough to reach the end of the cemetery. Chaeyoung tried her best to read the inscriptions on the gravestone but when she read the name, she knew exactly who this was.
Yukiko placed the bucket down and grabbed the ladle, filled it up with water then started pouring it slowly over her mother’s grave. After that, Mina placed down the flowers and a couple of fruits, lighting up the candles that were placed there.
“I think your dad dropped by here,” Mina said quietly to her niece. Noticing how the candles were recently used and a pair of incense that burnt out.
Yukiko didn’t respond but she simply nodded. Mina handed her two incense sticks and then another two to Chaeyoung.
“Mom, this is Chaeyoung,” Yukiko said, not entirely sure if her tone was cheerful or not. “She’s been taking care of the house, me and Auntie Mina ever since she got here. She also likes tangerines and onigiri, exactly the ones that you always get for us. If only she got to taste your onigiris, cause those were the best.”
Yukiko kept updating her mother on what their lives were for the past year. Chaeyoung wasn’t expecting this to happen, really. But of course she didn’t mind. The idea of visiting Yukiko’s mom had crossed her mind a couple of times, but everyone got a bit too busy for that. At least she had a chance to make a good impression.
Hearing Yukiko talk about her felt different. But in a good way. It was like she was proud to have Chaeyoung. She was happily telling her mother how Chaeyoung was at home, how she loved Mina, how she took care of the house and cared for them when they were sick.
Chaeyoung's brother wasn’t as sweet as her, he still showed how much he cared though, despite him being extremely shy and reserved. Then again, it really was different when it was coming from a teenager. They knew how to lie, sure, but Yukiko had always been genuine. She had always been transparent about her intentions and with her feelings. Chaeyoung was thankful that even if Mina dropped her career to take care of Yukiko, she still did a great job at being an aunt and guardian to her niece. Yukiko had a big heart just like Mina and it showed.
Something was tugging on her heart, and she was happy it was Yukiko.
4 likes from DotoliWrites, zoomies, kryphtot, and SwiftViper.