Daeul - Kwon Hyuk

9

They sat at the dining table with their plates full and silverware polished.

She tore off the edge of Daeul's toast and patted some butter on it before folding it into a tiny piece and handing it to him. He happily received it and used his whole palm to place the food into his mouth.

Hyuk sat in his spot at the table, perpendicular from Hanji and Daeul. They ate in silence with the muffled sounds of chewing and gulping and the occasional, "here you go, Daeul".

"Any plans today, Hanji?", Hyuk broke the silence. He kept his eyes on the newspaper in his hands as he brought his mug of coffee to his mouth.

She wiped her hands gently of the bread crumbs from Daeul's toast and looked at the man intently. "Uh...Well I think Daeul and I are going to practice his shapes and numbers again."

Hanji grinned warmly as she looked down at Daeul who returned her gaze.

The man cleared his throat and placed the newspaper down before wiping his mouth with a napkin. He leaned closer to his son, his broad forearm in his way.

"Speaking of numbers, Daeul can you guess how old Hanji is today?"

She was taken aback. How does he know? She had no recollection of ever telling him when her birthday --

"I'll be twenty-seven this September, Mister Kwon.", she said to him the second time they had met and the day she realized she had scolded her new boss.

Ohh. But how did he find the exact date?

He gave her a slight smolder but his head was still turned to Daeul who just smiled at his father warmly. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"You plan on spending your twenty-seventh birthday teaching a child shapes and numbers?", he asked in almost an interrogating tone of voice. She pursed her lips in slight awkwardness and averted her eyes from him, her heart almost skipping a beat.

"You may have the day off -- Missus Chae will take care of Daeul.", Hyuk continued as he rose from the table and cleared his throat once more. He spoke no more words to either of them as he left the dining room and proceeded to call for one of the drivers.

~

She packed a small bag of clothes and toiletries -- Missus Chae had explained to her that Hyuk had instructed she just spend the night with her family and return first thing in the morning.

Reaching for her phone for the first time that morning, she read Minji's text and immediately her eyes widened. M-Mom and dad are visiting?! They had no idea of Hanji's new job as a caretaker and she had no intentions of telling them soon.

Her parents had always supported her idea of becoming a historian but suspected that perhaps one day she would change her mind. She wasn't going to change her mind! She just needed the job to save up for England.

She could already see her father's reaction -- telling her off for working as a nanny or what he would call, a maid. She could imagine her mother trying to reassure all of them with her selfish words like, "I'm going to have a heart attack if you don't calm down" or "I'm sure she's only doing this so she can buy a house for us".

Pushing her thoughts aside and preparing for the worst, she put her backpack on and headed toward the front door. She was greeted by Daeul who held Eppe in his arms and almost had a look of worry on his face.

"Be good to Missus Chae, alright? I'll be back tomorrow.", Hanji explained before giving him a quick hug. Truth be told if the elder woman wasn't next to her, she would have been glad to pull Daeul into her arms and carry him out the door with her.

But she wasn't going to. She was only his caretaker.

~

Hanji unlocked the apartment door with her key and immediately called out for her sister as she walked down the narrow corridor which led into the living room.

"Oh Minji! What do you mean mom and dad are coming? Do you realize I haven't even told them --"

Before her sat her parents on the sofa with a small suitcase in the corner of the room and Minji midway bringing them a bowl of dried mandarins.

They looked exactly like what she had envisioned them to be -- crossed arms and stern faces, a forced smile especially on her mother's face and a cringey straight smile on Minji which made her look like the Chrissy Teigen smile meme.

"Eomma...A-Abba."

Her mother smiled tightly as her dad released a quiet sigh. She didn't have to look at her sister to understand that as always, her parents had arrived earlier than expected.

~

"So basically a nanny."

"No, dad! I literally just said I'm not his nanny -- I'm not a maid either.", Hanji explained her situation to her parents for the nth time and for whatever reason they still seemed to not understand.

"I just need the money to go to England -- there are teaching and curating opportunities for me there. I-I don't make enough at the restaurant in order to afford a life there."

Her father grunted and frowned angrily, making her blood boil. "You're living with a single dad and a boy, Hanji. What will people say?"

"Let them think whatever! You guys, for years I've dealt with people telling me I won't achieve anything not especially with a degree in history but this is my chance!"

They all looked at her in wariness and almost pity. Her sisters eyes told her to go on.

"A-And he's a good man. His son is only two years old and they need me. I need them."

In a way it sounded like she was trying to get her parents' approval on a guy whom she wanted to date. Saying things like he was good and how they both needed each other. But just as cheesy as it sounded, it was true.

"We understand, Hanji. But aren't there any other jobs you can take? W-We're just not so sure about this live-in thing.", her mother reasoned with ease.

"I know, ma. I-It's not easy to hear but I promise I have money saved up too and I won't be staying long anyway. Please, I'm practically in my late twenties I can do this."

~

It was still her birthday after all and they were still her family. Her mother had kindly packed containers of kimchi and radish which they ate with Minji's "special" ramen noodles. They sat at the small dining table and shared one pot of noodles as they told stories and made fun of Minji's cooking.

She told them stories about Daeul and bit her tongue when she almost exposed her first encounter with Hyuk.

And speaking of him, she failed to notice the light up notification which came from her phone charging at the kitchen counter.

Missed call from Kwon Hyuk.

~

Fun Story Fact #9:

Minji's wishes to share her "special" ramen noodles recipe:

- one pack of noodles

- half of the seasoning packet

- two eggs

- cooked ham and sausage

- spring onions

- paprika, pepper (emphasis on no salt as the ham already makes it saltaayy)

- the whole damn bottle of sesame oil

PRO TIP: once the noodles have separated from each other, drain the water and replace and then add all the ingredients.