Ameliorate | Jeno FF

8

"Good afternoon Mirae." A lady was cleaning the dining room. "How are you dear?"

"Good Aunty." Mirae rubbed her eyes. "Where's Johnny?"

"Working, he called me in to make you breakfast since he couldn't." She pointed to the counter. "Go help yourself."

Mirae rolled her eyes with a smile. "I'm not seven anymore, I wonder if he realizes that."

"He just cares for you." The lady swept the floor. "How's the food?"

"Delicious, as always." Mirae swallowed. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I did, I ate before I came." She continued her job, urging Mirae to finish her food.

Mirae had always loved the housekeeper. Johnny had hired her after Mirae moved since he was often at work and he couldn't leave Mirae alone at the house plus, a helping hand to clean the house was always helpful. Mirae never understood why Johnny didn't let her do these things but appreciated the housekeeper nonetheless. There was a lot to thank her for after all.

"Mirae?" The housekeeper came around the corner. "Oh sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I don't get it!" Mirae shouted. "Why? Why me?"

The housekeeper bent down, stroking the girl's hair. She knew that Mirae wasn't yelling directly at her, but she couldn't help but feel bad. The woman wanted to console her, stop her from thinking terrible thoughts.

"I don't get it, Aunty." Mirae burst into tears. "I can't even get answers, if they hated me so much, why did they have me? Or why didn't they just kill me?"

"Darling." She took Mirae into her arms, stroking the back of her head. "There are things that can't be explained right now. You'll figure it out."

The two stayed in the hallway, Mirae crying while the housekeeper hugged her, a tear slipped from her eye as she embraced the girl with all her might.

~*~

"Gross." Mirae shook her head. "I'm not going."

"Oh, pleaseee." Yuna begged. "I really wanted to go to the party!"

"You can go, but I'm not coming. I don't want to see people all over each other, nor do I want to risk seeing Haeun, plus it's Johnny's birthday." Mirae patted her shoulder.

"Were you talking about me?" Johnny walked in from the hallway. "I didn't know I mattered enough to be talked about." He joked, sitting on the couch across from the two.

"Hah, no." Mirae smiled. "I was using you as an excuse to stay out of trouble."

He rose a brow. "Is that so?"

"Yuna here wants to go to a party, your birthday is my excuse for not going." Mirae paused. "By the way, happy birthday."

"I'm offended that I'm only an excuse for you, but thanks." He smiled. "I have no doubt that the party will be great, but make sure to stay safe Yuna."

The three of them were chatting until Yuna had to leave for the party. Johnny reminded Yuna again to be careful before closing the door and returning to Mirae. She was preoccupied on her phone, reading through some news article.

"Whatchu looking at?" He sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"It's a news article." She muttered, scrolling. "Ryujin was just seen at a press conference wearing a never before seen designer outfit." Mirae read out the title.

Johnny shrugged it off, quick to change the subject. "Hey, go get changed. We're going somewhere."

"What? I thought the plan was to have a stay-at-home birthday." Mirae questioned.

"Well, change of plans. I actually have a surprise for you... so go get changed." Johnny left for his room, getting ready as well.

~*~

"It's your birthday. I'm supposed to be the one surprising you." Mirae mumbled, getting into the car. "Plus, I haven't even given you your gift yet."

Johnny laughed. "Don't worry, I think the outcome will be a gift to me." He started the car and drove off.

"Wait, this place seems familiar. Where are we going?" Mirae watched as the street lights illuminated the neighbourhood. Johnny didn't reply so Mirae stayed silent for the rest of the car ride. I guess I should just play into his secretive act. She thought while watching the other cars go by.

"We're here." Johnny turned off the car. The two of them stayed in the car, it being a cold February day. "Remember this place? We used to come here whenever you or I were having a bad day."

"I remember." Mirae quietly took the view in. It had been a while since she had seen the place. "Can I give my gift to you first?" She turned to Johnny.

"Yeah sure, what is it?" He took the box from Mirae's hands, shaking it lightly first. Johnny lifted its lid and smiled. "How much did you put in here? It looks like everything will fall out."

He began to take things out one by one. First, he pulled out a dark brown sweater with a sunflower on the back. Mirae explained that she had seen it in a store and immediately thought it would be perfect for him. Second, there was a key chain with a puzzle piece on it. Mirae opened her bag and showed him that she had the other half of the puzzle on her key chain. Lastly, there was a photo album. Johnny's smile widened as he flipped through it. On each page, there was an image of him, many of them also had Mirae in them. She had decorated each page, like a scrapbook, filling in dates and descriptions of the events, along with her little doodles here and there. Towards the end, there were empty pages, a small envelope encased inside the sleeve of the photobook.

Happy Birthday, Johnny! It read. You're the best big brother I could have ever asked for. I know we may only be foster siblings, but you've treated me like a real sister and I can't express how grateful I am. You mean so much to me and I hope you know that. Love, Mirae. Ps. keep filling in the pages, life still goes on, you know?

"Mirae..." Johnny closed the book.

"Do you not like it?" She questioned, sensing a change in tone from his voice.

"I love it," He placed everything in the box and placed it in the back seat. "But I think it's time for your surprise." He placed a hand on her head, messing with her hair a little bit.

"What is it?" She curiously looked around, wondering what it was he was going to give her.

"Actually, I don't have something to give, but something to ask." He took a deep breath. "Mirae, you've been like a sister to me for ages now, ever since we met, you have always had a special place in my heart. Even when we lived apart from each other for four years, I felt like our sibling bond was still there. I have been in contact with Mom and the foster care, and have finally gotten confirmation that this can work out. Mirae, would you like to officially become part of the Seo family?"

Mirae felt like the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. "For real?" The tears began to well up, soon trickling down her cheeks.

"Yes, Mirae." He stroked her head. "For real."

a/n: get me a brother like johnny pls- also yeah, i know that johnny tends to be more playful and i haven't portrayed him like that, but i wanted to show his protective side. 

ANYWAY Happy Johnny Day <3

and yes I spam posted this week ish so I could post this chapter on johnny's bday