The Daughter ↬ SUNGJOY [EDITING!]

➳ thirty four

Joy finished changing Areum's clothes into a sleeping pyjamas. Areum did not even look at Joy the whole time.

Joy can see the sadness in the little girl's eyes, how Areum avoids all possible eye-contact with Joy. She can still feel that Areum is scared of her and the aloofness between the two of them gives Joy the want to cry.

"Areum-ah..." Joy called, "Are you mad at Eomma?" She asked.

Areum shook her head, still not turning her eyes away from the opposite of where Joy is.

"If not, then why aren't you looking at me?" Joy asked in a soft voice, doing the very best she could to not cry, even though her voice broke a little. The stinging feeling of how distant Areum feels is too heartbreaking for Joy. That's why the thought that Areum will despise and will stay away from her if ever Areum finds out that huge mistake she did before makes her feel devastated.

Undeniably, Joy will break.

Areum is such a fragile little kid and Joy will forever blame herself for scaring Areum like that. "Areum-ah, please look at Eomma," Joy plead taking Areum's small hands which, thankfully, didn't bulge on Joy's touch.

But Areum did not do it, her doleful eyes were still focused somewhere and her lips is curved downwards.

It's so hard take... So, Joy put both her hands on Areum's cheeks and made the little girl face her, not resisting, "I'm sorry..." Joy said, more like a whisper because her voice broke again. Areum knew her Eomma so much that even though Joy is not shedding tears, she knows that her Eomma is sad.

This made Areum sad too.

Soon Areum is crying again and Joy pulled the little girl and hugged her so tight which Areum finally returned, "You know Eomma will never hurt you, right?" She asked while rubbing Areum's back, "Eomma is really sorry, Areum-ah,"

Areum nodded, her face is on Joy's chest which is already wet from tears and snots.

Atleast, Joy knew that Areum forgave her already. And Joy, she already learned her lesson and swore to teach Areum without scaring her like that, ever again.

ㅡ

Sungjae doesn't know but he's there again, some meters away from Joy's coffee shop, observing like a creep and waiting for something even him does not even know.

Hoping to atleast, get a glance of Areum...

He's been doing it for almost some weeks now and he got to realize some things.

1. Joy and Areum have a really great mother and daughter bond.

2. Areum is now going to school but there's something that happened that's why she's absent for today.