Parental Discretion Advised

Making Money Moves

Taemin's POV:

It's been weeks now since that unfortunate situation, and that pathetically psychotic person I refused to continue to give a name to---and I strived not to think about it nor her.

She didn't deserve the honor.

Even though I wasn't talking about it or her, it hadn't stopped Kikah from curiously asking about how I handled it all. I knew she would be wondering what had happened, but I decided that the moment I left that place that day I would put it all behind us. Our lives had been affected enough because of her, her lies and her psychotic behavior, it was simply time for us to move on.

Eventually, Kikah stopped asking after constantly receiving my blank stare and we began to move forward as if that whole situation had never existed.

Now, as I sat at my desk in my brand-new office, with my brand-new position at SM, I found that I couldn't concentrate on organizing the new cultural sensitivity workshop for the incoming trainees. Instead, my mind kept circling around one thing.

Well, two things.

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair and glanced across my mahogany desk to the set of pictures that sat in Tiffany's silver frames near its edge. Smiling, I reached over and picked them up. Running my fingers over both frames.

Within the first frame, was a picture of Aurora and me from our photo shoot with Amber. She truly was my mini me, in every way possible. Except those beautiful hazel eyes of hers, those she had inherited from her mother. As long as I lived, I'd never grow tired of looking at those beautiful eyes of theirs and hoped that the newest edition to the Lee family inherited those same eyes as well.

Tracing my fingers over the picture, I marveled at my little girl and the other picture that had been placed into the bottom corner of the frame. It covered up my feet and the grassy foliage of the old temple.

Unlike the other photo, this one was black and white. Kikah's name and age printed across the top, along with the date it was taken. My eyes lingered to the small bean sized image in the center. Still too small to have arms or legs, but like Aurora, had stolen my heart at first sight and would probably also be cursed with my big ass head.

My children. My beautiful, innocent children.

I would give the world to them if I could, if it was what they wanted. The world could be a cruel place and I wanted to protect them from it, from hurt. I would protect them with my life--even if it meant from myself. I would do anything for them.

When Aurora first came into my life I had been afraid to mess up. I'd had so much to make up for and it scared me, but I was also excited and ready to be the best father to her that I could be. I made a promise to her back then and had every intention to keep it now, as long as there was breath in my body.

It was that same vow that I made to Aurora, the first night she came into my life, was the same thing that I found myself whispering to my unborn the night after I went to pick them up from my parents, as Kikah peacefully slept away.

My eyes left those photos to travel to the other frame in my hand. The picture was much older than the other two but still in great condition. I had told Kikah that I had burned all the pictures from that era, but I lied.

This was the only one that I had kept, and for good reason.

It was the first picture we had ever taken together. Looking at it now, I realized how young we looked.