Yn's POV
I squealed excitedly as I continued to put up the decorations on my front door.
"Ah, excited for Halloween huh?" Mr. O asked as he walked down the hallway.
"Very excited." I replied. "Halloween has been my favorite since my college years."
Mr. O let out a hearty chuckle.
"You remind me so much of my daughter." Mr. O stated. "Ever since she moved to the USA, she's been in love with Halloween ever since."
I smiled. I always find it sweet when the elderly talks about family.
"Well, I'mma let you get back to your decorating." Mr. O announced as he walked off.
When I put the last decoration on the door, my phone vibrated a text from Hae-soo.
Hae-soo: Hey there's a costume party happening at this club tonight. Anyone wanna go?
Me: Sure I'll tag along. I'm dressing up as a fallen angel.
Hae-soo: Nice
Maggie: Count me in! I'm dressing up as Poison Ivy
Anupam: I'll join you all on this social event.
Jung Jae: Sorry, I can't go. I just got a call from Giselle saying that she wants me to meet her friends at a Halloween party.
Hae-soo: Really? But you always want to go to a party with us.
Jung Jae: It doesn't hurt to miss one. Plus, since I'm in a relationship now...I feel like Giselle should be my top priority, so I guess I'm out of the player's game.
Anupam: Good for you Jung Jae :) it's nice that you're being committed into a relationship. Love is a beautiful thing.
Jung Jae: Yes, yes it is :D.
I smiled.
"It's nice that he finally found someone." I thought to myself.
"But what about you? Jung Jae found someone, but the one who you liked didn't like you the way you did, and now you him aren't friends because of your love for him." Anxiety whispered into my ear.
I sighed as I went back into the apartment to get ready for work.
When I got to the work place, I was already greeted by Joo-ryung and her daughter, Ae-Cha.
"Hi Ms. Ln!" Ae-cha squeaked out.
I couldn't help but be in awe at the sight of her in her cute little bumble bee costume.
"Hello Ae-Cha, have you've been a good girl?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am, my mommy said I could come here today." Ae-Cha explained.
"My mom's picking her up after I clock out, so I picked her up early from school." Joo-ryung explained.
"Does Mr. Lee know?" I asked.
"Yeah, he's pretty much chill with having a kid or two be here." Joo-ryung assured.
"Mommy, can I go to the bathroom?" Ae-Cha asked.
"Do you know where it is?" Joo-ryung asked. Ae-Cha nodded as she walked off.
"She looks so cute in her bee costume." I chuckled out.
"I know right, she was gushing over it when I took her out shopping a few days ago." Joo-ryung explained as she sipped her coffee. "I'm telling you, kids are a blessing."
"It looks like it too." I agreed.
"You ever thought about having kids?" Joo-ryung asked.
"Oh no, I can never picture myself being a mother." I chuckled nervously.
"Please, you've babysat Ae-Cha before and she loves you so much." Joo-ryung reassured me. "You'd make a great mother."
"Yeah, but...I also would want my kid to have a father in their life." I stated. "I don't want my kids to go through the same thing I went through on having an absent father."
"I feel you, ever since me and my ex-husband divorced, it's been hard for Ae-Cha." Joo-ryung explained. "She thought that she was the reason why we broke up and she even cried herself to sleep about it...damn, just talking about it right now breaks my heart."
I saw the sad look on Joo-ryung's face.
"But, you're doing your best to raise her on your own." I assured her. "You know that she's not the reason for the divorce and it takes a special woman to become a mother, that woman is you."
Joo-ryung looked at me and smiled.
"Thanks Yn." Joo-ryung thanked.
All of sudden we both heard an ear shattering scream along with the sounds of little feet beating against the floor. Joo-ryung turned around to see Ae-Cha running towards her, clearly frightened.
"Honey, what happened?" Joo-ryung asked as Ae-Cha hugged her dear mommy's legs.
"Scary man!" Ae-Cha cried out.
Sung-tae ran into the lobby, which alarmed Joo-ryung.
"What did you do!?" Joo-ryung yelled.
"I didn't do anything!" Sung-tae exclaimed. "I was mopping the floors when your daughter saw me and ran!" Sung-tae quickly explained.
Joo-ryung sighed as she hugged her scared daughter.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare her like that." Sung-tae apologized, feeling very sincere.
"Ae-Cha, this is Mr. Heo." Joo-ryung introduced. "He's a nice man."
Ae-Cha peeked to look at Sung-tae, who knelt down to her level.
"Hello." Sung-tae greeted with a warm smile.
Ae-Cha buried her face back into her mother's legs.
"She's pretty shy." Joo-ryung assured Sung-tae.
"Hey, it's okay, I may look scary but, I'm nice." Sung-tae explained trying to assure Ae-Cha that he's not a threat. "Do you like cats?"
Ae-Cha turned around as Sung-tae pulled out his phone to show a photo of his two cats.
"The grey one with the stripes is Namhani and the white and beige colored one is Naju." Sung-tae introduced.
"I didn't know you had cats." Joo-ryung claimed with a chuckle.
"Yeah, they've been my babies for about 2 or 3 years now." Sung-tae explained.
"Kitties!" Ae-Cha squeaked out.
Dong Wook walked in.
"What's going on in here?" Dong Wook asked in a stern tone.
"It's nothing sir, it was just a big misunderstanding." I quickly explained.
"My daughter was going to the bathroom and she got scared by Sung-tae." Joo-ryung explained.
Dong Wook looked down at Ae-Cha, who hid behind Joo-ryung then chuckled.
"She's adorable." Dong Wook complimented. "How old is she?"
"She's 7 years old, sir." Joo-ryung replied.
"I didn't think you'd be the type to like kids sir." Sung-tae admitted.
"Well, I have an older sister who has a son." Dong Wook explained.
"You're an uncle?" Sung-tae asked.
"Yeah, my nephew's name is Si An and he's 5 years old." Dong Wook informed.
I smiled as they all began to talk about their family.
When it was time to go, I went into the bathroom to change into my costume. When I walked out, I nearly almost bumped into Dong Wook.
"Oh, hello Ms. Yn." Dong Wook greeted as he eyed me up and down. "Um, dare I might ask, what's with the costume?"
"Oh, me and some friends are going to a costume party for Halloween." I explained.
"Might I ask where?" Dong Wook asked.
"Wait, why does he wanna know where I'm going?" I thought to myself.
"Um...just some club." I lied. "One of my friends is driving up there."
"Hmm, very well then." Dong Wook muttered as I walked off.
Ji-cheol's POV
Ji-cheol scrolled through the groupchat and sighed.
"I don't know if Yoo-mi's gonna be there or not." Ji-cheol thought to himself. "I thought about trying to clear things up with her first."
"As you should." Common Sense spoke out.
Ji-cheol texted Maggie.
Ji-cheol: Hey Maggie, do you know the address to Yoo-mi's place?
Maggie: It's 507 N. Seoul Rd.
Ji-cheol: Alright thanks
Ji-cheol grabbed his car keys and left his house to go to Yoo-mi's place.
"Ha ha, looks like he didn't need me to tell him to go see Yoo-mi first." Common Sense chuckled out.
"That's what friendship does to a person." Love spoke with a smile.
When Ji-cheol pulled up to Yoo-mi's house, he knocked on the door.
"Yoo-mi! It's me, Ji-cheol!" Ji-cheol yelled out.
Yoo-mi peeked through the curtains then closed the curtains.
"Just...go." Yoo-mi mumbled from the other side.
"Yoo-mi, I know you're upset about what happened but, it's okay, I'm here for you." Ji-cheol assured her.
"Don't do that! The last guy who said that he would be there for me winded up almost killing me when I tried to leave!" Yoo-mi yelled. "Just go!"
"I'm not going until I know you're alright." Ji-cheol declined. "Please, let me in."
Ji-cheol then realized something as he looked underneath the welcome mat, then he looked into the mailbox to find a spare key. He unlocked the door to see Yoo-mi sitting on the couch looking like she hasn't seen daylight within weeks.
"Why are you here?" Yoo-mi croaked out.
"Yoo-mi, I'm here to tell you that everything is going to be okay...I'm not mad about what happened I promise." Ji-cheol explained as he stepped up closer to her.
Ji-cheol then felt his heart drop at the sight of what was on her arm.
"Yoo-mi...what the fuck is that on your arm?" Ji-cheol asked in a stern voice.
"Don't worry about it." Yoo-mi scolded.
"Have you've been cutting yourself!?" Ji-cheol yelled as he knelt down to her and grabbed her arm to examine it.
"So what!?" Yoo-mi screamed. "So what if I have!?"
"Yoo-mi, you shouldn't be hurting yourself!" Ji-cheol yelled back. "Why did you do this?"
"Because I've hurt you! I do nothing but get violent around others!" Yoo-mi cried out.
Ji-cheol grew silent as he got up and went into her bathroom to grab a first aid kit. He returned back into the living room and took out the hydrogen peroxide and some bandage wrap.
"Hold out your arm." Ji-cheol ordered.
Yoo-mi was reluctant but she slow stuck her arm out as Ji-cheol poured the hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball. Yoo-mi hissed as the drenched cotton ball came in contact with a cut on her arm. Ji-cheol continued to dab the cotton ball onto her arm while Yoo-mi just looked at him.
"Look, I know you've been through a lot, but never ever turn express your emotions like that ever again." Ji-cheol lectured.
A tear slipped out of Yoo-mi's eye as she sniffled.
"Why do you care?" Yoo-mi asked.
"I've been down this same path before when my grandmother passed away." Ji-cheol began. "I thought I couldn't live life without my grandmother and I thought about taking my life in order to join her. When I met Yn, she encouraged me to see Anupam and go to one of his meditation classes when the going gets tough mentally. If you feel like having a mental breakdown, do the things that make you happy. That's what Anupam told me." Ji-cheol explained.
Yoo-mi remained silent as Ji-cheol took out the bandage wrap and began to wrap up her arm. Once he was done, Yoo-mi just pulled him into a hug. Ji-cheol was a caught off guard a little bit, but he hugged her back as she sobbed onto his shoulder. Ji-cheol rubbed her back as he shushed her.
"You're not alone Yoo-mi, I got you." Ji-cheol muttered out. "You got me, and you also got Anupam, Yn, Maggie, Jung Jae, and Hae-soo...we all got you and you got us."
"Um, Ji-cheol?" Yoo-mi croaked out.
"Hmm?" Ji-cheol hummed.
"Can...you stay with me?" Yoo-mi asked. "I...don't wanna be alone right now."
"Sure, I'll stay." Ji-cheol answered as he sat down next to her on the couch.
Yoo-mi curled up next to Ji-cheol as he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. He sighed as Yoo-mi buried her face into his chest making Ji-cheol's heart beginning to race.
"Ahhh, this is a lovely feeling." Love sighed out. "Just look at them."
"Wait, are you getting an aura from one of them?" Happiness asked.
"Yes, yes I am." Love replied. "Nothing says love rather than someone caring for you when you're at your lowest."
Yoo-mi's POV
Yoo-mi's body began to grow warm as she felt Ji-cheol falling asleep. Her heart began to beat at the embrace he was giving her.
"I...haven't felt this feeling in a very long time." Yoo-mi thought to herself. "Is it safe to have this feeling again?"
October 5th,2022