Yunjin woke up the next day in the warmness of her bed, the heavy feeling in her chest was slowly fading when she felt Chaewon press against her. After the events that happened in the past few days, she wanted to remind herself day after day that she would never trade their moments together with anything in this world. She kept these closer to her heart.
Though, she still had to talk to Kai again about their flight to Korea. She knows that he might say no to the idea again, but she wanted to try again. She promised Eunchae that she'll take her there and that was a promise she wasn't going to break.
There was a soft knock on their door and Chaewon jolted awake when she heard it. Yunjin pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and smiled at her. "I'll get it."
Yunjin stretched her body before jumping off of the bed. She wore her glasses and then walked towards the door. When she opened it she was shocked to see Kai there, all dressed up and with a suitcase next to him.
"Good morning, Yunjin." He said softly. "Sorry to wake you up, but I thought we could have a talk first before I head to the airport."
She nodded immediately. "Yes, of course." Then she looked back at Chaewon who was already sitting on the bed, watching them carefully. Yunjin smiled at her and gestured to wait. She exited the room and the two walked quietly towards the kitchen. She was a bit shocked to see a pot of coffee ready and two mugs there.
They both sat down, and he poured them coffee. She thanked him quietly as she cradled the hot mug in her hands.
Kai sat back on his seat and sighed. "I want to apologize for everything I did last night." He reached inside his coat and handed her a fat envelope. "This is to compensate for the plane tickets." Then he handed her a passport. "This is Eunchae's passport. I kept it with me in case she decides to move to the States with me. But it's evident that she wants to be with you and Chaewon more than anything."
He pursed his lips and took a quick sip from his mug, placing it back down on the coaster. "My wife died from a car crash. She was on the way to pick up Eunchae from school but there was a driver that zoomed too fast and didn't see her taking the turn at the intersection." He sighed. "I was in Detroit when that happened, we had a game that day and when I heard the news, it was too late. She died on the spot."
"I'm so sorry." She muttered, glancing at him and then she stared back at her coffee mug again.
"I don't know if Chaewon told you that story." Then he lets out a breath. "Eunchae is all I have now. And I think I've been angrily living my life because of the regret I had for leaving Yui behind like that. Now I'm worried that I'm doing the same to Chaewon and she'll also slip away from me." He looked at her, there was sadness in his eyes, and she didn't know how to react to that. "I'm like this because I believed that a man should be strong and dominant. I was a loser back in high school. Yui was the girl from my class that was too nice to people, but she gave me a chance and we ended up falling in love, getting married and then having Eunchae." He tried to smile at the memories, but it quickly faded. "But I realized I've been hurting my family because of my attitude."
"It didn't help that our parents died when we were still students." He suddenly added. "I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I had to take care of my sister alone because it was just the both of us. I was of legal age to take care of her, so I did. Luckily, Yui was with me to help Chaewon." He took a deep breath. "Maybe that's why I was harsh on Chaewon. Because I was afraid that she'll also leave. It hit the nail when I lost my wife. Now all I can think of is that I'll lose Chaewon and then Eunchae. But I feel like I'll be the reason why if they disappear because I can't see the real picture."
"I tried to say sorry to Eunchae earlier this morning, but she still doesn't want to talk to me." Then he chuckled. "She said she'll only forgive me if I apologize to you and take back everything I said last night." He smiled at Yunjin. "I thought she'll forgive me if I buy the tickets again and allow her to go to Korea. But she didn't mention any of that. She only cared about you."
"Oh." Yunjin wasn't sure what to say to that. But she was touched that Eunchae said that. "It's okay, really. This is your house, Kai-shi. And I wouldn't do anything to disrespect you. I only want what's best for Eunchae."
"And I do appreciate that." He said, looking down at the coffee on the table. "I'm really sorry for everything. I should have been thanking you all this time because you've been taking care of my sister and my daughter since you moved here. You weren't obligated to, and I believed that you never had a real reason to stay here, but I realized now that you do. You stayed for them."
Yunjin smiled. "I did." Then she looked up at him. "I do care about them. And I'm sorry for not formally asking for your blessing when I wanted to be with Chaewon. But—" She took a breath. "I love your sister. She's everything to me and I'll do anything within my power to keep her safe. Including Eunchae."
He nods and then smiles at her. "I'm very thankful for that, Yunjin. I trust you." Then he leaned forward on the table, resting his elbows on the table. "I do all of this because I need to provide for them. I wish they could understand that. But since I won't be around again, can I trust you to stay here and take care of them for me?"
Her heart was beating hard in her chest, eyes a bit wide with his request. She immediately nodded. "Yes, of course."
"This is your home now, Yunjin. I want you to be a part of this family." Kai felt a bit shy after saying that. He looked away from Yunjin. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to this."
Yunjin gave a soft look and waved her hand. "That's fine. I completely understand." At least he was trying. It's not like everyone can warm up to him so soon, but for Yunjin it was enough that he's doing this.
Kai pursed his lips. Not entirely sure how to end this conversation. So he stood up, drank more from his coffee and placed it back down. He checked his phone and sighed. "I have to go, my ride to the airport is here."
She stood up as well. "You're not staying till New Years?"
He shook his head, looking a bit sad. "I wish. But we have a game by January, and I need to go back to my training." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Yunjin."
Yunjin bowed at him. "Thank you, as well."
She walked him towards the gate and waved him goodbye as his car drove off from their street. When she closed the gate, she saw Eunchae and Chaewon waiting for her by the entrance of the house and she smiled at the sight.
"Everything okay?" Chaewon asked, dusting off the snow from her head when Yunjin came through the door. "Did he say anything again?"
She shook her head and caressed Chaewon's cheek. "No, he didn't. We had a serious talk and we ended it right." Then she handed Chaewon the envelope he gave Yunjin along with Eunchae's passport. "He gave me this. Said to compensate for the ticket."
"Oh wow." Chaewon's eyes were wide when she checked the contents of the envelope. "I guess he's that sorry." Yunjin took a peak and was surprised to see a thick wad of American dollars inside. This really was the easiest way to apologize, but she knows what Kai did after was enough.
"Did he really say sorry to you?" Eunchae asked immediately and that made Yunjin chuckle, ruffling her bed hair with a hand.
"Yeah, he did. So you have to forgive him."
Eunchae pouted and eventually shrugged. "Okay, I guess I will." Then Chaewon nudged her and pointed at Yunjin, and Eunchae suddenly turned to look at her again. "Oh! Right, I almost forgot. Can we go somewhere today?"
Yunjin blinked but nodded anyway. "Of course, kiddo. Where do you want to go?"
"It's a surprise." Eunchae said happily and then ran upstairs. "I'm gonna go get ready. You should too!"
Yunjin blinked again then looked at Chaewon. "Should I be concerned?"
Chaewon giggled and then brought Yunjin to a big hug. "Of course not, but we really gotta get ready." Then she tugged on Yunjin's hands and guided her to their room.
As they got inside their bedroom, Chaewon immediately pulled her in for a long intimate kiss. Yunjin responded instantly, loving each second they took to make the kiss last.
Yunjin didn't really need to think twice if someone asked her to stay and watch over them. She'd do it in a heartbeat, and nothing was going to make her change her mind.
*****
After dropping by a fruit stand and a flower shop, they took the bus to their next stop. Yunjin wasn't sure what they wanted to do, she thought that maybe Eunchae was hungry for fruits and Chaewon wanted new flowers for the house.
But when the bus took them to an unfamiliar place and they arrived at a cemetery, Yunjin started to understand what the two wanted to do.
Eunchae immediately walked over to one corner of the cemetery and picked up a wooden bucket and ladle, she filled it up with water and then went back to them. She took Yunjin's hand and tugged her. "Come on, Yunjin."
"Okay, okay." Yunjin couldn't help but smile.
After a few turns and passing through other gravestones, they stopped at a small one by the end of one row, far enough to reach the end of the cemetery. Yunjin tried her best to read the inscriptions on the gravestone but when she read the name, she knew exactly who this was.
Eunchae placed the bucket down and grabbed the ladle, filled it up with water then started pouring it slowly over her mother's grave. After that, Chaewon placed down the flowers and a couple of fruits, lighting up the candles that were placed there.
"I think your dad dropped by here." Chaewon said quietly to her niece. Noticing how the candles were recently used and a pair of incense that burnt out.
Eunchae didn't respond but she simply nodded. Chaewon handed her two incense sticks and then another two to Yunjin.
"Mom, this is Yunjin." Eunchae said, not entirely sure if her tone was cheerful or not. "She's been taking care of the house, me and Auntie Chaewon ever since she got here. She also likes tangerines and onigiri, exactly the ones that you always get for us. If only she got to taste your onigiris, cause those were the best."
Eunchae kept updating her mother on what their lives were for the past year. Yunjin wasn't expecting this to happen, really. But of course she doesn't mind. The idea of visiting Eunchae's mom has crossed her mind a couple of times, but everyone got a bit too busy for that. At least now she has a chance to make a good impression.
Hearing Eunchae talk about her felt different. But in a good way. It was like she was proud to have Yunjin. She was happily telling her mother how Yunjin was at home, how she loved Chaewon, how she took care of the house and cared for them when they're sick.
Yunjin's Sister wasn't as sweet as her, she still showed how much she cared though, despite her being extremely shy and reserved. Then again, it really is different when it's coming from a teenager. They know how to lie, sure, but Eunchae has always been genuine. She's always been transparent about her intentions and with her feelings. Yunjin was thankful that even if Chaewon dropped her career to take care of Eunchae, she still did a great job at being an aunt and guardian to her niece. Eunchae had a big heart just like Chaewon and it showed.
Something was tugging on her heart, and she was happy it was Eunchae.
Chaewon grabbed her hand and held it tight. "You don't have to say anything to her out loud." She said softly and Yunjin nodded.
Yunjin lit up her incense, bowed in front of the grave and whispered a heartfelt thank you.
After a few prayers, Eunchae jumped up and grabbed the bucket again. "Okay! Let's go see grandma and grandpa now!"
"Wait, what—"
//
"Yun?"
Yunjin sobbed when she heard her voice. "Jinnie, I'm sorry."
"Woah, woah! What happened? Are you okay?"
"I-im such a coward." She tried to stop herself from heaving so much, her tears continuously flowing out of her eyes.
"Dude, you're not! W-what happened?"
"What's going on? Who's that?" It was Wonyoung's voice.
"It's Yun."
"Is she okay?"
"No." She tried to catch her breath. "I'm sorry Wonyoung."
Wonyoung gasped and went closer to the phone. "Honey, take deep breaths, okay?"
"I hurt Chaewon." She leaned her body forward, pressing her hand on her eyes. "Her brother hates me. He doesn't want me to stay. So—" The words were hurting her chest. "I left."
They were quiet on the line. Yunjin felt her face freeze up from the tears that easily fell, and streamed down her cheeks. She hugged her jacket tighter, silently scolding herself for rushing to get out of the house and not change into something warmer. But she didn't really have the energy to think about it. She just wanted to escape.
"Yun, do you want to come home?" Yujin asked carefully over the phone. "I can book you a ticket right now. But only if you want to."
Her eyes shot open. Did she? All that she could think of was if she was wanted there. Of course, she was. Of course she wanted to stay. But at what cost? What if Kai bans her from staying there or from seeing Eunchae? What if he forces her to break up with Chaewon?
Yunjin didn't want to make Chaewon's life more miserable. Even if Chaewon said it was fine, it seems that it really wasn't. How long has Chaewon been tolerating her brother for her sake? How long does Chaewon have to suffer from his words because she was defending her?
"I—"
"Yunjin!"
"Eunchae?" Yunjin lifted her head to where the voice came from. She felt her eyes water more when she saw Eunchae running towards her and Chaewon following behind. "Jinnie, I gotta go."
Maybe this was her answer.
//
"You sure you're okay?" Yujin asked again, shaking Yunjin out of her memory. She looked back at her phone, seeing Yujin look at her with concern. "I was about to book you tickets back to Korea."
Yunjin sighed, glancing up at her phone to look at Yujin as she was busy cutting the apple peels strategically, trying to make them look like rabbits. "Yeah, dude. I'm fine."
"We could have totally gone there instead." Wonyoung chimed in, standing behind Yujin. "I wanna see Chaewon too!"
Yujin sighed. "I know, babe. Maybe next time?" Wonyoung groaned and walked away. Then Wonyoung looked back at the camera. "We were supposed to go there but she's needed at work and it's apparently non-negotiable."
Yunjin smirked. "That's fine. I think it's best if me and the girls spend the rest of the holidays alone."
"Yeah, after what you told me, you guys deserve a break." Then she laid down on her bed. "Did he really tear up the tickets?"
Yunjin didn't want to remember what happened, but she nodded. "I already went back to the ticketing office with Eunchae. I even made a lame ass excuse just to get them reprinted." She chuckled at the memory and how awkward Yunjin and Eunchae were when the clerk raised a brow at Yunjin's reasoning. "Oh right, I gotta tell Ryujin we got Yeji's tickets too."
"Alright, cool!" Yujin chuckled. "Ya know, Min was about to buy the tickets herself and even thought of going there to beat the shit out of Chaewon's brother." Then she sighed, looking at Yunjin. "I didn't expect him to do that. Or say any of that to you."
Yunjin took another deep breath. "He had his reasons. I'm not defending him, what he did was wrong, but we talked it out and apologized the very next day and I think that's enough."
"If you say so." Then Yujin smiled widely at her. "So—how does it feel to be a family guy now?"
"It's new." Yunjin smiled, then washed her hands at the sink. She looked behind to peek into the living room to see Chaewon and Eunchae watching television and smiled again, looking back at Yujin. "But I love it."