Letting out a breath that had settled deep inside you, you closed your eyes for a moment to let the warm sun of the countryside wash over your face. The peace you felt lasted only a second when something darted between your legs. Your eyes snapped open, immediately locking onto your target. Kim Yeonwoo, the brunette, troublesome, sweet, and energetic little boy who had been in your care for nearly a year now. Eight and a half months, to be exact. You stayed most days and some nights at his grandparents' house to take care of him while they ran their small corner shop in the small town just a few minutes from their small house. And this small child was big trouble sometimes.
'Chasing' after him, you reveled in the beautiful sound of the boy's laughter, wiggling your fingers whenever he would look back to see if you were still behind him. Just at the edge of your field of vision, you saw a movement, and glanced over in time to see the backdoor swinging closed, leaving a tall man standing just outside it. You remembered the hurried conversation you'd had with Mr. and Mrs. Kim this morning before they left for work. Their son, Yeonwoo's dad, Jungwoo, was supposed to be visiting today. Never in your nearly nine months as Yeonwoo's nanny had you ever met his father. The only reminder you got that this boy had a father was when some array of extravagant gifts would be delivered on a holiday for him, all labelled to be from his father.
In the brief time between their departure and Yeonwoo waking up, you had done some research on Kim Jungwoo. He was the newly-appointed CEO of NCTech, the first to get the position without being related to his predecessor, beating out the former CEO's own two sons who were involved in the company. The former CEO had accepted a new position as Chairman of the Board, promoting Jungwoo to CEO. And he'd gotten the position nine months ago. Other than the occasional dating rumor that never had any evidence, there was no mention of him being married or having a girlfriend. Or of him having a kid. It was as if Yeonwoo didn't exist to anyone except you and his grandparents.
Figuring that you should introduce yourself, you herded the boy towards the backdoor. As you neared, you were more and more sure that this was Kim Jungwoo, even if the pictures online did him no justice.
"Oh hi!" You said brightly, a little out of breath from running after Yeonwoo, hoisting him up onto your hip as you greeted the man who had walked into the backyard. "You must be Kim Jungwoo, I'm Y/L/N Y/N, Yeonwoo's nanny."
"I was not aware... that my parents had hired a nanny. It's uh, nice to meet you," he nodded politely to you before reaching out to the boy with a smile on his face, "Hey Yeonwoo! Come here, bud!"
The boy recoiled away from Jungwoo, burying his face in your neck fearfully. Jungwoo seemed confused, and yet again tried to reach for him, this time succeeding in getting a hand on the boy's side before he burst into tears, screaming and crying and screeching. He was still crying even as you took a couple steps back from the newcomer, stroking his back soothingly and cooing gently at him. Every step you took away from Jungwoo seemed to confuse and hurt the man more.
Giving him an apologetic look, you walked by him back towards the house, still consoling the child in your arms. You knew that you must have left him dumbfounded, but he had apparently gotten his bearings as you were halfway back to the house when he yelled after you, "Wait, that's my son! Come back here!"
Yeonwoo let out another wail at the surely frightening sound of Jungwoo yelling, and despite culture telling you to give the man his own son, the fearful child that was soaking your shirt with tears and spit convinced you otherwise. So you continued into the house and to Yeonwoo's room, sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of his room. You coaxed the boy's head out of your chest, grabbing a soft rag to wipe at the tears, snot, and spit that had accumulated across his face.
"You're so red, bub," you commented in a hushed voice, stroking his dark brown hair away from his incredibly red eyes. "You must be tired too, huh?"
Yeonwoo hiccupped, another strand of spit coming from his mouth that you dutifully wiped off. Humming lightly, you were happy to see that he was coming down from his fit, his pout turning into a gaping yawn.
"Oh, big yawn for a big boy." Lifting him up, you made one-sided small talk with him as you usually did, changing his play clothes into clothes more suited for naptime. "Time for a big nap, right?"
He wasn't quite at the talking stage yet, but he had no problem letting you know what he wanted, as he fussed when you went to try to put him down onto his little toddler bed. "What?" you chuckled as you had completely let go of him, yet he was still clinging to your neck, "I'm not going to be able to fit in there with you, Yeon."
After finally getting him to detach from you, you laid him down and draped a blanket over him. "Nap well, Yeonnie."
With that, you shut the lights off in his room and departed, leaving the door slightly ajar in case he woke up again. You were planning on returning to the kitchen to make yourself and Jungwoo some tea, but thankfully you caught your reflection in the mirror in the hall. Now that Yeonwoo was asleep, you could see the sorry state of your shirt. It was as wet, snotty, and gross as he had been. You'd definitely have to change.
After tossing your shirt and the rag you used to wipe his face off into the washing machine, you grabbed a fresh one from the dresser in the spare room you stayed in when you slept here, then made your way back out to the kitchen. You couldn't see Jungwoo anywhere and decided to ready some tea before going to find him. This next encounter with him would be awkward, no matter what anybody said or did, there was no way around that situation: his own son was afraid of him and chose you over him. You forced your hands to be steady as you carried the two steaming mugs with you to the living room, where you were pretty sure you had heard someone in a few minutes ago.
Your guess was right, Jungwoo was tucked into the corner of the couch, laptop open across his thighs and hands poised over the keyboard. But the screen was off, and his fingers weren't moving over the keys.
"Mr. Kim?" You called out to him softly in the dead quiet room, coming into his field of vision as his head snapped up.
He closed his laptop as he chuckled darkly and accepted the mug from you, "You call my dad Mr. Kim, right?"
"Well yes, he's my employer."
"Call me Jungwoo, then." Jungwoo gestured for you to sit on the couch as well, and you sat a polite distance away from him. "Because I'm not your employer, and neither is my father. Not anymore."
"Excuse me?" You were confused and deeply unsettled by his words, brow furrowing so tightly that you'd get a cramp in your forehead soon, and eyes widening enough to make the man laugh lightly at your expression.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, making my own son hate me—"
"Sir—"
"But you are not allowed here or anywhere near him ever again—"
"Ple—"
"Whatever you did to him—"
"Kim Jungwoo!" You finally snapped, "I did nothing to your son except feed him, clothe him, bathe him, change his diapers, teach him his colors and the alphabet, and care for him! It's not my fault that you never come and see him, or spend time with him, to the point where he doesn't know who you are. He only knows your parents and me, he knows nothing of the mysterious man who sends presents on every holiday. You cannot leave your young son for nearly a year then come back and expect him to immediately love you and treat you like his father. He has no idea who you are, of course he would cry like that! To him, you're some stranger who tried to grab him!"
This time it was Jungwoo's turn to be surprised, the only indication of it being his grip on the handle of his mug tightening until his knuckles turned white, and his response coming through gritted teeth, "I want you out of this house tonight."
There was a sudden screech from the hallway to your left, one that also registered through the nanny cam placed on the table beside Jungwoo. He jumped at the sound while you leapt to your feet, reaching over him to turn the small speaker off then storming out of the room, throwing a careless comment over your shoulder, "You gave up the right to decide who cares for Yeonwoo when you traded him for your career."
☆
Even after soothing Yeonwoo back into his nap, you didn't leave the boy's room. You could still hear the furious sounds of Jungwoo moving around between the kitchen, living room, and garden just outside the kitchen. Earlier, you had lost your temper, your blood still boiling when you replayed his words in your head. How dare he try to swoop back into Yeonwoo's life after almost a year and throw out one of the few consistent people in his life? Did this man seriously think you were poisoning his two-year-old son against him? He must really know nothing about children at all.
Yeonwoo woke up again peacefully this time, babbling mellowly and looking up at you with endearing and calm eyes from his bed. Sighing mostly to yourself, you offered him a hand down from the bed, letting him explore around on nearly-steady legs. The sight of it made you happy, but also filled you with worry. It was his third birthday at the end of the summer, and while all his motor functions seemed to be developing normally, you, his doctor, and his grandparents were all worried that he hadn't yet said his first word. He would babble, scream, cry, and laugh just fine, but had yet to speak anything holding remote semblance to a word. The doctor tested his hearing and everything, and it all checked out. The mechanical parts functioned, but his language was still locked away from you for some reason.
The sounds of Mr. and Mrs. Kim coming back from their shop came to your ears, and you knew that you couldn't hide away in Yeonwoo's room anymore. Calling for the child, you patted his head as well, ushering him towards the door you then opened widely for him.
Yeonwoo lit up when he saw Mrs. Kim at the end of the hallway, his grandmother gasping dramatically and greeting him with a big smile. The boy ran as fast as he could on his little legs towards her, giggling as she tickled his sides. Mr. Kim bent over to ruffle his hair a little but grabbed his back and had to stand up straight again. You knew that both of them were getting to be too old to keep up with a little kid who only wanted to run around, play in the dirt, and climb all over his caretakers. Which was another reason why you had been so offended at Jungwoo's attempt at firing you, he didn't know what kind of impossible burden that would put on his parents.
You shared a frank, tight-lipped smile with Jungwoo as you stepped back from the happy sight of the family. Yeonwoo suddenly attached himself to your leg again, apparently hiding from Jungwoo now. And not playfully either, you knew the difference between his mischievous streak and when he was genuinely afraid. Picking the boy up, you tossed him gently a little bit to get him to laugh again before settling him on your hip, catching his father's eyes bitterly.
The elderly couple clearly didn't miss that split-second interaction, Mr. Kim stepping in awkwardly to introduce you, "Uhm, if you didn't meet earlier, Y/N, this is my son, Kim Jungwoo. Jungwoo, this is Y/L/N Y/N, the nanny we hired to take care of Yeonwoo when we go to the shop, or whenever we may need her."
Jungwoo let out a short, hissing sigh before answering quietly and coldly, "I've told you two before, you don't need to work anymore, I can take care of you financially."
"If I didn't work, I might finally go crazy, you know." His mother deflected her son's coldness with a light-hearted joke, tugging on his shirt to guide him towards the cabinets, "Now come on, help me get the bowls for dinner, they seem to have migrated up a few shelves out of my reach."
"Oh, I am so sorry!" You cried out as soon as Mrs. Kim had mentioned that, bustling by the both of them to reach the cabinets. Still with Yeonwoo on one hip, you retrieved four large bowls and one small bowl, still in the middle of your apology, "Yeonwoo was getting too adventurous with the stool while I was cleaning up breakfast this morning, so I moved them out of his reach. I completely forgot to put them back, so sorry."
Turning back to the three Kims, you were met with two warm smiles and an icy scowl. Mrs. Kim patted your cheek, "It's quite alright, Y/N. I'm just glad our little monster didn't actually get his hands on anything."
She then pinched her grandson's cheek, and you took a few steps away, feeling comfortable with setting Yeonwoo down again. His grandfather was already sitting at the table and played with the boy a little bit before Mrs. Kim and Jungwoo came from the kitchen with bowls. You moved to take them from Mrs. Kim, but her stern look stopped you. Instead, you lifted Yeonwoo into his high chair, attaching his bib and taking your usual seat next to him.
Jungwoo seemed a little affronted, apparently thinking that he would sit there. Silently, he took the chair on the other side of his mother from you. Mr. Kim relayed a story about an interesting customer they had at the store while you raised a spoonful of soup from Yeonwoo's bowl, gently blowing on it to cool it down before offering it out to the little boy. He grabbed your hand to bring the spoon closer to his mouth, successfully spilling half of it out of the utensil. You caught it with your other hand that was underneath the spoon as he eventually got the remaining broth into his mouth.
Drying your hand off with a napkin, you brought his bib up to wipe at the sides of his mouth before taking a few sips of your own serving of soup. Yeonwoo tapped your hand that was resting on his high chair, signaling that he wanted more food. You obliged, and the dinner continued on like this, almost completely normal, except for the cold and scrutinizing glare that Jungwoo had trained on you and Yeonwoo for the entire meal.
To your relief, it was soon over, and you released Yeonwoo from his high chair, "Go pick a movie to watch with Grandma and Grandpa, okay?"
He nodded dutifully before taking off to the living room, not heeding your call of walking. Mr. Kim was amused as he went to follow the boy, "I'll make sure he doesn't pick Minions for the fifth time this week."
"Thank you," you groaned at the thought of watching that movie again, clearing the table with Mrs. Kim.
Before his father was completely out of the room, Jungwoo spoke up, voice clear as he declared, "I've realized... that I have not been a father enough to my son. And I want to fix this before it's too late."
While you were caught off-guard, you were happy at this sentiment, figuring that it meant that he would visit Yeonwoo more frequently at the elder Kims' house. That's why his next proclamation nearly made you drop the three bowls in your hand, "Yeonwoo is going to come live with me."
Mrs. Kim was the first to get over her surprise, "Jungwoo, have you thought this through? Who will take care of Yeonwoo while you're working? Do you even have a toddler bed at your house? Or know how to feed him? Or change his diapers? Or potty-train him? Or—"
"No," Jungwoo admitted before training his sharp eyes on you, "That's why she will be coming too."
Finally setting the bowls in the sink, you began fervently washing them in an attempt to avoid his piercing stare, "What do you mean?"
"My own son is afraid of me, but incredibly attached to you. You must come with us."
"Jungwoo, you can't just order Y/N to come live with you!" His father seemed more exasperated than anything at his son, rubbing his face. "Really..."
Ignoring Mr. Kim, Jungwoo focused in on you, moving to stand beside you at the sink. You continued scrubbing the already-clean bowl as he said quietly, "You have to reintroduce my son to me. Help me be his father again. I'm not trading him for my career anymore, I can have both, I know that now. But not without your help."
Biting down on your lip, you held back a doubtful scoff. In its place, you turned to look up at Jungwoo, narrowing your eyes to study him for a moment, gauging how serious he seemed about this. He cocked an eyebrow at this but ultimately was silent as you observed him.
"When do we leave?"
☆
As Yeonwoo happily watched Minions with his grandparents in the living room that night, you determined the details of your arrangement with Jungwoo in the kitchen. He'd have to return to Seoul tonight, but arranged for you and Yeonwoo to join him in two days, at which he promised to have both your rooms completely prepared. You'd be staying in his condo with him, with strict orders not to talk to the press, tell anybody who exactly Yeonwoo's dad was, or release the address to anyone. Surprisingly, at Jungwoo's insistence, your pay would be tripled. You'd be on the job 24/7, either taking care of Yeonwoo while Jungwoo was gone, or trying to get the boy accustomed to his father. The unspoken rule was that once this happened, you'd be let go. Jungwoo didn't like you, and probably figured that once Yeonwoo liked him again, he could fire you and hire any other nanny he wanted to take care of him.
Mr. and Mrs. Kim saw him off at the front door as you turned the TV off and picked a sleepy Yeonwoo up from the floor to get him ready for bed. After changing him into his monkey-themed pajamas, you held him in your arms for a moment, stroking his soft hair in an attempt to calm yourself more than him.
"Everything is going to change really soon, Yeon. It'll be like a really awesome adventure. Me, and you, and... your dad." You kissed his head before laying him down on his bed and tucking him in. He stirred a little bit but ultimately decided to go to sleep instead of making a fuss for you.
Flicking the lights off, you whispered a final goodnight before leaving his room. You'd have to be going to your own tiny apartment tonight rather than staying the night, which the Kims usually had you do if you stayed past dinner, but you needed to start packing. With the promise of returning in the next morning, you bid the older couple goodnight at their door and started the short walk to the bus stop that would eventually carry you home.
☆
One of your roommates was asleep when you got home, passed out on the couch beside your other roommate who was wide awake, crunching on popcorn as he was heavily invested in the movie playing on screen. You'd seen it before, it was about a single dad who fell in love with the nanny of his seven children. Shaking your head, you thought back to the pure hatred Jungwoo seemed to harbor for you for... taking care of his kid?
"Y/N!" Chan waved enthusiastically to you, eyes still trained on the TV. "How was the little dude today?"
Walking over to the couch, you plopped down beside the sleeping Yeeun, "Yeonwoo's doing okay. His father came to visit today."
"He has a dad?"
"Yeah. This dude hasn't seen his kid in like a year and expects Yeonnie to just accept him as his father with no questions. Instead, he screams and won't let go of me, so I had to carry him away from the dad."
"That's rough for him."
Fidgeting nervously, you started gently shaking Yeeun awake, "I have something to talk to you guys about."
Finally, Chan paused the movie and looked over to you as Yeeun stirred. Her annoyed glare softened to a smile of greeting as she took your hand in hers to squeeze it momentarily, "Hey, I thought you were staying over with the kid tonight."
"No, Yee, I'm here tonight."
"Something's wrong," she declared, taking in the concern across your face. "What happened, Y/N?"
"This is going to be my last night here for... probably a while," you told them, wincing a little at their confused and upset faces. "Yeonwoo's father is taking him back to Seoul to live with him, and I have to come too."
"You're moving to Seoul?" Chan whistled lowly, apparently that was the only thing he took from your statement. "When?"
"In a couple days. I have to pack tonight and go back to the Kims' tomorrow, then the next morning Yeonwoo and I will leave. I'll continue paying my part of the rent for as long as you guys need me to."
Yeeun seemed much more upset than him, completely ignoring the financial part, "This guy can't just waltz back into his son's life and take him and you away!"
"He can, legally," you shrugged, shoulders heavy as you thought about this new predicament you'd be in. "The part about taking his kid away. Me coming with is an unfortunate necessity in his eyes. He hates me because his kid doesn't know who he is and chose me over him today. So I'm supposed to reintroduce them or something, get Yeonnie to trust him again."
"And once you do?"
A tight-lipped smile came to your face, "I'll be fired and replaced by a nanny that he doesn't see as a threat."
Your friends seemed to have more to say, but they knew there was no way of talking you out of this. Yeonwoo had been your world for the past eight months, and if this is what it took to continuing caring for him, even though it had a foreseeable end, this is what you'd do. Yeeun pulled you up by your hand, Chan following as she dragged you towards your bedroom, "We'll help you pack!"
☆
In the morning, you were awake before the sunrise, as you had to get to the Kims' before they left for the store, which opened at seven. Throwing all your toiletries into your bag after you finished using them, you did a final cursory look around your apartment to make sure you got everything you wanted to take. A few things, like the lamp in the bedroom you'd brought with you from your college dorm, or the comforter on your bed, you left. No need to bring those, Jungwoo had assured you that everything like that would be taken care of.
Chan was in the kitchen, one cup of tea in hand and another on the counter, "Morning, Y/N."
"Morning," glancing at the time, you groaned, already running behind. "Don't have time for tea, I'm sorry."
"Come on, it's not like they're going to fire you for being a few minutes late. Especially not today."
"They have their store to open."
"It's Sunday, don't they open later?"
Realization dawned on you, and you happily set your bags down and took the mug in your hand, "Yeah, eight. Thanks, Chan."
And so you sipped your tea as you carried on a quiet conversation about this and that, feeling strangely normal. Not like anything was ending or changing really. Maybe because as far as any of you knew, you'd be coming back to resume your life here again. This was a minor leave, like an extended vacation of sorts for you from your apartment.
A pair of arms wrapping around your middle nearly made you drop your tea. Ready to chastise Yeeun for scaring you, the scolding stopped in your throat as you took in her tired appearance. She must have set an alarm just to see you off this early.
"Are you sure you have to go?" She mumbled, "Please don't make me live here with him alone."
"Hey!" Chan scoffed indignantly as you giggled, patting her head.
"Sorry, Yee. The first day I get off I'll come back, or you guys can come to Seoul and visit."
Peeking at the time again, you set your mug down before tightly reciprocating her hug, "I've got to go now. Bye Yeeun."
She grumbled when you peeled her off of you to hug your other roommate. Chan patted your back, similar to how you soothed Yeonwoo yesterday, quelling your nerves momentarily. Letting go of him, you grabbed your bags again and headed for the door.
"Bye guys." You gave them one last goodbye before closing the door behind you.
Time to go to the Kims' for what you guessed to be your last breakfast with them as well.