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Cutie Pi

Chapter: Just You – February 12 – 14, 2022

“Are you nervous?” Yunseok asked Heejin one bright Saturday in February.

“To be attending my brother’s wedding?  Yes.  But Eomma begged me to come.  For her sake.”  She turned towards Yunseok.  “Is it weird that the woman who ignored me my whole life now wants a relationship with me?  Now that I’m not living with her anymore?  She wasn’t even interested in me when I lived in Seoul.”

He shrugged.  “Maybe she’s discovered how lonely she is now that you’re gone.  You were a child when you moved to Seoul.  You’re a woman now…And maybe your courage has given her some of her own.”

She chewed on her lip.  

Yunseok took her hand in his.  “It’ll be all right.  We’ll leave if you feel threatened.  Just say the word.”

“What word?”

“Refuge.”  His solemn expression transformed into a grin.  “Say, ‘Refuge,’ if you need me to whisk you away.”

—

Heejin made it through the ceremony.  Haewon looked ethereal in a very fragile way.  She was a delicate beauty.  But a beauty nonetheless.  Heejin could see why even her violent brother was so taken with the girl.  She prayed he didn’t hurt her.  

What Heejin couldn’t figure out was why Haewon would want to marry him.  But then Heejin caught sight of her face as she walked towards her groom.  Haewon was quite clearly in love with Eunho.  It astounded Heejin.  How was it possible?  

Heejin knew Eunho had been kind to Haewon when she was a child, but that was years ago.  And he had become a very angry and violent man in the intervening years.  He had progressed from molesting his sister when he was sixteen – and her friends when he was nineteen – to raping his girlfriend at twenty-two.  Heejin wondered how many other girls he had violated in the six years since.  It seemed it was a regular occurrence since he had won Haewon’s hand through a similar circumstance involving one of his so-called friends.  Heejin shuddered just thinking about it.  How could Haewon even contemplate marrying such a man?  

Yunseok was having trouble being in the same room with the man who had raped his sister.  He was having difficulty containing his passions.  He was itching to punch the guy in the face.  Repeatedly.  But as he watched the frail girl walking down the aisle towards Eunho, Yunseok found that the fount of his patience hadn’t run dry.  He didn’t desire to do anything that would ruin her beautiful day.

He did want to warn Eunho that if he even considered hurting this dainty beauty, he would pound him into the ground.  But, surprisingly, Yunseok found it quite unnecessary.  He was, in fact, shocked by the vulnerability that flooded Eunho’s face as he watched his bride making her way towards him.  What was this?  Was it possible for such a monster to be in love?

—

When the ceremony came to an end, Heejin’s appa approached her and Yunseok.  “Why are you here?  I don’t remember issuing an invitation to you.”  His eyes raked Yunseok from head to toe.  “Is this the young man you’re shacking up with?”

“Sir,” Yunseok bowed to the older gentleman.  “We are not shacking up.  I have far too much respect for your daughter to hurt her that way.  We each have our own bedroom.”

“Hmph.  I bet you’re in her bed every night anyway.”

Yunseok’s eyes met hers.  He couldn’t deny that assertion, but the situation was not what her father thought.  Yunseok was shocked a moment later when her appa suddenly pounced on her and grabbed her by the arm.

“Have you any idea how badly you embarrassed me when you failed to show up for the dinner with Beopdung’s parents?” he hissed into her ear as he yanked her up against him.  

Heejin could smell the liquor on his breath.  She shuddered.

Then a cool voice ruled the day.  As did the touch of a gentle hand upon his own.  Instantly, her appa released her in order to move his hand out from underneath the large one belonging to her boyfriend.  Yunseok drew her gently behind him, placing himself firmly between her and her father.

“I do not think, sir, that you meant to hurt your daughter, but such behavior on the part of her appa can only but hurt her both physically and emotionally.  Don’t you agree?”

Heejin stared up at Yunseok like he had just set the sun in the sky, thereby permanently removing the darkness from her life.  No one had ever stepped between her and her appa before.  None had shielded her from his temper.  Not once.  Yet here was this delightful man standing up for her.  Tears flooded her vision.  

“How I treat my daughter is absolutely none of your business!” her appa snapped at Yunseok.

“I disagree.”

“By what right?” he thundered.

“I have every right to defend my fiancé!” Yunseok exclaimed, without giving one thought to the consequences.

Heejin’s eyes grew as round as saucers.  Her heart began to pound.  “Refuge!” she shouted.

Yunseok turned towards her.  She reached out and grabbed his hand and tugged on it.  She was suddenly running towards the exit.  And Yunseok was right behind her.  She couldn’t believe his boldness.  But for some reason, it suddenly tickled her funny bone.  Watching her boyfriend stand up to her powerful father in a way that completely stole the wind from his sails had been just magnificent.  She burst out laughing.  Their eyes met, and he too began to chuckle.

Laughing, they ran down the street, her hand tugging his.  She glanced back at his joyful face, and her heart lurched.   She ceased running abruptly, pulling him to a stop too.

“Yes,” she breathed, her heart still slamming around inside her chest.

His eyes careened into hers.  Still grinning and breathless now, he gasped, “Yes?”

“Yes.  I’ll marry you.  Name the day.”

Yunseok’s heart stopped.  “You’ll marry me?”

She nodded.  Then she grimaced.  “I probably should invite Eomma to the wedding, but I don’t want Appa barging in.”

“Hmm.  I think I have a plan…” Yunseok smiled at her.  “You really want to marry me?” he whispered, a tender awe enveloping his face.

She bobbed her head up and down definitively.  “Today.”  She leaned towards him and kissed his lips.  “Just a tiny ceremony.  Only my eomma and your immediate family,” she murmured against his lips.  “Is that okay?” she drew away from him.  

“Okay?  It’s blissful.  I told you I’m a loner.”

“Not around me, you’re not.”

“There’s room in my bubble for one more.”  His breath and his eyes were a caress.  “Just you.”

Her heart expanded to surround him.  “I love you, Seok.”

“I love you too,” he whispered before he kissed her again.

A few moments later, he barked with laughter.  “Did you see the look on your appa’s face when I called you my fiancé?  It was priceless.  He looked like he’d swallowed his tongue.”

She burst out laughing.  “Honestly, I didn’t even look at him.”  She’d been so astounded that she had simply stared at her hero.

Yunseok chuckled.  “I wish you’d seen it.”

She sent him a terrified glance all of a sudden.  “I don’t ever want to see him again, Yunseok.  He must be furious.  He’s terrifying when he’s enraged.”

“Heejin.  You don’t ever have to be afraid of him again.  You’re not alone.  I’m here now.  And I will always step between you and him.  I won’t let him hurt you, Heejin.  Not ever again.”

—

Yunseok picked her up from work on Monday night.  He was grinning from ear to ear as she slid into the seat next to him.  She turned towards him and smiled.  

“What are you so happy about?”

“I’m taking you out to dinner tonight.”

“You are?” She quirked a dark eyebrow at him.  “Tired of my cooking already?”

“Never!” he exclaimed in a shocked voice.  “I just want to give you a break.”  His eyes slid her way.  “And pamper you a little.”

“Okay.  I love to be pampered,” she chuckled.  “So.  Where are you taking me?”

“To our favorite restaurant.”

“We have one of those?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Huh.  I don’t even remember going out to a restaurant with you.”

He laughed.  “Well…maybe restaurant is a stretch…”

She squinted as she studied his face, trying to discern his intent. But then he asked her a question about work, completely distracting her from the mystery hidden in his countenance.  

A few minutes later, he drove through a familiar intersection as he searched for a parking space.  

She gasped.  “The coffee shop?”

He grinned. 

“Where you took me after you rescued me?”

He nodded.  

She smiled.  “How did you know I was craving one of their chocolate chip cookies?”

He glanced at her.  “Are you really?”

“Mmhmm.”  She bobbed her head emphatically.  “Seok!  You’re the best!  I do love you!”

He beamed at her.  “You’re craving only one, huh?”

“Well,” her nose twitched, “maybe two.”

A few minutes later, they were settled in a booth.  She was already enjoying her cookie while Seok sipped his coffee.  She eyed his chocolate chip cookie.

“So…why didn’t you buy a strawberry scone this time?”

“Because I’m partial to chocolate.”

“What?” Her eyes flew to his in surprise.  “But you told me you wanted my scone last time.”

“Mmhmm.  That’s because you wanted my cookie.”

Her eyebrows shot heavenward.  “You didn’t want my scone?”

“What I wanted,” he murmured as he leaned towards her, “was to make you happy.”

Her expression melted.  “Seok.”  She said his name like it was two syllables, drawing it out for several beats in a lower tone than usual.  “You’re a chocolate lover, and you gave up chocolate for me?”  

He nodded.

“That’s true love!” she exclaimed.  She glanced down at her cookie, frowned, and then held it up to his mouth.  A sweet smile curved her lips.  “Take a bite.”

He protested.  “No, Heejin, it’s your cookie.  I bought it for you.  You eat it.  You love chocolate.  Even more than I do.”

“But I love you more than I love chocolate,” she murmured as her eyes stroked his softly.

His mouth melted into a faint smile.  “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m likely to completely forget chocolate exists.”

Her face lit up.  “Splendid!  Then I’ll get all the chocolate to myself!”

He burst out laughing.  And she shoved a piece of cookie into his mouth.  Her fingertips grazed his lips, and his gaze sharpened on her.  He grinned at her as he licked the melted chocolate off his lip.  He watched her tongue dart out to remove some of the sweet stuff from her fingers.

“Eat up,” he commanded.  “We have another stop to make.”

Her eyes collided with his.  “We do?”

“Mmhmm.  I hope you haven’t had your fill of chocolate yet,” he commented mysteriously.  His eyes were dancing now. 

“Where are you taking me?”

He shook his head.  “No, no, no.  That’s a secret.  You’re not getting it out of me.”

She glanced at her cookie.  “Not even if I feed you more chocolate?”

His eyes strayed to some chocolate that was hiding in the corner of her lips.  “Hmm.  Tempting.  It’s very tempting.”

Suddenly, he leaned closer and kissed her.  She was shocked when his tongue darted out and licked the corner of her mouth.  She jumped back as she gasped.  She couldn’t believe Seok had kissed her like that in public.

He laughed.  “What?  You offered me more chocolate, and you so charmingly displayed your offering on your lips.”

“What?” Confused, she stared at him.

“You had chocolate on your mouth.  I was cleaning it off.”

Suddenly, she blushed, a crimson flush rolling across her cheeks.  “Seok!” she rebuked him as her eyes slid around the little cafe.  

Had anyone seen their intimate moment?  But no one seemed to be paying them the slightest heed.  Her gaze returned to his.  

“Can we go now?”  She was bouncing up and down like a little kid on her way to a candy shop.

He chortled.  Then his eyes captured the cookie on the tabletop in front of her.  “What?  You’re not going to finish your cookie?”

Her hand slapped down on top of it.  “Oh, no, buddy!  Stop eyeing my cookie.  I’m gonna eat it!  Besides, you’ve got your own!”

“You want to take them to go, don’t you?”

“Of course,” she grinned.

He laughed.  “I think I’ve learned something about you today,” he murmured as his eyes traced the lovely planes of her face.

“What’s that?” she asked as she bit into her cookie.

“You’re impatient.  You can’t wait to get your surprises.  You need to learn to anticipate the moment.”

Now his eyes were caressing her lips.  She licked them nervously as her stomach flipped upside down.  “The moment?”

“Mmhmm.”  His gaze was still on her mouth.

She cleared her throat to see if the sound would dislodge his stare.  It did not.  Her whole body was beginning to flush under the scrutiny of that intense gaze.  

“Seok,” she whispered softly.

His eyes lifted to capture her own.  She felt completely breathless now.  How did he do that?  She’d spent nearly all of her life half-afraid of men, but in his presence such feelings completely evaporated.  She just wanted to be with him.  All the time.  She wanted to enjoy his kisses and his touches and his glances.

She had turned a delightful shade of pink.  Why was she blushing?  And did she have any idea what her whispered voice did to him when she murmured his name that way?

Chills were running up and down his spine, but the rest of his body was experiencing a heat wave.  He cleared his own throat.  Then he pushed his chair back and stood up.  His hands collected his cookie and his cup of coffee.

“Ready to go?” he asked and was rewarded by the huge smile that transformed her face and lifted some of its color.

“Yes!”  She shot out of her chair and grabbed her drink off the table.  She popped the remainder of her cookie into her mouth.  Then she followed him out the door.

—

A few minutes later, Heejin followed Yunseok through another doorway.  Her eyes were shut, and she was clinging tightly to his hand.  He’d asked her to close her eyes several blocks ago.  Then he’d parked his car as close as possible and taken her hand to lead her, voluntarily blind, towards their destination.

But as the door to the shop opened and she was engulfed by a sweet cloud, she nearly opened her eyes in pleasure.  This place smelled divine.  As he tugged her hand and drew her all the way inside, he bent to whisper in her ear.

“Open your eyes.”

But before she did, she caught a whiff of him.  Seok smelled heavenly too.  She turned her face towards that scent.  And felt her stomach tumbling again as a cacophony of tender feelings for him overwhelmed her.  

She knew that scent.  She’d been wrapped in it for weeks.  At night.  When he rescued her from her nightmares.  That fragrance was the scent of salvation.  She would follow it anywhere.

She opened her eyes and gasped.  They were in heaven!  They were completely surrounded on all four sides by…what else?  Chocolate!  Her favorite thing in all the world.  After Seok.

Her eyes flew to his.  “You brought me to the chocolate factory?” she breathed in wonder.

He nodded.

She threw herself against him and gave him an excited hug.  Excited because she was bouncing on her feet this time.  He grinned and proceeded to take her on a tour.  He had called ahead and arranged for them to visit the inner workings of the large shop.  After a twenty-minute tour, they once again stood in front of the cases of chocolate treats.

“You can pick out anything you like,” he whispered in her ear as she bent over one of the glass cases.

Her eyes widened like those of a tiny child.  “Anything?” she breathed.

He nodded as a slow smile spread across his face.

A few minutes later, she had all her selections picked out, boxed, and bagged.  Seok paid the exorbitant bill.  He turned towards her and held a chocolate heart truffle up to her lips.

“Open up,” he commanded.  

As she received his sweet gift, a smile slowly lit up his face.  Then they headed out the door.  He was carrying a heart-shaped box of chocolates that he had picked out.  He snagged her free hand and led her towards a park.  They walked a couple of blocks to reach the colorful oasis planted in the middle of the bustling city.  They ambled along until they came to a bench.  He sat on it and tugged her down onto the seat next to him.  He smiled at her.

“I have one more gift for you.”

Her eyes met his for a moment.  “What?” she asked, surprised.  

Then her gaze took in the small box of chocolates he was holding out towards her.  She reached for it after setting her bag down on the bench beside her.  Her gaze lifted to meet his.

“More chocolate?”

His lips twitched.  “I know you can never get enough.”

She laughed.  “So true.”

But, in that moment, she wasn’t thinking of chocolate.  She was thinking of Seok and his blissful lips.  So, gripping the box in her hands, she leaned towards him and lifted her face until her lips brushed his softly.  She was surprised when he didn’t encourage the kiss.  She drew back as a frown wrinkled her forehead.

“Seok?” she whispered in confusion.

He glanced at the box in her hand.  “Open it.”

She followed his gaze and lifted the red lid.  And gasped.  For nestled in the center well of the box, surrounded by chocolate hearts on all sides, was a diamond ring.  Her eyes flooded with tears as she sat staring down at it.  Her breath seemed to have flown.  

Seok had already asked her to marry him.  And two days ago, she’d agreed.  However, she hadn’t expected a proposal today.  Then she gasped as she realized what today was.  

She turned her head to look up at him.  But she quickly recognized that he’d moved while she was opening the box.  He was now down on one knee at her feet.   He reached into the box and removed the ring.  He held it up in front of her.

“Heejin.  I love you with all my heart.  I can’t give you the luxury you were born to.  But I can give you my heart and a comfortable life.  If that’s enough for you, will you be my wife?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed.

He smiled tremulously and slid the ring onto her finger.  She furrowed her brow.

“Seok, it’s a perfect fit.  How did you do that?”

His lips twitched.  “I measured your finger while you were sleeping last night.”  

He had tied the string around her finger and knotted it before slipping it off of her hand.  Then he’d pocketed it.  He’d taken the morning off work to go ring shopping.  He’d found the perfect one and made the arrangements at the chocolate factory.

She glanced down at the stunning diamond.  It was sparkling in the rays of the dying sun.  It was a beautiful ring.  A simple solitaire hovering over a gold band.  As she stared down at it, she sat in awe before all the feelings cascading through her.  The ring wasn’t ostentatious.  It was only a third of a carat.  

She had been born to grandeur.  Grown up with every doll and toy a little girl could want.  Her closet stuffed with pretty clothes.  More fancy shoes than ten girls could ever use had littered the floor under her bed.  But she had never had the one thing she truly desired.  

Love.

It was the one thing Seok had given her in spades.  

Well, that and chocolate.  

The corners of her mouth quirked.  She glanced down at the bag lying next to her on the bench.  Then she looked up into Seok’s eyes as her own flooded with tears.

“I know it’s not very big,” he murmured.  “Most of my first few paychecks went towards the apartment and bills.  I wish I could have bought you a bigger stone, but—”

She pressed her fingers over his mouth.  “No, Seok,” she shook her head.  “No.  It’s perfect!  Just perfect!  She burst into tears. 

His face fell.  “What’s wrong?”

“This is the first gift anyone has ever given me that I knew was motivated completely by an unswerving love for me.”  She threw herself against him and pulled him up tight, close to her heart.  “I love you, Seok.  I love you with all my heart.  Thank you for coming for me.  Thank you for rescuing me.  From my nightmares.  And from the nightmare that was my life before I met you.”

She clung to him, and his arms embraced her.  “Heejin.  I will always come for you,” he murmured into her hair.  

Disturbing the scent of tangerines.  He inhaled deeply.  He would love that scent forever.

“Seok, I want to marry you.  Soon.”  Suddenly, her smile bloomed.  “You proposed to me on Valentine’s Day!”

He grinned.  “Yep.  A day devoted to chocolate.”

She laughed.  “That reminds me.”  She rummaged through her bag to find the box of chocolate truffles.  “Happy Valentine’s Day!  I picked these out for you!  The one in the center has strawberry filling.  You know, to encompass the chocolate cookie and the strawberry scone.”

His lips twitched.  “Perfect.  Just like you.”

Her smile melted away.  “Seok.  You know I’m far from perfect, right?”

“Yes,” he whispered.  “But you’re perfect for me.”

Her eyes met his, and she felt the light in his gaze caress her with a complete acceptance that flooded her whole being with peace.

“Next Saturday,” Yunseok murmured.

“What?” 

“Will you marry me next Saturday?  Assuming your eomma is free and so is my family?”

“Yes!”  Then something rippled across her countenance.  “I have to find a dress!”

“Do you think you can find one on Saturday?”

She glanced up at him.  “I’ll just rent one.  Do you think your sister, Yuni, would go shopping with me?”

His face split into a wide grin.  “Absolutely.”

“I wonder if she’d be willing to be my matron of honor too.”

“I’m sure she’d be delighted.  She knows how much I love you.”

“Does she?  You don’t think that she’s uncomfortable around me now?  Because of my brother?”

An odd expression flitted across his face.  “Heejin,” he breathed.

His tone alerted her.  She felt trepidation rising in her heart.

“Would you be willing to tell her what your brother did to you?”

She paled.  But then she considered all Yuni had suffered at the hands of her brother.  And she nodded her head.  

“Yes,” she responded in a tiny voice.  “I will tell her. On Saturday.”  She glanced up at him.  “Can you text her and see if she’s free to spend the day with me?”

“I have a better idea.”

“What?”

“Let’s go see my family right now and tell them our joyous news.  And see if they’re all free on the twenty-sixth.”

She swallowed.  “Do you think your parents will like me, Seok?”

A smile, bright like a sun, lit his face. “I think my parents will love you.”  

He bent and brushed his lips across hers before drawing her up off the bench.  They collected their chocolates and headed for his car.

—

“Yun, is Seulgi asleep?” Yunyeong peeked her head through the doorway to her sister’s bedroom. 

Yunseong nodded.  “Just got her down a couple minutes ago.”

“Good.  Seok is here.  With his girlfriend.  He wants to talk to all of us.”

Yunseong met her gaze.  “What’s up?”

Yunyeong smiled.  “Mmm.  I’m not sure.  But I’m with you.  It feels momentous.”  

Yunseong crossed the room, and the twins linked arms like they used to as tiny girls.  They made their way to the living room, arms still entwined.

Collectively, they met their triplet’s gaze.  He was holding Heejin’s hand.  She looked extremely nervous.

“Appa, Eomma,” he smiled as his parents entered the room behind Jungkook who had gone in search of them.  

Tae was sitting on the couch.  He and Jungkook had been deep in a heated match of MIRᴙOR when Yunseok had opened the front door and led Heejin inside.

“This is my roommate, Heejin.”

His parents glanced sharply at one another.

“Your roommate is a girl?” his stepfather responded.

“She’s more than a girl,” his eomma murmured.  “Isn’t she, Seokie?”  Her eyes caught his.

He smiled.  “Yes.  Heejin is my fiancé.”

Heejin pulled her hand out from behind her back.  She’d been hiding the ring where no one could see it.

Surprised blanketed the faces of all gathered.  Except for the twins.  They’d had a sense of where this conversation had been headed even before it had begun.  Especially Yunyeong.

“How long have you known Heejin?” his eomma asked gently.

“Four months,” he responded blithely.  “Long enough to know she’s the one for me.”  He turned to glance at Heejin, who was staring at the floor wishing it would swallow her.

His parents saw the look of extreme tenderness that passed over his face as he gazed down at his fiancé.  His mother knew him well enough to recognize that something deeper than infatuation had fused her son to this girl’s side.  What pain had the girl buried?  Had Yunseok unearthed it?

A sweet smile lighting her face, his mother crossed the room towards them.  Heejin glanced up at her and had to admit that Yunseok had spoken accurately of his eomma.  For just a moment, Heejin’s smile lit both her face and her eyes.

“Heejin, it’s wonderful to meet you.  May I ask what just amused you?” his eomma queried.

A smile still tugging on her lips, Heejin responded, “You do look Norwegian with Irish eyes.”

His mother released a trill of laughter.  She was already finding Heejin delightful.  But then her son spoke again.

“Eomma.  We want to get married next Saturday.  Are you free?”  Then he glanced around the room at the whole group.  “All of you?  On the twenty-sixth?”

Several pairs of eyes collided with each other. 

“Umm…”

“Let me consult my phone…”

They were met with a chorus of uncertainty.  But within a few moments, all the confusion had fled the room.

Yunyeong glanced at Jungkook.  He crossed the room to stand next to her.  His arm encircled her and drew her near.  He bent his head near hers.

“Are you all right?” he murmured against her neck.  

She nodded.  “She’s a wonderful girl, I think.  Just because she was born into that household doesn’t mean she’s not,” she breathed into his ear.

He squeezed her close.  “So, are we free next Saturday?”  

She nodded but answered her brother.  “We’ll be there, Seokie.  Just name the time and place.”

He sent her a grateful smile.  “Thanks, Yuni.”

His sister glanced at Heejin.  As their eyes met, Yunyeong smiled.  Heejin sent her an answering smile.   A tremulous one.

“Are newborns invited to this wedding?” Yunseong piped up.

“Absolutely!” Heejin responded with joy.  She glanced around.  “Where is she?”

She’d gotten to meet Seulgi once. The day Seok had headed up to the hospital to meet the newest addition to their family.  He had explained Yun’s history on the drive to the hospital.  Heejin already adored Tae for readily accepting another man’s baby as his own and surrounding Yun with himself.  

Yunseong grimaced.  “She’s asleep.”

Heejin’s face fell.  “Oh.  Well, I guess I’ll see her some other time.”

“We could creep quietly into her room, and you could take a peek now if you like.”  

Yunseong felt drawn to this girl her brother clearly adored.  Yunyeong had shared Heejin’s family history with her twin, so Yunseong was aware that Heejin was Eunho’s sister.  Yunseong wondered what the poor girl had endured growing up with him as an elder brother.  Something vulnerable was hidden in Heejin’s gaze.  Those eyes met hers again.

“I’d love that!” Heejin responded happily.

“Eomma?  Appa?  Are you free next Saturday?” Yunseok’s voice broke the momentary quiet and stilled Heejin.

Her eyes flew to their faces.  His mother glanced at his stepfather.  He narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed at her.  A silent communication seemed to pass between them.  Then Yunseok bent his head and whispered something into his mother’s ear.  Only she heard it.

“I love her, Eomma.  I want to marry her.  She’s my choice.  She needs me.  She needs us.”

Clearly, he was asking if she also had them.  If his family would accept his choice of bride.

He drew away from his mother, and their eyes collided.  She read something in the depths of his that calmed her.  Seokie had always been her quietest child.  And that was saying a lot.  Yuni often didn’t speak for whole days.  

But there was a steadiness in her son that had always drawn his mother to his quiet soul.  She knew him well enough to know that it wasn’t a normal part of his character to rush blindly into things.  If anything, he usually dragged his feet.  If he was insistent upon marrying this girl already, then he knew something she didn’t.

She met Heejin’s eyes and responded gracefully, “We’d love to come.  We have the entire weekend free.  Please let us know what you need from us.”

“Eomma, it’s just going to be us and Heejin’s eomma.  We don’t want to invite anyone else.  Are you all right with that?”

She nodded, but now she felt a tiny smidge of concern.  “You have no other family that you want to invite?”

A tremor passed over Heejin’s face as she shook her head.

“Seokie,” his eomma spoke again, “you are going to invite all your grandparents, right?”

He glanced at Heejin.  She smiled and nodded her head.  But he could feel what she was experiencing.  He reached out and slid his arm around her waist and drew her close.  

“My family is your family now.  We’ll make sure you’re surrounded by love on our special day.”

His mother heard his sweet words and wondered at them. 

“Of course, Eomma.”

“Heejin, wanna come see Seulgi now?” Yunseong could tell the girl needed a moment to compose herself.

As the two of them left the room, Tae and Jungkook breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their game.

“Yuni, Eomma, Appa, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a moment?” Yunseok asked as soon as Heejin had left the room.

Once they were all seated at the kitchen table, Yunseok glanced at his sister.  “Heejin needs to speak with you.”

He tried to communicate with Yunyeong with his eyes like they had as children.  A look of understanding dawned on her countenance.

“I’ll go find her.”  She stood up and left the kitchen.

He turned to gaze at his parents.  “Heejin comes from an abusive family.  We are not telling them about our wedding.  She’s already invited her eomma out for the afternoon next Saturday under the pretense that she’s taking her somewhere special.”

His mother gasped.  “The poor girl.”

“I moved her in with me to rescue her.  Although, I didn’t know she’d been abused.  At that time, I just knew she’d been misused.”

“How long have you been in love with her?”

“Since the night I met her, I suppose.  I was drawn to her.  We have so much in common.”  His eyes met his mother’s.  “She was in a car accident.  Her best friend was driving.  She died.”

Another gasp.  “What?!”

So Yunseok spent the next few minutes speaking quietly of how his friendship with Heejin had progressed and some of the things he had walked her through.  He wanted his mother to understand why he was already prepared to marry her after such a short acquaintance.

—

“Heejin,” Yunyeong was waiting in the hallway for her when she exited Seulgi’s bedroom.

Heejin was smiling as she walked through the doorway.  She’d finally gotten to see Seok’s old bedroom.  Many of his things from high school were still displayed in that room.  She’d just gotten a little bit better picture of the man she was planning to marry in a few days.  But now she glanced up in surprise at his quiet sister.

“Can I speak to you in my bedroom?  Seokie said you wanted to talk.”  

Yuni’s mild face was displaying a deep vulnerability.  It relaxed Heejin.  She nodded her head and followed the girl across the hallway.  Heejin then entered a space that spoke completely of the quiet girl who had been born just a few minutes after Heejin’s fiancé.  Except that this room also now housed some of Jungkook’s belongings.  Still, it spoke of two quiet spirits who had decided to live together in harmony.

Yunyeong closed the door nearly silently once Heejin had joined her in the room.  Then, Yunyeong leaned against that door.  She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to be supported, but she did.  For a moment, they stood awkwardly staring at one another.

Then Heejin finally spoke, “I am so sorry that my brother hurt you.  I understand your fear around him.”

Yunyeong’s face flooded with empathy.  “Did he hurt you?”

Heejin nodded.  “Not as badly as he hurt you, though.  When I was little, he used to hit me.  When I was eleven, he crawled into my bed one night.”  She cringed as she stopped speaking.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Yunyeong responded quietly.

“He touched me.  He threatened me,” Heejin went on in a rush just to get it out.  “He held me down and covered my mouth with his hand when I tried to scream.  But he didn’t do anything else.”

Yunyeong sighed with relief.  “I’m glad.”

Their eyes hugged.  

“Me too,” Heejin spoke wholeheartedly.  “I wanted you to know that I understand a little of what he put you through.  And because of it, I feel close to you.”

Yunyeong’s heart melted. She smiled at Heejin.  She wasn’t close to very many people.

“Are you okay with your brother marrying me?”

Startled, Yunyeong nearly jumped.  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Don’t I remind you of my brother?  Of what he did to you?”

A puff of air escaped Yunyeong’s nose.  A rueful smile teased her lips.  “Yes.  But I would never hold that against you.  And, truthfully, Kookie has done so much to help me heal.  And even going back to the scene of the crime with you a couple weeks ago…”  

Yunyeong frowned.  “I don’t know.  It helped somehow.  It made me realize that it’s not bigger than me.  I’m bigger than what happened to me.  I’m bigger than what your brother did to me.  He doesn’t have the power anymore to hurt me like he once did.  It’s strange.  I can’t explain it.  But sharing my pain with someone else robbed it of its power over me.”

Heejin smiled.  “Yes!  I understand.  It’s not that it doesn’t still hurt, but I’m not carrying the burden alone anymore.”

Yunyeong nodded emphatically.  “Yes, that’s definitely part of it.”

Heejin eyed her for a moment as she tried to find the courage to ask the question that was plaguing her.  “Are you happy, Yuni?  With your husband?  Are you able to enjoy…?”  

She couldn’t ask it, but it was the thing she feared.  That what her brother had done to her would always haunt her.  That Seok would touch her, and she would remember Eunho’s hands on her.  And she wouldn’t be able to enjoy Seok’s touch.

Yunyeong understood.  She cleared her throat after swallowing the lump that had abruptly grown there.  She nodded her head.  

“It’s a process.  Take it slowly, and tell Seok what you’re feeling and thinking.  And what you like and don’t like.  I know my brother.  He’s a gentle soul.  He will happily walk you slowly through it.  You don’t need to worry about it.  When the time comes, you’ll find your way. 

“Just remember: it’s okay to enjoy it.  You experienced something unnatural and that brings an element of guilt with it, but it wasn’t your fault.  And it’s natural to enjoy being intimate with your husband.  Don’t accept any guilt.”

Heejin felt as if Yuni had just relieved her of a great burden.  “Thank you,” she murmured.  “I already feel better.”

Heejin gazed into her eyes for a moment.  Then she took the next leap.  Why did this matter to her so much?

“Yuni, would you be my matron of honor?”

Surprise flitted across the girl’s face.  “Oh.”  Then a smile crowned her lips.  “I’d be honored to.”  She glanced towards her closet.  “But I’m not sure I have an appropriate dress.”

“Are you free Saturday?  I need to pick out a wedding gown to rent.  We could find you a dress too.  I’ll pay the rental fee.  And for anything else you need.”  Heejin glanced at Yunyeong’s feet.  “Shoes…oh!  I need to pick out flowers too!  And figure out what we’re going to do for a reception…”

Yunyeong chuckled.  “One thing at a time.”  Her brow wrinkled.  “Where are you wanting to get married?”

Heejin’s face went blank.  “I have no idea!”

—

“Yuni,” Seokie’s voice sounded in her ear as she stepped out of her bedroom a couple of minutes later.

She glanced up at her big brother.  

“I think you should tell Eomma.”

Her stomach flipped upside down.  “I don’t want to,” she whispered, her face suddenly overshadowed by a dark cloud.

He nodded.  “I know.  But you don’t need to carry the shame of it anymore.”

“But I put myself in that room.  In that position.”

“Yuniiii.  He forced you.  You said no.  Eomma is not going to blame you,” he whispered.  “But I don’t like there being this big secret that you and I and Yun know.  And Eomma’s not part of it.  After everything we’ve all been through together…it just feels wrong.”

She sighed.  

And Kookie knew too.  

She nodded her head.

“If you tell Eomma the truth, she’ll also have a better idea of what Heejin went through.”

Ahhh.  

“This has more to do with her than with me, doesn’t it?” She quirked a chocolate eyebrow at him.

“No.  It’s just that in dealing with her pain, it’s made me even more aware of yours.  And of the fact that we’re all still hiding it from the one woman who loves us the most in all the world.”

Yunseong had led Heejin out to the living room a moment before, so Yunyeong and Yunseok were alone in the cramped hallway.

“What are you two conspiring about?” a playful voice reached their ears making them both turn towards the living room.  

Their eomma stood smiling at both of her older children.  But her smile faded when she took in the sinking expression on Yunyeong’s face.  With concern clearly written in her eyes, she stepped toward the girl.

“What’s wrong, Yuni?”

“Eomma, come with me.”  Yunyeong turned back towards her room and entered it, her mother following closely behind her.  

Yunseok met his sister’s eyes for a moment and mouthed the words, “You can do it,” before she shut the door between them.

Yunyeong took a deep breath and turned towards her mother.  “Eomma, do you remember the boy I dated when I was sixteen?”

Her mother nodded her head.  “Eunho?”

Just hearing his name was still difficult.  Yunyeong nodded.  “He’s Heejin’s older brother.”

“He is?” her mother sounded astonished.  Her face fell.  “Oh, dear.  I know he really broke your heart.  But…surely, you’re over him now.  He couldn’t possibly have been anywhere near as wonderful as Kookie…”

Jungkook had achieved sainthood in her mind when he’d built her daughter a secret garden.

Yunyeong burst into tears.  It was the shock of hearing the words Eunho and wonderful in the same sentence.  

“He wasn’t wonderful at all.  He was horrible.  Just plain awful.”

Her mother’s eyes widened as an uneasy feeling filled the pit of her stomach.  “Yuni?  What do you mean?” her voice trembled.  “What did he do to you?”

“Eomma.  He raped me.” 

Yunyeong walked towards her mother and kept moving until she’d surrounded the older woman with her arms and buried her nose against her eomma’s collarbone.

“Oh, my precious baby.  What?” Horrified, she stared down at her daughter’s back as she ran her hand up and down it.  “How did I not know this?  Why didn’t you tell me, honey?”  Her voice was a faint thread.

“Because it was my fault.  I went to his house with him.  I went to his room.  I planned to sleep with him.  But then I changed my mind.  He didn’t like it.  He forced me.”  

She was panting against her mother’s shoulder.  It was so much harder to tell her eomma than it had been to tell either Kookie or Seokie.  She knew this news must be devastating her mother.

“It wasn’t your fault.  He should have listened to you.  He should have respected your choice.  Oh, my poor darling!” She kissed Yunyeong on the forehead.  “I wish you’d told me!  When it happened.

“Yuni,” her mother’s voice broke with tenderness.  “You can always tell me anything.  I can handle it all.  The worst part is knowing you went through this alone.  That you didn’t have me to comfort you.”  She began to weep against her daughter’s hair as she hugged her close.  

After a few moments, she asked, “Does Kookie know?”

Yunyeong nodded.  “He’s the first person I told.”

Her mother was astonished.  “He was?  Wow.  You really trusted him, didn’t you?”

“How could I not?  He built me a garden, Eomma!  And he barely knew me.  I…I didn’t feel worthy of his gift.  So I felt that I owed him the truth.”

“Ahh.  I see.  Does anyone else know?”

Yunyeong knew this information would hurt her mother too.

“Yunseong overheard me telling Kookie.  I thought she was at Tae’s, but she wasn’t…and I told Seokie a few weeks ago.  Right before he moved in with Heejin.”

“Because Eunho is her brother?”

“No.  I didn’t know that then.  I…I was afraid that Seokie was going to land himself into trouble moving in with a girl he was in love with.  Sex isn’t something to mess around with.  I learned that the hard way.  So I told him about my experience and warned him to treat her with respect.  And to set some boundaries to keep them both safe.”

Her mother smiled down at her.  “Well, look at my precious baby.  All grown up now.”  She framed her daughter’s face with her hands and planted a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“Eomma, I’m so sorry you’re the last one I told!” Yunyeong sobbed.

“Oh, baby.”  Her mother engulfed her in a warm embrace once more.  “It’s all right.  I understand.  I understand how they all came to know.  I’m just glad that you finally found the courage to tell me.  And I’m glad that you’re not carrying that burden alone anymore.  Thank God for Kookie.”  

She smiled affectionately as she thought of her beloved son-in-law.  “I always knew that boy was a darling.  But, now, I love him even more.  Yuni…”

“Hmm?”

“Have you and Kookie been intimate?”

She nodded into her mother’s neck.  “He’s so sweet, Eomma.  He walked me slowly and kindly through every step until he’d delivered me from my fear.  Being in that place with him is…wonderful.”  She blushed into her mother’s shoulder.

Her eomma squeezed her tight.  “I’m so happy to hear that.”  After a moment, she questioned her daughter again.  “How did you come to realize that Heejin is Eunho’s sister?”

“She invited Seokie and Kookie and me to dinner a couple weeks ago.  When we went to her parents’ house, I recognized it.  Then, when we went inside, her brother followed her down the stairs.”

“You saw him?”  Her mother was horrified.

“I did.  But he looked unhappy to see me.  He left almost immediately.  After he left, Heejin asked me what was wrong.  I…I took them all up to Eunho’s bedroom.  And I told her what he did to me there.”

Her mother gasped and drew back to gaze down into her daughter’s face.  “So Heejin knows?”

Yunyeong nodded.  “Eomma.”  Her tone matched the alarm in her eyes.  “He hurt Heejin too.”

Her mother’s face melted.

“Not as bad as he hurt me, thank God.  But he molested her when she was quite young.”

Her eomma closed her eyes.  “Does Seokie know?”

Yunyeong nodded. “Yes.”

“He’s decided to rescue a damsel in distress,” his eomma murmured.

“Repeatedly, Eomma.  He has repeatedly rescued her.”

“I understand why he’s marrying her.  Between the car accident and the death of her friend and the abuse her brother dished out…”

Yunyeong nodded.  “He feels a kinship with her.  Especially now that he also knows what I went through.  And that he wasn’t able to help me overcome it.  But, Eomma…even before he knew any of that, he was taken with her.”

“What do you mean?”

“He met her the night of Minsu’s wedding.  Heejin’s car had broken down on the freeway.  She was headed towards the same wedding.  They were late.  We met them in the foyer.  They were holding hands.  And Seokie tried to make us believe he’d been dating Heejin in secret for two months.”

“Why?” her mother’s brow furrowed.

Yunyeong giggled.  “To get back at us for all our pranks.”

Her mother laughed.  “You three!”

“The thing is…she played along with him.  Something was sparking between them even then.”

“So, you think Seokie has met his match.”

“Quite possibly, Eomma.  I really like her.”

“I do too.”  

I do too.

But it was really hard to believe that she was about to marry off the last of her three children.  They were all so young.  She had never dreamed that her son would get married at twenty-one.  Or that her youngest would be an eomma by then. 

She smiled faintly as she remembered three tiny children and the wonderful man who had chased them all around the yard while she snapped pictures.  Of course, he’d been gone for nearly a decade now.  And her triplets were all grown up.  Each of them had become a beautiful person and found a wonderful spouse to love.  

Where had all the years gone?  Would her children find the happiness that she had been blessed enough to find twice?  She hoped they would miss out on the tragedies, though.  They had all suffered enough of those already.