Maya

"Maya, Jang-Mi already spoke to me this morning. She was also concerned about Areum," Layla informs me once it's just the two of us in the living room.

This new information takes me by surprise, although I shouldn't be surprised because Jang-Mi must also be battling the same emotions as Taehyung, and she would also have to handle Areum by herself, and just like him, she would also have to face the same set of questions from Areum.

"Oh! Really?" I nod, letting my words hang at that because I can see how professional Layla is, and I know it for a fact that she will not give me any details.

It isn't ethical, and I am also not expecting to know anything from her.

"Yeah, we spent a lot of time talking, and I guess both Taehyung and Jang-Mi are mentally ready for the separation. That part shouldn't be a problem at all," she says with a smile, also subtly hinting that only that part of the process is going to be problem-free.

I only nod in response, and then she continues talking.

"I've known Areum since her birth, and she is a very sensitive child, but she is also very forgiving, kind and full of love. However, I want you to understand that she will tend to be over protective and possessive over her father during the initial period, and maybe even for longer. But you shouldn't let that affect you or your spirits. You need to be really strong because even though kids don't take things to heart, adults tend to amplify the little things said and done by children and take it too personally and get offended as well," Layla's tone is solemn, and she makes her point clear.

"Like, she might sometimes out of anger and disappointment say that she hates you or she doesn't ever want to be near you or things like that, and compare you and Jang-Mi over many things, for example. These might sound very mean, but the thing is that it is going to be a tough time for her, and children are still learning to identify their emotions and their reactions to it. I mean, most adults are still so bad at it. So it makes no sense to take offense for what a young child says," she adds with a warm and friendly smile.

"I can understand," I register this point as well within my head for future assistance.

"But whatever it is, you should not allow disrespect at any cost. She should eventually learn and understand that whether she likes you or not, you will still be the woman in her father's life, and she cannot disrespect you or Taehyung and not bat an eyelid about it," she pauses for a while and continues speaking when I acknowledge her words, nodding.

"Children learn more through play and observation, so make sure you work on these areas. Keep in mind that Areum should gradually learn to accept that her parents chose her, as well as their own happiness and peace. Use your words carefully, respect her, and take it slow with her," she states in a very composed manner, and at this point, I have learned something about Layla.

It is that she will give us all the answers with an air of mystery around it. She will not spoon-feed the answers, but she will let us untangle the mess and organize our lives on our own with the wisdom that her words impart in our minds.

She is the second most amazing woman that I have met, through Taehyung again, and I can't be more thankful.

But the saddest truth is that motherhood is not something that every woman who is so good with children, and also has an amazing heart and mind gets blessed with—just like Layla. It has been over ten years since Jin and Layla are married, and I learned from Taehyung that they haven't had a single pregnancy in all these years.

My heart aches for them, and I pray that this deserving woman and her loving husband should be blessed with at least a handful of children.

"Layla, you're so wise and amazing. I will keep everything in mind and try my best with Areum," I pour out my words of praise for her, and she smiles big in response, nodding.

"You seem nice too, Maya. I'm pretty sure Areum will settle down, it's just a matter of time and a lot of patience. There are no steadfast rules in this situation, and just follow the child's lead. Take my number. You can contact me anytime you are stuck," she extends her phone to me, and then we both exchange phone numbers.

After about twenty minutes, Taehyung and I drive back to my home with our minds filled with numerous thoughts and ideas that none of us actually bother to talk. Just being in each other's company feels enough and comfortable at the moment.

It takes me a while to convince Taehyung to stay the night with me and not spend it alone and sleepless at his home.

We eat a mostly quiet dinner, keeping our discussions limited to work-related topics and country affairs. It feels so awkward, and I actually hate it that it's this way.

But sometimes it is better not to force anything.

***

Despite the conflict within our minds, we both slept peacefully last night, and today is the day where Taehyung and Jang-Mi will finalize the terms of their separation and give their full consent for the divorce.

This also means that the day they would reveal the news of their separation to Areum is really close as well. This is the part that troubles me. I don't know what to expect and how to react or respond to anything. It just feels as if we are all blindfolded and pushed into a jungle to go ahead and discover the terrain by ourselves.

Nuzzling my face against Taehyung's body, I let the warmth of his skin comfort me and silence my inner demons while I wait for him to wake up, which he does in a few minutes.

"Morning, TaeTae," I kiss his chest, pressing the side of my face on him and listening to the calm beats of his heart.

"Morning, Maya. Did you sleep well?" Taehyung's morning voice does something to me every time, but now it's not the time to get turned on.

"I did, and you?" My legs and hands snugly wrap around him as if they have a mind of their own.

"I did too..." he kisses the top of my head after a short pause, his hand lovingly swiping my back up and down.

"What time is it?" Taehyung asks, already launching his mind into preparatory mode for the day ahead.

"I don't know. I feel like staying this way all day...skin on skin, just you and me," I snuggle tighter, closing my eyes as I bask in the warmth of his body.

"I don't want to move an inch as well, Maya. Why don't we run away somewhere? And escape all this..." his words make me raise my head a little and look at him speaking in a pout. "Just us, somewhere far from all this worry and trouble... I'm missing you so much even when you're right here in my arms. I'm dying to get back to our happier days," he whines and complains, frustration and helplessness evident in his tone.

"You mean like, go back to our high-school days?" I deflect the topic to something more lighter as I slip my leg right in between his legs, and he holds my leg tight in place.

"How I wish... I would-" his words are abruptly cut off by an incoming call on his phone.

Rolling us over, he picks up his phone from the nightstand and answers the call with a sudden surge of attentiveness.

"Attorney Cha, morning!" Taehyung sits up cross-legged in bed, pushing his hair back with one hand, and I sit up too.

"Oh, is it so?" He glances at me before he pulls away the duvet covering us and throws his legs out of the bed.

I climb out of bed, wear a T-shirt and fix my hair while Taehyung continues speaking to Mr. Cha for a few more seconds before ending the call.

Turning to look at me, Taehyung tosses his phone on the bed and comes closer.

"Maya, the meeting with Mr. Cha is in an hour, and not in the evening," he informs me, his voice dropping an octave lower.

"Oh," I take a step closer to him, scanning his eyes for any signs of trouble. He definitely looks much better because last night, he shaved, showered and slept well. But there's still a lot of despair in his eyes that is murking the usual spark and brightness.

"I'll be waiting for you," I bring my hand to softly stroke his jaw and the side of his neck, sliding it to the back of his neck and slipping my fingers through his soft hair.

Taehyung nods a little before he leans forward for a kiss, and I lock my hands together at the back of his neck, kissing him with my everything, hoping to pass on every ounce of strength to him through the kiss.

It takes him less than fifteen minutes to get ready and leave the house while I only keep thinking about Areum and how she would actually handle this information.

I hope everything goes well.

 
Taehyung

"Morning, Mr. Kim!" Attorney Cha greets me as soon as I enter his office while my eyes quickly scan the area and find out that it's only me and him. Jang-Mi isn't here yet.

I take a seat at the table, and he does the same at the head of the table and stacks a bunch of papers together.

"Jang-Mi should arrive anytime now," he says with a small, bright smile, and I only nod in response.

I don't know how to react or what to say. Even though I was waiting for this divorce and the freedom it brings along with it, I'm actually experiencing so much within me when the day is actually here where we would seal the deal before we part ways.

It's not that I miss Jang-Mi because we were anyway on different tracks for quite a few years, and in the past week, I have adjusted quite well to living in her absence.

What troubles me is the state of quandary that Areum would be in once we tell her that we are not going to live as a family of three under one roof anymore. Sometimes, running away and abandoning a situation feels way better than facing it, and that's exactly how I'm feeling right now.

I have no strength to explain everything to Areum, and I'm still clueless what to do about this whole mess that I've made all around me and stuck my ass deep into.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I rest my head in my hands and try to pull my thoughts together.

Maya, the only face that comes to my mind when I close my eyes.

 
As I walked inside the new school, unsure about everything and surrounded by unfamiliar faces everywhere, I kept my head straight and my eyes on the corridor that led up to my classroom for the year.

Slinging my backpack over one shoulder, I kept my hands inside the pockets of my uniform pants and kept chewing the corners of my lips out of nervousness.

My classroom was three steps away, and I suddenly felt my heartbeat accelerating a little as I paused for a bit and puffed out a few deep breaths before I stepped in.

Dipping my neck and keeping my eyes on the floor, I turned into the doorway and abruptly crashed into someone, a girl, as seen from the shoes and legs that were in my view right then. And then I saw a bunch of stationery and a few books dropping to the floor before my eyes lifted to look at the girl.

Who knew that this would be my point of no return? Who knew that it was not just the stationery and books that had fallen, but it was also I who had fallen hard right then—for her.

She crouched down on the floor and began collecting her things, and from where I was standing, I could only see her dark hair, her hands that were picking up the things, and a bit of her knees.

I crouched down to gather a couple of pencils that had rolled under a nearby desk, and at the exact moment when my eyes lifted to look at her, she looked at me too, our gazes locking, making me feel something strange within—something new that I had never felt before.

Something that made my blood rush and my heart beat a little faster than usual.

I knew right then that this girl was here to stay, safe within the confines of my heart forever and ever.

My mouth opened and closed as my words mocked me from inside my head, my eyes not wanting to blink and miss the sight in front of my eyes.

The girl sent a smile my way before she rose back to her feet, and I did the same as if I was a puppet whose threads were tied to her eyes. It felt to me as if that smile of hers had instantly cast a spell on me and seared itself into the walls of my heart and mind as the best memory of my life.

She extended her hand in the space between us, and for a moment I wondered what it would feel like to take her smaller hand in mine and hold it tight and never let her go, forever.

The very thought of it made my heart race a mile a minute.

But she wasn't asking for my hand. She was actually asking for her pencils, and I placed them in her palm.

"Thank you," her words made my eyes travel to the name badge pinned to her uniform jacket.

Maya Harris

The breath of fresh air that filled my lungs when all else was suffocating me. She's the reason behind my smiles and my peaceful nights, the woman who can calm my storms and walk by my side through every rocky road that I would have to cross in my lifetime.

 
I may have made many mistakes in life along with a whole big bunch of wrong choices, but every little thing in my life has finally led me to her, my home.

She brings out the best in me and makes me want to be a better person, and if there's one thing that I'm entirely sure about at this moment, it is that I want to spend the rest of my life with Maya and love her immensely with everything that I have.

Anything could fail me in life, but the confidence that through it all she will stay strong by my side strengthens my will to knock down any wall on my way.

Her first words spoken to me are the ones that I will keep telling her for the rest of my life—thank you.

Thank You, Maya.

For everything.

I will not run away from anything, I don't want to. I know I can do this. For you, for us. For my daughter.

"Jang-Mi is here," attorney Cha's voice brings me back to reality, causing my eyes to flutter open.

"Are you ready?" He checks with me while Jang-Mi takes her seat across the table.

"Yes," I answer him as I confidently lean back in my seat.

I am more than ready. I got this and everything else.

I actually wanted to write an entire chapter about their first meeting in high school, but finally settled for this.
💕🥰

Look respectfully.
👀
Me : *fails*
🤤🤤🤤

Published on : 05/31/2022