Maya

"Taehyung," I gently shake his shoulder as I whisper into his ear and try to wake him up as quietly as possible without disturbing Areum's precious sleep.

But Taehyung seems to be sleeping deeper than her. He's lying on his stomach, his lips parted, and more than half of his face that's turned to one side is obscured by his fluffy hair.

"Baby, I need help," I kneel down next to the bed and use my hand to push aside the hair from his forehead.

He clicks his tongue and growls a bit in his sleep, eventually squinting open one eye to look at me.

"I have a question," I am only moving my lips at this point because Areum shuffled a bit when Taehyung made some sounds a few seconds ago. He obviously doesn't understand what I'm trying to say, and he tries to go back to sleep.

I lean closer to him and whisper into his ear,
"What does Areum like to eat for breakfast?"

I lean back to see him as he opens his eyes upon hearing my question, a soft chuckle falling from his lips as he turns around to lie down on his side.

With a big smile, he motions for me to come closer, and I do so, and then Taehyung wraps his arms around my neck, holding my jaw to turn my head to the side and whispering into my ear, "Blueberry pancakes or gimbap"

I look over his broad frame and notice that Areum is still sleeping peacefully. Showing thumbs up to Taehyung, I pick up the dress that I placed on the nightstand beside Taehyung's side of the bed. It is one among the four dresses that I bought for her in London.

"When she's up, ask her if she wants to change into this, okay?" I speak quietly, and his eyes move to the dress and then back to meet mine as he smiles brightly, nodding.

Placing the dress back on top of the nightstand, I get back onto my feet and hop out of the room without wasting any more time.

Fortunately, I have everything needed to make blueberry pancakes, and I am determined to make it memorable for her. Taehyung had already told me about how Areum enjoys little details in her food, and I intend to put in some efforts to make her breakfast time an enjoyable experience today.

After the meltdown and angry words last night, she didn't even get to eat her dinner, and I'm sure she will wake up hungry. So, I quickly bring out my heart-shaped cookie cutters and all the ingredients needed to make the pancake batter.

Mixing everything up for the batter, I also double rinse the blueberries just to be sure. Never before in my life have I rinsed them, but with Areum, I want to be super careful.

I even spend some time sorting out the blueberries according to their sizes, after which I carefully pour a little bit of batter into the cookie cutters that I place on the hot pan. I plant exactly three tiny blueberries inside each pancake and remove the cookie cutter before I meticulously flip them over.

They turn out just as I thought they would.

Perfect!!

I make another round pancake, using the blueberries to make it look like a smiley, and it turns out perfect too.

Sometimes, my own cooking skills amaze me!

I place all the meticulously-made pancakes onto a plate, and just as I'm finishing my little task, my eyes discover the jar of chocolate chips that's on the kitchen counter, and I instantly let out a gasp; my eyes going as wide as saucers.

No way! This shouldn't be here!

Quickly hiding the jar inside the topmost rack of the cupboard, I also retrieve all my other stash of chocolates and chocolate ice-cream and hide them all away inside the farthest corner of the freezer and place a few packs of frozen corn and peas to cover them up.

The moment I finish camouflaging the contents of my freezer, I hear Areum and Taehyung entering the kitchen, talking in muffled voices as they approach.

I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

Always keep your expectations low. You got this, Maya. You can do it.

"Morning, Areum! Morning, Taehyung!" I chirp happily as I close the freezer door and smile at them; my smile growing wider when I see Areum wearing the dress that I bought for her.

She gives me a tight-lipped smile as Taehyung walks her to the kitchen island and lifts her up to sit her down on one of the bar stools.

I bring out the plate with Areum's custom-made pancakes, and cautiously slide the plate in front of her along with a bottle of syrup.

Her eyes gleam when she sees the food on her plate, and she whips around to look at her father.
"Appa! Heart pancakes!" She bounces a little in her seat and smiles big; her smile effortlessly outshining Taehyung's.

She definitely seems a lot better than last night. Taehyung ruffles her hair and laughs softly as I sit down at the island too and pass him his plate of pancakes.

"Oh, wow! Look, bubba, only you have these heart and smiley pancakes. Mine are all just normal blueberry pancakes," he pouts, and Areum bursts out giggling.

Taehyung keeps fake-crying as he pours syrup onto the pancakes in both their plates, making Areum laugh even more.

Their little interaction makes me not want to look at anything else, and I find myself unable to tone down the huge smile on my face as I sit there resting my jaw on my upturned palm and admiring them with my whole heart.

"Appa! Don't be a baby and cry," Areum laughs again before she picks up one of the heart-shaped pancakes and bites into it.

My heart begins thumping hard as I keep my eyes on her, eagerly awaiting her reaction, and never before have I been so nervous about anything in life. But the moment she nods in approval as she keeps chewing her food with a pout on her lips, feels to me as though I've been crowned the MasterChef of Korea.

Internally squealing, I clear my throat, pleading and hinting to Taehyung that he should help her talk to me. I definitely don't want to put her off once again by being the first one to talk something.

He quickly catches on and sits up straight in his seat.
"Uhm, bubba, how do you like the pancakes?" Taehyung asks in the most cautious manner, keeping his eyes on me and slowly moving them to his daughter.

"They're so good, appa," her words make me want to hug her tight and kiss her chubby cheeks hard, but I'm having a very hard time holding myself back from reacting.

"Then why don't you tell that to Maya?" He asks softly, and Areum turns her head to look at him.

"Did she make the pancakes?" She answers him with a barely audible question, and for a moment, I begin panicking if she would fling them all on my face and run out of the kitchen.

But then, when Taehyung nods his head in reply to her question, she turns to look at me and bows her head a little.
"Thank you!" Her voice comes out as a feeble squeak, but it makes me so happy and proud and extremely relieved too.

I don't even realize that my eyes are tearing up until a few drops fall on my hands when I bow my head down to reciprocate her gesture.

"I'm happy that you like them, Areum," I say with a smile, still battling a few tears in vain.

"She's crying like a baby too," Areum complains to Taehyung while I swiftly dismiss my tears and smile at them.

This is just the second time that Areum and I have had something that is worth calling an interaction of a good kind, and again it is over a meal, but I can't be more thankful. She has already truly made my day even though it has just started.

The rest of breakfast time is mostly Areum talking to Taehyung, and he trying his best to make me a part of their conversation too, but it doesn't work well. However, I'm happy with the progress made today, even though it is just a very small thing.

Layla's words will always remain on my mind, and I will ensure that I deploy all my patience and wait for Areum to accept me as someone significant in her life.

My expectations at all points will be low, and I will never take offense for anything she says out of anger.

After breakfast, while I'm clearing out the dishes, Taehyung discusses with Areum about the movie she wants to watch during her screen-time today. He then makes her comfortable on the couch and turns on the TV for her.

Once the movie starts playing and Areum gets busy with it, Taehyung comes around to the kitchen to talk to me just as I'm done with my work.

"Maya," he slides an arm around my waist and kisses my temple. "She's so much more relaxed today. I just hope it lasts," he speaks lowly, tightening his hold around my waist.

I laugh softly at that as I turn around to stand facing him.
"I hope it does too, but let's not expect too much," I gently fix the collars of his shirt and smooth out the fabric over his chest.

"Will you guys be okay today? I'll be back in some time. The locksmith should be able to fix things quickly," he worries about us with a pout on his lips.

"Don't worry about us. I'll let her be, we'll be fine," I reassure him, gently patting his chest and giving him a smile that makes him smile too before we both walk back into the living room.

"Appa!" Areum calls out, making Taehyung's eyes fall on her while I quickly take a step away from him.

"Something happened on TV," she complains to him, extending the remote control and waiting for Taehyung to assist her.

But before he could step up, I quickly jump in to help her out.
"Can I see what it is?" I look at them both for answers.

"Okay," Areum nods slowly while Taehyung smiles, motioning for me to go ahead and help her out.

Feeling thankful for another opportunity to interact with her, I occupy the seat on the same couch as her, only to find out that she had accidentally navigated into the TV settings menu. I exit the screen and the movie returns, paused, after which I place the remote control on the coffee table.

"It's fixed now, and it won't happen again if the remote control remains here," I point to where it is right now as I keep my eyes on Areum who is bundled up in a corner of the couch, lying down with her head resting in the crook of the armrest.

She nods a little, giving me a small smile.

"Are you feeling tired, Areum? Or do you want to watch something else?" I ask her softly, and she confirms that she wants to continue watching the movie.

Taehyung leaves soon after while I keep phasing in and out of the living room now and then to check on her, and in about fifteen minutes, she falls asleep on the couch in the exact same position in which she was lying curled up all this while.

Not wanting to disturb her sleep by shifting her to the bed, I bring out a pillow and a soft and light blanket to tuck her into.

I squat on the floor next to where Areum is sleeping, and softly stroke her head with my hand; a smile sitting on my lips even as my eyes grow a bit moist.

She's really young and precious, and how hard it must be for her to stay away from any one parent at all times. I really, really want to be there for her, but I have no idea how to go about this.

The tears that I want to hold in slide down my cheeks, but I quickly dismiss them and get back up on my feet.

I even contemplate taking Areum to her mother for the much-needed warmth and cuddles that she needs now, which no one else but Jang-Mi can give her.

But, on the other hand, this could be a great chance for me to bond with her, at least until the situation gets out of hand and she totally refuses my company.

So I decide to stay quiet and see where things go today.

About forty minutes later, Areum wakes up from her short nap, squirming and twisting as she pushes the blanket away and squints her eyes open.

"Hey," I wave to her from the foot of the couch where I've been sitting for a long time now.

"Where's appa and eomma?" She croaks sleepily as she sits up on the couch, rubbing her eyes.

"Uh- mm... Appa has gone out to take care of the door, Areum. Do you want something to eat?" I turn around to sit down facing her.

"Where's eomma?" She repeats her unanswered question, and I swallow thickly.

How did I think I could dodge that?

"Uhm- Areum, you do know that your appa and eomma have decided to live in separate homes," I measure my words and the way they come out.

"Why?" Is the only question that she puts forward, but I truly have no idea how to answer that.

"Areum, can I ask you something? And then we'll figure out why they want to do this," I ask her, feeling a little unsure about what to expect at the end of this conversation.

She only nods her head with a small hum.

"So have you ever had any kind of misunderstanding with your friends? Like they want to do something, but you want to do something else..." my eyes search her eyes for an answer as I orchestrate my question using my hands.

"Yeah, Soo-Jin always wants to play with clay in our free hour, but I want to play in the sand pit," she speaks in a pout, which is just like how Taehyung always speaks in a pout when he's complaining about something or someone.

"And what do you do then? Do you do clay modeling with him or do you go to the sand pit and just do what you want to do?"

"I go to the sand pit and play with other kids because I don't like clay. It feels sticky and dirty," the disgust she feels for clay shows up as a scrunch on her little nose.

"Yeah, I don't like clay too. Never played with it," I chuckle softly, shrugging a little. "So is Soo-Jin still your friend?" My question is answered with a brief nod of her head.

"So just like how you and Soo-Jin do different things in different places but still remain as friends, your appa and eomma too want to do different things and live in different homes," I explain with a small smile.

"Are they still friends?" Areum asks softly, feeling doubtful about the answer that I would give her.

"They're still your parents, and they both love you very much," I reassure her with a firm nod of my head.

She remains silent, and her head bobs slowly as she looks down at her fingers that she's fiddling with on the top of her lap.

It clearly tells me that she is fully aware of the fact by now, but she's also having a hard time coming to terms with the bitter truth, and my heart physically aches for the little child.

"Hey," I pull myself a little closer to her. "Areum, it's not at all because of you that they want to do this. It's what they feel is best for them, and always remember that they both love you very much, more than anything else in this world," upon hearing my words, she lifts her eyes to look at me, and I feel like taking her in my arms and hugging her tight.

But I'm seriously struggling to hold back myself.

"I want to go back home," she says sadly, making my shoulders sink.

"Do you not like it here?" I flip her question with even more sadness in my tone.

She remains quiet for a few seconds, and I use this chance to quickly pop in with something that might interest her.

"Do you want to look at some old photos of your appa? I'm sure you haven't seen them before," I send a smile her way. "And after that, maybe we can play something together until appa comes back. If you want me to play with you, I'm always ready," my words light up her face and bring a smile to her lips.

"I want to see photos," she declares, getting up from the couch, and I instantly bounce up on my feet with a lot of enthusiasm.

There's definitely no better chance than this and no better time than now to spend time and try to bond with her over something that she might enjoy doing.

More of Maya-Areum time coming up in the next chapter.
🤧🤧🤧

Published on : 06/07/2022