Fate and Destiny

TWENTY FOUR

"Oppa. Are you sure it's okay for me to come?" Joy stopped walking as she asked Sungjae.  They were on the pathway leading to the children's playground area of the country club where Sungjae and his hyung-deul are members.  Yoona's birthday party was being held at the function room connected to the playground.  "Yes, I'm sure. And don't worry. Yeri and your unnie-deul are going to be there, too. Hyolyn noona really wants to meet all of you," Sungjae told her, putting an arm around her shoulders to propel her forward.  Joy relaxed when she immediately saw their friends as soon as they came in.  Irene, Seulgi and Wendy were sitting around a table with a very pregnant but very beautiful woman whom Joy assumed was Changsub's wife, Chorong.  Minhyuk, Changsub, Hyunsik and Ilhoon, stood nearby, chatting.  She also saw Peniel and Yeri going around, taking pictures.  They were met at the door by Eunkwang and Hyolyn.  "Noona, this is Sooyoung and Youngjae," Sungjae said after kissing Hyolyn on the cheek.  "Sooyoung? I thought it's Joy?" Hyolyn said, looking confusedly at Eunkwang.  "We all call her Joy but Sungjae calls her by her real name," Eunkwang explained.  "Ohhhh! Okay," Hyolyn nodded meaningfully.  "Hello, Joy. It's nice to finally meet you," she said, giving Joy a hug.  "Hello, uhm, unnie. Thank you for inviting us," Joy replied, hugging her back.  "Oh, it's nothing. I really want to meet all the girls who tamed my *namdongsaengs," she half-joked then turned to Youngjae.  "And this is the famous Youngjae, I see. Hello!" she said.  "Jaejae, this is Hyolyn noona, the queen in Eunkwang hyung's life," Sungjae said teasingly, earning him a slap on the arm from Hyolyn.  "Hello, imo. It's nice to meet you," Youngjae bowed as greeting.  "You're so handsome, just like your samchon. The girls will go crazy over you," she said, slightly pinching his cheeks, making Youngjae blush.  "They're here!" Hyolyn announced, wrapping an arm each around Joy and Youngjae as she led them to the table where the others are waiting.  Sungjae bent to kiss Chorong on the cheek while Changsub introduced her to Joy.  "Joy, this is my beautiful wife, your Chorong unnie," he said.  "Hello, unnie," Joy said.  "Hi! Sorry, I couldn't stand up," Chorong said, pointing to her rounded belly.  "It's okay, unnie. Please don't tire yourself out," Joy said.  "And this must be Youngjae. Hello!" Chorong said when she saw Youngjae.  "Jaejae, meet Chorong noona, Changsub hyung's wife," Sungjae told him.  "Hello, imo. Wow! You're having a baby," Youngjae said in awe.  "Yes, we are. This will be our first baby. And it's going to be a princess," Changsub bragged to Youngjae.  "Excited, hyung?" Hyunsik asked him.  Changsub nodded.  "And nervous," Changsub confessed.  "Relax. You'll be a great dad," Eunkwang said as an encouragement.  "I wish I have a dongsaeng," Youngjae said wistfully.  "Appa. Eomma. Can I have a dongsaeng?" Youngjae innocently asked Sungjae and Joy, leaving both of them wide-eyed and speechless.  Everyone at the table snickered as Joy blushed while Sungjae's ears turned red.  They were saved from answering when Yoona called out to Hyolyn.  "Imo!" she yelled, running up to them.  "Yoona! Come and meet Youngjae," Hyolyn said to her.  "Hi!" Yoona shyly greeted Youngjae.  "Hello! This is for you," Youngjae replied, handing the gift to her.  "Yoona, go and introduce Youngjae to your friends," Hyolyn suggested.  "Okay, imo," Yoona agreed, then turned to invite Youngjae to join her.  Minhyuk cleared his throat.  "That was a close call on the dongsaeng thing, maknae," Minhyuk chuckled, tapping Sungjae on the shoulder.  "Kids really say the most random things," he added.  "Not Jaejae, hyung. He's a deep-thinker. He doesn't just blurt things out," Sungjae said.  "Yeah," Joy agreed.  "When he says something that serious, it means it has been on his mind for quite a while," she said.  "Why? What did Youngjae said?" Peniel asked, as he and Yeri joined them.  "He asked for a dongsaeng," Wendy chuckled when Peniel's eyes rounded with amusement.  "It's because he's an only child, so he wants a playmate," Hyunsik explained.  "But he's got lots of friends to play with," Joy said.  "At school, yes. But none at home," Seulgi said.  "We play with him at home," Sungjae argued.  "But he still need someone of his age, or at least close to his age, to play with," Hyunsik said.  "He needs someone with the same level of energy as him," Seulgi added.  Sungjae and Joy looked at Youngjae who was talking to the other children.  Pondering on what Hyunsik and Seulgi said, Sungjae absent-mindedly placed an arm around Joy's shoulder.  Both of them were so absorbed with Youngjae, they failed to notice the interested looks their friends gave them, before exchanging looks with one another.  "Maybe we should get him a pet. What do you think?" Sungjae asked Joy while staring at Youngjae.  "I'm okay with it if you are," she replied, still looking at Youngjae.  "Or maybe they could just get married and give Youngjae a dongsaeng," Wendy whispered to Minhyuk.  "Or two," he added, chuckling then cleared his throat to break the distracted state of Sungjae and Joy.  Realizing how close they were, Sungjae immediately withdrew his arm from around Joy's shoulders while Joy moved closer to Wendy.  "Well, our princess will be Youngjae's *yeodongsaeng," Changsub said, placing a hand on Sungjae's shoulder.  "Yoona, too," Eunkwang said.  "Scratch that idea, hyung," Peniel said to Eunkwang, pointing to where the children are playing.  Their mouths gaped when they saw Youngjae smile sweetly at Yoona before holding her hand as they walked towards the swing.  "Yah! Your boy is a fast worker," Ilhoon sniggered, nudging Sungjae with his elbow.  "Unlike his appa," Irene laughingly add, unconsciously going along with Ilhoon's joke.  She fell silent when she noticed the amused looks their friends were giving her.  Realizing what she did, the smile on her face quickly vanished.  Irene glanced at Ilhoon then quickly looked away when she saw him staring intently at her.  "Say, cheese!" Yeri said playfully, immediately taking Irene's picture, capturing her red-faced from embarrassment.  "YAH! KIM YERIM!" Irene yelled and chased Yeri who quickly ran away, laughing.  A smirk appeared on Ilhoon's face.  "I'll be right back," he said before following Irene and Yeri.  "Maknae, it seems Youngjae's got himself a girlfriend," Chorong teased him.  "Well, I don't mind having Youngjae as my niece's boyfriend. What about you, Joy?" Hyolyn said, laughing.  "They do look cute together," Joy agreed.  "Don't you think they're too young for match-making?" Sungjae asked sarcastically.  Hyolyn and Joy looked at each other.  "No!" they chorused.  Sungjae can only shake his head.  At that moment, Yeri came back, out of breath from running.  "Where's Irene unnie?" Joy asked.  "Ilhoon oppa said he wanted to talk to her," Yeri said in between breaths, flopping on to a chair.  Peniel handed her a bottle of water, smiling at her.  "About time!" they chorused.

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At one point of the party, various parlor games were played both by the children and adults.  Joy, Yeri and their unnie-deul are currently playing a relay game for the single ladies, while his hyung-deul, Yoona and Youngjae cheered on the side for their team.  Sungjae joined Hyolyn and Chorong at the table, having fun watching the games.  "Noona," Sungjae began as he sat down.  He continued when both women turned to look at him.  "First of all, I'd like to say sorry to the both of you," he said.  "Sorry for what?" Hyolyn asked, clueless.  "For taking too much of Eunkwang hyung's and Changsub hyung's time. For making them stay late at the office," he explained.  "Why are you apologizing for something we asked them to do and something they want to do?" Hyolyn said.  "Yeah. Unnie and I told those two to stay in the office while you're still there to make sure that you don't go home too late, and that you eat before you go home. Besides, even if we ask them, they wouldn't do that if they don't want to," Chorong said.  "And I want to thank you for that, too. Hyung said you scold them whenever they fail to make me eat, or make me go home early," he said sheepishly.  "That, we do. When they told us that you started bringing lunch to work and you were cutting your hours, Chorong and I were glad because we're assured that you're eating properly and you're not over-working yourself," Hyolyn told him.  "That's why we really wanted to meet Joy and Youngjae. We want to thank the people who brought those changes, and made us worry less because we know someone's taking care of you now," Chorong added.  "Sorry for making you worry about me. I didn't realize that I've become a burden to everyone," Sungjae apologized.  "Don't say that!" his noona-deul scolded him.  "You are not a burden, and you will never be a burden. We're a family, and family takes care of each other," Hyolyn said, putting her arm around his shoulders.  "And don't you ever let your hyung-deul hear you say that unless you want them to get mad at you. They will be hurt when they learn you're thinking that way. You know they love you. We all love you," Chorong reminded him.  "I know that, noona. And I'm very thankful to all of you for always being there for me," Sungjae said gratefully.  Their attention was diverted when they heard a loud cheer from the other side of the room.  Joy gave him a wide smile and a thumbs-up when she saw him looking at them, so he knew they won the game.  Youngjae hugged his eomma with a bright smile on his face.  "We're so happy you found those treasures," Hyolyn said, nodding towards Joy and Youngjae.  He saw Joy, Yeri and their unnie-deul jumping happily while Youngjae and his hyung-deul cheered, doing a crazy dance.  Watching the happy scene before him, Sungjae knew that not everyone can be as lucky as he is to meet these kind people.  For the thousandth time, he thanked God for bringing them into his life, and for letting him be a part of this family.  "Yeah! Me, too, noona. Me, too," he said with a grin.

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NAMDONGSAENG   --    younger brother

YEODONGSAENG   --   younger sister