Savior 🔞

°20 *

"OLIVIA!! AERA!! I'M HOME!!"

The sound of small feet running towards me makes me smile.

"Appa!!!"

Olivia jumps from 3 feet away and I catch her, swinging her in a circle. She's giggling and cheering at our greeting. I tickle Olivia and she begins squirming and squealing.

"Jungkook! You're going to make her sick! She just ate lunch!"

I hug Olivia and set her down. She grabs my hand to pull me to Aera.

"Appa... Hug Aera too!!"

I look at Aera, and she's laughing. I pick her up and hug her, spinning her around. Both girls are now giggling and my job is done. Setting the pretty Aera back on her feet, she stumbles.

"Sorry... Did I make you dizzy?"

"I'm fine Jungkook. How was your trip? Are you hungry? There's some food left over."

"I could eat actually. Thanks. The trip was alright. I'm going to have to travel again tomorrow though..."

"Appa?? You're leaving again? Don't you want to be here anymore?!?" The little green eyes of my daughter start leaking tears, and it stabs my heart. I scoop her up and kiss her face all over.

"I love you so much my Aegi!! I just have to make this trip to fix some problems in a very important company. I will only be gone a couple weeks. I promise when I get home, we'll have a vacation... Just the 3 of us. Start thinking of where you want to go. Ok?"

Aera and I share a look, and she takes Olivia from me. "Your Appa loves you so much Olivia. You know he'll call, and FaceTime, as often as possible. So stop your silly tears child..."

"You're not sad Aera? Do you not miss Appa when he leaves?"

"Of course I miss him. I don't get sad though, because I have you. He has to go and work, YUCK!! But I get to play and hang out with you little miss."

Watching Aera and Olivia is bittersweet. I miss Sophia every second of the day. Her absence is an open wound that will never heal. Seeing how much Olivia is starting to look like her mother, makes that wound deeper. Aera came into our life, and I hated it. She was smart and confident, not to mention she didn't take my shit. I fired her at least twice in the first 6 months, but she just came back the next day.

Aera tells Olivia all about her mother, to never be a replacement. The problem will always be that Olivia has no memory of any other mother, except Aera. The marriage contract was the easy part for both of us. We don't feel anything but friendly towards each other. She has a relationship with a woman, Rosé, that she has loved for many years. I have a relationship with work... And the ghost of my love...

Every once in a while I still hear her beautiful voice in my head. She tells me that she's doing alright, but she misses me. God... I miss her so much! Aera thinks it's an amazing gift that Sophia and I were able to share that kind of communication with one another. I agree, but it makes me crazy too. I don't know if it's even real anymore, or just that I'll never be over her.

"Appa!! Where are you going this time?"

"Aaaahhh... Appa is going to Los Angeles. I have to see the man who runs your Haraboji's company. There are some problems."

"Will you ever take me to Los Angeles Appa?"

I smile brightly at her and nod. I would bring her this time, but it's going to be all work. Aera doesn't like to fly, so I would never force her to come that far. Olivia's birthday is in 3 weeks. I was planning to save this trip until after, but things are not getting better, and if I wait longer, I'll end up having to make an emergency trip, possibly missing my baby turn 6.