Love Contract / Mark Lee

Chapter 55

7 years later

Areum lay awake on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She counted the sounds of the cars that drove by, hoping that she would get drowsy and fall asleep. Seeing that she was becoming more awake than sleepy, she sat up, slowly getting out of bed.

She walked to her drawers, opening one of the hidden drawers. She pulled out a picture that was hidden between two pairs of pants that no longer fit her.

She admired the picture of her 21-year-old self and the man that she loved at that time. Mark Lee

Just thinking about him made her heart heavy. The last time she saw him... she wished that it was a happy moment. Unfortunately, their last encounter was one of the many things that she regretted.

She walked over to the nightstand, reaching for her cellphone. She looked for Mark's phone number, hovering her thumb over the call button.

"Mommy!" She heard a voice from outside her door. Areum placed the phone on the nightstand, jumping off the bed before running to open the door.

"Ellie! What are you doing awake?" She mumbled, picking her up before walking back to the room.

"I miss daddy." She mumbled. Areum sighed, walking over to her room.

"I know sweetie. But daddy had to go work. He will be back soon." She comforted, sitting down on the edge of her bed while tucking her into her covers.

"But tomorrow is the wedding! Daddy has to be home for the wedding! He promised! Me and Caleb miss him." She pouted. Areum pecked her forehead.

"I miss him too. And we can talk about this later but tomorrow we have a big day. Uncle Jeno is gonna need his flower girl to be awake during his wedding. He can't have you falling asleep while you are throwing flowers down the aisle." She teased, tickling her daughter's sides. Ellie let out a small giggle.

"Ok, Mommy. Goodnight." She whispered. Areum pecked her cheek one last time.

"Goodnight sweetie. I'm gonna go check on your brother." She said, walking to her son's room. She opened the door to see him flinch, quickly shutting his eyes. Areum chuckled, walking over to the bed.

"I know your awake kiddo." She mumbled. He opened his eyes.

"I heard you and Ellie talking about daddy." He mumbled. She nodded.

"Ellie misses him. And I know you do too, Caleb." She said. Caleb nodded.

"A-are you and daddy gonna get married like Uncle Jeno and Auntie Lisa?" He asked. Areum furrowed her eyebrows.

(It's not the Lisa from Blackpink. It's some other random Lisa)

"Why are you asking?" She asked. Caleb shrugged.

"Some of the kids at daycare were asking me why my mom wasn't married but she has kids," he explained. Areum scoffed.

"How can a bunch of four-year-olds be-"

"I didn't know what to tell them... A-and I got scared. And I told them about Mark jr... your baby that died. I'm sorry mommy." He pouted. Areum sighed.

She couldn't get mad at him. He could barely understand what a miscarriage was or a baby with no brain. He was a four-year-old who was going through his mother's things one day and found an ultrasound picture of another kid.

"Ok, you are too smart for your own good. But if I explain to you, will you go to sleep?" She asked. Caleb got comfortable in his spot.

"I used to be married. A-and mommy had lost her baby, Mark jr. Mommy had a hard time thinking about having kids again, so she had to divorce- break up with her husband. And mommy thinks that she wasn't ready to get married. But sometimes the idea of getting married makes me excited." She explained. Caleb nodded.