Unicorn bullets

~21~

One summer day, the Choi Family was on one of their vacation trips. They'd do it twice or thrice a year without skipping it as they valued that a proper rest heals the body and mind of oneself. Their destination for the day was at a local neighborhood near downtown where they were temporarily staying in, a 3-year old Yeonjun holding the enormous hand of his father's with his tiny ones while walking down the pavement, two plushies safely secured in his other arm.

His father who was always taking care of the fires occurring in the neighborhood, as to what a firefighter does, took a leave and went to Korea, together with his family, to spend some quality time and bond with them. Sometimes, he just needs someone to put out his own fire inside him and calm him down and gladly, his family is there to put out that fire.

Though Yeonjun barely sees his father after a cycle of several months, he still idolizes and loves him dearly. He might be working from overseas, but, he doesn't fail to express how he adores and loves Yeonjun. The two plushies that his son was holding right now were the ones that he sent from Hawaii, which is where his work was based in, with a heart sewed into both of the unicorn's chests.

They were now approaching a line of stalls on the sidewalk; variety of goods to choose and buy from. There were lots of street foods, an interesting amount of toys that catches the eyes of children in the area, and much, much more. Yeonjun ushered both of his parents to a specific and eye-catching stall,

A hair pin stall.

From bobby pins to decorative pieces of design of clips and some hair ties and scrunchies, which were mostly colored from the pink family. The little Yeonjun had this cute glow in his eyes while bouncing on his feet, looking for approval from his parents. Both his mom and dad looked at each other and smiled fondly, allowing their son to pick some and let him put it on.

I mean, how can they resist such a cute little boy flashing his doe eyes on them?

The 3-year old squealed in excitement and immediately picked a butterfly and a flower pin separately. The vendor looked in awe and giggled while giving the purchased pins back to the cute boy. The family thanked the vendor and went on to taking a stroll once again.

—

Tired from the long walk, they seated on a bench near an ice cream stall, where his father was now at, requesting for the mint chocolate flavored ice cream that his father had introduced to him. Rummaging in the plastic bag that was in his hand, he pulls out the pins and gives them to his mother.

"Mom, can you help me?," Yeonjun asked for help as he gestured the pins on his head, still unable to speak English fluently. His mom smiled and continued his supposed question. "Can I help you put these pins on?," she smiled fondly as the pouting boy tried to say the whole sentence but nonetheless, succeeded.

His mother put the pins on either side of his hair, the flower on the left and the butterfly on the right. He looked up and touched the pins as light as a feather while giggling softly, making his eyes disappear. Yeonjun's mother caressed his soft cheeks and gazed lovingly.

"My little Yeonjun," she started, smiling, making the aforementioned boy look up at her, tilting his head. "Do you like those pins so much?" Yeonjun smiled widely and nodded vigorously. "Remember to enjoy the things that you love, okay? It doesn't matter what other people think and what other people say. What matters is that you are content and happy in here," she said whilst pointing at her son's chest, indicating where the heart is. Yeonjun adorably nodded and let his mother to ruffle his soft locks, leaning towards the act of affection.

His father finally came back from the stall and gave his family the cold dessert of their choice; mint chocolate for the two males and vanilla for the mother. Yeonjun held the cone firmly with both hands, leaving a plushie on his side and one on his lap, eating with gusto.

Hearing the soft whistling of the wind and the rustling of the leaves, they succumb into the peaceful silence surrounding them. Though they were all in their own businesses, eating their ice cream, they still feel the calming and loving aura that fills their hearts with joy and contentment.

They all finished the dessert, with Yeonjun finishing last, and decided to go and call it a day as it was already getting dark. Jumping off the bench, the 3-year old boy held his beloved plushie on one hand and the other holding his mother's hand. The forgetful boy didn't notice that he left the other one on the bench, leaving it alone unattended.

Suddenly, a crying boy ran from home, wiping his never ending tears falling down his chubby cheeks, sobbing quite badly. Something bad had happened in his household as he had a red hand mark on his left cheek that left a stinging sensation to the poor boy.

Now clearing his vision, he arrived at a street with pretty fairy lights around and some children playing around with each other. He sadly smiled as he witnessed how happy and carefree other kids of his age are. Getting all the stuff they want to have by just asking for it to their parents, getting cool new toys and other accessories as gifts, getting unconditional love, care, and support from them, which is what the boy is deprived of.

Scanning around the area and discarding his distracting thoughts, his eyes land on a blue plushie, seemingly a unicorn on a bench alone. Tilting his head and wondering whose this might be, he approached the toy and sat beside it. He put it on his lap and stared at it in awe.

He absolutely loves cute stuffed toys and he's glad that he is holding one right now, in his possession. He's been wanting one since forever but his dad won't allow him to have one. His mom has tried to sneak one in their house and give it to her son, but it never escaped from his father's sight and ended up slapping the poor boy and beating his own wife mercilessly.

It was tormenting for the boy and he would not want to be in that household anymore but he has to or his mom would get hurt more with his actions. A tear dropped on the unicorn's sewed heart as he pulled it close to his body and embraced it warmly. He whispered to the stuffed toy's ears.

"Now that I have found you, please don't leave me, okay?"