He Started It by Hitting on Me

Forever Again

"Dad, no more."
"Just one more, Ye Seul, please? It won't even take so long."
"This is getting annoying!"
"Is it really? Okay, let's take a few more and then we can play-wait, I said I wasn't done! Ye Seul! Hey, Ye Seul, listen to your father! Ye Seul-ah!"
"Give it up, man, she realized she doesn't like you anymore," I said. I lowered the camera to stare at the dejected grown man sitting on the coat of snow without the slightest thought he looked completely embarrassing and that was the main reason why Ye Seul refused to take pictures. I would have told him so but it would start an entire argument of how stupid or how normal it was for a man to sit in the middle of nowhere.
Jonghyun breathed out a prolonged sigh. "You get her this time."
Shaking my head, I took a step back. "I don't think so. I have a camera in my hands. You again, daddy." I would have helped him out, possibly. If Ye Seul weren't so full of energy, my back could have sustained a few minutes. Jonghyun was a better opponent for her; they were both similar in physical aspects. Recently, however, Jonghyun had been complaining how his spine barely moved at times, so it would be a challenge today.
The old man clicked his tongue in disappointment. His eyes lazily wandered over to where our daughter was busy occupying a swing. "I'll wait until she's near us."
I thought that was a better idea as well, and knowing he wouldn't sprint off to tackle Ye Seul now, I took a seat in front of him to rest. My foot poked through a soft opening in the snow near Jonghyun's leg.
"Yanna wants us to come over later, since it's New Year's Eve and all..." I trailed off, digging my boot into the cold snow.
"If we go there, those damn es will start hitting on Ye Seul again," Jonghyun grumbled under his breath.
"Who, Taemin and Key?" I laughed. "You're just the same."
Giving me a look of utter disbelief, Jonghyun scoffed, not admitting to my comment. "I'm her dad, I could do whatever I want," he justified.
I rolled my eyes at his poorly said explanation. Ever since the day Ye Seul had been born, Jonghyun never once put something else as his first priority. He would always protect her from minor dangers and made sure she was fine both physically and emotionally. Most people would find it admirable, but both Ye Seul and I would get tired of how clingy he constantly became every time he came back home from work. Not to mention how mushy he was when he saw Ye Seul.
Even so, Jonghyun never ceased to fail Ye Seul in her time of need. It was guaranteed.
Key was right; I really wasn't mom material.
I sighed tiredly, muttering a few nothings under my breath. He almost always had to be right. It was such a ridiculous trait God decided to give him.
In the sitting position I was in, my body began to get restless, so I shifted by pulling my knees up in front of my face. I wasted a few moments looking around the park to stare at families walking on the narrow path toward the shopping district. Neither Jonghyun nor I wanted to spend the last day of the year shopping-hell, Ye Seul wasn't much fond of it either, so to put it frankly, shopping would never be the first resort to a day out with the family.
"Hey, isn't this the place where we decided to become friends?" Jonghyun brought up, furrowing his brow thoughtfully.
I thought about what he said, looking around once more for confirmation. "No, I think this is the place where you wanted to hug me on New Year's," I replied.
He blinked twice, his thoughts lacking cohesion. "You know, I think I forgot...ugh, and it was so long ago. I feel as if we're too old."
"We are old."
"Let me dream a little." He paused for a moment, gazing at the floor for no apparent reason. "I remember we used to do the stupidest things, even stupider than now." A smile found a way to his face subconsciously. "We were such idiots."
We were. We still were, but the idiocy reduced later on. Back then it was a blur of frivolous events. Sometimes I went back to those times, to see how we ended up here like this, and most of the time I'd find myself laughing at how absurd we looked at life and played around with it. It wasn't like life cared; life didn't care for anyone. We were the ones who settled on making something of it. We were sidetracked for a minute in the midst of our lives. That was when we met. We never dreamed of something like that to occur, something beyond our expectations.
Somewhere along the line of our entwined fates, we created another life. Another soul dropped into this world. One day that soul will have to face the cruel reality at a certain age and see the desires of others and the bad deeds that go with it. The girl will see all of it, no matter if she liked it or not. Everyone else had gone through it, and so will she.
But it wasn't time yet. It was barely the time for her to start worrying for anything except for the cuts she would get from riding her bike around the house. That was where Jonghyun and I decided to keep her.
"Hey, quickly take a picture!"
I snapped back from my thoughts and let my eyes travel over to the swing set, where a man struggled to keep his daughter in place. "Take it, take it!" he yelled.
How the hell did he get there? I thought. Bewildered, I got up from my seated position and adjusted the camera in my hands to capture the image. Unfortunately for Jonghyun, I was a bit late and Ye Seul managed to escape from his hold before I could click the button. She landed swiftly on the soft ground as she stood up to give a look of disappointment to her father.
"Dad, I said no more, didn't I?" she told him, scowling.
"But it's not fair. I want to hug you and take pictures and laugh about them when I turn sixty. Let your daddy have some fun, Ye Seul," he whined, stomping his feet. I was surprised people around us hadn't said anything about Jonghyun up until now.
Ye Seul didn't look like she bought his act, if it were an act at all, but exhaled through her frostbitten nose and held out her arms. "Okay," she responded.
Jonghyun practically squealed in joy as he took Ye Seul in his arms and squeezed her against his chest. Some of her long dark curls had even gotten in her face.
I knew this was my cue to take the picture, so I clicked away, making sure to get a few good ones for Jonghyun to laugh about when he turned sixty. The entire time they didn't let go of each other. Even if Ye Seul tried, she wouldn't have gotten so far.
"One more?" I asked, looking up for verification.
"Just one more," Ye Seul answered. And for the last one, she pecked Jonghyun's cheek.
After all the pictures had been taken and Jonghyun was satisfied enough, Ye Seul urged for a game to play before we left.
"Can't we play at Yanna's house?" I tried, worn out. I wasn't sure why I was worn out when I hadn't done much. I blamed it on my age.
"One race. Just one, mommy, and then we'll go," Ye Seul proposed, putting up one finger.
There was no point in arguing with her. If I didn't let her, she'd pout for the rest of the day. I learned she'd gotten her childish behavior from her dad. It wasn't a surprise.
"All right, fine. One race. Make this quick," I sighed.
"Ye Seul, wouldn't it be fun if mommy decided to race?" Jonghyun suggested.
"What are you trying to get at?" I asked flatly. Obviously, this had something up his sleeve.
He ignored me. "It would be fun to see mommy run, right? Seeing her fall and lose to daddy would be so much fun. Right?" he smiled at her.
"Maybe..." Ye Seul answered quietly, contemplating about it.
I glared at him, hoping he would get some kind of deathly vibe from me. He blatantly put this on the table to spark a familiar feeling, I could tell, and he knew I could tell. He chose to disregard my eyes also.
"And if mommy loses, then she'll have to get us something amazing. She'll lose, so there's no point in saying what I will do if I lose," Jonghyun said, shrugging without a care in the world.
"I won't lose," I said, lowering my head slightly.
His brow rose while he finally set his eyes on me. "Then show me. Loser will have to treat the winner and Ye Seul."
"Fine. That's okay with me. But I won't lose," I repeated.
"Right. That's what the loser says before they gain their title."
Having enough of his constant, annoying babbling, I shoved the camera in my pocket, forgetting to put it in its cover. "Watch your mouth, boy," I spat, pushing his shoulder with mine as I walked past him to designate the starting point of the race. That boy would always strike some kind of nerve in me. He always did.
Jonghyun leisurely walked over to me, taking long strides doing so. I knew he was trying to give me the impression he thought he would win-it was clearly perceived.
Ye Seul ran over to the far end of one side of the park, labeling that as the finish line.
"You seem oh so confident in this, huh, mommy?" he simpered, hoisting an eyebrow.
"Well, your is pretty easy to beat, daddy," I replied bluntly.
"Ready..." Ye Seul began.
"Your isn't that hard either, if I use the right tactics," he said.
"That sounded dirty."
"Get set..."
We positioned ourselves in the runner's pose. My back was in serious pain, its muscles twisting excruciatingly, but I overlooked it. After all, no player backed down from a race.
"Hey, I'm just going to let you in on this, since I'll win this time. For my reward, along with the treat, you're to be reported to our room every night. And it doesn't matter if we're loud: you'll be the only one screaming anyway," he whispered.
I shot him a look, the tips of my mouth curling up. "That's a shame. You think you're actually going to win."
"And what? You think I won't?"
"I know you won't."
A smirk played on Jonghyun's lips, his eyes glistening with mischief. He didn't say anything. He didn't have a need. His smile was self-explanatory.
"Go!"
The sudden shout initiated my senses. Without sparing a glance at Jonghyun, my legs began to dart toward the small speck that was known as my daughter. Jonghyun could be near me, or maybe even ahead of me. I wouldn't know who would win until the end. I wasn't able to predict any of the results of the bets we had.
Yet, it didn't seem to matter what the outcome turned out to be. Between the two of us, there was never an end to this. We began with competition, and we would probably go along with it until came the day to die. We would be throwing away a part of our lives if we were to stop.
But then again, Jonghyun was always the stubborn type. And so was I.

Author'a note: Thank you for those who stay and keeps on reading. Hope you guys love the story :)