SYJ x HB : The Stories Behind (Book Two)

The Ship Has Docked

To say that I have lived a contented life is an understatement.

I have lived a contented, happy, fulfilled life.

Having a husband like him, who not only understands me, but loves me so unconditionally was truly a blessing. Have I ever imagined that I would be married to him? I didn't remember asking myself that after all the instances that forced us to drift away from each other.

I guess fate must have played its cards well on me, and on him.

Sure there were times that we might have misunderstood each other, especially with issues of our former flames flying in like crazy when we weren't able to tell everyone about our real status just yet. I remembered how I felt when news came in that he went back to his former girl, which was definitely false, as we were secretly married and I was already carrying our eldest. Without him knowing it just yet. I felt like I wanted to get out and dispel that rumor by myself, but then he called me and arranged everything. With a statement, the rumor died down just as it was spread easily.

That's just how he is. My own knight.

He gave me the most wonderful gifts he ever could – our kids. Ji Hwan looked more like him, and as he grew up became a little version of Bin himself. He would always try to understand things, even for his young age, he always had that sense of responsibility. Of course being a kid did also get to him, and we were just glad that he was able to enjoy it likewise. There were times he would ask us what if he would get in our line of work someday. I remember thinking that I wouldn't allow him to, knowing that beyond the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry there were uncharted waters that he will have to face. Bin and I had been there, but then I realized that if this was the path for our son, then so be it. Who would be the best mentor for him than his father anyway?

Yohanna turned out to be like me. There were times when we would quarrel, especially when she doesn't wear what I wanted her to. When she turned two and we celebrated seollal (Lunar New Year), I had prepared her hanbok only for her not wanting to wear it. We had a very rough fight, she pulled my hair I had to restrain her and even shouted at her. But she never cried that time. It was only when Bin took her and I locked myself in the restroom for a few minutes that I knew she did. After that day, there were only a few more instances when she would defy me, but then she would always say sorry at the end of the day.

Bin must have done something and in our daughter's mind it stuck. Eventually, Yohanna became closer to me and our favorite pastime whenever I am around at home is always cooking. She was in all ways a little Yejin in the making. But still, like a kid that she is, she fought to stand on what she thought was right. Getting into petty troubles in school had us coming to talk to the teachers, but most of the time the instances were always resolved, not because of what her parents were but because we all found out that Yohanna was simply doing the right thing.

A few years had passed and I began to wonder, have I raised my kids properly? Have I been a good mother to them? Have I thought them the things they need to know, and the things Bin and I have always wanted for them to know? I believe I did. They both grew up to be loving and caring towards us, as well as their grandparents who have loved them since the moment they were born and did nothing but spoil them both. Basically every family member and their friends, which included ours. But life is not without any spice, and we likewise took that step with them.

In their teens, Bin and I had to be very careful explaining to them the way of the world, since they were both beginning to explore their lives. At one point, we both looked back in our teens and realized that indeed, there were things that we did which we never really wanted to let the kids go through. When Yohanna told us that there was a boy who wanted to talk to her, Bin somehow became an overprotective father which strained their relationship a bit. I remember stepping in and mediated for the both of them, and Ji Hwan talked to his sister constantly in a gentle way. I even thought he would end up being in the seminary, but he took a different path.